Epistemological Level Research Articles

Dialogue Between Theology and Science: Present Challenges and Future Perspectives

In order to consider the natural sciences as a contemporary locus theologicus, I here examine the meaning and implications of the “dialogue between theology and the sciences”. Although widely used, this expression has different meanings. I try to clarify who the interlocutors of the dialogue are, where the dialogue takes place, and what the goals of the dialogue itself are. A coherent agenda to encourage the use of the sciences in theological work should include (a) the design and implementation of interdisciplinary curricula to help those scholars who are seriously interested to be trained in this field; (b) an emphasis on the role of philosophy and philosophical sources in the study of the sciences and theology; (c) going beyond the epistemological level and developing the dialogue also at the anthropological level; (d) the identification of a number of key issues for theological and religious studies that are expected to become more urgent in the coming years. Finally, the use of the sciences as a locus theologicus is expected to bear two main fruits: first, to offer a positive, speculative insight to the work of theologians and, second, to contribute to a responsible development of the dogmatic teachings of the Church.

Main Stages and Features of the Development of Husserl’s Conception of Metaphysics: Or How Might We Thematize the “Supreme and Ultimate Questions” in a Phenomenologically Legitimate Manner?

In this paper, we provide an overview of the main stages in the development of Edmund Husserl’s conception of metaphysics, highlighting its most significant characteristics. We propose that Husserl’s views on metaphysics traversed three main stages: (1) from the early 1890s until his so-called “transcendental turn” around 1906/07; (2) from his transcendental turn until the late 1920s, and (3) the metaphysical conceptualization during the 1930s, aptly characterized as—following the interpretation of László Tengelyi—a “metaphysics of primal facts” (Urfakta, Urtatsache). We further demonstrate that Husserl’s considerations concerning metaphysics—throughout his entire opus—span three essential levels: (1) the epistemological level, in particular, phenomenological preparations to establish a foundation for metaphysics; (2) a level concerning metaphysics as the universal and ultimate science of reality, and (3) a level addressing metaphysics as a proper field of phenomenological investigations into the highest and ultimate questions (such as God and immortality). We argue in detail that Husserl attempted to render this field—which radically transcends the domain of possible intuitions (Anschauungen) and direct experience—accessible to a legitimate phenomenological treatment via the method of phenomenological constructions, prior to the efforts of Eugen Fink.

A transcendental materialist frame for neuropsychoanalysis: rethinking dual-aspect monism

ABSTRACT As the philosophical basis for neuropsychoanalysis, dual-aspect monism is fundamental to the entire neuropsychoanalytic project. However, dual-aspect monism has been criticized not only from without but also from within neuropsychoanalysis. This paper considers criticisms of dual-aspect monism from within neuropsychoanalysis. These might be summed up as a concern that the difference at the level of epistemology (neuroscience, psychoanalysis) and phenomena (objectivity, subjectivity) must not be washed away by an appeal to a common ontology. In response, I propose to supplement dual-aspect monism with the philosophical framework of Transcendental Materialism. In this view, epistemological difference between the dual aspects is secondary to antagonism at the level of monistic ontology. Transcendental Materialism begins with the question: what sort of nature must nature be to give rise to two irreducible perspectives such as neuroscience and psychoanalysis? I argue for supplementing dual-aspect monism with Transcendental Materialism through a review of Mark Solms’s work on the hard problem of consciousness via Karl Friston’s Free Energy Principle. Within the Solms-Friston framework, the informatic mechanisms that give rise to dual-aspect epistemologies rely upon ontological antagonism. Principles of a transcendental materialist dual-aspect monism for neuropsychoanalysis are put forward.

