Philosophical Significance Research Articles

A Study of the Early Chinese Belief in Heaven

The belief in heaven in early China is an important part of ancient Chinese philosophy and culture. There are hundreds of schools of ancient Chinese philosophy, and they have their own unique interpretation and understanding of the concept of heaven. This paper aims to explore the belief based on heaven in ancient Chinese philosophy and analyze its philosophical significance in depth, so as to understand the evolution, characteristics, and inheritance of ancient Chinese philosophy. Through the study of the belief in heaven and the concepts of Destiny of Heaven and Way of Heaven, it is found that these thoughts not only had a profound impact on the development of early Chinese philosophy but also played an important role in the formation and inheritance of Chinese culture. This kind of thought has significance beyond the times and national boundaries, giving enlightenment on the theoretical construction and practical exploration of human society.

Analysis and Assessment of human dignity in the poems of Shad Mohammad Khan

The goal of this study is to analyze Shad Mohammad Khan's verses, focusing on his insightful views about human perfection and dignity. It attempts to offer a philosophical analysis of the poet's writings, focusing in particular on ideas related to human love from mystical, theological, and philosophical perspectives. There are several religions, including Islam, that uphold the importance of the idea of human dignity. Shad Mohammad Khan's poetry offers a unique perspective on this specific problem and calls for a careful examination. A small body of academic work has been written about this esteemed poet. The aim of this research is to provide a critical examination of the verses written by Shad Mohammad Khan, with a particular focus on how human dignity and greatness are portrayed. Moreover, the goal of this study is to have a thorough philosophical discussion on the poet's corpus of work, paying special emphasis to how philosophy, religion, and mysticism intersect in his works. By adding to the scholarly knowledge of Shad Mohammad Khan's literary and philosophical significance, the aim is to close the current scholarly gap. The current investigation employs an all-encompassing methodology that integrates library and field research. The present study employs a methodology that entails the application of descriptive and analytical tools to analyse the poet's lines and the implementation of surveys to evaluate their relevance and impact. The poet's original works are considered primary sources, whilst related works, criticism, and interpretations are considered secondary sources.

On the Biopolitics of Suicide

This essay critically examines the biopoliticization of suicide, challenging its framing as a public health issue which obscures its cultural and philosophical significance. Drawing from Michel Foucault’s theories of biopower, this essay argues that suicide is externalized, massified, and medicalized under the discourse of public health, leading to its subjugation to biopower’s rhetoric. At the core of this narrative is a powerful presupposition that suicide is separable from the individual who commits the act. Drawing from Primo Levi’s The Drowned and the Saved and Judith Butler’s essay Violence, Politics, and Mourning, this essay conceives suicide as an intentional act of agency, occurring under particular conditions of emotional duress which are created by a historical relay of societal violence. This essay seeks to dismantle the prevailing narrative of suicide, free suicide from its biopolitical rhetoric, and argues that suicide ought to be understood as a radical act which bears witness against the violence of the biopolitical state.

On Husserl’s Twin Earth

In a 1911 research manuscript, Husserl puts forth an idea that resembles Putnam’s Twin Earth thought experiment presented in the 1970s. In this paper, I study Husserl’s “Twin Earth” passage and assess various readings of it to determine whether Husserl is better understood as an internalist or an externalist. I define internalism as the view that content depends solely on internal factors to the subject, whereas I distinguish between two versions of externalism: weak externalism, according to which content can also depend on other subjects’ conceptions, and strong externalism, which maintains that content can also depend on the real world. Only strong externalism maintains what McGinn calls “the philosophical significance of externalism” because it entails realism about the world. I argue that Husserl is better understood as an externalist when it comes to the “Twin Earth” passage, but the more precise question regarding weak and strong externalism requires further evidence. This additional evidence concerns Husserl’s concepts of the identity of sense (Sinnesidentität) and worldly meaning (weltlicher Sinn). In evaluating externalist Husserl interpretations, I classify Smith’s externalist interpretation as weak, whereas I take Crowell’s externalist interpretation to be ambivalent. Crowell’s excellent but somewhat embryonic interpretation leaves the dependence relation between content and the real world ambiguous. I clarify this relation by assessing McGinn’s argument for the philosophical significance of externalism from the Husserlian viewpoint. Although this study is historical, it also serves a systematic purpose because the externalist interpretation of Husserl calls into question central issues in phenomenology and externalism.

