Interpretation Of Instruments Research Articles

Why Observing Li Is Not the Instrument to Attain Ren : On the Relation Between Ren and Li in the Analects

Abstract: Many scholars generally believe that Confucius thinks the observance of li to be instrumental in attaining ren . In this essay, it is argued that observing li is not the instrument for attaining ren in the Analects . If we endorse the instrumentalist's interpretation of li for attaining ren , four contradictions would be followed in the Analects . Besides, there is no clear and solid textual evidence for the instrumentalist's interpretation of li . By reinterpreting passage 12.1, where Confucius said "ke ji fu li wei ren" 克己復禮為仁, it is argued that scholars are wrong to refer to it as a support for the instrumentalist's interpretation. In the Analects , Confucius presents a self-cultivation way to attain ren without relying on the observance of li .

Interpreting Interpretation in Private Law

Abstract The article addresses the following question: why do we interpret private law? My aim is, first of all, to make use of the theory of interpretation presented by Ronald Dworkin in Justice for Hedgehogs (Dworkin 2011) to emphasize the methodological importance of this issue. Second, the article casts doubt on the thesis that different interpretations of private law – for example, the so-called structuralist interpretations and instrumentalist interpretations such as the economic analysis of law – are rival interpretations. Like Dworkin, I argue that it is our interpretive responsibilities that define whether or not two interpretations of the same object should be treated as rivals. These responsibilities, in turn, are measured in light of the purpose of the interpretation. The interpretation of private law is a peculiar case of legal interpretation because it is not eminently concerned with determining the content of that law. On the other hand, if justification is the point of interpreting private law, then there seems to be no reason why different interpretations should necessarily be interpretations in competition with each other. The justification of private law may depend on a plurality of normative injunctions being met, and the features by which private law satisfies these injunctions can be highlighted sometimes by one interpretation, sometimes by another.

, , AND REINHARDT’S PROGRAM

AbstractIn “Some Remarks on Extending and Interpreting Theories with a Partial Truth Predicate”, Reinhardt [21] famously proposed an instrumentalist interpretation of the truth theory Kripke–Feferman ( $\mathrm {KF}$ ) in analogy to Hilbert’s program. Reinhardt suggested to view $\mathrm {KF}$ as a tool for generating “the significant part of $\mathrm {KF}$ ”, that is, as a tool for deriving sentences of the form $\mathrm{Tr}\ulcorner {\varphi }\urcorner $ . The constitutive question of Reinhardt’s program was whether it was possible “to justify the use of nonsignificant sentences entirely within the framework of significant sentences”. This question was answered negatively by Halbach & Horsten [10] but we argue that under a more careful interpretation the question may receive a positive answer. To this end, we propose to shift attention from $\mathrm {KF}$ -provably true sentences to $\mathrm {KF}$ -provably true inferences, that is, we shall identify the significant part of $\mathrm {KF}$ with the set of pairs $\langle {\Gamma , \Delta }\rangle $ , such that $\mathrm {KF}$ proves that if all members of $\Gamma $ are true, at least one member of $\Delta $ is true. In way of addressing Reinhardt’s question we show that the provably true inferences of suitable $\mathrm {KF}$ -like theories coincide with the provable sequents of matching versions of the theory Partial Kripke–Feferman ( $\mathrm {PKF}$ ).

ONTOLOGY OF LOOPED QUANTUM GRAVITY. HINGES

Some ontological aspects of the theory of loop quantum gravity are considered. First of all, its possible nature of one of the fundamental objects of theory - the quantum loop - is discussed. In particular, the possible material, geometric and instrumentalist interpretations of this object are briefly considered.

Speechless

This paper sets out fromthe understanding that empowerment is a process by which those who have been denied power gain power, in particular the ability to make strategic life choices. For women, these could be the capacity to choose a marriage partner, a livelihood, or whether or not to have children. For this power to come about, three interrelated dimensions are needed: access to and control of resources; agency (the ability to use these resources to bring about new opportunities) and achievements (the attainment of new social outcomes). Empowerment, therefore, is both a process and an end result. This understanding differs greatly from instrumentalist interpretations which view empowerment purely in terms of measurable outcomes. Instrumentalist interpretations are problematic because they convey the belief that social change can be predicted and prescribed in a cause-and-effect way and undermine the notion that women’s empowerment should be about the ability of women to make self-determined choices. Third World countries are increasingly forced to rely on internal resource mobilization to make up for sharp reductions in external aid and resources. Alongside this, development processes are often indifferent to the interests and needs of the poor. In this scenario, women’s contributions as workers and as managers of human welfare-are central to the ability of households, communities, and nations to tackle the resulting crisis. However, women suffer from decreased access to resources and increased demands on their labor and time. If human survival is the world’s most pressing problem, and if women are crucial to that survival, then the empowerment of women is essential for the emergence of new, creative, and cooperative solutions. As part of the empowerment process, feminism and collective action are fundamental but feminism must not be monolithic in its issues, goals, and strategies, since it should constitute the political expression of the concerns and interests of women from different regions, classes, nationalities, and ethnic backgrounds. There is and must be a diversity of feminisms, responsive to the different needs and concerns of different women and defined by women for themselves. The underlying foundation to this diversity is the common opposition to gender oppression and other forms of domination. In the ongoing United Nations debate on human rights and sexuality, sexual rights have been conceptualizedin largely negative ways in relation to issues of protection against pregnancy, rape, disease, and violence. This paper calls for an inclusion of more positive aspects of sexual rights.

