Epistemological Dimensions Research Articles

Newman, Wesley and the logic of unity: An inductive approach to ecumenism

It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to the Festschrift dedicated to Professor Johan Buitendag, Emeritus Dean, Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. While his own work often examined the relationship between theology and natural science, he was also passionate about ecumenism and, in that spirit, the present essay utilised what might be described as an inductive approach to an important ecumenical question, the unity between Methodists and Catholics. Ecumenical dialogue is often undertaken from a theological and dogmatic perspective. This essay took a different approach in that it sought to inductively examine what might be described as the inner logic of two ecclesial systems (Methodist and Catholic). In doing so, it was premised upon an Aristotelian philosophical principle, epistemic fit, in that it presupposed that both these ecclesial bodies possess an intrinsic logic that can be brought to the surface in order to exhibit parallel contours in the wider ecclesial terrain.Contribution: This article fits well within the scope of HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies in that it contributed to a new subdiscipline in epistemology, which explores the conceptual and epistemological dimensions of ecclesiology. Using the concept of epistemic fit, the article offered an inductive approach to some of the practical issues that emerge in ecumenical dialogue.

The Epistemological Side of Ontology

Is it possible to draw a border line between ontology and epistemology? A positive answer to this question looks attractive, mainly because it reflects convictions deeply entrenched in our common sense view of the world. However, anyone wishing to clarify the distinction between the ontological and the epistemological dimensions meets problems. This is due to the fact that the separation between factual and conceptual is not clean, but rather fuzzy. It is certainly correct to state that science means to offer correct information about the world, but the extent to which it succeeds in accomplishing this task is always questionable. We cannot claim that the picture provided by today science - our current scientific image of the world - is absolutely correct, because the history of science itself shows us that any such statement is likely to be rejected by future generations. While it may be recognized that science purports to offer a correct description of the real world, the past experience should also prompt us to accept its claims sub condicione, and to view them as merely provisional.

ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY PERSPECTIVE ON BIRR AL-WALIDAIN

Along with the times, not a few people are getting away from the values of the Qur’an. This includes the causes of moral decline. This study aims to determine the philosophical concept of birr al-walidain in Surah al-Ahqof verse 15. This study is qualitative research with the type of library research. The data collection technique used is technical documentation. The data analysis used was the tahlili interpretation method. The results of this study obtained, ontologically, the concept of birr al-walidain is an intermediary for devotion to Allah. In the epistemological dimension, the role model of parents is the main source in birr al-walidain. Whereas in the axiological dimension, the concept of birr al-walidain is included in the transcendental virtue which is obtained through character strength (psychological composition, both process, and mechanism) with spirituality (religion, faith, and purpose)

Scientific Realism and Blocking Strategies*

ABSTRACT My target is the epistemological dimension of the realism debate. After establishing a stance voluntarist framework with a Jamesian background, drawing mostly on Wylie, Chakravarty, and van Fraassen, I argue that current voluntarists are too permissive. I show that especially various anti-realist stances but also some realist and selective realist stances block themselves from refutation by the history of science. I argue that such stances should be rejected. Finally, I propose that any disagreement that cannot be resolved by this strategy frequently boils down to an epistemic value disagreement about balancing the truth-goal.

Picturesque Mediations: Adalbert Stifter, Washington Irving, and the Transfiguration of the Mundane

AbstractThis essay examines the Germanophone realist Adalbert Stifter's reception of Washington Irving. Pushing against the traditional narrative of German realism's apolitical provinciality, it argues that media technologies from the British picturesque tradition, transmitted by way of Irving, aided Stifter in obscuring his cosmopolitan and colonialist ideologies. Picturesque observational practices, which emphasized the imaginative and artistic “improvement” of reality, overlap considerably with German realist techniques of transfiguration, and Irving's and Stifter's texts both emphasize the epiphanic experience of life and art, of reality and its mediation. Linking the epistemological dimensions of both periods to early statistical thought and illustrating how the authors’ preferred genres of the sketch and study pull from the same artistic and media-historical discourse, the essay uncovers striking continuities between the Germanophone and American literary contexts, recasting German realism as fully enmeshed within the global context it seemingly disavows.

