scholarly journals Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Travis Dumsday
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Experimental Work ◽  
Intelligent Design ◽  
Thought Experiments ◽  
Methodological Naturalism ◽  
The Status ◽  
Metaphysical Naturalism ◽  
Science And Theology ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Near Death Experiences

There is a substantial literature on the question of whether methodological naturalism (MN) is and/or should be among the principles operative in the natural and social sciences; moreover the status of MN has been one of the battle grounds in prominent debates regarding the demarcation lines between science and theology (e.g., the debate over whether intelligent design hypotheses can ever count as genuinely scientific). I review some concrete examples of the use of thought experiments in this context, and argue that there are realistic thought experiments showing how metaphysical naturalism (MTN) could be subjected to empirical falsification; that in turn implies that MN should not be employed universally as an operative principle in the sciences. I conclude by discussing some recent actual experimental work concerning near-death experiences (NDEs), work which may point towards the likelihood of just such empirical falsification taking place in the relatively near future.

scholarly journals Plato on Natural Kinds: The Promethean Method of the Philebus

Apeiron ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Proios
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Natural Kind ◽  
Intelligent Design ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Natural Kinds ◽  
Natural World ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

Abstract Plato’s invention of the metaphor of carving the world by the joints (Phaedrus 265d–66c) gives him a privileged place in the history of natural kind theory in philosophy and science; he is often understood to present a paradigmatic but antiquated view of natural kinds as possessing eternal, immutable, necessary essences. Yet, I highlight that, as a point of distinction from contemporary views about natural kinds, Plato subscribes to an intelligent-design, teleological framework, in which the natural world is the product of craft and, as a result, is structured such that it is good for it to be that way. In Plato’s Philebus, the character Socrates introduces a method of inquiry whose articulation of natural kinds enables it to confer expert knowledge, such as literacy. My paper contributes to an understanding of Plato’s view of natural kinds by interpreting this method in light of Plato’s teleological conception of nature. I argue that a human inquirer who uses the method identifies kinds with relational essences within a system causally related to the production of some unique craft-object, such as writing. As a result, I recast Plato’s place in the history of philosophy, including Plato’s view of the relation between the kinds according to the natural and social sciences. Whereas some are inclined to separate natural from social kinds, Plato holds the unique view that all naturalness is a social feature of kinds reflecting the role of intelligent agency.

scholarly journals DORĘCZENIA PISM PROCESOWYCH (UWAGI NA MARGINESIE CTH. 2,4,1 [A. 318/319] = C. 5,4,20)

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Jacek Wiewiorowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Controversial Issue ◽  
Basic Data ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
European Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Universal Nature ◽  
The Way

THE NATURAL SCIENCES IN THE SERVICE OF PLEADINGS IN CASES INVOLVING MINORS: REMARKS ON CTH 2.4.1 [A. 318/319] = C. 5.4.20)SummaryThe subject of this article is the status of juvenile persons in Roman law, as exemplified by one of the constitutions of Constantine the Great, CTh 2.4.1 [a. 318/319] = C. 5.40.2, fragments of which are preserved in Theodosius’ Code of 438, and in an abridged version in Justinian’s Code of 534. In the first part of the article the author analyses the extremely controversial issue of the identity of the constitution’s addressee. In the second part he discusses the content of this constitution and the premises for its issue in the light of the Constantinian legislation on family matters and the way it was later interpreted. The article’s third part is an attempt to apply the natural and social sciences to the question of minors and their personality, and the examination of this issue as regards CTh 2.4.1 [a. 318/319] = C. 5.40.2. The author takes into consideration the basic data on the status of minors in Roman law, in the subsequent history of European law, and in non-European cultures. He concludes by making a series of observations on the potential for the application of the natural sciences in the study of Roman law, which could serve to confirm the timeless and universal nature of some of the solutions it prescribed.