Examining the Relevance and Philosophical Significance of Some Northern Sotho Proverbs in the Context of COVID-19: A Sociocultural Perspective

Proverbs have long been serving as a tool for shaping human being’s life. They serve as a philosophical tool for social cohesion among other socio-cultural significances. Though some critics regard them as ancient, proverbs are still fulfilling the philosophical purpose(s) in the COVID-19 era. Their philosophical nature and meaning remains relevant in many contemporary life occurrences. Observing how people self-conduct themselves and share information about the pandemic, it was imperative for the study of this nature to be documented to ease communication among people during and post the pandemic. It is against this backdrop that this paper aimed at contextualising the meaning(s) of some Northern Sotho proverbs in the COVID-19 epoch and examine how they are relevant to the pandemic’s situation and happenings. Qualitative research approach undergirded this study in the sense that the relevance of traditional Northern Sotho proverbs is tested against the global status quo (COVID-19 times). The study adopted Vygotsky’s (1978) Sociocultural theory as its lynchpin to enable a critical and thorough examination and assessment of the importance of language (through proverbs) in the COVID-19 context. Relevant Northern Sotho proverbs were purposively selected due to their significant role in the COVID-19 epoch. The proverbs were synthesised and analysed thematically to reveal their relevance and philosophical purpose during and post the pandemic. The study ultimately argues that language, through proverbs as its fundamental aspects and ideological tools, remains a major philosophical source of communication among living folks.

Gegen Sprachontologie und Sprachpositivismus

Abstract This essay defines Theodor W. Adorno’s philosophical language criticism as materialistic. It takes up Max Beck’s discussion of Adorno’s critique of German metaphysical jargon in his paper “Jargon, Bullshit, sinnlos”. However, this essay argues for a twofold critique as being constitutive for Adorno’s approach: It is directed not only at Martin Heidegger’s ontological understanding of language but also at Logical Empiricism’s formalistic understanding of it. Beck’s claim of an affinity between the methods of Adorno and the Vienna Circle is therefore questionable. The first part illuminates the philosophical significance of Adorno’s encounters with the Vienna protagonists. The second part discusses the differences between a formalistic and a materialistic approach: instead of excluding metaphysical expressions as meaningless, Adorno contextualizes them historically and socially. Thus Adorno criticizes early analytic philosophy’s reductive treatment of language and its rigorist understanding of enlightenment. The third part connects the critiques of formalism and of jargon by pointing to their own socio-historical embeddedness. Finally, it argues for the contemporary relevance of such twofold critique.

Игри с/на Достоевски: философия и литература

The article examines variants of modern game approaches to Dostoevsky's work, which in different ways highlight his philosophical significance and timeless relevance. Among these interpretations, special attention is paid to the literary and philosophical experiments of Vladimir Sorokin and Boris Akunin. The heuristic charge of these philosophical-literary games in a definitely literature-centric culture, such as the Russian one, is emphasized.

The Geometrical Patterns and Philosophical Value of Javanese Traditional Mosque Architecture for Mathematics Learning in Primary School: An Ethnomathematic Study

