Philosophical Perspective Research Articles

Breaking boundaries: children activist as epistemic agents within contours of epistemic marginalisation

The article delves into the realm of child environmental activism, portraying it as a concerted response aimed at challenging the prevailing social and political status quo, which systematically underestimates the role of children in decision-making within political and social spheres. It highlights the paramount importance of the epistemological framework that encompasses children's experiences, emphasising how their exclusion from political and social discourse leads to epistemic marginalisation. This exclusion not only prevents children from assuming the role of epistemic agents but also deprives them of agency and perpetuates existing inequalities. From a philosophical perspective, the article proposes a thorough analysis of children's epistemic agency, introducing the concept of 'epistemic capability'. It argues that, despite their social marginalisation, knowledgeable children can equip themselves with epistemic resources to interpret their reality and effect change. Furthermore, it posits that environmental activism plays a crucial role as an epistemic resource for children, facilitating the expression of their ideas, challenging dominant narratives, and addressing environmental and social issues head-on. The article emphasises the transformative potential of activism as an epistemic resource, enabling substantive participation and empowering children to navigate and transcend such marginalised circumstances. In conclusion, it highlights how child environmental activism not only challenges the status quo but also provides children with crucial tools for their development as epistemic and social agents, promoting significant change in power dynamics and in the fight for social and environmental justice.

Should We Pass the Great Filter?

Abstract This paper provides a Christian philosophical and theological response to the moral imperative of human advancement through multiplanetarism as emerging from the Great Filter theory. First, it explains the Fermi paradox that underlies the Great Filter theory. Next, it explores this theory itself and its motivational power in driving advancement toward multiplanetarism. In particular, we explore two motives behind the multiplanetary efforts that are (in part) guided by the Great Filter theory, analyzing the relevant statements of SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk. Finally, we assess these motivations (and the accompanying normative assumptions) behind space exploration and multiplanetarism from the perspective of Reformational philosophy, using Herman Dooyeweerd’s theory of ground motives as a lens. Thus, the paper’s leading research question is this: How can we assess the current attempts at securing a multiplanetary existence for humankind in the light of Dooyeweerd’s theory of ground motives?

Understanding Religion, Human Rights, and Conflict: Philosophical and Sociological Perspectives

The purpose of this writing is to know the concepts of religion and human rights, freedom of expression, multiculturalism, conflict and conflict resolution from philosophical and sociological perspectives. The research method used in this writing is library research. The results of this study found that from a philosophical perspective, religion, especially Islam, and human rights both are a unity that has values from God Almighty. While freedom of expression is the right of every individual, and multicultural includes the concept of cultural equality itself, which certainly triggers several conflicts in the form of disputes, then there is a settlement process called conflict resolution. As for the sociological perspective, religion and human rights are social facts, freedom of expression is a manifestation of both, multicultural is a difference from each side whether culture or race, conflict and conflict resolution are social processes and their resolution.

Examining Paradigmatic Shifts: Unveiling the Philosophical Foundations Shaping Social Research Methodologies

Research is a systematic process involving collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data using appropriate methods and tools to investigate a specific problem or question, leading to a deeper understanding of the issue. The framework and execution of research are inherently tied to the philosophical paradigms that underpin it. The philosophical paradigm in research encompasses fundamental elements, namely ontology, epistemology, axiology, and methodology, shaping the presumptions, norms, beliefs, and values inherent in the research process. This study aimed to delineate the shifts in philosophical perspectives within social research, utilizing content analysis. The examination and interpretation of document contents highlight the prevalence of positivist and post-positivist paradigms as traditional frameworks predominantly advocating quantitative research. In contrast, newer paradigms such as interpretivist/constructivist, critical, postmodern, and multiparadigmatic philosophies emphasize qualitative and mixed research designs advocate for qualitative and mixed methods research. This study highlights the significant influence of philosophical paradigms on research design and processes, emphasizing the need for researchers to understand these paradigms thoroughly. This understanding is crucial to ensure clarity, relevance, and authenticity in research. By delineating the shifts in philosophical perspectives within social research, this study provides valuable insights into how these paradigms shape research endeavors.

Scientific plurality and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): A philosophical and historical perspective on Charcot’s texts

ABSTRACT The history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—also known as Charcot’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and motor neuron disease (MND)—freezes the texts of the scientist and physician Jean-Martin Charcot in a hagiographic narrative describing a brilliant discovery, based on the anatomo-clinical method. This narrative is often used by biologists and physicians as a reference point. This article shows that the use of the hagiographic register faces limitations. In particular, it obscures points of interest from Charcot’s texts on ALS, such as the epistemological and ontological implications of scientific plurality in medicine. Although Charcot recognized the importance of scientific plurality in medicine, he prioritized the approaches and conferred the most important epistemic authority on clinical and pathological observations. In his view, animal modeling remains secondary to the understanding of disease. The concept of ALS and its diagnostic operability are the result of symptoms and lesions. By studying the past, we can highlight the specific features of the present. Today, although the ALS concept retains its diagnostic and clinical relevance, it is increasingly called into question in etiological and mechanistic research. Despite these differences, Charcot’s reflections are a reminder of the importance of theoretical thinking on scientific plurality, all the more so today in the context of ALS research, in which combining different approaches is increasingly valued to understand the phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of ALS.

