Empirical Statements Research Articles

The Communicative Principle of Relevance

Any behavior humans can perform, they can performed in an “ostensive” way, that is, overtly attracting attention and providing evidence of meaning. The communicative principle of relevance is a lawlike generalization about ostensive stimuli and hence about human communication. Here I present the principle as a pair of simple and general empirical statements: one on the audience side and one on the communicator side. I also summarize recent developments: Experimental tests have proved supportive, theoretical analyses have connected the principle to evolutionary and developmental perspectives, and the principle has been used more broadly than before, far beyond the traditional domains of semantics and pragmatics. These developments consolidate the communicative principle of relevance as fundamental to understanding human interaction.

Live Action Role Playing (Larp) in Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy: A Case Study

Role-play is an established tool in psychotherapy. Recent literature has indicated the similarities between live action role-playing (larp) and psychotherapy. In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is one of the most widespread therapeutic approaches, Role-play is a tool for developing desired target behavior (Fliegel 2020). This also applies to so-called skills groups in CBT. One form of these skills groups is the Gruppentraining sozialer Kompetenzen (Hinsch et al. 2015). Some literature has highlighted the similarities between role-playing methods used in CBT-oriented skills groups and larp (Aschenbrenner 2013, Balzer 2008). A deficit in social skills is associated with a variety of mental disorders (Segrin 2001). The use of a CBT-oriented larp may therefore be helpful in the treatment of several mental disorders. A standardised form of CBT-oriented larp in the sense of a clinical manual does not yet exist. There is also no empirical evaluation with questionnaires of such a therapeutic larp yet. This article presents the implementation and empirical evaluation of a standardised CBT-oriented larp. This clinical case study was conducted with 6 patients with mental disorders.Participants were aged 30 years or younger and all had at least one affective disorder. Established clinical screening questionnaires were used for assessment. Data were collected in a pre-post follow-up design. The study shows that this CBT-oriented larp is feasible with people with mental illness. Qualitative data show good goal attainment and positive experiences among participants. Short-term positive developments were also found in the screenings. However, an empirical statement about the effectiveness of the larp is not yet possible; in the long term, the screenings even show negative trends. Participants were aged 30 years or younger and all had at least one affective disorder. Established clinical screening questionnaires were used for assessment. Data were collected in a pre-post follow-up design. The study showed that a CBT-oriented larp has positive effects on mental health, especially in the short term, and can be an effective component of conventional behavioral therapy in the long term.

Induction and certainty in the physics of Wolff and Crusius

ABSTRACT In this paper, we analyse conceptions of induction and certainty in Wolff and Crusius, highlighting their competing conceptions of physics. We discuss (i) the perspective of Wolff, who assigned induction an important role in physics, but argued that physics should be an axiomatic science containing certain statements, and (ii) the perspective of Crusius, who adopted parts of the ideal of axiomatic physics but criticized the scope of Wolff’s ideal of certain science. Against interpretations that take Wolff’s proofs in physics to be based on empirical statements that are probable, we show how inductively established statements, coupled with assumptions concerning the uniformity of nature, can be certain according to Wolff. We examine Crusius’ little known work on physics and show that he attacked Wolff, arguing that many statements of physics are probable. We provide a discussion of the reception of methodological rules similar to Newton’s Regulae Philosophandi, discussing different interpretations of such rules. We conclude by briefly hinting at how the debate between Wolff and Crusius provides historical context for understanding Kant’s philosophy of natural science.

Unleashing Knowledge Sharing in Emerging Economy Startups: A Multilevel Analysis

The knowledge-sharing process in digital startups is under development in current discussions, even though its importance for sustainable economic growth is acknowledged. This paper analyses the connections and traits regarding how knowledge is distinguished and shared at different levels in an emerging economy. Twelve focus groups were conducted with 72 startup founders, managers, and employees, and in-depth interviews reveal that, in contrast to the results from studies about more extensive firms, individuals consider knowledge sharing based on their particular judgment of the absorptive capacity of the recipient and the perceived gains associated with the maturation of individual and organisational image and reputation. Digital cultural factors inherent in this type of enterprise, remote first, meritocracy, and online community participation, have directly influenced the adoption of digital knowledge-sharing systems. Individuals desire to share knowledge for recognition, to establish credibility, and to establish connections with investors and mentors. A communal and collaborative atmosphere can foster the exchange of information among employees, influencing the intention to share knowledge. Knowledge sharing is reinforced when employees perceive knowledge sharers as specialists. Incentives and intra-organisational reward campaigns, talent improvement programs, external training sessions, workshops, and collaborative team assessments can cultivate personal relationships. A theoretical framework has been proposed that can examine digital startups’ effectiveness on micro-level elements. In emerging economies, social rewards are personally more critical than financial achievements. Our empirical statements reinforce the arguments that the digital age, the pandemic, and the migration crisis have substantially changed most aspects of knowledge sharing.

