Practical Philosophy Research Articles

Some Lessons from Alcibiades 1 and Plato’s Seventh Letter for Philosophical Practitioners

In this paper I illuminate several themes that I find of great import in understanding the practice of Philosophical Practice as a process. I do this through a careful consideration of two often disputed texts by Plato: Alcibiades 1 and Plato’s Seventh Letter. I do not wish to defend the authenticity of the authorship of the texts, but simply extol the usefulness and appropriateness of these two lesser considered texts as displaying a number of important teachings that I often use in Philosophical Practice. I take these teachings to be central to Plato’s meta-philosophy and the notion of self-concept.

Philosophical meditation in the West

How can we return to meditation in the West today? Descartes was the last person to meditate in the West, but after him, the gnoseology of his thought was all that prevailed, as well as the rift between subject and object: thinking, meditating, thus, became a form of reflection on something, which is an object detached from the subject who thinks. The philosophy of the twentieth century questioned the cogito, but it did not restore meditation. This is the task of philosophical practice. But how can we restore Western meditation? The essay attempts to demonstrate a way to meditate today, to allow emotions to live, to welcome them and allow them to mellow. It also shows how meditation is a continuous source of comparison for philosophical practitioners so they can preserve their humility as they perform their task, dismiss authority, and welcome the guest without the risk of manipulating him or her, by listening to the guest while also challenging their own preconceived ideas and past emotions.

The Kashmiri Nondualism and the Philosophical Counseling. On the Nonduality of the Consciousness

The paper aims to present the role of the philosophy of mind and consciousness for the philosophical practice (philosophical practice) and to explore the possibility of a transpersonal philosophical counseling.

Практическая составляющая ранней греческой философии

Introduction. The relevance of «practical philosophy» is contrasted with «traditional philosophy», detached from life. The final perspective sees the harmonization of theoretical-practical and practical-theoretical activity of philosophers, based on the appropriate historical and logical rethinking of the history of philosophy. The classical beginning is to emphasize the practical component of early Greek philosophy. Theoretical analysis. The direct connection to life unites Thales as a sage with Thales as a philosopher (the widespread idea of the remoteness of Thales' philosophy from practice is criticized as being engaged by the dominant theoretical-practical paradigm of philosophy). The expert model of the practical component of Thales' philosophy generally characterizes the Milesian school and the Eleates. The absence of effective philosophical practice contributes to the skepticism of Xenophanes and the tragic nature of Heraclitus' work. Political activity of Pythagoreans is the objective maximum of the practical component of philosophy (political model of the practical component of philosophy). The problematic nature of philosophers' political activity, the growth and complication of theoretical research lead the ancient atomists towards the formation of a theoretical-practical model of philosophical activity. Conclusion. The problem of connection with life was positively solved in the work of Thales and was significant for all early Greek philosophy. This should be taken into account in the further study of the history of philosophy; the latter is in essence the school of thought that contributes to the harmonization of theoretical and practical activities of modern philosophy.

Philosophy and morality in practice through media texts: review of the web series Kaala Paani

Philosophy and morality in practice through media texts: review of the web series Kaala Paani

A hagyomány klasszikus és kortárs diskurzusai

This thematic compilation contains the proceedings of the conference organised by the Practical Philosophy and the Classical Tradition Research Group within the Institute of Philosophy at the Centre for the Humanities (Hun-Ren). The aim of the event was to examine contemporary and classical approaches to tradition. The selected texts seek to illuminate some aspects of the topic.

