True Goal Research Articles

Knowledge and society: A comprehensive approach to social epistemology

This article proposes an alternative approach to social epistemology – a comprehensive approach. It argues that the dominant approaches to social epistemology, which it identifies as communitarian and veritistic, are inadequate. It observes that the nature of the emphasis that the communitarian approach places on the epistemic community foster mindless tolerance in epistemology, which makes the pursuit of the cognitive goal of truth difficult to attain. It also observes that the veritistic approach that seeks to refocus social epistemology on the pursuit of the cognitive goal of obtaining truth does this at the expense of the affective goals of social epistemology. To overcome the inadequacies of the communitarian and the veritistic approaches and to ensure that social epistemology effectively pursues its cognitive and affective goals, this article offers the comprehensive approach. This approach absorbs the virtues of the communitarian and the veritistic approaches while avoiding their errors. Hence, it thrives on a view of truth that posits an objective and a subjective dimension of truth. The objective dimension ensures that the community only fosters and never impedes social epistemological projects such that social epistemology continues to pursue the cognitive goal of truth. The subjective dimension guarantees that the concern for truth does not lead to the neglect or abandonment of the pursuit of the affective goals of social epistemology. The rationale behind this approach is that for social epistemological projects and practices to remain truly epistemological and social, they must always take into consideration the cognitive and affective features of knowledge and knowers.

Mental capacity-why look for a paradigm shift?

Challenges to the legitimacy of mental capacity over the past 10 years have been spearheaded by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the treaty body for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This challenge has been asserted to have produced a 'paradigm shift'. In this article, we examine why that interpretation has had such limited traction in the legal policy arena, and whether it should have traction. We also analyse whether the Committee has subtly but importantly shifted its position. We then develop an argument that the true goal, compatible with the CRPD, is the satisfactory determination of whether a person has or lacks mental capacity to make or take a relevant decision. Our article contextualises multi-disciplinary, research-informed guidelines designed as a contribution to satisfactory determination. While our article is based upon the position in England and Wales, we suggest that our conclusions are of wider application.

Проблемы оценки эффективности административно- территориальных преобразований в России

In modern studies devoted to the issues of reforming the administrativeterritorial division in the present and historical past of Russia, the point of view traditionally prevails, according to which the true goal of such transformations is to create not so much an economically efficient but a state-administrative territorial framework. However, most of these judgments are not supported by empirical evidence and quantitative estimates. Therefore, modeling the problem of the conflict of managerial and economic interests during the reform of the administrative- territorial division of Russia seems to be an interesting research task. Its solution will give a new assessment of the effectiveness of administrative-territorial transformations both in historical retrospect and in modern political realities. The authors collected statistical data for 135 years for studying the evolution of the territorial organization of Russia. The value of real GDP per capita in 1913 prices was chosen as an endogenous variable. As the main variables of interest, dummy variables were used, obtained according to the authors’ grouping of historical events and characterizing political and economic initiatives to change the territorial division of the country. As a result of modeling, it was proved that the transformations on the "crossroads" of the administrative borders of the regions (regardless of the declared goals) during the period under review contributed more to solving the political and managerial tasks of the Center than to the economic development.

Father and His Family (Genre Originality of L. Petrushevskaya’s Story “The New Robinsons”, 1989)

The article deals with the genre originality of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya's story ‘The New Robinsons’. The story, first published in 1989, masquerades as a Robinsonade, a dystopia, and a sample of village prose (with its admiration for the peasants and peasant women of pre-revolutionary times), but the true goal of Petrushevskaya is much more ambitious: the story is an invariant of the biblical story about the rebirth of humankind after a global catas-trophe. The very title of the story directly indicates the genre of robinsonade. One can easily single out elements of dystopia in the story with the help of text analysis, as well as inter-textual references to the prose of village writers (mainly, Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Val-entin Rasputin). The key phrase of the story ‘The New Robinsons’ refers to biblical sources: ‘There was a boy and a girl for the continuation of the human race.’ In this light, it becomes clear why Petrushevskaya, seemingly casually, reports that the narrator’s father once in-jured ‘in the thigh’ and remained forever lame. It is a reference to Jacob, who was once in-jured ‘in the thigh’ when he fought with God. He, just like the narrator’s father, spent most of his life on the run, and was the one, from whom the twelve tribes of the Jewish people eventually originated.

