Skeptical View Research Articles

‘It’s complicated’: Professional opacity, duality, and ambiguity—A response to Noordegraaf (2020)

AbstractIn this comment to Noordegraaf’s ‘Protective or connective professionalism? How connected professionals can (still) act as autonomous and authoritative experts’, we argue that Noordegraaf has contributed significant insights into the development of contemporary professionalism. However, we argue for a less binary and more complex view of forms of professionalism, and for finding ways of understanding professionalism grounded in a relational view of everyday professional work. The first section (by Johan Alvehus) suggests that Noordegraaf’s ‘connective professionalism’ is primarily about new ways of strengthening professionalism’s protective shields by maintaining functional ambiguity and transparent opacity around professional jurisdictions. The second section (by Amalya Oliver and Netta Avnoon) argues for viewing professionalism on a range of protection–connection and offers an approach for understanding how connective and protective models co-occur. Both commentaries thus take a relational, dynamic, and somewhat skeptical view on the reproduction and maintenance of professionalism.

The Enduring Socialist Content of the Chinese Revolution: A Skeptical View

The Enduring Socialist Content of the Chinese Revolution: A Skeptical ViewBarbara FoleyBarbara Foley5 Roosevelt Place, #60 Montclair, NJ 07042. [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:July 2021https://doi.org/10.1521/siso.2021.85.3.391PDFPDF PLUS ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations AboutReferencesChan Jenny, , Selden Mark, , and Pun Ngai. 2020. Dying for an iPhone: Apple, Foxconn, and The Lives of China's Workers. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket. Google Scholar“China Created a Record Number of Billionaires Despite Covid-19.” 2020 (October). https://qz.com/1919974/china-created-a-record-number-of-billionaires-despite-covid-19/ Google ScholarXiaoping Deng. 1994. Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping. Volume 3. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. Google ScholarElkins Caroline. 2005. Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya. Holt Paperbacks. Google ScholarFoley Barbara. 2003. “From Situational Dialectics to Pseudo-Dialectics: Mao, Jiang, and Capitalist Transition.” Cultural Logic. Google ScholarGao Mobo. 2015. The Battle for China's Past: Mao and the Cultural Revolution. London: Pluto. Crossref, Google ScholarHart-Landsberg Martin, , and Burkett Paul. 2005. China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle. New York: Monthly Review. Google ScholarHegel G.F.W. Elements of the Philosophy of Right. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/preface.htm Google ScholarHu Shen, , and Wang Xiaori. 2020. “Liberating the Productive Forces: Understanding China's Ascent Through its Labor Market Evolution from the 1970s to the Early 2000s.” Science & Society, 84:2 (April), 204–231. Link, Google ScholarLaibman David. 2020. “China: In the Perspective of Historical Materialism.” Science & Society, 84:2 (April), 171–203. Link, Google ScholarLenin Vladimir. 1919. “The State.” https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/919/jul/11.htm Google ScholarMarx Karl. 1976. Capital. Trans. Fowlkes Ben. New York: Penguin. Google ScholarMarx Karl. 1973. Grundrisse. Trans. Nicolaus Martin. New York: Penguin. Google Scholar“Opinions on Strengthening the United Front Work of Private Economy in the New Era.” 2020. Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (September 15). Google ScholarPrashad Vijay. 2019. Red Star Over the Third World. London: Pluto. Google Scholar“Wall Street Brushes off Political Tensions.” 2020. Financial Times (September 10). https://www.ft.com/content/01f92c8b-11dc-431c-adaf-c299e3964ff1 Google ScholarJinping Xi. 2020. “Carry on the Enduring Spirit of Mao Zedong Thought.” THEORYCHINA (September 16). Google ScholarJinping Xi. 2019. “Uphold and Develop Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” In “Xi Jinping in Translation.” Palladium (May). Google Scholar Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 85Issue 3Jul 2021 Information© 2021 by S & S Quarterly, Inc.PDF download

What happens when municipalities run corporations? Empirical evidence from 290 Swedish municipalities

