The article reflects on the Attasian perspective and epistemology of the West, by highlighting the critique of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas of Western secularism and the production of its modern secular outlook that projected Hellenistic influence on its intellectual and historical tradition, arising from its physical and materialistic concern which contradict with Islamic teaching of ethics and morality and its metaphysical worldview. Its objective is to survey its doctrinal impact on Muslim spiritual life which has caused confusion and error in their vision of reality and truth. The study is based on descriptive-qualitative approaches in the form of literature and documentary survey. The data were analyzed using inductive and deductive method by way of analytic, historical, empirical, hermeneutical, and philological technique. The finding reveals that al-Attas’s critique of the West was designed to dismantle its dewesternization and desecularization framework and the corruption of knowledge and its ideological impact on Muslim society. Its discursive ground was argued in his work on Islamic Metaphysics that defined “Islamic psychology, Islamic cosmology and Islamic ontology” articulating its nature and difference from Western philosophy influenced by its European-Christian thought embedded in its religious experience that make up its substance, premises and values. The research contributes to highlight al-Attas’s philosophical argument and his critique of the West and its contemporary relevance in Muslim society.

Abstract A government differs from a robber, but they share the common feature of initiating coercion. This similarity has been noticed by libertarians as well as within a distinct scholarly tradition and as a recurring theme throughout Western philosophy. Twentieth‐century political economists have employed this comparison to understand state formation and institutional behaviour. Philosophers from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment have recognised the fundamental similarities between governmental and criminal coercion in the context of examining questions of legitimacy and justice. The government–robber comparison has been an analytical tool of accepted standing throughout Western intellectual history that deserves contemporary consideration.

This paper explores the complementarity of Nishida Kitarō’s relational ontology with Western bioethics in addressing novel moral dilemmas arising from advanced neural technologies, including brain organoids, human-animal chimeras, and biocomputational systems. Nishida’s philosophy transcends the subject–object dichotomy by emphasizing the interconnectedness and co-creative nature of all beings, thereby reframing traditional questions of moral status, personhood, and consent. We examine recent scientific advances and policy debates to demonstrate that Nishida’s approach not only enriches ethical understanding but also provides more nuanced guidance that can account for both the technological dynamism and cultural diversity of contemporary research. We argue that this relational, context-dependent ethics, grounded in humility and continuous reflection, fosters an inclusive attitude toward emerging forms of life. Nishida’s framework coexists harmoniously with Western philosophy and deepens our grasp of the relational networks that interconnect humans, animals, and even machine- or organoid-based intelligence. We propose an agile, forward-looking model of ethics to respond to the transformative developments of neural innovation.

