Showing papers in "Philosophy study in 2019"
TL;DR: It is shown that consciousness is actually an informational projection in the mind of seven informational subsystems, three of which forming the operative system of consciousness for the short-term adaptation, and other three forming the programmed operating system, dedicated to the maintenance of body and to the long-term survival of species.
Abstract: Since ancient times, the humanity has contemplated his relationship with the universe and with itself existence, wondering “who we are”, “how our body/mind works”, and “where we are going to”. Understanding consciousness has been and still remains an issue of debate in this broad context (Gaiseanu, 2018b; 2018d; 2019b). From the perspective of the society which we live in today, flooded by the high technology products of micro-electronics and micro-systems, making our lives easier and substituting many of our hard activities, but On the long and well-worn road of many, but justifiable attempts of human to discover his origin, his trajectory as a species, and a suitable understanding consciousness, his system allowing the connection to the environment and to his own organism, the concepts and models of philosophy enunciated or experienced by millennia, meet today with modern science concepts of physics and of science of information. Based on recent discoveries of quantum physics and astrophysics, revealing a new understanding of our environment and starting from some philosophical concepts on information of matter and of living structures, this work discusses the dynamics of information within the frame of the Informational Model of Consciousness as an informational system of the human body, connected both to the environment and to the body itself, to control the adaptation for survival. It is shown that consciousness is actually an informational projection in the mind of seven informational subsystems, three of which forming the operative system of consciousness for the short-term adaptation, and other three forming the programmed operating system, dedicated to the maintenance of body and to the long-term survival of species, showing various inputs and outputs of information. The seventh subsystem is the information pole, connecting the organism with the external information, especially related to the extra-sensorial properties of the mind, the human body appearing as a bipolar info-matter structure, managed by the brain. The received information is progressively integrated into the informational system of the organism, which absorbs and emanates information as a reactive system for adaptation, able to operate both with matter-related (codified) and non-matter related (virtual) information. As both connections with external and internal environment (body itself) can be described in terms of information, this model opens the gate to investigate consciousness by means of the tools of the information science, offering also answers to the philosophic “mind-body” problem and to the “hard” problem and showing correspondences with some ancient philosophies.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors retrace the latest theses and hypotheses formulated by Olivier Roy, an influent European scholar who has worked almost all his entire academic drifting in the scientific fields of sociology, political thought, and more recently even in the pragmatic theory of comparative public law.
Abstract: Olivier Roy curiously forgets the ethical and ideal contribution of the Italian federalist Altiero Spinelli in founding and shaping the concept of a common European and peaceful legal system, preferring to give tribute to Schuman, De Gasperi, and Adenauer, three faithful and devoted politicians remembered as moderately conservative. Spinelli was a sincere secular liberal and radical intellectual and it probably means that the idea of Europe in the sense of an autonomous political subject is just not a Roman-catholic heritage (Burgess, 2006). A The aim of this essay is to retrace the latest theses and hypotheses formulated by Olivier Roy, an influent European scholar who has worked almost all his entire academic drifting in the scientific fields of sociology, political thought, and more recently even in the pragmatic theory of comparative public law. His researches have had seminal consequences in the liberal debate related to the importance of religions in the so called “public sphere”, significantly evolving the level and the deepness of studies on secularization. To recognize this leading figure and the high quality of his historical and political formation does not mean to refuse an open-oriented confrontation with two aspects apparently undervalued in Olivier Roy’s works. First of all, we can still consider (and emphasize) the necessity of a legal theoretical contribution to justify the transition of religions from their static and original normative demand to their current pluralistic variety of internal legal schools, accents, and especially customary practices. Subsequently, we have to image an ultimate criterion to recompose the differences in every cult and in getting an ideally political point of view from each religious belonging in an always more crumbled juridical culture. It cannot be anymore the defense of the Christian roots of Western liberalism, but it could become the opportunity to embrace the universality of human dignity and to tackle the strength of the most arduous social issues in the multicultural society we are living in.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the post-critical turn in art and philosophical thinking by referring to other concepts such as immanent critique (S. Turkle), critique in the field of immanence (G. Deleuze), post-theoretical culture (T. Eagelton), assembly art, and finally the famous distinction of Walter Benjamin between the display value of the work of art and its cult value.