Los hombres del saber de indios y cristianos en los sermones de Francisco de Avila (Lima, siglo XVII)

The analysis of the sermons of the Tratado de los Evangelios by the Cuzco priest Francisco de Ávila allows us to problematize the conception and characterization of the literary man beyond its political role within colonial knowledge as ecclesiastical institutions defined from the relationship with the indigenous populations. Avila incorporates the epistemological dimension into the narrative of the political and value-based justification of the Hispanic conquest of the Incas and he introduces the subjects of knowledge and their knowledge as part of the conflict between Indians and Christians. The relationship between knowledge and power that Avila presents are aspects to be discussed about the characteristics of the literate elite in the mid-17th century located as cross-cultural agent on the borderline between the subject of baroque science and the colonial intellectual.

The Epistemological Dimension of Emotional Feeling and Other Affective Phenomena

Müller's position-taking view of emotions takes issue with the widely endorsed philosophical notion that emotional feelings are a form of consciousness in which we become acquainted with the evaluative properties of objects and events. Müller rejects this perceptual theory of emotions and casts doubt on the idea that it is through emotional feeling that we develop an awareness of value. In so doing, his proposal amounts to a denial of any epistemic function of emotional feeling. Challenging such a radical move, in my commentary, I discuss several affective phenomena in which feelings do seem to serve an epistemic function. These cases pose problems for Müller's version of the position-taking view of emotion, at least in its current form.

Ecologia de saberes e línguas na produção acadêmica latino-americana

Abstract The Latin American academic production is analyzed relating to its visibility, internationalization, and the ecology of knowledges and languages. Bibliometric tools were used to form a corpus of 2,939 studies in the Scopus database between 2010-2019, analyzed in two dimensions: the output/editorial dimension, and the input/epistemological dimension, focusing on three aspects: (1) evolution per year and per country; (2) most used languages and journals; and (3) international collaborations. The results of the epistemological dimension showed a greater collaboration with authors from the Global North, especially with Spain, the United States and England (in the case of Mexico and Chile) and Portugal (in the case of Brazil). Regarding the quantitative evolution, a steady growth was observed in Latin America, with Brazil occupying the first position. Spanish predominated as the language of publication, although a trend towards English was observed in the second five-year period analyzed, surpassing Portuguese. Taken together, the results of the study suggest that the patterns of academic production in Latin America do not show an ecology of knowledges and languages.

Fazlur Rahman's Thoughts of Double Movement in the Context of the Development of Unity of Sciences

The paradigms of rationalism, empiricism and positivism as the basis for the development of Western science adopted by the Islamic world have led to the emergence of a dichotomy and dualism that puts science and religion a vis a. The implication is that science becomes value-less, wild, secular and sometimes destructive. Science and religion are two independent entities, do not interfere with each other and are in different zones, even their relationship is sometimes colored by conflict that negates each other. To find a solution to this situation, ideas and concepts for the integration of science and religion, such as de-westernization and Islamization of knowledge, emerged from Islamic thinkers as an effort to build a more harmonious, conducive, and constructive relationship between science and religion. However, this idea received resistance from Fazlurrahman because according to him science is objective so that Islamization or dewesternization is not needed, but rather integration or unity of science. This research is a library research. Sources of data were obtained through various written works, both in the form of books and journals, to find out how relevant Fazlurrahman's thoughts are in the context of developing unity of science in the Islamic world. The results of this study offer the concept of returning knowledge to its natural state by placing Allah as the main source of knowledge in the context of the ontological dimension; making the universe (kauniyyah verse) and sacred texts of the holy book (qauliyyah verse) a source of knowledge in the context of the epistemological dimension; in its application and implementation, science must have a moral responsibility to humanistic values ​​in the context of the axiological dimension.