Tugendhat über Moralbegründung, Mystik und Religion

AbstractTugendhat’s remarks on religion and mysticism are explored in section 5 and 6 of this paper. To this end I outline, in section 1, the role that the criticism of religion has played from its beginnings in philosophy’s self-understanding and its focus on reasoning, which philosophers opposed to the non-reasoning justification of religion. In section 2, I consider philosophy’s relation to empirical statements and to the empirical sciences; in section 3, I discuss Tugendhat’s substitution of anthropology for metaphysics; and in section 4, his moral theory.

Fracture analytical assessment of polymeric foams

• EPP foams take the structural lead among the set of test candidates. • Different crack-shielding effects of several polymeric foam systems are identified. • The G F principle characterizes the post-peak softening behavior of polymeric foams well. • Hybridization can enhance polymeric foam performance. Materials with density advantages are rapidly gaining ground due to the trend towards lightweight structures. These include light metals, polymeric composites, and various types of foam. A glance at the literature on polymeric foams reveals different approaches of structural safety characterization. These are still dominated by standardized mechanical testing methods, such as compression or bending test. However, from such setups no empirical statements can be made about how the post-peak softening behavior is influencing the structural safety. Thus, a holistic fracture analysis is applied to examine various polymeric foam systems from the automotive industry. Commonly used synthetic foams based on EPS, XPS, EPP, and PUR are compared and evaluated. The results provide empirical in-depth information for decision-makers enhancing their options for the selection process.

Remarks on the Conceptions of Philosophical Method of Schelling, Hegel, and Krause

“The A2 is Light,” Schelling explains to us in the Presentation of My System of Philosophy (1801) (SW 4, 151). Is such a statement meaningful, so that its truth value can be asked? Is it an empirical statement, which can be tested and possibly confirmed through observations? Or is it a synthetic a priori judgment independent of observations? Such questions are not easy to answer, and they are related to the logical status of Schelling’s theory as a whole.
 That such questions became important stems from the peculiarity of the philosophical systems that were developed in Jena after 1800. They were called “systems of absolute idealism,” but it is not clear what this means. These systems include not only Schelling’s but also Hegel’s and Krause’s. In the following, some commonalities, as well as specific particularities, of these systems will be examined in more detail from the standpoint of methodology.

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility and Innovative Strategies on Financial Performance

The article aims to appraise the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and innovation strategies as leverages of a company’s financial performance. The theoretical and empirical statement of this link aims to reinforce the importance of these strategical options in both the managerial and the public policy domain. Shedding light on the economic return of these practices will help managers make better strategic decisions. Policy makers will also grasp the required evidence to encompass CSR in policy packages. To address the research question, data were collected from the Thomson Reuters Eikon Datastream covering the 1000 largest companies listed on the stock exchange worldwide. Thereafter, hierarchical linear regressions were performed to produce the econometric results. Two time frames (2015–2019) were compared to address time–space trends. Enrolling in CSR activities entails additional costs which can undermine the company’s financial performance if not properly supported by public policies. Combining CSR and innovation appears to be the best strategy for companies seeking improvements in their financial performance while being socially responsible. The contribution of this study is threefold: first, the analysis covers the largest thousand firms in operation worldwide; secondly, the econometric results demonstrate that combining CSR with innovation positively impacts financial performance; and lastly, the time comparison evidences a positive but slow evolution in CSR adoption. The article provides an applied perspective, of use both for managers and policy makers, as to how they should approach and disseminate involvement in these types of activities.