ИСТОРИЯ ФЛАГОВ МАДАНГА (ПАПУА – НОВАЯ ГВИНЕЯ)

The article tells about the history of the city and province through the history of flags of different countries flying over them, analyzes the impact on the life style of indigenous peoples, their socio-cultural and economic development, reveals the true goals of Europeans who came to the region from the first contact in 1871 to 1975. An overview and stages of Papua New Guinea's independence is presented, using the Madang region as an example, as well as the structure of governance organization in the region and the history of the flag of the new largest Pacific Island nation. The period also considered is the period from 2017 to 2023, the return of Russia's humanitarian influence in the region through the preservation of the memory of the first Russian friend of the indigenous people of the northeast of the island New Guinea Nikolai Miklouho-Maklay, who was the first to raise the flag over the Maklay coast, the modern territory of Madang.

Declared and True Goals of Criminal Punishment

The goals of punishment, enshrined in Part 2 of Article 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, should actually act as one of the key guidelines for the law enforcement officer when individualizing punishment. At the same time, the existing construction is rightly criticized as abstract and devoid of practical meaning. The purpose of the paper is to develop recommendations for improving criminal legislation in terms of regulating practice-oriented goals of punishment. To achieve this goal, the author has substantiated inappropriateness of attributing norms on the purposes of punishment to declarative norms, demonstarted incorrectness of specifying restoration of social justice and prevention of new crimes as the goals of punishment, explained stable failure to fulfill the goal of correcting convicts with due regard to indicators in Russia (from 2008 to 2021), highlighted the approach based on the expediency of normative consolidation of two goals of punishment (taking into account the requirements of unification (correlation with the tasks of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and focused on possibilities and expected results), namely, unconditional and complete restoration of the rights violated by the crime and correction of convicts. Taking into account pecularities of the existing system of types of punishment that actually makes the first of these goals unattainable, the author proposes to adjust norms regulating certain types of punishment (in essence, restorative principles should be referred to as exclusively fiscal in nature as existing punishments): priority compensation for damage caused to the victim, and only with full (or maximum possible in specific circumstances) compensation for all violated rights of the victim compensation to the State budget. The author argues that the goal of correcting a convicted person, despite being difficult to achieve (especially by criminal legal means), is necessary because it has regulatory potential.

Russian Sources of Qur’ānic Ethnography. III: Hajj from Russia in Russian intelligence Reports (Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries)

Archival material related to the activities of Russian intelligence in the late 19th — early 20th centuries that aimed at suppressing the spread of pan–Islamic and pan–Turkish propaganda within the Russian Empire and tracking hajji road networks continues to be of serious academic importance. Being the little–studied primary source to the history of Russian Islam they allow us to see the true goals of official St. Petersburg in its policy towards the world of Islam both within the empire and beyond its borders. The article is based on materials related to a series of trips of Russian intelligence officers to the Middle East (Staff Captain ‘Abd al–‘Aziz Davletshin (Istanbul, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, 1898), Captain Boris Shelkovnikov (Baghdad, Mosul and Basra vilayets of the Ottoman Empire, 1902—1903), Captain Nikolay Terletsky (the Hejaz railway, 1904, 1910), Staff Captain Ilyas Chanyshev (Turkey, Afghanistan and India, 1909—1910), Panteleimon Antaki (Istanbul and Cairo, 1911). The title of the article may seem misleading, but at this stage our task is to present the possible sources of Qur’anic ethnography in all their completeness and originality. Specialists in Arabian ethnography are well aware of the phenomenon of long–term preservation of deeply archaic elements of material culture and economic activities in the region. In this regard, the material of those trips often turns out to be important for Qur’ānic ethnography as well. The commented publication of such material will be the second part of our work. Such British sources are very well known, and their texts are cited, among other things, for historical and ethnographic purposes. Meanwhile, the Russian sources in question remain virtually unknown.The results of Chanyshev and Antaki's trips go beyond the scope of the Qur’anic ethnography proper, but they are important for understanding the problems associated with the hajj from Russia in their entirety.