Origen's Sources of Exegetical Authority: The Construction of an Inspired Exegete in the Pauline Lineage

AbstractIn this paper, I examine several sources of authority to which Origen laid claim as he set about the task of interpreting scripture. On occasion, in both his commentaries and his homilies, Origen provided accounts of his access to three different, though connected sources of authority that contributed to his self-presentation as an expert interpreter. These sources are as follows: 1) participation in the lineage of the apostles, particularly his exegetical role model, Paul. The second source of authority is a result of the first: 2) direct communication from the Logos, whom he understands to be Christ himself, and 3) angelic assistance and engagement with his pastoral exegetical project. In some instances, Origen even claimed to be on par with two of these sources of authority; he can be found claiming to have exegetical abilities similar to Paul's and, on some rare occasions, to have reached the same epistemological level as the angels. This analysis provides us not only with a case study of the kind of self-fashioning and authorising strategies used by elite scriptural exegetes in the first few centuries of the common era, but it also allows us to shift our focus away from exegetical methods towards the figure, personality and social position of the exegete him or herself. From this shift of focus we gain a better appreciation of a topic to which exegetical authors themselves dedicated considerable energy: just who it was that could occupy the office of authoritative Christian exegete and why.

Analysis and Research on the Present Situation of Cuju Culture in the Perspective of Intangible Heritage

Research on the history, concept, connotation and related practices of intangible cultural heritage provides the two most crucial elements for the transmission of Cuju culture, namely experience and paradigm. At the practical level, the declaration of intangible cultural heritage of Cuju can provide an effective path for the inheritance of traditional national sports. At the theoretical level, the theory of intangible cultural heritage enriches the connotation of Cuju culture at the epistemological level. Therefore, this project chooses the vision of intangible cultural heritage as the research field of Cuju culture inheritance and protection, and adopts the documentary method, expert interview method and logical analysis method to research and analyze the inheritance and protection of Cuju culture under the perspective of intangible culture. Through the research on the status of the development of cuju sport, people's knowledge of cuju culture is enhanced, so that cuju culture can be better developed and spread. This paper analyzes the development and inheritance of Cuju from the perspective of Chinese intangible cultural heritage, and provides valuable references to the measures taken for its protection and development in contemporary times.

Soft Power & Hegemony: Gramsci, Nye, and Cox’s Perspectives

This article highlights the significance of soft power and hegemony in the realms of international relations theory and political philosophy. Soft power serves as a political strategy utilized by nations to attract and shape ideas in other countries through influence and persuasion. Similarly, Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony emphasizes the influence of societal ideas by employing moral and intellectual leadership through consensus. In enriching this analysis, it incorporates perspectives from Robert Cox, who deepen the understanding of how hegemony intertwines with global power structures, social forces, and the construction of world order. This article provides a theoretical review of Joseph S. Nye's soft power concept and Antonio Gramsci's notion of hegemony, comparing both at the epistemological level of political science, encompassing concepts, praxis, and values. The study is based on Nye's Soft Power (2004) and Gramsci's Selections from the Prison Notebooks (2007) through a literature review. This article concludes that these concepts share similarities, such as utilizing intellectual leadership, promoting awareness within the intellectual class, and targeting civil society as a crucial influencer.

Supporting primary students’ critical thinking in whole-class conversations about sustainability issues

In environmental and sustainability education, critical thinking is important for the pluralistic teaching tradition, creating opportunities for student autonomy, deliberation and participation. However, focusing on student participation can also result in relativism or reproduction. Consequently, this article aims to investigate how different epistemological levels in whole-class conversations about sustainability issues can support students’ emergent critical thinking. Transcripts of video-recorded whole-class conversations from 11 lessons in primary classrooms were analysed to answer the following research question: What epistemological levels are in play when the aim is to enhance critical thinking, and how are they visible in whole-class conversations? Our analysis reveals that all epistemological levels are essential in supporting primary students’ critical thinking, and it shows how teachers can avoid relativism and reproduction through specific teaching moves that also enhance critical thinking. Thus, critical thinking is necessary to achieve the democratic aims of the pluralistic teaching tradition.