Uncertainty, Possibility, and Causal Power in QCA

Uncertainty undermines causal claims; however, the nature of causal claims decides what counts as relevant uncertainty. Empirical robustness is imperative in regularity theories of causality. Regularity theory features strongly in QCA, making its case sensitivity a weakness. Following qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) founder Charles Ragin’s emphasis on ontological realism, this article suggests causality as a power and thus breaks with the ontological determinism of regularity theories. Exercising causal powers makes it possible for human agents to achieve an outcome but does not determine that they will. The article explains how QCA’s truth table analysis “models” possibilistic uncertainty and how crisp sets do this better than fuzzy sets. Causal power is at the heart of critical realist philosophy of science. Like Ragin, critical realism suggests empirical analysis as merely describing underlying causal relationships. Empirical statements must be substantively interpreted into causal claims. The article is critical of “empiricist” QCA that infers causality from the robustness of set relationships.

MODELING OF GENERAL CARGO SHIP’S MAIN ENGINE POWERS WITH REGRESSION BASED MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS: COMPARATIVE RESEARCH

This study, which allows estimating main engine power of new ships based on data from general cargo ships, consists of a series of mathematical relationships. Thanks to these mathematical relationships, it can be predicted main engine power according to length (L), gross tonnage (GT) and age of a general cargo ship. In this study, polynomial regression, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) regression and Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) regression algorithms are used. By this means the relationships presented here, it is aimed to build ships that are environmentally friendly and can be sustained at a lower cost by using the main engine power of the new ships with high accuracy. In addition, the relationships presented here provide validation for computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) and other studies with empirical statements. As a result of the study, polynomial regression gives similar results with other studies in the literature. We also concluded that while KNN regression yields fast results, GBM regression algorithm provides more accurate solutions to estimate the ship's main engine power.

Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth by Stuart Ritchie

This book does a splendid job of describing and documenting the dysfunctional features of contemporary science mentioned in the book’s subtitle. Were I still teaching, I would have my students read this book as the basis for many productive class discussions. The margins of my copy overflow with notes, comments, and cues for further reading. The 80 pages of endnotes, for some 260 pages of text, are the best and most interesting documentation that I can recall ever finding in such a book. At any rate, I recommend this book wholeheartedly; I doubt that anyone interested in the nature of contemporary science will fail to be informed and to find stimulation for further thought and reading.
 The Preface already promises that this will be a page-turner. Many will be astonished and disheartened by the fully documented cases of outwardly distinguished academics whose work was largely or completely fraudulent, as with Diederik Stapel (pp. 4–5 and later).
 Ritchie quite appropriately sees replication as the essence of science (p. 5): “If it won’t replicate, then it’s hard to describe what you’ve done as scientific at all.” Note that this is an empirical statement, not the Popperian criterion that theories must be falsifiable in principle if they are to be regarded as scientific. If a claimed observable phenomenon cannot be repeated, then we cannot know that it was real, that it happened even once, when first claimed. That’s the continuing dilemma for parapsychology, cryptozoology, for anomalistics in general. Ritchie points out that the scientific community failed to handle appropriately the issue of replication in the case of Stapel, and also with Daryl Bem’s claimed evidence of precognition. Overall, peer review and journal publication practices have not saved science from “a dizzying array of incompetence, delusion, lies, and self-deception” (p. 7).

Mark Harris as a Naturalistic Theist: The Perspective of the Model of Levels of Analysis

Presently, naturalistic theism is the dominant position in the debate on the relation between science and religion, defending a thesis that the conflict between science and religion is only an apparent one. Also, this version of theism accepts the naturalist assumptions behind contemporary science and attempts to reformulate the beliefs held within the traditional Christian theism in order to present the religious view of reality as not conflicting with the scientific picture of the world. Certain assumptions behind Mark Harris’s views on the relations between science and religion can be described as consistent with naturalistic theism. The model of levels of analysis helps to analyze the most important themes found within naturalistic theism and show how these are described in the works of Harris. The model facilitates the identification of the relations between particular kinds of assumptions behind the position taken from the point of view of naturalistic theism in the debate on the relation between science and religion. The list of most frequently recurring assumptions — that are also important in Harris’s writings — include: the general division of epistemic competence, which assumes theology (religion) to be competent in dealing with the metaphysical issues (Levels 1 and 2) and science to be the only one competent to deliver the empirical statements describing processes and entities found within the empirical sphere (Levels 4 and 5); the acceptance of the naturalistic assumptions behind contemporary science (Level 2) and skepticism toward the religious notions found in the traditional Christian theism describing supernatural interventions and toward the dualist interpretation of human soul (Level 3). This leads to the acceptance of purely scientific, naturalistic, explanations of the events found within the empirical sphere and to skepticism toward the literal meaning of descriptions of empirical events (Level 5) that are not consistent with the anti-interventionist assumptions behind science. Harris’s acceptance of naturalistic theism in terms of the relation between science and religion and his use of the techniques found in the modern biblical scholarship have led him to the ideas of plurality of meanings and the lack of one definite truth with respect to the specific issues he deals with. From the point of view of MLA it is the rejection of super-naturalistic assumptions of the traditional Christian theism and the acceptance of the naturalistic assumptions of science that seems to be the cause of lack of definite truth in his theological explanations.

