Western Theories Research Articles

ОБЗОР ИСТОРИИ КИТАЙСКОЙ ПСИХОЛОГИИ

Background. Th is material will be very useful for Russian scientists, as it will allow them to evaluate the achievements of Chinese psychology. Th e authors of the article believe that Russian psychologists will be interested in the history, state of development and achievements of Chinese psychological science. Objective. Th is article presents the history of the development of Chinese psychology in various historical periods, and also presents the results of psychology research in various periods in China. Th e authors try to separate the basic terms “Chinese psychology” and “psychology in China”.Materials. In ancient times, there were quite a lot of scientifi c research, theories and ideas in China, but psychology (Xinlisue) as a scientifi c discipline was not. Th is term was borrowed from the Japanese language. Chinese psychology is divided into two parts: one is the Western theory of psychology, and the other is the theory of psychology of the indigenous peoples of China. Th is article clarifi es the content of only the second part. In modern China, psychology is a discipline that studies the objective laws of psychological phenomena. Modern Chinese psychology is gradually being formed and developed on the basis of ancient Chinese psychological ideas adapted to the needs of Chinese social development and incorporating the positive results of foreign modern psychological sciences, especially aft er the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Th e philosophical basis of Chinese psychology is Marxism, as well as the ideas of Mao Zedong, it is developing rapidly. Chinese psychologists note that China has its own cultural traditions that defi ne the identity of the Chinese psychological school. Methods. Making the goal achievemental, we will use such general scientifi c methods as the analysis of scientifi c literature, the comparative method, the method of generalization. Results. With the development of psychology, the importance of applied psychology has increased. Th e achievements of psychology are extremely important for such fi elds as education, medicine, and political science. In recent years, technological changes have aff ected all spheres of life, and the advent of the Internet has also given scope for new approaches and methods of theoretical and applied psychology research. Th anks to Internet technologies, Chinese psychology began to develop actively. Conclusion. Today, when psychology has become an independent science for more than 100 years of development, it is necessary to study the achievements of ancient Chinese psychological thought for four reasons: fi rstly, China is one of the birthplaces of psychology; secondly, Chinese psychology has enriched other psychological schools; thirdly, work is needed to create a psychological system with Chinese specifi cs Fourth, the study of Chinese psychology will allow you to study culture and join the knowledge of ancient Chinese thinkers

ГОРИЗОНТАЛЬНА ІСТОРІЯ МИСТЕЦТВА: ПРОБЛЕМИ І ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ КОНЦЕПЦІЇ ПЬОТРА ПЬОТРОВСЬКОГО

In the article, the author examines the approach to writing art history - horizontal history, proposed and practiced by Piotr Piotrovsky since 1998. Horizontal art history is another paradigm for writing the art history of Central and Eastern Europe, according to which the art of this region is not analyzed in a center-periphery hierarchy/vertical. The methods applied by Western theory to the study of the art of this region must also be reexamined. Piotrovsky criticizes the inclusion of the art history of Central and Eastern Europe in the universal (in fact Western) canon. The 2022 book Horizontal «Horizontal art History and Beyond: Revisiting peripheral critical practices» consists of four chapters that address the practice of horizontality (democracy, localization), challenges and internal contradictions of the concept, and alternatives to horizontal history. The author of the review does not focus on the description of the chapters of the book, but analyzes the horizontal history according to the topics raised by the authors of the collection in various essays, without taking the place of the essay in the structure of the book as the main criterion. Borrowing some positions from postcolonial theory, horizontal history approaches the decolonial turn, because according to it, a different paradigm for the production of knowledge about the art of Central-Eastern Europe should be developed. Nationalism and national history are considered as the main obstacles to horizontality. The author grouped the alternatives of horizontal history (material analysis as a method of horizontal art history, laterality and a digital approach to art history) and the possibilities of using horizontal history in other disciplines proposed by the researchers of the book. The application of the horizontal art history approach has the potential to liberate the history of Ukrainian art from the dominance of the center (the West, Russia) and develop a different paradigm for writing the art history of Eastern Europe.