Between the genotype and the phenotype lies the microbiome: symbiosis and the making of ‘postgenomic’ knowledge

Emphatic claims of a “microbiome revolution” aside, the study of the gut microbiota and its role in organismal development and evolution is a central feature of so-called postgenomics; namely, a conceptual and/or practical turn in contemporary life sciences, which departs from genetic determinism and reductionism to explore holism, emergentism and complexity in biological knowledge-production. This paper analyses the making of postgenomic knowledge about developmental symbiosis in Drosophila melanogaster by a specific group of microbiome scientists. Drawing from both practical philosophy of science and Science and Technology Studies, the paper documents epistemological questions of artefactuality and representativeness of model organisms as they emerge in the day-to-day labour producing and being produced by the “microbiome revolution." Specifically, the paper builds on all the written and editorial exchanges involved in the troubled publication of a research paper studying the symbiotic role of the microbiota in the flies’ development. These written materials permit us to delimit the network of justifications, evidence, standards of knowledge-production, trust in the tools and research designs that make up the conditions of possibility of a postgenomic fact. More than reframing the organism as a radically novel multiplicity of reactive genomes, we conclude, doing postgenomic research on the microbiota and symbiosis means producing a story that deviates from the scripts embedded into the sociotechnical experimental systems of post-Human Genome Project life sciences.

A Randomized, Controlled, Preliminary Study to Assess the Efficacy of Logic-Based Therapy in Reducing Anxiety and/or Depression in Family Caregivers

This paper analyzes the findings of a preliminary, controlled efficacy study conducted by the National Philosophical Counseling Association of a prominent modality of philosophical counseling, Logic-Based Therapy (LBT). In this study, the latter modality was compared to a mindfulness activity. The study included 20 caretakers randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The hypothesis investigated was that a one-hour LBT session is more effective in reducing the level of (state or trait) anxiety and/or depression in family caregivers than a one-hour mindfulness session. Utilizing data compiled from study participants’ responses to the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-2), two-way mixed ANOVA tests on three variables (state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression (BDI-2) scores) were performed as well as paired analyses yielding the preliminary conclusion (pending a more extensive study) that LBT shows promise as an effective intervention for reducing state anxiety as compared to the control condition, the mindfulness activity.

A co-design living labs philosophy of practice for end-to-end research design to translation with people with lived-experience of mental ill-health and carer/family and kinship groups.

There is increased recognition that people with lived-experience of mental ill-health ought to be centred in research design, implementation and translation, and quality improvement and program evaluation of services. There is also an increased focus on ways to ensure that co-design processes can be led by people with lived-experience of mental ill-health. Despite this, there remains limited explanation of the physical, social, human, and economic infrastructure needed to create and sustain such models in research and service settings. This is particularly pertinent for all health service sectors (across mental and physical health and social services) but more so across tertiary education settings where research generation occurs for implementation and translation activities with policy and services. The Co-Design Living Labs program was established in 2017 as an example of a community-based embedded approach to bring people living with trauma and mental ill-health and carers/family and kinship group members together with university-based researchers to drive end-to-end research design to translation in mental healthcare and research sectors. The program's current membership is near to 2000 people. This study traces the evolution of the program in the context of the living labs tradition of open innovation. It overviews the philosophy of practice for working with people with lived-experience and carer/family and kinship group members-togetherness by design. Togetherness by design centres on an ethical relation of being-for that moves beyond unethical and transactional approaches of being-aside and being-with, as articulated by sociologist Zygmunt Bauman. The retrospective outlines how an initial researcher-driven model can evolve and transform to become one where people with lived-experience of mental ill-health and carer/family kinship group members hold clear decision-making roles, share in power to enact change, and move into co-researcher roles within research teams. Eight mechanisms are presented in the context of an explanatory theoretical model of change for co-design and coproduction, which are used to frame research co-design activities and provide space for continuous learning and evolution of the Co-Design Living Labs program.

Methods and lessons in theatrical practice as social work

ABSTRACT Stemming from the combined philosophies of social work and professional artistic practice, this paper recounts five years of working with populations of fifth graders to craft their own original plays. Application of group development theory in our evolving theatrical process emphasizes several lessons, including utilizing a population’s observed need(s) to derive socioemotional purpose; the ownership a group discovers when creating its own material; and the importance of centering what two communities have to offer each other in mutual aid. The 509 classroom at PS3 is a case study for the immense socioemotional impact artistic practice can have when student need is not neglected in favor of academic skill acquisition.