scholarly journals O ENSINO E A PESQUISA SOBRE POLÍTICA EXTERNA NO CAMPO DAS RELAÇÕES INTERNACIONAIS DO BRASIL

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Aurélio Pimenta de Faria
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Graduate Programs ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Status ◽  
Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this article is to analyze teaching and research on foreign policy in Brazil in the last two decades. The first section discusses how the main narratives about the evolution of International Relations in Brazil, considered as an area of knowledge, depict the place that has been designed, in the same area, to the study of foreign policy. The second section is devoted to an assessment of the status of foreign policy in IR teaching in the country, both at undergraduate and scricto sensu graduate programs. There is also a mapping and characterization of theses and dissertations which had foreign policy as object. The third section assesses the space given to studies on foreign policy in three academic forums nationwide, namely: the meetings of ABRI (Brazilian Association of International Relations), the ABCP (Brazilian Association of Political Science) and ANPOCS (National Association of Graduate Programs and Research in Social Sciences). In the fourth section there is a mapping and characterization of the published articles on foreign policy between 1990 and 2010, in the following IR Brazilian journals: Cena Internacional, Contexto Internacional, Política Externa and Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional. At last, the fifth and final section seeks to assess briefly the importance that comparative studies have in the sub-area of foreign policy in the country. The final considerations make a general assessment of the empirical research presented in the previous sections.

The Internationalization of Chinese English-Language Humanities and Social Science Journals

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-293
Author(s):  
Ying Huang ◽  
Weishan Miao
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Social Science ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Citation Indexes ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Time Type ◽  
Over Time

This paper surveys the status of Chinese English-language journals in the humanities and social sciences (HSS-CELJs). HSS-CELJs are an important vehicle for disseminating Chinese scholarly voices and culture throughout the world. We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the status of HSS-CELJs according to a number of attributes: growth rate over time, type of publisher, discipline, region of publication, publishing frequency, independence versus co-publication, and inclusion in citation indexes. We discuss some of the challenges facing HSS-CELJ publishing and highlight several contradictions of internationalization in the Chinese context. As of March 2020, eighty-seven HSS-CELJs covered nineteen disciplines, among which economics (17 per cent) and law (13 per cent) accounted for the highest proportions. The establishment of HSS-CELJs has increased significantly since 2004. Fifty-two per cent of HSS-CELJs were jointly operated with international publishers under two different models of cooperation, and twenty-eight (32 per cent) were indexed in international databases.

Mixed Methods

2021 ◽  
pp. 169-174
Author(s):  
Manfredi Valeriani ◽  
Vicki L. Plano Clark
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Central Idea ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This chapter examines mixed-methods research, which is an approach that involves the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods at one or more stages of a research study. The central idea behind mixed-methods research is that the intentional combination of numeric-based methods with narrative-based methods can best provide answers to some research questions. The ongoing attempts to construct a simple and common conceptualization of mixed-methods provide a good indicator of the status of mixed-methods itself. mixed-methods research has emerged as a formalized methodology well suited to addressing complex problems, and is currently applied throughout the social sciences and beyond. Nowadays, researchers interested in combining quantitative and qualitative methods can benefit from the growing knowledge about the epistemological foundations, essential considerations, and rigorous designs that have been advanced for mixed-methods research.

The Devil is in the Detail

2019 ◽  
pp. 167-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Jetschke ◽  
Pascal Abb
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
International Authority ◽  
The Status ◽  
Congruence Analysis ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The One ◽  
Near Future ◽  
The Devil