The specificity of Indian epistemic culture is the inclusion of mystical intuition among cognitive abilities, and the absence of the concept of reason as the highest cognitive ability. In Indian traditional religio-philosophical texts intuition, often referred to as mystical experience, was used by default. In the philosophical works of Aurobindo Ghosh (1872–1950), its epistemological status is revealed and substantiated. The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the concept of mystical intuition and its relationship with the mind in his book “The Life Divine”. The reason for referring to intuition’s legacy was the opportunity to explicate, with the help of explanations by A. Ghosh, the implicit grounds for the prevalence of mystical intuition over logical operations of thinking, similar to the rational methods of Western philosophy. The thinker’s epistemological ideas are inscribed in his system of Integral Vedanta, which is an intercultural phenomenon that unites Western and Indian traditions of philosophizing. The author of the article draws attention to the biographical determinants of Aurobindo’s intercultural philosophical synthesis and to his choice of concepts claiming the status of intercultural values. These determinants are related to Aurobindo’s Western education in England, his turn from Western values to classical Hindu culture after returning to his homeland, his participation in the struggle for independence of Motherland, his departure from politics and immersion in the spiritual practices of yoga, which inspired him to create philosophical works. The methodological framework of the article includes methods of linguistic and semantic analysis of similar terms of European and Indian philosophy, and a comparative method of reducing them to uniformity in order to establish meaningful similarities and differences; a method of reconstructing the historicophilosophical context of the problem under study; a biographical method allowing to demonstrate the influence of the events of his life on his philosophy. The result of the study was the conclusion that the philosopher’s epistemological ideas are innovative, since he uses Western terminology at his discretion and introduces new contents into the concepts of Vedanta.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the problem of the relationship between M. Heidegger’s ‘anti-metaphysical’ project and the so-called ‘indictment’, which, with the assistance of a significant part of representatives of modern Western philosophy, seeks to present his philosophy as a metapolitical project of affirming the priority significance of German’s ideas ‘soil’, ‘blood’, ‘destiny’, ‘spirit’ for world history. The author of the article presents the thesis that the ‘anti-metaphysical’ project is a marker of the fact that accusations of the national-socialist character of M. Heidegger’s philosophical thinking are groundless and may relate only to his personal views, which had a more or less long-term nature. The development of this thesis is based on the consideration of the criticism of the fundamental ontology of M. Heidegger by the French phenomenologists J.-L. Marion and M. Henry. In the first part of the article the author presents a historical-philosophical view of M. Heidegger’s ontology of intentionality as an ecstatic sphere of the being of the beings, or ‘Logos’, which acts as the main element in the structure of the fundamental ontology and metaphysics of finitude “Being-Logos-Beings”. The second part of the article proposes to examine M. Heidegger’s Dasein in the context of his doctrine of the ‘human-guardian’ of beings in its being. This doctrine serves as a basis for radically questioning the assertions regarding the metaphysical content implicitly present in the philosophy of M. Heidegger. This allows us to remove accusations from fundamental ontology, the metaphysics of finitude and the philosophy of the event in the presence of “national-socialist” contents in them and to point out the inaccuracies contained in the criticism of M. Heidegger by J.-L. Marion and M. Henry.

Western philosophy has profoundly shaped global civilization, influencing understanding of the world. This dominance, however, presents both opportunities and challenges. This paper argues that the current paradigm of Western philosophy, rooted in modern philosophy’s emphasis on rationality, has become dogmatic and ultimately self-defeating. The pursuit of scientific knowledge, while valuable, has been driven by a narrow conception of rationality that prioritizes logic and empirical evidence while neglecting other crucial dimensions of human experience. This overemphasis on scientification, as Nietzsche argued, has led to a dehumanization of existence by reducing human life to mere rationality, disregarding the importance of narrative, historical memory, and contextual understanding. This paper will critically examine the limitations of this dominant paradigm through a review of Western philosophical thought. By highlighting internal contradictions within modern philosophy itself, we aim to demonstrate how the current emphasis on scientification has stifled the diversity and richness of philosophical inquiry. Ultimately, we argue for a more nuanced and inclusive approach to philosophy that recognizes the multifaceted nature of human experience and embraces a broader range of perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the philosophies of the Eastern thinker Zhuangzi and the Western philosopher Martin Heidegger, in order to identify their commonalities and implications. To this end, the discussion will focus on Zhuangzi’s concept of wu (non-being) and Heidegger’s concept of Being. To this end, the author will first examine Zhuangzi’s concept of wu (non-being) and its characteristics in the main body of the paper. The discussion will focus on Zhuangzi’s understanding of wu in the chapters Xiaoyaoyou (Free and Easy Wandering), Zhiwulun (Equality of All Things), and Yangshengzhu (The Master of Nourishing Life) from the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi. Through this, the paper aims to deeply explore the meanings of the concepts of wu and wuwei (non-action) in Zhuangzi’s philosophy. Next, the author will examine Heidegger’s concept of Being and its characteristics. This part of the paper will discuss Heidegger’s understanding of Being through the concepts of Dasein (being-there), Being-in-the-world, and Being-toward-death from his work Being and Time. The goal is to explore the significance and importance of Being and foundational ontology in Heidegger’s thought. Furthermore, the author will continue to compare the philosophies of Zhuangzi and Heidegger. In particular, this section will delve into the exploration of being and non-being, spontaneity and naturalness, criticism of technology, and the forgetting of Being. Finally, the author will conclude by presenting the implications of Zhuangzi and Heidegger’s philosophies for Korean society, which is at the pinnacle of conflict and division. The main point of focus in this discussion is as follows: Zhuangzi’s philosophy of wu and wuwei shares several philosophical intersections with Heidegger’s ontological inquiry and the pursuit of an authentic life. These two philosophies transcend the boundaries of Eastern and Western thought, offering a common understanding for human beings to discover the essence of their existence and pursue a natural life. Such intersections could enrich philosophical dialogue based on diverse cultural backgrounds.