Effective Altruism, Islamic Philanthropy, and Public Welfare: A Critique

Islamic philanthropy is often seen as a major articulation of Islamic principles of wealth redistribution and social justice, especially in rural and peripheral areas. In this mainstream narrative, the economic mandate of Islam is seen from a prism of noblesse oblige and/or reformism, turning the Islamic notion of solidarity into an individualized obligation for charity and almsgiving. This embourgeoisement of Islamic economic ethics overlaps with and embodies the idea of Effective Altruism (EA), a utilitarian practical philosophy of philanthropy for the most pressing social causes which has grown into a gigantic industry-cum-fad of the global capitalist elites. This article presents a critique of EA, EA-adjacent practices of Islamic philanthropy, and alternative economic proposals for rural welfare. To do so, this article uses insights from critical studies of political thought, critical political economy, and solidarity economy literature as an analytical lens in analyzing EA and Islamic philanthropy and formulating a synthesis of Islamic economic ethics and alter-capitalist rural welfare practices and institutions. This paper concludes that Islamic philanthropy and EA have serious limitations in improving rural welfare, especially in Global South countries such as Indonesia, and shows alternative pathways for agrarian justice.

‘Does the Claim that there are no Theories Imply that there is no History of Theories to be Written?(!)’*

AbstractInThere Are No Such Things As Theories(French 2020), the reification of theories is critically analysed and rejected. My aim here is to tease out some of the implications of this approach first of all, for how we, philosophers of science, should view the history of science; secondly, for how we should understand the devices that we use in our own philosophical practices; and thirdly, for how we might think about the relationship between the history of science and the philosophy of science.

Caring for patients during voluntarily stopping of eating and drinking (VSED): experiences of a palliative care team in Germany

BackgroundHealth-care professionals are confronted with patients who wish to end their lives through voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). During VSED, symptoms such as agitation, thirst or psychological distress may arise, thus making close medical accompaniment necessary. Dealing with these symptoms can put a high burden on palliative care teams. Furthermore, divergent perceptions of the ethical classification of VSED may lead to moral distress. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of experience gained over time on the burden of palliative care professionals while accompanying patients during VSED and to assess the perceptions of coping strategies.MethodsThis is a prospective single-centre study conducted at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Palliative Care at University Hospital Duesseldorf, Germany. At two points in time (T1, T2) one year apart, team members of all professions who were actively involved in the accompaniment were eligible to complete a pretested questionnaire.ResultsTeam members perceived the symptom complex of psychological distress, anxiety, and agitation to be the most burdensome symptoms for the patients (T1: 28/49, 57.1%; T2: 33/59, 55.9%). Thirst was the second most observed symptom (T1: 17/49, 34.7%, T2: 19/59, 32.2%). These were also the most burdensome symptoms for individual team members. Most team members found there were no general moral concerns. There was a decrease in the perceived importance of support strategies such as ethical counselling (85.7% versus 63.6%).ConclusionsAccompanying patients during VSED is a challenge for health-care professionals. When comparing T2 to T1, less emphasis lies on the importance of ethical counselling or psychiatric assessment to build a foundation for the accompaniment. Moral and ethical concerns seem to play a minor role. More in-depth studies covering a bigger sample size as well as qualitative studies are needed.

Book Review - Happiness in Kant’s Practical Philosophy: Morality, Indirect Duties, and Welfare Rights by Alice Pinheiro Walla (Lexington Books, 2022)

Book Review - Happiness in Kant’s Practical Philosophy: Morality, Indirect Duties, and Welfare Rights by Alice Pinheiro Walla (Lexington Books, 2022)

Philosophical silences: race, gender, disability, and philosophical practice

Abstract Who is recognized as a philosopher and what counts as philosophy influence both the content of a philosophical education and academic philosophy’s continuing demographic skew. The ‘philosophical who’ and the ‘philosophical what’ themselves are a partial function of matters that have been passed over in collective silence, even if that now feels to some like a silence belonging to the distant past. This paper discusses some philosophical silences regarding race, gender, and disability in the context of reflection on philosophical education and on philosophical practice in the public sphere. It focusses on Charles Mills’ writings on race, Susan Babbitt’s on race and gender, and on more collaboratively generated work on eugenics and disability.

