Urban centers are grappling with significant challenges in managing domestic waste due to increasing population density and consumption patterns. Common issues include irregular waste collection, inadequate waste segregation, and limited recycling initiatives. These shortcomings often stem from insufficient communication between residents and waste management authorities, as well as a general lack of public awareness regarding proper waste disposal methods. This paper proposes a comprehensive web-based platform aimed at enhancing domestic waste management practices. The system allows users to schedule waste (...) collection, promotes awareness through educational resources on waste segregation and recycling, and provides a mechanism for reporting concerns such as missed pickups or improper disposal. By facilitating better interaction between communities and waste management services, this solution addresses existing inefficiencies and encourages responsible waste management behaviors. Preliminary feedback indicates that users have engaged more actively with waste management processes, suggesting that digital intervention can lead to improved community participation and better environmental outcomes. (shrink)

The study, design and development of a low-cost digital braille printer is boarded with a transdisciplinary approach. The main challenge was focused on reducing significantly the high cost of this type of printers and their printing services. This context is aggravated with the low commercialization of these products in the country, a factor that makes the access of these tools -that are essential to much of the low and middle sectors of the Argentine social structure- even more difficult. An interdisciplinary (...) group of teachers, graduates and students of the careers of industrial design and informatics degree from the National University of La Plata, developed the design and prototype of a braille printer. The work was carried out according to the principles of Gandhian Engineering, based on the reuse of ink-jet printers. The project consists of the design, development and generation of a low-cost Braille printer, produced locally, which prioritizes the use of nationally manufactured components for assembly. To achieve this, an electronic and electromechanical system was designed and manufactured to adapt any Inkjet printer to the objectives of the project, enabling the recycling of obsolete printers. This means, it is proposed to resolve through the use of text printers, applying technical knowledge of computer science and industrial design, to adapt the technological components to the Braille lexicon printer. They also developed, on the one hand, software that controls the printer and allows its use in a simple and accessible way. On the other hand, the hardware and external components were adapted with 3D printing technology and thermoforming, producing a housing that contains the entire printer. Finally, a systematization of the assembly process of the printer prototype was carried out, making it possible to replicate it. Using methodologies of Gandhian Design, a prototype and two alternative proposals of carcasses were obtained. The main objective, which guided this work, was that blind people can access low-cost braille printers promoting by this a favorable impact on the cultural development of their daily lives. (shrink)

Why Colonizing Mars is Essential for Humanity -/- Introduction -/- Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has been driven by exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. Today, as we face global challenges such as climate change, overpopulation, and resource depletion, the need for expansion beyond Earth has never been more urgent. Mars, our closest planetary neighbor, presents the best opportunity for human colonization. Establishing a permanent human presence on Mars is not merely a dream of science fiction—it is a (...) necessity for the long-term survival and advancement of our species. -/- The Need for a Planetary Backup -/- Throughout history, Earth has faced existential threats, from asteroid impacts to supervolcanic eruptions. Modern threats, such as nuclear war, climate change, and pandemics, further highlight the fragility of our civilization. A self-sustaining colony on Mars would serve as a backup for humanity, ensuring that life continues even in the face of catastrophe. Just as ancient civilizations migrated to new lands for survival, humans must now look beyond Earth to secure our future. -/- Advancing Scientific Knowledge -/- Mars offers a unique opportunity to expand our scientific understanding of the universe. Studying its geology, climate, and atmosphere can help scientists uncover the history of our solar system. Additionally, the search for microbial life on Mars could provide answers to one of humanity’s greatest questions: Are we alone in the universe? The discoveries made on Mars could reshape our understanding of life itself and provide insights into the potential habitability of other planets. -/- Technological Innovation -/- The challenges of colonizing Mars will drive technological advancements that will benefit humanity as a whole. To establish a sustainable colony, scientists and engineers must develop new solutions for life support, energy production, water recycling, and food cultivation in extreme environments. These innovations could lead to breakthroughs in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and robotics, with applications that improve life on Earth. Just as the space race of the 20th century accelerated technological progress, the push for Mars colonization could usher in a new era of scientific and engineering advancements. -/- Resource Utilization and Economic Opportunities -/- Mars has vast natural resources that could support a self-sustaining colony. Water, in the form of ice, could be extracted and used for drinking, farming, and fuel production. The planet’s atmosphere, rich in carbon dioxide, could be converted into oxygen and fuel for spacecraft. In the long term, mining operations on Mars could provide valuable metals and minerals, reducing dependence on Earth’s limited resources. The economic potential of Mars colonization could lead to new industries, job opportunities, and even interplanetary trade. -/- Inspiring Future Generations and Unifying Humanity -/- The Apollo Moon landings of the 20th century inspired generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers. A successful Mars colonization effort would be an even greater achievement, proving that humanity is capable of overcoming immense challenges. Furthermore, such a mission would require international collaboration, bringing together countries, scientists, and private industries in a shared vision for the future. A united effort to colonize Mars could serve as a powerful symbol of human cooperation and ingenuity. -/- Challenges and Solutions -/- Despite its potential, colonizing Mars presents significant challenges. The planet’s harsh environment, with extreme cold, high radiation levels, and a thin atmosphere, makes survival difficult. Transporting humans and supplies across millions of kilometers is costly and time-consuming, requiring months of space travel. Furthermore, maintaining a sustainable food and water supply on Mars is a complex problem that must be solved. -/- However, advancements in space travel, such as reusable rockets and nuclear propulsion, are making Mars missions more feasible. Scientists are developing innovative life support systems, underground habitats for radiation protection, and sustainable farming techniques for food production. With continued research and investment, these obstacles can be overcome, making a permanent human settlement on Mars a reality. -/- Mars as a Stepping Stone for Deep Space Exploration -/- Beyond Mars, humanity’s future may lie among the stars. Colonizing Mars is not just about securing a second home—it is about preparing for the next great leap in space exploration. A successful Mars colony could serve as a launchpad for missions to the outer planets, the asteroid belt, and even interstellar space. By proving that humans can survive and thrive beyond Earth, Mars colonization would open the door to exploring and settling the broader universe. -/- Conclusion -/- Colonizing Mars is not a luxury or a distant fantasy—it is a crucial step for the survival and progress of humanity. By establishing a presence on Mars, we can protect our species from existential threats, expand our scientific knowledge, drive technological innovation, and unlock economic opportunities. Although challenges remain, human ingenuity and determination have always pushed us to overcome obstacles. The journey to Mars will be difficult, but it is a necessary step in ensuring that humanity continues to thrive, not just on Earth, but among the stars. The question is no longer whether we should go to Mars, but how soon we can make it happen. -/- . (shrink)