Harmonization strategy of the spatial information infrastructure of Ukraine with INSPIRE. system approach

Van Gigch's system approach was applied to consider the option of systemic harmonization of the National Spatial Information Infrastructure of Ukraine (NSII) with INSPIRE. The article focuses on its most important part - the strategy of harmonization or, more specifically, strategic harmonization. The proposed strategic harmonization is suitable for practical implementation. For this purpose, NSII is understood as an extension of National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), and NSII and INSPIRE are represented by general systems (GS), whose practical feasibility is achieved by exemplification/interpretation by spatial information systems (SpIS) and certain their extensions - SpISb. The main attention is paid to the relation between the NSII and INSPIRE, with an emphasis on the harmonization relation. Possible alternatives to the problems or their solutions are not considered. In particular, the likely recent shift of interest from NSDI/NSII/INSPIRE to IGIF (Integrated Geospatial Information Framework) is not considered. This is possible because van Gigch's system approach used allows scaling, in this case - upwards, with the addition of higher levels of the hierarchy such as IGIF to the consideration. It is shown that, in the context of harmonization with INSPIRE, it is necessary to examine the harmonization of GS on at least three epistemological levels. GS corresponding to these levels can be called: strategic, tactical and operational. The GS for harmonization with INSPIRE can be represented by an integrated hierarchy or a unification of three GS components of these three levels. In the case of unification, each component of the collective agreement can be considered separately, but the context of harmonization must be mandatory. In particular, in strategic harmonization, it is mandatory to define its hierarchical relations with the "corresponding" tactical harmonization. Two main results were obtained in the article: 1) scientific - the structure of the phenomenon "harmonization of Ukrainian SII with INSPIRE" was defined, 2) practical - it was proved that the specified phenomenon is adequately represented by the GS and the corresponding SpISb.

Al-'Ilm Al-Ḫudhūri: Philosophical Epistemology and Sufism Common Ground

<p>This article investigates the possibility of finding common ground between philosophy and Sufism. It aims to answer whether these two can converge on an epistemological level. The discourse of <em>al-'ilm al-</em><em>ẖ</em><em>udh</em><em>ū</em><em>ri</em> was used to answer this question. The main source for this article's study is the works of Mulla Sadra and Suhrawardi, which are analyzed descriptively with a philosophical approach. This article concludes that <em>al-'ilm al-</em><em>ẖ</em><em>udh</em><em>ū</em><em>ri</em> is a form of real knowledge obtained by individuals directly from God without needing mental representation or linguistic symbolism. This knowledge is spiritual, not sensory-rational. Mulla Sadra and Suhrawardi believe that the only way to obtain this knowledge is through spiritual observation by practicing Sufism, which involves the rites of <em>mujahadah</em> and <em>riyadhah</em>.</p>

La «verità come indefinito differirsi del reale». Le ragioni del realismo pluralistico

The aim of this paper is to propose a theory of pluralistic realism, i.e. a theory that presents an idea of reality that embraces multiplicity both at an ontological and epistemological level. The basic ideal of this theory is that reality is inexhaustibly multifaceted and that, therefore, the ways in which human beings can account for it are diverse and multiple. This idea of reality also implies an idea of plural truth, i.e. as an openness and acceptance of diversity and difference which can act as an antidote to the resurgence of fundamentalisms and totalitarian visions of reality based on the refusal of diversity, on the lack of ethical recognition-political-social difference and on the tendency to believe that one’s own reality and therefore one’s culture, one’s nation, one’s country are objectively superior to other realities, nations, countries, cultures. In proposing the reasons for this theory we will try to integrate Mario De Caro’s philosophical proposal of a «liberalized naturalism» or «pluralistic realism» with the phenomenological perspective of Vincenzo Costa based on the idea that reality is determined on the basis of the experience of the human subject.

