Strict Science Research Articles

Relations between science and theology in interpretation of Dumitru Stăniloae

The article explores Dumitru Stăniloae’s interest in natural sciences. The characteristic of his epistemology is given, which shows that he distinguishes three stages of knowledge of God: rational (affirmative and negative), apophatic and cognition based on specific life situations. The theologian’s increased interest in the rational stage of cognition, which makes possible and necessary strict science, is underlined as well as the interconnectedness of all stages, which determines the benefit of scientific knowledge throughout the path of human’s ascent to God. D. Stăniloae’s wide application of the rational method of cognition is illustrated by the example of his article “Church as a place and a large community in Christ”. In the course of studying D. Stăniloae’s works, the fact is highlighted that the Romanian theologian identifies a large number of interrelations, such as soul-body, human-world, creation-God, based on his Trinitarian theology and Christology. The substantiation of the importance of scientific knowledge is given due to the fact that it helps to strengthen and clarify the connection between cosmos-man-Christ-Trinity. The methodological features of cognition of the surrounding world in the context of the connection of scientific knowledge and knowledge of God are listed, and D. Stăniloae’s positive view of technological progress is also noted and characterized. At the end of the research, it is concluded that the Romanian theologian considers science to be a part of the knowledge of God and a means of natural Revelation, as well as the importance of combining scientific knowledge with apophatic knowledge of creation, which is possible as a consequence of the presence of God in the world.

Ideological and Political Elements Exploration in the Course of “Physical Geography”

“Physical Geography” is a course to study human beings and the environment, revealing the basic characteristics, formation mechanism and development laws of various physical geography elements, with rich ideological and political elements and high moral value, and is an important course to cultivate geographical professional interests and enhance national pride. By fully sorting out the ideological and political resources contained in the curriculum, deeply excavating the ideological and political elements, and reasonably designing the integration, this paper analyzed the dimensions of ideological and political education in the physical geography curriculum. Taking professional knowledge as the main line, the educational elements in five aspects were refined, namely, philosophical thinking, power of a big country, patriotism, strict science, and aesthetic education. This paper established the ideological and political element system of the curriculum, and achieved the moral education of the professional curriculum moisturizing and silent effect.

MEMBENTUK KARAKTER PESERTA DIDIK MELALUI PEMBELAJARAN IPS DI MI TARBIYATUS SHIBYAN

This investigation expects to break down how to shape the personality of understudies through friendly examinations learning at MI Tarbiyatus Shibyan The exploration technique utilized is subjective with an enlightening methodology that is library research. In light of the information acquired, the analysts tracked down that in molding the personality of understudies through friendly investigations learning, in particular by utilizing the CTL learning strategy. This examination likewise contributes in giving a nitty gritty depiction of the use of the joining of character esteems with science to be utilized as a source of perspective for the execution of instructing and learning exercises. Furthermore, the examination is additionally done to help educators and scholastic activists so that there is no detachment between strict information and general science. Keywords : Character, IPS, Madrasah Ibtidaiyah

Hans Sedlmayr (1896–1984): Structural Approach and Pre-Modern Values

The prevailing part of art historians, critics and theoreticians from the mid-1950s even until today feels related to the means of expression of the modernist art trends from the last decade of 19th c. until the end of 1960-s. Modernism has become a sacred text, whose complexity should be interpreted, but not criticized. Sedlmayr’s conception of art is built on moral, religious, aesthetic and political grounds, which are the very reason for the actuality of his works – both in the specialized sphere of art history and in the wider public debate on values. That is why I will analyse his structural approach mainly in relation to his anti-modern conception of art. This is the task of this study. Sedlmayr’s effort to turn art history into a “strict science” is an independent part of his scientific pursuit; it is in relation, but is not subordinate to his conception of modern art. Those publications of his are discussed but only in the specialized literature on history of the methods in humanities, while his conception against modern art acquires an exceptional popularity. Because of that reason his theoretic contribution to the study of art remains in a penumbra. I argue that Sedlmayr’s conception has the following coinciding points with the official understanding of art in the time of socialism: – A denial to estimate art with aesthetic criteria, which the ideologists of socialist realism define as formalism, and Sedlmayr as aesthetism; – In socialism art should represent a positive ideal; Sedlmayr calls this ideal “human measure”; – Art should habituate to morals; – A conviction that the modern art from the end of 19th c. on is decadent; – A criticism against the “dehumanization” of art.

