Evolutionary Epistemology Research Articles

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

Философское мышление на пути к свободе

The article considers one of the ways to achieve philosophical truth – the inner freedom of the subject. The doctrines of evolutionary epistemology and radical constructivism equate thinking with a means of adaptation. The best thinking is the one, thanks to which the organism survives and leaves maximum offspring. Freedom of thinking in such doctrines is absent, it is determined by the brain and its adaptive tasks. However, at a higher level of analyzing the human personality, one can speak of freedom. Heidegger establishes an inseparable connection be­tween freedom and truth: freedom is “letting beings be”. Only by letting this the cognizing subject can adequately cognize. This requires the renunciation of power, of mastery over the world, of its use as an instrument. Marion argues similarly in the doctrine of the saturated phenomenon. However, this kind of freedom can be called external. The notion of inner freedom is introduced. It is also inseparable from truth, and is now the truth of self-knowledge. Self-knowledge requires non-trivial approaches, as psychoanalysis has shown. The ar­ticle discusses the teaching of D. Winnicott on the true and false self and the theory of E. Ghent of “surrender”. The greatest obstacle to self-knowledge, according to Ghent and other theorists, are psychological defense barriers. They allow us to displace thoughts about ourselves that are unpleasant to us and undermine our self-confidence. In doing so, we alienate ourselves from our true Self. Ghent’s theory of “surrender” describes the breaking down of defense barriers and the in­ner liberation of the Self. Outwardly and inwardly free philosophical thinking is not the proof of a pre-known truth, but wandering (Heidegger). Genuine philo­sophical questioning does not know in advance where it will arrive, but on the way of wandering in a contemplative state it analyzes what is revealed to it

John Locke’s political philosophy

Abstract John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher, very influential in the 17th century. He is considered the first English empiricist, where his ideas had an enormous influence on the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings later influenced Voltaire and Rousseau. Regarding the examination of the natural state, Locke, like Hobbes, starts from the problem of what characterizes the natural state, when there is no political power. Unlike Hobbes, Locke thought that the state from nature was an affordable state characterized by reason and tolerance. As for the social contract, he understood it as “a way to ensure the natural morality of man in a more efficient way, not to throw away his ugly condition, but to achieve his goals, that is, peace and security” (Locke, 2012). The paper also examines the influence and importance of Locke’s ideas in the development of modern political thought, analyzing how these concepts have contributed to the shaping of democratic ideas and human rights. In conclusion, a critique and re-contextualization of Locke’s theories in the contemporary context is offered, addressing their relevance to current issues of governance and justice in modern societies. This analysis aims to help deepen the understanding of Locke’s political philosophy and assess its influence on today’s political theories and practices.

Towards a unified ontology of cybernetics: bridging mechanology and CAS for cooperative societies through thematic synthesis

PurposeThis paper aims to conceptually unite an ontology of cybernetics, bridging living and technical systems, to facilitate future epistemological and theoretical advancements applicable to highly technical societies by crafting a set of definitions that elucidate the nature of the world in which these systems operate.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a thematic synthesis of two systems/cybernetic traditions: complex adaptive systems and mechanology. The primary sources for this research were the main theses and correlated papers published in the Simondon case for mechanology, and the seminal literature preselected by the Santa Fe Institute for complex adaptive systems.FindingsThe study proposes the following concepts: Individuation: the emergence of new properties in an individual composed of synergistically related parts; Technical evolution: the notion that technical objects evolve into living beings; circular causality: the notion that feedback and feedforward processes shape the organisation and structure of systems and their relationship with the environment; The milieu refers to the part of the environment that has a relationship of co-production, co-dependency, and co-evolution with systems. Metastability is a state that transcends stability and instability and motivates changes in the system. Transduction is the cumulative process of individuation in which systems change structure and organization to maintain operational coherence with their surroundings.Originality/valueThe concepts the paper identifies can serve as a starting point for an extended study on the ontology of cybernetics or as the basis for an evolutionary epistemology both in humans and machines.