Abstract: Firstly, I stand before the images of Anna Palusińska entitled Identities, images which are an attempt to think through the memory “after the Shoah”. Certainly, Identities is an attempt to express memory without distorting the image of the past, attempting to give justice to anonymous victims, whom history has sought to deprive of the right to mourn and the right to a name, as well as the right to be mourned. Identities is an extraordinary cycle, which consists of portraits of women imprisoned in an Auschwitz concentration camp. Naturally, this must immediately and inevitably be associated with the well-known photographs “taken” from the Auschwitz camp by members of the Sonderkommando in August 1944, depicting naked women driven by SS In the presented paper, the author, referring to several examples of Polish contemporary art, reflects on the concept of criticism. The author asks the question: Whether are we dealing in late capitalism with a post-critical turn in art and philosophical thinking at all? He analyzes the post-critical turn by referring to other concepts such as immanent critique (S. Turkle), critique in the field of immanence (G. Deleuze), post-theoretical culture (T. Eagelton), assembly art (G. Didi-Huberman), “technical perfection” (M. Heidegger), mnemotechnics (J. Derrida), mechanosphere (G. Deleuze & F. Guattari), and finally the famous distinction of Walter Benjamin between “display value” of the work of art and its “cult value”. The ultimate goal of the article is to determine the possibility of criticism (critique) in the age of technoor affective capitalism (L. Berlant & B. Stiergler). At the end, the author poses the question: To what society we belong? Are we part of the “society of display value” or a “co-creative society”?
5 citations
TL;DR: The authors defend a view of the philosophy of science as a practice that should reflect not only about the disciplinary classical topics: science methodology, the practice of model construction, explanation or relations with technology, but also on the directions science might take and the goals sought, and must include questions concerning who should make these decisions and in accordance with what procedures to promote a more inclusive and democratic science.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to defend a view of the philosophy of science as a practice that should reflect not only about the disciplinary classical topics: science methodology, the practice of model construction, explanation or relations with technology. Philosophy of science should reflect also on the directions science might take and the goals sought, and ponder; as well, must include questions concerning who should make these decisions and in accordance with what procedures to promote a more inclusive and democratic science. It’s an agenda that includes gender and ethical topics and a commitment with responsible research and innovation in the context of our democratic societies.
5 citations
TL;DR: This article provided a systematic, broad, and comparative analysis of the impact on global politics of religious beliefs and organizations and attempted to put the writing in its context within the author's oeuvre.
Abstract: In March of 2002, a Harvard Academy research team received a grant for the project “Religion in Global Politics”. The aim of the research was to provide a systematic, broad, and comparative analysis of the impact on global politics of religious beliefs and organizations. The project was led by the veteran Harvard scholar Samuel P. Huntington. The result of his research into the link between religion and national identity and the question how they influence international relations was never finished or published. From the available unfinished manuscripts and various draft papers from the Harvard University Archives Samuel P. Huntington Personal Archive, the article tries to establish the content of Huntington’s probably last article while also providing the missing references for the first time and attempts to put the writing in its context within the author’s oeuvre.
5 citations
TL;DR: Bosse and Marci-Boehncke as discussed by the authors proposed the idea of Technical Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and extended that explanatory model for teachers' competencies on the inclusive practices to build the theoretical background for the design of joint seminars by the Research Center Youth-Media-Education as part of the Faculty for Cultural Studies and the Research Cluster Technology for Inclusion and Participation at the University of Dortmund.
