Scientism Research Articles

Scientism and scientific fundamentalism: what science can learn from mainstream religion

ABSTRACT An increasing number of scientists, philosophers, and popular science writers claim that science is the measure of all. They assert that science can answer all questions, that there are no limits to science, or that only science provides reliable knowledge, either in a particular realm, such as morality, or about any subject matter whatsoever. This view is often referred to as ‘scientism’. But what exactly is scientism? What is to be said in favour of it and against it? This paper suggests, after a careful evaluation of the arguments for and against scientism, that a helpful way to think of scientism is as of a variety of fundamentalism. It turns out that scientism meets nearly all conditions formulated in family resemblance accounts of fundamentalism. Finally, it is suggested that science and scientists can learn much from religion when it comes to how to deal with scientific fundamentalism.

The roles and impacts of worldviews in the context of meditation-related challenges.

Previous research has shown that worldviews can serve as a coping response to periods of difficulty or struggle, and worldviews can also change on account of difficulty. This paper investigates the impacts worldviews have on the nature and trajectory of meditation-related challenges, as well as how worldviews change or are impacted by such challenges. The context of meditation-related challenges provided by data from the Varieties of Contemplative Experience research project offers a unique insight into the dynamics between worldviews and meditation. Buddhist meditation practitioners and meditation experts interviewed for the study report how, for some, worldviews can serve as a risk factor impacting the onset and trajectory of meditation-related challenges, while, for others, worldviews (e.g., being given a worldview, applying a worldview, or changing a worldview) were reported as a remedy for mitigating challenging experiences and/or their associated distress. Buddhist meditation practitioners and teachers in the contemporary West are also situated in a cultural context in which religious and scientific worldviews and explanatory frameworks are dually available. Furthermore, the context of "Buddhist modernism" has also promoted a unique configuration in which the theory and practice of Buddhism is presented as being closely compatible with science. We identify and discuss the various impacts that religious and scientific worldviews have on meditation practitioners and meditation teachers who navigate periods of challenge associated with the practice.

МЕТОДИЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ УЗАГАЛЬНЕННЯ ЗНАНЬ ШКОЛЯРІВ ПРО ФУНДАМЕНТАЛЬНІ ФІЗИЧНІ ПРИНЦИПИ

The article is devoted to solving the urgent, complex and multifaceted problem of increasing of the level and quality of fundamental training of schoolchildren in physics in modern educational conditions. The author notes that the solution of this problem requires the implementation of methodical approaches and learning technologies that will provide students with a purposeful and consistent mastery of a system of organically interconnected subject, worldview and methodological knowledge, followed by their generalization with the help of relevant physical principles at the level of modern physical pictures of the world. In this regard, the author determined the sequence of studying the material and highlighted the theoretical and methodological aspects of generalizing students' knowledge about the fundamental physical principles of relativity, conservation and atomism, which should be the focus of teachers' attention both during the educational process and at the final classes on the relevant topics. Schoolchildren's awareness of the physical essence of the principle of relativity contributes not only to the understanding of the general laws of mechanical motion and the interaction of bodies in different reference systems, but also expands and deepens knowledge of two basic scientific concepts (mass, energy) and forms an idea of a single four-dimensional space-time continuum that encompasses. Students' understanding of the fundamental importance of the principle of conservation is connected not only with the unity of space-time, but also with the symmetry of space, symmetry of interactions, and symmetry of laws. Elucidation by students of the physical essence of the fundamental principle of atomism involves a consistent awareness of the discrete structure of matter, electromagnetic radiation, the discreteness of the physical characteristics of micro-objects. It is noted that students' understanding of the physical essence and methodological significance of the latter will not only correspond to the development trends of modern physical science, but will also contribute to increasing the level of subject competence, the formation of a scientific worldview, and will be a guarantee of the success of further education and future professional growth. Key words: fundamental physical principles, systematization and generalization of schoolchildren's knowledge, scientific outlook, subject competence of students in physics.