Biographies of Russian Writers as a Target of Post-Truth

The article examines the influence of the phenomenon of post-truth on the creation of artistic images of Russian writers in the novel and screen arts. The essence, tools and role of post-truth in the construction of political and cultural life were described by Plato in the “The State.” Having spread in modern times, post-truth seeks to replace the truth of history, to infiltrate real destinies and biographies, to act in their place, to operate with imaginary things instead of authenticity, to use the “bad is more interesting than good” principle. The experience of the first Russian silent film biography of A. S. Pushkin (1910) and all the subsequent eighteen biographical films about the poet’s fate showed the flaws of artistic adaptations dedicated to real heroes: historical unreliability, untruth of character, deliberate distortion of biography, the introduction of false, politically biased versions for the sake of greater showiness and scandalousness. The central plot of the article is devoted to artistic texts related to the image of F. M. Dostoevsky. Boris Akunin’s novel “The Turkish Gambit” (1998) touches on the events of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878, describing them from openly Ottomanophile positions, painting the characters fighting for Russian interests in dark colors. The novel author focuses on author of the “Writer’s Diary;” depicted namelessly, but with a full set of biographical signs, he is vindictively and scandalously defamed. Dostoevsky is present in J. M. Coetzee’s novel “The Master of Petersburg” (1994, translated from English 1999), also in the “shame and fall” perspective. The image of the real Dostoevsky is deliberately distorted, rather than elevated, in the created neo-myth — the debunking of the Russian writer was apparently the true goal of the novelist.

The Politicization of Regulatory Science: Science Transparency at the Trump Administration’s EPA

In this case study, we explore the Trump Administration’s 2018 “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule and investigate it as an example of the politics associated with how science is used in the regulatory process in the United States. Publicly, the administration claimed the rule would improve data and scientific quality, as well as lead to greater transparency in regulatory decisions made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule’s many critics, including many scientific organizations and environmental groups, argued instead however that the rule was politically motivated, and only the latest attempt of many by regulated industries to interfere in the EPA’s use of science in its regulatory analysis and decision-making. They argued the true goal of the rule was instead to impede the agency’s mission by restricting its use of key public health studies and slowing its operations. The rule, which took effect in January 2021, was quickly vacated when the Biden Administration took office. Although this rule is no longer in place, it provides an illustrative example of the complicated relationship between politics and science, as well as of a political strategy often used by industry actors and political conservatives to avoid environmental regulations.

From behind the Iron Curtain to Hybrid Warfare Networks (Echoes of Churchill’s Fulton Speech)

Aim. Based on the analysis of Winston Churchill’s Fulton speech and the project “The Unthinkable” initiated by him, we can trace the causes of the unavoidability and, moreover, the aggravation of the confrontation between the collective West and modern Russia.Tasks. Analysis of the course of the history of the post-war world from the unification of the Western world against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, initiated by Winston Churchill’s Fulton speech, as well as the revival of the “Iron Curtain” — a global barrier between the collective West and the entire non-Western world entangled in a network of hybrid warfare.Methods. The historical method, the method of civilizational and cultural analysis were applied, content analysis and event analysis of Churchill’s Fulton speech were carried out, allowing to analyze the intentions and identify the true goals of the author and the hidden meaning of his speech, which affect the global political discourse.Results. It is argued that it is necessary to take into account historical analogies that make it possible to reveal the deep meaning of strategic planning of the policy of peace as opposed to the policy of war both in the Eurasian space and throughout the world.Conclusions. Judgments are formulated about the growing geopolitical tension between the collective West and the entire non-Western world in the networks of hybrid warfare.