Антропология как строгая наука? К вопросу о методологическом обосновании философской антропологии Статья 2. Макс Шелер. В поисках метода

The article continues the series of works devoted to the problem of methodological substantiation of the subject of philosophical anthropology, and thereby its substantiation as a strict science. The conversation is based on search materials carried out in the German classics of the ХХ century. The first article was devoted to the experience of E. Husserl. This article is devoted to the M. Scheler’s search. The author thus relies not so much on the published and very fragmentary works of M. Scheler as on the drafts of the philosopher, his diaries, lying without the application for a long time. It turns out that M. Scheler did not so much build philosophical anthropology as a positive science, but rather understood it more as a methodological science, that is, as reflexive, in which a certain search method is built, precisely because a person acts not so much as an object or subject but as constantly open problem, the one that overcomes itself, its own measure.

Positive Foundations of the Axiological Aspect of Historical-Philosophical Research

The paper examines the axiological aspect of historical-philosophical research. It is important to demonstrate that this issue was widely discussed at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries, and, therefore, a certain axiological aspect in historical-philosophical investigations was elaborated and interpreted. To solve this issue, we turn to the question of what are the scientific premises of historical-philosophical work and whether they form the necessary foundation to acknowledge the scientific status of the history of thought. In our opinion, it is history of philosophy that provides the scholars with factual set of notions, and so it forms this field of research as a definite (or strict) science. We consider fruitful to analyze historical responds to the challenge of scientific status of philosophy and its history as well as to compare the history of philosophy and anthropology. In our opinion, many peculiarities of anthropological investigations are also quite typical for the historical-philosophical work, and such comparison enlarges the scientific perspective of philosophy as a human cognitive practice. A historian of philosophy cannot ignore ontological foundations of different cultures in his research since it is the source of his ability to adequately interpret the subject-matter of his research. Like ethnographers, the historians of philosophy reveal the meanings and distinguish the attitudes that various thinkers, being the representatives of their own culture and epoch, had taken into consideration.

Sociology as a «Strong Science»: Leon Petrazhitsky’s Unfinished Project

Author reviews the Warsaw period works by Leon Petrazycki and his logical and methodological studies in order to reconstruct his project of sociology based on them. In his intention, sociology should have become the common foundation of the whole set of social sciences (theory of law and morality, political economy, etc.). However, according to Petrazycki, sociology does not yet exist as a «strict science», and he considers contemporary sociological concepts as exhibits of the «Scientific Pathology Museum». The author denies traditional identification between Petrazycki’s sociological project and the empirical tradition in sociology. Petrazycki constructs sociology as theoretical science and uses following methodological tools: 1) the principle of adequacy of the theory, 2) the theorem on n + 1 theories; 3) the doctrine of positions (atomic elements of judgments) as the basis for classifying sciences. In Petrazycki’s interpretation, the subject of sociology is evolutionary processes of behavior motivation. Sociology of Petrazycki, known from the summaries of his disciples, does not fully correspond to his own logical and methodological criteria: it is reduced to the theory of genesis and evolution of ethical (moral and legal) motivation. At the same time, he considers sociology of law to be a superfluous discipline. Probably, this incompleteness of the sociology project is a reason why Petrazycki has refused to publish the finished manuscript on sociology. Finally, author discusses how Pitirim Sorokin had used some logical and methodological ideas of Petrazycki to develop his own system of sociology.

