Epistemological Foundations Research Articles

What Have Introductory Books on Legal Reasoning Ever Done for Us?

The purpose of this article is to investigate, and to review, a number of recent introductions to law with the emphasis being on those introducing students to legal reasoning. The investigation will have as its focus not just reasoning methodology but equally the ontological and epistemological foundations upon which the reasoning is based. The investigation will be comparative in its orientation; it will examine, in particular, works from common lawyers and French jurists, with references also to books produced by Roman law specialists (Romanists). It will show that many introductions are based on an ontological foundation that emphasizes rules—the rule model—and that, with regard to some of the introductory books, this emphasis has engendered what is arguably a simplistic view of legal knowledge and method. Are such books, it might be asked, epistemologically reliable? To help answer this question, another comparative orientation to be undertaken is to examine some introductory works in the social sciences in order to see not only how these works may differ in their approach to knowledge and methodology but also how methodological discussions in the social sciences could be valuable for lawyers. Keywords: analogy; epistemology; introductions; logic; ontology; perception; rule model; syllogism.

The Urgency of Philosophy of Science for Doctoral Students of Law

Philosophy of science plays a very important role for doctoral students in law, because it provides a critical, reflective, and in-depth foundation for thinking in conducting advanced legal research. This article discusses the urgency of philosophy of science for doctoral students in law from several main aspects, including epistemological and ontological foundations, development of theoretical frameworks, critical evaluation of scientific methods, and improvement of legal reasoning skills. Philosophy of science also provides ethical guidance in research and helps students understand the relationship between law and other disciplines, such as sociology and politics. Through a deeper understanding of philosophy of science, doctoral students in law can compile more comprehensive, relevant, and impactful research, and make significant contributions to the development of legal science in the future.

Три уровня международного политико-экономического анализа: новая перспектива для исследования международных проблем в эпоху многополярности

One of the key issues in current international relations studies is the structure of knowledge. The epistemological foundations of political and economic theories of international development are losing their relevance as the influence of theory on the practice of international relations wanes. The declining ability of international analysis to predict the future of world politics and economics emphasizes the need for a broader, interdisciplinary approach to the study of international relations. This study aims to explore the possibility of creating a new, practical and interdisciplinary model of analysis to address the problems of the modern international system. This approach to the systemic analysis of international relations involves broadening the scope of the study by integrating international political and economic (IPE) analysis and including three analytical levels: explanatory, normative and critical. The article defines the terminology, structure, principles and criteria of such an analysis based on the problems of modern political science. The author also points out the main difficulties in the formation of theoretical and methodological basis of the three-level analysis. Examples of analyzing problems, namely the impact of trade barriers on the instability of global supply chains and the international dimension of the energy crisis of the Federal Republic of Germany (2022 – present) are given, demonstrating the quality and consistency of the results of such analysis.

CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING IN SCIENCE TEACHERS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF EPISTEMOLOGY

This study examines the role of epistemological beliefs in moderating the relationship between critical and creative thinking among science teachers. It aims to explore how advancements in understanding knowledge influence these cognitive skills. The primary focus is on the extent to which epistemological beliefs impact critical and creative thinking, highlighting the need for a deeper grasp of knowledge to foster these skills. A mixed-methods approach is used, combining qualitative and quantitative data within a pragmatic framework to provide a comprehensive view. The sample includes science teachers from Selçuklu, Meram, and Karatay districts in Konya, Türkiye. Quantitative data were gathered using the Epistemological Beliefs Scale, the Critical Thinking Scale, and the Creative Thinking Scale. Results show that epistemological beliefs significantly influence critical and creative thinking, suggesting that these skills are closely tied to epistemological development. Qualitative findings support this, indicating that a solid epistemological foundation is essential for both types of thinking. Additionally, the study finds that authoritarian teaching methods suppress critical thinking, while student-centered strategies enhance it. To promote critical and creative thinking, science teachers should develop their epistemological beliefs and create an environment that encourages open discussion and diverse perspectives. Keywords: critical and creative thinking, epistemological development, mixed-methods research, science education

Reevaluating student-centred education: uncovering learning difficulties stemming from empiricist epistemological assumptions

