To counter a general belief that all the paradoxes stem from a kind of circularity (or involve some self--reference, or use a diagonal argument) Stephen Yablo designed a paradox in 1993 that seemingly avoided self--reference. We turn Yablo's paradox, the most challenging paradox in the recent years, into a genuine mathematical theorem in Linear Temporal Logic (LTL). Indeed, Yablo's paradox comes in several varieties; and he showed in 2004 that there are other versions that are equally paradoxical. Formalizing these versions (...) of Yablo's paradox, we prove some theorems in LTL. This is the first time that Yablo's paradox(es) become new(ly discovered) theorems in mathematics and logic. (shrink)

Reflecting on Avicenna’s works indicates that by ‘Dhat’(ذات), when used in the context of universal essences, he means either the quiddity or the nature, and when used in the context of individual essence, especially God’s essence, he means the very existence. The second meaning, i.e. the nature, which is the result of his inquiry about the reality of things, is based on the first one, i.e. the quiddity. According to this second meaning, and througha kind of thought experiment and using (...) human mind’s capacity, Avicenna discusses different aspects of essence and their implications in various sciences. These conceptual analyses help us discover his idea of essentialism. The final conclusion is that Avicenna’s essentialism is consistent with his idea about existence and the definitions can refer to the essence of objects. (shrink)

The problem of natural kind is considered to be a complicated problem in philosophy as it is linked to the problem of essence on the one hand and the problem of individuals on the other. While nominalists refuse to accept universals in their ontology, realists believe in natural kinds and endeavor to justify classification of things by appealing to existence of natural kinds and their essential properties. In the first part of this paper we briefly survey two kinds of criteria (...) for being a natural kind. In the second part we will evaluated the proposed criteria. Finally we conclude by the following six criteria: Reality and absoluteness, possessing of full essence, hierarchy, changelessness, categorization and contribution to identical theory. (shrink)

Abstract In the light of the analysis of Avicenna’s definition of “nature” we can discover the main principles of his physics, which are: ‘The agency of the nature’, ‘the directness of this agency’, ‘the natural object’, and ‘the essential agency of the nature’. One of the main consequences of this analysis is that the nature could be considered as the direct cause of the motion, immobility and spatial balance of the material objects. Moreover, it shows that natural objects are essentially (...) capable of possess natural properties. Accordingly, Avicenna considers that the natural properties are the same as the essential properties, which material objects have them necessarily. (shrink)

This paper examines the concept of manifestation process in Kashmir Shaivism from Shiva tattva to Prithvi tattva and their transcendental and immanent predicates (Prakrti and Purusa).This paper also shows that the ultimate reality, Paramshiva, manifests itself into various forms which likely represent the theory of causation. This research paper also provides answer to two questions; First, how ultimate reality with its thirty-six principles or elements manifest in various forms and what types of forms ‘Descent’ attains from the ‘universal self’? Second, (...) how manifestation process takes place from the ‘cosmic self’ (universal consciousness) to a ‘limited self’ (Jiva)? Since, this paper is based on philosophical exploration of manifestation process and contains interpretation and argumentation of Pratyabhijna philosophy only; it excludes manifestation due to Yogas (Upayas) and Karmas. Moreover, it explains the Trika form of reality (Shiva/God, Shakti/World, and Nara/Man) and also the identity between ‘ascent’ and ‘descent’. Manifestation further investigates the union of Shiva and Shakti with Maya and displays its character (Prakashvimarshmaya). This work further tries to describe the contribution of Abhinavagupta in the concept of manifestation. (shrink)

