The Unsociable Frenchmen: Associations and Democracy in Historical Perspective

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Carol Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Voluntary Association ◽  
Alexis De Tocqueville ◽  
Single Issue ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

If one hundred thousand Americans felt strongly about any single issue they would immediately form a voluntary association to promote their point of view among their fellow citizens. One hundred thousand Frenchmen with similarly strong feelings on the same subject would write individual letters to the prefect demanding his attention to the problem. Thus Alexis de Tocqueville disposed of the problem of association in France: Frenchmen were intrinsically resistant to association. Failing to understand the virtues of association, Frenchmen missed “the mother of all other forms of knowledge” necessary to democratic progress.

Al-Farabi and Ibn-Rushd on the Correlation between Philosophy and Religion

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-253
Author(s):  
Ainur D. Kurmanalieva
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
Philosophy And Religion ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Teaching ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

Al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd interpreted religion and philosophy as two forms of knowledge which complete rather than nullify each other. This point of view was unique and novel. In this regard, both of them emphasized that, if philosophy were an instrument of a select few people for the comprehension of the meaning of existence, then religion is what gives the general populace a way to express their understanding of life. Ibn Rushd strove to draw the attention of representatives of religious teaching to philosophy, and aimed together with them at the understanding of the world which surrounds humankind. While al-Farabi tried by means of logical arguments to establish the priority of philosophy with reference to religion, Ibn Rushd did not restrict himself to the harmonizing of religion and philosophy, but attempted to use religion for the popularization of philosophy, as well as the raising of its prestige. Ibn Rushd fully realized that it was not necessary for science to argue with religious orthodoxy.

Hodgson, Clifford, and the Unseen Universe

2019 ◽  
pp. 162-182
Author(s):  
W. J. Mander
Keyword(s):  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Religious Commitment ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Religion And Science ◽  
Scientific Naturalism ◽  
Way Of Thinking ◽  
William Kingdon Clifford

The Metaphysical Society debates were largely between those espousing religious commitment to the transcendent and those defending scientific naturalism. However, this paper highlights a third strain of thought to be found among the Society’s proceedings, one which regarded philosophy – and especially metaphysics – as an autonomous discipline with its own method and authority. To this way of thinking the proper project of the Society was precisely to use such independent and constructive philosophy to seek for reconciliation between the opposed views of religion and science. The paper focuses on the pair of Society members who most strongly embody this point of view, Shadworth Hodgson (1832–1912) and William Kingdon Clifford, (1845–79) analysing their several contributions and, in particular, comparing their different responses to the theory set out in Peter Guthrie Tait and Balfour Stewart’s influential work, The Unseen World. (1875) Both thinkers see merit in the idea of an unseen realm. However, both relativize this ‘unseen’ to a point of view, thereby ruling out of court that which is utterly and completely unknowable. In this respect they are linked together in common opposition to one further widespread philosophy of the day, agnosticism. From an historical perspective neither Hodgson nor Clifford met with much popular or lasting success in their attempts at finding a philosophical reconciliation between religion and science, and the paper concludes by contrasting their efforts with those of the British Idealists who, seemingly, were able to achieve much greater recognition in what was in many respects a similarly motivated ambition.

Strategic Objectives of CoPs and Organizational Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 497-501
Author(s):  
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Organizational Processes ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Informal Relations ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

There is more and more interest in different forms of knowledge creation and management, and the conditions necessary to succeed in such initiatives from the point of view of individuals and organizations. A great deal of this interest stems from the fact that organizations expect substantial gains from knowledge. Knowledge management is seen in many organizations as a source of potential competitiveness and innovation. The concept of communities of practice stems from this interest, but is viewed as a specific form of knowledge development, in principle more centred on the individuals and their exchanges than on “management” by the firm, although the firm does seem to have a role to play in fostering such initiatives. Thus, the use of communities of practice has emerged as a way to develop collective skills and organizational learning, in order to foster innovation and success for the organization. Organizational learning is part of a broader concern related to the development of collective skills. We know that a large proportion of effective relations within organizations are informal, a characteristic that relates to the concerns of the communities of practice, which are usually based on informal relations. Organizational learning goes beyond individual learning, which can lead to relatively permanent changes in the individual’s behavior, because it results in the development of a knowledge base which could translate into a more significant change of another kind within the organization. The knowledge is disseminated throughout the organization, is transmissible between members, is subject to consensus, and is integrated into the work processes and the structures of the organization. From this perspective, organizational learning is closely linked with “meaningful” organizational processes, which are basically routines used by decision makers to detect certain problems, define priorities, find solutions, and attempt to improve performance. In this article, we will present research results on some strategic objectives of CoPs and the attainment of these objectives, from the viewpoint of organizational learning.

