Diverse Philosophies Research Articles

The Metaphysics of Religious Diversity: From Homogenizing Theological Agendas to Conceptual Justice

An increasing number of voices have been calling for philosophy of religion to expand beyond a preoccupation with the “rationality of theism.” Religious pluralist theories of religious diversity might be expected to exemplify a broader scope; in practice, however, such theories are often hampered by theological agendas that prioritize convergence over attention to differences. Focusing on approaches to the metaphysics of religious diversity, this article distinguishes between (a) approaches that prioritize the discovery of the fundamental truth behind specific forms of metaphysical belief and (b) approaches that foreground the variety of metaphysical beliefs held by diverse religious communities. Although these approaches need not be incompatible, the former is apt to emphasize homogeneity whereas the latter encourages awareness of nuance and variegation. Taking diversity among Hindu conceptions of the divine as a case in point, the article seeks to make conceptual space for a philosophy of religious diversity that is radically pluralist and critically descriptive.

Afro-Brazilian religions and religious diversity: contributions to pluralism

Abstract My objective is to explore a possible contribution of Afro-Brazilian religions to a pluralist philosophy of religious diversity. I will especially explore the syncretic wisdom of these religious traditions, showing how it can help us better understand interreligious dynamics. To do this, I begin by exposing some challenges of pluralist theses, highlighting two problems: homogenization and isolationism. Following that, I briefly introduce some characteristics of Afro-Brazilian religiosity, emphasizing its syncretic aspects, and then argue in favour of syncretism as a kind of wisdom intrinsic to Afro-Brazilian religiosity. This wisdom encompasses both practical and conceptual aspects. I conclude by demonstrating how this Afro-Brazilian wisdom can contribute with philosophical studies on religious diversity.

Historical Development of Alternative Education: Western Perspective

Abstract: This paper delves into the intricate tapestry of alternative education within the context of the Western world, tracing its historical trajectory from its inception to contemporary manifestations. Alternative education, often emerging as a response to mainstream educational paradigms, embodies diverse philosophies and practices aimed at fostering holistic development, critical thinking, and individualized learning experiences. Drawing upon historical records, philosophical treatises, and educational movements, this paper explores the evolution of alternative educational approaches, highlighting key figures, ideologies, and movements that have shaped its development over time. From the Renaissance humanism to the progressive education movement of the 20th century, this study elucidates the underlying motivations and societal contexts that have propelled the proliferation of alternative educational models. Moreover, it examines the enduring relevance and challenges faced by alternative education in the contemporary landscape, amidst changing societal dynamics and educational policies. This paper talks about the role of Montessori education, Waldorf education, STEM etc in western education. Through a comprehensive analysis, this paper illuminates the rich tapestry of alternative education in the Western world, offering insights into its historical significance and potential avenues for future exploration and innovation.

The Development of Islamic Education Syllabus in Secondary Schools between Malaysia and Sudan: Challenges and Prospects

Comparative educational studies have played pivotal role in university research. However, comparative studies in the development of secondary education syllabus have not been given much consideration compare to higher education studies. This paper attempts to conduct comparative study on the development of syllabus in secondary schools between Sudan and Malaysia. Qualitative method and content analysis have been utilized to collect data beside semi structured interviews with Malaysian and Sudanese experts. The study come up with some results that may help to develop and improve syllabus that should be reformed to stay relevant. There are some challenges to develop syllabus that need to be taken into consideration by syllabus designers and experts such as differences in culture, language and educational environment, philosophy of education, religious diversity and Globalization and its impact on the attitudes and morals of students. The prospects are emphasized on shared values among religions in syllabus development such as justice, truth and human rights and encourage critical thinking in the contents of school’s syllabus.

Talking population geographies and a ‘love letter’ to the journal

AbstractVarious significant anniversaries for population geography as a recognisable subdiscipline fall round about now, in 2023, serving as fitting prompts for reflecting upon its character, history and possible futures. This paper offers such a reflection, taking an interview transcript between the two authors as its basis, the format here offering a directness of address not always possible in standard academic papers. Arguments are advanced about widening the focus of the subdiscipline, centring on the complexity of what is taken to constitute a ‘population’ and its ‘demographics’—asking about who and what is being counted, how and why—and considering the many ways in which matters of geography, space and place enter into the ‘biopolitics’ of life and death, nurturance and eradication, survival and abandonment, inclusion and exclusion. Concurrently, claims are made about the value of being outward‐looking, drawing on diverse philosophies, theories, literatures and insights only fleetingly represented in the subdiscipline to date. More specifically, the paper is rooted in one author's intensive use of the present journal, Population, Space and Place, for undergraduate teaching, with commentary and scholarly endnotes (cross‐referencing past contributions to the journal) demonstrating the journal generative role in the past, present and future of population geography.