ملخّـــــــــــــــص. بشارات، أحمد محمد. الالتفات في السّرد القرآني. رسالة دكتوراه في جامعة اليرموك. 2015م. (المشرف: أ.د. يوسف أبو العدوس). يعرض البحث ثلاث قضايا: الأولى، بنية الالتفات النصّي في محاولة لإجراء مفهوم يصدق على التشكّل البنيوي للالتفات النصّي، بإقامة تقابلات وظيفية بين الالتفات ووظيفتين في الدراسات السّرديّة: وظيفة الحافز ووظيفة التحفيز. إنّ الالتفات النصّي يتشكّل وفقًا للاعتبار الدلاليّ؛ فالتصوّر الشّكلي(=البنيّة التركيبية) غير وارد في إقامة مفهوم وظيفيّ للالتفات النصّي؛ أي أنّ بنيّة الالتفات بنيّة فوق صرفيّة(=صيغة الكلمة)، وفوق نحوية(=مسند ومسند إليه=جملة)، فالالتفات (...) النصّي مختلف عن الالتفات في الدّرس البلاغيّ القديم(=التفات الضمائر والأفعال...)؛ فقد يكون الالتفات النصّي مسندًا، أو إسنادًا، أو عدة جمل متتابعة(=آية أو عدة آيات في هذا البحث). والقضية الثانية، إجراء تحليل بنيويّ للالتفات النصّي في الخطاب القرآني، فالالتفات النصّي بناء لسانيّ مثير للاهتمام من جهتي الشكل والمعنى، إذ يتعالق الالتفات بمستويات واسعة من البناء النصّي في الخطاب القرآني، يدعو هذا إلى تحليل بنيّة التعالق اللسانيّ بإقامة الروابط البنيويّة في مستوى واسع من الخطاب القرآني، وهو ما قدّمه البحث في وظيفتيّ الإحالة والتكرار. والقضية الثالثة، محاولة إجراء مقاربات في المعنى، إذ يتعالق نصّ الالتفات بمستويات دلاليّة منفتحة، فمثلاً يتعالق الالتفات "وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا" (24\البقرة) في فكرة الإعجاز في آيات التحدي في مستوى واسع من المعنى، إذ يقدّم التحدي وظيفة مركزية في القضاء على اعتقاد الآلهة، وإقامة الاعتقاد لله وحده؛ لقد وُضِع المشكّكون في حرج، إذ يتوجب على آلهتهم أن تقدّم لهم خطابًا إلهيًا. وفي جانب آخر لم يجر التحدي في منحىً وظيفيّ واحد، فالتحدي بسورة غير التحدي بعشر سور، والتحدي بسورة وبعشرٍ غيره في مثلية القرآن {فَلْيَأْتُوا بِحَدِيثٍ مِثْلِهِ} (34\الطور)؛ إنّ هذه التحولات الوظيفية في سرديّة التحدي تقدّم ثلاثة أمور مهمة-وفق هذا البحث على الأقلّ- أ-وظيفة توحيد الله، ب-وظيفة حفظ الخطاب الإلهي مقابلاً للتحريف والافتراء، ج-الوظيفة التواصلية(= الوحي من طريق جبريل) مقابلاً لقولهم إنّ الرسول كاهن أو شاعر أو مجنون، فالمشككون يعتقدون تواصليةً في الكهنة والسحر مع عالم الجنّ، فأسقطوا ذلك على الخطاب الإلهي. -/- . (shrink)

Background: In the first few months of 2020, information and news reports about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were rapidly published and shared on social media and social networking sites. While the field of infodemiology has studied information patterns on the Web and in social media for at least 18 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to as the first social media infodemic. However, there is limited evidence about whether and how the social media infodemic has spread panic and affected (...) the mental health of social media users. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine how social media affects self-reported mental health and the spread of panic about COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Methods: To carry out this study, an online questionnaire was prepared and conducted in Iraqi Kurdistan, and a total of 516 social media users were sampled. This study deployed a content analysis method for data analysis. Correspondingly, data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Participants reported that social media has a significant impact on spreading fear and panic related to the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraqi Kurdistan, with a potential negative influence on people’s mental health and psychological well-being. Facebook was the most used social media network for spreading panic about the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraq. We found a significant positive statistical correlation between self-reported social media use and the spread of panic related to COVID-19 (R=.8701). Our results showed that the majority of youths aged 18-35 years are facing psychological anxiety. Conclusions: During lockdown, people are using social media platforms to gain information about COVID-19. The nature of the impact of social media panic among people varies depending on an individual's gender, age, and level of education. Social media has played a key role in spreading anxiety about the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraqi Kurdistan. (shrink)

Modern technology plays an important role in our daily lives. Many people use technology for their works, interactions, and special interests such as art. Art as a discipline, which expresses human emotion and creative side, takes a new form for its contextualization with the help of information technology. A neologism for this discipline is “digital art.” Some experts who employ a traditional value in their aesthetical perspective consider this new approach unlikely. Walter Benjamin, an eminent figure from this group, stated (...) that art must have an aura in its production as is the case in paintings. With this aura, the work of art and not artwork has uniqueness of value. However, the problem arises when information technology becomes a predominant tool for the work of art. Digital art does not consider the aura as the core value in defining something as a work of art. Furthermore, digital artists think that art can exist within a digital object and maintain its uniqueness. Parallel with the latter, this article will describe the dispute and make a clear statement that a work of art in the digital age does not require aura. (shrink)