Towards cyber-cooperatives: Studying the sharing economy of the tourism industry through an evolutionary approach to organizational cybernetics

Purpose: The lodging industry is transitioning to the online collaborative economy, with digital platforms mediating between hosts and guests. However, this has created significant inequalities between the platform management and the service providers. Objective. The paper proposes (a) to contribute to organisational cybernetics through evolutionary theory, (b) to analyse the emergence of platform cooperativism, and (c) to propose a platform cooperative based on the VSM, which we have called a cyber-cooperative. Design: Applying cybernetic evolutionary epistemology and the VSM, the article analyses the current state of the platform lodging industry and proposes the core characteristics of the cyber-cooperative. Findings: The article finds: a) it contributes to the theory of viable systems by integrating evolutionary theory; b) it uses the proposed theory to explain the developments in the collaborative economy of the lodging industry; c) it relates meme theory with the identity of the system and identifies the political ideas in cooperative organisations; d) it proposes the idea of the cyber-cooperative for developing the lodging industry. Originality: Evolutionary epistemology in organisational cybernetics, and the politics of identity in cooperativism are both novel approaches in the VSM. Type of paper: Research paper.

Discourses of Islamic Philosophy in modern religious education

Education plays a key role in a person’s life, regardless of their beliefs. This valuable perspective stems from the fact that educational development must primarily focus on philosophy, which becomes the foundation for the theoretical and practical components of the entire system. Islamic Philosophy methodologically shapes education throughout all stages of its historical and epistemological development. The purpose of this article is to consider the Islamic Philosophy of education in terms of the fundamentals of the conceptual worldview represented by Metaphysics, Axiology and various philosophical schools that contribute to the achievement of comprehensive and systematic education. Such a cognitive approach to the application of Islamic Philosophy is necessary for understanding the nature of spiritual education in modern society, including the study of social and environmental problems, as well as the meaning and role of emotional, spiritual and critical intelligence in the modern world. By studying Philosophy in Islamic teachings, one can understand its significance in the theoretical and practical aspects of education, and see the systemic connections of religious knowledge with other types of knowledge.

The Essence and Epistemological Significance of the Conceptual Dispute between Fallibilism and Infallibilism

For hundreds of years, almost all representatives of philosophical epistemology have assumed that human knowledge should be based on irrefutable, infallible and absolute foundation. Finding such stable epistemological milestones that will serve as the epistemological basis for the formation of infallible knowledge, cognition, and the creation of more fundamental concepts of knowledge—and, as the ultimate goal, cognition and true knowledge—was the dream of many philosophers and epistemologists. The epistemological dispute of fallibilism and infallibilism is highly valuable when viewed through the lens of the presented problem. A decision in favour of either side may lead one to reconsider issues such as the nature and justification of knowledge, the objectivity of scientific knowledge, the possibility of cognition, the nature of truth and its criteria, truth as the end goal of scientific research and cognition, and the issues surrounding the growth and progress of science. These issues are fundamental and guiding issues for the future development of philosophical epistemology and philosophy of science. Despite the fact that various attempts have been made to study the epistemological dispute of opposing concepts, especially since the 19th century, and each of the concepts separately has been the subject of numerous studies throughout the history of philosophy, nevertheless, today there is still no unified understanding of the essence of the epistemological dispute of fallibilism and infallibilism, the main range of problems and questions of the latter, as well as the epistemological meaning of the conceptual dispute. The study and analysis of the essence of an epistemological dispute, the clarification of its epistemological meaning, as well as the identification in the context of the dispute and the framework of epistemological and scientific problems arising from it are considered the central points of this work. To this end , the following tasks and questions were set in the article: 1. What is the essence and epistemological significance of the dispute between fallibilism and infallibilism? 2. What range of problems does an epistemological dispute suggest? 3. What is the significance of the epistemological dispute between fallibilism and infallibilism from the perspective of understanding, rethinking and solving the problems of philosophical epistemology and philosophy of science?