Abstract: Ingo Bosse, Prof., Dr., Technische Universität Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany. Gudrun Marci-Boehncke, Prof., Dr., Technische Universität Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany. There is a desideratum in the research about the interdependencies of inclusive education and media education. Digital media can facilitate individualized and cooperative learning. Additionally, digital media can be used to promote inclusion. However, which factors influence the acquisition of media and information literacy in inclusive education? Comparative international studies, e.g., the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), show how social challenges, such as participation and handling heterogeneity at school, can be addressed through media. In numerous studies, it becomes apparent that German teachers do not sufficiently see the potential of digital media, especially for the improvement of learning opportunities for individuals with diverse learning requirements. German teachers are not well able to apply digital media appropriately in their lessons. Teachers need to be qualified and to design modern education with accessible media. In Germany, the ratio between available computers and pupils (1:4) is far better than the rate between teaching with and without computers. According to the teacher’s reports, only 9% of teachers are using digital media daily. Approximately 40% use digital media seldom or never. It seems that the cause is a skeptical attitude towards media among teachers, especially in humanities. That may result from missing didactical competences regarding digital media. The idea of Technical Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and extending that explanatory model for teachers’ competencies on the inclusive practices builds the theoretical background for the design of joint seminars by the Research Center Youth-Media-Education as part of the Faculty for Cultural Studies and the Research Cluster Technology for Inclusion and Participation at the University of Dortmund. Prospective teachers should become familiar with this way of collaboration. Already for four years now, a teaching team from these two departments designs collaborative lectures. Inclusive teaching and learning in different contexts are practiced in tutorials with practical approaches as well. In tandems, the students develop a learning situation at school or extracurricular institutions. Afterward, they present it. The presentation focuses on the concept, its teaching and learning conditions, and competence orientation as well as opportunities and limitations.
4 citations
TL;DR: The end-of-art thesis is the essence of Danto's philosophy of art history as mentioned in this paper, which is also in accordance with the Gadamerian tradition, and Danto aims to reconcile his selfcontradictory historical views and to justify his philosophical position both as an essentialist and a historicist.
Abstract: Ontology of art, philosophy of art history, and aesthetics make up Danto’s integrated philosophy of art. The end-of-art thesis is the essence of Danto’s philosophy of art history. As an analytical philosopher, Danto’s philosophy resembles Hans-Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics in the viewpoints concerning art and history in some ways but differs in others. Danto’s concepts of history show different tendencies in analytical philosophy of history and philosophy of art history. On the one hand, his philosophy of history conforms to Gadamer’s history of effect for the denial of the objectivity and certainty of historical truth. On the other hand, his philosophy of art history fundamentally differs from Gadamer’s relativism by asserting “the end of art” therefore generating a Hegelian law in art history. By using the strategy of “historical narrative” in his philosophy of art history, which is also in accordance with Gadamerian tradition, Danto aims to reconcile his self-contradictory historical views and to justify his philosophical position both as an “essentialist” and a “historicist”.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that without technological support, both social and political utopias are nothing, and that Utopia reverses the methodological maxim, whereby conclusions about possibilities can be drawn only from the real.
Abstract: The author, in this paper, asks the question, why is technology the key concept in shaping the utopian imagination. In previous times, starting from Thomas Morus, the foundation of utopian thinking was rather the state and social organization, not the means of production. Surprisingly, it appears that, without technological support, both social and political utopias are nothing. Technology gives credibility to the utopian project. Jules Verne or Edward Bellamy only gives credibility to what is otherwise incredible. What, then, is the utopian feature of Utopia as regards to technology? The author claims that Utopia reverses the methodological maxim, whereby conclusions about possibilities can be drawn only from the real. Utopia does the opposite: Everything that exists operates within the technological organization and its capabilities. After all, Herbert George Wells’ time machine does not bring us to a politically-thought-out organization, benefiting everyone, but a sluggish race living in small groups and feeding on fruits. It is a humanity liberated from both work and thinking, humanity at its end, unemployed humanity. In the paper, the author, following the path laid by Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, and Bernard Stiegler, is trying to rethink the problematic “utopian perfection of technology” seeking universal automatism and generating a new organization of work.
4 citations
TL;DR: The authors argued that the groundlessness of human praxis entail neither a relativistic nor a foundationalistic epistemological position, and argued that Wittgenstein's aim is to encourage us to change our practical way of acting.
