Natural Causation Research Articles

Understanding, schizophrenia, and the limits of phenomenology

Karl Jaspers’ assertion of the un-understandability of schizophrenic psychosis, which rests on a division between what is psychologically understandable and what must be explained via natural causation, has faced numerous challenges from within phenomenological psychopathology. But despite significant developments in the phenomenology of schizophrenia, I suggest that this dichotomy, between psychological understandability and naturalistic explanation, is still present in some phenomenological research on schizophrenia today, even in work that explicitly critiques the limitations of empathic understanding and the purported incomprehensibility of schizophrenic delusions. Other theories of subjectivity, particularly those in the Lacanian tradition, offer one way to recognize the impossibility of understanding without turning to naturalistic explanation. These theories may encourage us to better integrate other key insights in phenomenology, most clearly articulated in the work of Merleau-Ponty, that look beyond “conscious” awareness—those that allow for a renewed appreciation of the un-understandable in schizophrenia, and indeed in all human experience.

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Providence and Science in a World of Contingency: Thomas Aquinas’ Metaphysics of Divine Action

Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches

Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches

Dasgupta's Detonation

Dasgupta's Detonation

Causality and the Secrets of Extraordinary Events in the Philosophy of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna)

This paper aims to discuss Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna)'s claim that extraordinary events can also be explained by nature, as opposed to a world of meaning inherited from Aristotle and based on sensible qualities and the tradition that excludes events that take place in this world but cannot be explained by nature. In this direction, the secrets of causality and extraordinary states in the philosophy of Avicenna were examined separately. Our study, which is shaped by the text analysis method, focuses on the works of Avicenna and secondary academic studies written about Avicenna. The relationship of the events that are thought to have no place in nature, called extraordinary events, with nature has been evaluated. In this context, the paper consists of two parts and an evaluation part. In the first part, causality, and nature in the philosophy of Avicenna, in the second part, the secrets of extraordinary events in the philosophy of Avicenna, and in the last part, an evaluation of the rational explanations presented by the philosophy of Avicenna to scientific reality in the light of these explanations. In the research, the causality section in the philosophy of Avicenna is explained based on the Physics and Metaphysics works. In addition, secondary sources were also used. The relationship between nature and the context of extraordinary events is shaped by the claims of Ibn Sīnā in his work al-Isharat wa’l-tanbihat. In the work, Avicenna examines this subject under a specific title. The claim that extraordinary events can be explained in the context of natural causation is also emphasized in this section. However, considering the terms that Ibn Sīnā used to explain extraordinary events and the chapter he included in his work, different results are obtained from his claim. Ibn Sīnā emphasizes that it is one of the known ways of nature that even the savant can stay hungry for a long time. It is claimed that the subject proceeds through the wise and that every situation has a natural way. Based on this, it is thought that the research will contribute to the interpretations of whether Avicenna is a mystical or rational philosopher. As a result of the research, although Ibn Sīnā states that he explained extraordinary events with reason, it is seen that he also bears traces of a mystical understanding. While the parts of Ibn Sīnā's works in which he examines explicitly the issue of causality are shaped by existence, explanations are made according to the characteristics of the soul in extraordinary events. He uses the relationship between soul and body to explain extraordinary events. It is thought that the extraordinary events we deal with concerning causality should be handled and examined in different subjects such as revelation, prophecy, miracle, and dream.

Grounding and properties

ABSTRACT Metaphysical grounding is often presented as a relation of directed dependence analogous to causation. The relationship between causation, properties, and laws of nature is hotly debated. I ask: what is the relationship between grounding, properties, and laws of metaphysics? I begin by considering the grounding analogue of Humean quidditism. Finding it implausible, I turn to the primitive-laws account of grounding, recently defended by Jonathan Schaffer and others. I argue this view is also unsatisfactory. I then present several possible dispositionalist-like accounts and characterize the notion of a power to ground. I argue for three important conclusions: (i) each property essentially confers grounding powers; (ii) non-fundamental properties can be defined structurally in a particular sense, elucidating the claim that they are ‘nothing over and above’ the fundamental; and (iii) fundamental properties play a central role in grounding the grounding facts. Finally, it is significant that, combined with a causal powers-account of causal explanation, the door is open to a unified account of the metaphysics of causation and grounding: both flow from the natures of fundamental properties.