How are social context factors related to epistemological beliefs, motivations, and achievement in science? A serial mediation model

ABSTRACT Background Epistemological beliefs and motivational factors are significant predictors of achievement in science. Purpose To understand how social context factors shape epistemological beliefs and motivational factors and how they pass the influences to achievement in science. Sample A population of ninth graders in an underdeveloped region of southwest China (N = 2655). Design and Methods With science achievement test scores and survey data from the sample, we built a structural equation model on how the students’ epistemological beliefs and motivational factors mediate the effects of a set of social context factors on their achievement in science. Gender and rural-urban differences are also explored. Results Intrinsic motivation and epistemological beliefs significantly predicted achievements in science. Epistemological beliefs directly and indirectly affected achievement in science, with intrinsic motivation mediating its indirect effects. Among the social context factors, teacher influence and informal learning experiences positively predicted epistemological beliefs; family encouragement negatively predicted epistemological beliefs; only informal learning experiences directly affected intrinsic motivation. Significant rural-urban and gender differences were found. Conclusion Access to informal science learning experiences can play a crucial role in transforming the social environments in underdeveloped regions, promoting students’ epistemological development and intrinsic motivation, and, in turn, their achievement in science. Fostering students’ epistemological development may also require identifying and reconciling the conflicts between epistemological messages from home and school.

The role of research experiences in developing pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs

Persistent concerns about the theory-practice gap and desires for an ‘evidence-informed’ teaching profession have prompted research into how teachers' epistemic beliefs influence their acceptance or rejection of educational research. This study analyses longitudinal interview data from six pre-service teachers (PSTs) to explore how experiences of conducting research (in the domains of science or education) during initial teacher education (ITE) contribute to epistemological development. These research experiences provided opportunities for ad-hoc epistemological development, even in the absence of intentional efforts. Epistemic beliefs sometimes appeared to be supplanted, counterproductively, from science to education. The implications for teacher education and research are discussed.

THE METHODOLOGICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CONFLICT AND PEACE STUDIES

Conflict and peace studies is a field of knowledge and a contemporary academic dis cipline whose theories and concepts were formed in the second half of the twentieth century. However, the phenomenon of conflict is considered one of the oldest human phenomena. This article seeks to study and analyze the emergence and development of conflict and peace studies as a new scientific field, from its beginnings in post-World War II to the present time. In other words, this article deals with the progress of this scientific field through a review of all the basic stages that this field of knowledge has gone through. In its approach, this study resorted to the method of surveying many Western political references in the field of conflict and peace studies. Next, the study broke down the process of starting up and growing in this scientific field into specific periods that have basic elements. These include figuring out how important each stage is, how long it takes for this scientific specialization to become established, and what the most important ideas are at each stage. Finally, we compared these stages to discover the nature of the change and development in this scientific field. Keywords: Conflict, peace, studies, methodological, epistemological developments.

Raising the Question of Law in Language

The article shows a different approach (compared to the traditional one) to the paradigm of a public institution and to the development of a new epistemology, which replaces analysis (understood as a decomposition in the greek meaning of the word) and promotes synthesis and holism in the interpretation of law in language. It emphasizes that there are relationships between a public institution (law), language and cognition, where the role of language requires special study, especially in relation to mental activity. Modern scientific interdisciplinary approaches lead us to consider this phenomenon in the light of the paradigms of cognitivism (In connection with the interrelation and inseparability of language from thinking) and fractal semiotics (taking into account the “biosocial” function of language and the construction of an object of study from the position of an observer), representing these two public institutions as procedural, self-referential, self-organizing in their interaction with an observer.