Abstract: In this paper, the transformative and critical potential of the groundlessness of praxis––a central issue in Wittgenstein’s On Certainty––is outlined. It argues that the groundlessness of human praxis entails neither a relativistic nor a foundationalistic epistemological position. On the contrary, following Stanley Cavell and a “resolute reading” of Wittgenstein’s philosophy, it claims that Wittgenstein’s aim is to let us acknowledge that both epistemological foundationalism and epistemic relativism are apparent needs, so as to invite us to change our practical way of acting. From this perspective, this paper suggests that Wittgenstein’s account of philosophy addresses the readers and involves a transformation of their own practical attitude and way of acting.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that Shelley's utopian publicity proposed and embodied in his poetic writings is predicated on his ideal (and practical in many cases) aim toward a realization of a public sphere that espouses free circulations of various positions and embraces voices of people from all classes.
Abstract: Many critics of Percy Bysshe Shelley have construed Shelley’s “poetry” as a sort of transcendental, mental mechanism through which a more fundamental improvement of human life than immediate political reforms can be made possible. In this view of Shelley’s poetry, the values that poetry would bring about are condescendingly set up against the general public’s down-to-earth wish to improve their immediate life conditions, and therefore, the utopian vision implicit in Shelley’s poetic practice is founded on an exclusion of intellectually and economically unqualified readers. Given these critical assessments, this essay attempts to argue that Shelley’s poetic writings include significant elements that contradict the assumption implied in the view that intellectual elites take an absolute, exclusive position in giving rise to Shelley’s utopian publicity. In more detail, this essay will argue that Shelley’s utopian publicity proposed and embodied in his poetic writings is predicated on his ideal (and practical in many cases) aim toward a realization of a public sphere that espouses free circulations of various positions and embraces voices of people from all the classes.
TL;DR: In the year of 2011 the Nobel Physics Prize was awarded to three physicists, S. Perlmutter, B. Schmidt, and A. Riess, for their contribution to the discovery of accelerating expansion of universe as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the year of 2011 the Nobel Physics Prize was awarded to three physicists, S. Perlmutter, B. P. Schmidt, and A. G. Riess, for their contribution to the discovery of accelerating expansion of universe (Riess et al., 1998). This indicates the existence of dark energy which was attributed to the cosmological constant in the general relativity originated from vacuum energy. The dark energy amounts to 73% of the total energy in the universe National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined differences in perceptions of the synagogue as a place of prayer and as a places of leisure by worshippers and others, and found that the more religious the participants the more they thought that the synagogue is utilized less as aplace of leisure (and more as a Place of Prayer).
Abstract: The research literature on the topic of leisure indicates that leisure is perceived variably by different sectors and cultures. In Israel, affiliation with a certain religious group affects one’s perception of leisure. The uniqueness of the current study involves the function of the synagogue as an influential element in Jewish leisure culture. The synagogue is not only a place of prayer, rather also a place of convening and gathering where many varied activities take place, beyond prayer. In practice, over the generations, the synagogue served as a site of leisure activities and as a means of enhancing unity and communal life in Jewish society both in Israel and elsewhere. The current study examines differences in perceptions of the synagogue as a place of prayer and as a place of leisure by worshippers and others. The study included 387 participants, who defined themselves as secular, traditional, religious, or ultra-Orthodox. The research findings indicate no difference between secular and religious participants with regard to their perception of the synagogue as a place of leisure, namely, the synagogue is not perceived as a place of leisure rather as a place of prayer. Moreover, a negative association was found between religiosity and participant’s perception of the synagogue as a place of leisure; the more religious the participants the more they thought that the synagogue is utilized less as a place of leisure (and more as a place of prayer). Finally, the study showed a different gender-related attitude to the synagogue as a place of leisure, where men more than women perceive the synagogue as a place of leisure. The current study illuminates a site of leisure activity that has undergone an essential change from a religious place to one that bears communal-cultural-national significance, although it is not perceived as such by the various sectors within Israeli society. A discrepancy was found between actual practices and perception of the synagogue as a place of worship, where in practice the synagogue is used to celebrate dates with collective significance (for example, Jewish holidays) and to note events that are meaningful to the individual (such as marriages, bar mitzvahs, and births). This is an initial study that can lead to further research, which will continue to explore the perceptions of the Jewish population regarding the synagogue as a place with communal and personal significance, during leisure time as well. The synagogue as a site of leisure culture has the potential to unite the various sectors.