The problem of modern literary criticism between tradition and renewal: The theory of receive and interpretation : إشكالية النقد الأدبي الحديث بين التقليد والتجديد "نظرية التلقي والتأويل"

Identifying the concept of a text, its analysis and interpretation are of great importance in literary critical studies among western and Arab scientists and researchers of all time. This theory was rooted in Arabic Rhetoric and interpretation of Holy Qura'n before the existence of modern linguistics and western theories. Recently, the text- reader relation has been developed in light of these grounded theories assuring that the base of the literary work in the interaction between the text construction and its readers. This interaction is mainly attained from the real interactivity between them both through receive theory as the recipient gets involved expecting something. The most important point is that reading should be productive by adding new dimensions and unlimited to the barriers of the text. The problems of reading and interpretation revolve around two main axes; first, the literary work and nature of the text, second, the interpretation and understanding of the text. Then, the issue is related to the subjectivity and objectivity of the text, and the degree of the reader's understanding and interpretation of it. So, it is a harmonized system that collects the elements of creativity; the author, the reader and the text when relating reading process to receive mechanics and interpretation. The current results confirmed that Arabic Rhetoric and critical literature have significant roles in the treatment of the text and its components.

Learning Motivation from Islamic Perspective

Learning motivation is one of the important elements in helping students reaching their desired educational goals and promoting effective learning. There are many studies on factors that affect learning motivation but most of them focused on the material aspects and neglected the spiritual aspects due to their dependence on Western theories. Therefore, this study is designed to identify the learning motivation from the perspective of Islam among university students, the spiritual aspects in it and to uncover the relationship between them. The results indicated that spiritual aspects play an important role in enhancing students' learning motivation and help them staying away from evil deeds that are not in line with Islamic teachings.

“Age of Ethos”: Exploring Rhetorical Practices in Early Chinese Society

The essay explores the notion of collective ethos by looking closely at some of the key aspects of rhetorical and discourse practices in early Chinese society, such as ethos-as-spirit, the oneness of ethos/logos, and wei-yi (威仪; authority and deportment) among others, with a conclusion about the ethocentric nature of the traditional Chinese discourse system, rhetoric and philosophy included. To put things in perspective, it also discusses Western theories on ethos, including those by noted postmodernist theorists such as Bourdieu and Foucault. However, it does not argue that the Chinese tradition is the right path to rhetoric in general and ethos in particular but, rather, points out that rhetoric varies across cultures for an array of reasons, hence the necessity of approaching and understanding ethos differently from the model formulated by Aristotle.

Bharata Muni and Western Dramatic Theory

This Paper highlights a few generalizations about the Western dramatic theory represented by Aristotle and Indian dramatic theory represented by Bharata Muni. The purpose of this paper is not to suggest that Indian theory of drama is superior to the western but is to point out their differences. Obviously there is a fundamental difference between the Western and the Indian modes of thinking. Aristotle’s Western dramatic theory is based on tragedy. On the other hand Bharata Muni’s dramatic theory is based on the Indian theory of Karma. In Bharata’s theory “Rasa” is the sole object of dramatic representation. But there is one interesting point. Whereas western dramatic theory cannot be applied to Sanskrit drama, Bharata’s theory of rasa, as S.C. Sen Gupta. has shown, can be employed with profit in appreciating the western drama. The Paper concluded by suggesting that both the Indian and the Western theories of drama as represented by Bharata and Aristotle respectively have broken down and splintered. In fact, the very idea of tradition, which had sustained these theories, has disappeared from the modern world. Its place is now occupied by individualization and experimentation.

Legal Certainty

Legal certainty is considered in the paper not only as one of the general principles of law and one of the requirements of the Rule of Law, but also as a fundamental feature and condition of the significance of law and its instrumental value in general. In this regard, the definitions of the Rule of Law conception and the lists of its components proposed by Western philosophers and theorists of law and by the Venice Commission are analyzed. Elements of the principle of legal certainty such as legislation and case law accessibility, legal acts’ predictability, principles of case law unity, legitimate expectations, res judicata, the European concept of autonomous interpretation and the American doctrine of uncertainty of law are covered. By analyzing and synthesizing theoretical concepts of the principle of legal certainty, the practice of its interpretation and application by European and national courts, the connections between it and other general principles of law (in particular – principles of legality and reasonableness), this principle plays a key role in the Rule of Law implementation in the national legal system.