Sustainable Economic Growth: Increasing GDP Without Excessive Population Growth -/- Economic growth has traditionally been associated with population growth, as more people typically mean a larger workforce and greater demand for goods and services. However, relying solely on population expansion to increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is not a sustainable long-term strategy. Overpopulation can lead to resource depletion, environmental degradation, and strained public services. Fortunately, there are ways to boost economic growth without excessive population increases by focusing on productivity, technological (...) advancements, and efficient resource management. -/- The Role of Productivity Growth -/- One of the most effective ways to increase GDP without increasing population is through productivity growth. Productivity refers to the efficiency with which goods and services are produced. If workers and businesses can produce more output with the same or fewer resources, economic growth can occur without needing more people in the workforce. -/- Investing in automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics can significantly improve productivity by allowing industries to operate more efficiently. Furthermore, enhancing education and skills training ensures that workers can adapt to new technologies and increase their efficiency. Countries that prioritize high-skilled labor and innovation often experience strong GDP growth without major population growth. -/- Technological Innovation and Economic Growth -/- Innovation plays a crucial role in driving GDP growth. Many of the world’s most successful economies have transitioned from labor-intensive industries to knowledge-based industries that rely on innovation rather than population size. Countries like Japan and Germany, which have aging populations, have maintained economic strength through technological advancements. -/- By encouraging research and development (R&D), governments and businesses can create new industries, such as biotechnology, renewable energy, and digital services. Advances in digital infrastructure also enable the expansion of remote work and online businesses, reducing the need for physical labor-intensive jobs and allowing economic growth without relying on a growing workforce. -/- Capital Investment and Infrastructure Development -/- Another key driver of economic growth is investment in capital and infrastructure. A well-developed infrastructure—comprising roads, energy, telecommunications, and public transportation—improves economic efficiency and productivity. Even without population growth, better infrastructure allows businesses to operate more smoothly, reducing costs and increasing output. -/- Furthermore, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and promoting entrepreneurship can drive innovation and create new revenue streams, contributing to GDP growth. Well-funded businesses can expand operations, improve efficiency, and enter global markets without relying on additional human resources. -/- Improving Economic Efficiency -/- Efficient use of resources can also contribute to GDP growth. Many economies suffer from inefficiencies due to wasteful government spending, corruption, or outdated business models. By adopting better management practices, optimizing supply chains, and reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies, countries can increase economic output without additional population growth. -/- Trade policies also play a crucial role. By focusing on high-value exports rather than just raw materials, nations can maximize economic gains without increasing labor-intensive production. Countries like Switzerland and South Korea have built strong economies by exporting high-value products such as pharmaceuticals and electronics instead of relying on labor-intensive industries. -/- Shifting to a Knowledge-Based Economy -/- A knowledge-based economy prioritizes industries such as information technology, finance, research, and creative industries. These sectors require highly skilled workers and generate high-value products and services, making them less dependent on population growth. -/- For instance, the software industry allows companies to generate billions in revenue with a relatively small workforce. Artificial intelligence, data science, and automation are also transforming traditional industries, making production processes more efficient and reducing the need for a large workforce. Countries that invest in education and digital transformation can experience sustained GDP growth without excessive reliance on population increases. -/- Sustainable Resource Management and Economic Growth -/- Another way to achieve economic growth without population expansion is by shifting to a sustainable economic model. The traditional “take-make-dispose” economic system leads to resource depletion, but a circular economy focuses on recycling, reusing, and regenerating materials to maintain long-term sustainability. -/- Investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, also creates economic growth while reducing dependence on finite natural resources. Sustainable agriculture and responsible land management can enhance food production efficiency without requiring more workers or land expansion. -/- Increasing Workforce Participation -/- Even in countries with stagnant or declining populations, GDP growth can be achieved by increasing workforce participation. Encouraging more women, elderly individuals, and marginalized groups to participate in the workforce can help maintain economic activity without relying on immigration or high birth rates. -/- Additionally, promoting flexible work arrangements, such as remote work and the gig economy, allows more people to contribute to the economy while improving work-life balance. Countries that create inclusive labor policies can maximize their existing human resources rather than depending on population growth. -/- Conclusion -/- Increasing GDP without excessive population growth is not only possible but also necessary for long-term sustainability. By focusing on productivity, technological advancements, capital investment, efficiency, knowledge-based industries, sustainable resource management, and workforce participation, economies can achieve robust growth without straining resources. Governments and businesses must adopt forward-thinking policies that prioritize quality over quantity, ensuring a prosperous future without the negative consequences of overpopulation. A well-balanced approach to economic development can lead to a sustainable, high-income economy that benefits society while protecting the environment. -/- . (shrink)

-/- A Framework for Global Education and Leadership Implementation -/- By Angelito Malicse -/- This model expands on the Universal Law of Balance by integrating it into a global education system and leadership strategy that ensures its practical application. The goal is to eliminate dependence on overpopulation for economic growth, shift toward a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy, and establish a sustainable, balanced civilization. -/- I. THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF BALANCE AS A GOVERNING PRINCIPLE -/- 1. Balance as the Foundation (...) of Decision-Making -/- Every economic, political, and social policy must align with the Universal Law of Balance. -/- Governments, businesses, and individuals must make decisions based on long-term sustainability, not short-term gain. -/- 2. Leadership Based on Balance and Scientific Rationality -/- Leaders must understand and apply the Universal Law of Balance in governance, economic planning, and resource management. -/- Education programs must ensure leaders are trained in scientific thinking, ethics, and sustainability rather than relying on outdated ideologies. -/- Policy decisions must be based on measurable balance indicators (resource consumption, economic stability, environmental impact). -/- II. EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR A BALANCED SOCIETY -/- 1. Reforming Global Education to Prioritize Balance and Critical Thinking -/- Replace outdated education systems that promote consumerism and economic growth at any cost. -/- Focus on systems thinking, ethics, resource management, AI governance, and environmental sustainability. -/- Teach decision-making based on the Universal Law of Balance, ensuring all individuals make choices that maintain stability. -/- 2. Educating for a Knowledge-Based and AI-Assisted Economy -/- Transition away from education focused on mass labor for industrial jobs. -/- Train people in critical thinking, advanced problem-solving, AI development, sustainable technology, and ethical leadership. -/- Encourage lifelong learning to adapt to evolving technology and scientific advancements. -/- III. A BALANCED ECONOMIC MODEL WITHOUT POPULATION GROWTH -/- 1. Economic Structure Based on Efficiency, Not Endless Expansion -/- Current Flawed Model: More population → More jobs → More economic growth (unsustainable). -/- Balanced Model: Stable population → AI productivity → Sustainable wealth distribution. -/- 2. AI, Automation, and the Post-Labor Economy -/- AI and automation replace repetitive jobs, allowing humans to focus on creativity, research, and governance. -/- Productivity increases while reducing the need for human labor, ensuring economic stability without population growth. -/- 3. Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Wealth Redistribution -/- UBI ensures economic security without relying on job creation through population growth. -/- Funded by taxation on AI-driven industries, natural resource extraction, and automation profits. -/- UBI allows people to focus on innovation, education, and personal development. -/- IV. GLOBAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BASED ON BALANCE -/- 1. Intelligent Resource Allocation Using AI -/- AI-driven planning ensures resource consumption stays within environmental limits. -/- Policies regulate mining, energy use, food production, and industrial activity to prevent resource exhaustion. -/- 2. Circular Economy: Eliminating Waste and Overproduction -/- Move away from the disposable consumer economy and promote durable, recyclable, and modular products. -/- Implement global regulations for responsible manufacturing, energy efficiency, and sustainable agriculture. -/- 3. Governance Systems to Enforce Balance -/- Leaders must follow strict sustainability policies rather than prioritize profit-driven growth. -/- Global cooperation to enforce environmental protection and fair resource distribution. -/- V. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR LEADERSHIP AND POLICY CHANGE -/- 1. Educating World Leaders in the Universal Law of Balance -/- Leadership training programs must include principles of balance, sustainability, and rational decision-making. -/- Future politicians, corporate executives, and policymakers must pass competency tests based on these principles. -/- 2. Reforming Political and Economic Institutions -/- Shift from profit-driven governance to balance-based governance. -/- Economic policies must be evaluated by scientific sustainability models before being approved. -/- Limit corporate influence over policy decisions to prevent environmental and economic imbalance. -/- 3. Global Collaboration for Sustainable Policies -/- Encourage international agreements that regulate population, technology use, and environmental protection. -/- Develop a global standard for resource consumption, ensuring fair distribution among nations. -/- VI. LONG-TERM GOALS AND THE FUTURE OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION -/- By following the Universal Law of Balance, humanity can achieve: -/- 1. A Stable Population – No longer relying on growth for economic survival. -/- 2. A Knowledge-Based Society – AI and automation free humans to focus on creativity and ethical decision-making. -/- 3. Sustainable Resource Use – Intelligent management prevents environmental collapse. -/- 4. Balanced Leadership – Governments prioritize stability over short-term economic gain. -/- 5. True Economic Equality – UBI and wealth redistribution prevent extreme poverty. -/- Final Vision: A Future Where Human Intelligence Aligns with Natural Balance -/- Civilization will no longer be trapped in cycles of boom and collapse due to overpopulation, overconsumption, and economic instability. -/- Science, ethics, and balanced governance will guide the future of human progress in alignment with nature’s equilibrium. -/- . (shrink)

