Recently there is an increasing technological development in intelligent tutoring systems. This field has become interesting to many researchers. In this paper, we present an intelligent tutoring system for teaching information security. This intelligent tutoring systems target the students enrolled in Advanced Topics in Information Security in the faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. Through which the student will be able to study the course and solve related problems. An evaluation of the intelligent tutoring systems (...) was carried out and the results were promising. (shrink)

The evolution of Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) is the result of the amount of research in the field of education and artificial intelligence in recent years. English is the third most common languages in the world and also is the internationally dominant in the telecommunications, science and trade, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomatic language as most of the areas of work now taught in English. Therefore, the demand for learning English has increased. In this paper, we describe the design of (...) an Intelligent Tutoring System for teaching English language grammar to help students learn English grammar easily and smoothly. The system provides all topics of English grammar and generates a series of questions automatically for each topic for the students to solve. The system adapts with all the individual differences of students and begins gradually with students from easier to harder level. The intelligent tutoring system was given to a group of students of all age groups to try it and to see the impact of the system on students. The results showed a good satisfaction of the students toward the system. (shrink)

If we consider Kitāb al-Milla as the foundation for Al-Farabi's other civil and political thoughts, we are not making an exaggerated claim. Abu Nasr Al-Farabi presents the philosophy of his civil and political theory through this treatise, embedding his ideas within it. Upon reflecting on the content of this work, it can be clearly divided into two parts. In the first part, Al-Farabi discusses issues that serve as the foundation for the second part, which is the science of civics. In (...) the second part, which is the focus of this study, he addresses matters that constitute the philosophy of civics. A close examination of the second section of Kitāb al-Milla reveals that Al-Farabi speaks of two enumerations: one concerning happiness and the other concerning politics. In general, these two elements make up the issues of the science of civics. (shrink)

The metaphysical concept of love in Sinawi philosophy examines the three axes of the essence, reason, and manner of love in Avicenna’s intellectual system, resulting in Avicenna’s theory of love. By examining Avicenna’s views on love, particularly in his treatise on love, it can be understood that he has presented two definitions of love (essence), and in the seven chapters of the treatise on love, he admits that love is a pervasive essential substance throughout existence, and no creature is devoid (...) of this substance. It can, therefore, be argued that love is the cause of the existence of creatures (reason). On the other hand, Avicenna has also explained the flow and dependence of creatures on love under each chapter (manner). The result of understanding and examining these three axes in Avicenna’s views, which is the goal of this research, has led to the theory of Sinawi love, which shows Avicenna’s worldview on love. (shrink)

The study has focused on the views of Fārābī regarding the essence and foundations of the two concepts of "political philosophy" and "political jurisprudence". By elucidating and then analyzing the opinions of Fārābī, it has sought to answer the question of whether "political philosophy and political jurisprudence in Farabi's philosophy are the same". By examining what Fārābī has discussed in his works Kitāb al-Millah, Siāsat al-Madania, and Al-Madinah Fāzel'a regarding political philosophy and political jurisprudence, it can be understood that both (...) concepts exist in Fārābī's civil philosophy, and even their theoretical foundation is present in his theoretical wisdom. However, it should be noted that it is not possible to consider the essence of these two to be the same, but in terms of the foundations that include the foundations and the purpose, these two concepts can be considered as two parts of a single whole. The foundation and purpose of Fārābī's political philosophy and political jurisprudence, since they are part of the civil philosophy of Fārābī, is the same as the foundations and purpose of civil wisdom. The distinguishing feature of Fārābī's philosophical school with other philosophical schools is his emphasis on happiness, and this key concept is the foundations and purpose of civil wisdom first and then political philosophy and political jurisprudence. (shrink)

Al-Fārābī's discussed fundamental issues in the first ten sections of Kītāb al-Mīllah briefly. Defining the nation (religion), describing the types of societies, dividing the nation (religion) into opinions and actions, and mentioning each of them, synonyms of the nation with other concepts such as religion and shārīʿa, the method of inferring the opinions of the nation, the similarity of the virtuous nation to philosophy, the relationship between the two components of the nation with theoretical philosophy and phronesis (practical philosophy), dealing (...) with fallacies using topic and rhetoric, the reasons for not expressing some laws by the first ruler, the conditions of the rulers after the first ruler, the wisdom, jurisprudence and virtue of the nation's ruler, and discussing the philosophical nature of jurisprudence, the most important contents of Al-Fārābī's in this ten section. On the other hand, it must be claimed that various theories can be extracted from Kītāb al-Mīllah: 1. Revelation as the highest faculty of reason; 2. The unity of theoretical philosophy and Phronesis- the unity of theoretical and practical reason; 3. Philosophy of jurisprudence; 4. Governance philosophy; 5. shārīʿa purposes; 6. Aristocracy; 7. Philosophical jurisprudence. In this paper, in addition to the translation of the first ten sections of Kītāb al-Mīllah, its content is also explained and these seven ideas are extracted from this treatise. (shrink)