Dispute about the Nature of Law

The article analyzes the conditions for a dialogue between Western and post-Soviet philosophy and theory of law on the nature of law (in terms of the first), or understanding of law (in terms of the second), which would create an opportunity for the organic inclusion of the “dispute about the nature of law” elements in the context of the discussion and solving issues relevant to the post-Soviet philosophy of law, including the shift of emphasis from the theoretical to the practical aspect of the problem of the nature of law.
 The research begins with a general description of the peculiarities of the “discourse of legal thinking (understanding of law)” inherent in post-Soviet jurisprudence and the identification of ontological and analytical criteria for classifying the types of understanding of law (natural law, positivist, sociological) as the basis for further convergence of post-Soviet and Western experience of understanding of law.
 Further, the meaning of the concept of validity of law in its social, moral and legal varieties for understanding the nature of law in general and the corresponding types of such understanding are revealed.
 In the final part, attention is drawn to the practical aspects of the study of the nature of law, carried out in the context of “extraordinary cases” existing on the verge of law and un-law. Further analysis reveals the methodological possibilities of comprehending the concept of law through the correlation with the counter-concept of “un-law” using examples: post-Soviet discussions about the relationship between law and statute, legal and non-legal law; Hegel’s concept of right and non-right; contemporary non-positivist approach by Robert Alexy in accordance with the criterion of the “limiting border” of law according to the Radbruch formula.
 The conclusions summarize the provisions on the general and distinctive features of the “discourse of the nature of law” and “discourse of understanding of law”, determine the prospects for their rapprochement.

Ethical Selection and Brain Text: The Development of Ethical Literary Criticism

This essay examines the discursive emergence of ethical literary criticism—a new wave of theory and practice of literary criticism that has developed in the West even as it has also historically thrived in China. It begins with the revival of ethical criticism in the West when American ethical criticism blossomed and advanced new conceptions of reading. The paper then turns “eastward” to China and discusses the historical context in which ethical literary criticism emerged in the country. It surveys the history of importation of Western theories and the resulting inundation of the “theoretical complex” since China’s opening up to the outside world. Finally, the essay focuses on the theoretical elaboration of Nie Zhenzhao to whom is owed the current emergence of ethical literary criticism in China as well as the attention of literary critics and scholars in the West. The paper argues that ethical literary criticism which has grown into a critical movement in China follows this trajectory: from its origins in Ancient Greece, it develops into a trend in the West, and finally gives shape to Nie Zhenzhao’s critical theory, China’s most prominent contribution to the scholarship in the field of ethical literary criticism.

From Jiao You Lun to Qiu You Pian: Jesuits’ Discussion on Friendship and A Comparative Study with Traditional Chinese Theories

This article makes an analysis of Matteo Ricci’s Jiao You Lun (On Friendship) and Martino Martini’s Qiu You Pian (On Making Friends) starting from the theory of the interaction and communication framework of contact between cultures. The analysis shows that Ricci’s text has a characteristic of convergence and integration of Sino-West traditions which paves the way for culture creation; while Martini introduces the concept of “love” --- the core concept of the Christian doctrines, makes a distinction between Confucian and Christian treatment on disputes, and clarifies the strategy of complementing Confucianism with Christianity. Their introduction of the western theories on friendship is a catalyst which accelerates the modernization of the concept of human relationships among the Chinese literati in late Ming early Qing China.

Development Tools of Parasitic Paradigm: An African Perspective of Western Theories of Development and Reforms

The orthodox conceptualisation of development and its reforms which are rooted in Western schools of thought recognizes the existence of three categories of polities, viz: developed, developing and underdeveloped states. But the major questions that are of concern are: on what grounds do we submit that a country is developed, and the other is either developing or underdeveloped? Using a historical method of research and utilising mainly secondary sources of data, the paper attempts to answer these salient issues by critiquing the orthodox western development theories and reforms, citing a wide range of instances of faulty development reforms imposed on the global south by the West. The study found that the western driven ̳development reforms or policies‘ for the governments of the global North are incompatible with the dynamics and interests of the South. It also found that the western driven ̳development reforms or policies‘ were never intended to sustain the economies of the global south or worsen the North-South dichotomy. The paper concludes that every society has its own sense of development and that the orthodox conception of development, and its reforms are not sacrosanct given the peculiarities of the global South. The paper also posits that western driven ̳development reforms or policies‘ are ̳neo-colonial schemes‘ targeted at strengthening the core-periphery arrangements between the global North and the global South.