ABSTRACT This paper demonstrates that recurrent difficulties students encounter in learning subject-matter knowledge can be traced, in part, to assumptions about how students best learn knowledge that significantly shape instructional approaches. First, I review the significant influence of empiricist epistemological assumptions on education, covering student-centred pedagogical principles and instructional methods applied in progressive, constructivist, and conventional education. Empiricist epistemological assumptions presume that students learn best by relying primarily on and directly building upon their existing knowledge, experiences, and reasoning, particularly those familiar from everyday life. These assumptions have shaped pedagogical principles and methods such as relying on students' preinstructional knowledge and reasoning, concrete experiences, direct observations, or concrete visual images for learning. Next, I review evidence that empiricist-informed instructional applications often induce learning difficulties, such as erroneous inferences stemming from students' preinstructional knowledge, difficulty understanding content that diverges from students' prior knowledge, and confusion between concrete supports and abstract concepts. By tracing these difficulties to empiricist epistemological assumptions, this paper employs a genealogical epistemological analysis, which tracks the influence of epistemological assumptions on education across several levels, from pedagogical principles to instructional methods, down to students' learning. This analysis (a) explains the roots of certain learning difficulties and aids in anticipating them, (b) challenges pedagogical approaches by questioning their epistemological foundations, and (c) examines how the influence of problematic assumptions is connected to alignment with internationally promoted educational purposes. The influence of epistemological assumptions on education is significant yet understudied. Thus, the genealogical epistemological analysis proves crucial to critically analyze education.

Reassessment of the Aesthetics of Reception: Convergences and Epistemological Ruptures in the Field of Information and Communication Sciences

This article examines the epistemological foundations of reception aesthetics, highlighting the contributions of the Constance School, in particular the concept of the horizon of expectation. It analyzes how these ideas have been adapted to contemporary studies in information and communication sciences to study the reception of modern media. It evaluates its current applications, identifies its limits and epistemological ruptures in the field of information and communication sciences, and proposes a reevaluation of its concepts in the light of recent developments in reception studies.

Deferred expertise: The groundless ground of datafication and the shift to recessive technologies

This paper explores how the conditions for leadership are produced in datafied schooling regimes by the data infrastructures developed and utilised in departmental systems of education. Drawing on Hong’s (2020) theorisation of recessivity, this paper considers those tools and instruments as recessive technologies: technologies that know for us in quantified ways that are beyond the comprehension available to humans alone. This paper interrogates two specific data platforms used by Australian state departments of education as key examples of recessive technologies: i) the Victorian Department of Education’s Panorama, and ii) the New South Wales Department of Education’s Scout. Using a Deleuzian-Guattarian framework of assemblage, I provide an analytical discussion that considers, first, the epistemological foundation of datafication on which recessive technologies reside, before, second, attending to the implications this has for how educational leadership can be enacted. Finally, I conclude by arguing the need for further critical research around recessive technologies.

PRÁTICAS DOCENTES NO CONTEXTO DA EDUCAÇÃO SUPERIOR

The study aimed to investigate, through the representations of professors from the Administration Program at the State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), the epistemological foundation that underpins the teaching practices of these professionals. The analysis of this knowledge seeks to understand how the program has been structured to develop autonomous individuals capable of understanding and acting responsibly in contemporary society. A qualitative approach was used, with semi-structured interviews for data collection. The results indicate that most of these professionals did not have, either in their initial education or in graduate programs, courses related to university pedagogy that would help them in their teaching practice. It was observed that some professors appear to be influenced by instrumental rationality, often associated with the traditional paradigm, while others align with an emerging paradigm. Given this reality, the need for continued teacher education becomes evident. This training will enable professors to develop pedagogical practices in the classroom that promote the development of student autonomy, encouraging a more critical, reflective education capable of addressing contemporary demands.

E-Commerce: Theoretical and Epistemological Aspect

The radical innovations that led to the structural modernization of the world economy were affected by the development of the digital economy and its main components, among which it is essential to single out e-commerce. After all, it gradually begins to play an important role in the field of trade and the economy, primarily due to its importance and practical use of the assets of scientific and technological progress. Therefore, conducting scientific research to deepen its theoretical and epistemological foundations is timely, allowing us to comprehensively understand its essence and outline the main advantages that various subjects of the national economy receive from its spread. The article aims to clarify the main approaches to understanding the essence of the "electronic commerce" concept, which will allow us to comprehensively characterize the gains from its spread, which society receive. To achieve the goal, several general scientific and specific methods of cognition were used, including analysis and synthesis, content analysis, and systematization. During the study, it was found that the emergence of electronic commerce relates to the active use of the Internet for data transfer and exchange, the development of digital technologies. As a result of the analysis of the scientific literature, five main approaches to its understanding were identified: functional, interactive, component, structural, and static. The value of e-commerce is determined by its advantages because it can create additional impulses for the development of the economy. E-commerce faces certain risks, early consideration of which will allow for minimizing potential losses and creating additional impulses for its growth. In general, digitalization and the active involvement of ICT in economic relations fundamentally change established ways of doing business, affecting not only the increased speed and scale of trade, improved interaction between entities, and allowing companies to enter international markets using new technologies.