Study of Religion as a Strict Science

The present article by Andrey Pavlovich Zabiyako, the Doctor of Philosophy, professor, the head of the department of religious studies and history, the head of the laboratory of archeology and anthropology of Amur state university, professor of department of philosophy and religious studies of School of arts and the humanities of Far Eastern Federal University, the editor-in-chief of the “Religious studies”, brings up and discusses the main questions and problems of modern religious studies as a science. According to him, religious studies arose already more than a hundred years ago, but the process of its isolation from other types of scientific and unscientific knowledge is still incomplete; therefore there is a need of an accurate boundary demarcation of religious studies as a science. First of all these lines should be drawn on the fields of contact of religious studies with philosophy and theology. Such a boundary demarcation is a guarantee of successful interaction between different types of knowledge. The development of religious studies is caused first of all by the progress of humanitarian and natural sciences. Since the beginning of the 21st century the latest discoveries in the field of anthropogenesis and culture genesis has had a particular importance for the science of religion. Huge successes of archeology and anthropology led actually to scientific revolution in understanding of the problems of origin and evolution of mankind, its culture, religion. Religious studies is a science which comprises, on the one hand, the level of knowledge of fundamental type, on the other hand, the level of applied knowledge. Religion is closely twisted in surrounding reality of social, political, ethnic life. Therefore examination problem is one of the most important issues of religious studies as a strict science. The procedure for the materials’ scientific expertise, methods of interpretation of empirical data, and outputs should be based on a uniform, strictly scientific basis within the expert community. Developing fundamental and applied components, the religious studies approves itself not only as a strict, but also as a necessary science.

Are all observations measurements?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of soft science measurement of motivation under strict hard science criteria from observations of individual animals and to suggest the conditions under which an observation can be classified as a measurement. Design/methodology/approach The methodology starts from reconciling second-order cybernetics/radical constructivism (SOC/RC) understanding of the central role of the observer with physical measurements, which accepts the existence of a mind-independent reality. As a result of the reconciliation, parallels were identified between the SOC/RC experiences of as_is and as_if, on the one hand, and the measurement concepts of accuracy and resolution, on the other hand. The scales of physical measurement are defined by criteria of varying strictness, and the scales that meet the strict criterion of concatenation are generally considered hard science and lead to well-defined accuracy and precision. The similarity between SOC/RC and physical measurement suggests that if accuracy and precision can be computed from observations, then the observations can be classified as measurements in a strict hard science fashion; otherwise, the observations are just observations. Findings A nonlinear dynamic model of motivation is reintroduced as an example for reference in measurements of motivation. If there was an agreement on its use among observers (Ethologists), which in reality is not the case, then empirical data may be collected, and the averages and spreads of parameter estimations will define a reference for an animal species. Later, observers with their own data will calibrate with the reference model, so that new observers will have calculated values of accuracy and precision for their data. Research limitations/implications Unlike hard science whose scales of measurement are practically unambiguous, measuring the purpose of behaviour of an animal has inherent ambiguity according to the reintroduced model. The ambiguity cannot be resolved from instantaneous readings. The necessary existence of ambiguity renders the criticism of hard science invalid, that of expecting to measure motivation with a static scale as if it were temperature. Practical implications Human observers can be treated as measuring devices of motivation from observing behaviour. Each observer can have characteristic accuracy/precision, or validity/reliability, calculated from empirical data. Social implications This is an inductive, rather than deductive, study of individual animal behaviour; the author believes it is extensible to individual human behaviour and personality studies. However, group behaviour studies are beyond its scope. Originality/value The author believes that the suggestion of ambiguity of scales of animal motivation is original, and the suggested link between SOC/RC and a mainstream hard science is new.

Vědecká filosofie, světový názor a „Tiefsinn“: tři podoby filosofie v Husserlově článku Filosofie jako přísná věda

Since phenomenology isn’t just a method of philosophical rsearch but also a genuine philosophical stance, Husserl discusses in his famous article Philosophy as a Strict Science from 1910/11 at least three notions of philosophy to demonstrate, what should be considered solely as a scientific philosophy. This may only be his phenomenological philosophy, which Husserl contrasts against both in his time most popular philosophical positions, i.e. the naturalism, and the philosophy of world view. But there is also another ‘brand’ of philosophy that’s being mentioned in his article: the so called “Tiefsinn”. Is it a fourth notion of philosophy, or just the extreme derivation from the “world view”? Not only shall our article answer that question, but also demonstrate Husserl’s conception of a phenomenological philosophy being a strict scientific philosophy in contrast to naturalism as well as the world view.