Is China market socialist? Comparing Western theory to Eastern practice

ABSTRACT The question of whether the contemporary Chinese economy is more accurately characterized as market socialist or market capitalist depends to some extent on semantic issues pertaining to the meaning of terms such as capitalism, socialism, and the market. Adding to these complications is the fact that there are several market socialist plans, quite different in their specifics, extant in the systems literature produced by Western economists. The present contribution attempts to shed a more focused light on this question by comparing the contemporary Chinese economy to a specific plan of market socialism known as ‘pragmatic market socialism.’ While obviously not a perfect match, there appears to be sufficient overlap for the Chinese economy to be considered a reasonable approximation to pragmatic market socialism.

Curing a Brain Tumor with High Tech Operations and the Help of Spirits: The Appropriation of Biomedicine among the Dayak Benuaq

This article analyses the appropriation of biomedicine among the Dayak Benuaq in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Taking the successful curing of a brain tumour as an example, I show how biomedicine is creatively intertwined with indigenous, animist healing practices in order to cure the patient comprehensively. I embed the case study within a broader discussion of modernity and enchantment, which have long been perceived as an opposing pair in western theory, as attributes of modernity like rationalization, secularization and bureaucratization are commonly seen as opposed to animistic connections, magical expectations and spiritual explanations of the world. I argue that the introduction of biomedicine among the Dayak Benuaq does not lead to an abandonment of animistic ideas and indigenous healing practices and as such to a process of disenchantment. Instead, their ability to accept the simultaneous relevance of alternative assumptions about how the world works allows them to combine biomedicine and indigenous medicine in a creative way.

Toward Theoretical Liberation: Challenging the Intellectual Imperialism of the Western Race Paradigm

Abstract We hope to encourage the development of decentered, decolonized, ground-breaking theory about ethnic and racial exploitation in the 21st century world-system. To accomplish that, we contend that academics and activists need to liberate themselves from the historical and ideological confines of the western race paradigm. Consequently, we have shaped this essay around that goal. In Section 2, we explore the dangers of universalizing the western race paradigm to the entire world. Section 3 investigates 21st century trends that challenge the western race paradigm, with particular focus on the significance of semiperipheries, transnational capitalist classes and nonwestern states. In Section 4, we argue that western race theory dominates scholarship globally through strategies of intellectual imperialism that need to be acknowledged, dismantled and overcome. In the Conclusion, we offer strategies for decentering and decolonizing knowledge production.

The state of the field of curriculum studies in Zimbabwe: perspectives of researchers

ABSTRACT The paper reports on a study that was conducted to explain the state of Curriculum Studies in Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Data were collected from 51 articles published in three local education journals and semi-structured interviews with 18 authors selected through convenient, purposive and stratified sampling, across three academic staff categories of professor, senior lecturer and lecturer. Issues focused on in the articles, the manner in which they are discussed and the authors’ views on these aspects were studied. The concept of knowledge democracy was employed to explore how the articles contributed to the field of Curriculum Studies. The findings highlight how authors attempted to strike a balance between the use of international theories and local discourses. We argue that the perspectives used by the authors should be understood as being both survivalist and tactical. Significant shifts from, for example, Western theories and discourses mainly indicated the influence of the post-independence politics and educational ideals within Zimbabwe. The paper concludes that writing about indigenous knowledge, alongside other contextual and cultural issues points to possibilities for the realisation of knowledge democracy in the field of Curriculum Studies.

Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State: A Caribbean Rhizomatic Novel Reflecting the New Transmodern Paradigm

This article explores Haitian American writer Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State (2014) as a novel that represents our intricate and rhizomatic transmodern era. In order to prove this contention, it focuses on the novel’s amalgamation of different literary genres and modes from previous cultural paradigms—namely, the postmodern fairy-tale retelling and the social realist novel—with Euro-American as well as Haitian/Caribbean literary and sociocultural elements. The result of this mélange is a complex narrative of multiple interconnections that offers a nuanced portrait of new millennium Haitian diasporas and locals, and that most especially, recuperates subaltern Haitian voices so as to denounce the “untamed state” of the country. The article concludes by arguing that Gay’s hybrid and relational text effaces an either/or episteme which, although considerably used in Western and postcolonial theories for a while, has now become obsolete and inoperative in such a globalised and entangled world.