C-frame thinking: Embedding behavioral economics into ecological economics

This paper aims to explore opportunities for integrating Behavioral Economics (BE) into Ecological Economics (EE). By examining the frames of analysis for both disciplines, this study categorizes BE as operating at the individual level (i-frame), while EE addresses systemic aspects of society (s-frame) and extends its considerations to the biosphere (n-frame), advocating for collective action through bottom-up intermediate-level interventions (c-frame).The study posits that EE can benefit from BE’s rich insights into human behavior and decision-making, especially for c-frame action strategies. However, integrating these disciplines requires finding common ontological and epistemological ground to avoid eclecticism and methodological flaws. The integration is approached in two steps: first, adapting BE epistemology to the systems thinking approach of EE, and second, addressing the ontological gap in BE regarding the world surrounding the individual. This paper argues that embedding BE within EE’s ontology points to the necessity of c-frame thinking for human decision-making.A case study of the ex-GKN factory in Italy demonstrates the practical benefits of c-frame thinking in a complex decision process. An alliance of workers, researchers, and civil society movements collaboratively developed a future plan that considered the needs of all stakeholders, showcasing the effectiveness of collective action.

Landasan Filosofis Integrasi Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Agama

This article aims to examine and formulate a model for integrating religious knowledge with general science, focusing on the ontological, epistemological, and axiological foundations. In the context of modern secularism, which has led to the separation of religion and scientific knowledge, this research seeks to restore spiritual values within scientific inquiry and integrate the two disciplines to create knowledge that is not value-free. The research method used by the author is a qualitative approach with a type of library research with data collection methods by conducting documentation studies by examining primary and secondary sources in the form of books and scientific articles. The results of this study concluded that the integration of science is an effort to combine religious science and general science by incorporating religious values into it and looking for similarities between the two. Integration is done to make science not free of moral values and create good human beings who are in accordance with the two functions of human creation, namely as khalifah and good servants of Allah. The philosophical bases of science integration include ontological, epistemological and axiological bases. From the ontological basis, the relationship between the highest reality, namely God, and the lowest reality, namely creatures, has a close and inseparable relationship. Epistemologically, the source of general and religious knowledge comes from one source, namely God, who then provides means or tools of knowledge in the form of reason and the five senses, as a tool for obtaining knowledge and Islamic epistemology recognizes the means of knowledge in the form of intuition to achieve metaphysical-immaterial knowledge, where this method of intuition is in the form of inspiration and revelation. And axiologically, the integration of general science and religious science gives birth to science that is not value-free, so that it can make the development of science consistent with moral values in accordance with religion and the Qur'an, which gives birth to benefits in the world and the hereafter in the form of material, intellectual and spiritual enjoyment in humans who are a unity between body and spirit.

Introduction: Contesting the moral worlds, scales, and epistemics of energy transitions

The introduction to this special issue, Contesting Transitions: New Directions in the Anthropology of Energy, Climate Justice, and Resource Imaginaries, takes stock of the current state of debate within anthropology and allied fields over the contradictions, slippages, and inequalities at the centre of the global energy transition. Across a wide range of critical case studies, the contributions underscore the importance of attending to what is being elided by dominant discourses and forms of production, such as alternatives to socio-material understandings of energy and resistance to the inevitability of extractivism as the basis for new ways of living. Even more, the collection takes up and problematizes the concept of ‘transition’ itself on historical, ethnographic, and epistemological grounds. After describing the themes that emerge from the special issue, and explaining how these themes point toward new configurations of research, theory-building, and critical intervention, the introduction concludes with a broader argument about the indispensable place of a critical anthropology in debates over energy and Anthropocenic harm.