The Sustainable Economic Model Based on the Universal Law of Balance -/- By Angelito Malicse -/- This model builds on the Universal Law of Balance, integrating sustainable population management, economic stability, technological progress, and environmental harmony. It presents a framework for a balanced civilization, where society no longer depends on endless population growth to sustain economic systems. Instead, human progress is guided by equilibrium between resources, technology, and well-being. -/- I. THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF BALANCE AS A FOUNDATION -/- The (...) Universal Law of Balance states that all systems, including the human mind, societies, economies, and ecosystems, operate within a natural equilibrium. Any imbalance—whether it be population excess, economic exploitation, or environmental destruction—leads to instability and collapse. -/- To ensure long-term stability, human decision-making must follow the universal principle of balance, where every system maintains harmony with its external and internal conditions. -/- II. A BALANCED ECONOMY WITHOUT OVERPOPULATION -/- 1. Population Stability: Aligning Growth with Resources -/- Instead of uncontrolled population growth, society must: -/- Determine an optimal population size based on available natural resources, infrastructure, and economic capacity. -/- Educate people about sustainable birth rates, using incentives to encourage population stability rather than forced expansion. -/- Balance age distribution to prevent economic collapse due to an aging society. -/- Integrate automation and AI to replace traditional labor needs, reducing dependence on a large workforce. -/- This replaces the flawed system where economies depend on more births to maintain economic expansion. -/- 2. Economic Productivity Without Population Growth -/- A sustainable economy should be driven by innovation and efficiency, not just population expansion. Key strategies include: -/- A. Shift to a Knowledge and Automation-Based Economy -/- Develop high-productivity sectors, such as AI, robotics, biotechnology, and clean energy. -/- Reduce reliance on labor-intensive industries by using automated systems for repetitive work. -/- Prioritize creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking, where humans contribute beyond manual labor. -/- B. Ending the “Growth at All Costs” Mentality -/- GDP-based economic growth is an outdated metric that promotes overproduction and waste. -/- Instead, measure economic success by sustainability, well-being, and resource efficiency. -/- Implement circular economies, where waste is minimized, and materials are continuously recycled. -/- 3. Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Economic Security -/- As automation takes over traditional jobs, society must shift towards economic security without forced labor growth. -/- A. Funding a Sustainable UBI -/- UBI should be funded by: -/- Taxing automation and AI-driven industries (ensuring technological wealth benefits society). -/- Regulating natural resource extraction (charging industries for environmental costs). -/- Eliminating extreme wealth hoarding, redistributing wealth for economic balance. -/- B. UBI as a Means to Reduce Inequality -/- UBI will allow people to focus on education, entrepreneurship, and innovation, rather than struggling in low-paying jobs. -/- It removes the need for a growing labor force, ensuring economic security even with a smaller population. -/- 4. Resource-Based Economy: Efficiency Over Consumption -/- Instead of economies based on infinite consumption, the resource-based economy aligns production with environmental limits. -/- A. Smart Resource Allocation -/- Use AI-driven economic planning to balance supply and demand efficiently. -/- Implement energy-efficient, waste-reducing production methods to preserve natural resources. -/- Shift to clean, renewable energy and eliminate reliance on finite fossil fuels. -/- B. Ending the Disposable Economy -/- Products should be designed to last, reducing overproduction. -/- Industries should be regulated to prevent unnecessary waste and environmental damage. -/- Governments should support recycling, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture as the new standard. -/- 5. Lifelong Learning & Human Development -/- Instead of linking education to job creation, learning should be a lifelong process focused on balance, ethics, and sustainability. -/- A. Education for Balance and Critical Thinking -/- Integrate the Universal Law of Balance into all educational systems. -/- Shift focus from traditional jobs to systems thinking, problem-solving, and ethical decision-making. -/- Encourage scientific research into sustainability, AI ethics, and post-scarcity solutions. -/- B. Automation as a Tool for Human Growth -/- With fewer labor demands, people should focus on creativity, philosophy, and technological advancements. -/- The economy must be structured to allow individuals to pursue innovation without financial survival pressure. -/- III. HOW THIS MODEL SOLVES HUMANITY’S CRISIS -/- 1. Eliminating Economic Dependence on Overpopulation -/- Current Model: More people = More jobs = More demand = More economic activity (unsustainable). -/- Balanced Model: Stable population + AI-driven productivity + UBI + resource efficiency (sustainable). -/- 2. Ending the Cycle of Wealth Inequality -/- Current Model: Wealth is concentrated in a few, creating social imbalance. -/- Balanced Model: Technological wealth is shared through UBI and economic planning. -/- 3. Environmental Sustainability & Resource Conservation -/- Current Model: Resources are exploited for short-term profit, leading to climate collapse. -/- Balanced Model: AI-driven resource management aligns consumption with environmental limits. -/- 4. Human Progress Without Labor Exploitation -/- Current Model: People are forced to work for survival, even in degrading conditions. -/- Balanced Model: AI and automation provide economic security, allowing people to focus on meaningful pursuits. -/- IV. THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY UNDER THIS MODEL -/- By following the Universal Law of Balance, this model ensures that humanity reaches a state of equilibrium between economy, technology, and environment. -/- 1. Stable Population – No need for forced growth, ensuring quality of life. -/- 2. Resource Efficiency – No excessive waste, preserving the planet. -/- 3. Economic Security – AI-driven economies provide prosperity without exploitation. -/- 4. Sustainable Innovation – Science and technology focus on long-term human progress, not just profit. -/- Final Thought -/- This model breaks the outdated cycle of using overpopulation as an economic tool. Instead, it creates a civilization where human intelligence, automation, and resource management align in perfect balance, ensuring a future where progress is driven by wisdom, not unsustainable growth. -/- . (shrink)