Magic and Metamodernism

Magic and Metamodernism

Epistemological access: a case of academic development programmes at a university of technology

South Africa has made significant progress in expanding access to higher education since the end of the apatheid era. This gave opportunities to a larger portion of the population to pursue higher education studies, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities. The growth in student enrollment has not always correlate with academic success. High levels of failure and dropout rates amongst first-year students are a common challenge across universities. This implies that the challenges related to epistemic access at universities persist. To address these challenges, universities implemented academic development programmes providing targeted interventions and fostering a supportive learning environment that can help bridge the gap between formal access to universities and epistemic access. The study that informs this paper sought to explore how academic development programmes enable epistemological access to first-year students. This study employed a qualitative methodological approach and adopted a purposive sampling strategy to select the participants. The study interviewed twenty mentors participating in an academic development programme (mentorship) at a University of Technology. The findings highlights the role of academic development programme (mentorship programme) in enabling students to transition from unfamiliarity to familiarity within their chosen field of study, leading to an epistemic shift that alters their epistemological level. These findings can contribute to the broader discussions and advancements in higher education pedagogy by highlighting the importance of and understanding the mechanisms behind the mentorship programme. The implications of this study on higher education is to inform the design and implementation of effective initiatives that foster epistemological growth and empower students to engage with disciplinary knowledge more effectively

Academic Migration and Epistemological Value: Exploring the Experience of Migrant Academics in Portugal

The internationalisation of higher education (IoHE) has become a prominent topic in higher education research. While there is increasing institutional and governmental commitment to IoHE, it is important to consider the actual outcomes of these processes critically. Despite the significant issues raised by the academic migration of professors, researchers, and post-docs regarding migratory trajectories and epistemological aspects of scholarly work, this area of research remains understudied. This article adopted a qualitative approach, drawing on semi-structured interviews with migrant scholars pursuing academic careers in Portugal. Our findings suggest that a complex interplay of factors influences the pursuit of an academic career by migrants, including the influence of institutional and governmental policies regarding science and the impact of marketisation of higher education institutions that have jeopardised academic career possibilities. Moreover, science and academic-related work seem to be the main drivers in pursuing an academic career for migrant scholars rather than primarily career-focused and economic strategies. Notwithstanding, our study highlighted the challenges that migrant academics face at the epistemological level, pointing out that their experiences are embedded in neocolonial logics that are further aggravated by current unequal societal arrangements related to what constitutes valid and legitimate knowledge and the power relations therein.

Aisthesis–Perception–Anaesthetics: Inspirations from Wolfgang Welsch’s Aesthetics for a Perception-Sensitive Theology

In contrast to “experience” (Erfahrung), the concept and phenomenon of perception is still underexposed in systematic theology. Aesthetics in the sense of aisthesis illuminates perception as an independent mode of existence and cognition and not merely as a preliminary stage of Erfahrung. This is made clear by the differentiations and concretisations on aesthetics by the philosopher Wolfgang Welsch. His work on aesthetics is valuable for systematic theology on an epistemological level on the one hand and is based on contemporary questions about a good life in an “experience society” (Erlebnisgesellschaft, Gerhard Schulze) and the ecological crisis on the other hand. As a result, cornerstones of a perception-sensitive theology become visible.

Twentieth-Century Music and Mathematics ed. by Roberto Illiano (review)