RESEARCH WORK OF STUDENTS: PROSPECTS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN CLINICAL DEPARTMENTS

Research work develops a scientific worldview, fosters personal growth, enriches experience and supports the development of research skills of medical students. Within the framework of cooperation between the Department of Medical and Dental Faculties of Poltava State Medical University, research project "Psychological research of diabetics" is currently carried out under the guidance of researchers and clinicians. The main group of 50 individuals with diabetes type 1 and 2 was examined. They were inpatients of the Endocrinological Department of M.V. Sklifosovsky Poltava Regional Clinical Hospital. Clinical examination of the group included subjective (complaints, medical history, life history) and objective (general review, location status) research. The reference group consisted of 50 respondents. Each group was given a questionnaire including questions from Misotsk multidisciplinary personal questionnaire by J. Taylor’s (1953). Respondents were asked to answer 50 yes / no questions quickly, without thinking about the answer. Each response that matched the key of the questionnaire was valued at one score. The overall assessment of general anxiety included somatic, social and neurogenic tension and was assessed by several levels of anxiety ranging from low to very high. Active involvement of medical students in research has a positive impact on their ability and confidence to work with patients, and on the acquisition of professional competence in general. Application of elements of research work in the educational and methodological process at the clinical departments of the University increases the effectiveness of medical training. This encourages future doctors to acquire new knowledge and skills, as well as contributing to the professional development of researchers and educators.

Taking taniwha seriously

Taniwha are powerful water creatures in te ao Māori (the Māori world/worldview). Taniwha sometimes affect public works in Aotearoa New Zealand: for example, consultation between government agencies and tangata whenua (the people of the land) about proposed roading developments sometimes results in the route being moved to avoid the dwelling place of a taniwha. Mainstream media responses have tended to be hostile or mocking, as you might expect, since on the face of it the dominant western scientific worldview has no place for beings like taniwha. However, in the 2020s, there appears to be an increased willingness to engage with te ao Māori. In this spirit, this paper proposes a way for non-Māori to begin to take taniwha more seriously, taking as its starting point the work of Dan Hikuroa on the practical usefulness of taniwha pūrākau (traditional narratives) in encoding information about natural hazards. The focus of this paper is narrow, but aspects of the strategy it proposes may be generalisable both to other aspects of te ao Māori and to other bicultural and multicultural contexts.

The implementation of nUrsiNg DEliRium preventive INterventions in the Intensive Care Unit (UNDERPIN-ICU): A qualitative evaluation

BackgroundDelirium frequently occurs in intensive care unit patients and is associated with worse outcomes. Recently, a multicomponent non-pharmacological nursing intervention program called UNDERPIN-ICU, was implemented in ten Dutch intensive care units. The program was aimed at delirium reduction by optimizing four modifiable risk factors: visual and hearing impairment, cognitive impairment, immobility, and sleep deprivation. Despite its scientific fundament and extensive implementation, this program showed no effect on delirium outcomes. ObjectiveTo explore factors that hindered or facilitated the application of the UNDERPIN-ICU delirium program in daily practice as experienced by healthcare professionals. MethodsSemi-structured focus group interviews were conducted in all participating centers between April and June of 2019. Directed content and thematic analyses were applied. Interviews were coded. Codes were grouped into categories based on factors that hindered or facilitated program application. ResultsIn total, 22 ICU nurses, 3 ICU physicians, 5 local delirium group members and one research manager participated in 10 focus group interviews. We found 41 factors that hindered or facilitated program application, grouped into five categories: interventions; individual healthcare professional; patient; implementation process; capacity for change, incentives and resources. Among the factors identified in this study, the facilitating factors included standardized interventions, a structured implementation, interactive educational meetings and, feedback and support. The hindering factors included doubts about usefulness, feasibility, the extensive number of program components, limited knowledge about the program and a focus on physical care. ConclusionFactors that hindered program application may explain why the UNDERPIN-ICU program did not have positive effects on delirium outcomes. Factors that facilitated application should be strengthened in future non-pharmacological nursing interventions to prevent or reduce delirium in intensive care. RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03002701; registration date December 26, 2016.