Fārābī's legal theory, which is among his views in civil wisdom, consists of three things: foundation, source, and purpose. The foundations of Abu Nasr al-Fārābī's virtuous law is natural law, which is compatible with the objectives of Islamic Law. Furthermore, the source of the existing laws in the virtuous city, which is codified by the first ruler, is the divine revelation and tradition. Some divine traditions or natural laws are understood by common sense, and some others, which are hidden from (...) the understanding of the majority, are inspired by revelation to the first ruler of virtuous city, or the first ruler understands them by using his acquired intellect. The aim of the first ruler, which is also the aim of the laws of virtuous city, is the happiness. The problem of this study is to investigate and explain these three things (foundation, source, and purpose) with descriptive-analytical method, which can be considered as the theory of virtuous law, which is the same as Fārābī's legal theory. (shrink)

The principle of causality is one of the most fundamental principles that has been discovered in the history of philosophy and science. Several foundations revolve around this concept. The importance of this principle in classical physics lies in giving physicists the ability to predict phenomena. Furthermore, due to causality is recognized as a fundamental principle in classical physics. With the introduction of the principle of uncertainty, the principle of causality is empirically called into question. Because the claim of the principle (...) of uncertainty in quantum mechanics is that the relationships between fundamental particles are not causally related to each other, and even the behavior of an electron or a subatomic particle is not based on the principle of causality. If we want to identify the speed of particles, we will not be able to identify their state, and if we want to determine their state, we will not be able to identify their speed. The best way to resolve this conflict is to bring the discussion into philosophy, which is exactly what has been done in Islamic philosophy. The concept of causality in Western philosophy seems to be based on Newtonian concepts. But what has been stated in Islamic philosophy is based on metaphysical concepts, and therefore the principle of uncertainty cannot contradict the concept of causality in Islamic philosophy, especially what has been discussed in the philosophy of Avicenna and Allameh Tabataba'i. (shrink)

Poetry is sometimes used in a logical argument sense of the five major arguments, and the meaning behind it is the argument and expression that its common element is imagination. In fact, the distinguishing feature of poetry from other arguments is the poetic nature of the language. Poetry is sometimes used in an artistic sense and can be considered one of the seven arts. The definition of artistic poetry can be understood as a speech that is firstly rhythmic, secondly rhyming, (...) and thirdly imaginative. In this article, poetry is used in the second sense, as poetry in the artistic sense can have a sublime aspect. In fact, poetry in the first sense has an industrial and organic aspect, while poetry in the second sense has an authentic aspect. Mulla Sadra, in addition to writing in prose in rational knowledge, has also expressed many of his sublime philosophical ideas in poetic language. What Sadr al-Muta'allihin has written in poetic form is poetry in the second sense because it has both the three conditions of being rhythmic, rhyming, and imaginative, as well as expressing sublime wisdom in poetic and sublime art language. (shrink)

Abstract: Sickle cell disease (SCD) comprises an inherited blood disorder that is life long and affects many people globally. Despite progress in therapy, SCA is a considerable cause of mortality and morbidity. This study was designed to measure the immunological and inflammatory parameters of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and to found if there is any role of it in the pathogenicity of the disease. This study included A total of 32 patients, their ages ranged from 16 to 55 (...) years patients with Sickle cell disease who have been evaluated during vaso occlusive crisis and had been followed up till they attained steady state, and there are 32 normal control subjects matched with patients in age and sex. In general there was elevation in all parameters the study were included in patients than control and particularly in crisis, despite the IgM value which was insignificantly decrease, but the statically significant elevation reported only in CRP, IgG, IgA. (shrink)