Philosophical studies of science in Western and Islamic traditions have been widely discussed; however, research that specifically analyzes the fundamental differences in the sources, methods, and aims of knowledge between these two civilizations remains limited. This study aims to identify the fundamental differences in the ontological foundations (the nature of the existence of knowledge), epistemological foundations (sources and means of acquiring knowledge), and axiological foundations (values and purposes of knowledge) within the framework of Western and Islamic philosophy of science. The study employs a comparative analytical method on key concepts in the philosophy of science by examining the relationships between sources of knowledge, the operation of reason and empirical experience, and the value orientations that underlie the aims of scientific development in each tradition. The findings indicate that the Western perspective tends to be dominated by secularism, characterized by the separation of knowledge from religious values, an emphasis on reason and the senses as the primary sources of knowledge, and an orientation of scientific aims toward material progress and the fulfillment of worldly needs. Conversely, in the Islamic perspective, the philosophy of science is grounded in the principle of tauhid, which integrates knowledge with religious teachings; the sources of knowledge encompass not only reason and the senses but also Al-Qur'an and Hadis as the highest sources of truth and guides for human thought, with a more holistic orientation aimed at understanding the greatness of Allah SWT, attaining well-being in this world and the hereafter, and forming morally virtuous human beings. In conclusion, these differences in ontological, epistemological, and axiological frameworks demonstrate that although both traditions produce knowledge, their philosophical foundations and ultimate goals are markedly distinct, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of the position and function of knowledge in Western and Islamic civilizations.

In this paper we will focus on characteristics of language when a primordial truth is posited. We suggest that such a claim to a pristine origination necessarily implies an articulation of a corresponding pervasive nescience, which modifies/distorts the totality of all possible linguistic expressions. To explore such a pattern, we employ a method which maps key-concepts according to their contextual application, divided in two conceptual domains, the domain of the primordial truth, and that of its absence; each of them has to reflect and exclude the other. It is our view that these dependent exclusions show the problem attached any attempt to reconcile the delineated domains. We outline some possible ways to indicate truth, and we conclude our paper by pointing to the Indian use of mantras, which can be charaterised as self-validating, necessary and essentially meaningless. This reveals a fundamental principle of originary speech beyond the scope of speakers, contents and communicative purposes.

A core concept of Tully's critical enterprise is the idea of the autotelic act—an act and activity in which the purpose or end is immanent in the act itself. In this response, I ask how autotelic practice relates to the project of dialogue. Tully demonstrates that inner work is necessary to prepare the self/subject trained in Western philosophy to acknowledge and confront various forms of self-deception. To draw out the relationship of autotelic practice, or work on self, to the dialogic, the interactive work between people and traditions, I reflect on their relationship in satyagraha as theorized by Gandhi and Richard Gregg. The training and self-discipline involved in construction are intrinsically important for long-term ethical change and they also function as preparation for the work of contestation. My supplement is to place as much weight on satyagraha as resistance and clarify the distinctive and unique process of autotelic transformation at work in scenes of dynamic interaction.

One of the most significant figures in Western philosophy is Plato, who developed the theory of the soul that profoundly influences the understanding of human nature and existence. According to Plato, the tripartite division of the soul consists of the logical (logistikon), the spirited (thymoeides), and the appetitive (epithymetikon), with emotion residing in the spirited part. Since ancient times, the connection between emotion and an individual's behavior has been evident, as seen in the Delphic maxim "know thyself" and the Platonic assertion that "the whole process of learning has an emotional basis." This work delves into the deep philosophical exploration of the foundations of emotional intelligence through the fundamental Platonic works Republic, Phaedrus, Phaedo, Charmides, Alcibiades, and Gorgias, demonstrating that the tripartite soul and "know thyself" constitute the primary foundation for its subsequent development.