Bayesian modeling of the mind: From norms to neurons.

Bayesian decision theory is a mathematical framework that models reasoning and decision-making under uncertain conditions. The past few decades have witnessed an explosion of Bayesian modeling within cognitive science. Bayesian models are explanatorily successful for an array of psychological domains. This article gives an opinionated survey of foundational issues raised by Bayesian cognitive science, focusing primarily on Bayesian modeling of perception and motor control. Issues discussed include the normative basis of Bayesian decision theory; explanatory achievements of Bayesian cognitive science; intractability of Bayesian computation; realist versus instrumentalist interpretation of Bayesian models; and neural implementation of Bayesian inference. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Foundations of Cognitive Science.

Sectarianism from the Top Down or Bottom Up? Explaining the Middle East’s Unlikely De-sectarianization after the Arab Spring

Sectarian politics has retreated across the Middle East in the years after the Arab Spring, even as conflict between the region’s two main sectarian actors—Iran and Saudi Arabia—has intensified. This essay explores this incongruence as a way of better understanding the nature and drivers of sectarianism and de-sectarianization in MENA states, supported by public opinion and other data that substantiate the post-2011 decline in Arabs’ concern over sectarianism. It contends that the close correspondence between the rise and demise of the Arab Spring on the one hand, and that of sectarianism on the other, supports an instrumentalist interpretation of sectarian politics in the region.

Friedman's instrumentalism in F53. A Weberian reading

In this paper, Weber’s methodology of ideal types is applied as a framework to argue for the instrumentalist interpretation of Friedman’s methodology of positive economics. Weber’s ideal-typical methodology is characterized as a mix of descriptive inaccuracy and causal adequacy. Based on some recent structuralist results in the philosophy of science it is highlighted how intimately causal understanding and the properties of entities are related. The main contrast between Weber and Friedman consists in the emphases they placed on the causal properties of agents. It is argued that Friedman’s instrumentalism results from his neglect of entity properties for no causal understanding can be placed upon neglected characteristics. By identifying some channels through which methodological Weberianism could spread, the possibility of a real albeit indirect connection between Weber and Friedman is suggested, with Frank H. Knight as the most probable diffuser.

Невоспринятие альтернативы и еще один аргумент в пользу инструментализма (Рец. на кн.: Stanford K. Exceeding Our Grasp: Science, History, and the Problem of Unconceived Alternatives. Oxford University Press, 2006)

Selective skepticism in relation to fundamental scientific theories and criticism of the inference to the best explanation as an eliminative approach to substantiate hypotheses, enable K. Stanford to interpret and combine in his own way the classical arguments against the scientific realism – the arguments of the pessimistic meta-induction and that of the underdetermination of theory by data. Despite the fact that his justification of the instrumentalist interpretation of scientific knowledge is just another version of the argument «from error», K. Stanford’s book should be recommended to a scientific realism could be. Reflection on the book: Stanford K. Exceeding Our Grasp: Science, History, and the Problem of Unconceived Alternatives. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Structuralism in Modern Business-Cycle Theory: A Framework for a Structuralist Reconceptualization

In this tiny paper, a possible framework for a structuralist analysis of modern business-cycle theory is considered. In order to respond to the debates around the realist and instrumentalist interpretations of the works of Friedman I will provide a framework in which the tension between the opposite standpoints can be overcome. Based on epistemic structural realism, firstly, I will identify Friedman’s stance as a mix of agent-level instrumentalism and macro-level causal realism and, secondly, I will scrutinize the consistency of this epistemic strategy. I will argue that causal realism requires one to be realist regarding the assumptions defining agents as well.