The neo‐nationalist ascendency: further thoughts on class, value and the return of the repressed

The neo‐nationalist ascendency: further thoughts on class, value and the return of the repressed

Research Design for an Integrated Artificial Intelligence Ethical Framework

Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulatory and other governance mechanisms have only started to emerge and consolidate. Therefore, AI regulation, legislation, frameworks, and guidelines are presently fragmented, isolated, or co-exist in an opaque space between national governments, international bodies, corporations, practitioners, think-tanks, and civil society organisations. This article proposes a research design set up to address this problem by directly collaborating with targeted actors to identify principles for AI that are trustworthy, accountable, safe, fair, non-discriminatory, and which puts human rights and the social good at the centre of its approach. It proposes 21 interlinked substudies, focusing on the ethical judgements, empirical statements, and practical guidelines, which manufacture ethicopolitical visions and AI policies across four domains: seven tech corporations, seven governments, seven civil society actors, together with the analysis of online public debates. The proposed research design uses multiple research techniques: extensive mapping and studies of AI ethics policy documents and 120 interviews of key individuals, as well as assorted analyses of public feedback discussion loops on AI, employing digital methods on online communities specialising in AI debates. It considers novel conceptual interactions communicated across the globe, expands the regulatory, ethics, and technological foresight, both at the individual level (autonomy, identity, dignity, privacy, and data protection) and the societal level (fairness/equality, responsibility, accountability and transparency, surveillance/datafication, democracy and trust, collective humanity and the common good). By producing an innovative, intercontinental, multidisciplinary research design for an Ethical AI Standard, this article offers a concrete plan to search for the Holy Grail of Artificial Intelligence: Its Ethics.

Jeremy Bentham and the Origins of Legal Positivism

Schofield explains that Bentham made a fundamental distinction between expository jurisprudence, which concerns the law as it is, and censorial jurisprudence, which concerns the law as it ought to be, and between local and universal expository jurisprudence, and that he took the subject matter of universal expository jurisprudence to be terms (or concepts) such as ‘obligation’, ‘right’ and ‘validity’ that are common to all legal systems. He points out that Bentham introduced a method for analysing or clarifying such terms, namely, the method of paraphrasis, and argues, contrary to Hart, that Bentham was neither a substantive nor a methodological legal positivist. Bentham’s utilitarianism, characterised by its naturalistic basis and its claim to govern every aspect of human action, led him to conceive of value judgements as a form of empirical statement; hence the idea of a conceptual separation of fact and value, as required by substantive legal positivism, would have made no sense to him. Moreover, Bentham would not have accepted the methodological view that expository jurisprudence is a value-neutral enterprise, since it was undertaken just for its utility-promoting value.

A Taxonomy to Understand Scaling of Innovation by African Enterprises

Grounded in empirical research findings and key statements in the literature, this article proposes a four-part taxonomy for mapping African knowledge-based enterprises’ efforts to achieve scale. The taxonomy, adapted from the framework proposed by Uvin et al. (2000), is comprised of scaling by expanding coverage; by broadening activities; by changing behaviour; and by building sustainability. The article sets out the framework and provides examples of the four scaling dimensions from empirical research conducted in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa.