Andrew Feenberg, The Ruthless Critique of Everything Existing

In his new book, The Ruthless Critique of Everything Existing: Nature and Revolution in Marcuse’s Philosophy of Praxis (2023), Andrew Feenberg offers a critical reconstruction of the latter’s oeuvre that brings into focus the topicality and poignancy of his thinking. To this end, he examines significant aspects of Marcuse’s writings in an effort to determine the philosophical foundations and pioneering perspectives of his thought. He contends that Marcuse’s philosophy is now more relevant than ever because it profoundly critiques science and technology and urgently advocates the protection of nature from their destructive consequences. It calls into question the operationality and efficiency of control and monitoring, which are becoming more and more prevalent today. In this regard, as Feenberg argues, Marcuse’s approach is largely predicated on a rehabilitation of the everyday experience inspired by phenomenology, on the principle of potentiality highlighted by Aristotle and Hegel, and on Freud’s conceptions of Eros and the death drive, as well as his theory of the imagination. Marcuse endeavored to ascertain more precisely how existence is historically and socially situated and how a transformative practice may emerge.

Liberal Arts Education and Influence on Employability: A Case Study of a Sino-Foreign University

This paper reports on a study of the influence of Liberal Arts Education (LAE) on the self-perceived employability of Chinese students from a Sino-foreign university (University A). Although STEM education occupies a central focus in many universities in mainland China, interest in LAE has emerged as an educational philosophy and model of practice that carries the breadth and depth of a global foresight. Few studies, however, have examined the actual impact of LAE experience on graduate outcomes and their employability. Micro-level data on individual perspectives and experiences with LAE are largely absent in the current literature, particularly in relation to their employability. The research herein presented is a qualitative, in-depth study of a sample of students who pursued a first degree in University A. It uncovers the influence and role of the LAE ethos in individuals’ school-to-work transition processes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior students, fresh graduates and faculty members, together with feedback from career counselors and employers. Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice is used to interpret and analyze the collected responses. Four themes of how LAE affected these individuals’ employability were identified: (1) Achieving initial employment; (2) Improving workplace performance; (3) Enhancing employment opportunities; (4) Making social contributions. Based on the empirical findings of this case study, the author concludes that the experimentation of LAE at University A has laid a solid foundation for individuals’ employability and their transition to the workforce. In an age of change, “suzhi” and “comprehensive qualities” promoted by the LAE philosophy can be vital for a person’s lifelong development as well as the betterment of Chinese society.

Evaluation of an Explainable Tree-Based AI Model for Thrombophilia Diagnosis and Thrombosis Risk Stratification