TL;DR: Lu et al. as mentioned in this paper proposed a holistic and organic perspective on the relationship between rural and urban areas, fully aware of organic links in the process of urban and rural development and even the modernization of the country, in terms of people's concepts and management models.
Abstract: In recent centuries, with the development of industrial revolution, profound changes have taken place in all fields of society, starting the transformation from traditional agricultural civilization to modern industrial civilization. The universal and dynamic form of this transformation process is usually called modernization. The process of modernization, originating in Europe and gradually extending to other countries and regions, reflects the unprecedented increase of human’s ability to control the environment and transform society. It has become a dominant force and brought about a world-wide lasting change (Black & Wilson, 1966, pp. 1-15). In China, the concept of “China’s modernization” was clearly put forward in the 1930s, while the systematic study of modernization began roughly in the 1950s and had continued ever since (Lu, 2001, p. 1). Although in The process of modernization first took place in the city and then gradually extended to the countryside. Therefore the rural modernization has followed development path with the characteristics of urban modernization in many aspects, using modern scientific and technological means to carry out intensive management of enterprises and pursue the high efficient of market economy, and the dominant value evaluation is carried out from the perspective of utilitarianism, which makes some negative effects in the process of urban development gradually shift to the countryside, and brings some “dilemma” problems in rural modernization. The Chinese philosophy of organism pays attention to the study of the vitality of all kinds of organisms. According to the viewpoint of the philosophy of organism under the background of Chinese culture, both urban and rural regions are complex systems, in which coupled by living organism, artificial organism, social organism, and spiritual organism in a number of ways. The “dilemmas” of the process of rural modernization stem from the uncoordinated relations among those organisms. To solve the dilemmas of rural modernization, it is necessary to eliminate the excessive squeeze of technical artifacts (“artificial organism”, in Chinese philosophy of organism) on the human life organism and ecological environment and enhance the vitality of rural development. The philosophy of organism advocates a holistic and organic perspective on the relationship between rural and urban areas, fully aware of organic links in the process of urban and rural development and even the modernization of the country, in terms of people’s concepts and management models. Only when people’s concepts and management patterns change substantially will it be possible to solve the dilemmas of rural modernization.
TL;DR: The spirit and behavior of self-criticism to people like confession is a virtue which meets Confucian moral requirements of becoming a Saint and politician's obligation required in mistake-tolerant democracy, which can solve the century problem at utmost as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The reason why Chinese scholars cannot bridge between Confucianism and democracy as a century problem since 1920s is that liberal democracy has two fundamental defects: Human beings born with wisdom have known rights before entering societies, which is contrary to Confucianism; separation between politics and religions has led to religious ceremony of confession far away from politics. Mistake-tolerant democracy whose right theory is the right to trial and error as an original right and mutual empowerment theory can overcome above defects. Liberty is divided into the right to trial and error as an original right in innovative fields which can be transferred by contract and unalienable liberties in non-innovative ones. The spirit and behavior of self-criticism to people like confession is a virtue which meets Confucian moral requirements of becoming a Saint and politician’s obligation required in mistake-tolerant democracy, which can solve the century problem at utmost.
TL;DR: The core of triad philosophy is triad ontology, triad epistemology, and triad axiology based on triad logic as mentioned in this paper, which is characterized by objective knowledge (Li), objective matter (Ch'i), and subjective spirit (Hs'in).