Pedagogy as a scientific worldview in the development of entrepreneurship

Pedagogy as a scientific worldview in the development of entrepreneurship

Free will: Dr Johnson was right

Abstract In this attempt to deal with the problem of free will Tallis identifies intentionality as a feature of our lives that cannot be explained by deterministic, natural, physical, causal laws. Our ability to think about the world, and not merely be objects subject to it, gives us room for manoeuvre for free thought and action. Science, far from being antagonistic to the possibility of free will as it is usually presented through its deterministic explanations, is a manifestation of our freedom and could not exist without it. However, doubts arise for the argument owing to a lack of explanation as to how freedom is possible no matter how persuasively we are shown that it appears to be. That is, what kind of world would it have to be for freedom to exist and be explicable. I conclude with my own view, alluded to by Tallis, but not followed up, that the problem with the scientific worldview is that it is wedded to objectivity as the only stance deemed veridical as to the nature of reality, one which therefore cannot by necessity allow subjects or freedom. As freedom is a property of subjects, the scientific worldview cannot allow for freedom. Once the condition is dropped that only the objectively knowable can be real, freedom also may be real, defined as a knowable property of our subjectivity. There is no need to deny physicalism if the definition of it is released from the epistemic bonds of objectivity and we hold that some physical properties may be known subjectively, namely those that characterize our subjective life.

A Critique of the Philosophical Presuppositions of Cognitive Psychology

In the historical interaction of science and philosophy, empirical science has used cumulative research to shed new light on how the science of philosophy understands fundamental scientific issues. As an effort of self-renewal, the initial impetus for the birth of cognitive science was dialogue among disciplines, with a view to making it possible to unlock the mysteries of cognition. In other words, cognitive science was to pave the way for fundamentally updating the philosophical premises of the science of mind or even making possible a new scientific worldview. As a branch of cognitive science, psychology was to have contributed to the renovation of the ontological, methodological and scientific worldview of cognitive science through its unique interpretation of human nature. However, in the course of the development of cognitive science and psychology, psychology has failed to employ its disciplinary endeavors to renew the ontology, methodology and values of the philosophical foundations of cognitive science, and has also failed to contribute to the promotion of cognitive science. On the contrary, cognitive science’s mechanistic worldview and positivist methodology are the sole determinants of the background of cognitive science that shapes psychology’s model of development—that is, cognitive psychology (if one sees cognitive psychology as a concrete manifestation of the interaction of cognitive science and psychology). This study examines cognitive psychology’s ontological, methodological and value presuppositions and scientific worldview and reflects on the blind and passive nature of the discipline’s development. Moreover, from a history of science perspective, it considers how the development of this discipline can contribute to the renewal of scientific concepts in the philosophy of science through the interaction of the mature natural sciences and philosophy and thence provide possibilities for handling the relationship between psychology and philosophy in psychology’s future development.

Continuity, Simplification, and Paradigm Shifting in Biological Evolution

The principle of continuity in evolution is often violated by discontinuous saltations leading to "punctuations" in evolutionary history. Highly accurate cellular replication fidelity is a requirement for biological evolution. In previous work, I have used a statistical theoretical model to demonstrate discontinuity in the evolution of high replication fidelity. Depending on the granularity of approach, both a continuous and a saltational view of evolutionary history are consistent with a scientific worldview of creation, and with the concept of simplification in biology as articulated by Emily Boring et al. The apparent contradiction between the complexity of biological systems with the idea of evolutionary simplification can be resolved by considering the globally simplifying selection of single systems and the local evolution of increasing system complexity. Explanations of thresholds and discontinuities during evolution might require the inclusion of paradigms such as teleology and agency in biological science, with theological implications.

‘Unite behind the Science!’ Climate movements’ use of scientific evidence in narratives on socio-ecological futures

AbstractFollowing Greta Thunberg’s school strike in Stockholm in August 2018 and the October 2018 ‘declaration of rebellion’ by activists in the UK, 2019 saw several climate protest movements rise to public attention, including Fridays for Future (FFF), Extinction Rebellion (XR), and the US Sunrise Movement. What is striking about them is that they rather bluntly refer to science in their campaigns. In this paper, we present an in-depth and comparative study of how the new climate protest movements relate to scientific evidence. Employing a narrative analysis of different types of data (websites, press releases, and media coverage), we study the movements’ understandings of ‘the science’ as well as of science’s role in policy processes. We find that the movements in their initial phase predominantly rely on science for their legitimation and adopt a scientific worldview with very little ‘green ambivalence’. Notably, FFF and XR hold a deficit model of existing climate communication and enact roles as science communicators.