Women in Philosophy: What is to be Done?

It is clear that philosophy has a “woman problem”. Despite the recent acceptance of this fact, it is less clear what ought to be done about it. In this paper, we argue that philosophy as a discipline is uniquely well-positioned to think through the marginalisation suffered by women and other minorities. We therefore interrogate two values that already undergird conversations about inclusion— representation and intersectionality—in order to think about the path ahead. We argue that, once we have done so, it becomes clear that the slow pace of improvement over the last few decades is unacceptable and more radical steps need to be taken. First, we outline the current state of women in philosophy focusing on three areas: levels of employment, publishing, and sexual harassment. Then we turn to representation and intersectionality respectively. We conclude by arguing that many women and people of colour have been arguing for a more radically diverse philosophy for many years. What we are facing is a lack of ambition on the one hand and problem of attention on the other.

Wisdom and methodological diversity in philosophy of religion

AbstractThere exists wide methodological diversity in philosophy of religion and many of the ways of responding to it are inadequate. This article argues that resources from virtue epistemology can help respond better, specifically connecting the issue to the notion of wisdom. A framework for this is articulated and then applied to Aquinas and Wittgenstein, chosen as utilizing starkly different methodologies in dealing with problems from philosophy of religion.

Problematic of the development of the philosophy of diversity in modern and contemporary political thought A study in the direction of support and opposition to it

Contemporary political thought includes two different views towards diversity; A positive, pluralistic view stems from the liberal-democratic political thought that views diversity as a source for defending the rights and freedoms of individuals and groups, and another negative view stems from the totalitarian political thought that views diversity as the basis for discrimination and the disintegration of the state. From this standpoint, the most prominent trends of the philosophy of diversity appear, which are limited to two different directions; A trend that recognizes diversity as a reality, but strongly opposes it in the context of defending a group to justify superiority under the pretext of (race, ethnicity, class, majority). And another trend supports diversity in its two parts (individual and collective), as is evident in the defense of individual and group liberalism for diversity and pluralism.

Security Aspects in Web of Data Based on Trust Principles. A brief of Literature Review

Within scientific community, there is a certain consensus to define "Big Data" as a global set, through a complex integration that embraces several dimensions from using of research data, Open Data, Linked Data, Social Network Data, etc. These data are scattered in different sources, which suppose a mix that respond to diverse philosophies, great diversity of structures, different denominations, etc. Its management faces great technological and methodological challenges: The discovery and selection of data, its extraction and final processing, preservation, visualization, access possibility, greater or lesser structuring, between other aspects, that allow showing a huge domain of study at the level of analysis and implementation in different knowledge domains. However, given the data availability and its possible opening: What problems do the data opening face? This paper shows a literature review about these security aspects.

Can Precollege Philosophy Help Academic Philosophy’s Diversity Problem?

There is a significant lack of diversity in philosophy, including an underrepresentation of women and people of color, and a dearth of philosophy programs that offer classes exploring philosophy outside the Western canon. This problem is further compounded by institutional racism, sexism, and ableism within philosophy pedagogy and practice and the perception that philosophy is an abstract subject suitable only for academically advanced students. If philosophy were made more accessible to a diverse group of students before they entered college, would it be possible to recruit more individuals from underrepresented groups into the field? In 2018, PLATO and the APA surveyed their members about their first exposure to philosophy. It was clear that early experiences—conversations with friends and family, books in grade school, and classes in high school—were pivotal moments that generated interest in philosophy. In this paper we describe some of these experiences and suggest that P4C programs, if done well, have the potential to help build a robust and inclusive K–12 to college philosophy pipeline by tapping into the natural interest children have in philosophical wondering.

Pleistocene Park, and other designs on deep time in the Interwar United States

Precisely how to reconstruct the planetary past is not predetermined. This article compares three contemporary plans, dreamed up in the United States during the Interwar and Depression years, that deploy diverse techniques to evoke extinct environments. Building on Martin Rudwick's historicization of ‘scenes from deep time’, this article develops the concept of designs on deep time to explain how public displays of the planetary past circulate anything-but-neutral ideas about past and present to awed audiences. By detailing three contemporary designs on deep time—Pleistocene Park at the La Brea Tar Pits, a sensational World's Fair exhibit called ‘The World a Million Years Ago’, and a dinosaur park where living fossils and ancient plants approximated a Mesozoic atmosphere—this article captures diverse philosophies about how to construct persuasive encounters with the prehistoric past. It also demonstrates how, despite disparate approaches, these designers of deep time displays all used the planetary past to legitimate present regimes and foster faith in human progress. During the 1920s and 1930s, when the wounds of war, changing demographics, and economic depression collaborated to dispute a prevailing myth of American progress, deep time by design buoyed faith in a better future.