Islamic Educational Philosophy's View of Humans

This research aims to analyse the nature of man, the purpose of life, and the role of man in learning based on Islamic philosophical perspectives. The research explores how these concepts shape an Islamic educational approach that emphasises the development of the individual as a whole, empowerment, and fulfilment of human potential to create a moral and ethical human being who can combine knowledge with noble behaviour. The research method uses a qualitative approach with library research. Data collection techniques involved in-depth analyses of relevant literature, including academic journals, philosophy books, and scholarly writings on Islamic education and the concept of man. The data were analysed descriptively to understand and interpret the philosophical concept in the context of Islamic education. In the Islamic view, the results showed that humans are noble creatures before Allah SWT, with perfect physiques and extraordinary potential compared to other creatures. Humans consist of both body and mind, making them unique and cannot be treated like fully controlled robots. This research asserts that human development in Islamic education should include both physical and spiritual aspects balanced, including morals, ethics, spirituality and science. With their potential, human beings should be directed to achieve perfection as obedient servants of Allah and become individuals who benefit society and the environment. Understanding human nature from an Islamic perspective is an important basis for designing an effective and holistic Islamic education curriculum and approach.

Racial capitalism and firearm violence: Developing a theoretical framework for firearm violence research examining structural racism

Despite the early promise of centering structural racism in explanatory models of firearm violence, there are noticeable gaps in what's been produced thus far; in particular, a deeper and more serious engagement with long-standing theories of racism is needed to further enrich our understanding of how structural inequalities produce unequal burdens of firearm-related harms. Thus, building on theories and concepts from a range of academic fields and Black philosophical perspectives, we developed a theoretical framework to help explain the role of place-based structural racism on firearm violence disparities. A central component of our framework is the concept racial capitalism, which contends that racial exploitation and the accumulation of assets depend on and reinforce one another. In this article, we present our framework and highlight how two processes related to racial capitalism—racialized dispossession and racialized spatial stigma—are connected with geographic disparities in firearm violence. We also present the results of an ecological cross-sectional study that reveals a potential key association between racial capitalism and firearm violence disparities on the neighborhood-level. We used a structural intersectionality approach and descriptive epidemiological methods to highlight and quantitatively describe spatial firearm violence disparities that could potentially be linked to the varying exposure of two dimensions of racial capitalism—historical redlining and contemporary racialized subprime mortgage lending. We found that sustained disadvantaged census tracts (tracts that were historically redlined and experienced higher contemporary subprime lending) experienced the highest burden of firearm violence in Baltimore City between 2015 and 2019. Our research suggests that racial capitalism could potentially be a root cause of firearm violence disparities. A theoretical framework based on racial capitalism can inform the development and usage of indicators and analytic methods for racism-related firearm violence research. Moreover, this framework can identify factors to prioritize in equity-based violence prevention policies and programs.

The essence and value of knowledge

This paper aims to deeply explore the essence and value of knowledge, from the perspective of philosophy to its comprehensive and meticulous research and thinking. In the part of discussing the essence of knowledge, we first from the origin and development of knowledge, explore the formation process of knowledge. Knowledge does not exist in isolation but gradually accumulates and evolves through the interaction between human beings and the environment. We further analyze the structure and characteristics of knowledge and reveal the internal logic and laws of the knowledge system. In the discussion of the value of knowledge, we deeply study the Gaettier problem and further clarify the subtle relationship between knowledge, belief, and truth. In this paper, a large number of relevant literatures are reviewed and discussed. By combining and summarizing the previous research results, we can stand on the shoulders of giants and dig deeper into the connotation and value of knowledge.

Striking the balance: ethical challenges and social implications of AI-induced power shifts in healthcare organizations

AbstractThe emergence of new digital technologies in modern work organizations is also changing the way employees and employers communicate, design work processes and responsibilities, and delegate. This paper takes an interdisciplinary—namely sociological and philosophical—perspective on the use of AI in healthcare work organizations. Using this example, structural power relations in modern work organizations are first examined from a sociological perspective, and it is shown how these structural power relations, decision-making processes, and areas of responsibility shift when AI is used. In the subsequent ethical part, opportunities for a fairer organization of work, but also dangers due to possibly changed power relations are elaborated and evaluated by presenting a realistic scenario from everyday clinical practice. After combining a proceduralist account of organizational ethics with a virtue-ethical approach, it is argued that certain organizational and character dispositions are necessary for employers and employees to meet the challenge of changing structural power relations in the future. With the same goal, a summative sociological perspective discusses challenges to workplace co-determination.