Reviewed by: Twentieth-Century Music and Mathematics ed. by Roberto Illiano Paul Lombardi Twentieth-Century Music and Mathematics. Edited by Roberto Illiano. (Music, Science & Technology, vol. 1.) Turnhout: Brepols, 2019. [xxxiii, 382 p. ISBN 9782503585703 (hardcover), $156.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, abstracts, biographies, index. Twentieth-Century Music and Mathematics is a compilation of seventeen essays (and an introduction) in English, French, Italian, and Spanish. The first of its two parts, "Twentieth-Century Composers and Mathematics," focuses on specific composers—namely Olivier Messiaen, Iannis Xenakis, Franco Evangelisti, Pierre Boulez, Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass (but curiously not Milton Babbitt)—and the last chapter in this part covers a handful of contemporary Spanish composers. The second part, "Music and Mathematics: Theories, Practices, Future," focuses on recent theoretical trends. Although the book has "twentieth century" in its title, its topics are mostly from only the second half of the twentieth century and extend to the beginning of the twenty-first century. It is less of a book on music theory than on the history of music theory, which is by no means a drawback. In the introduction, Massimiliano Locanto explains: My aim, rather, is to put the relationships between mathematics and music into a historical-philosophical context by drawing attention to some crucial moments when the two disciplines adopted similar methodological strategies and were attracted to analogous paradigmatic concepts, thus finding a point of convergence on a fundamental epistemological level. (p. xi) The authors of the essays consider questions about mathematics and musical thought in that they "represent the increasing attraction to mathematical thought as a specific trend of twentieth-century musical modernism" (p. xi). The book in general takes the stance that the composers examined in it are not mathematicians and tend not to directly apply mathematics in their creative processes, but rather that mathematics informs their processes and aesthetics. The book takes a historical-philosophical approach to the mathematics of music. The mathematical details presented are not convoluted, so the layperson will not struggle reading this book. This review does not remark on every author and essay, as every contribution is of comparable merit. Rather, it offers comment on specific essays. Ronald Squibbs and Peter Hoffmann provide two chapters on processes given in Iannis Xenakis's Formalized Music ("Musique formelles," Revue musicale, nos. 253–54 [1963]; expanded English trans. as Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1971]), the former on stochastic composition and the latter on symbolic composition. Squibbs writes, Xenakis provided a detailed account of the process … in his treatise, Formalized Music, but this account has proven to be difficult to understand by musicians who are not well-trained in mathematics and computer science. … The aim of this modest introduction to stochastic music is to pry that book open a little for musicians (such as myself) who have found Xenakis's description of the process of stochastic composition both tantalizing and difficult to comprehend. (p. 23) Hoffmann also writes, "We cannot be sure that all composers or researchers who have studied Formalized Music really grasped its essence" (p. 41). Both Squibbs and Hoffmann do an excellent job in deciphering the difficult concepts in Formalized Music in their [End Page 640] brief overviews of stochastic and symbolic composition. This volume, however, does not cover Xenakis's strategic composition. C. Catherine Losada has published extensively on the music of Pierre Boulez and, in this volume, shows how mathematical influences inspired Boulez to create "musical systems upon exclusively musical criteria," and define the nature and function of such criteria. In this way, it will yield insight into the music itself, as well as the relationship between the various works in Boulez's oeuvre, thus providing a more nuanced picture of the role of mathematical thinking in Boulez's compositional approach. (p. 91) She outlines how mathematics embodies Boulez's goal to "put contemporary musical thought on a completely and infallibly valid basis" (p. 97, quoting Boulez on Music Today, trans. Susan Bradshaw and Richard Rodney Bennett [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971], 29). Then, she applies her ideas by examining a series of Boulez's compositions from the late 1950s and 1960s. Moving on to...

Algorithmic Decision-making, Statistical Evidence and the Rule of Law

Abstract The rapidly increasing role of automation throughout the economy, culture and our personal lives has generated a large literature on the risks of algorithmic decision-making, particularly in high-stakes legal settings. Algorithmic tools are charged with bias, shrouded in secrecy, and frequently difficult to interpret. However, these criticisms have tended to focus on particular implementations, specific predictive techniques, and the idiosyncrasies of the American legal-regulatory regime. They do not address the more fundamental unease about the prospect that we might one day replace judges with algorithms, no matter how fair, transparent, and intelligible they become. The aim of this paper is to propose an account of the source of that unease, and to evaluate its plausibility. I trace foundational unease with algorithmic decision-making in the law to the powerful intuition that there is a basic moral and legal difference between showing that something is true of many people just like you and showing that it is true of you. Human judgment attends to the exception; automation insists on blindly applying the rule. I show how this intuitive thought is connected to both epistemological arguments about the value of statistical evidence, as well as to court-centered conceptions of the rule of law. Unease with algorithmic decision-making in the law thus draws on an intuitive principle that underpins a disparate range of views in legal philosophy. This suggests the principle is deeply ingrained. Nonetheless, I argue that the powerful intuition is not as decisive as it may seem, and indeed runs into significant epistemological and normative challenges. At an epistemological level, I show how concerns about statistical evidence's ability to track the truth can be resolved by adopting a probabilistic, rather than modal, conception of truth-tracking. At a normative level, commitment to highly individualized decision-making co-exists with equally ingrained and competing principles, such as consistent application of law. This suggests that the “rule of law” may not identify a discrete set of institutional arrangements, as proponents of a court-centric conception would have it, but rather a more loosely defined set of values that could potentially be operationalized in multiple ways, including through some level of algorithmic adjudication. Although the prospect of replacing judges with algorithms is indeed unsettling, it does not necessarily entail unreasonable verdicts or an attack on the rule of law.