ABSTRACT Local governments are increasingly relying on municipally owned corporations (MOCs) to provide public services. Some describe this development as a rational response to austerity challenges and emphasise the cost-efficiency of MOCs (‘the optimistic view’). Others identify complications and associate MOCs with weak supervision, lack of accountability, and corruption risks (‘the sceptical view’). Hitherto, no studies have analysed these opposing claims on MOCs in the one and same inquiry. We address this gap by focusing on Sweden, which has experienced a dramatic growth in the number of MOCs. We examine the association between the number of MOCs, the business climate, satisfaction with local government, local tax rates, and a corruption index for all 290 Swedish municipalities. Putting the ‘optimistic view’ into doubt, results indicate that municipalities relying heavily on MOCs are associated with more perceived corruption and higher taxes but do not have more satisfied citizens nor a better business climate.

A Skeptical View on the Physics-Consciousness Explanatory Gap

The epistemological chasm between how we (implicitly and subjectively) perceive or imagine the actual world and how we (explicitly and “objectively”) think of its underlying entities has motivated perhaps the most disconcerting impasse in human thought: the explanatory gap between the phenomenal and physical properties of the world. Here, I advocate a combination of philosophical skepticism and simplicity as an informed approach to arbitrate among theories of consciousness. I argue that the explanatory gap is rightly a gap in our understanding, but one that is not surprising; and we being observers biased by our first-person perspective and our existence may both hinder and (the realization we have them) assist our reasoning. Further, I unfold the concept of observer into two distinct notions based on its functional and phenomenal aspects, and exploit this device to elucidate the subject-observer relationship. Then, I proceed to analyze the philosophical zombie dilemma. Lastly, I contend that from a skeptical viewpoint, panpsychism (or neutral monism) is the most parsimonious doctrine accounting for the explanatory gap, and suggest that it would be possible to make headway in the hard problem of consciousness by uncovering non-trivial causal relationships between qualia states and functional states, if routine and controlled manipulation of neural circuits were easily available.

Scythian View of Russian Revolution: Aspects of Axiology

The perception of the revolution by the majority of members of the Scythian group (1916—1919) is examined in the article. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the views of the Scythians of the 1910s on the revolution correlate with their work, which is actively studied by modern researchers. It is shown that the priority for them was the projection of modernity on the mythologized and poeticized by them historical Scythians, the first was the question of the role of personal energy in opposition to social entropy. The article focuses on the actualization by the group members of the Scythian psychotype in the Russian revolution, on the premonition of their own death in its whirlwind, on the legacy of A. Herzen’s ideas by IvanovRazumnik. The attitude of the group members to the religious content of the revolutions of 1917 is analyzed, the skeptical view of Ivanov-Razumnik, E. Zamyatin, S. Yesenin, N. Klyuev on the Church is presented. The point of view of the spiritual Scythians who dreamed of democracy on the role of the people in the revolution and the future of the country is considered. The apprehensions of M. Prishvin, A. Blok, A. Bely for the fate of a culture threatened with destruction are outlined. It is concluded that there is no single revolutionary axiology in the group and only the relative influence of the ideas of Ivanov-Razumnik on its members.

Exploring Co-creative Drawing Workflows.

This article presents the outcomes from a mixed-methods study of drawing practitioners (e.g., professional illustrators, fine artists, and art students) that was conducted in Autumn 2018 as a preliminary investigation for the development of a physical human-AI co-creative drawing system. The aim of the study was to discover possible roles that technology could play in observing, modeling, and possibly assisting an artist with their drawing. The study had three components: a paper survey of artists' drawing practises, technology usage and attitudes, video recorded drawing exercises and a follow-up semi-structured interview which included a co-design discussion on how AI might contribute to their drawing workflow. Key themes identified from the interviews were (1) drawing with physical mediums is a traditional and primary way of creation; (2) artists' views on AI varied, where co-creative AI is preferable to didactic AI; and (3) artists have a critical and skeptical view on the automation of creative work with AI. Participants' input provided the basis for the design and technical specifications of a co-creative drawing prototype, for which details are presented in this article. In addition, lessons learned from conducting the user study are presented with a reflection on future studies with drawing practitioners.