Instrumentalist Interpretations of Hindu Environmental Ethics

Many environmental ethicists believe that any adequate environmental ethic should attribute ‘direct moral standing’ (often glossed in terms of intrinsic value) to plants, animals, and the rest of nature. But certain interpretations of Hindu environmental ethics apparently attribute only instrumental value to nature. This places them in direct conflict with the purported adequacy condition on an environmental ethic. So, is such a Hindu ethical view really inadequate? In his recent book Hinduism and Environmental Ethics, Christopher Framarin claims that it is because Hindu instrumentalism about nature is either viciously circular or unacceptably arbitrary. I argue, however, that Framarin’s claim founders in virtue of his misconstruing the logical structure of instrumental value.

Critical reflections on a realist interpretation of Friedman’s ‘Methodology of Positive Economics’

Uskali Mäki has offered an innovative scientific realist account of Milton Friedman’s 1953 essay, ‘The Methodology of Positive Economics’, which directly challenges the dominant instrumentalist interpretation. This paper offers critical reflections on Mäki’s approach and interpretation. It is argued that Mäki’s method of rereading-rewriting the text is problematic; that an unforced instrumentalist account of unrealistic assumptions can be extracted from the text itself; and that seemingly realist passages can be plausibly read as expressing an instrumentalist stance.

Education in Anti-Doping: The Art of Self-Imposed Constraints.

The pillars of anti-doping are detection, deterrence, and prevention. Detection takes the form of testing for banned substances. Deterrence builds on testing and gathering evidence. Athletes who test positive are exposed to penalties. The main tool of prevention is education. Education takes many forms and can be implemented in many ways. This chapter addresses the nature and challenges of current anti-doping education. Firstly, general goals of education and their connection to sport are discussed. Secondly, three normative interpretations of sport are presented, and their implications for anti-doping education are examined. Instrumentalist interpretations and interpretations with emphasis on performance and enhancement challenge the anti-doping campaign. A human excellence interpretation is advocated in which anti-doping is considered a consistent and integral part of sport. Thirdly, future challenges for anti-doping education are reflected upon.

The people who are never lost

The study seeks to find an answer to the issue of how a revived tradition can serve political interests that are simultaneously attempting to satisfy the demands of ethnicity-based Bashkir nation-building and the demands of affiliation with the larger multi-ethnic nation of the Russian Federation. The core of the analysis is centered around the political contextualizing of the program called ‘Holiday of Family-Tree’ as well as the instrumentalist interpretation of local special literature and methodology related to the program. The paper, on the one hand, scrutinizes the family-tree research as a Bashkir tradition, which supports the power and autonomy of the Bashkir nation through the Bashkirisation of Tatars living in the north-western areas. On the other hand, it highlights how this ethnic tradition is adjusted to the traditions of the Russian local history research (kraevedenie) and thus, how it legitimates symbolically the role of the Bashkir nation in the multi-ethnic nation of the Russian Federation.

Measurement, Interpretation and Information

During many years since the birth of quantum mechanics, instrumentalist interpretations prevailed: the meaning of the theory was expressed in terms of measurements results. However, in the last decades, several attempts to interpret it from a realist viewpoint have been proposed. Among them, modal interpretations supply a realist non-collapse account, according to which the system always has definite properties and the quantum state represents possibilities, not actualities. But the traditional modal interpretations faced some conceptual problems when addressing imperfect measurements. The modal-Hamiltonian interpretation, on the contrary, proved to be able to supply an adequate account of the measurement problem, both in its ideal and its non-ideal versions. Moreover, in the non-ideal case, it gives a precise criterion to distinguish between reliable and non-reliable measurements. Nevertheless, that criterion depends on the particular state of the measured system, and this might be considered as a shortcoming of the proposal. In fact, one could ask for a criterion of reliability that does not depend on the features of what is measured but only on the properties of the measurement device. The aim of this article is precisely to supply such a criterion: we will adopt an informational perspective for this purpose.During many years since the birth of quantum mechanics, instrumentalistinterpretations prevailed: the meaning of the theory was expressed in terms of measurementsresults. However, in the last decades, several attempts to interpret it from a realist viewpointhave been proposed. Among them, modal interpretations supply a realist non-collapseaccount, according to which the system always has definite properties and the quantum staterepresents possibilities, not actualities. But the traditional modal interpretations faced someconceptual problems when addressing imperfect measurements. The modal-Hamiltonianinterpretation, on the contrary, proved to be able to supply an adequate account of themeasurement problem, both in its ideal and its non-ideal versions. Moreover, in the non-idealcase, it gives a precise criterion to distinguish between reliable and non-reliable measurements.Nevertheless, that criterion depends on the particular state of the measured system, and thismight be considered as a shortcoming of the proposal. In fact, one could ask for a criterionof reliability that does not depend on the features of what is measured but only on theproperties of the measurement device. The aim of this article is precisely to supply such acriterion: we will adopt an informational perspective for this purpose.