Язык как ключ к реальности: от философии имени к дискурсу

Language and consciousness are two transcendental categories that determine the processes of cognition, thinking, introspection, perception, and subject-object relations. At different stages of philosophy, they were interpreted depending on the dominant philosophical and ideological paradigm in relation to reality, the existential goals of the subject and society, and methodological approaches, e.g., phenomenological, hermeneutical, discursive, etc. This article systematizes the basic concepts of language in various historical epochs, i.e., from antiquity to the XXI century. The evolution of views on language is represented not from the standpoint of self-reference, but through the prism of socio-cultural and socio-historical changes in reality and its relation to the subject. The author traced the development of the philosophy of language and defined the reasons behind the evolution of approaches to language and consciousness. The article attempts to answer two questions: How do different paradigms of the philosophy of language and consciousness approach the matter of subject’s access to the real world? To what extent were paradigm shifts caused by the changing cultural, historical, and socio-political backgrounds? Since evolutionary epistemology identifies gnoseology as one of the main functions of language, the categories of thinking and understanding receive special attention. The growing complexity of the world order affects the relationship between language and consciousness, i.e., from singularity (philosophy of name) to continuality (discourse).

Construction and mental mechanisms for learning about the exponential function in a school setting

[Objective] The objective of this study was to examine, in the light of the APOS theory (action, process, object, and schema), the results produced by secondary school students when addressing 11 items related to the exponential function. [Methodology] The approach was qualitative, using content analysis. The sample consisted of 15 students between 15 and 18 years old, chosen in a non-probabilistic way to obtain the greatest amount of information. Based upon the theory, an instrument was designed which consisted of a hypothetical genetic decomposition of the concept of exponential function as a cognitive object, according to structures (action, process, object and schema) and mental mechanisms (interiorization, coordination, encapsulation, decapsulation, and investment), to interpret the mental construct that students create about the function being studied, based on its historical epistemological development, its presentation in school textbooks and the experience of the researcher. [Results] At the level of results, it was found that 13 students showed an action conception of the function being studied and 2 students built the concept at the process level. [Conclusion] Students most often built the concept of an exponential function at the action level, that is, everything related to repetitive and mechanical processes with powers, image calculation, graphic representation, solution of exponential equations; some students even responded to the items without explicitly performing all the steps required for their resolution. These results demonstrated the absence of a mental process related to the exponential function and its consequent encapsulation into an exponential function object.

The Advancement of Western Epistemology in Islamic Education

<em>This article examines the development of Western Epistemology in the World of Islamic Education. The findings in this paper explain that: There are two conflicting methods in achieving knowledge, namely rational and empirical methods. Both are biased methods in Western epistemology. In fact, in real terms, both methods play an equal role in discovering knowledge. Therefore, science is now more empirical in nature, placing greater emphasis on experience, observation and research/experimental plus Descartes' ways of thinking. This combination of reason and empirical is called the scientific method. This method developed rapidly and colored Western or general epistemology.</em>

Epistemological (re)considerations on physical education in Brazil from the kinesiology of the United States: A horizon beyond the epithets

This study discusses theoretical reverberations that stand out in the field of Physical Education (PE) in Brazil in the face of epistemological discussions demarcated within the scope of PE in the USA from the 1960s onwards, and due to the contributions of the Disciplinary Movement and the context by which Kinesiology then established its position as a scope in the field of American PE. An exploratory literature review was carried out with the following guiding question: what is the impact of the epistemological developments of North American PE on the configuration of the general theory of PE in Brazil? From this perspective, we verified the authors in the Brazilian field who took a position on the resonances and limits arising from the conjectures of the scientific field of PE in the USA. Through this investigation, some processes of inhibition were highlighted by which the proposal of Kinesiology could not increase reflections in Brazil, with few exceptions.

Toward Epistemological Development Across the Curriculum: The Effect of Embedded Epistemic Instruction

Abstract: The present study investigated enhancing undergraduates' epistemological beliefs by integrating epistemological insights into a regular university course using an immersion framework. It was conducted with second-year students in the Department of English Language and Cultures in an Algerian university. The 48-student group received a two-semester study skills course designed with built-in notions about the nature, construction, sources, and certainty of knowledge, along with the original course content. A 19-subject group received a traditional study skills course. Both samples' epistemological beliefs were measured using Baxter Magolda's epistemological reflection model before and after the treatment. A qualitative analysis of the data indicated a significantly greater increase in the sophistication of the treatment group's epistemological beliefs when compared to the control group. These results highlight the considerable potential that a curriculum design informed by personal epistemology research has to offer to all educational endeavors and, hence, to overall epistemological complexity in society. Recommendations are made for policymakers, instructional designers, and teachers.