Nature’s Way of Optimization and the Law of Balance -/- Nature is the ultimate example of efficiency, balance, and sustainability. Everything in the natural world—from how animals survive to how ecosystems function to how the human body works—is designed to maximize effectiveness while minimizing waste. If we observe how nature operates, we can learn valuable lessons about how to make decisions, govern societies, and live our daily lives. -/- This understanding aligns with the universal law of balance in nature, which (...) shows that everything must function in harmony to prevent failure or destruction. Throughout history, civilizations and economies that followed these natural principles thrived, while those that ignored them collapsed. -/- Survival and the Law of Cause and Effect -/- In nature, only the strongest and most adaptable species survive. This process, called natural selection, ensures that living things improve over time by keeping the traits that help them survive and eliminating the ones that don’t. This idea is similar to the law of cause and effect (karma)—if something is defective, it won’t function properly. -/- For example, consider the cheetah and the gazelle. Over generations, cheetahs have evolved to run faster to catch their prey, while gazelles have evolved to be more agile to escape. This balance keeps both species in check. If cheetahs became too fast and killed all gazelles, they would starve. If gazelles became too fast, cheetahs would die out, disrupting the ecosystem. -/- A similar pattern exists In human societies. Singapore is an example of a country that followed the law of balance in its development. It had limited resources but invested heavily in education, technology, and sustainable urban planning. Today, it is one of the most successful economies in the world, proving that proper planning and balance lead to success. -/- In contrast, Venezuela ignored economic balance. Despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, poor policies, corruption, and over-reliance on oil caused economic collapse. This is similar to an animal species that overuses its resources and faces extinction. -/- The Power of Feedback: How Nature Corrects Itself -/- Nature has built-in feedback systems to keep everything in balance. For example, if too many deer exist in a forest, they eat too many plants, reducing food availability. As a result, some deer starve, and their population naturally decreases, restoring balance. -/- A similar feedback system applies to human society. If governments make poor policies, people protest or suffer economic consequences, forcing leaders to change their approach. A clear example is South Korea’s response to the COVI”-19 pandemic. Unlike some countries that ignored early warnings, South Korea quickly implemented mass testing, strict quarantine measures, and public health campaigns. As a result, it controlled the virus better than many other nations, proving that listening to feedback leads to better outcomes. -/- On the other hand, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (1986) happened partly because Soviet leaders ignored early warnings from engineers, leading to one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. Just like ignoring warning signs in nature leads to extinction, ignoring feedback in society leads to disaster. -/- Energy Efficiency: Why Wasting Resources Leads to Collapse -/- Nature never wastes anything. Plants absorb sunlight efficiently through photosynthesis, animals store energy for survival, and ecosystems recycle nutrients to sustain life. -/- One of the best examples of energy efficiency is the penguin. In the freezing Antarctic, emperor penguins huddle together to conserve heat, taking turns standing on the outside to prevent exhaustion. This natural cooperation ensures survival. -/- Humans, however, often fail to follow this principle. Look at Dubai, a city built in a desert. While it has grown into a major global hub, it also uses massive amounts of water and electricity, relying on desalination plants that consume enormous energy. Without sustainable solutions, this could become a long-term problem, just like a species that consumes resources faster than they can be replenished. -/- A positive example Is Denmark, which has invested heavily in wind energy. Today, nearly 50% of its electricity comes from wind power, making it one of the most energy-efficient nations in the world. -/- Self-Organization: Free Will Exists Within Natural Laws -/- Many people think free will means we can do anything we want, but nature shows that even freedom has limits. Birds can fly, but they must follow air currents. Fish can swim, but they must adapt to ocean conditions. Every action is guided by natural laws that ensure survival and efficiency. -/- A perfect example Is Japan’s railway system. Despite being one of the busiest in the world, it runs with near-perfect punctuality because every part of the system—from maintenance workers to train operators—functions with self-discipline and coordination. This proves that even large-scale human systems can work efficiently when they follow organized, natural principles. -/- However, when humans ignore balance, problems arise. Deforestation in Indonesia has destroyed rainforests at an alarming rate. Because of excessive logging and palm oil plantations, natural ecosystems are collapsing, leading to floods, wildfires, and loss of biodiversity. This is similar to how removing a key species in an ecosystem can lead to its collapse. -/- Resilience and Education: How Societies Can Heal -/- Nature is resilient—it recovers after disasters. Forests regrow after wildfires, coral reefs recover from bleaching, and animals adapt to changing climates. But this recovery only happens because nature learns and adjusts. -/- One of the best human examples of resilience is Germany after World War II. After its destruction, Germany rebuilt itself through education, innovation, and sustainable industry. Today, it is one of the world’s leading economies, proving that even nations can recover if they focus on knowledge, sustainability, and balance. -/- However, societies that fail to learn from their mistakes collapse. Easter Island, once a thriving civilization, was destroyed because its people cut down all their trees, leaving them without resources. Their lack of foresight and adaptation led to their downfall—just like an animal species that fails to adapt to environmental changes. -/- Nature’s Recycling: Why Good Leadership Must Be Sustainable -/- Nature wastes nothing—dead plants and animals decompose into nutrients that feed new life. The carbon and nitrogen cycles keep ecosystems functioning. Just as nature ensures that everything is reused efficiently, leadership and governance should be sustainable. -/- An excellent example of a balanced government is Bhutan. Instead of measuring success by GDP alone, it follows Gross National Happiness (GNH), which considers economic growth, environmental conservation, and cultural values. This balanced approach has made Bhutan one of the happiest and most sustainable countries in the world. -/- On the other hand, countries that ignore sustainability face collapse. Syria’s civil war was worsened by climate change—years of drought caused food shortages, leading to conflict. Ignoring nature’s balance led to political and humanitarian disaster. -/- Conclusion: The Path to a Balanced and Optimized Society -/- Nature teaches us that survival and success depend on balance, efficiency, and adaptation. Societies that respect these principles thrive, while those that ignore them suffer. -/- The universal law of balance in nature is not just a theory—it is a reality that governs everything from biology to economics to human behavior. If we integrate these lessons into education, governance, and leadership, we can create a world that is sustainable, just, and optimized for future generations. -/- If we fail to follow these natural laws, the consequences will be suffering, collapse, and chaos. But if we align with them, we can build a society that thrives in harmony with nature, ensuring peace, prosperity, and sustainability for all. -/- . (shrink)

Affirming that divine knowledge of occurrent changes among particulars is incompatible with the doctrine of divine immutability, this article seeks to resolve this tension by denying the latter. Reviewing this long-running debate, I first formalize the exchange between al-Ghazālı̄and Avicenna on this topic, and then set out the ways in which contemporary Sadrāean philosophers have tried to resolve the incompatibility. I argue that none of the cited Sadrāean attempts to resolve the incompatibility between divine omniscience and immutability is successful. (...) Then, by reference to certain principles drawn from Shia theology, I indicate how one might seek to reject the dogma of divine immutability. I conclude that by emancipating ourselves from that dogma, new horizons could be opened for Islamic philosophy, free from traditional Hellenistic constraints. (shrink)

I develop an epistemic focal bias account of certain patterns of judgments about knowledge ascriptions by integrating it with a general dual process framework of human cognition. According to the focal bias account, judgments about knowledge ascriptions are generally reliable but systematically fallible because the cognitive processes that generate them are affected by what is in focus. I begin by considering some puzzling patters of judgments about knowledge ascriptions and sketch how a basic focal bias account seeks (...) to account for them. In doing so, I argue that the basic focal bias account should be integrated in a more general framework of human cognition. Consequently, I present some central aspects of a prominent general dual process theory of human cognition and discuss how focal bias may figure at various levels of processing. On the basis of this discussion, I attempt to categorize the relevant judgments about knowledge ascriptions. Given this categorization, I argue that the basic epistemic focal bias account of certain contrast effects and salient alternatives effects can be plausibly integrated with the dual process framework. Likewise, I try to explain the absence of strong intuitions in cases of far-fetched salient alternatives. As a manner of conclusion, I consider some methodological issues concerning the relationship between cognitive psychology, experimental data and epistemological theorizing. -/- . (shrink)

The Gettier Problem is the problem of revising the view that knowledge is justified true belief in a way that is immune to Gettier counter-examples. The “Gettier Problem problem”, according to Lycan, is the problem of saying what is misguided about trying to solve the Gettier Problem. In this paper I take up the Gettier Problem problem. I distinguish giving conditions that are necessary and sufficient for knowledge from giving conditions that explain why one knows when one does (...) know. I argue that the problem with the Gettier Problem is that it requires us to articulate conditions that suffice for knowledge even if those conditions are non-explanatory. After defending this view, I take up two related methodological issues, one about the evidence that can be given in favor of an account of knowledge, and one about the role that investigating justification might play in investigating knowledge. (shrink)

Collaborative remembering, in which two or more individuals cooperate to remember together, is an ordinary occurrence. Ordinary though it may be, it challenges traditional understandings of remembering as a cognitive process unfolding within a single subject, as well as traditional understandings of memory knowledge as a justified memory belief held within the mind of a single subject. Collaborative memory has come to be a major area of research in psychology, but it has so far not been investigated in epistemology. (...) In this chapter, we attempt an initial exploration of the epistemological implications of collaborative memory research, taking as our starting point the “extended knowledge” debate which has resulted from the recent encounter between extracranialist theories of cognition and externalist theories of knowledge (Carter et al., 2014; Carter et al., forthcoming). Various forms of socially and technologically augmented memory have played important roles in the extended knowledge debate, but the debate has so far not taken collaborative memory, in particular, into account. We will argue that collaborative memory supports a novel externalist theory of knowledge: distributed reliabilism. Distributed reliabilism departs in two important respects from both traditional reliabilism (Goldman, 2012) and updated theories such as extended (Goldberg, 2010) and social reliabilism (Goldman, 2014). First, it acknowledges that belief-forming processes may extend extracranially to include processing performed both by other subjects and by technological artifacts. Second, it acknowledges that distributed sociotechnical systems themselves may be knowing subjects. Overall, then, the main aim of the chapter is to draw out the philosophical implications of psychological research on collaborative memory. But our argument will also suggest that it may be useful to broaden the standard conception of collaborative memory to include not only the sorts of direct interactions among subjects that have been the focus of psychological research so far but also a range of more indirect, technology-supported and -mediated interactions, and it thus has implications for psychology as well. (shrink)