Abstract: The core of triad philosophy consists of triad ontology, triad epistemology, and triad axiology based on triad logic. The triad ontology is characterized by objective knowledge (Li), objective matter (Ch’i), and subjective spirit (Hs’in); triad epistemology by experiencing, studying, and thinking; and triad axiology by honesty, charity, and forgiveness. The idea could merge Western and Eastern thoughts into one philosophical system.
TL;DR: Maduabuchi et al. as mentioned in this paper examined Igbo philosophy of death as an essential feature for authentic human existence in Africa and found that death is a mystery which defies human understanding.
Abstract: Olisa Raphael Maduabuchi, Ph.D.(Nig), Department of Philosophy, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. Rev. Fr. Stephen Chijioke Chukwujekwu, Ph.D., Department of Philosophy Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. This paper sought to examine Igbo philosophy of death as an essential feature for authentic human existence in Africa. Death is a mystery which defies human understanding. No wonder, existentialist philosophers conceive death as the facticity of human existence. Different cultures have undertaken to unravel the mystery of death. Hence, African nay Igbo conceives death as a transition of human beings from this physical world of the living to the world of the spirit. The invisible world of the spirit is a place where our revered ancestors live. The second burial rites are performed to gravitate the dead to ancestral world of spirit. African metaphysical assumptions of death and life after death are therefore subjected to critical examination.
TL;DR: Among scholars and critics of literature, it is widely believed that the earliest period of writing, the ancient period, is characterized by collective literature and the anonymity it produces, and that little importance was attached to the author, who, if acknowledged at all, was considered inconsequential as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Among scholars and critics of literature, it is widely believed that the earliest period of writing, the ancient period, is characterized by collective literature and the anonymity it produces, and that little importance was attached to the author, who, if acknowledged at all, was considered inconsequential. However, starting from the 17th and 18th centuries, this began to change and authors were given the position of greatest prominence in the study of literature and its significance, while collective writing disappeared altogether, that is, until the advent of The Death of the Author and the Internet, which re-established collectivism and anonymity (the Wikipedia as a case in point). The question that we need to ask is: Does this approach conform with reality or is it merely a convenient generalization?
TL;DR: Restorative justice represents a paradigm shift away from a retributive approach to justice to one of restoration as a way of healing the harms to individuals and communities that have been affected by crime as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Restorative justice represents a paradigm shift away from a retributive approach to justice to one of restoration as a way of healing the harms to individuals and communities that have been affected by crime. It works from a recognition and acceptance of the interrelationships and interdependencies of individuals within a community. Sustainable development operates from the same point of view, recognizing that to heal and sustain the physical environment, interrelationships and interdependencies must be recognized. In the restorative process, in order for a healing to take place the victim’s voice is made prominent and the offender must take responsibility and be accountable for the harm that has occurred. In the context of more and more acceptance by corporations of the importance of sustainability, and by inference the acceptance of the paradigm shift that sustainability relies on, will corporations become ready to participate in restorative processes?
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the relationship between existence and essence in Mulla Sadra's ontology and analyze his arguments against the possibility of a real distinction between existence between the existing entities in the world, which is advocated by Ibn Sina, and then explicates how the author interprets the ontological difference between reality and the possible world by reflecting on his doctrines of the principality of existence (aslat al-wujūd) and the gradation of the reality of existence.
Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between existence and essence in Mulla Sadra’s ontology. It analyses his arguments against the possibility of a real distinction between existence and essence of the existing entities in the world, which is advocated by Ibn Sina, and then explicates how Mulla Sadra after rejecting Ibn Sina’s notion of the real distinction interprets the ontological difference between reality and the possible world by reflecting on his doctrines of the principality of existence (asālat al-wujūd) and the gradation of the reality of existence (tashkīk al-wujūd), rather than existence-essence dichotomy.
TL;DR: Hobbes as mentioned in this paper argued that the absurdities that philosophers fall into are actually due precisely to a lack of method and to the habit of quoting other thinkers as if the truth was to be found in their words.
