Contemporary Natural Science Research Articles

Politický mýtus, Thomas Robert Malthus a vznik árijské rasové imaginace

The emergence of Nazi ideology and the rise of Nazism represented one of the most dramatic and tragic events of modern times, the consequences of which humanity is still dealing with today. The doctrine of the superiority of the Aryan race was an integral part of Nazi doctrine and served as a “scientific” justification for German expansionism and the policy of ethnic genocide. The Nazi conception of the German nation as the chosen Aryan racial community was identified as an example of a modern political myth by Henry Tudor in the early 1970s [Tudor 1972: 16]. We will attempt to explain the rise of Aryan ideology using the concept of political myth and Blumenberg’s notion of “work on myth” as the result of the long development of Western genealogical speculation, which underwent a process of secularization during the Enlightenment and once combined with stimuli coming from contemporary natural sciences, was used under the conditions of modern industrial society to “rationally” legitimize inequalities between people. A parallel development, consisting in the attempt to deny by scientific arguments the equality of human beings, despite the spread of liberal ideas inspired, among others, by the American and French Revolutions, took place in the economic sciences, where the doctrine of the British political economist Thomas Robert Malthus gained prominence at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Malthusianism, Aryan race ideology, Social Darwinism, or the eugenics movement thus had a common denominator, which Friedrich August von Hayek called the “counter-revolution of science” or Zeev Sternhell “counter-Enlightenment”.

Aquinas's science-engaged theology

Abstract Science-engaged theology has emerged as a new way of conducting research within the vast field of science and religion, with the aim of, at least in one way of understanding it today, solving theological puzzles. In this article we suggest that an analysis of the diversity of approaches in which thirteenth-century philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas engaged theological questions with the best knowledge of the natural world available at the time allows twenty-first century science-engaged theologians to move forward the discussion about the different ways of engaging theology with the contemporary natural sciences.

A természetvizsgáló Csontváry

Tivadar Kostka Csontváry is revered as a visionary and mystical painter, but it is rather not emphasised that he was also a meticulous observer and scientifically trained interpreter of nature. This study analyses his painting Great Tarpatak in the Tatras to show the influence that had the contemporary natural sciences (geology, evolutionary biology, psychology, spectroscopy) and trends that revitalised art (ballet, photography and the moving image) on Csontváry. His paintings and writings proved that his lifelong interest and commitment to the natural sciences were a defining part of his mystical vision of the world.

Агентный реализм Карен Барад и концептуа­лизм Нильса Бора

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the human and social sciences to­wards contemporary natural science. In this regard, we can talk about a kind of “natural sciences turn” in these fields of knowledge. It is not just a matter of an active use of ter­minological and ideological baggage from the arsenal of natural sciences, but we can even talk about direct borrowing of argumentation. American researcher Karen Barad is one of the leading figures of this movement. Barad connects her theoretical conception of agential realism directly with quantum mechanics in its interpretation proposed by Niels Bohr. The article compares some of the key concepts of the Bohr vision of quantum mechanics, such as phenomenon, agency of observation with the reading acquired by these concepts in Barad’s agential realism. On a comparative analysis of the interpreta­tion of these concepts by Bohr and Barad a number of problematic points of the concept of agential realism are revealed.

Nietzsche und die Medizin

Abstract Nietzsche and Medicine. Especially in times of a pandemic, dealing with terms such as health, illness, healing and medicine is of particular interest. Three recently published books are devoted to the problem of medicine in Nietzsche’s work. In addition to impulses for contemporary medical-ethical debates, this review articles discusses Nietzsche’s relationship to the ancient philosophy of medical self-care, the concepts of suffering, illness and health as well as the influence of the contemporary natural sciences on Nietzsche’s understanding of medicine. Nietzsche’s view of medicine has already been the subject of several other recent publications: in addition to the publications that deal directly with Nietzsche’s understanding of medicine, I will also discuss those focused on the effect of Nietzsche’s scientific reading on his work as well as publications on the topics of illness and health and on the role of ancient dietetics, therapeutics and self-care within Nietzsche’s thinking.

C.A.R.E. in Natural Products Research

The acronym C.A.R.E. is used to explore some of the parameters in creating research awareness in the contemporary natural product sciences and to encourage graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty to develop good research practices and ethical awareness in developing excellence in their individual and collaborative research programs.