Integration of the History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education: A Systematic Literature Review

The history of mathematics (HoM) is important for mathematics to be enriched, in the evaluation of the development of the mathematics based on scholars and subjects. However, many students often have a bad impression of Mathematics. Therefore, a lot of alternatives have been used by Mathematics educators to change this sceptical view of Mathematics. One of the methods is by using the history in Mathematics in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, this study aims to identify Mathematics teachers’ views towards the integration of the HoM and the implementation of HoM in teaching and learning in a systematic literature review context. Using the guidelines by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) and the combination of keywords such as “integration of History of Mathematics”, “using History of Mathematics”, “implementing History of Mathematics” and “integrating History of Mathematics”. 30 out of 1412 articles used in this study were chosen from two electronic databases which are ERIC, and Google Scholar without restricting the year of publication. The article selection was done based on a few criteria such that the variables in previous research were focused on the views and opinions of teachers about the usage of HoM and the usage of HoM in Mathematics education. Extraction of data was based on the name of the researcher, year, country, title, sample size, instrument used, field of study, methodology and analysis and findings. The findings reveal that Mathematics’ teachers have positive views about the integration of HoM in teaching and learning. Teachers did not use HoM in class due to problems such as lack of knowledge and skill to integrate HoM, insufficient materials, resources and time and exclusion of HoM in the Mathematics syllabus and examination. To conclude, Mathematics teachers should consider integrating HoM in their teaching and choosing history as an alternative way to teach Mathematics. As for future works, Mendeley, Scopus and Web of Science are highly recommended to be databases of the study using should extensive related keywords.

Kūrybiškumo taikymas Klaipėdos organizacijų veikloje

Creativity in organizations has always been important, but in the twenty-first century, it is becoming object of interest among scientists in the field of management. The article discusses the essence of creativity and its benefits to organizations. Although researchers of various fields, including management, emphasize the benefits of creativity in everyday activities, but the skeptical view, that creativity can be applied only in art and not in everyday activities, still persist. This paper analyzes the scientific problem that is the lack of application of creativity in organizations. The object of research is application of creativity. The purpose of article is to research the applicability of creativity in organization through the analysis of the concept of creativity and its benefits to organizations. Objectives are to identify the benefits of creativity to the organization and to reveal the practice of application of creativity in Klaipeda organizations. In the analysis of the scientific literature, these techniques have been applied: systematic and logical analysis, comparative analysis, graphical representation. A qualitative research method of semi-structured interview has been used for empirical research. In order to determine the application of creativity in real life, the qualitative exploratory study has been performed. Semi-structured interview with experts has been selected. Experts – managers of various small and medium organizations – have been invited to participate in this research. The study has been conducted in April 2014 in Klaipeda. The aim was to involve managers-experts from different sectors (services, manufacturing, marketing or educational areas) in order to be able to discern certain trends or directions depending on the organization or the organization’ size or even a different leadership experience. Management experience of experts is very diverse, from 1 year to 36 years. The study found out that although experts have identified unambiguously that creativity is essential in our daily work, it appears that its application possibilities are not exhausted in practice and most have not showed interest or practical application of a variety of creative methods. Experts do not apply creative approaches in their work, they feel instinctively how to behave or to show creativity, but in reality, it is a serious theoretical gap. The results suggest that the development of creativity is yet neglected because neither managers nor employees are encouraged for creative solutions. KEYWORDS: creativity, organization, application of creativity. JEL CODES: M10, M12, M14 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v13i2.831

Is There Such a Thing as Genuinely Moral Disgust?

In this paper, I defend a novel skeptical view about moral disgust. I argue that much recent discussion of moral disgust neglects an important ontological question: is there a distinctive psychological state of moral disgust that is differentiable from generic disgust, and from other psychological states? I investigate the ontological question and propose two conditions that any aspiring account of moral disgust must satisfy: (1) it must be a genuine form of disgust, and (2) it must be genuinely moral. Next, I examine two prominent accounts of moral disgust by John Kekes and Victor Kumar and argue that neither successfully establishes the existence of genuinely moral disgust: Kekes’ account does not satisfy condition (2), and Kumar’s view does not meet condition (1). I claim that an important general lesson can be drawn from my critiques of Kekes’ and Kumar’s accounts: to establish the existence of moral disgust, one must provide unequivocal evidence that genuinely moral disgust, not generic disgust or anger, is being elicited in response to relevant moral violations. I conclude by considering why we ought to be skeptical about the general prospect of giving a positive answer to the ontological question, given the available evidence.