كلمة العدد (الإنجليزي)

Ansaq still seeks to achieve its major goal to become a significant scientific and academic platform, being an important addition in scientific research and specialized studies within social sciences and humanities, and reaching an intermediary horizon by being open to all visions and proposals by scientific researchers and those interested in all branches of these sciences. Additionally, the journal seeks, through its upcoming issues, to realize a scheme targeting contemporary theories and modern methodologies in its experimental and modernizing proposals in the relevant fields of knowledge. To achieve this end, the journal is pleased to place in the hands of its valued readers the first issue of 2022, which includes six research papers, in addition to a book review of a recently published text, entitled Dictionary of Narrative Characters in Narrative Folklore: Standards and Functions. In philosophical and intellectual studies, the paper entitled “Worldview /Perception in Miftāh's Critical Discourse: An Epistemological Reading in the Critical Method” provides an epistemological reading within the critical approach, surpassing some of the previous shortcomings in the analysis of critical approaches, which failed to address the epistemological premises upon which those methodologies are based. The paper seeks to provide a reading capable of deciphering the mystical symbols that make up the talismans of the unity of the discourse of this critic, whose work is difficult for many to understand owing to a confusion between seeing and envisioning. The paper entitled “Revelation in the Light of Hassan Hanafi’s Phenomenological Approach” attempts to investigate the “Hanafi” view on revelation, based on the Western phenomenological approach, which is one of the most prominent approaches that imposed itself in the philosophical arena during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He adopted this approach as a gateway to the renewal of Islamic sciences, through his project “From Text to Reason.” The third paper showcases the epistemological contribution of Ibn Khatimah al-Ansarī al-Andalusī (1324-1369) in establishing an early theory on contagion, based on the principle of natural causation, and how he epistemologically established this theory. The paper indicates that the scientific method based on clinical observation and experience is the only one capable of overcoming health, social and economic crises that occur as a result of the spread of epidemic diseases. Grammar was the subject of two research papers in this issue. The first deals with “Some Cases of Replacement Nunation and its Definiteness Origin: A Study in the Linguistic Fossils of the Arabic Definiteness Theory’s History,” investigating the reality of Tanwīn (nunation) in the structure of the Arabic sentence. The researcher mainly relies on the formal marking for some of the linguistic units. It is not possible - according to this paper - to justify some cases of accusatives, or nominatives, through the theory of action. As for the second research, it focuses on “grammatical implication,” raising a number of questions worthy of research and reflection from a critical perspective. In history, the paper on Sheikh Mohammed bin Thanī’s rule of Qatar sheds light on an important period in the history of the State of Qatar, in the period from 1886 to 1878, which constituted an important stage for the establishment of Qatar. The paper concludes that the State of Qatar, whether during the era of Sheikh Mohammed bin Thanī, or the eras of his successors from Al Thanī family, did not attack any of the neighboring countries, and that the wars that took place between Qatar and some of its neighbors were only in defense of the country and its independence. The book review on “Dictionary of Narrative Characters in Narrative Folklore: Standards and Functions” provides a systematic conception of the mechanism of making a cultural narrative dictionary focusing on the narrative personalities in folklore, such as Arabian Nights, the Maqamat, Folk Biographies and other narrative forms. It clearly elaborates the structural and cultural role of those characters, within each narrative text, going beyond their mere description as they appear in the texts to the levels of form and intellect. It provides scientific methodological information on those characters, and it is the first dictionary of this kind in Arab culture, which represents an important tributary to the Arab library in the field of narratives and cultural studies. Technically, Ansaq is in the process of updating its e-platform, which can be accessed through the journal's official website. Concurrently, Ansaq invites its researchers to use this platform for future submissions in order for them to follow-up and be updated more efficiently about the status of their papers.