Pragmatic functions of gestures

Gesture ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kendon
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Propositional Content ◽  
Hand Movements ◽  
Persuasive Discourse ◽  
Gesture Studies

Abstract In the eighteenth century and before, gesture was considered from the point of view of how it should be used in oratory, as a part of the art of engaging in persuasive discourse. This contrasts with the interest pursued in modern gesture studies where, for the most part, the hand movements that people make when they speak have been studied as representations of the substantive or propositional content of the utterance, seen as providing clues about the mental or cognitive processes governing speaking. Speaking is also a form of social action, however, and gestures play an important role in this. An historical perspective on the study of gesture from a pragmatic point of view is provided, followed by a summary of the main features of the pragmatic functioning of gesture.

scholarly journals Russia/Nigeria Diplomatic Ties: An Historical Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Abimbola Damilola Waliyullahi
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Soviet Economy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Political Economic

The Diplomatic relations between Nigeria and USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) now Russia started over 55 years ago. Russia, being the legitimate heir to the USSR in 1961, opened its Embassy in Lagos with Ambassador Feodor Pavlovich Dolya as the Head of the Mission, Nigeria reciprocated in 1962 in Moscow with Ambassador C.O Ifeagwu as the Head and till this day, both countries have maintained cordial political, economic and cultural relationships but not without some disagreements. However, Soviet involvement in Nigeria, just like in many other African countries diminished greatly in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika (reconstruction) of the middle 80s. With the Cold War continuing and the Soviet economy in shambles, the USSR had little incentive to continue its active presence in Africa. By the time of Soviet Union disintegration in 1991, the country had lost much of its influence and prominence in Nigeria and Africa. Nigeria is a focus of this paper as this article examines Russia/Nigeria diplomatic ties from the historical point of view relying on diplomatic theory as a tool to trace the existing diplomatic ties between the two countries.

scholarly journals Trust in Techno-images

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Frank Kessler ◽  
Mirko Tobias Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
New Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Image Archives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

This article proposes a consideration of today’s discourses on ‘big data’ from a media archaeological point of view, confronting such discourses with those surrounding projects for large- scale image archives in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Collections of photographs, stereographs and films were thought of as trustworthy and unbiased documents, that allowed for the production of new forms of knowledge. The expectations as to the impact of such new media that circulated at the time are not unlike those formulated today with respect to ‘big data’. It is only by scrutinizing those discourses, and specifically the role attributed to media technologies, that we can understand the processes that govern the production of each medium’s bias.

scholarly journals TECHNOLOGICAL PARADIGMS: A JUMP TO THE SIXTH OR A SLIP DOWN TO THE FOURTH

2020 ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
L. V. Ivanovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Research Method ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Description ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Economic Approach ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Technological Paradigm ◽  
Wave Cycle ◽  
Technological Paradigms

The aim of this article is to analyse approaches to emphasizing the essence of the sixth technological paradigm (wave of innovation). The author uses the historical research method. By examining ideas on the technological paradigms (wave, cycle, paradigm, formation, etc.), the author shows the limitation of the purely economic approach to solving technological paradigms issues. The attention is paid also on the periodization of paradigms and there is an absence of a single logical basis in it. paradigms change. This circumstance does not allow us to speak about a really theoretical description of the process of changing paradigms. The situation is being considered from a wider historical perspective of the humankind existence (as a species), as a subject not only on a planetary scale. From this point of view, the essence of the sixth paradigm and the prospects for the evolution of paradigms are more clearly identified.

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