To confirm the most effective time allotment for IELTS test-takers, this study is carried out to examine how different time allotments (30 or 50 minutes) affect students` writing skills. This study used a range of measures to assess the test takers` writing. Participants were also interviewed about their perceptions under the two-timing conditions. The study revealed that students` writing skills only increased concerning fluency under the longer (30-min) time condition. Complexity also improved, yet it was very marginal, thus making it (...) hard to conclude. Despite the overall insignificant differences of students` scores under the two-timing conditions, students were confident and believed that they did a better essay under the more extended time allotment. The study confirms that test-takers could do writing section in IELTS better in a longer time allotment than those given a shorter time allotment. Practicality seems to be the most convincing reason which causes test providers to set limited time for the test administration, specifically for academic writing tasks. As far as we are concerned, a few studies are specifically focused on investigating the effects of time allotments for argumentative writing tasks, this work is an attempt to fill in this gap. (shrink)

This article (in a PowerPoint format) outlines some of the essential aspects of a Muslim's belief and practice.

ITS (Intelligent Tutoring System) is a computer software that supplies direct and adaptive training or response to students without, or with little human teacher interfering. The main target of ITS is smoothing the learning-teaching process using the ultimate technology in computer science. The proposed system will be implemented using the “ITSB” Authoring tool. The book "Introduction To Computer Science" is taught in Al-Azhar University in Gaza as a compulsory subject for students who study at humanities faculties. In this thesis, the (...) researcher demonstrates an intelligent tutoring system for teaching the above mentioned subject. The system was assessed by a group of teachers and students and the results were promising . (shrink)

ABSTRACT The theory and concept of Unani system of medicine is based on logic and philosophy. Hence, its foundations were exclusively laid on observation and reasoning. So, the proper understanding, comprehension and discernment of Unani system of medicine are purely based on the understanding of traditional logic and philosophy. Now in this scientific era Unani fundamentals are also required to be comprehended in the light of contemporary sciences. The present paper is an effort towards the understanding of basic precursors of (...) life and universe as stated in literature of Unani medicine in an acceptable and comprehensible way. (shrink)

This paper attempts to show the real nature of Universal Grammar. Universal grammar is separate part of human mind which makes language learning possible and generative. Universal grammar is the symbolic and systematic rules inside our mind. These rules help us to classify, analyze, differentiate, assimilate, understand and recognize human language. This paper determines the real nature of philosophical grammar and discusses the modular and non-modular approach of it. I shall examine the critical approaches of Wittgenstein and Chomsky and their (...) comparison to investigate the philosophical grammar. (shrink)

This paper clarifies the significance of philosophy for traditional societies and modern societies and their evolution. In this paper ethics is the mainstream philosophy which studies and analyses the values of both the traditional societies and modern ones. This paper is only the ethical study of the traditional values and modern values. There are three ways to philosophize societies as traditional and modern: Ethical perspective, economical and theological, but this paper deals only with the ethical approach. Philosophers from ancient to (...) modern era played an important part in the transformation of traditional into modern. Morality and religion changed the mind of the nations towards development and ethical progress. In this article ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, modern philosophy and others religious philosophies of India, china, and Muslim philosophies exercised key attempts to study traditional societies and modern societies. This paper highlights the factors that are responsible for the vices in traditional societies and also the elements that are productive for the promotion of modern societies. (shrink)

Psychopathy refers to a range of complex behaviors and personality traits, including callousness and antisocial behavior, typically studied in criminal populations. Recent studies have used self-reports to examine psychopathic traits among noncriminal samples. The goal of the current study was to examine the underlying factor structure of the Self-Report of Psychopathy Scale–Short Form (SRP-SF) across complementary samples and examine the impact of gender on factor structure. We examined the structure of the SRP-SF among 2,554 young adults from three undergraduate samples (...) and a high-risk young adult sample. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a four-correlated factor model and a four-bifactor model showed good fit to the data. Evidence of weak invariance was found for both models across gender. These findings highlight that the SRP-SF is a useful measure of low-level psychopathic traits in noncriminal samples, although the underlying factor structure may not fully translate across men and women. (shrink)

BĪRŪNĪ, ABŪ RAYḤĀN MOḤAMMAD b. Aḥmad (362/973- after 442/1050), scholar and polymath of the period of the late Samanids and early Ghaznavids and one of the two greatest intellectual figures of his time in the eastern lands of the Muslim world, the other being Ebn Sīnā.