“YEA” or “NAY” in Psychology Science: An Analysis of the Postmodern Nature of Performing Psychology

Since becoming an independent subject, psychology has portrayed itself as a strict science on the way to the development of natural science. Because of breaking away from the social cultural and historical background of human life, scientific psychology is being questioned. In the doubt, non scientific psychology which is closer to social life and can adapt to the human need emerges as the times require. Performance psychology developing from social therapy insists on a new cultural-performatory approach to understanding human life, making psychology research return to life and helping people to restart their development. Non-epistemology, non-diagnosis and non-adaptability are the essential embodiment of performing psychology from the natural science to the post-modern humanities.

Stages of Husserl’s Philosophy and Intention of Phenomenology

Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas Lithuaniae-mail: phenolt@yahoo.comWhen discussing Husserl’s phenomenology, it is often divided into separate stages which have no internal relationship between them. Husserl’s anti-psychologism can be opposed to phenomenological psychology, anti-historicism to unfolding of inter-subjective historical worlds, the concept of phenomenology as strict science to criticism of science from the per-spective of transcendental self-experience, though by looking for contradictions, we will see only separate aspects of phenomenology and will not notice the general structure of phe-nomenology. In order to understand the meaning of Husserl’s phenomenology, it is neces-sary to find the unifying thread connecting different elements and levels of phenomenology. When discussing the genesis of phenomenological philosophy, we must not emphasise differ -ences of separate stages, but understand what relates them. In this article the whole of Hus-serl’s phenomenology was reconstructed following the common intention of phenomenology which I understood as criticism of objectivism and naturalism. This intention can be found at all stages of Husserl’s phenomenology.

REPENSAR LA VIDA MORAL

La metaética en la filosofía de Karol Wojtyla ha recibido poca atención de parte de los académicos interesados en este autor polaco. Los ensayos en los que él ingresa en este terreno corresponden a su último periodo de producción filosófica (1969-1978). En la presente investigación se analiza el modo en que Karol Wojtyla busca fundamentar la ética como ciencia estricta, se expone la manera como realiza una asimilación crítica de algunas intuiciones de la ética kantiana, y se muestra el camino que lo dirigía hacia la constitución de la ética como antropología normativa.

Fundamental phenomenological categories of garden and landscape

The current scientific methods describing gardens and landscapes all over the world are not always sufficient for the purpose of deep understanding of specific and close relations between landscape/garden and its inhabitants/visitors. A new dimension of qualitative investigation of these phenomena and relations between humans and the environment, as distinguished from the common mechanistic methods, has to be acquired. While a systematic anti-mechanistic research on the interaction of humans and living space is carried out especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, Continental Europe persist mechanistic in its core.In Continental Europe phenomenology as well as hermeneutics are regarded mostly as the particular areas of abstract philosophical studies that do not refer enough to practical sciences such as, for example, garden and landscape architecture. However, there are some especially transatlantic centres of applied phenomenological research. This article examines the phenomenological and hermeneutical approach as it might be used to explore the specific field of garden and landscape issues. In the first step, the nature of hermeneutics and phenomenology as compared to the common mechanistic scientific methods is discussed and the parallels between hermeneutics and phenomenology are outlined. Then, using the phenomenological method helps we give evidence on the fundamental categories of garden and landscape. These categories, in contrast to mechanistic constructions, represent garden and landscape as they are intimately experienced by humans. The focus of this research is both methodological (it is an effort to articulate a method alternative to the objectivity and abstraction of strict science, to be used in the field of garden and landscape architecture and related areas) and hermeneutical (it is an effort to achieve a deeper and profound understanding of garden and landscape as the irreplaceable base for every responsible interaction, whether scientific, creative, or other, with garden and landscape).