KEWENANGAN KANTOR OTORITAS BANDARA WILAYAH IV DALAM PENEGAKAN HUKUM TERHADAP PEMALSUAN PAS BANDARA

The number of incidents of counterfeiting airport pas poses a risk of threats to aviation security that can result in aviation law violations, for that law enforcement is needed in order to provide a deterrent effect while realizing legal certainty against perpetrators of airport passport forgery. The formulation of the problem in this study is how the authority of the Region IV Airport Authority Office in law enforcement against counterfeiting airport pas, as well as what factors hinder law enforcement against counterfeiting airport pas, the objectives of this study are, first, to determine the authority of the Region IV Airport Authority Office in law enforcement against counterfeiting airport pas, second, to determine the factors that hinder law enforcement against counterfeiting airport pas. The research approach used is normative juridical, the normative juridical approach seeks to understand the law from a theoretical and philosophical perspective. This research uses normative legal research methods by analyzing various legal sources such as constitutions, laws, court decisions, legal doctrines, and opinions of legal experts. The results of this study are first, the authority of the Region IV Airport Authority Office in law enforcement against counterfeiting airport pas has not been maximized, as evidenced by the Region IV Airport Authority Office has never taken action in court against counterfeiting airport pas. Second, the factor that hinders the law enforcement of airport pass forgery is that the Region IV Airport Authority Office does not yet have the authority to investigate the criminal offense of airport pas forgery.

Assessment within the Context of Positive Psychology: Examples from Ahmet Yesevi and Haci Bektas-i Veli

The aim of this study is to elucidate the concepts associated with positive psychology found in the thoughts of Ahmet Yesevi and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli. The research utilized the document analysis technique. According to the findings obtained at the conclusion of the study, it is evident that concepts such as patience, encouragement, gratitude, optimism, social interest, and perseverance are associated with the thoughts of Ahmet Yesevi investigated in the research. Additionally, it is observed that the concepts of optimism and perseverance are also linked to the thoughts of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli examined in the research. Consequently, it is determined that the thoughts of both Ahmet Yesevi and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli encompass concepts that can be correlated with positive psychology within the scope of this research. This underscores the presence of themes promoting positive psychological attributes within the philosophical and spiritual perspectives of these influential figures.

The Impact of Algorithmic Culture on the Construction of Self in a Globalized World

Globalization and the rise of social media have fundamentally reshaped how individuals construct their identities. This paper explores this phenomenon through an interdisciplinary lens, weaving together philosophical and anthropological perspectives. Philosophical frameworks of existentialism and phenomenology illuminate how algorithms shape lived experiences and self-understandings. Anthropological analysis examines how social media platforms foster virtual communities, impacting cultural norms and individual identities. The paper examines how pre-existing cultural backgrounds and social structures influence the impact of algorithmic culture on the self in a globalized world.

A taxonomy of divisibilism and Gregory of Rimini’s place

ABSTRACT This paper presents a taxonomy of divisibilism, a philosophical perspective advocating for the infinite divisibility of continua. The taxonomy is founded on various conceptualizations of indivisibles, enabling the identification of two types of divisibilism: ‘moderate’ and ‘strong’. The former denies indivisibles as constituent parts of magnitudes, whereas the latter rejects indivisibles as even intrinsic elements (such as limits or junctions) of magnitudes. The paper proceeds to demonstrate how Gregory of Rimini falls into the second category, utilizing geometry and non-entitism as primary tools to dismiss the very possibility of the existence of indivisibles. Within the framework of this ‘strong divisibilism’, the paper also examines Gregory’s interpretation of mathematical items (e.g. points, lines, surfaces) against the backdrop of one of his main sources, that is, Augustine. Lastly, the paper delves into Gregory’s interpretation of the fundamental Aristotelian divisibilist claim, namely, that a continuum is infinitely divisible. It highlights how Gregory’s stance ultimately conflicts with Aristotelian premises, particularly concerning his assertion that the division of all continua is made into infinitely many actual parts.