Procedural Democracy and Electronic Agents

In recent years, firms offering political campaigning and fundraising services have claimed that artificial intelligence is used to maximize their clients' interests. Numerous news reports suggest that artificial intelligence capacities have influenced high‐profile voting events; publications decrying the threat posed to democratic procedures are proliferating. This article takes a skeptical view of such claims, with an argument in six sections. First, the received principles of procedural democracy in relation to voting events are outlined. Second, the kind of services in question are considered. Third, to what extent these services actually involve artificial intelligence is pondered. Fourth, how such technological capacities may bear upon the tenets of procedural democracy are raised. Fifth, it is argued that it is unlikely that those tenets are indeed significantly undermined in practice. And sixth, this article concludes by considering the implications of it being proven that such technological capacities do play a decisive role in voting events.

Analysis of radioactivity concentration in natural rubber latex and radiation prevulcanized natural rubber latex (RVNRL)

Radiation vulcanization of natural rubber latex (RVNRL) is an alternative technology to conventional sulphur vulcanization. To eliminate some public members sceptical view toward the radioactivity of the prevulcanized latex produced using gamma radiation, RVNRL was prepared at several radiation doses and then their radioactivity concentration were measured using gamma counting technique. The activity concentration level of Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40 in RVNRL found to be not significantly different from non-vulcanized natural rubber latex (NRL). The reported radioactivity proved that using gamma radiation in the RVNRL preparation could not ionized and produce radioactive materials from NRL minerals. Hence, it is concluded that RVNRL is safe to be used as the main raw material in latex dipped products industry.

Conflicted by conservatism? Exploring authoritarian values, climate politics, and alternative energy funding public opinion in the United States

Academic assessments typically conclude that right-wing authoritarian populism poses a significant political challenge to the advancement of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. Right-wing recalcitrance and hostility to climate change policy have been attributed to the authoritarian personality, rejection of science, skeptical views of government elites and corporations, and even some forms of psychological distress. Employing public opinion data collected in the U.S. during the first term of the Trump Presidency, our work confirms that persons who score high on populism, authoritarianism, anti-science indices, and those who hold ideologically conservative views tend to oppose increased public investment in alternative energy. Not explored in the environmental policy and alternative energy literature is the conflicted (or compassionate) conservative; the individual who espouses conservative values yet supports social justice-promotive public policies. As an addition to current theoretical and empirical understanding, we find that conflicted conservatives, individuals who identify as politically conservative yet favor social justice expenditures, are significantly more supportive of enhanced public investment in alternative energy.

«ПОСЛОЙНОЕ СОЗДАНИЕ ДРЕВНЕЙ ИСТОРИИ КИТАЯ»: МЕТОД И ГИПОТЕЗА ГУ ЦЗЕГАНА

The article focuses on the establishment of the theoretical and methodological basis of the Chinese historical school of doubt in antiquity led by Gu Jiegang, a prominent historian. The study is driven and inspired by the growing research interest in the transitional periods of non-Western history. Gu Jiegang’s historical ideas and skeptical views, the method that he introduced, and his influence on the development of history as a science in China are analyzed using the comparative historical, genetic, and historical-biographical methods. Having absorbed the ideas of the traditional textological approach of Kaozheng, in particular the critical views of the Qing scribe Cui Shu, and the “genetic” method of his teacher Hu Shi, which had been adopted by the latter from J. Dewey, Gu Jiegang developed his own method of “layer-by-layer” reconstruction, which allows one to extract the “reliable” by identifying the “doubtful”. His hypothesis and methods were published and sparked furious debate among historians. Therefore, it is obvious that Gu Jiegang’s ideas induced the transformation of the historical thinking in China during the first third of the 20th century.