A STUDY OF FIRST YEAR TERTIARY STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE- CONCEPTUAL AND PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE, LOGICAL THINKING AND CREATIVITY

This study focuses on students in first year enviro nmental science degree programs where traditionally mathematical emphasis has been much less than the strict science or math majors. The importance now placed in applied mathematics means that students n eed to gain more conceptual and quantitative knowledge in not only the environmental degree programs but also in most if not all non-mathematical majors. In this study, the authors attempt to gain insights into why students fail in mathematical cou rses where the mathematical requirements are not as demanding as other strict math degree programs. This is done by examining student conceptual thinking patte rns and strategies as evident in student prepared scripts. A total of 133 students were requested to prepare a focus sheet to summarize their knowledge on topics learned but they were also told that the foc us sheets could be used in exams for notes. This motivated their sheet preparation. The students pre pared weekly summaries and later revised and summarized them for later use. Detailed examination of such sheets allowed researchers to study students’ knowledge in terms procedural work, math skills, strategies and conceptual knowledge. A stud y of linear, quadratic and limit sections led to inte resting insights not only regarding revision strate gies, knowledge of content, but also conceptual and proce dural knowledge base and higher order skills such a s problem solving focus. Logical and creative competencies were assessed in terms of how and what studen t focused upon or linked to in order to facilitate ap plication of knowledge. The results show average le vels of procedural and conceptual competence but rather low levels in logical and creative competence in preparation of scripts. Almost 50% lacked competency in procedural work while around 54% lacked conceptual competency. Given the emphasis placed procedural skills by students, the levels were lower than expected. However, the lack of structure in their w ork and deeper levels of understanding of links bet ween the topics learned was concerning. These findings h ave implications for the first year mathematics tea ching teams at universities especially the non-specialist mathematical majors.

TEACHING COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING THROUGH ROBOTICS: SCIENCE & ART FORM

Is the field of computer science and engineering a strict discipline or an art form? The answer is both. Computer science and engineering concepts are typically found almost exclusively in collegiate engineering and technology programs. Given its importance across the 21st Century workforce, arguably these concepts should be taught at all pre-collegiate grade levels. This study, specifically focused on pre-collegiate teachers’ increased confidence and subsequent use of robotics, indicates that designed professional development (PD) focused on simple computer programming approaches (e.g. LEGO MindStorm® kits) can propel pre-collegiate teachers to integrate new, challenging computer controlled robotics into their instruction. Surveys, content knowledge quizzes, and artifacts show teachers readily developed sufficient confidence and knowledge in producing lessons embedded with computer programming and robotics. Targeted classroom-ready instruction and modifiable computer programs appear to enhance pre-collegiate teacher knowledge of and confidence in robotics use. Considering overall self-rankings and content, pre-collegiate teacher pre-post scores increased. With these results, the authors argue why approaching computer science as both a strict science and art form is essential in PD. Key words: computer science, education, engineering, robotics and teaching.

Understanding the Science and Art of Ecoregionalization

Although the need for unique spatial entities—regions—is generally agreed on within the discipline of geography, the philosophy and practice of regionalization—the process of identifying and demarcating regions and their borders—is still subject to great debate. To some, regionalization is a strict science, subject to demands for rigorous, rational, and replicable rules that make the process as objective and deductive as possible; to others, it is a subjective art that requires perspicacity, perseverance, and cultivation of inductive skills. This commentary reviews the concepts and uses of ecoregions and the process of ecoregionalization to illustrate and illuminate rich and varied traditions and philosophies within the discipline of geography.