Abstract: And in the same epistle, where I say of the civil philosophy: “It is no ancienter than my book De Cive”; these words are added: “I say it provoked, and that my detractors may see they lose their labour”. But that which is truly said, and upon provocation, is not boasting but defence. A short sum of that book of mine, now publicly in French, done by a gentleman I never saw, carrieth the title of Ethics Demonstrated. The book itself translated into French, hath not only a great testimony from the translator Sorberius, but also from Gassendus, and Mersennus, who being both of the Roman religion had no cause to praise it, or the divines of England have no cause to find fault with it. (“Six Lessons”, 1656, p. 333; the French In an age when political thinkers were writing books full of quotations of ancient and modern authors, Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury (1588-1679) developed a philosophical system which was based on scientific method rather than on the authority of books. He emphasized that the absurdities that philosophers fall into are actually due precisely to a lack of method and to the habit of quoting other thinkers as if the truth was to be found in their words. It is certainly not inappropriate to read what philosophers, historians, and poets wrote, whether for pure amusement or to find intellectual spurs useful for one’s own research and speculation; but the written word should not be confused with the truth. In the investigation aimed at discovering the truth in political matters, the philosopher must use his own intellect, relying on the strength of reasoning. Thus, political philosophy becomes a science: the science of “consequences from the accidents of politic bodies”. With his reflections on scientia civilis, Thomas Hobbes may be considered the inventor of political science.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply Foucault's insights into discourse to the field of law and further shed light on the in-depth interactive mechanism of power and discourse in legal discourse.
Abstract: It’s been about half a decade since Michel Foucault delivered his famous inaugural lecture “Orders of Discourse”. Descriptive research into legal discourse, however, still predominates over the exploration of the hidden power relationship. This article aims to apply Foucault’s insights into discourse to the field of law and further shed light on the in-depth interactive mechanism of power and discourse. By investigating how legal norms were legitimized from the very beginning, it’s found that the legal compulsoriness and the compulsoriness of legal discourse are of the same origin.
TL;DR: In this article, a systematic approach to the theory of substance developed in the central books of Aristotle's Metaphysics is presented, and it is shown that there exists an entity distinct from all of the material components, which is the arrangement and the essence of the sense-perceptible thing, that is, its form.
Abstract: This research represents another of the various different versions of the Hylomorphism of the third millennium (some closer and some less close to the thought of Aristotle). Its aim is to find the most profound and basic intrinsic explanation of the being of the sense-perceptible substance, by means of a systematic approach to the theory of substance developed in the central books of Aristotle’s Metaphysics. The theory of substance is based on the hylomorphic conception of the sense-perceptible substance, and reaches its culmination in Chapter 17 of Metaphysics Book Zeta, where Aristotle develops the definitive deeper argument that demonstrates the essence of substance. The argument is developed through a rigorous analysis of the sense-perceptible thing and its elements during the existence of the thing and after its corruption. The result obtained by this analysis is that none of the material components of a sense-perceptible thing, nor the sum of all of them, explain the constitution of the sense-perceptible thing, or its nature. And the final conclusion is that there exists an entity distinct from all of the material components, which is the arrangement and the essence of the sense-perceptible thing, that is, its form. The form also emerges as the primary cause of the being of the sense-perceptible thing and the primary substance, because it acts as the cause of matter and of the hylomorphic compound, and possesses the characters of substantiality in the maximum degree, being separate (τὸ χωριστὸν) and being “a this” (τὸ τόδε τι). To take another angle, the soul is the form of biological organisms and man; and this investigation ends by establishing how the Aristotelian argument applies to a biological organism, and demonstrates that the soul is the first cause of this and the primary substance, by means of the distinction of the proximate matter and remote matter of the living being.
TL;DR: Zhu Tao-sheng as mentioned in this paper argued that if one could understand and judge the significance and position of classics on Sakyamuni's Buddhist doctrine instead of disturbance from his personal performance, with a thorough understanding of the truth of life, his worries and secular affairs will be in vain.
