The text examines the public stance of media-visible skeptics who present themselves as scientific authorities on paranormal topics, questioning the gap between their claimed expertise and the actual rigor of their scientific output. By comparing their visibility, awards, and publication venues with those of researchers who genuinely investigate exceptional experiences using empirical methods, the analysis highlights how much media skepticism relies on rethorical performance rather than substantive scientific contribution. The contrast helps clarify the real epistemic value of each group's work and distinguishes genuine research from public posturing.

We offer a novel interpretation of Frank Ramsey’s talk, “On There Being No Discussable Subject,” delivered to the Cambridge Apostles Society in 1925. We suggest that Ramsey aimed to present a reductio ad absurdum argument. His argument was that if the prevailing philosophical outlook among the Apostles were true, then we would conclude that there is nothing to discuss in the Society. Ramsey believed that this conclusion is absurd. His point was to challenge the Apostles by telling them that their theoretical philosophical commitments fail to explain why, indeed, there is much to discuss in the Society in practice. Exploring Ramsey’s reductio argument motivates a new historical explanation for the pragmatist philosophy he developed in the second half of the 1920s. It also facilitates a new reading of his pragmatism and its significance. More specifically, we argue that Ramsey developed his pragmatism partly due to his concern that the prevailing philosophical outlook within Cambridge-based intellectual circles, such as the Apostles Society, seemed to fail to account for the epistemic value of their members’ non-expert conversations with each other. His pragmatism left us hints about how to make sense of the epistemology of disagreements in our daily social lives.

Abstract While research on oppression has focused on the various ways in which oppressed or marginalized individuals are disadvantaged, standpoint epistemologists have long been arguing that the standpoints achieved from oppressed social locations can provide the marginalized with an epistemic advantage. While in themselves laudable, we venture, discussions of the advantage thesis tend to continue a tradition in mainstream epistemology that undermines the crucial role affectivity plays in disclosing facts about the world by framing the debate in purely epistemic terms. Bringing standpoint theory into conversation with contemporary philosophy of emotions, we argue, allows us to recognize the epistemic value of emotions and to see that some knowledge the marginalized can gain about the workings of oppression while cultivating their standpoint is at root fundamentally and irreducibly affective. This lends not only more credibility to the advantage thesis in general, but it also allows to arbitrate between two different readings of this thesis that are currently a matter of controversy: marginalized standpoints afford knowledge that is, due to its fundamentally affective nature, not just easier for the marginalized than the dominant to obtain, but in principle inaccessible to the dominant.

Abstract Scientific writing and reading scientific literature are important ways for university students to learn about science. However, common scientific writing practices may shape students’ understanding of the nature of science (NOS) in unintended ways. In this study, we investigated epistemological notions underlying scientific writing practices of biomedical bachelor’s students. We examined bachelor’s theses, as exemplars of how students apply what they learned about scientific writing and compared them with students’ explicit views expressed in interviews and written reflections. We tentatively conclude that bachelor’s students generally use conventional writing practices, such as the avoidance of first-person pronouns and reliance on objective language. These practices often seem to convey epistemological notions that are largely inconsistent with students’ explicit views of NOS and that regularly misrepresent contemporary understandings of, for example, the inferential, tentative, and socially constructed nature of science. In interviews, students regularly struggled to reconcile this discrepancy between scientific writing practices and their views of NOS. The main value of this study lies in providing initial evidence for the concept of epistemological notions and highlighting it as an important area for future research within NOS scholarship. Additionally, we discuss implications for science education and propose strategies for improving the integration of epistemological awareness in scientific writing instruction. Scientific writing lessons can be used for explicit reflection on what constitutes scientific knowledge, which research practices are considered rigorous, the epistemic and non-epistemic values of science, and the role of inference, theory, and social negotiation in the creation and acceptance of scientific knowledge.

This study aimed to identify key perceived consumption values in the context of upcycled food and examine how these perceived consumption values influence consumer attitudes and purchase intentions among young females. Additionally, the study explored differences in perceived consumption values, attitudes, and purchase intentions based on levels of food neophobia and environmental awareness (EA). A self-administered online survey was conducted among female college students at a university in Jeollanam-do, South Korea, in April 2025. A total of 236 valid responses were collected. To test the proposed relationships between variables, factor analysis and multiple regression were performed. Additionally, independent samples t-tests were used to examine differences in consumer perceptions based on levels of food neophobia and EA. Exploratory factor analysis identified 4 perceived consumption values constructs, emotional, epistemic, functional, and economic values, excluding social value due to factor cross-loading. Multiple regression analysis showed that emotional (β = 0.434) and epistemic values (β = 0.324) were significant predictors of positive attitude toward upcycled food. Purchase intention was significantly influenced by emotional (β = 0.409), epistemic (β = 0.224), and economic values (β = 0.145). Independent samples t-tests showed significant group differences across all variables for food neophobia (P < 0.001), with neophilic consumers demonstrating more favorable value perceptions, attitude, and purchase intention. For EA, significant group differences were observed across all variables except epistemic value. These findings suggest that emotional and epistemic appeals are particularly effective in engaging young female consumers in the upcycled food market. The strong acceptance observed among environmentally aware and less neophobic consumers underscores the importance of emphasizing environmental benefits, emotional engagement, and perceived value to improve consumer acceptance of upcycled food.