From Renunciation to Nirvana and Beatitude: What Is Common in Buddha and Christ?

This article explores the confluence in the ideas that Buddha postulated in the Dhammapada and Christ in the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament. In spite of the differences in their context, arena, and even in trends and tenets, they both project that the renouncement in action lead the worldly affairs to the realm of spiritual illumination. Both the Dhammapada and the four gospels from the New Testament clearly proclaim that subtraction of the ego along with the pursuit of wisdom eventually open the path of inner evolution for redemption—Nirvana and Beatitude. Likewise, the concepts of Bodhisattva and Messiah have similar mission to redeem the humanity. All these concepts invite a new revisiting to qualify them, adding a new in-depth insight. This fresh revisit widens new dimensions to view the meeting points between the seemingly diverse religious philosophies. Therefore, this paper has applied the qualitative approach to the ideas from the divine creations—the Dhammapada and the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John from the New Testament.

Exploring the status of diversity in policies and practices of Spanish universities. An asymmetric dual model

Higher education across the world is currently in the throes of assuming a commitment to diversity. However, certain critical positions maintain that such evolution is still guided by market principles. Within such a context, this paper explores what attention is given to diversity in Spanish university policies and practices and how it relates to key productivity indicators. To do so, a study with a descriptive and correlational design was conducted, based on analysing institutional documents and surveying chief diversity officers, techniques which provided evidence about diversity philosophy and practices, respectively. The results revealed at least an average level of institutionalisation of diversity, although it did not demonstrate, in most of the areas, any association with indicators derived from a consolidated ranking by productivity in Spain. The conclusion is that Spanish universities have adopted an asymmetric dual model, in which neo-liberal ideas maintain their hegemony while, although subordinately, certain innovations have been consolidated in parallel in order to protect a number of vulnerable groups under the rhetoric of equity and social justice.

Philosophy for Living: Exploring Diversity and Immersive Assignments in a PWOL Approach

In this article, we reflect on our experiences teaching a PWOL course called Philosophy for Living. The course uses modules focused on different historical philosophical ways of life (Epicureanism, Stoicism, Confucianism, Existentialism, etc.) to engage students in exploring how philosophy can be a way of life and how its methods, virtues, and ideas can improve their own lives. We describe and compare our experiences with two central aspects of our approach: engagement with diversity and the use of immersive experiences and assignments. In particular, we discuss how we recognize and center various forms of diversity in philosophy—cultural and gender diversity, but also diversity in how and in what forms philosophy can be done and what “philosophy as a way of life” can be. We also examine how the experimental and experiential aspects of immersive assignments promote deeper understanding and create possibilities for personal transformation.

Diverse Philosophies: (What) Are They?

Diverse Philosophies: (What) Are They?