Aim. This study is an ethnomathematical study that aims to describe and interpret the philosophical value and geometrical patterns of the famous architecture and ornament of the Indonesian traditional Mosque. Methods. This report subsequently used an ethnographic method, with data being obtained through observation, documentation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Furthermore, the study subjects were a cultural practitioner and a group of educators, containing five primary school teachers in Central Java, Indonesia. Interviews, observation, and documentation were conducted during the research. The data was analysed qualitatively. Results. First, from the data analysis, it was found that there are several philosophical values contained in the architecture and ornaments of a Javanese traditional mosque such as the relationship that must always exist between humans and God and fellow human beings, Islam, iman (faith), Ihsan (kindness), openness, honesty, obedience, and humility. The second indicates the relationship between the Javanese architecture and ornament of the Indonesian traditional Mosque and the geometrical patterns (the cuboid, and cylinder), symmetrical patterns, and geometry transformation (rotation) used as the source of learning and starting point to the mathematical learning process. Conclusions. These results were specifically useful to primary school teachers when teaching geometry. Through culture as a context or starting point, the new mathematical learning resource was also used for geometric learning. In addition, the philosophical significance of these artifacts fostered an interest in the indigenous culture and good character values.

Beyond Visual Aesthetics: Understanding the Spiritual and Philosophical Significance of Dunhuang's Lotus Motif Decoration

The purpose of this paper is to study in depth the spiritual and philosophical significance of the Dunhuang lotus pattern decoration and to explore its importance in the field of art. Through literature research and fieldwork, the paper analyses the symbolism of the lotus flower in Dunhuang culture, the artistic techniques, spiritual connotations and philosophical significance of the lotus pattern decoration. It is found that Dunhuang lotus pattern decoration is not only aesthetic, but also contains profound spiritual pursuit and philosophical thinking, which has an important inspiration and influence on contemporary art.

Pleasure’s Swerve: Philology among Lucretius, Derrida, and Deleuze

Abstract In the 1983 article “My Chances/Mes chances: A Rendezvous with Some Epicurean Stereophonies,” Jacques Derrida gives philological questions massive philosophical significance by reading the long âgon between idealist and materialist philosophy through a philological crux in the text of Lucretius’s De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). Tracing philological debates that have surrounded Lucretius from the Renaissance onward, this article argues that Lucretius’s poetic theory of interlinked atomic and textual swerves and the philological history that has mediated them were important touchstones for both Derrida and the other major twentieth-century philosopher of difference, Gilles Deleuze. Additionally, the article argues that for both Derrida and Deleuze, the clinamen offers a theory not only of how atoms or alphabetical letters swerve or even split, but also of how a philosophical tradition such as materialism refuses to run in a straight, unitary line. This is a question of how to understand reception history: either as an unbroken tradition of faithful imitation and replication (a family genealogy, grouped under the name of the father, “Lucretius” for example), or else as something less patriarchal, less heteronormative, less faithful. Read this way, the swerve offers a rethinking of the methods of reception history itself.

The Possibility of Asking about Dao: On the Philosophical Significance of Dialogue in the Zhuangzi

In contrast to the aphoristic style of the Daodejing, Zhuangzi is known for its abundant use of dialogues. These dialogues, especially those found in chapters 21 and 22, are consciously organized around the theme of “asking about Dao”. They bring together the diverse propositions about the Dao that are found independently throughout the Daodejing. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the fact that Zhuangzi consciously orders these propositions in terms of the different levels of knowledge of Dao. Within this theoretical framework, Zhuangzi further ranks the questions and answers regarding these propositions. Certain dialogues are partly dismissed because both participants demonstrate a flawed and shallow understanding of the Dao, while other questions and answers are acknowledged and appreciated for their correct and profound understanding of it. There is a strict corresponding relationship between levels of knowledge of Dao and different attitudes toward dialogues in it. Therefore, the examination of the dialogues about the Dao reveals that Zhuangzi places explicit emphasis on the knowledge of the Dao compared to the Daodejing, which also sheds light on Zhuangzi’s distinctive awareness of the problems surrounding this key concept.