Peripheral realism of Carlos Escudé

In this article the author analyzes a theoretical direction called “Peripheral Realism”, which has arisen within the scope of neorealism in 1990s due to an acknowledged Argentinean political scientist Carlos Escudé. The author makes an attempt to provide a complex analysis of the original theory of 1992 and compares it with the modern realities of international relations. The author also conducts a comparative analysis of the original theory and its revised version of 2016, in order to trace the dynamics of its development. The main objective of the study is to establish whether the theory of peripheral realism can be attributed to the so-called ‘non-Western’ theories of international relations. First of all, the article is based on an in-depth analysis of the theoretical basis of Carlos Escudé’s peripheral realism theory on the basis of his main writings of 1992 and 1995, as well as an analysis of subsequent variations of the theory in 2012 and 2015. The study also uses a comparative analysis method, which contrasts the features and theoretical positions of the canonical ‘grand’ theories of international relations (especially realism and neo-realism, being the origins for the theory) and correlates them with those of the theory of peripheral realism in order to highlight the role and place of this theory in the configuration of Western and non-Western theories of international relations. The author concludes that the uniqueness of the concept comes from assessing reality from the point of ‘weaker’ and developing countries, which is not generally customary for Anglo-Saxon theories. This unique feature puts the concept of peripheral realism beyond the perceptions of the nature of world politics generally accepted in the research community. The study was originally drafted for the research seminar “Non-Western Theories of International Relations” of the Department of theory and history of international relations of RUDN University, as well as for the joint research seminar of RUDN and HSE University “Non-Western Theories of International Relations in a Polycentric World.”

The intelligence concept and racial classification as sociological products of Western education

AbstractThis article is a historical examination of how Western theorists created and utilized the intelligence concept and aligned it with racial classification to determine cognitive abilities. By the 1900s, Western theorists, without evidence, declared that intelligence exists as an inheritable, unchangeable mental condition. Influential Western theorists have exploited the intelligence concept to categorize the cognitive abilities of European descendants above that of non‐Whites, particularly African‐descended people as incessant deliberations emerged regarding the value of either cognitively superior or inferior racially defined groups. By interrelating geographical location with shared physical characteristics, Western theorists non‐scientifically divided the human family based on physical similarities among people and referred to them as races. These theorists incorporated the intelligence concept with racial classification as a sociological principle for educational development. According to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, however, everyone has one or more forms of several intelligences. Although this theory appears to portray a different understanding from the original intelligence concept, it categorizes racial groups and individuals as having fixed levels of cognitive ability. Emphasizing intelligence as a descriptive factor to determine cognitive ability is an unscientific, unequitable characterization that has been employed to explain levels of social awareness and academic performance in Western education.

Between construction and destruction: the experience of educationalists at Gaza’s universities

ABSTRACT Drawing on 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews with students and lecturers at Gaza’s universities, this article explores the past and present higher education (HE) experience for educationalists in Gaza, and how this experience may be evolving in the shifting socio-political context in the Arab world. The research was conducted during the period 2012–2017 as part of an inductive PhD in Education study at the University of Cambridge. Combining Western theory and literature with Southern empirical data from the Gaza Strip, this paper reveals a simultaneous process of construction and destruction that continues to undermine the academic functioning of Gaza’s universities. Highlighting this structure of ‘de-development’ is important in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Palestinian HE experience, and to empower academic reform at Gaza’s universities and beyond.

Kameda Toyojiro and the transfer of the Western theory of probability to Japan

This article studies the work of the Japanese actuary and probabilist Kameda Toyojiro (1885-1944) who took a major part in the transfer of modern probabilistic technology to Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. Very familiar with contemporary English and German works, he made an early use of certain fundamental concepts of probability theory, such as characteristic functions, and was one of those who paved the way for the spectacular development of the Japanese probabilistic school in the next generation.