La Tijāniyya es la ṭarīqa sufí más influyente en África Subsahariana, con casi cien millones de seguidores, y una de las principales del mundo. En estos dos últimos siglos se ha convertido en uno de los movimientos sociales y espirituales islámicos más importantes a nivel mundial. Su presencia desde el Magreb y el Sahel hasta Indonesia o Estados Unidos así lo atestigua. -/- Su conjunción entre un conocimiento gnóstico (ḥaqīqa), otorgado según la tradición por el mismísimo Profeta Muḥammad a (...) class='Hi'>Ahmad Tijāni, y un estricto celo al plano legal (sharī‘a) les ha dotado de un gran prestigio social y espiritual en el mundo islámico con enseñanzas que se gradúan desde la aparente simpleza de los primeros pasos del neófito hasta la complejidad de los tratados místicos de los maestros que se recogen en este libro que el lector tiene en sus manos. Un camino, el de revitalizar la tradición del profeta Muḥammad, que marcó de forma muy especial la historia intelectual y política del mundo islámico contemporáneo. -/- Ley y Gnosis explora, por primera vez, la historia de la ṭarīqa Tijāniyya de forma diacrónica. Un estudio que abarca desde su surgimiento en el Magreb hasta su completa globalización en la actualidad haciéndose eco de todas las tendencias e intentando mostrar sus principales doctrinas y autores desde una perspectiva interdisciplinar que combina la Islamología con la Filosofía, la Historia y la Antropología. (shrink)

This article presents an analysis of a short treatise entitled Ādāb al-Baḥth wa al-Munāẓarah (The art of discussion and disputation) by the celebrated Ottoman scholar Abu al-Khayr ‘Iṣām al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Muṣṭafā ibn Khalīl Ṭāshkubrīzādah or Ṭaşköprüzade (d. 968 AH/ 1561 CE). An overview of the nomenclature and a brief introduction about the author and his work will be presented along with an annotated English translation of the text in order to highlight Ṭaşköprüzade’s contribution to this nearly forgotten discipline.

Omnicide: Mania, Fatality and Future-in-Delirium (2019) finds Iranian-American philosopher and comparative literature theorist Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh carving the figure of the diffracted neo-Bedouin wanderer, whose mania we tail through the book’s haunted pages. The book’s namesake, “omnicide,” refers to the complete and total erasure of the Earth--the term has most recently been generally applied in ecological contexts, most markedly in regards to the Anthropocene and futurology. However, it is the explicitly poetic and literary intersection between mania and the grotesque that (...) Mohaghegh inches us towards, lifting omnicide from its proscriptive use in the Western philosophical/sociological tradition and goading it towards an unfamiliar cryptic terrain. Surveying ten contemporary Middle Eastern poets and fiction writers, including Sadeq Hedayat (Iran), Réda Bensmaia (Algeria), Samuel Adonis (Syria), Joyce Mansour (Egypt), Forugh Farrokhzad (Iran), Ibrahim al-Koni (Libya), Ahmad Shamlu (Iran), Ghada Samman (Lebanon), Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine) and Hassim Blasim (Iraq), Mohaghegh parses curious stanzas and plucks spectral paragraphs from myriad texts so as to navigate the largely occluded and excised narratives of the contemporary Middle Eastern philosophical-literary canon. Not only does Mohaghegh acuminate the multifaceted question of mania and its variegated networks, chambers, byways and sunken burrows--so as to juxtapose two different world literatures (East and West)--but Mohaghegh also illuminates this oeuvre to affront the Western psychoanalytic treatment of mania as an exclusionary vessel. Thus, despite Mohaghegh avoiding any explicit references to Western philosophers and scientists, both the codified dictum of the medical decree and the hyper-genealogical superlative tradition of Georges Canguilhem, Michel Foucault and their contemporaries rankle Omnicide’s annals. (shrink)

The aims of liberalism—which is often confused with value pluralism—are routinely challenged by persons whose primary commitments lie elsewhere. In his weighing the pros and cons of liberal democratic states versus an Islamic state, Ahmad Yousif has offered an impressive challenge to liberals, but in doing so has confused the aims of liberalism with the pre-liberal nation-state ideal. In this article, I will challenge his conclusions by demonstrating the competing aims of liberals without conflating them with the liberal state. (...) Yousif is right to draw attention to the inequities of Western liberal democracies, but I will contend that (a) wherever actually existing liberal democracies fail to show tolerance towards religious minorities, it is not the fault of liberalism, and that (b) Yousif’s counter ideal of an Islamic state is less than ideal. (shrink)