The article deals with the modern humanities ’analytics, the value transformations of the ontological and anthropological; emphasizes the importance of axiological aspect on the human existence’s understanding. Into Western philosophy nowadays, the tendency towards ontologism manifests itself as the opposition to the anthropological (the traditional sense, as anthropocentrism). The variants of the post-human anthropology are the speculative realism, the object-oriented ontology and the post-structural anthropology. Into post-anthropology, there is an expansion (in fact, the abolition) of the boundaries into the definition of the humanity, a rejection of Culture’s specificity, in comparison with Nature. In our humanities, on the one hand, the modern version of the ontological turn, the plurality of the existential worlds; the plasticity of the human definition, discussed by foreign researchers, becomes the subject of the case study, as one of the cognition’s tendencies; on the other hand, the methodologies and principles designated as the “ontological turn” into the West anthropology are as also manifested into Russian anthropology and theoretical studies of culture as the in a special way. Into the paradigm of transhumanism, man and the human cease to be as the unique value. Posthumanism goes beyond any binary oppositions (human - non-human, male - female). The retreat from the human understanding as human through the concepts of ontology and post-anthropology, transhumanism and posthumanism, actualizes the need of the interpretation of them into axiological context.

By re-appropriating Chinese writing—an image-based tradition—as a cosmotechnical practice, this paper re-envisions the relationship between media, technics, and representation, beyond the rationalistic and technocratic mindset that dominates modern technology. Responding to Heidegger’s critique of form-based Western philosophy, I engage with the poetic notion of xiang (image, 象) to explore Yuk Hui’s speculative concept of cosmotechnics and support a search for an alternative understanding of technology. I argue that contemporary digital media operates through a limited notion of the image, reducing it to data processing of the known, the sensible, and the calculable, whereas traditional Chinese thought on the image opens towards the unknown through an interplay of presence-absence. As a means of testing this argument, the design research project documented in part here – engaging with LiDAR scanning, 3D printing, and clay modelling – explores Hui’s thinking by speculating on a possible practice of cosmotechnics. Through material practices of tracing, moulding, and sketching, it reconnects digital and physical gestures, challenging the disembodied nature of contemporary media. The paper suggests that writing and technics are deeply intertwined with cosmic and bodily realities. By situating digital technology within a broader aesthetic and philosophical framework, it seeks to disrupt the logic of mono-technologism and open new pathways for technological futures informed by cosmotechnical plurality. Read the full article online at: https://drawingon.org/Issue-04-03-Re-appropriating-Image-Xiang

Aim. To compare Zhuangzi’s and Nietzsche’s philosophical ideas about life ideals. Methodology. Comparative analysis of the notions of “serene freedom” and “bermensch” was used in the study. Results. Both similarities, that are searching for higher life and critique of values, and differences, which consist in Eastern harmony and Western will to power, have been revealed. Research implications. Enhancing intercultural philosophical dialogue and applying ideals of freedom to contemporary humanism are implications of the study.

The development of artificial intelligence and social media has actualized the problem of connectedness between philosophy and sociology. It is necessary to clarify their overall perspective and how they understand, explain and change social reality. The authors address this issue based primarily on the experience of Azerbaijan, but also reflecting on how to relate this experience to what is hap­pening in a global context, including Russian and Western philosophy and so­ciology. The development of sociology and philosophy is viewed from a histori­cal perspective. It is concluded that the prospects for development are associated with the recognition of the fact that the possibilities of narrow disciplinary socio­logy have been exhausted. It cannot provide full knowledge about the conscious­ness of society and its individual groups, and cannot explain them without phi­losophy. It is noted that there are alternative attitudes within science, and individual sociologists are trying, in cooperation with philosophers, to overcome the crisis situation. For such sociology, there comes a stage in development when data, methodology and conclusions of general socio-philosophical research are used for conclusions, which leads to an improvement in the obtained results. It is shown that in these processes a lot depends on the quality of individual research of sociologists, social psychologists and philosophers, on their willingness and ability to work in interdisciplinary teams. The empirical basis of the article is the experience of Azerbaijan and, first of all, specialists from the Academic Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