Samidhā: A Review

Yagya holds a central place within Indian culture, and its meticulous execution is delineated in scriptures, characterized by attentiveness and devotion. The term Samidh or Samidha refers to wood utilized in Yagya rituals. The Buddhist and Zoroastrian cultures also recognize the samidhā as firewood and use them in fire rituals. Scriptures have clear instructions on the size of samidhā and categorize them as per the requirements of the traditions. Samidhā's role in Yagya encompasses its spiritual and philosophical significance, wood types, quality, and usage. This paper reviews its meaning in the broader context of Yagya, discussing its spiritual, scriptural, material, ayurvedic, and astrological aspect. Drawing from Vedic texts, Puranas, and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, the article highlights samidhā's symbolic connection to divine energy and cosmic balance. Specific samidhā types, such as Durva grass and Chandan, are explored for their ritual and medicinal applications. The astrological relevance of samidhā usage is discussed, suggesting its influence on energy equilibrium. The research underscores the holistic wisdom of Samidha embedded in ancient Vedic traditions and the potential to revive this knowledge for promoting well-being and spiritual harmony.

Research and Discussion of Quantum Theory

Quantum information technology mainly includes quantum communication, quantum radar, quantum computer these three aspects, in recent years, rapid development, many countries invested heavily in development. The awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022 to three scientists for their work in quantum informatics has further stimulated people's interest in quantum theory, which has been studied and discussed. This paper not only reviews the historical situation, but also thinks and innovates in theory. The main contents of this paper are as follows: It is pointed out that there are fundamental contradictions between relativity and quantum mechanics; The wave function, quantum statistics and uncertainty principle are discussed in detail. The hidden variable theory is reviewed and the Bell inequality is discussed. The Aspect two-photon experiment was analyzed. The rationality of Bohm experiment scheme is discussed. The development of Bell type experiment is discussed. It is pointed out that the entangled state is not acting at a distance but propagating faster than the speed of light. Reviews the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics; Quantum communication and Wootters theorem are discussed. etc. This paper holds that quantum mechanics has been finalized from 1926 to 1928, and its basic content has not changed much. But for some of the accusations, it is necessary to answer them theoretically. For example, we believe that the Copenhagen interpretation fundamentally changes our understanding of nature and marks a profound revolution in physics. And no other theory has since emerged that has such a profound understanding and wide application of microscopic phenomena as this interpretation. Another example is Bohm's two-particle correlation spin scheme in quantum entanglement experiments, which has been proved to be effective in a series of experiments, which is an important contribution in Bohm's life. This paper holds that the so-called quantum field theory is a failure, and the original quantum mechanics should still be advocated today. Current theoretical research should pay great attention to quantum entangled states, because its nature is still unclear. Understanding this "first mystery of the physical world" not only has scientific significance, but also has great philosophical significance for understanding the universe.

Internalism and the Determinacy of Mathematics

Abstract A major challenge in the philosophy of mathematics is to explain how mathematical language can pick out unique structures and acquire determinate content. In recent work, Button and Walsh have introduced a view they call ‘internalism’, according to which mathematical content is explained by internal categoricity results formulated and proven in second-order logic. In this paper, we critically examine the internalist response to the challenge and discuss the philosophical significance of internal categoricity results. Surprisingly, as we argue, while internalism arguably explains how we pick out unique mathematical structures, this does not suffice to account for the determinacy of mathematical discourse.

Insatiable souls: Philo of Alexandria’s readings of food

Abstract While Philo of Alexandria maintained that the pleasure that stems from the consumption of food can overstimulate human desire, he attributed great philosophical significance to the symbolism of food. On the one hand, in De specialibus legibus 4, the food that is permitted for consumption in the Torah is open to philosophical explanation and inspires learning; on the other, Philo connects what he considers to be the most godlike part of humans—the intellect—with a kind of intellectual nourishment, which is accompanied by a transformed pleasure that is not—and cannot be—excessive. In this chapter, I suggest that Philo adopted Platonic food imagery to differentiate between different layers of desire for and enjoyment of food. This, in turn, was a way to articulate the difference, and also the mediation, between the intellectual (noetic) and the sense-perceptible cosmos.