Creative writing and storyworld possible selves

ABSTRACT The presence of creative writing in higher education poses the need to strengthen its academic foundations with novel contributions which enhance its growing practice-informed body of knowledge [Earnshaw, S. 2014. The Handbook of Creative Writing. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press; Kroll, J., and G. Harper, Eds. [2012] 2019. Research Methods in Creative Writing. London: Red Globe; Morley, D. 2007. The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Phillips, R., and H. Kara. 2021. Creative Writing for Social Research: A Practical Guide. Policy Press]. The present study suggests that storyworld possible selves theory [Martínez, M. A. 2014. “Storyworld Possible Selves and the Phenomenon of Narrative Immersion. Testing a New Theoretical Construct.” Narrative 22 (1): 110–131. doi:10.1353/nar.2014.0004; Martínez, M. A. 2018. Storyworld Possible Selves. Berlin: De Gruyter; Martínez, M. A. (forthcoming). “Storyworld Possible Selves.” In Routledge Companion to Literature and Cognitive Studies, edited by J. Alber and R. Schneider. Abingdon: Routledge] can enrich the epistemological foundations of creative writing and of its practice-based research and teaching, both by highlighting the importance of accounting for readers’ feelings of personal relevance through the activation of their self-schemas and possible selves, and by pinpointing the role of certain linguistic expressions of cognitive activity, frequent in fictional narrative discourse, which serve to prompt perspective sharing with narrative focalisers. In my study I argue that attention to the affordances of the concept of storyworld possible selves can not only help improve amateur writers’ skills, but also afford increased opportunities for related linguistic, narratological, and empirical research into creative writing in academic settings.

A life dedicated to research and ideal: Johannes Müller between empirical universality and idealistic vitalism mirrored in lecture notes from 1851

Until the mid-nineteenth century, "physiology" was a comprehensive theory of life, expounded and shaped by Johannes P. Müller (1801–1858). Biologists and medical doctors still refer to him today. In the summer term of 1851, Müller gave a lecture on the Comparative Anatomy of animals. This lecture was attended and recorded by Ernst Zeller (1830–1902), a future physician and zoologist, and has recently been published together with a German transcript. In this paper, we situate Johannes Müller within the intellectual history of his time. Through his "empirical idealism," we show how he opposed the speculative tendencies of the romantic understanding of nature, the emerging evolutionism, and the growing splits in the natural sciences. Müller focused on recognizing living nature as a whole and realizing ideal "phenomena" through his empirical research. He considered the notion of the soul of the world. Müller's lecture transcript serves as a poignant testament to German scientific culture in the mid-nineteenth century, a few years before the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. It also provides valuable insights into the self-contained epistemological foundations of morphology.

Theoretical and General Philosophical Foundations Operational and Investigative Support of Criminal Prosecution.

This article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of theoretical and general philosophical foundations of operational and investigative support of criminal prosecution. Various aspects of this activity are considered, including philosophical concepts, theoretical approaches, ethical aspects, epistemological and axiological foundations. The paper provides an overview of the contribution of Soviet, Russian and Central Asian scientists to the development of the theory of operative-search activity. Special attention is paid to the concept of V.A. Lukashov, who expanded the understanding of operational and investigative support to the entire system of law enforcement agencies. The study relies on a number of methods, including dialectical, hermeneutic, system analysis and comparative approach. As a result, the concept of the philosophical and legal foundations of operational and investigative support is formulated, key theoretical approaches to its understanding are identified, a system of ethical principles is developed and an epistemological model of information acquisition is proposed. Operative and investigative support is considered as a complex phenomenon that integrates elements of various philosophical concepts and legal theories. The importance of the balance between public safety and protection of individual rights is emphasized, as well as the necessity of constant rethinking of ethical principles in the context of society and technology development. The article analyzes informative-cognitive, preventive-prophylactic, procedural-security and other approaches to the understanding of operational and investigative support. The issues of integration of operational and investigative support into the system of social control and crime control are considered. Special attention is paid to the influence of technological progress on the development of methods and means of operative-search activity. The conclusion is made about the need for continuous theoretical understanding and practical improvement of operational and investigative support of criminal prosecution in the context of changing social, technological and legal realities.