Externalization of the European Union Migration Regime: The Case of Turkey

ABSTRACT Migration management has become a top policy concern for the European Union (EU) and a significant implication of this has been to externalize the control and containment practices of migration. As a neighboring country maintaining accession negotiations to become an EU member, Turkey represents a primary area where this externalization occurs. Using a historical case analysis, this article explores how the EU influences Turkey’s migration regime through securitized policies and practices of externalization. It argues that the EU further securitizes Turkey’s already securitarian migration regime by employing the principle of conditionality. Upon providing a brief discussion on securitization of migration and the EU’s securitized externalization practices, the study examines Turkey’s immigration and asylum policies while underlining that the EU has been accelerating the country's already securitarian migration framework through stricter visa regime protocols, increased border security measures, and certain bilateral arrangements including the Readmission Agreement and the Joint Action Plan. It also outlines challenges and recommendations with a conclusion that security-oriented externalized practices diminish the immigrant rights and reinforce uneven socio-economic and political structures. It suggests the need to enforce broader humanitarian perspectives for migration practices. For these analyses, the study utilizes secondary data consisting of previous empirical studies, institutional documents, reports, news articles, and official statements.

On the Pragmatic Turn in Political Philosophy

Abstract Imagine some policy P about which a scholar said “The best way to help people escape from poverty would be P.” Is this a claim about political philosophy or economics? On the one hand, it seems to be an empirical statement, but there is a normative component as well. Besides the obvious normativity of “best,” there is the tacit implication that poverty is bad and that this is at least some reason to endorse P. But the fact that one can easily imagine either a political philosopher or an economist making the claim points to one reason for the recent growth of programs in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), programs of study which emphasize the interdisciplinary connection between political philosophy and the social sciences. Political philosophy is, of course, philosophy, which means it is a combination of analytic and normative tools, but since its subject matter involves human behavior and social institutions, empirical study of those seems like it should be relevant as well. Since political philosophy addresses questions about the social order, findings from the social sciences are surely relevant, chiefly from economics and political science. At first glance this seems directly analogous to the way philosophy of cognitive science would find relevance from work in neurology. But social scientists are themselves often beholden to normative priors which frame their methodology. The increased popularity of and growth of programs in PPE is therefore definitely beneficial both to the philosophers and to the social scientists who explore these issues. However, while the empirical is relevant, and, I would argue, essential, to good work in political philosophy, I would resist the suggestion that the empirical is exhaustive and that the philosophical is either superfluous or unwarranted.

Japhetic grammatology

Nikolai Marr has attracted scholarly attention, but largely in a cautionary manner. His work is read as an ideological incursion into the science of language. More charitable assessments contextualize him within oriental studies in the Russian Empire and, in turn, early Soviet nationality policy. Yet ever since his fall from official favour in 1950, scholars have been reluctant to assess his scholarly contributions on their own merit. This essay is an attempt to reconsider Marr by historicizing the mainstream school of thought against which he is compared and found wanting. The pivotal figure for linguistics as we know it today was Ferdinand de Saussure, whose rigorous separation of the systematic synchronic moment of language from its protean historical existence solved a problem which had confounded his contemporaries. It made it possible to treat language as systematic from moment to moment, despite being subject to unforeseeable factors when viewed through time. In drawing this distinction Saussure fatefully privileged speech over writing as the truest instantiation of language. This allowed existing scientific-racist assumptions about the determining influence of anatomy on speech to remain unchallenged. Marr’s early career paralleled that of Saussure’s, yet when it came to the philosophy of language he started from very different premises. Marr identified the origin of language with gesture and tool use. His understanding of evolution departed radically from the organicism common to his contemporaries. Marr’s empirical statements about language are fanciful and cannot easily be recuperated. However, his work represents a tantalizing path not taken in the history of linguistics. As such it is worth reading Marr in the light of Derrida’s reading of Saussure. By bringing Marr into dialogue with better-known thinkers, and historicizing Derrida’s inaugural act of deconstruction, we can sketch the contours of a counter-tradition in linguistics.

African Art in Deep Time: De‐race‐ing Aesthetics and De‐racializing Visual Art

In two essays in the ART/Artifact (1988) exhibition catalog, white American museum curator Susan Vogel and white American philosopher Arthur Danto pronounce that Africans do not distinguish between art and nonart. Although seemingly objective empirical statements, their assertions about Africa and its art are racially based ruminations of a white supremacist worldview. I argue that in theorizing within the category of race they produced racialized aesthetics that commit the Eurocentric fallacy of upholding systemic racist objectives. I argue that (1) their assertions fail to be about African art, but about hegemony and power; (2) as the longest enduring artistic activity of humanity, African art is an important check to racialized aesthetics; (3) art is produced outside the category of race and from a critically conscious awareness of the world; and (4) art bespeaks creativity and presupposes the artistic and moral values of a culture in the manipulation and transformation of physical reality.