RATIONAL THEOLOGY AND ONTOLOGY OF ANTIQUITY IN THE HORIZON OF PERCEPTION OF RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHERS OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

he article deals with the interpretation of the ancient philosophical tradition by Russian thinkers of the 19th-20th centuries. Russian philosophers, in the context of the philosophical problems they faced, traced the development of rational theology within the framework of ancient thought. Philosophy liberated the human personality from external violence, gave it inner spiritual content through understanding the ontological, epistemological and religious foundations of socio-historical processes. The article focuses on the fact that in Russia of this period, in anticipation of a new era of “religious creativity”, philosophers made an attempt to rethink those philosophical traditions and approaches that led to the establishment of Christianity. At the same time, the significance of philosophy goes far beyond the theoretical understanding of the world; philosophical concepts serve as the most important guide in practical life. The authors of the article pay special attention to the philosophical concepts of V. V. Rozanov, S. N. Trubetskoy and S. L. Frank.

Heroism and Being-towards-Death: On Sacrificial Martyrdom in Contemporary Shiʿism

This paper examines the philosophy of martyrdom, heroism, and death, with reference to Islam in general and Shiʿism in particular. This paper will be divided into two parts; the first will highlight the etymological and philosophical significance of the Arabic term martyrdom (istishhād) and its interrelation with the notion of testimony (shahāda), allowing for the clarification of the complexity of the existential privation of death and the communality of heroic martyrdom. The second part will move beyond the observation of Qurʾanic canonical sources by traversing traditional Shiʿi references and narratives, allowing for a reflection on the articulation of the ontology of martyrdom, such as its temporal horizon and mortality. Consequently, the state of affairs surrounding the phenomenon of heroic martyrdom embodies testimonies of both love and hate, of belongingness and enmity, and of devotion and hostility. Yet, the identification of such heroism is, in practice, coupled with a tacit sense of a Heideggerian ‘fall’ due to its inseparability from the pull of religious, social, and communal violence and aggression. Thus, in both theory and practice, a phenomenology of heroic martyrdom and death takes into account the ideological and societal contexts of the use of violence and the concrete rituals in its mediation of aggression.

Finite-size scaling theory: Quantitative and qualitative approaches to critical phenomena

The finite-size scaling (FSS) theory is a relatively new and important attempt to study critical phenomena; this paper aims to contribute to clarifying the philosophical significance of this theory. We maintain that, contrary to initial appearances and to some recent claims in the literature, the FSS theory cannot arbitrate the debate between the reductionists and anti-reductionists about phase transitions. Although the theory allows scientists to provide predictions for finite systems, the analysis we carry on here shows that it involves the intertwinement of both finite and infinite systems. But, we argue, the FSS theory has another virtue, as it provides quantitative predictions and explanations for finite systems close to the critical point; it thus complements in a distinctive manner the standard Renormalization Group qualitative approach relying on infinite systems.

What is absolute modality?

ABSTRACT Talk of metaphysical modality as “absolute” is ambiguous, as it appears to convey multiple ideas. Metaphysical possibility is supposedly completely unrestricted or unqualified; metaphysical necessity is unconditional and exceptionless. Moreover, metaphysical modality is thought to be absolute in the sense that it's real or genuine and the most objective modality: metaphysical possibility and necessity capture ways things could and must have really been. As we disentangle these ideas, certain talk of metaphysical modality qua “absolute” turns out to be misguided. Metaphysical possibility isn't completely unrestricted or most inclusive compared to the other modalities; metaphysical necessity, like all kinds of necessities, is relative to or conditional upon a specific framework of reference. Still, metaphysical modality captures how things could and must have really been most generally because it deals with reality and the nature of things or their essence. That's the chief interest of metaphysics. Arguments against the alleged absoluteness of metaphysical modality may not thereby undermine its philosophical significance.

The Philosophical Significance of the Representational Theory of Measurement —RTM as Semantic Foundations

The Representational Theory of Measurement (RTM), especially the canonical three volume Foundations of Measurement by Krantz et al., is a landmark accomplishment in our understanding of measurement. Despite this, it has been far from easy to pinpoint what exactly we can learn about measurement from RTM, and who the target audience for RTM’s formal results should be. In what sense does RTM provide foundations of measurement, and what is the philosophical significance of such foundations? I argue that RTM provides semantic foundations of measurement, and that their philosophical significance lies in a shift towards structural representation.