Klasyczna koncepcja postępu w ujęciu Roberta Spaemanna

W artykule zaprezentowano wybrane aspekty klasycznej koncepcji postępu w rozumieniu Roberta Spaemanna. Koncepcję tę wybitny niemiecki myśliciel rozwijał w dyskusji z innymi wizjami postępu, takimi jak modernizm, naturalizm, marksizm, transhumanizm. Wspólna jest dla nich nowożytna idea, zgodnie z którą ciągle wzmagająca się naukowa dominacja nad naturą i wskutek tego również nad człowiekiem oznacza postęp. Taka jednak wizja stoi w sprzeczności z właściwym sensem postępu. Jest on realizowany wówczas, gdy dokonuje się w harmonii z teleologiczną naturą bytów.Wedle wspomnianych wizji postęp jest procesem koniecznym i nieskończonym. Szczególną zaś rolę w określaniu jego dynamiki odgrywa współczesne przyrodoznawstwo z charakterystyczną dla niego tendencją progresywnej instrumentalizacji natury. Spaemann słusznie poddaje ją krytyce. O tym, czy rzeczywiście dokonuje się postęp, rozstrzygają odpowiednie jego kryteria. Wśród nich filozof wskazuje i rozwija kryteria metafizyczne, etyczne (zarówno w ich negatywnym, jak i pozytywnym brzmieniu) oraz teologiczne. Jego zdaniem postęp zakłada moralnie dobre ulepszenia i sytuuje bytowanie człowieka w perspektywie nadziei, motywującej nieprzerwanie do doskonalenia siebie i świata. W artykule podjęto również próbę określenia aktualności, specyfiki i oryginalności analiz niemieckiego myśliciela.

Human Forms: The Novel in the Age of Evolution. Ian Duncan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019. Pp. xiii+290.

<i>Human Forms: The Novel in the Age of Evolution</i>. Ian Duncan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019. Pp. xiii+290.

A review of Nyoongar responses to severe climate change and the threat of epidemic disease—Lessons from their past

Nyoongar people have lived in the South West of Western Australia for at least 50,000 years. During that time, they experienced significant climate change, including wide variations in temperature and rainfall, and hundreds of metres’ difference in sea levels. Nyoongar people have a long memory, and climate change is described in their stories and in the knowledge they hold about how life was lived in earlier times. There are artifacts and places that have been manipulated to be productive despite severe drought. COVID-19 disrupted the writing of this article, and the authors felt it appropriate to include Nyoongar responses to the threat of epidemic disease brought by Europeans early in their settlement of the area. This review collates existing material generated through Koodjal Jinnung (two-way seeing), a research method that incorporates traditional knowledge and contemporary social and natural sciences about Nyoongar history, to create a description of the resiliency of Nyoongar people under threat from climate change. The article identifies key values and resilience factors underpinning the successful implementation of behavioural and technological mechanisms to negotiate severe climate change and the threat of epidemic disease.

Reconsidering theignorabimus: du Bois-Reymond and the hard problem of consciousness

In this paper I present an interpretation of du Bois-Reymond's thesis on the impossibility of a scientific explanation of consciousness and of its present importance. I reconsider du Bois-Reymond's speech "On the limits of natural science" (1872) in the context of nineteenth-century German philosophy and neurophysiology, pointing out connections and analogies with contemporary arguments on the "hard problem of consciousness." Du Bois-Reymond's position turns out to be grounded on an epistemological argument and characterized by a metaphysical skepticism, motivated by the unfruitful speculative tendency of contemporary German philosophy and natural science. In the final sections, I show how contemporary research can benefit from a reconsideration of this position and its context of emergence, which is a good vantage point to trace open problems in consciousness studies back to their historical development.

Wie man sich kleidet … Die äußere Körperhülle als Gesundheitsfaktor

First, some characteristics of the so-called alternative medicine are outlined to aid comprehension of the subsequent article concerning the Wool Regime developed and promoted by Gustav Jaeger in the 1870s/1880s.Since the age of enlightenment physicians, bearing in mind the medical interest, observed the unhealthy aspects of clothing, in particular womenʼs fashion. It was not until the middleof the 19th century that the textiles used to make clothing were taken into consideration by hygienists.Within this setting, Gustav Jaeger – who had studied medicine and then worked as a zoologist – established his “System” proclaiming nothing but wool should be used for clothing. He attributed his development with the capacity not only to heal many diseases but also to prevent them by immunising the body against diseases via using this specific clothing.Analysing the way he advanced his theory, and especially his argumentation for this really radical position, it becomes apparent that Jaeger’s system is at most based on pseudo-scientific values. Instead, he refers to traditional meanings and common experiences to provide conclusive proof. Jaegers’s Wool Regime marks an ambivalent position between contemporary natural science research standards and lay-mens’ sciolism and belief. In combination with clever marketing strategies, the Jaeger-System and primarily his woollen undervest gained great acceptance.