BEYOND WISHFUL THINKING: RECONCILING FAITH AND SCIENCE IN CRISES OF HOPE

AbstractSteady advances in neuroscience have shaped understanding of brain and mind, in ways that challenge spiritual belief and can amplify misconceptions about biological determinism. The inability to reconcile spirituality and science risks faith being construed as “out of touch” with reality, and in worst‐case scenarios engendering clinical‐level crises of hope. The latter typically involve three central issues: the free will problem, desperate perceptions about mortality, and the constraint of individual identity. Here, we synthesize contemporary scientific and philosophical understanding to propose a reconciliation of faith and science of particular relevance to preservation of hope. In this approach, we review the compatibility of natural causation and human freedom, parameterize “meaning” on the basis of specific opportunities for decision‐making within the timeframe of a lifetime, and articulate a model of self‐transcendence predicated on these principles and on observed characteristics of human love. This model resides within “common ground” for faith and science by avoiding unnecessary dichotomization of the material and the Divine.

Does Consciousness-Collapse Quantum Mechanics Facilitate Dualistic Mental Causation?

One of the most serious challenges (if not the most serious challenge) for interactive psycho-physical dualism (henceforth interactive dualism or ID) is the so-called ‘interaction problem’. It has two facets, one of which this article focuses on, namely the apparent tension between interactions of non-physical minds in the physical world and physical laws of nature. One family of approaches to alleviate or even dissolve this tension is based on a collapse solution (‘consciousness collapse/CC) of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics (QM). The idea is that the mind brings about the collapse of a superposed wave function onto one of its eigenstates. Thus, it is claimed, can the mind change the course of things without violating any law figuring in physical theory. I will first show that this hope is premature because energy and momentum are probably not conserved in collapse processes, and that even if this can be dealt with, the violations are either severe or produce further ontological problems. Second, I point out several conceptual difficulties for interactionist CC. I will also present solutions for those problems, but it will become clear that those solutions come at a high cost. Third, I shall briefly list some empirical problems which make life even harder for interactionist CC. I conclude with remarks about why no-collapse interpretations of QM don’t help either and what the present study has shown is the real issue for ID: namely to find a plausible integrative view of dualistic mental causation and laws of nature.

Readers of the first edition of Newton's Principia on the relation between gravity, matter, and divine and natural causation: British public debates, 1687–1713

In this article, we document how, in the public arena, British readers of the first edition of Isaac Newton's Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (1687) tried to make sense of the relation between gravity, matter, and divine and natural causation—an issue on which Newton had remained entirely silent in the first edition of the Principia. We show that readers attached new meanings to the Principia so that parts of it migrated to a different intellectual debate. It will be shown that one particular result Newton obtained in the Principia, namely the rejection of a vacuum in Corollary 3 to Proposition 6 in Book 3, was the most important locus in debates on the relation between gravity, matter, and causation.

NATURAL DIVINE CAUSATION, CAUSAL EXCLUSION, AND OVERDETERMINATION: COMMENT ON MIKAEL LEIDENHAG

AbstractIn his article “The Blurred Line between Theistic Evolution and Intelligent Design” and his response “The Problem of Natural Divine Causation and the Benefits of Partial Causation”, Mikael Leidenhag uses Jaegwon Kim's work on causal exclusion to critique what he calls “Natural Divine Causation” (NDC). Although I agree with Leidenhag that questions about divine action can fruitfully be posed in terms of Kim's so‐called Causal Exclusion Argument, I take issue with the way he attempts to carry out this task and the reasons he offers against the overdetermination response to the Causal Exclusion Argument.

Unseating the Craftsman: Natural Efficient Cause in Aristotle's Craft Analogy

Abstract In this essay, I respond to a problem raised by Sarah Broadie in her 1987 article “Nature, Craft and Phronesis in Aristotle.” Broadie analyzes Aristotle’s famous craft analogy for natural causation in order to determine whether or not it requires importing a psychological dimension to natural teleology. She argues that it is possible to make sense of the analogy without psychology, but that the tradeoff is a conception of craft so thoroughly de-psychologized that it is rendered unrecognizable, perhaps even incoherent as a referent. I dispute this suggestion and argue, rather, that Aristotle’s insistence on removing psychology from the craft side of the analogy points to his prioritization of techne itself, rather than any particular craftsman, as primary efficient agent. The lack of psychology that characterizes a techne ensures stability and reliability in the causal process that could not be guaranteed by the idiosyncratic psychologies of various craftspeople. The same kind of stability and reliability belong to nature as an efficient cause, forming the basis of the comparison between craft and natural teleology. It is therefore the craft, not the craftsman, that must stand as analog to nature. I demonstrate the value of this revision by applying the analogy to the case of natural teleology: reproduction as depicted in Aristotle’s Generation of Animals. The result is a reading of Aristotle’s analogies that can assuage Broadie’s concerns and allow for a natural thing’s own nature to more fully inhabit its intended role as an inner source of change.