Peak Pursuits: The Emergence of Mountaineering in the Nineteenth Century

Peak Pursuits: The Emergence of Mountaineering in the Nineteenth Century

Peter I and the Birth of Russian Historical Science

The article describes the significant influence of Peter the Great on the emergence of Russian historical science. Tsar Peter Alekseevich supported rationalism and the theory of natural law, demanded that his subjects accepted the postulates of Western European theories that could be viewed as advanced at that historical moment, and be guided by them in their activities. Attaching great importance to historical knowledge, Peter I closely followed the development of Western European historical science, ordered the works of European historians to be translated into Russian. In particular, in 1718 the Tsar personally ordered Gabriel Buzhinsky to translate from Latin into Russian the work of the German historian and lawyer Samuel Pufendorf “Introductio ad Historiam Europeam”, and then personally checked the accuracy of the translation. Peter the Great commanded that the artillery Lieutenant-Captain V.N. Tatishchev began to write a work in geography, and then in the history of Russia. In turn, the author of the article shows that the works of S. Pufendorf had a serious impact on the formation of V.N. Tatishchev’s scientific worldview. Comparative analysis of the historical and philosophical works of Pufendorf and Tatishchev allows us to trace the intellectual process set by Peter I: the process of penetration of rationalistic methods of thinking and cognition into the Russian national worldview.

The role and place of the discipline “History of mathematics in the 21st century”

The key to the success of educational reform is a comprehensive and thorough training of future specialists in any field, with a broad scientific worldview and a high level of culture. For high-quality training of future professionals, a new stage has begun, characterized by the emergence of innovative technologies in the educational process. In higher educational institutions that train future specialists, there is an interest in the modernization of the educational process. The XXI century is a time of differentiation of sciences, earlier integral science was divided into smaller parts, new branches appeared, scientists specialized, individual researches give way to collective efforts. In such a whirlwind of events, the desire to study in detail and deeply any initial discipline, especially the history of its formation and development, is lost. In the absence of time, historical and mathematical information gradually becomes secondary, and should be consistent, clear, complete and arouse students' interest in the subject.
 That is why it is important to emphasize some historical aspects of development, problems of teaching and learning, and possible ways to solve it in the discipline of "history of mathematics".
 The research used methods of scientific knowledge: systematic and comparative analysis of literature, work programs, syllabi, pedagogical process on the problem of research, generalization and systematization.
 It was found out, that the methods of teaching and learning have changed, although we have the opportunity to work with the latest computer technologies, but the role as an effective means of learning and the place as an integral part of the universal scientific heritage remain unchanged.
 It is shown, that the history of mathematics will continue to serve as a discipline that is a kind of link between humanitarian, technical and natural sciences, contributes to the development of a scientific worldview and forms erudition

Transdisciplinary shift and biophysics

The article discusses the development of biophysics as a transdisciplinary science that uses approaches and methods that are used in physics to study biological phenomena and processes. Transdisciplinary science is aimed at solving multifactorial problems of nature and society. Research in the field of biophysics finds its application today in medicine (medical diagnostics and therapy). Transdisciplinary research is considered as cooperation or joint scientific work of researchers from different disciplines. Such research expands the scientific worldview and will contribute to the modification of the face of science in the future.

SPEECH REALIZATION OF THE CONCEPT A WORK OF GENIUS IN THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD VIEW

The article is dedicated to the investigation of the verbalization of the concept A WORK OF GENIUS in the world view of the English-speaking society. The proposed study was performed within the framework of linguogenionics, which examines the interpretation of the phenomenon of genius in language in general and in English in particular. The study is based on specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias, English scientific texts, as well as the British National Corpus. Special linguistic methods used in the study include definitional, componential analysis, which together with the use of contextual-interpretative method allowed conducting a conceptual analysis aimed at identifying the structure of the concept A WORK OF GENIUS in the scientific world view. The analysis of scientific publications allowed singling out the peripheral features of the studied concept in the English scientific picture of the world, namely: relevance, importance, time trial, mystery, usefulness, polysensity, universality. The English conceptual field GENIUS consists of three segments connected by a cyclic relationship. Each of these segments is denoted by a corresponding nuclear concept: GENIUS as a phenomenon, GENIUS as a person, and A WORK OF GENIUS. The ontological cycle consists of the following three parts: 1) a person endowed with 2) the gift of genius creates 3) a masterpiece that is recognized as a work of genius (in art or science), and this gives its creator the status of a genius. The relatively small amount of peripheral features of all nuclear concepts in the scientific picture of the world is accounted for by the fact that in scientific discourse the most frequent conceptual features are nuclear components. We see the prospect of the research in the possibility of further studies of geniuses in the paradigm of linguopersonology, contrastive linguistics and psycholinguistics.