TRAINING AND COACHING AS WAYS TO STIMULATE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CAREER AND PERSONAL GROWTH

Currently, self-development, self-knowledge, personal growth and promotion are gaining special popularity. In this regard, coaching is actively developing and more and more distributed to the masses. The coach helps to move up the career ladder faster and better, improve the skills of interaction with others and oneself, understand the true goals and develop ways to achieve them.

Keterbukaan Informasi Publik dan Kebebasan Pers dalam Konteks Reformasi Birokrasi

Freedom of the press guarantees that the government and the public are aware of the various realities that are happening or the opinions, views, of experts on an issue and conflict. While the KIP Law has an important role in changing the paradigm of society, which initially believed that public bodies were obliged to report accountability, since the KIP Law was enacted, the public has the right to obtain the information they need, and has the right to demand that public bodies publish such information. This study aims to determine the role of the UU KIP in promoting press freedom, and the role of press freedom in realizing bureaucratic reform. This research uses a qualitative descriptive methodology to explain phenomena and to find knowledge or theories about research at a certain time. The technique of collecting data is through library research, which is a way of collecting data by referring to books or scientific documents, literature, notes, and various reports that have been available as references to obtain data on the problem being studied. The results of the study show that the universal principle of openness to public information places press freedom as part of the scope of freedom of information. Achieving the true goal of information disclosure requires a press climate that is free, independent and professional. Meanwhile, the presence of the Law on the Disclosure of Public Information is expected to support the implementation of the press's function so that public bodies are obliged to open the tap of information through all available channels. The press has the right to seek, obtain and disseminate ideas and information, and public participation can be carried out by carrying out activities to develop press freedom and promote press freedom. guarantee the right to obtain the necessary information. Thus, public information disclosure and press freedom are two things that are bound and mutually reinforcing in an effort to realize transparent and accountable governance as a manifestation of bureaucratic reform that is currently underway.

Transparency, Values and Trust in Science

Current debates over inductive risk and the role(s) of values in science have largely revolved around the question of the moral responsibilities of scientists: Do scientists have the duty to consider the potential non-epistemic consequences of theories they advocate and, if yes, what (or whose) values should be taken into account in decision-making? The paper discusses two different – though potentially complementary – responses to this question: a) H. Douglas’s view that scientists should avoid causing reckless or negligent harm to others as a result of the decisions they make and b) K. Elliott’s Multiple Goals Criterion. Drawing from the case of potential coronavirus transmission by sharing the Holy Communion that recently divided Greek society and medical experts, it shows the tensions emerging between autonomy and the moral responsibilities of scientists, when the boundaries of science are blurred and the epistemic goal of truth is inconsistent with (or succumbs to) alternative goals. It argues that the balance attempted between scientific principles and religious beliefs was unattainable and concludes that the need to distinguish between epistemic and non-epistemic values (and contexts or truths), which is traditionally related to the ideal of value free science, should be reconsidered and even prioritized among the responsibilities of scientists.

Deceptive Decision-Making under Uncertainty

We study the design of autonomous agents that are capable of deceiving outside observers about their intentions while carrying out tasks in stochastic, complex environments. By modeling the agent's behavior as a Markov decision process, we consider a setting where the agent aims to reach one of multiple potential goals while deceiving outside observers about its true goal. We propose a novel approach to model observer predictions based on the principle of maximum entropy and to efficiently generate deceptive strategies via linear programming. The proposed approach enables the agent to exhibit a variety of tunable deceptive behaviors while ensuring the satisfaction of probabilistic constraints on the behavior. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approach via comparative user studies and present a case study on the streets of Manhattan, New York, using real travel time distributions.