Background: Thrombophilia diagnosis can often be a convoluted process involving collection and analysis of clinical data, specialized laboratory testing, and high-level decision-making. This is inherently subjective due to differences in the clinical practice philosophy of each individual practitioner and can vary depending on institutional guidelines and available resources. Patient care and clinical outcomes may be affected as a result, which in turn provides a potential opportunity for optimization of thrombophilia diagnosis using AI. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the utility and effectiveness of an AI-powered algorithm (XGBoost) programmed to replicate the process of thrombophilia diagnosis. A total of 256 patients were referred by their clinician for thrombophilia evaluation at our ambulatory coagulation clinic between November 2019 and February 2023 and clinical and laboratory data were collected from the electronic medical record. Thrombophilia diagnosis was established (or ruled out) on the basis of the patients' personal and family history of thrombosis as well as according to the results of thrombophilia testing including established acquired and inherited thrombophilia risk factors. The XGBoost, a gradient boosting algorithm for supervised learning, was used to perform a randomized search over a predefined set of tree parameters and to find a well-performing configuration on the data using cross-validation. The dataset contained 12 clinical data parameters and 26 laboratory data parameters. The target variable was two-dimensional, consisting of the thrombophilia probability score and thrombophilia risk factors. Thrombophilia probability scores were calculated based on clinical data from the following criteria: one point assigned each for a) spontaneous thrombotic event; b) mild risk situation; c) recurrent thrombosis; d) atypical thrombosis localization; e) age <50 years at the time of first thrombosis; f) family history of thrombosis and/or first degree relative with an established thrombophilia diagnosis. A probability score of 0 points corresponded to “unlikely thrombophilia”; 1-2 points “thrombophilia cannot be excluded”; 3 points “likely thrombophilia”; and 4+ points “most likely thrombophilia”. Thrombophilia risk factors were categorized by a scale of 0-3 indicating no risk (0), low risk (1), intermediate risk (2), and high risk (3). Results: Six patients were excluded from analysis due to lack of availability of sufficient clinical data. Clinical and laboratory data from the remaining 250 patients were thus included in the XGBoost analysis. The resulting trees and associated feature importance rankings revealed decisive factors for the detection of thrombophilia and suggested modified thresholds (e.g. age at the first occurrence of thrombosis increased from 50 years to 51.5 years) for an objective and standardized diagnostic procedure. The relative contribution of each clinical and laboratory feature to overall performance of the algorithm is shown in the Figure. The dataset was divided into three subsets: 200 train data, 25 validation data, and 25 test data, ensuring a representative distribution across the evaluation process. The model ultimately showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100% for the thrombophilia probability score, and a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 98% for the thrombophilia risk factors (Table). Conclusion: These results highlight the utility of tree-based AI models to support the objective and complex diagnosis of thrombophilia and thrombosis risk stratification. Furthermore, medical professionals can gain helpful insights from this AI-powered decision-making process due to the explainable nature of the model. We expect that the algorithm will show a higher sensitivity and specificity for the thrombophilia risk factors when we repeat the tests with a larger data set, which is currently ongoing.

PHILOSOPHY AND CREATIVITY WITH CHILDREN: LIPMAN, VYGOTSKY, RODARI.

The article is focused on the topic of how to practice philosophy and support creativity in kindergartens and elementary schools with the help of fairy tales, in particular with the help of the story of Pinocchio. Emphasis is placed on Lipman's activity of philosophy for children, which he tried to connect with Vygotsky's theories. The aim of the article is to show the importance of developing critical thinking in the form of dialogue in connection with creative thinking, which Gianni Rodari focused on. Rodari was based on Vygotsky's theory of imagination as a process of the human mind, which is a characteristic of all human being.

Midwifery students' perceptions of clinical learning experiences and midwifery preceptors in Turkey

BackgroundThe clinical education environment presents a valuable opportunity for students to learn, acquire and develop the clinical skills essential for professional midwifery practice. The presence of competent and relevant preceptors plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of midwifery students and fostering positive clinical experiences. AimThis study was conducted to evaluate the clinical practice experiences of midwifery students and their perceptions of midwifery preceptors. DesignA descriptive and cross-sectional study. MethodsThis study was conducted with 205 students enrolled in the midwifery department of the Faculty of Health Sciences of a state university in Turkey. Data collection used a participant information form and the Clinical Learning Environment and Midwifery Preceptor Scales designed to assess factors affecting midwifery students' clinical learning. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 22.0 program, employing methods such as the Independent Sample T-Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance and Tukey test. ResultsThe average total score on the Clinical Learning Environment scale was 31.08±2.16 out of a possible 32, while the average total score on the Midwifery Preceptors scale was 17.60 (SD 1.27) out of a possible 18. The mean total score of the Midwifery Preceptor Scale and the mean scores of the sub-dimensions of Skill Development and Midwifery Practice Philosophy were found to be statistically significantly higher in those aged 21 years and older than aged 20 years and younger (P < 0.05). The Midwifery Preceptor Scale total score, the Clinical Learning Environment Scale total score and Skill Development sub-dimensions mean scores of the second-year students were found to be statistically significantly higher than the first and third-year students (P <0.05). Furthermore, students who received education in larger groups and willingly chose and had a passion for the midwifery profession demonstrated significant positive perceptions regarding their clinical learning environment experiences and the impact of their preceptors on their professional growth. ConclusionsUnderstanding the perspectives of midwifery students regarding the clinical education environment, preceptors and the teaching and learning process holds great importance for enhancing the quality of the clinical education environment and fostering the development of clinical competencies among midwifery preceptors.