THE INTEGRATIVE ROLE OF THE ECOLOGICAL-EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH IN NATURAL SCIENCE

The article reveals the essence and content of the ecological-evolutionary approach in natural science. The idea of evolution and ecocentrism is characterized as concepts of an ecological-evolutionary approach. The scientifically grounded integrative role of the ecological-evolutionary approach in natural science is explained, and its significance in the formation of holistic knowledge of nature in general education students is explained. It is visualized in the form of a table and the integration of supporting natural science concepts based on the ecological-evolutionary approach is explained. The ecological-evolutionary approach is explained as a modern general scientific direction in the methodology of knowledge of nature and its objects as integral systems with an explanation of their ecological connections, evolution and forecasting the prospects for their sustainable development. His conceptual ideas are the idea of evolution (development) and the idea of ecocentricism, which ensure the integration of science and science, and therefore the formation of students in the integral knowledge of nature.The principles of development and ecotocentrism, as conceptual ideas of the ecological and evolutionary approach to the study of natural sciences, are the systematizing factor that can combine knowledge of nature, integrate the educational material into integrity, providing logical cross-links between science and natural sciences. The study and explanation of the processes and phenomena of nature on the basis of the selected laws and regularities of the ecological and evolutionary content allows us to logically substantiate the disclosure of the links between the natural systems of different levels of organization. Substantiation of elements of knowledge based on common, uniform for all parts that constitute integrity, provisions (concepts, laws and laws) - a necessary condition for understanding the student of the integrity of nature. Given that the integrity of knowledge is ensured by integration, it can be argued that the ideas of the eco-evolutionary approach fulfill an integrative role in contemporary natural science, as discussed in the article.

The Act of Knowing: Michael Polanyi Meets Contemporary Natural Science

In the aftermath of the modern science world scientists are still searching for some kind of ontological and epistemological common ground. In this paper I try to show that we, by the aid of Michael Polanyi’s concepts of knowledge, of personal as well as objective knowledge, and his descriptions of the tacit dimensions in the process of knowing, can take some substantial steps toward a better understanding of the contemporary scientific conduct.

ОБУЧЕНИЕ СТУДЕНТОВ ДИСЦИПЛИНЕ «ЕСТЕСТВЕННОНАУЧНАЯ КАРТИНА МИРА»: МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

Problem and purpose. The topical character of the problem of singling out particular methodical approaches in teaching “Natural-science Worldview” discipline, taking into account the Federal Educational Standard for Higher Education (ФГОС ВО)” in order to develop conceptual thinking in students of pedagogical universities, is substantiated in the article. Objective of the Research. Is to lend credibility to the authors» approach and to present it marking out the ways arranging structuring theoretical and practical activities of man for scientific cognition of the world. Methodology of the research is based on the logic and philosophic generalizations made by the authors while analyzing articles and monographs written on the problem under consideration and regarding the interdisciplinary complex of natural sciences (physics, biology, chemistry, etc.). This approach allows to consider the research in the following sequence: “categorical analysis of the problem → dialectical logic and the principles of dialectics → the approaches by analogy → the method of simulation → the systematic approach and theoretical concepts of concrete sciences”. At the same time the principle of fundamentalism, on the basis of which fundamental notions, such as matter, movement, interaction, space and time are singled out, is also considered. Results. The comparative analysis of the content of the academic discipline under consideration, on the one hand, and the concepts of other contemporary natural sciences, on the other, was carried out. The structural content of the system of divisions was determined, and it was found out that the core of this system is the knowledge of nature. This basic factor is presented in the form of essential notions and models of the scientific worldview. It is suggested to consider this discipline with due regard to the methodological requirements concerning scientific cognition as a system: scientific facts – hypothesis – model – consequence – experiment. It was proved that the content, the structure and the methods of material presentation must meet the requirements of dialectics a theory of cognition, on the one hand, and methodology of natural sciences, on the other. Conclusion. The authors» assignments and questions are suggested as examples which should be discussed with the students in order to shape their conceptual thinking. The development of conceptual thinking will allow the students to perceive the unified scientific worldview as a model of the world round them. This model is to be built on the basis of systematizing theories and hypotheses corresponding to a certain stage of science development. It is necessary to rely upon the concepts of a systematic approach, evolution and self-actualization.