Market Transformations in the 1990s in the Russian Village

This article examines the agrarian reform of the 1990s in Russia. It is noted that its first version was developed by domestic agricultural scientists and was designed for the phased implementation of transformations for a period of at least 10 years. However, later, under pressure from Western experts, this project underwent significant adjustments, in accordance with which the market reform in the agrarian sector was carried out more radically and at a faster pace. It is shown that the main methods of market transformations in the countryside were price liberalization, denationalization and privatization of land, distribution of land shares to farmers, creation of a farmer’s way of life, disaggregation of former collective agricultural enterprises, their transfer to market forms of work, etc. The author believes that basically these transformations in the countryside were carried out formally and did not achieve their true goal. The reformers' hopes for the economic success of farms also turned out to be untenable, since their real number was extremely small, and their actual role in agricultural production was scanty. More than half of all products of the agricultural sector were produced by subsidiary farms, which were significantly replenished by the peasants who lost their jobs. At the end of the article, it was concluded that the agrarian reform, conceived with the aim of significantly increasing the efficiency of agriculture, did not justify the hopes: the tasks set were not fulfilled, and it only actually ruined agriculture. Over the 10 years of market transformations, the area under crops has significantly decreased, the number of livestock has decreased, production has fallen by more than 50%, and the level of labor mechanization has decreased by about 33%. As a result of the market transformations in the 1990s, the agricultural industry of Russia in terms of its main indicators was thrown back 30–40 years.

Review: Contesting Modernity: Informalism in Venezuela, 1955–1975, edited by Mari Carmen Ramírez and Tahía Rivero, and El Techo de la Ballena: Retro-Modernity in Venezuela, by María C. Gaztambide

Review: <i>Contesting Modernity: Informalism in Venezuela, 1955–1975</i>, edited by Mari Carmen Ramírez and Tahía Rivero, and <i>El Techo de la Ballena: Retro-Modernity in Venezuela</i>, by María C. Gaztambide

Social Networks as a Space for the Implementation of Strategic Communications and Waging Memetic Wars

The article designates a new stage in the evolution of Facebook* as a global communication platform that aggregates data on its users for different purpose. Studying a real case, it shows that at present, social networks are a place for transforming everyday communication into strategic one while making this process not obvious to the social network users themselves. The research methodology consists of the Web 2.0 concept by T. O’Reilly, the theory of weak ties by M. Granovetter, and the concept of memes by R. Dawkins. Based on the analysis of media publications and preceding studies, as well as on the example of a recent case in Facebook* and VKontakte networks, the author actualizes the space of social networks as a space of strategic communication, and comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to educate users about the nature and true goals of such communication and wars carried out in the space of social networks in a permanent mode.

On the continuity of metaphysics with science: Some scepticism and some suggestions

Many think a respectable metaphysics ought to be in some way continuous with science. This paper identifies three broad and overlapping ways this idea has been developed: first, that science and metaphysics are methodologically continuous; second, that metaphysics is an attempt to synthesise scientific and non‐scientific knowledge; and, third, that metaphysics is the project of interpreting our best scientific theories. The paper argues that all three projects, understood as attempts to uncover the truth, fail. It ends by sketching some alternative ways to think of metaphysical theorising once it is liberated from the goal of truth.

System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot

System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot

Third international conference on ecological education “Ecological information and ecological culture”: The review

For over twenty years, the libraries’ contribution to ecological education has been being reflected in the professional program of Crimea World Forum within the section “Ecological information and ecological culture”. In 2018, the section transformed into the conference on ecological education though kept its original name. The Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology (RNPLS&amp;T) and V. I. Vernadsky Non-governmental Ecological Foundation permanently co-organize the Conference. The author reviews the conference events, as well as problems and tasks discussed at the Conference; includes the abstracts of papers delivered (the full texts are accessible via the RNPLS&amp;T’s website). The participants in the Conference agreed that the libraries had to adopt the integrated approach toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to see themselves participating in the global movement for stable and sustainable future. For this purpose the libraries possess every resource: the books embrace the best experience of the humankind; the professionals who are able to retrieve these books and to offer them to their patrons, and to orient themselves in information flows. The true goal of the Conference is to promote the SDGs more so as the Russian libraries are traditionally serious about ecological education.