Классическая и неклассическая эпистемология пещер (часть 2)

In the second part of the article, the authors “collect” the non-classical model of epistemology of caves, determining its paradigmatic specificity and characterizing the analytical approach that is fundamental to it. It is argued that the origins of this type of epistemology of caves can be found in antiquity as well, namely, in book 13 of Homer’s Odyssey and in the exegesis On the Cave of the Nymphs by Porphyry of Tyre, dedicated to a fragment in this book. In contrast to the classical, the non-classical model is defined as a glance-into-the-Beyond. From the authors’ point of view, the sensual Homeric cave turns the “darkness of the mystery” into the basic symbol of the non-classical epistemology of caves. Mystery is understood as the unrevealed or the unresolved, that is, something that transforms darkness into the “charming darkness”, i.e. into the synergy of the visible and the intelligible. As a result of the cognizer’s transitions into the depths of the “dark zone” of the cave, the latter loses its status as the Beyond, since darkness ceases to be the limit of cognition. Thus, the apophatic approach inevitably becomes the fundamental approach of the non-classical model. It is associated with the cognitive sciences, such as glaciospeleology and astrobiology. The authors step-by-step reveal the anthropological and spelestological dimensions of the non-classical epistemology of caves, focusing on the dominant – speleological and (more broadly) geological – dimension, which expands to the cosmic dimension. Caves and other cavities inside the Earth’s crust, primarily under the ocean floor and glacial layers, are considered not just as keepers of the mystery of the origin of life on Earth, but as models of such keepers on other planets of the Solar System and analogues of molecular clouds. It is emphasized that, due to the fixation on the search for the first principle of the nature of all matter, the non-classical model is rather close to early Greek philosophy, e.g. to the theories of Heraclitus of Ephesus. A conclusion for the two parts of the article is formulated: the anthropological dimension, which is key to both the classical and non-classical epistemology of caves, indicates the dynamics of redefining the role of the cave in human life.

In and out of the cage: informational privacy in Henry James’s In the Cage

Abstract The issue of informational privacy emerged from the modern, technological landscape during the fin de siècle. The novelist Henry James approached this issue in his letters and novella In the Cage (1898), concurrent with lawyers Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis’s seminal legal discourse of the right to privacy. Despite the time affinity, James had recourse to the power of societal ethos in his works to unravel privacy issues, which diverged from the lawyers’ demand for legal rights. Still, the concurrence and divergence over informational privacy resonate in examining the tripartite relationship among informational privacy, modern technology and humans’ freedom. By analysing the epistemological dimensions of informational privacy and a crucial scene of trial in James’s In the Cage, this article argues that the protagonist’s choice to stay in or out of the informational “cage” invites the reader to reconsider between and beyond the private sphere and the public sphere. Privacy as a moral or legal right is dependent on the dynamics between the desire to know and the intention of intrusion as well as the negotiation between the public and private spheres. Tracing how the privacy issue emerged in the historical context, we hold that James’s text as the interface of law and literature echoes the texture of moral and legal complexity in today’s informational privacy issues.

Relational Epistemology and Amazonian Land‐based Education: Learning the Ideas of Intra‐dependency in the Central Purus River

This article discusses relational land‐based education in the Brazilian Amazon and the idea of intra‐dependency. The data produced with the Apurinã presents the intra‐relational spaces of knowing created between different beings, human and other‐than‐human, which contrast with the notion of individual learners. Apurinã co‐existence in learning also sheds light on the emotional dimension of Amazonian relational epistemology, while its inclusion of human–environment relations can contribute to taking seriously the practice of care toward other‐than‐human beings.