The development of digital technology has made smartphones a primary necessity for Generation Z, especially in the premium segment such as iPhone and Samsung. This study aims to analyze the influence of functional, emotional, social, and epistemic values on brand preference and purchase decisions, with brand preference as a mediating variable. The study employs a quantitative approach using an explanatory survey design involving 124 Generation Z students from the Faculty of Economics and Business at Dian Nuswantoro University. Data were collected through a five-point Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using SEM-PLS with SmartPLS 4. The results show that functional and epistemic values have a significant effect on Brand Preference and Purchase Decision, while emotional and social values do not have a significant effect. Brand Preference was found to have a significant effect on Purchase Decision and mediated the effect of functional and epistemic values on Purchase Decision. These findings indicate that Gen Z considers rational and novelty aspects more than emotional and social status aspects when purchasing premium smartphones.

ABSTRACT Many well educated and apparently rational people claim that vaccines are bad, that the Earth is flat and that human activity is not globally warming the planet, while knowing very well the scientific consensus on these issues. Such science denialism might seem very puzzling. In this article, I argue that many attempts to make sense of it fail, most notably because they confuse or identify denialism with conspiracy theories. Unlike conspiracy theories, I will argue, denialism is exoteric and intuitive; it often expresses a form of epistemic populism triggered by the hypercomplex and counterintuitive character of science and its correlative exclusion of laymen. Understood this way, denialism turns out not only to be ‘normally rational’, it is also positively reasonable in the sense that it is justified by reasons that are not generally decisive, of course, but whose rejection requires in-depth philosophical reflection. Indeed, it can be justified by appealing to ‘democratic’ epistemic values such as epistemic autonomy and what Harding (2005) calls strong objectivity, and by rejecting certain epistemic values that may legitimately appear problematic, such as the epistemic deference to authorities and the objectivity, perhaps not inclusive enough, of our sciences.

The paper argues for nuancing the understanding of epistemic goods and evaluations by analysing the role of mentors in epistemic communities, with a particular focus on Socrates. While traditional epistemic evaluations emphasise the production of knowledge, some epistemic agents contribute to the epistemic well-being of their communities in ways that do not directly yield these standard goods. For example, the primary role of Socrates was not as a knowledge producer, but as a mentor who guided and educated others. To capture the epistemic significance of such figures, I propose a distinction between product-like and agent-centred epistemic goods. I provide nuance to our understanding of epistemic value by linking it to the epistemic well-being of a community and different ways to improve it.

Purpose This research aims to investigate the psychological decision-making associations of Generation Z customers, focusing on their conversion from metaverse experiences to purchase intentions in blockchain-based digital twins of quick-service restaurants (QSRs). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from Gen Z metaverse users who have visited virtual QSR branches and used cryptocurrency payments (CPs). A total of 576 respondents were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The findings indicated that functional, social, emotional, epistemic, and conditional values positively affect telepresence, which, in turn, significantly enhances purchase intentions for real-world delivery from blockchain-based digital twins of QSRs. Furthermore, this study revealed that perceived realism and CP self-efficacy positively moderate the relationship between telepresence and purchase intention. Practical implications The study’s findings provide detailed and actionable insights for QSR operators, marketers, and the metaverse platform developers in formulating effective metaverse marketing strategies. Originality/value To our best knowledge, this study is one of the first to synthetically explore the psychological antecedents and moderators shaping Gen Z customers’ purchase intentions for real-world delivery from blockchain-based digital twins of QSRs, drawing on the cognitive-affective-conative model, theory of consumption values, and social cognitive theory.

ABSTRACT This paper argues that Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time forges unity through fragmentation, braiding childhood/adulthood, science/liberal arts, and gender into a single epistemic inquiry. Against scholarship that treats these domains as detachable topics and confirmation of already conceived ideas, this study contends that the novel exposes the historical manufacture and political policing of boundaries and dramatizes a shared desire for unity, a desire that has not yet been fully named or justified. In doing so, The Child in Time reclaims the autonomy and epistemic value of fiction as a mode of independent thinking in its own right.