Kant, causation and laws of nature

In the Second Analogy, Kant argues that every event has a cause. It remains disputed what this conclusion amounts to. Does Kant argue only for the Weak Causal Principle that every event has some cause, or for the Strong Causal Principle that every event is produced according to a universal causal law? Existing interpretations have assumed that, by Kant’s lights, there is a substantive difference between the two. I argue that this is false. Kant holds that the concept of cause contains the notion of lawful connection, so it is analytic that causes operate according to universal laws. He is explicit about this commitment, not least in his derivation of the Categorical Imperative in Groundwork III. Consequently, Kant’s move from causal rules to universal laws is much simpler than previously assumed. Given his commitments, establishing the Strong Causal Principle requires no more argument than establishing the Weak Causal Principle.

Divine Action and the Human Mind

Divine Action and the Human Mind

Epilepsy and Neuroscience: Evolution and Interaction.

Neuroscience is a relatively new and fashionable word that emerged in the 1950s in several countries, including the UK, to describe a multidisciplinary clinical and laboratory approach to the study of the brain, mind, and neuropsychiatric disorders. However collaborative study of neurological and psychiatric disorders can be traced to the 17th century with roots in antiquity. I describe the evolution of our understanding of epilepsy beginning with the first detailed clinical descriptions, associated with supernatural theories, in Babylonian medicine in the second millennium BC. Interest in natural causation arose in the Greco-Roman period when it was first suggested that “the sacred disease” was a disorder of the brain. However, this theory did not take root until the 17th and 18th centuries AD when epilepsy began to be separated from other “convulsive” diseases, including hysteria. In the 19th century developments in neuropathology and our understanding of cortical localization led to the much-debated separation of idiopathic from symptomatic epilepsy which continues to influence international classifications of seizures and epilepsies. Also in the 19th century, the concept of seizures as electrical discharges in the brain evolved, reinforced in the 20th century by the discovery of the electroencephalogram. For many reasons, people with epilepsy have experienced a high incidence of cognitive and psychosocial disorders. Epilepsy, which is a global problem, has, therefore, remained a bridge between neurology and psychiatry. Furthermore, the study of epilepsy continues to shed light on brain function and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Habit, contingency, love: on Félix Ravaisson and Charles S. Peirce

ABSTRACT This article proposes a comparison between one of the major figures of French spiritualism, Félix Ravaisson, and the pragmatist philosopher Charles S. Peirce. While there seems to be no direct historical connection between the two authors, their philosophies display striking similarities, in particular with regard to the link between the problem of habit and the problem of determinism. Both authors resort to habit when considering the role of chance, spontaneity, and final causation in nature, soon reaching the basic metaphysical issue of how to think about the relation between nature and spirit, or matter and mind. Moreover, they articulate their positions using concepts and metaphors that directly evoke the Christian notion of love. Yet Ravaisson and Peirce also appear to disagree on some fundamental issues. In particular, they have differing conceptions of the relation between habit and spontaneity. The article explores the implications of this disagreement and attempts to unearth its philosophical relevance.