A Surrealist Writer’s Diary of a Twenty-One-Month Anthropological Expedition

A Surrealist Writer’s Diary of a Twenty-One-Month Anthropological Expedition

“You knit me together in my mother’s womb”: a theology of creation and divine action in light of intersex

ABSTRACTSome Christian theologians and intersex Christians maintain that intersex is part of God’s good and intended creation, in contrast to those who view intersex as a pathological result of fallen nature. The former claim that intersex bodies “are how God made them” and that “God does not make mistakes;” however, these statements risk implying a belief in special creation or divine intervention, two theological positions which have been challenged by evolutionary theory and contemporary natural sciences. This paper provides a more nuanced theology of creation and divine action as a foundation for a positive theology of intersex. Drawing from the work of Thomas Aquinas on primary and secondary causality, the author argues that God, as primary cause, creates the intersex person through the free interplay of secondary causes, in the same way and to the same extent that God acts in the creation of every other person.

Компетентностный подход в подготовке бакалавров юридических факультетов при обучении по учебной дисциплине «Концепции современного естествознания»

Компетентностный подход в подготовке бакалавров юридических факультетов при обучении по учебной дисциплине «Концепции современного естествознания»

Model-Building as a Philosophical Method

The method of building simplified formal models of phenomena under study is widespread in contemporary natural and social science; much scientific progress consists in the provision of better models. A model-building methodology has also been used with success in analytic philosophy, for example by Carnap in his development of intensional semantics. Arguably, philosophers have overlooked how much progress their discipline has made through their failure to conceive it in model-building terms. By using the method more extensively, they can overcome the fragility to error inherent in the naive falsificationist methodology on which many analytic philosophers rely.

Процедура интерпретации в современном естествознании

Процедура интерпретации в современном естествознании

Danto as Educator

From the title as Educator (1874)1 it would be natural to expect Nietzsche to offer us a detailed account of how Schopenhauer's philosophical system influenced his own thought, or perhaps at a minimum how the sage of Frankfurt's work was crucial for his development as a thinker. After all, Schopenhauer's World as Will and Representation clearly left a profound mark on Nietzsche's earliest published work, The Birth of Tragedy. But Nietzsche frustrates these reasonable expectations in the essay, as he is almost entirely silent on Schopenhauer's actual philosophical system. By the point in time of writing as Educator, Nietzsche has apparently taken for granted that this post-Kantian's version of transcendental idealism, his will-less aesthetics, the ethics of compassion, and the praise of asceticism as redemption from the will-to-life are just plain wrongheaded. So why would Nietzsche call Schopenhauer his educator, if Schopenhauer's oeuvre was not particularly educational?Nietzsche focuses on the man as educator. He lauds Schopenhauer as an example of how to be a true philosopher for one's time and culture. Most impressive to him was Schopenhauer's manner of living: independent, free from the dominant religious, political and social thinking of his day; free from the need to draw an income; and, accordingly, free from a formal academic environment. Above all, what was most worthy of emulation, according to Nietzsche, was Schopenhauer's quest for the truth and the suffering he undertook for truth's sake. He suffered in part because of the intellectual climate in which he philosophized that favored Hegelian currents rather antithetical to Schopenhauer's peculiar mixture of Plato, Kant, Vedic thought and attention to contemporary natural science. Ultimately, it is the example of the free, truth-seeking and suffering genius that creates a philosophy with the capacity to disturb that makes Schopenhauer his educator.2Arthur Danto was one of my most important educators. He is responsible, for better or for worse, for putting me on the intellectual and academic path I've been pursuing for the past 20 years, that is, to reconstruct many facets of Schopenhauer's thought, especially his metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics for contemporary use. Unlike Schopenhauer's influence on Nietzsche, however, it is both Danto's work and his personal example as an engaged philosopher and art critic that educated me. Further, Danto's model as a philosophical educator is anything but that of a solitary, untimely sufferer for the sake of the truth, though he did exemplify a kind of freedom from traditional academic style and freedom from the oftentimes-sterile academic concerns of his day. While Danto certainly sought out the truth about the nature and importance of art, history, and many other philosophically rich topics, he was no solitary sufferer. On the contrary, Danto was a very sociable and even joyful philosopher, deeply engaged in his contemporary society, in the academy, and especially in the world of art past and present.I decided to pursue graduate study in philosophy at Columbia in the early 1990s largely because of Arthur Danto. As an undergraduate I read The Transfiguration of the Commonplace (1981), and I recall reading the whole 200-page book in one sitting. In that book, Danto takes the reader on an exhilarating, ridiculously erudite journey through the history of philosophical aesthetics, the history of art, and through contemporary currents in the visual arts especially in the 1950s and 1960s. The meandering but purposive path he takes in the book delivers a compelling case that the essence of a work of art, as opposed to an ordinary object, is that it is an embodiment of meaning, and further, that one needs to understand the historical and institutional background of artistic practice in order to grasp that meaning and to grasp the essential nature of art and why it matters. …