Conceptualizing Computer Simulations in Philosophy of Science

In the modern Russian philosophy, discussions about the phenomenon of computer simulations in the scientific research practice of conducting experiments are just beginning to pass the stage of initiation in small interdisciplinary groups studying this new direction for the philosophy of science. At the same time, in Western philosophy by the current moment there have been formed entire directions for the study of computer simulations. Different groups of researchers in different ways form ideas about the basic characteristics of simulations: from skeptical views on their nature, which are of no philosophical interest, to extremely revolutionary attitudes that assign simulations to the main role in the next expected turn of philosophy, comparable in its power to the linguistic turn in early XX century. One of the main controversial issues in Western philosophical thought was the search for relevant criteria and signs of simulations that could create a solid basis for formulating a rigorous definition of this phenomenon. Thus, through the definition, researchers first of all try, on the one hand, to solve the taxonomic problem of the correlation and interconnection of simulations with other types of experiment: natural, laboratory, mental, mathematical. On the other hand, to reveal for philosophy ontological and epistemological foundations of simulations, which carry the potential of new philosophical knowledge. This article is devoted to a brief review of the existing concepts of representatives of Western schools of thought on the phenomenon of computer simulations in the context of the philosophy of science. The structure of the review is built on three basic conceptual directions: 1) definition of the term "computer simulation"; 2) computer simulations as an experiment; 3) the epistemic value of simulations. Such a review can become the subject of discussion for Russian researchers interested in the impact of computer simulations on science and philosophy.

Russell and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus

The author argues that Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus owes much to Russell’s early philosophy. This point of view is demonstrated in the article by referring to G. Landini’s recent research on Russell’s Substitution Theory, as well as by the evaluations of the Tractatus of the prominent researchers: L. Goldstein, J. Hintikka, and J. Hacking. A skeptical view on the influence of the Tractatus and Wittgenstein personally on the doctrines of the Vienna Circle is presented by A. Koffa. The author proposes to reject extreme judgments about the Tractatus outside the context of Principia Mathematica.

Why Has Personality Psychology Played an Outsized Role in the Credibility Revolution?

Personality is not the most popular subfield of psychology. But, in one way or another, personality psychologists have played an outsized role in the ongoing “credibility revolution” in psychology. Not only have individual personality psychologists taken on visible roles in the movement, but our field’s practices and norms have now become models for other fields to emulate (or, for those who share Baumeister’s (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.02.003) skeptical view of the consequences of increasing rigor, a model for what to avoid). In this article we discuss some unique features of our field that may have placed us in an ideal position to be leaders in this movement. We do so from a subjective perspective, describing our impressions and opinions about possible explanations for personality psychology’s disproportionate role in the credibility revolution. We also discuss some ways in which personality psychology remains less-than-optimal, and how we can address these flaws.

Determinism or Vanity? A Proposed Close Reading of the Book of Ecclesiastes

This exegetical article seeks to offer a close reading of Ecclesiastes that would allow us to surmount the difficulties associated with its exegesis. The book’s text is widely known to be replete with contrasts and antinomies that introduce a certain vagueness to its writer’s intentions. The article suggests that the reader should approach the book as if it was written as a first-person logbook which appears, superficially, to have been written in no logical order, at random, and at different times according to the order of the writer’s experiences and meditations. Such an approach would reduce the readers’ expectations for a logical order and would direct them to a deeper examination of the logical contexts scattered throughout the book. The article also presents the determinist con­texts of reality and their association with a wise person’s perspective as opposed to the randomness associated with a fool’s perspective. The writer’s sceptical descriptions of his encounter with reality and his first-person thoughts about this reality express an explicitly critical view of reality. The writ­er’s pre-reflexive doubt is thus nothing but a methodical doubt akin to Descartes’ pre-cogito doubts. An attentive reader will identify that the book’s text encompasses a reflexive/critical perspective on a sceptical view of reality. As such, the writer’s critical view voids the fool’s non-reflexive sceptical perspective (which is reflected in a superficial reading of the book’s text). The article’s close read­ing of the book thus posits a fool’s vanity which is a “vexation of spirit” (KJV) [re‘ut ruah․] among those who view reality as being coincidental. Conversely, it also posits a wise person’s vanity, which is a “vexation of spirit” [ra‘ayon ruah․], which critiques the fool’s pre-reflexive random view of reality as vanity and as a vexation of spirit [re‘ut ruah․]. This view of the wise person, whose “eyes are in his head” (2:14), is the true free will the writer is alluding to.