“Civilization State” Concept in the Works of Non-Western Scholars

The article discusses the main ideas and theories of non-Western countries researchers that reveal the concept of “civilization state”. As a methodological basis for the study of ideas developed within the framework of a non-Western tradition, the author uses the provisions of decolonial theory, allowing to overcome the clear and implicit dominance of attitudes and epistemological foundations inherent in European-American social science. The article draws attention to the critical perception of decolonial optics, which insists on the need to revise the epistemological foundations of Western thinking and the world order as a whole. The author analyzes the features of distribution and development of “civilization state” concept in a number of non-Western countries in the first quarter of the 21st century; the article presents a brief overview of emergence and evolution of the “civilization” concept, the diversity of semantic and conceptual variations of this concept is shown, the features of this process in the conditions of decolonization of knowledge were identified, an analysis of modern ideas and justification of the “civilization state” concept in China, India, Turkey, Egypt and in a number of African countries was carried out. The author draws conclusions that the concept of “civilization state”, being the Western origin concept, nevertheless, is perceived and develops within the framework of overcoming the West-centric theories of social development. In the conclusion the main advantages, threats and risks are presented that are associated with the adoption of the “civilization state” concept. Among the advantages are such as cultural and value consolidation of society; political mobilization; the basis for sovereignty and an independent policy; preservation and development of civilizational identity; the uniqueness of the civilization country as a source of further development. Challenges and risks include the following: the ambiguity of the new world order; contradictions between the concept of civilization and the concept of the national state; civilizational populism; ideas of isolationism; the risks of becoming the failed civilizational state. The article also recognizes the need for consolidated research work for the further theoretical development of the “civilization state” concept.

Influences of sociocultural and historical constraints on athletes’ developmental experiences: a case study of baseball in Japan

Many observers have pointed out how baseball in Japan is narrated, taught, and played differently from its counterpart in North America. Hard-work, selfless behaviors, and defensive and collectivistic strategies are described as the basic tenets of Japanese baseball, often referred to as ‘Samurai Baseball’. This paper aims to investigate sports and non-sporting constraints that define this distinct way of perceiving the game. Ecological psychology, arguing individuals’ actions should be investigated at the level of interactions which happen between them and their environment, provides the epistemological foundation for this study, while the Skilled Intentionality Framework, proposing behaviours occur amid specific sets of promoted values, gives the ontological base for investigating proximal and distal influences on Japanese ballplayers’ development. Using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model as a theoretical framework, this paper demonstrates how coaches’ strategies and training proposals, as well as players’ skill-acquisition processes, are constrained by socio-cultural-historical features of the culture of reference.

On the (un)suitability of literature for moral education

AbstractIn this article, I defend moral aesthetic cognitivism, the view that literature is a valuable source of insights related to morally relevant aspects of our world and that it can significantly contribute to our moral education. I am in particular concerned with counterarguments to this view voiced by Greg Currie, who trashes epistemological foundations of literature and emphasizes the lack of empirical corroboration of cognitivism, and by Peter Lamarque, who dismisses educative potential of literature on the account of readers' incapacity to extract morally relevant judgements about the world from literary works. I rely on examples from literary tradition to rebuild the epistemological framework underlying cognitivism and on contemporary insights from moral psychology to show that our engagements with literature are permeated with moral reflections that are valuable for our moral education.

CRITICAL ANALIYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF «UNIVERSAL CONCRETENESS» IN VOLTAIRE’S PHILOSOPHY

The article presents a critical analysis of the concept of «universal concreteness» in Voltaire’s philosophy. The content of the ontological and epistemological foundations of Voltaire’s worldview in his historical-philosophical searches is revealed. The abstract nature of the principles of deism and «universal unity» in the philosophy of the French enlightener is the result of the influence of the one-sidedness of representatives of empiricism and rationalism. Voltaire and his associates in their philosophical constructions, argued G. Hegel, proceeded from the principle of universality and the embodiment of the concept of «wit», while the Germans relied on the possibilities of criticism of pure reason. The potential possibilities of the concept of «universal concreteness» in Voltaire’s worldview form the basis of his theoretical and practical philosophy, in particular of human existence, morality and free will.

Exploring the transition: biology, technology, and epistemic activities

By focusing on biorobotics, this article explores the epistemological foundations necessary to support the transition from biological models to technological artifacts. To address this transition, I analyze the position of the German philosopher Thomas Fuchs, who represents one possible approach to the problem of the relationship between bio-inspired technology and biology. While Fuchs defends the idea of a unique ontological space for humans, this article contends that his categorical distinctions face challenges in establishing a robust epistemic foundation necessary to ground the transition from biology to technology. After identifying at least three interwoven reasons for rejecting Fuchs’ epistemic foundation, I ask how, through what methods, and by means of which practices the newly bio-inspired object is accessed and shaped. Expanding on philosophy of science and technology in practice, I argue that the plurality of answers to this question provides a possible epistemological foundation within the different frameworks of practices that produce the bio-inspired object. In addressing the potential epistemological foundation for pluralistically grounding the transition from biological models to technological ones, my approach helps us: (i) concretize and examine the relationship between biological and technological models, and (ii) investigate the features and validity of bio-inspired objects, effectively offering a more concrete and pluralistic picture of what bio-inspired sciences and technologies are and what they can (or cannot) do.