예수 기적의 역사성과 기적의 해석학적 고찰

One of the most remarkable things about Jesus' actions is miracles. The four Gospels report healing, exorcism, raising the dead and performing many natural miracles. Are these miracle stories historically true? In modern times, commentators, such as Bultmann, who have been influenced by a mechanistic world-view, regard the miracle of Jesus as a myth or a product of imagination, created from apologetic motives. As a result of analyzing the texts by the historical-critical method, avoiding ideological prejudices, this paper reaches the conclusion that Jesus clearly performed the miracle of healing, exorcism, and raising the dead. Jesus declared that the kingdom of God has come upon you if I cast out demons by the finger of God. Likewise, through miracles, Jesus made the apocalyptic expectation of future salvation present.
 A miracle is already a new heaven and a new earth on a small scale. With power they had received from Jesus, the disciples of the early church performed miracles that Jesus performed and they proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God. However, the miracle of Jesus' healing was reinterpreted by christological perspectives in the theology of the cross and resurrection, and the power of exorcism began to be replaced by baptism in the Holy Spirit. At thre same, this wonderful charismatic power gradually disappeared in the church,
 How should Jesus' miracles be understood today? What are the challenges of today's scientific worldview to the miracles, and miracle faith? This paper presents a preliminary reflection on these topics as a conclusion.

The Problem of Autopoiesis of Technogenic Civilization and the Formation of Value Base for the Use of Digital Technology

The paper discusses the self-reproduction ability of the existing technogenic civilization and the issues of the influence of self-reproduction mechanisms on the formation of axiological grounds for the use of digital technologies generated by this civilization. The self-reproduction of civilizational structures is considered through their constant repetition in the process of communication. In existing philosophical and sociological studies based on systems approach, the term autopoiesis, introduced for these purposes in the works of N. Luhmann, has already been used to describe such processes. Considering the autopoiesis of the technogenic civilization, the articles relies on the works of V.S. Stepin to determine the main features of that civilization. As a result of the conducted research, it was revealed that the existing internal contradictions of the technogenic civilization that can lead and are already leading to its crisis, including the value one, are caused by simultaneous presence of mutually non-complementary autopoietic structures: (1) the ones related to the industrial and post-industrial era and to the scientific worldview; (2) and structures that have passed into modernity from the pre-industrial era, and yet still are have value and cultural significance in modern society. The author concludes that, forming the value foundations of the use of modern digital technologies, the technogenic civilization is forced to overcome the abovementioned gaps in its own autopoietic structures and create value systems free from these contradictions.

Hidden Green by Miklós Erdély

Hidden Green by Miklós Erdély

Prospects of Integrating Transdisciplinarity and Systems Thinking in the Historical Framework of Various Socio-Cultural Contexts

During the 20th century, science generally advanced within a dual ideological context of capitalism and socialism. In capitalism, development of science has been of an evolutionary nature. However, it had been developing according to a revolutionary pattern within the framework of socialism. These two opposing ideologies were expected to achieve different scientific developments. By the early 21st century, however, it was clear that these ideological differences did not significantly influence the overall evolution of science. Moreover, modern science continues to advance steadily toward greater development of general systems theory and transdisciplinarity. By integrating these ideas into one meta-discipline (systems transdisciplinarity) it is possible to finalize the unification and generalization of disciplinary knowledge and scientific worldviews. Consequently, systems transdisciplinarity that seamlessly combines the advantages of academic and systems approaches has every chance of becoming an effective tool to address today’s wicked problems.