Karoline von Günderrode’s reputation as a mystical writer makes her a likely candidate as a proponent of a negative philosophy. However, the historical emphasis on Günderrode’s mystical and lyrical writings reflects gender stereotypes about women’s writing and ignores Günderrode’s strengths as an epic and historical writer. It is therefore important to approach claims about Günderrode’s supposed mysticism carefully. This paper is a preliminary attempt to investigate Günderrode’s claims about knowledge, including knowledge of the absolute, asking: What does Günderrode (...) think knowledge is? What does she think the purpose of knowledge is—i.e., what does she think knowledge gets us, or does for us? And how do her claims differ from those philosophers, such as Novalis, whose thinking on knowledge (including of the absolute) seems to resemble hers? I argue that Günderrode maintains that human beings can experience, or “know,” a reality behind the discrete objects and events that comprise the world of appearances, and that she integrates this idea into a coherent worldview in a unique way. Specifically, I argue that Günderrode reconceptualizes the nature of death and selfhood in specific ways that allow her to make sense of the possibility of experiencing the true nature of the world behind the divisions that are characteristic of human knowledge and existence. (shrink)

Safety purports to explain why cases of accidentally true belief are not knowledge, addressing Gettier cases and cases of belief based on statistical evidence. However, problems arise for using safety as a condition on knowledge: safety is not necessary for knowledge and cannot always explain the Gettier cases and cases of statistical evidence it is meant to address. In this paper, I argue for a new modal condition designed to capture the non-accidental relationship between facts and evidence (...) required for knowledge: causal safety. I argue that possible errors in belief can be captured by accounting for deviations in causal relationships and that there is a natural way to characterize which causal errors are relevant in an epistemic situation. Using this, I develop a causal analogue to safety, where one’s belief in _p_ is causally safe if it is true in all causally relevant worlds where one believes _p_. Causal safety, I argue, can better explain the cases safety is meant to address and can avoid the arguments raised against the necessity of safety. (shrink)

In his latest attack, even though he claims to be a practitioner of “close reading” (Wills 2018b, 34), it appears that Wills still has not bothered to read the paper in which I defend the thesis he seeks to attack (Mizrahi 2017a), or any of the papers in my exchange with Brown (Mizrahi 2017b; 2018a), as evidenced by the fact that he does not cite them at all. This explains why Wills completely misunderstands Weak Scientism and the arguments for the (...) quantitative superiority (in terms of research output and research impact) as well as qualitative superiority (in terms of explanatory, predictive, and instrumental success) of scientific knowledge over non-scientific knowledge. (shrink)

The Carter-Leslie Doomsday argument, as standardly presented, relies on the assumption that you have knowledge of your approximate birth rank. I demonstrate that the Doomsday argument can still be given in a situation where you have no knowledge of your birth rank. This allows one to reply to Bostrom's defense of the Doomsday argument against the refutation based on the idea that your existence makes it more likely that many observers exist.

It is first shown that many questions could be raised about phenomenal concepts and the popular answer to the question what Mary learns upon release, namely, that this is what it is like to see red. It is then shown that the category of quale is actually a postulate of philosophical theories and philosophers posit qualia because they fail to see how to account for the two related features of experience, namely, subjectivity and phenomenality. It is argued that we don't (...) need qualia to explain the subjectivity and phenomenality of experience because we don't have to posit apparent properties. It is then proposed that experiencing is a way of knowing and that the new knowledge Mary acquires upon release is her knowledge by acquaintance with red. (shrink)

We discuss the role of perceptron (or threshold) connectives in the context of Description Logic, and in particular their possible use as a bridge between statistical learning of models from data and logical reasoning over knowledge bases. We prove that such connectives can be added to the language of most forms of Description Logic without increasing the complexity of the corresponding inference problem. We show, with a practical example over the Gene Ontology, how even simple instances of perceptron connectives (...) are expressive enough to represent learned, complex concepts derived from real use cases. This opens up the possibility to import concepts learnt from data into existing ontologies. (shrink)

The paper gives an a priori argument for the view that knowledge is unanalysable. To establish this conclusion I argue that warrant, i.e. the property, whatever precisely it is, which makes the difference between knowledge and mere true belief, entails both truth and belief and thus does not exist as a property distinct from knowledge: all and only knowledge can turn a true belief into knowledge. The paper concludes that the project of trying to find (...) a condition distinct from knowledge that is necessary and together with truth and belief sufficient for knowledge must be doomed to failure. (shrink)

Shared conceptualization, in the sense we take it here, is as recent a notion as the Semantic Web, but its relevance for a large variety of fields requires efficient methods of extraction and representation for both quantitative and qualitative data. This notion is particularly relevant for the investigation into, and construction of, semantic structures such as knowledge bases and taxonomies, but given the required large, often inaccurate, corpora available for search we can get only approximations. We see fuzzy description (...) logic as an adequate medium for the representation of human semantic knowledge and propose a means to couple it with fuzzy semantic networks via the propositional Łukasiewicz fuzzy logic such that these suffice for decidability for queries over a semantic-knowledge base such as “to what degree of sharedness does it entail the instantiation C(a) for some concept C” or “what are the roles R that connect the individuals a and b to degree of sharedness ε.” . (shrink)

Introduction: The development of advanced sewage technologies empowers the industry to produce high-quality recycled water, which greatly influences human’s life and health. Thus, this study investigates the mechanism of individuals’ adoption of recycled water from the technology adoption perspective. -/- Methods: Employing the mixed method of structural equation modeling and artificial neural network analysis, we examined a research model developed from the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) framework. To examine the research model, this study employs (...) a leading web-survey company (Sojump) to collect 308 valid samples from the residents in mainland China. -/- Results: The structural equation modeling results verified the associations between the six predictors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, environmental motivation, and price value), individuals’ cognitive and emotional attitudes, and acceptance intention. The artificial neural network analysis validates and complements the structural equation modeling results by unveiling the importance rank of the significant determinants of the acceptance decisions. -/- Discussion: The study provides theoretical implications for recycled water research and useful insights for practitioners and policymakers to reduce the environmental hazards of water scarcity. (shrink)

This chapter explores insights concerning the relations among imagination, imagined selves, and knowledge of one’s own self that are to be found in Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet. The insights are explored via close reading of the text and comparison with contemporaries of Pessoa. First, a tempting account of the importance of imagination in The Book of Disquiet is set out. On this reading, Pessoa is immersed in miasmatic boredom, but able to temporarily rise above it through the (...) restorative powers of escapist imagination. But, it is suggested, Pessoa neither enjoys his prolific imaginings, nor returns from them restored. It is argued that Pessoa’s disquiet owes to failures of imagination; the book presents a sharp contrast between Pessoa’s keen awareness of the importance of a successful, active imaginative life, and his failure to maintain such a thing. It is further argued that these failures point us towards a better account of imagination’s importance to Pessoa, an account that both prefigures and goes beyond Sartre’s ideas about the relations between nothingness, imagination, and self-consciousness. (shrink)

The Ontology of Knowledge (OK) does not claim to expose the truth of reality but only to propose a coherent model of representation according to which: -Reality is not subject to form or time. -The Knowing Subject is a wave of meaning running through the immobile reality.