Purpose While project practitioners confront a minefield of misbehaviours, ethical decision-making remains insufficiently understood. Ethical tensions prevail particularly in Africa since project management education and training are based on Western philosophies, yet decision-making styles are influenced by traditional beliefs. Thus, it is unclear whether project practitioners manage consistently with their traditional cultures or with what they are taught or strike a compromise or otherwise. This paper investigates how ethical dimensions of project practitioners affect their decision-making styles. Design/methodology/approach Seven thought experiments were posed to 148 South African project practitioners to determine whether their ethical space (a combination of deontology, consequentialism and ubuntu ethics) influences their decision-making style (normative, behavioural/descriptive or prescriptive preference). Findings The results reveal that there is no dominant ethical space, but the preferred decision-making style is normative, i.e. decisions focus on what should be done. Due to their education and training, which are influenced by Western thinking, project practitioners in South Africa pull from both their Western and African belief systems. Originality/value The paper provides a novel framework grounded in the business ethics literature, which we coin the “ethical space of the decision-maker”, in which a project manager navigates ethical tensions in different circumstances. The paper sheds light on the potential relationship between the ethical space of a decision-maker and their decision-making style. It suggests that project practitioners who understand their ethical space can contextually utilise it as a guiding framework for their choices and actions.

This article explores the theorization of the sovereign subject and human will in Wang Guowei's early essays on human nature, reason, and fate, as well as those on traditional Chinese thinkers and modern Western philosophers, written in the first decade of the twentieth century. The article explores this historical moment when many Western philosophical concepts first reached China, a culture with a philosophical tradition that does not seem to emphasize free will. Wang's original essays show that the idea of free will was not alienating to Chinese thinking, and he tried to integrate and confront related ideas in the two traditions to come to terms with a new discursive environment in which people were told they could change the course of history against a history suggesting otherwise. Wang tried to open up a new intellectual horizon by positing his own nonmetaphysical renjian 人間 (the human world) approach to human subjects, who are relational to each other but must also take their own responsibility seriously. This revisiting of a moment in China's philosophical history also reminds us how thinkers dared to offer new interpretations of their own intellectual legacy, in ways that could make fundamental cultural change possible.

The ontological turn within anthropology postulates that there is a multiplicity of worlds and that taking Indigenous worlds, realities and thought seriously enriches Western philosophy and culture. Taking a cue from the ontological turn, I argue in this article that Amazonian Indigenous and non-Indigenous literature offers readers an entry-point into worlds where more than human beings take center-stage. I analyze the phtytopoesis, or the poetry on/with plants, by two Amazonian women authors from different countries and generations—Brazilian Astrid Cabral (1936-), and Peruvian Dina Ananco (1985-)—to show the centrality of vegetal life in Amazonia. I contend that these poets reflect upon traditional, communal ties to plants and resignify them to bolster women’s empowerment.

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This article examines the philosophical and practical manifestations of democracy and democratism as socio-political and kratological phenomena that shape state and societal governance. It explores democracy and democratism as interrelated yet distinct categories — democracy as an ideal of social progress and democratism as its practical realization through institutions, processes, and social consciousness. The paper provides an in-depth philosophical interpretation of the term “phenomenon,” referencing classical thinkers such as Kant, Hegel, and Husserl, and applies this notion to the modern understanding of democratic development. The study analyzes the liberal-democratic concept as a dominant paradigm of modern governance and reviews its ideological foundations as developed by Western philosophers including Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Kant, Hegel, Hayek, and Popper. Attention is given to the contradictions of Western liberal democracy in the post-Soviet and global context, as reflected in the works of Uzbek scholars B. Umarov and B.A. Talapov. The article concludes that while democratism as a method and instrument can be adapted or manipulated, the democratic ideal remains immutable as a guiding principle of human freedom, social equality, and just governance. Democracy, therefore, persists as both a philosophical ideal and a practical objective in the moral and political consciousness of humankind. Keywords: Democracy; Democratism; Phenomenology; Liberal democracy; Kratology; Political philosophy; Social justice; State governance; Human freedom; Democratic development.