Abstract: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into educational technology has revolutionized learning through Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). These systems harness AI to deliver personalized, adaptive instruction that caters to individual student needs, thereby enhancing learning outcomes and engagement. This paper explores the evolution and impact of ITS, highlighting key AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and adaptive algorithms that underpin their functionality. By examining various case studies and applications, the paper illustrates how ITS have transformed traditional (...) educational practices and identifies the challenges and limitations associated with their implementation, including data privacy concerns and system biases. The discussion also extends to future directions in ITS development, emphasizing emerging trends and potential advancements. Ultimately, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how ITS leverage AI to enhance educational experiences and propose pathways for future research in this dynamic field. (shrink)

A few days before the death of the fourth ambassador, Ali bin Mohammad al-Samri, Imam Mahdi sent a message to his ambassador saying: “In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful, O Ali bin Mohammad al-Samari, the greatest of God; And between six days, gather your command and do not recommend anyone to take your place after your death, for complete occultation has occurred, and there is no reappearance (advent) except after the permission of Allah, the (...) Exalted, stating him, and that is after a long period, hardness of hearts, and the earth being filled with oppression”. (shrink)

As a contemporary neo-Sadraian philosopher, Muhaqeq Isfahani has proposed his own account of the ontological argument for the existence of Allah. This account of the argument is unprecedented and has caught the attention of many contemporary thinkers. There have been proposed five accounts of this argument upon three pivots. First is the concept of necessary being as a mental concept. Second is the concept of necessary being so far as it denotes something beyond the concept. And third is the very (...) reality of necessary being existing by itself in the outside world. Each of the above accounts is open to some criticisms. Prof. Mahdi Ha’iri Yazdi has leveled four criticisms at that account of the argument such as counter-argument, begging the question, the confusion of categorical proposition with non-categorical one. The proponents of ontological argument have raised objections to Ha’iri’s criticisms. Most of those objections are not valid for they stem from the insufficient consideration of the fact that concepts such as “necessary being”, “God”, “partner of Creator” and the like are philosophical secondary intelligible. Accordingly, most of Prof. Ha’iri’s criticisms against Muhaqeq Ishafani are valid and thus the ontological argument fails to prove the existence of Allah. (shrink)

The research aims to harness spatial interpolation techniques to produce maps with a high level of perceptual accuracy in representing the population data of the study area. This is achieved after exploring the statistical and spatial nature of the databases used, analyzing them, and determining their distribution using a variety of spatial data exploration tools available within the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) environment. These tools contribute to evaluating the characteristics, distribution, and analysis of data, including testing data distribution, identifying its (...) direction, and uncovering its spatial correlations. This highlights the importance of the study and understanding the distribution pattern of the population data in the study area, thereby facilitating the preparation of future that serve spatial organization by building spatial models for the numerical distribution of the data for age groups: young, middle-aged, and elderly, at the level of administrative units of the study area by relying on the inductive approach and the quantitative analysis approach. This is done using Geostatistical Analysis methods within the concept of spatial interpolation in GIS. The research also seeks to predict the population maps for Thi Qar Governorate by comparing spatial interpolation methods, namely Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and Simple Kriging (SK). The study concluded, after verifying the accuracy of the results using the Cross-Validation curve, that the Simple Kriging (SK) method is the most accurate model in spatial prediction of population data for representing the data of the young age group in the study area, as it had the lowest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 10.012. It was followed by the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method for representing the data of the elderly age group with an RMSE of 350.48. This indicates that the use of statistical criteria improves the accuracy of spatial interpolation and that the spatial prediction of the population data for the study area using the Simple Kriging (SK) method was more accurate than the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method based on statistical indicators. (shrink)

This paper concerns the recent revival of entity realism. Having been started with the work of Ian Hacking, Nancy Cartwright and Ronald Giere, the project of entity realism has recently been developed by Matthias Egg, Markus Eronen, and Bence Nanay. The paper opens a dialogue among these recent views on entity realism and integrates them into a more advanced view. The result is an epistemological criterion for reality: the property-tokens of a certain type may be taken as real insofar as (...) only they can be materially inferred from the evidence obtained in a variety of independent ways of detection. (shrink)

This paper draws on the phenomenological-hermeneutical approaches to philosophy of science to develop realist perspectivism, an integration of experimental realism and perspectivism. Specifically, the paper employs the distinction between “manifestation” and “phenomenon” and it advances the view that the evidence of a real entity is “explorable” in order to argue that instrumentally-mediated robust evidence indicates real entities. Furthermore, it underpins the phenomenological notion of the horizonal nature of scientific observation with perspectivism, so accounting for scientific pluralism even in the cases (...) of inconsistent models. Overall, realist perspectivism is proposed as the way to go for (phenomenologically-hermeneutically minded) philosophers of science. (shrink)