A defense of Frank Jackson's knowledge argument from an objection raised by Michael Tye , according to which Mary acquires no new factual knowledge when she first sees red but, instead, merely comes to know old facts in a new way.

Epistemic contextualism (‘EC’), the view that the truth-values of knowledge attributions may vary with the context of ascription, has a variety of different linguistic implementations. On one of the implementations most popular in the early days of EC, the predicate ‘knows p’ functions semantically similarly to gradable adjectives such as ‘flat’, ‘tall’, or ‘empty’. In recent work Jason Stanley and John Hawthorne have presented powerful arguments against such implementations of EC. In this article I briefly systematize the contextualist analogy (...) to gradable adjectives, present Stanley’s argument against the analogy, and offer a contextualist response that abandons the analogy in favor of modeling the semantics of ‘knows p’ along the lines of quantifier expressions. I then present Hawthorne’s objection to the views presented, and finally conclude by outlining an argument to the effect that ‘knows p’ is an automatic indexical and as such to be expected to function differently from many other indexicals that the term has been compared to in the literature. I finally point out that no analogy should be expected to be perfect, and that no harm is done by postulating some unique behavior of ‘knows p’. (shrink)

Knowledge of human uses of animals is an important, but understudied, aspect of how humans treat animals. We developed a measure of one kind of knowledge of human uses of animals – knowledge of factory farming. Studies 1 (N = 270) and 2 (N = 270) tested an initial battery of objective, true or false statements about factory farming using Item Response Theory. Studies 3 (N = 241) and 4 (N = 278) provided evidence that responses to (...) a 10-item Knowledge of Factory Farming Scale predicted a reduction in consumption of animal products (rs = −.17- −.27) and approval of political actions aimed at factory farming (rs = .2 – .24). Path models from Studies 3 and 4 suggested that different kinds of knowledge uniquely predicted different outcomes. The Knowledge of Factory Farming scale was a unique predictor of approval of political actions concerning factory farmed animals but not animal consumption. Knowledge of Animals Used as Food predicted animal consumption but not political actions concerning farmed animals. These results highlight that different kinds of knowledge can be relevant for different animal related outcomes. (shrink)

This commentary focuses on Smithies’ views about self-knowledge. Specifically, I examine his case for the striking thesis that rational thinkers will know all their beliefs. I call this the ubiquity of self-knowledge thesis. Smithies’ case for this thesis is an important pillar of his larger project, as it bears on the nature of justification and our ability to fulfill the requirements of rationality. Section 1 outlines Smithies’ argument for the ubiquity of self-knowledge. Section 2 sets the stage (...) for a detailed explication of his view by sketching an initial objection to that argument. Sections 3 and 4 respond to that objection on behalf of Smithies’ account, elucidating the distinctive positions on belief and justification that enable this response. Sections 5-7 raise some questions, namely: whether Smithies’ views about self-knowledge of beliefs provide a genuine competitor to other philosophers’ views on that issue; whether on his account justification is truly accessible to the thinker; how his account explains self-knowledge; and what his account implies about the situation of actual persons, who are not ideally rational. (shrink)

In this paper I suggest an account of knowledge by adding a fourth condition to the traditional analysis in terms of justified true belief. I am going to make a first proposal ruling out the Gettier-counterexamples.1 This proposal will then be corrected in the light of other counterexamples. The final analysis will be a combination of a justified-true-belief-account and a causal account of knowledge. Some philosophers have disputed that Gettier‟s examples must be accepted as refutations of the justified (...) true belief analysis of knowledge.2 Their rejection rests on declining a principle underlying Gettier‟s reasoning, namely – as Thalberg calls it – the principle of deducibility of justification (PDJ). PDJ reads as following: For any proposition p, if a person S is justified in believing p, and p entails q, and S deduces q from p and accepts q as a result of this deduction, then S is justified in believing q. This principle allows, for example, the move in Gettier‟s first example from the proposition a) “Jones is the man who will get the job and Jones has ten coins in his pocket” to proposition b) “The man who will get the job has ten coins in his pocket”. 1. (shrink)

This dissertation answers the three value problems in epistemology. These three problems require an answer as to how knowledge is more valuable 1) than mere true belief, 2) any of the proper subsets of knowledge, and 3) in kind than that which falls short of knowledge. The methodology used to provide an answer to these problems relies on the arguments put forth in a rarely discussed paper from Ward Jones. In short, the Jonesian approach can be summed (...) up as the view that epistemic axiology and analysis ought to be kept separate. The Jonesian framework instead looks outside of the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge to find properties of knowledge which, though contingent, can explain the distinctive value of knowledge. Thisframework, though remarkably robust, requires going against what I consider to be the orthodox approach to the problems. This orthodox approach relies on two axiological assumptions. The first is that every component of an analysis on knowledge must provide independent value to knowledge. The second assumption is that the value of knowledge cannot be derived from factors excluded from an analysis of knowledge. Once these assumptions are appropriately discarded, the Jonesian view has a straightforward answer to the first problem. Answering the second requires assessing Jonathan Kvanvig’s claim that a satisfied Gettier condition contributes no independent value. While I agree with Kvanvig regarding a satisfied Gettier condition, I will argue that an unsatisfied Gettier condition is not likewise neutral; it contributes disvalue. With that distinction in place, a solution to the second problem follows immediately. The third value problem, however, is a different kind of problem altogether. Answering it requires not only the Jonesian framework, but also a novel account of how we determine final value. Once this account is offered, a Jonesian answer to the tertiary problem follows immediately. This dissertation closes by applying the Jonesian framework to an argument that claims there can be no modal conditions on knowledge due to such conditions failing to help answer the value problems. This claim will be found wanting. (shrink)

This dissertation engages in a critical analysis of the work of Adolf Reinach in the theory of knowledge and legal philosophy. Reinach had trained as a lawyer and brought that perspective and experience to bear in his phenomenological work on problems in evidence and legal philosophy. His contributions to phenomenology in the early 20th century provide a window into the earliest phases of the development of the phenomenological movement, prior to World War I. This dissertation locates this work in (...) the European intellectual context of the era and finds analogies with key philosophical dilemmas and developments in England during the same period, arguably ones with shared intellectual roots. Valued for his talent as an inspiring university lecturer, Reinach was a central figure in the circle of young scholars who practiced phenomenology in the spirit of the "early" "pre-Ideen" phase of phenomenology. The dissertation Appendices include translations of selected excerpts from the Nachlass. My translation of the obituary Edmund Husserl wrote and published following Adolf Reinach's death in WWI is published separately. Professor Raymond Klibansky was my supervisor and mentor throughout. (shrink)

Parental influence plays a crucial role in shaping children’s behaviors. While several studies have examined parents’ roles in fostering children’s sustainable habits, they often treat parental influence as a single construct, overlooking the distinct roles of fathers and mothers, as well as the influence of cultural values and norms. This study explores the distinct roles of Chinese fathers and mothers in shaping children’s waste reusing and recycling behaviors. Using Bayesian Mindsponge Framework analytics, the study analyzed responses from 516 children (...) and their corresponding caregivers (either fathers or mothers) from 23 elementary summer schools across five major urban cities in China. The analysis revealed that mothers were central agents of influence, with their recycling behavior and mother-child engagement showing positive and highly reliable associations with children’s waste reusing and recycling practices. The impact of mothers’ recycling behaviors was further amplified by children’s frequency of perceiving their mother’s waste reusing and recycling actions. Meanwhile, fathers’ direct engagement and role modeling (when their actions were frequently perceived by their children) also positively influenced children’s behaviors. Still, these effects were less reliable than those of mothers. These findings suggest that policymakers and educators should design interventions that leverage mothers’ natural role as influencers while actively encouraging greater involvement from fathers in environmental education. (shrink)

The current study is conducted to examine the following research questions: 1) How are the father’s interactions with children regarding waste recycling associated with the children’s recycling behaviors? 2) How are the mother’s interactions with children regarding waste recycling associated with the children’s recycling behaviors?