Ethics of care and sense of ownership: Social philosophy of diversity

Ethics of care and sense of ownership: Social philosophy of diversity

THE PHILOSOPHIES OF AMERICA READER: FROM THE POPOL VOH TO THE PRESENT EDITED BY KIM DÍAZ AND MATHEW A. FOUST

Reviewed by: The Philosophies of America Reader: From the Popol Voh to the Present ed. by Kim Díaz and Mathew A. Foust Justin Pack Edited by Kim Díaz and Mathew A. Foust The Philosophies of America Reader: From the Popol Voh to the Present Bloomsbury Press, NY. 450 pgs. Index The editors of this new collection are clear with their intention: "The Philosophies of America Reader aims to widen the scope of American philosophy beyond its traditionally traced borders" (xv). This actually undersells what they are doing, which is an effort to carve out a new space that could perhaps best be labelled "Philosophies of the Americas" and includes Latin American philosophy, Native American philosophy, African American philosophy, American Transcendentalism, Pragmatism and some Asian American philosophy. There are thus multiple potential audiences for this text: (1) traditional "American philosophy" programs, (2) pluralist programs looking for a text that speaks to the diverse peoples and traditions of the Americas, (3) programs looking for a textbook for "philosophy and diversity" or similar courses. There is a critical ambiguity at play here. "American philosophy" is most often taken to mean primarily pragmatism and "American philosophy" courses tend to focus on Peirce, James and Dewey. If someone who was not familiar with the typical academic divisions in philosophy took an "American philosophy" course, they might do so expecting a course that reflects the diversity of America (USA) or the Americas. Instead, they will find a course on pragmatism. One way to clarify this ambiguity would be consistently distinguish "pragmatism" from "American philosophy" and treat the former as a member of the latter. The editors were trained in traditional "American philosophy" and would like to widen the "notion of who might count as an American philosopher" (xviii). This is part of the efforts to recognize and recover figures that have not been traditionally emphasized, especially female and minority voices. In pragmatism, this could include figures like Jane Addams, Mary Parker Follett, Alain Locke or W.E.B. Du Bois. The editors claim that while such efforts are laudable, they tend to tokenize non-White and non-male voices. As such, it is not enough to highlight more figures within pragmatism, rather to avoid this tokenizing we may need to move beyond the boundaries of pragmatism. Thus The Philosophies of America reader seeks to expand "American philosophy" beyond pragmatism not only to philosophies of America (USA) but to philosophies of the Americas (North and South). [End Page 406] The result is not pragmatism, but "philosophies of the Americas" of which pragmatism is one approach existing alongside Latin American, Native American, African American and other philosophies. I suspect most pragmatist philosophy programs (that are committed to pragmatism) are not going to want to completely revamp their academic programs to this degree, but this text would serve as a good foundation to a course that locates pragmatism among other American philosophies. The Philosophies of America Reader is relevant to a much larger audience than pragmatists looking to be more inclusive. For pluralist philosophers and pluralist programs, this is a very exciting text. It takes multiple marginalized traditions and seeks to put them in conversation without tokenizing them. Absent from this text are the most dominant traditional voices in philosophy—analytic philosophy and continental philosophy. Instead we have the diverse philosophies of the Americas. A typical textbook in a philosophy and diversity course might be something more like a "world religions and philosophies" text book. This book however draws the boundaries at the Americas. This means that instead of Asian and African philosophies we get essays from Asian Americans and African American figures. As such, this book is not a replacement for "world religions and philosophies" text books, but a new space that is centered on the experiences of Americans and the philosophical problems of the Americas. The editors include a sample syllabus for a course called "Philosophies of America" that could easily work in pluralist programs as a philosophy and diversity text that is tied more closely to readers in the Americas than "world religion and philosophies" texts, or as a situating course for pragmatism programs. Inevitably the scale of the text creates...

Creative Cities Creating Connections: Fostering Cross-Age Interaction Through Leisure

Older and younger people interact infrequently in most social realms – a pattern stemming from institutional, cultural, and spatial age segregation. Increasing cross-age interaction offers promise as a strategy for not only enhancing social connections but also reducing ageist attitudes. We argue that a social realm with untapped potential for creating these connections is leisure, particularly within creative cities. To explore this possibility, our study examines cross-age interactions in Key West, Florida – a leisure-oriented city that promotes creativity through its social and built environment. Using participant-observation and interview data (n=126) from 2017 to 2019, we examined leisure experiences of tourists and residents, aged 23 to 83. Findings indicate that creative cultural contexts can counter ageist attitudes by promoting cross-age interaction. Data analysis revealed three processes encouraging these shifts – promoting diversity and acceptance, enhancing older adults’ participation, and nurturing intergenerational bonds. Ongoing cross-age interactions were fostered through the island’s welcoming philosophy and encouragement of out-group acceptance and diversity. They were further fostered by the island’s wide array of leisure activities and proximity of shared spaces that enabled older adults to readily pursue leisure with younger people. Cross-age ties also were promoted by the island’s focus on family-friendly leisure experiences. Our research highlights the potential of creative cities to promote age integration, and reduce ageism, through its cultural practices within leisure spaces.

Legal Discourse on Manpower During COVID-19 Outbreak

Covid-19 has become a global epidemic all around the world. All countries around the world have been completely struggled by this outbreak, including Indonesia. Economy crisis is something that could not be avoided. Naturally, workers, and entrepreneurs will be either directly or indirectly affected. Massive amount of companies has applied the regulation “Termination of Employment”, laid of the workers, and even deduction on wages payment. Workers have become vulnerable parties in this case because they do not have enough assurance. Article 164 (1) Act No. 3 of 2003 concerning Manpower indeed regulates the Termination of Employment regulation because of force majeure, however this law seems to be slightly unsuitably applied for this outbreak Covid-19 situation. Therefore, this study is aimed to do legal discoursing in which can both assure those workers and maintain the operation of business in this tight condition. Finally, Indonesia needs to return back to kinship culture and unity in diversity philosophy as stated in Pancasila to equalize the interests both for workers and employers. According to Article 33 (1) and (4) of 1945 Constitution of Republic Indonesia, it has been firmly stated that Indonesian economy should be organized as a common endeavor based upon the principles of the family system and conducted on basis of Pancasila democracy. Hence, government is expected to play the intermediary role in order to unify and even out interest of all parties. Law of Manpower need to be adjusted with some regulations about rights and responsibilities accommodate to workers, employers, and government in deal with epidemic outbreak.

Diversity in Philosophy

Diversity in Philosophy