Abstract In the recent literature, moderate naturalistic metaphysicians have been attempting to justify the existence of ‘free range’ analytic metaphysics by employing an analogy with pure mathematics: just as pure mathematics is justified by its potential applications to science, so too, they argue, is analytic metaphysics justified by its potential applications in philosophy of science. Employing standard textbook logical tools to evaluate analogies, we argue that the analogy doesn’t hold: there are relevant dissimilarities between the two disciplines. The grounds and domain of application of metaphysics and mathematics to science are ultimately different, and arguments intended to justify the epistemic value of metaphysics for science often presuppose its value rather than demonstrate it. This is why metaphysics is not like mathematics.

ABSTRACT With various travel purposes, cultural tourism has gained attention from academia and practice and has been reaffirmed by the UNWTO of the main part of accounting for over 39% of worldwide tourism arrivals. To address these critical issues, this study used 459 tourists who have experienced cultural tourism to investigate the relationships between cultural values, perceived values and culture shock. The results show the mediation roles of perceived values that link the relationship between cultural values and culture shock. The mutual relationship among subdimensions of perceived values (e.g., functional, social, emotional and epistemic values) are inspected. Additionally, the moderating roles of word of mouth (WOM) are conducted in the culture shock estimation process. The alternative models of the second factor transformed first order provide theoretical and managerial implications for tourism and hospitality studies.

Digital pathology enables large multi-center studies of histological specimens, but differences in staining protocols and slide quality can compromise the comparability of quantitative results. We analyzed 686 PicroSirius Red-stained liver biopsies from 4 independent cohorts spanning more than 20 clinical sites to assess how stain variability affects automated fibrosis quantification and model uncertainty. An U-Net ensemble was trained to segment collagen and to estimate pixel- and tile-level predictive uncertainty. Across markedly heterogeneous staining conditions, the ensemble achieved strong segmentation performance (Dice 0.83-0.90) and produced informative uncertainty maps that identified artifacts and out-of-distribution regions. Epistemic uncertainty values were typically below 0.002, providing a practical criterion for flagging unreliable predictions. Our results demonstrate that ensemble-based uncertainty estimation complements stain-standardization efforts by quantifying prediction confidence directly from model outputs, improving the reliability and interpretability of collagen proportionate-area measurements across multi-center datasets. This framework supports more trustworthy and reproducible digital-pathology workflows for fibrosis assessment and other histological applications.

Epistemic aims and values of quantum computation in foundational research papers and implications for education

Abstract “Labor” as a specific domain of embodied experience and a source of imagery and figurative language in early China remains understudied. The study invites critical attention to this topic, focusing on four types of imagery of labor—plowing, weaving, fishing, and hunting—which constituted an interpenetrated rhetorical body sustaining varying socio-political and intellectual agendas. Either foregrounded with expressive rhetorical figures like metaphor and allegory or sedimented in commonplace language, the four types of labor imagery emerged and proliferated to present a constellation of moral, epistemic, and aesthetic values toward the characterization of specific practices of ruling, learning, speaking, and writing, as well as the intellectual agency thereof. This rhetorical phenomenon emerged in pre-imperial China and gained new prominence during Han times. Especially since the first century bce , the four tropes of labor were made particularly useful to characterize a growing body of intellectual labor, which was increasingly engaged and coupled with literary learning and production in a manner of self-oriented accumulation and manifestation. This change worked in concert with a forcefully emerging and proliferating literary culture, as well as its embedded scholarly aesthetics and ideology.

This article offers an autobiographical and reflexive engagement with the work of Barbara Czarniawska, foregrounding the epistemic and pedagogical value of narrative methodologies in contemporary social science research. Drawing on Czarniawska’s theorisation of narrative as both method and object, the contribution explores how auto/biographical writing functions as a space of mediation between life, text, and scholarly identity. Through a personal re-reading structured around Hernadi’s triad of explication, explanation, and exploration, the article reconstructs three formative moments in the author’s academic trajectory as student, doctoral researcher, and lecturer each corresponding to a different mode of engagement with Czarniawska’s thought. Rather than treating biography and autobiography as self-referential or methodologically weak genres, the paper argues that narrative reflexivity constitutes a necessary condition for sensemaking in organizational and social studies. By situating Czarniawska not merely as an object of study but as an active presence within the author’s own narrative practice, the article demonstrates how scholarly identities are performatively constituted through storytelling. In doing so, it challenges positivist assumptions about objectivity and generalisability, reaffirming narrative inquiry as a rigorous and ethically grounded approach to knowledge production. Ultimately, the article positions Czarniawska’s legacy as a living methodological invitation, one that continues to shape how scholars learn, teach, and narrate the social world.