Knowledge is widely thought to entail belief. But Radford has claimed to offer a counterexample: the case of the unconfident examinee. And Myers-Schulz and Schwitzgebel have claimed empirical vindication of Radford. We argue, in defense of orthodoxy, that the unconfident examinee does indeed have belief, in the epistemically relevant sense of dispositional belief. We buttress this with empirical results showing that when the dispositional conception of belief is specifically elicited, people’s intuitions then conform with the view that knowledge (...) entails (dispositional) belief. (shrink)

A philosophical study of the nature, types and conditions of knowledge, namely belief, truth, and justification. It discusses the most prominent theories presented by contemporary philosophers in the analysis of these conditions. It answers questions related to understanding, interpretation and scientific knowledge. The most important branches of contemporary epistemology are deepened, such as naturalistic epistemology and social epistemology. Moreover, the author addresses the concepts of knowledge through linguistic and logical analysis. He defends a vision of philosophy as (...) a conceptual clarification as well as a natural tendency. It offers an epistemological doctrine called moderate naturalism, which comes in the form of a moderate form of scientism. دراسة فلسفية لطبيعة المعرفة، وأنواعها، وشروطها وهي الاعتقاد، والصدق، والتسويغ. ويناقش أبرز النظريات التي قدمها الفلاسفة المعاصرون في تحليل هذه الشروط. ويجيب عن الأسئلة المتعلقة بالفهم والتفسير والمعرفة العلمية. ويتعمق أهم فروع الإبستمولوجيا المعاصرة مثل الإبستمولوجيا الطبيعية والإبستمولوجيا الاجتماعية زد على ذلك أن المؤلف يعالج مفاهيم المعرفة من خلال التحليل اللغوي والمنطقي. ويدافع عن رؤية للفلسفة بوصفها توضيحا مفهوميًّا بالإضافة إلى نزعة طبيعية. ويقدم مذهبًا إبستمولوجيًّا سماه المذهب الطبيعي المعتدل، يأتي فى إطار صورة معتدلة من النزعة العلمية RELATED PRODUCTS . (shrink)

Is knowledge justified true belief? Most philosophers believe that the answer is clearly ‘no’, as demonstrated by Gettier cases. But Gettier cases don’t obviously refute the traditional view that knowledge is justified true belief (JTB). There are ways of resisting Gettier cases, at least one of which is partly successful. Nevertheless, when properly understood, Gettier cases point to a flaw in JTB, though it takes some work to appreciate just what it is. The nature of the flaw helps (...) us better understand the nature of knowledge and epistemic justification. I propose a crucial improvement to the traditional view, relying on an intuitive and independently plausible metaphysical distinction pertaining to the manifestation of intellectual powers, which supplements the traditional components of justification, truth and belief. (shrink)

Judging by our folk appraisals, then, knowledge and action are intimately related. The theories of rational action with which we are familiar leave this unexplained. Moreover, discussions of knowledge are frequently silent about this connection. This is a shame, since if there is such a connection it would seem to constitute one of the most fundamental roles for knowledge. Our purpose in this paper is to rectify this lacuna, by exploring ways in which knowing something is related (...) to rationally acting upon it, defending one particular proposal against anticipated objections. (shrink)

Students' creativity is one of the main skills that the K to 12 curriculums wanted to improve when the Revised Blooms Taxonomy was adopted. The main purpose of this study is to improve the students' creativity skills in recycling using the practical work approach. This action research was conducted in Tabugon Elementary School of the Schools Division Office of Kabankalan City utilizing 32 students in the school year 2019-2020, where 16 students served as the experimental group, and the other (...) 16 students served as the controlled group. The method employed in this study was one group pre-test and post-test type of quasi-experimental design using the result of scoring rubrics and statistical tools and to find out the level of creativity skills of the pupils in recycling, practical work approach was integrated with the lesson as a strategy for three weeks. It was found that before that intervention was introduced, students had an ordinary or routine level of creativity skills in recycling and were very creative in their level of creativity skills after the intervention was introduced. It was interesting to note that there was a significant difference in the level of creativity skills before and after the intervention of the practical work approach, which means the intervention is effective in helping students become creative. It is recommended that not only the science teachers could use the practical work approach but other subjects that require students to produce their products and become innovative. (shrink)

Introspective knowledge by acquaintance is knowledge we have by being directly aware of our phenomenally conscious states. In this paper, I argue that introspective knowledge by acquaintance is a sui generis kind of knowledge: it is irreducible to any sort of propositional knowledge and is wholly constituted by a relationship of introspective acquaintance. My main argument is that this is the best explanation of some epistemic facts about phenomenal consciousness and introspection. In particular, it best (...) explains the epistemic asymmetry between a subject who has never had a certain phenomenal state and one who has. I also consider two theoretical objections to my claim: an objection from disunity and an objection from mysteriousness. I show that these objections can be answered and that introspective knowledge by acquaintance being sui generis remains a live option on the table. (shrink)

You omega know p when you possess every iteration of knowledge of p. This book argues that omega knowledge plays a central role in philosophy. In particular, the book argues that omega knowledge is necessary for permissible assertion, action, inquiry, and belief. Although omega knowledge plays this important role, existing theories of omega knowledge are unsatisfying. One theory, KK, identifies knowledge with omega knowledge. This theory struggles to accommodate cases of inexact knowledge. (...) The other main theory is skeptical, claiming that we do not omega know any ordinary claims about the world. This book develops and critically compares three new theories of omega knowledge. (shrink)

During the last decade Jessica Brown has been one of the main participants in the on-going debate over the compatibility of anti-individualism and self-knowledge. It is therefore of great interest that she is now publishing a book examining the various epistemological consequences of anti-individualism. The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses the question of whether a subject can have privileged access to her own thoughts, even if the content of her thoughts is construed anti-individualistically. This section (...) contains a detailed and useful discussion not only of how we are to understand privileged access, but also of epistemological issues of more general import, such as the connection between knowledge and reliability. The second section focuses on various aspects of the problem of anti-individualism and reasoning, including an extensive discussion of the relation between anti-individualism and a Fregean account of content. The final section discusses the so-called reductio argument against compatibilism (i.e. the view that anti-individualism is compatible with a priori knowledge of one’s own thoughts), according to which compatibilism implies that we can have a priori knowledge of certain facts about the world that, intuitively, are not knowable that way. The book is very clearly written and structured. Readers unfamiliar with the debate will get a good sense of its broad contours and the various positions taken. Brown starts out by distinguishing different forms of anti-individualism. This is very helpful since it is quite clear that the term has come to be rather carelessly used, as if it referred to one particular thesis, whereas in fact a number of loosely related positions are labeled ‘antiindividualist’. At the outset she distinguishes three familiar anti-individualist theses: natural kind anti-individualism, social anti-individualism, and singular anti-individualism. These.. (shrink)

According to reductive intellectualism, knowledge-how just is a kind of propositional knowledge (e.g., Stanley & Williamson 2001; Stanley 2011a, 2011b; Brogaard, 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2011, 2009, 2011). This proposal has proved controversial because knowledge-how and propositional knowledge do not seem to share the same epistemic properties, particularly with regard to epistemic luck. Here we aim to move the argument forward by offering a positive account of knowledge-how. In particular, we propose a new kind of anti-intellectualism. (...) Unlike neo-Rylean anti-intellectualist views, according to which the possession of knowledge-how is just a matter of possessing certain abilities, we submit that knowledge-how is a particular kind of cognitive achievement attained just when cognitive ability is connected in the right way with successful performance. (shrink)