Власть императора в российском правовом дискурсе второй половины XIX–начала XX вв.: обоснование и варианты интерпретации

The article is devoted to resolving the issue of how the legal intellectual elite of the period under review understood the imperial power, its origin, capabilities and authorities. The legal professorship formed an outwardly consistent discourse between the theoretical aspects of state law and the content of the Basic State Laws of the Russian Empire: teachers had to justify and explain the existence of the unlimited power of the monarch. They analyzed the courses of state law developed by nine professors of the Imperial Universities and the School of Law. The methodological basis of this study is the history of intellectual culture as an analysis of legal ideas and discourses in the context of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The power of the emperor is characterized by the authors of textbooks in a section that is most often called «On the Supreme Power». Russian autocracy was described by jurists in a conceptual and categorical apparatus borrowed from their European colleagues. Legal scholars were looking for a balance between their own personal and scientific ideas and the form of government that existed in the Russian Empire. Despite the differences in the political outlook, they saw the reason for the Russian autocracy in the historical development: a vast territory, low population density, and the virtual absence of a struggle between the government and society. For state scholars closely associated with Western jurisprudence, who shared its values, it was important to emphasize the belonging of the Russian Empire to the European world, where a skeptical view of the Russian monarchy remained. This way out was the idea of legality. Without disputing the content of the «Fundamental State Laws» and guided by censorship considerations, the professors tried to convey to the student university audience the idea that the bureaucratic apparatus formed in the empire is a natural limiter of the imperial power; the legal framework is an obstacle to despotism, and the judiciary is in fact independent. This kind of theoretical constructs became a compromise between the preservation of absolute monarchical power and the worldview of those jurists who shared liberal values

Normal Rights, Just New: Understanding the Judicial Enforcement of Socioeconomic Rights

Abstract A common skeptical view holds that socioeconomic rights are a different kind of right than civil-political rights. Even those who support justiciable socioeconomic rights often see them as a different kind of right with special challenges. I argue that this view is wrong. What all these observers are reacting to is not an inherent property of socioeconomic rights: it is a contingent property of a situation in which judges are asked to enforce a rights claim without a pre-existing set of familiar public understandings of the right’s content and/or an existing structure of officials and procedures to give effect to that content. It is because the rights claim is new, and this is something that can be, and often is, true of rights across the spectrum. Any rights claim is problematic to enforce to the degree that it is new, but these obstacles can and do disappear if society changes and the claim becomes less new. In the first part of the Article, I seek to establish the accuracy of this argument, drawing on examples of rights distinctions from the nineteenth-century United States and rights across the spectrum displaying newness in contemporary South Africa and India. I then show how controlling for newness can help us to understand standard features of the socioeconomic rights debate: the ubiquitous, but misleading, negative–positive distinction; arguments about resources; Fuller’s endlessly cited polycentricity argument; and current controversial cases, such as the budget-shifting judicial enforcement of Latin American healthcare entitlements. These topics are central to our widespread intuition that socioeconomic rights are different; newness can help us to see that this intuition is misleading us, and by recalibrating the debate can filter out some distractions that have long dogged it.

Online personalised pricing as prohibited automated decision-making under Article 22 GDPR: a sceptical view

ABSTRACT Article 22 GDPR imposes a prima facie prohibition on certain forms of automated decision-making. It has been suggested that Article 22 GDPR may prohibit online personalised pricing, as online personalised pricing involves the making of automatic pricing decisions based on customers’ personal data. However, this paper will argue that Article 22 GDPR should not be relied upon to constrain online personalised pricing. Two main reasons are given in support of this argument. First, Article 22 GDPR does not in fact pose a significant obstacle to online personalised pricing. Second, there are good reasons why a prohibitory stance against online personalised pricing should not be adopted, and a transparency-centric approach should be preferred instead.