Big Data in Maritime Archaeology: Challenges and Prospects from the Middle East and North Africa

ABSTRACT The Middle East and North Africa have witnessed a surfeit of geospatial data collection projects, resulting in big databases with powerful deductive capacities. Despite the valuable insights and expansive evidentiary record offered by those databases, emphasis on anthropogenic threats to cultural heritage, combined with a limited integration of local perspectives, have raised important questions on the ethical and epistemological dimensions of big data. This paper contextualizes maritime cultural heritage (MCH) in those debates through the lens of the Maritime Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project (MarEA). MarEA is developing a unique for the region database for MCH designed to amalgamate a baseline record emphasizing spatial location, state of preservation, and vulnerability. This record will form a stepping stone toward finer-grained research on MCH and its interdisciplinary intersections. It is also developed as an information resource to facilitate local collaborators in prioritizing site monitoring and developing documentation, management, and mitigation strategies.

From epistemology to policy: reorienting philosophy courses for science students

Philosophy of science has traditionally focused on the epistemological dimensions of scientific practice at the expense of the ethical and political questions scientists encounter when addressing questions of policy in advisory contexts. In this article, I will explore how an exclusive focus on epistemology and theoretical reason can function to reinforce common, yet flawed assumptions concerning the role of scientific knowledge in policy decision making when reproduced in philosophy courses for science students. In order to address this concern, I will argue that such courses should supplement the traditional focus on theoretical reason with an analysis of the practical reasoning employed by scientists in advisory contexts. Later sections of this paper outline a teaching strategy by which this can be achieved that consists of two steps: the first examines idealized examples of scientific advising in order to highlight the irreducible role played by moral reasoning in justifying policy recommendations. The second employs argument analysis to reveal implicit moral assumptions in actual advisory reports that form the basis for class discussion. This paper concludes by examining some of the wider benefits that can be expected from adopting such an approach.

Solidarity acts in the context of language diversity: Students’ encounters with epistemological difference

This study investigates how grade five students in a multilingual mathematics classroom where the language of instruction (Swedish) is the only shared language act to inhabit the learning space in solidarity as they encounter epistemological difference. The study contributes with empirical knowledge on students’ solidarity acts when they engage in explanatory conversations in whole class or small group discussions. Theoretically, the study contributes with coordination of Levinasian conceptions of solidarity and inferentialism to capture solidarity in epistemological dimensions of explanatory conversations among students. The study provides 4 different events that illuminate students’ solidarity acts in encounters with epistemological difference. The events include willingness to accept otherness, substituting oneself for the other, disruption and idiolect bridging, and endurance in giving reasons when being asked nonnormatively appropriate questions.

Ergonomic, epistemological and existential challenges of integrating digital tools into school mathematics

Despite half a century of sustained advocacy and effort, the degree to which use of digital mathematical tools has become integral to the practice of school mathematics remains limited. The main sections of this paper identify three fundamental dimensions of challenge to such integration, illustrating the kinds of adaptation required. The ergonomic dimension relates to environmental and cognitive features which structure interaction between humans and digital tools in the everyday practice of school mathematics. The epistemological dimension relates to disciplinary and didactical knowledge available to guide use of digital tools in school mathematics. The existential dimension concerns conceptions of self and subject which shape use (and non-use) of such tools. In the light of this framework, a further section reviews the impact of the recent pandemic shock on use of digital tools in school mathematics.

How Anthropocene Might Save the World: Metamorphosis

The Anthropocene has created a new cartography. It moves between the rejection of scientific disciplines, overcoming dualism and a change of coordinates with which to interpret the world. The Anthropocene unites two fields of knowledge: geology and anthropology. The “Axial Age” divides daily practices (the World of life) and the objective view of nature (the World of science). The Anthropocene” by Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer has two distinct parts; the first establishes “a period of time”, and the second establishes an “epistemic tool”. This paper is intended to illustrate the epistemological dimension of the Anthropocene. Eduard Suess, Antonio Stopani, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Vladimir Vernadsky, etc., anticipated the concept of the Anthropocene a century ago. The hypothesis of the earth as a “living organism” is inspired by the Goethean Science or Naturwissenschaft of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It reinforces the character of “rupture” that the Anthropocene has. The Gaia Hypothesis, which is built from elements of Earth science systems, sees the pressing need for a global system and to overcome the barriers between disciplines. The Anthropocene allows both ancient quarrels and the roots of philosophical thought to be reviewed. The metamorphosis linked to the Anthropocene represents the interplay between “collapse” and “awakening”. Focus on the objectivity of the “primary effects”—the “public bads”—leads to the imminent ecological apocalypse. If we focus on “secondary effects”, we observe the metamorphosis of “public bads” into “public goods”. The “good” hides behind the “evil”. We are not at the end of Civilization; we are before new beginnings, new rules, new structures. The Anthropocene could save the world thanks to the metamorphosis of our consciousness of the world.