Epistemic Coercion

Recent developments in social epistemology have applied a radically expansive notion of harm which encompasses beliefs and kinds of scientific knowledge. The implied or explicit implication of these notions is that these harms need to be suppressed. The notion of disinformation has turned this into institutional practice. The Covid pandemic saw the development and widespread use of actual means of knowledge suppression and epistemic engineering, both within science and with respect to expert claims, within nominally free societies. Paul Feyerabend’s Science in a Free Society addressed these issues by critiquing the erasure of coercion from the past history of science and the practice of ignoring the coercive elements of expertise. Here I take this seriously, and turn the problem upside down by treating coercion and resistance to coercion as inherent parts of science and the public role and place in science and in discourse generally. Regardless of one’s views on these questions it is evident that the rise of digital technologies, such as social media, has created novel opportunities for control, distinctive forms of epistemic control, and a need for rethinking the possibility of resistance to the coercive powers of the new technologies. This is a preliminary formulation of some of the issues.

JSM Method for Automated Research Support and Trust in its Results

The article discusses the conditions for accepting the results of JSM research. Three types of truth values are defined - correspondent, coherent and pragmatic. Pragmatic truth values are determined through semantic types of empirical regularities. Three types of trust in JSM studies are considered: maximum, acceptable, and minimum. The quality characteristics of JSM research are also determined. Establishment of trust is carried out in the cognitive interface module of intelligent systems (IS-JSM). IS-JSM are a constructive tool for knowledge discovery. The article proposes improved definitions of induction and abduction – the logical means of the JSM method of ARS, based on the principles of constructive evolutionary epistemology and the concept of empirical qualitative causality.

Small and medium-sized French cities facing contemporary challenges in commercial systems and consumption

In the context of significant changes in commerce and consumer practices, such as the e-commerce boom, discount development, increased household mobility, and consumption relocation, small and medium-sized towns are experiencing similar market structure evolutions to those of large conurbations. These changes include the shrinkage of shopping centres and the growth of peripheries and transit trade, which are accompanied by urban structure evolutions, such as peri-urbanization. This article aims to examine the reciprocal effects of urban development and commercial changes in small and medium-sized cities. It is based on French literature in the geography of commerce, as well as related disciplines such as sociology and urbanism. The objective of this article is to present the epistemological evolution of studies on the subject and current key research issues.

An Orientalist Today: Jonathan A.C. Brown's Thoughts on Hadith

The term "Orientalist" refers to scholars, mostly from the West, who specialize in studying Eastern cultures, including Islamic texts such as the Quran and Hadith. This study explores the views of a contemporary Orientalist, namely Jonathan Andrew Cleveland Brown, on Hadith. Grounding on Brown's works on hadith and related topics as the main data, this study found that Brown has introduced a distinctive concept known as “the canonization theory”, typically applied as a stage in the cult or development of the Bible and Torah. Brown has applied the theory to explore the history of the books of hadith composed by Bukhari and Muslim. His perspective ultimately supports the consensus of Muslim scholars who consider Sahih Bukhari and Muslim as the primary source of Islamic law after the Quran. The canonization of Sahihain has undergone extensive study and critique from hadith experts. The reception of Sahih Bukhari has also experienced dynamics, such as the rejection by the Naisabur community, who favored Sahih Muslim, until Sahih Bukhari was established as the foremost reference on hadith, inspiring the development of a new epistemology in the study of hadith. Overall, Brown advocates for a balanced approach to Hadith, respecting Islamic tradition while maintaining a critical and scientific perspective in understanding and interpreting hadith.