This chapter addresses the authority of the United Nations Security Council and its politicization by the BRICS. In particular, it explores the patterns of contestation for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the Responsibility to Protect. How do the BRICS position themselves towards these two issues and how do they justify their demands? Do they build a challengers’ coalition? Using, first, a qualitative analysis of BRICS statements and, second, congruence analysis, this chapter maps and explains the positions of BRICS states on UNSC reform and R2P. We find that BRICS’ individual positions show a convergence on the basic contours of UNSC reform and R2P. The contestation pattern clearly indicates that this group favours the UNSC having strong international authority and also that they share concerns about the liberal content of the UNSC. While there is a strong tendency towards convergence on the one hand, BRICS strongly disagree on the details of the reform of the UNSC—as well as on the implementation of R2P on the other. These differences are so strong that they are unlikely to be resolved in the near future. Congruence analysis shows that power transition theory best explains their agreement ‘in principle’, but that none of the available theories explain their disagreement ‘in detail’. We conclude that, as things stand, the BRICS do not pose a challenge to the status quo in governance within the field of international security.

scholarly journals The High-Resolution Digital-Beamforming Airborne SAR System DBFSAR

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Reigber ◽  
Eric Schreiber ◽  
Kurt Trappschuh ◽  
Sebastian Pasch ◽  
Gerhard Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Digital Beamforming ◽  
Remote Sensing Technique ◽  
High Resolution Imagery ◽  
X Band ◽  
The Status ◽  
Airborne Sar ◽  
German Aerospace ◽  
Near Future

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an established remote sensing technique that can robustly provide high-resolution imagery of the Earth’s surface. However, current space-borne SAR systems are limited, as a matter of principle, in achieving high azimuth resolution and a large swath width at the same time. Digital beamforming (DBF) has been identified as a key technology for resolving this limitation and provides various other advantages, such as an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or the adaptive suppression of radio interference (RFI). Airborne SAR sensors with digital beamforming capabilities are essential tools to research and validate this important technology for later implementation on a satellite. Currently, the Microwaves and Radar Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is developing a new advanced high-resolution airborne SAR system with digital beamforming capabilities, the so-called DBFSAR, which is planned to supplement its operational F-SAR system in near future. It is operating at X-band and features 12 simultaneous receive and 4 sequential transmit channels with 1.8 GHz bandwidth each, flexible DBF antenna setups and is equipped with a high-precision navigation and positioning unit. This paper aims to present the DBFSAR sensor development, including its radar front-end, its digital back-end, the foreseen DBF antenna configuration and the intended calibration strategy. To analyse the status, performance, and calibration quality of the DBFSAR system, this paper also includes some first in-flight results in interferometric and multi-channel marine configurations. They demonstrate the excellent performance of the DBFSAR system during its first flight campaigns.

scholarly journals Review of the status and conservation of tenrecs (Mammalia: Afrotheria: Tenrecidae)

Oryx ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Stephenson ◽  
Voahangy Soarimalala ◽  
Steven M. Goodman ◽  
Martin E. Nicoll ◽  
Vonjy Andrianjakarivelo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Status ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Incidental Capture ◽  
The Status ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Data Deficient ◽  
Essential Knowledge ◽  
Development Objectives ◽  
Near Future

Abstract The mammal family Tenrecidae (Afrotheria: Afrosoricida) is endemic to Madagascar. Here we present the conservation priorities for the 31 species of tenrec that were assessed or reassessed in 2015–2016 for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Six species (19.4%) were found to be threatened (4 Vulnerable, 2 Endangered) and one species was categorized as Data Deficient. The primary threat to tenrecs is habitat loss, mostly as a result of slash-and-burn agriculture, but some species are also threatened by hunting and incidental capture in fishing traps. In the longer term, climate change is expected to alter tenrec habitats and ranges. However, the lack of data for most tenrecs on population size, ecology and distribution, together with frequent changes in taxonomy (with many cryptic species being discovered based on genetic analyses) and the poorly understood impact of bushmeat hunting on spiny species (Tenrecinae), hinders conservation planning. Priority conservation actions are presented for Madagascar's tenrecs for the first time since 1990 and focus on conserving forest habitat (especially through improved management of protected areas) and filling essential knowledge gaps. Tenrec research, monitoring and conservation should be integrated into broader sustainable development objectives and programmes targeting higher profile species, such as lemurs, if we are to see an improvement in the conservation status of tenrecs in the near future.

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