The Necessity of Philosophy in the Exercise Sciences

The pervasive and often uncritical acceptance of materialistic philosophical commitments within exercise science is deeply problematic. This commitment to materialism is wrong for several reasons. Among the most important are that it ushers in fallacious metaphysical assumptions regarding the nature of causation and the nature of human beings. These mistaken philosophical commitments are key because the belief that only matter is real severely impedes the exercise scientist’s ability to accurately understand or deal with human beings, whether as subjects of study or as data points to be interpreted. One example of materialist metaphysics is the assertion that all causation is physical- one lever moving another lever, one atom striking another atom, one brain state leading to another (Kretchmer, 2005). In such a world, human life is reduced to action and reaction, stimulus and response and as a result, the human being disappears. As such, a deterministic philosophy is detrimental to kinesiologists’ attempts to interpret and understand human behavior, for a materialistic philosophy, must ignore or explain away human motivation, human freedom and ultimately culture itself. In showing how mistaken these philosophic commitments are, I will focus on the sub-discipline of sport psychology for most examples, as that is the field of exercise science of which I am paradigmatically most familiar. It is also the field, when rightly understood that straddles the “two cultures” in kinesiology (i.e., the sciences and the humanities). In referencing the dangers of the materialistic conception of human beings for sport psychology, I will propose, that the materialist’s account of the natural world, causation and human beings stems from the unjustified and unnecessary rejection by the founders of modern science of the Aristotelian picture of the world (Feser, 2012). One reason that this mechanistic point of view, concerning human reality has gained ground in kinesiology is as a result of a previous philosophic commitment to quantification. As philosopher Doug Anderson (2002) has pointed out, many kinesiologists believe that shifting the discipline in the direction of mathematics and science would result in enhanced academic credibility. Moreover, given the dominance of the scientific narrative in our culture it makes it very difficult for us not to conform to it. That is, as Twietmeyer (2015) argued, kinesiologists do not just reject non-materialistic philosophic conceptions of the field, we are oblivious to their possibility. Therefore, I will propose two things; first, Aristotelian philosophy is a viable alternative to materialistic accounts of nature and causation and second, that Aristotle’s holistic anthropology is an important way to wake kinesiologists from their self-imposed philosophic slumber.

Vacuum Genesis oraz spontaniczne powstanie wszechświata z niczego a klasyczna koncepcja przyczynowości oraz stworzenia ex nihilo

Vacuum Genesis and Spontaneous Emergence of the Universe from Nothing in Reference to the Classical Notion of Causality and Creation ex nihiloThe article discousses philosophical and theological reflections inspired by the cosmological model of the origin of the universe from quantum vacuum through quantum tunneling and the model presented by Hartle and Hawking. In the context of the thesis about the possibility of cosmogenesis ex nihilo without the need of God the creator, the question is being raised concerning the ontological status of nothingness and of the laws of nature in the aforementioned models. After pointing to the fact that they do not imply an absolute nothingness in the philosophical (metaphysical) sense, the main objectives of both models and philosophical-theological conclusions they inspire are interpreted in the light of the classical principles of potency and act, theory of causation and chance events in nature, elements of classical theology of creation and the classification of sciences in terms of various levels of abstraction, proposed by Aquinas. Noting the fact that some cosmologists cross methodological boundaries of their science, we emphasize the role and significance of their research in a deeper understanding of the philosophical aspects of the origins of the universe, especially the role of potency in the first stages of its existence and evolution.

Some metaphysical elements in african trado-medical practice

The African traditional medical practice is largely conceived through the instrumentality of metaphysics. This essay focuses on unraveling the extent to which metaphysics pervades African traditional medicine. It begins with an insight into African cosmology. Thereafter, it expounds upon the metaphysical concept of causality as a phenomenon which permeates the African thought system and as central to African traditional medicine. It then, exposes the ontological dimensions of African trado-medical practices. The essay holds that African traditional medicine takes into account the totality of the patients’ socio-cultural, supernatural, and physiological framework of beliefs and expectations. It proceeds to argue that in African traditional medicine, treatment is magico-rational being that its idea of treatment cannot be subjected to laboratory analysis, instead, it is both supernatural and mystical, and while having no explanations in natural causation, treatment often involves rituals. The essay contends that in African traditional medicine, the efficacy of therapy depends on the combination of the powers of herbs and the healer. It contends that where therapy fails, it is either the actual cause has not been ascertained or that malicious agent(s) with higher supernatural power, impede(d) the efficacy of the treatment or its procedure. The essay expounds fundamentally on the metaphysical duty of the African Traditional Doctor. It contends that an accomplished traditional healer treats without charge, and that charging for treatment diminishes the capacity of the traditional healer to achieve results. The work concludes by pointing out the nexus between African traditional practice of medicine and traditional practice of medicine in other cultures of the world.Keywords: African traditional medicine, African cosmology, Causality, Ontology, Magico-rational, African traditional doctor