The stakes of abyssal geography. Response to commentaries on David Chandler and Jonathan Pugh's ‘Abyssal geography’.

The stakes of abyssal geography. Response to commentaries on David Chandler and Jonathan Pugh's ‘Abyssal geography’.

INTEGRASI NILAI-NILAI ISLAM DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INGGRIS DI MI AL-ISLAMIYAH BEBIDAS

Abstract: One of the implications of the implementation of the 2013 curriculum at the Islamic orPublic Elementary School is in the unification of several general lesson contents in one theme. Thecombination automatically gives more distance or dichotomy between the content of generallessons with Islamic Education lesson. Thus, it needs competence called integration, which combine the content of general lessons with the spirit of Islamic values. This study aims to determine the level of integration of Islamic values in Inggris language learning at MI Al-Islamiyah Bebidas. A Qualitative Approach with a case study method was used where the data taken from interview, observation and document. It was found that the level of integration of Islamic values in Inggris language learning at MI Al-Islamiyah Bebidas included the philosophy, research method and approach, material, strategy and evaluation levels. The uniqueness of this school is its integration at the communication level. The level of integration in SDIT also needs to be supported by the knowledge and understanding of teachers about the worldview of the integration of Islam with comprehensive knowledge not only at the level of axiology and epistemology, but also ontology.

The Pedagogy of a Classroom for Intellectual Virtues

Abstract Educating for intellectual virtue is a form of character education that aims for students to develop intellectual virtues, such as intellectual courage, humility, tenacity, honesty, curiosity, attentiveness, and open-mindedness. Recently, Kotzee et al. (2021) argued that ‘the intellectual virtues approach does not have available a suitably effective pedagogy to qualify the acquisition of intellectual virtue as the primary aim of education’ (p. 1). In this article, partly as a response to Kotzee et al.'s (2021) challenge and partly to better understand and shape the intellectual virtues classroom, I explore at a pedagogical and epistemological level two theories I believe to be evident in the intellectual virtues classroom: virtue responsibilism and social constructivism. Through bringing these theories into conversation, I argue that a deeper understanding of the intellectual virtues classroom is elicited which is able to overcome Kotzee et al.'s (2021) pedagogical challenge for the intellectual virtues approach.

Cultures of Restraint and Towards an Appraisal of Non-Western News Values

ABSTRACT Research on Western European and North American news media continues to dominate scholarship in the field of journalism studies. The remedies sought to rectify this imbalance notably include comparative studies across non-Western and Western countries using large-scale surveys or content analyses. At an epistemological level, such studies adopt—often inherently—an Enlightenment-inspired normative frame that makes the comparisons and transpositions possible. On the one hand, these normative frames are necessary placeholders to make sense of the global field of journalism considering existing hierarchies of knowledge production. On the other, such frames are untenable because they conveniently force Enlightenment-based assumptions upon non-Western cultures, which fundamentally exist in tension with those normative assumptions. Departing from such comparative studies and approaches, this article proposes the concept of “cultures of restraint” to understand non-Western journalism practices and news values in a more context-sensitive manner. We demonstrate the utility of this concept by applying it to the case of vernacular language migrant journalists in the Middle East. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews, we illuminate the cultural conditions that shape the journalistic task of redefining “normative” news values, in the process challenging conventional interpretations of news and journalism.