In Defence of Environmental Anthropocentrism

The critique of anthropocentrism has accompanied environmental thinking since its inception. However, we lack a deeper analysis of anthropocentrism and its forms. The authors of this study concentrate on analysing selected forms of anthropocentrism that were prominent in different periods of the history of European culture. They offer a basic typology of anthropocentrism and characterize philosophical, religious, philosophical-theological and philosophical-scientific anthropocentrism. They also include a fifth form of anthropocentrism, which they call environmental anthropocentrism. The authors consider changes that are important from a philosophical, ethical and axiological perspective and analyse the potential of anthropocentrism in comparison with some of environmental anthropocentrism its alternative forms, such as biocentrism and cosmocentrism. They also attempt to assess the significance of environmental anthropocentrism and the potential for its implementation in human-environmental relations. The environmental anthropocentrism proposed here is a potential solution with applicability to the search for a moderate, humble, non-arrogant, respectful and responsible human approach to relations with nature.

A hybrid approach to analysing large scale surveys: individual values, opinions and perceptions

High-dimensional large scale surveys enable broad research capabilities and potential insight. However, when dealing with the intrinsic complexity of social science, the underlying knowledge engineering process may play a critical role and require to consider the characteristics and peculiarities of a given problem in context. This study proposes an analysis framework based on clustering techniques, which have been applied to discover patterns among a number of abstracted features resulting from selected attributes of the World Values Survey (WVS). As an assumption, such features have been softly classified as values, opinions and perceptions, based on their theoretical likelihood to change along the time. From a more philosophical perspective, this work assumes hybrid practices as there is no pre-formulated theory but rather an attempt to discover patterns and new knowledge from data. Given the relatively manageable dimensionality of the input dataset, the feature selection has been performed according to an application-oriented approach (rather than driven by statistical analysis) to establish a more comprehensive and consistent research framework. Among the main findings, a symbiotic relationship between the perception of satisfaction and of financial stability, as well as between the perception of security and of happiness, in addition to more complex patterns involving traditional values (e.g. family and religion), politics and believes with an impact on society. Last but not least, despite its holistic focus, the study has allowed the identification of few research gaps and, therefore, potential further research direction in the broad domain of Social Sciences.

A critique of Thompson and Ramírez-Barahona (2023) or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the fossil record.

A recent study published in Biology Letters by Thompson and Ramírez-Barahona (2023) argued that, according to analyses of diversification on two massive molecular phylogenies comprising thousands of species, there is no evidence that angiosperms (i.e. flowering plants) were affected by the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. Here, I critique these conclusions from both methodological and philosophical perspectives. I demonstrate that the methods used in their study possess statistical limitations that strongly reduce the power to detect a true mass extinction event using data similar to those analysed by Thompson and Ramírez-Barahona (2023). Additionally, I use their study as a springboard to examine the relationship between phylogenetic and fossil evidence in diversification studies.

Understanding the Nature of Religious Language: A Philosophical Perspective

The paper explores the debate on religious language by considering several key perspectives: the logical positivists’ criterion of meaningfulness, Karl Popper's falsifiability principle, the parable of the invisible gardener, and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept of language games. By examining these views, we aim to understand whether religious language can be considered meaningful or whether it fails to meet the standards set by these philosophical frameworks.

The Opportunities and Thinking Advantages of Chinese Modernization from the Perspective of Engineering Philosophy

The Opportunities and Thinking Advantages of Chinese Modernization from the Perspective of Engineering Philosophy

Physicians and Iatrogenism from the Philosophy of Medicine to the Sociology of Health

In pre-modern times, health services provided by traditional healers such as clergymen, healers, and herbalists were conducted by professionalss specialized in modern medicine such as physicians and auxiliary health personnel. Although modern Western medicine has developed in many areas, it has been criticized severely. The most important of these criticisms is the unquestionable structure of modern medicine and the methods and techniques used by physicians in the treatment processes in connection with this structure. These criticisms are termed with the concept of iatrogenesis, and criticisms against both modern medicine and physicians are becoming sharper. In this study, the forms of iatrogenesis produced by modern medicine in general and by physicians in particular will be discussed from the perspective of medical philosophy and health sociology. In addition, the relationship between physicians and iatrogenism will be evaluated in the context of recently discussed issues such as patient-physician relations, commercialization of health services, construction of the patient as a customer, pharmaceutical industry and guided scientific studies, excessive use of drugs and medical devices, medicalization of life, gaining popularity of traditional treatment methods.

Ethical Reflections on Preimplantation Genetic Diagnoses

With fertility rates at an all-time low, children have become even more the 'treasures' of their families. Progress in genetic selection technology has made preimplantation genetic diagnosis an increasingly common practice in clinics. However, the practice of purposively selecting genes for future children remains controversial. In this article, the process of preimplantation genetic diagnosis is introduced and related philosophical and social perspectives are reviewed. Finally, the ethics related to this practice are discussed in the contexts of obligation theory, utility theory, and four ethical principles. The authors hope this article sheds light on the diverse perspectives used to consider and discuss the ethical issues surrounding gene selection and, importantly, helps nurses provide care grounded in ethics and humanity in ethically uncertain circumstances.