ABSTRACT The expansion of e‐commerce in the fashion sector has prompted exploration of the factors influencing the intention to purchase through this channel. Drawing on the theory of consumption values, this research examines how the usability of e‐commerce (functional value), together with satisfaction (epistemic value) and consumer happiness (emotional value), impacts the purchase intentions of online fashion consumers. To do so, a mixed methodology has been proposed. First, a survey (471) was conducted, and a structural equation model was developed to analyze the relationships among these concepts. Second, an in‐depth interview (18) has been proposed with e‐commerce experts. The results obtained demonstrate the connection between these variables and the degree of influence of each one on the consumer's purchase intention. The research reveals significant findings on consumer behavior. On the one hand, the importance of usability in purchasing intention. On the other hand, the crucial role of the emotional component in the purchasing process underlines satisfaction and happiness as key emotions for the success of an online business.

This study examines how consumption values and cultural orientation jointly shape consumer adoption of plant-based meat (PBM), an increasingly significant category in global sustainable food markets. Drawing on the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV), we investigate how functional, emotional, social, conditional, and epistemic values influence purchase intention and subsequent purchase behavior, and whether these effects differ by cultural orientation (individualism–collectivism). A quantitative survey of 446 consumers in Canada—a multicultural setting—was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results support that all five consumption values significantly predict purchase intention (p < 0.05), with emotional and functional values exerting the strongest effects. Purchase intention in turn strongly predicts actual purchase behavior. Moderation tests reveal that cultural orientation conditions several of these effects: functional, emotional, and social value influences vary significantly across individualist vs. collectivist consumers, whereas epistemic and conditional value effects remain more invariant. A multi-group analysis confirms these distinctions, suggesting that some value drivers are culture-bound, whereas others are more universal. The results add to international consumer research by combining value-based and cultural points of view in the context of sustainable food innovation. From a managerial perspective, the results provide guidance for market entry strategies. Firms should emphasize sensory quality and personal benefits in individualistic markets, versus collective well-being and social approval in collectivist contexts, to enhance PBM adoption. These insights inform culturally attuned positioning and communication strategies for the growing global plant-based foods sector.

The doctor-patient relationship is a central factor in healthcare delivery. Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents an emerging technological frontier whose implications remain to be fully clarified. Evidence-based studies provide reliable analyses of effects and offer a deeper understanding of both limits and benefits. This narrative review aimed to explore the role of AI in modern clinical practice, with particular reference to its effects on the doctor-patient relationship. Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched between 1 and 10 December 2025 to identify suitable studies. Inclusion criteria comprised English-language articles published in the last 10 years, with a direct focus on the doctor-patient relationship and exclusively employing empirical research designs. A total of 21 studies published between 2021 and 2025 were identified as eligible. The most common AI applications were conceptual systems discussed at a perceptual level (thirteen studies), followed by simulated AI decision-making scenarios (two studies). Implemented AI applications were less frequent and mainly included AI-based clinical decision support systems, administrative and documentation-focused tools, and a small number of conversational or relational AI applications (six studies in total). These studies focused on patients, healthcare professionals, and medical students preparing for future clinical roles. Results highlighted generally positive patient attitudes toward AI, often mediated by educational level, technological familiarity, and risk awareness. Among healthcare professionals, positive attitudes also emerged, although concerns regarding epistemic and professional values were noted. Greater involvement of clinicians in its development was consistently recommended. Findings from academic samples aligned with those of patients and clinicians, showing that integrating AI with traditional clinical practices was consistently preferred. Empathy, compassion, effective communication, accuracy, ethics, and trust were highlighted as fundamental values essential for mitigating risks. These elements are fundamental to the effective implementation of technologies aimed at improving clinical practice, while an integrative perspective is needed to safeguard the doctor-patient relationship. Overall, the use of AI in medical practice emerged as promising. Further studies should strengthen the empirical basis of the field to support an evidence-based approach to AI integration in healthcare.

Abstract While an increasing number of studies report that GenAI can be a powerful agent to facilitate students’ learning of science, these studies focused on cognitive and affective outcomes and did not characterize GenAI’s epistemic outcomes in science. Here, we argue that for students to be able to ethically and responsibly adopt GenAI in their science education, educational technologists need to fine-tune GenAI so that GenAI can communicate its own influence in the production of scientific knowledge. Alongside technical fine-tuning, an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of GenAI in communicating epistemic outcomes can be coupled with teachers’ orchestration of epistemic discourses in classrooms. To address this, this study examines whether and how a recent version of GenAI model, GPT-4o, can represent the nature of science and the nature of GenAI-influenced science. Drawing on the Family Resemblance Approach (FRA), we interviewed GPT-4o about the categories in the FRA’s cognitive–epistemic system, including aims and values , methods and methodological rules , knowledge , and practices . GPT-4o demonstrated some aspects of the nature of science and the nature of GenAI-influenced science. Also, GPT-4o demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses to carry out epistemic differentiation between the nature of science and the nature of GenAI-influenced science. This has implications for the design of classroom instruction that capitalizes on the strengths of GenAI tools and fosters students’ epistemic learning outcomes in science.