Abstract: Since Dharma, the Zen Buddhism has always advocated that “There belief is passed on outside the religion; there is no reliance on written scripts; it goes straight into people’s minds; one becomes a Buddha when the moment who sees his own Buddha nature”. According to the Zen Buddhism, insight is the way to become Buddha, which means one may understand the essentials of Buddhism quickly through right practice methods rather than practice for a long term. That is “if one could understand and judge the significance and position of classics on Sakyamuni’s Buddhist doctrine instead of disturbance from his personal performance, with a thorough understanding of the truth of life, his worries and secular affairs will be in vain, namely, he eventually understand pure Buddhism”. The thoughts of Zhu Tao-sheng’s “insight into Buddhism” and “insight With the development of brain science, new breakthrough points have been discovered in more and more fields including philosophy. The philosophy is a mode of thinking and brain science explores the mystery of thinking by researching functions of human brain, which provides a broader vision for the study of the essential difference between the Chinese and western modes of thinking and philosophical thoughts. For better development of Chinese philosophy, the whole brain civilization must be founded, so that Chinese and western cultures should learn from each other to tackle further challenges.
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TL;DR: The authors presents a bird's eye view of Chinese culture under three headings: culture is the way of living, our way is expressed in our four modes of thinking, as conspicuously exhibited by Chinese culture, and these Chinese thinking-modes share a goal with the West.
Abstract: This essay presents my bird’s eye view of Chinese culture, under three headings. One, culture is the way of living. Two, our way of living is expressed in our four modes of thinking, as conspicuously exhibited by Chinese culture. Three, “these Chinese thinking-modes” share a goal with the West. Their common goal of interculture inter-enriches. “Inter-” implicates the world as not one-cultural but two-cultural, East and West, represented by China actual and the USA in logical analysis.
TL;DR: Vagins and McCurdy as mentioned in this paper reported that there is no rational medical or penological reason for the 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine and instead it causes an unjustified racial disparity in our penal system.
Abstract: Racial discrimination remains a prevalent issue in the contemporary U.S. despite efforts to promote equality. Many young African American and Hispanic males are easy target for law enforcement agents. Minorities experience a higher and more unfair form of racial discrimination, racial profiling, police brutality, unfair sentencing, and mass incarceration for offences which are the same or less than those committed by White males. The rate of incarceration in the United States is five to eight times higher than most developed countries, and Black males constitute the largest percentage of inmates in the U.S. prison system. Once arrested, Black Americans are more likely to remain in prison longer, and await trial for minor offenses at a higher rate than Whites. Black and Latino males sentenced in state and federal courts face significantly greater odds of incarceration than White offenders for the same or even higher crimes. Vagins and McCurdy in a 2006 ACLU on “cracks in the system” reported that “There is no rational medical or penological reason for the 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine and instead it causes an unjustified racial disparity in our penal system” (p. 7). There is a racial disparity in the proportion of Black males in prison serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP). In addition, The United States Criminal Justice System needs to be carefully examined as a top priority agenda needing immediate call of action that needs reform to guarantee the constitutional rights accorded to every American “with liberty and justice for all”.
TL;DR: In evolutionary theory, we generally believe that the evolution of life is from simple to complex, from single to diverse, and from lower to higher as discussed by the authors.However, in contemporary academic circles, some biologists and philosophers challenge this idea.
Abstract: In evolutionary theory, we generally believe that the evolution of life is from simple to complex, from single to diverse, and from lower to higher. Thus, the idea of evolutionary progress appears obvious. However, in contemporary academic circles, some biologists and philosophers challenge this idea. Among them, Gould is the most influential. This paper first describes Gould’s seven arguments against evolutionary progress, i.e., the human arrogance argument, anthropocentric argument, no inner thrust argument, no biological base argument, extreme contingency argument, statistical error argument, and bacteria (other than human beings) ruling the earth argument. Gould’s arguments against evolutionary progress have great influence in contemporary evolutionary theory. Thus, it is necessary to conduct a careful philosophical analysis of each of Gould’s arguments to reveal his philosophical mistakes. This research contends that Gould’s arguments against evolutionary progress are invalid.