Revisiting the Notion of Hong Kong as a Regional Education Hub

Hong Kong has tried to develop itself as a regional education hub for a decade. However, the policy is being criticized because Hong Kong has neither diversified its student population ethnically and culturally nor expanded its share in the global higher education market. This paper explores this context to examine the significance of the education hub concept in the development of higher education in Hong Kong. Based on an analysis of the concept of education hub the paper argues that the purposes of building an education hub need to be defined. It also argues that an instrumentalist interpretation of internationalization of higher education is not enough to understand the importance of the education hub notion to the higher education development in the city. An idealistic and educational approach in this respect is a relevant idea for the prospect of Hong Kong as an education hub.

Comment: Five Uses of Philosophy in Scientific Theories of Emotion

Commentary on four articles in a special issue on “theories of emotion,” comparing the theories with respect to five conceptual contrasts. The first four contrasts are essentialism versus nonessentialism, discriminative versus integrative theories, individual versus social focus, and instrumentalism versus scientific realism. Although scientific psychologists appear to have reached consensus in favor of nonessentialism and they freely use both realist and instrumentalist interpretations, there is no consensus on the other two contrasts. The final contrast explored addresses attitudes toward the use of philosophy in scientific theorizing, and whether philosophy is best kept in the background or brought into the foreground.

Neogeography and the Delusion of Democratisation

Within the academic and popular discussion of neogeography, it is routinely argued that the process of producing and using geographical information has been fundamentally democratised. Neogeography, in contrast to ‘established geography’, especially uses the argument that it is for anyone, anywhere, and anytime. Similar arguments have been used to praise the growth in Web GIS since the mid-1990s and seem to be persistent in the conceptualisation of these technologies. However, what is the nature of this democracy, and to what extent do the technologies that are used in neogeography fulfil this democratisation promise? In this contribution the framework offered by Andrew Feenberg in his critical theory of technology, and especially his call for ‘deep democratisation’, is used to provide a critique of these assertions of the nature of neogeography. The analysis shows that, unlike early critical GIS and the literature on participatory GIS, the analysis of neogeography adopted an instrumentalist interpretation of the technology and its applications. This view claims that technology is value free and that there is a separation between means and ends. This type of argument ignores and disguises the values that are integrated inexorably in advanced technologies. Once the values are exposed and discussed, neogeography becomes far less exciting and transformative. It becomes clear that there is a separation between a technological elite and a wider group of uninformed, labouring participants who are not empowered through the use of the technology. There are also multiple obstacles that limit the democratic potential of neogeography. The analysis progresses by considering the hierarchy of hacking, understood here as the ability to alter and change the meaning and use of a specific technological system. This hierarchy further explains the democratisation potentialities and limits of neogeography. Because of the reduced barriers, neogeography does offer some increased level of democratisation but, to fulfil this potential, it requires careful implementation that takes into account social and political aspects.

Open Concepts as Crystallization Points and Enablers of Discursive Configurations: The Case of the Innovation Campus in the Netherlands

In this paper, we reflect on the role of concepts in spatial planning as reproductive devices of discursive configurations. In contrast to instrumentalist interpretations of spatial concepts, we start from the idea that spatial planning concepts are inherently political. Building on post-structuralist strands of thought, we discuss the theoretical concepts of “empty signifier” and “master signifier” and instead, after analysis, put forward “open concepts”, in order to grasp the richness of meanings and functions of seemingly vague concepts. This manoeuvre allows us to analyse the trajectory and performance of the spatial concept of the “innovation campus” in the Netherlands. This, in turn, opens the door to an analysis of planning concepts as crystallization points and enablers of discursive configurations. The Dutch innovation campus is shown to be a result of a confluence of various national and international discourses, an open concept, flexible enough to enable the continuation of the planning game within the familiar set of coordinates. Because of the particular set of expectations associated with the innovation campus, promising structural change, it is bound to produce disappointment.

A Double-edged Sword of Peace? Reflections on the Tension between Representation and Protection in Gendering Liberal Peacebuilding

Using a postcolonial-feminist approach, this article argues that the way in which gender is framed in peace interventions is symptomatic of the hegemonic way in which the discourses about the representation and protection of women within the liberal intervention model are constructed and institutionalized. Through an analysis of international discourses on the politics of inclusion/exclusion, protection, as well as sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), it illustrates the disempowering effect of instrumentalist interpretations of women's agency. The article concludes that the embedded violence of liberal peacebuilding becomes even more pronounced when the gendered inner workings of international organizations, among others, are placed under scrutiny. It proposes a critical postcolonial-feminist vision that is resistant to universalist conceptions of women, gender and self to overcome the under-theorized gender dimensions of liberal peacebuilding.