Developing Credible Social Cognitive Agents – Linguistic Behavior, Simulations, Data-Driven Input, and Turing’s Legacy

Barring swarm robotics, a substantial share of current machine-human and machine-machine learning and interaction mechanisms are being developed and fed by results of agent-based computer simulations, game-theoretic models, or robotic experiments based on a dyadic communication pattern. Yet, in real life, humans no less frequently communicate in groups, and gain knowledge and take decisions basing on information cumulatively gleaned from more than one single source. These properties should be taken into consideration in the design of autonomous artificial cognitive systems construed to interact with//learn from more than one contact or ‘neighbor’. To this end, significant practical import can be gleaned from research applying strict science methodology to phenomena humanistic and social, e.g. to discovery of realistic creativity potential spans, or the ‘exposure thresholds’ after which new information could be accepted by a cognitive agent. Whether in order to mimic them, or to ‘enhance’ them, parameters gleaned from complexity science approaches to humans’ social and humanistic behavior should subsequently be incorporated as points of reference in the field of robotics and human-machine interaction.

Multidisciplinarity, Interdisciplinarity, Transdisciplinarity, and the Sciences

The ideas of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity have been widely applied to the relationship between sciences. This article is an attempt to discuss the reasons why scientific interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity pose specific problems. First of all, certain questions about terminology are taken into account in order to clarify the meaning of the word ‘discipline’ and its cognates. Secondly, we argue that the specificity of sciences does not lie in becoming disciplines. Then, we focus on the relationship between sciences, and between sciences and technologies: we argue that multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity are a common practice among strict sciences and technologies. Finally, we discuss the different meanings of transdisciplinarity when it is applied to sciences.

In memoriam of Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Otto Prokop, MD

On January 20, 2009, Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Otto Prokop, MD, died at the age of 87. Otto Prokop was born in St. Polten, Lower Austria, on September 29, 1921. He took his Alevels in Salzburg, Austria. He had to interrupt his medical studies because of his military service; he finished them in Vienna, Austria and Bonn, Germany. In 1948, he received a doctorate under Herbert Elbel at the University of Bonn, Germany, and in 1953, he obtained his habilitation (postdoctoral university degree with lecture qualification) in Legal Medicine. In 1957, he was appointed to a chair of Forensic Medicine at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. There, he held a chair and was the Director of the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Charite, until he was conferred the emeritus status in 1987. In addition, he was the interim director of the Institutes of Legal Medicine in Leipzig, Germany (1958–1961) and Halle, Germany (1958–1959). As a university lecturer, Prof. Prokop inspired thousands of students (medical students, criminologists and law students) over decades with his refined oratorical style, on the highest scientific level, and with his charming humour. His scientific estate documents his long-time, exceptional productivity, including more than 650 original papers, still successful standard works on the subject (e.g. “Forensische Medizin”, “Atlas der gerichtlichen Medizin”, “Die menschlichen Blutgruppen”, “Genetik” etc.) as well as monographs on occultism, charlatanry and pseudosciences, which he confronted vigorously. His books were translated and issued in England, Italy, Japan, Canada, Poland, Spain, the former USSR and the USA. Otto Prokop exemplified the dedicated connection of teaching and research. Numerous discoveries in the field of blood group research and fundamental findings in forensic pathology, traumatology and stain evidence are both the result of his tireless and focused work and of his unorthodox spirit. Twenty-five physicians from Germany and abroad habilitated under Otto Prokop. Many of his students became university lecturers or directors of other institutes of Legal/Forensic Medicine. Together with his German and foreign students, doctoral candidates and auditors, they are witnesses of Prokop’s school, which became a symbol for strict science (even excluding courtesy expert reports issued in the interest of political rulers), soundness in knowledge and skills as well as human warmth and tolerance. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, the jubilarian was recognised by Bernd Brinkmann, the then-President of the German Society of Legal Medicine, “as one of the most outstanding forensic pathologists of the last century, who was one of the last persons to understand the subject in its full width, to apply it practically and to actively help shape it in research”. Thus, it is not surprising that the list of awards and honorary memberships in Germany and abroad is long; a special focus should be placed on the honorary doctorates in Leipzig, Germany, Szeged, Hungary, and Tokyo, Japan, as well as the membership in the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The subject-specific knowledge and the personal attitude of the professor emeritus were also in demand after the German Reunification, for example, in senate committees and investigating committees of the State of Berlin, Int J Legal Med (2009) 123:449–450 DOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0333-z