Russell (1911/12) argued that perceptual experience grounds a species of non-propositional knowledge, “knowledge by acquaintance,” and in recent years, this account of knowledge has been gaining traction. I defend on its basis a connection between moral and epistemic failure. I argue, first, that insufficient concern for the suffering of others can be explained in terms of an agent’s lack of acquaintance knowledge of another’s suffering, and second, that empathy improves our epistemic situation. Empathic distress approximates acquaintance (...) with another’s suffering, and empathic agents who are motivated to help rather than disengage exhibit an important epistemic virtue: a variety of intellectual courage. A key upshot is that an independently motivated account of the structure and significance of perceptual experience is shown to provide theoretical scaffolding for understanding a famously elusive idea in ethics—namely, that the failure to help others stems from a kind of ignorance of their situation. (shrink)

Modalists think that knowledge requires forming your belief in a “modally stable” way: using a method that wouldn't easily go wrong, or using a method that wouldn't have given you this belief had it been false. Recent Modalist projects from Justin Clarke-Doane and Dan Baras defend a principle they call “Modal Security,” roughly: if evidence undermines your belief, then it must give you a reason to doubt the safety or sensitivity of your belief. Another recent Modalist project from Carlotta (...) Pavese and Bob Beddor defends “Modal Virtue Epistemology”: knowledge is a belief that is maximally modally robust across “normal” worlds. We'll offer new objections to these recent Modalist projects. We will then argue for a rival view, Explanationism: knowing something is believing it because it's true. We will show how Explanationism offers a better account of undermining defeaters than Modalism, and a better account of knowledge. (shrink)

You omega know something when you know it, and know that you know it, and know that you know that you know it, and so on. This paper first argues that omega knowledge matters, in the sense that it is required for rational assertion, action, inquiry, and belief. The paper argues that existing accounts of omega knowledge face major challenges. One account is skeptical, claiming that we have no omega knowledge of any ordinary claims about the world. (...) Another account embraces the KK thesis, and identifies knowledge with omega knowledge. This position faces counterexamples, and struggles to make sense of inexact knowledge. The paper then develops a new account of knowledge, by proposing the principle of Reflective Luminosity: if you know that you know something, then you omega know it. I argue that Reflective Luminosity allows for omega knowledge while avoiding the problems for KK. (shrink)

Reductive intellectualists hold that knowledge-how is a kind of knowledge-that. For this thesis to hold water, it is obviously important that knowledge-how and knowledge-that have the same epistemic properties. In particular, knowledge-how ought to be compatible with epistemic luck to the same extent as knowledge-that. It is argued, contra reductive intellectualism, that knowledge-how is compatible with a species of epistemic luck which is not compatible with knowledge-that, and thus it is claimed that (...) knowledge-how and knowledge-that come apart. (shrink)

In the philosophical literature on mental states, the paradigmatic examples of mental states are beliefs, desires, intentions, and phenomenal states such as being in pain. The corresponding list in the psychological literature on mental state attribution includes one further member: the state of knowledge. This article examines the reasons why developmental, comparative and social psychologists have classified knowledge as a mental state, while most recent philosophers--with the notable exception of Timothy Williamson-- have not. The disagreement is traced back (...) to a difference in how each side understands the relationship between the concepts of knowledge and belief, concepts which are understood in both disciplines to be closely linked. Psychologists and philosophers other than Williamson have generally have disagreed about which of the pair is prior and which is derivative. The rival claims of priority are examined both in the light of philosophical arguments by Williamson and others, and in the light of empirical work on mental state attribution. (shrink)

Nearly all success is due to some mix of ability and luck. But some successes we attribute to the agent’s ability, whereas others we attribute to luck. To better understand the criteria distinguishing credit from luck, we conducted a series of four studies on knowledge attributions. Knowledge is an achievement that involves reaching the truth. But many factors affecting the truth are beyond our control and reaching the truth is often partly due to luck. Which sorts of luck (...) are compatible with knowledge? We find that knowledge attributions are highly sensitive to lucky events that change the explanation for why a belief is true. By contrast, knowledge attributions are surprisingly insensitive to lucky events that threaten but ultimately fail to change the explanation for why a belief is true. These results shed light on our concept of knowledge, help explain apparent inconsistencies in prior work on knowledge attributions, and constitute progress toward a general understanding of the relation between success and luck. (shrink)

Many contemporary epistemologists hold that a subject S’s true belief that p counts as knowledge only if S’s belief that p is also, in some important sense, safe. I describe accounts of this safety condition from John Hawthorne, Duncan Pritchard, and Ernest Sosa. There have been three counterexamples to safety proposed in the recent literature, from Comesaña, Neta and Rohrbaugh, and Kelp. I explain why all three proposals fail: each moves fallaciously from the fact that S was at epistemic (...) risk just before forming her belief to the conclusion that S’s belief was formed unsafely. In light of lessons from their failure, I provide a new and successful counterexample to the safety condition on knowledge. It follows, then, that knowledge need not be safe. Safety at a time depends counterfactually on what would likely happen at that time or soon after in a way that knowledge does not. I close by considering one objection concerning higher-order safety. (shrink)

The water scarcity crisis is becoming more severe across the globe and recycled water has been suggested as a feasible solution to the crisis. However, expanding the use of potable and recycled public water has been hindered by public acceptance. Previous studies suggest threat perception and trust of provided information have positive linear relationships with recycled water acceptance. However, given the complex filtering role of trust in the human mental process, we argue that the effects of threat perception and trust (...) may have non-linear relationships with acceptance of recycled water for drinking. To support and validate this argument, we employed Bayesian Mindsponge Framework analytics on 726 Spanish residents. We found that individuals more concerned about water shortage are less likely to accept using recycled water for drinking if their trust in the water quality and safety is low. Meanwhile, people more concerned about water shortage are more likely to accept using recycled water for drinking if they trust the water quality and safety. The findings suggest the non-linear relationships between threat perception, trust, and recycled water acceptance while validating mindsponge-based reasoning. Moreover, the results also highlight the importance of trust in influencing the mental process’s outcome: recycled water acceptance. (shrink)

Research on the capacity to understand others' minds has tended to focus on representations ofbeliefs,which are widely taken to be among the most central and basic theory of mind representations. Representations ofknowledge, by contrast, have received comparatively little attention and have often been understood as depending on prior representations of belief. After all, how could one represent someone as knowing something if one does not even represent them as believing it? Drawing on a wide range of methods across cognitive science, (...) we ask whether belief or knowledge is the more basic kind of representation. The evidence indicates that nonhuman primates attribute knowledge but not belief, that knowledge representations arise earlier in human development than belief representations, that the capacity to represent knowledge may remain intact in patient populations even when belief representation is disrupted, that knowledge (but not belief) attributions are likely automatic, and that explicit knowledge attributions are made more quickly than equivalent belief attributions. Critically, the theory of mind representations uncovered by these various methods exhibits a set of signature features clearly indicative of knowledge: they are not modality-specific, they are factive, they are not just true belief, and they allow for representations of egocentric ignorance. We argue that these signature features elucidate the primary function of knowledge representation: facilitating learning from others about the external world. This suggests a new way of understanding theory of mind – one that is focused on understanding others' minds in relation to the actual world, rather than independent from it. (shrink)

Given the significant exculpatory power that ignorance has when it comes to moral, legal, and epistemic transgressions, it is important to have an accurate understanding of the concept of ignorance. According to the Standard View of factual ignorance, a person is ignorant that p whenever they do not know that p, while on the New View, a person is ignorant that p whenever they do not truly believe that p. On their own though, neither of these accounts explains how ignorance (...) can often be a degreed notion—how we can sometimes be slightly ignorant, quite ignorant, or completely ignorant that p. In this paper, I will argue that there is a route for advocates of the Standard View and the New View to accommodate the gradability of ignorance. On the view I defend, ‘ignorant’ picks out everyone that is ignorant to some degree, making it possible that ignorance can be both degreed and characterized as a lack of knowledge or true belief. Even though we can be ignorant to a greater or lesser extent, the only way to avoid being ignorant that p is to know or truly believe. (shrink)