The ‘onto-logics’ of perspectival multi-naturalism: A realist critique

In this article, I argue for a realist anthropology based on the recognition of mind-independent reality; pitching this premise against concerted anti-dualist tendencies in contemporary anthropological thinking. I spell out core analytical entailments of these, in my view, profoundly conflicting premises. In particular, I focus on perspectival multi-naturalism, arguing that despite adherents’ claims to reinvigorate studies of ‘ontology’, this approach instead exaggerates epistemological dimensions. When assessed from a realist stance, its ground position engenders a series of epistemic fallacies by which the ontological is, effectively, subordinated under epistemology. Advocates’ reluctance to appreciate a distinction between mind and mind-independent reality entails a profound contraction of perspective in terms of empirical and methodological scope, and, analytically, a disregard for ontological complexity and depth, thus curtailing the importance of anthropology in wider academic discourse.

A CONSTRUÇÃO IDENTITÁRIA ENTRE EMBATES E DISPUTAS O ROMANCE ÚRSULA, LITERATURA AFRO-BRASILEIRA PARA UMA EDUCAÇÃO ANTIRRACISTA

The main purpose of this article is to discuss, within the scope of the Teaching of Afro-Brazilian History and Literature, the clashes and disputes in the construction of the national identity, conceptually permeating the issue of race, gender and literature. So that, throughout the text, we look for the tensions built in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century regarding the discursive process and the disputes in the formation of the Brazilian nation-state in the cultural, political, social, epistemological dimensions insert the novel Úrsula by Maria Firmina dos Reis before the project of modernity, that is, a power project engendered and constructed discursively with the objectivity of homogenizing and dehumanizing certain cultures (MIGNOLO E PINTO, 2015), a monocultural process (MUNANGA, 2012) . Thus, we verified through the clues and indications through the analyzed corpus, the potentialities and possibilities, especially in the field of History Teaching, ruptures and identity reconstructions regarding the identity aspects in the process of the construction of the nation state in the Brazilian context for a contemporary anti-racist education.

Универсальные измерения мистики

In the article mysticism is considered as a multidimensional phenomenon in the unity of four dimensions that make up its universal beginning. The onto­logical dimension of mysticism forms a world picture in which the world is re­garded as the Whole and One. Mystical experience is always an experience of unity, as a result of which social and biological time slows down, space loses its multidimensionality and hierarchy. The epistemological dimension of mysti­cism presupposes the development of an irrational mystical and intuitive cogni­tion that forms an integral picture of the world and overcomes the subjective and objective attitude to it. An enlightening consciousness and the experience of mystic light are the results. The anthropological (psychological) dimension of mysticism means overcoming self-centered consciousness through a series of psycho-prac­tices which is dangerous outside the mystical context. Mystical experience develops higher needs, feeling of love, compassion, joy, gratitude. There is a change in the existential state of man. The social and historical dimension characterizes mysticism as a phenomenon that was developed from an ascetic form to an integration one, balancing between “moving away from the world” and “returning to the world”. It possesses powerful resources of influence on so­ciety and at the present stage should affirm the significance of both the transcen­dental and material worlds, help humanity understand their close relationship and the danger of their opposition. Each dimension of mysticism must be consid­ered in close connection with modern scientific picture of the world.