Relying on the notion of “overlapping perspectives,” this paper argues that entity realism and perspectivism are complementary. According to entity realism, it is justified to maintain a positive attitude toward the existence of unobservable entities with which multiple experimental interactions are possible. Perspectivism also explains that our beliefs about these entities are bounded by historically contingent theoretical and instrumental perspectives. The argument of the paper is developed through a discussion of Ronald Giere’s versions of realism: entity realism, constructive realism, and (...) perspectival realism. (shrink)

Appealing to science is a popular suggestion for separating projectible predicates. According to this suggestion, we can expect science, eventually, to separate such predicatesfor us, rendering it unnecessary to make further attempts to explicate the criteria for pro-jectibility. In this essay, I address three theoretical challenges to this suggestion. The firststems from the inductive character of science, which casts doubts on its efficacy in separat-ing projectible predicates, since induction itself requires this separation. The second is theinferential externalism implied by this (...) suggestion, whereas the problems of induction havebite only if inferential internalism is presumed. The third challenge appears when a strongrelationship between projectibility and kindhood, on the one hand, and kindhood and sim-ilarity, on the other, is posited, such that a more projectible predicate is believed to be apredicate which tracks better similarities in nature. Now the question appears: whether andhow science enables us to track better similarities? I distinguish two conceptions of similarity,one intuitive, the other theoretical, and I argue that the theoretical one is to be preferred,showing that how scientific practice involves shifting from an intuitive idea of similarity to atheoretical one. Through answering these three challenges, I attempt to support the appealto natural science as far as Goodman’s problem of induction is concerned. (shrink)

Al-Muḥaqqiq al-Iṣfahānī (1878-1942) and Spinoza (1632-1677), two prominent intellectuals of the Islamic and Western worlds respectively, have proposed different versions of the ontological argument for the existence of God. I present five versions of al-Muḥaqqiq al-Iṣfahānī’s argument in three general dimensions: first, the concept of the necessary being (wājib al-wujūd) as a mental concept; second, the concept of the necessary being as a representation of something external; and finally, the reality of the necessary being or what externally exists by its (...) essence. Only one of these versions is compatible with al-Muḥaqqiq al-Iṣfahānī’s words. On the other hand, Spinoza has presented six arguments in which he has deployed the concept of God in three ways: the concept of God as a concept, the concept of God as a representation of something external, and the mental existence of this concept. In this paper, I compare the accurate construal of al-Muḥaqqiq al-Iṣfahānī’s argument with Spinoza’s six arguments, whereby I make a case for a strong similarity between the grounds and forms of the ontological argument as formulated by these two intellectuals. (shrink)

The special theory of relativity holds significant interest for scientific perspectivists. In this paper, I distinguish between two related meanings of “perspectival,” and argue that reference frames are perspectives, provided that perspectival means “being conditional” rather than “being partial.” Frame-dependent properties such as length, time duration, and simultaneity, are not partially measured in a reference frame, but their measurements are conditional on the choice of frame. I also discuss whether the constancy of the speed of light depends on perspectival factors (...) such as the idealized definition of the speed of light in a perfect vacuum and the Einstein synchronization convention. Furthermore, I argue for the view that the constancy of its speed is a robust property of light according to the conditions of currently acceptable experimental setups pertaining to special relativity, and conclude that this view supports perspectivism. (shrink)

This dissertation is about human knowledge of reality. In particular, it argues that scientific knowledge is bounded by historically available instruments and theories; nevertheless, the use of several independent instruments and theories can provide access to the persistent potentialities of reality. The replicability of scientific observations and experiments allows us to obtain explorable evidence of robust entities and properties. The dissertation includes seven chapters. It also studies three cases – namely, Higgs bosons and hypothetical Ϝ-particles (section 2.4), the Ptolemaic and (...) Kepler model of the planets (section 6.7), and the special theory of relativity (chapter 7). -/- Chapter 1 is the introduction of the dissertation. Chapter 2 clarifies the notion of the real on the basis of two concepts: persistence and resistance. These concepts enable me to explain my ontological belief in the real potentialities of human-independent things and the implications of this view for the perceptual and epistemological levels of discussion. On the basis of the concept of “overlapping perspectives”, chapter 3 argues that entity realism and perspectivism are complementary. That is, an entity that manifests itself through several experimental/observational methods is something real, but our knowledge of its nature is perspectival. Critically studying the recent views of entity realism, chapter 4 extends the discussion of entity realism and provides a criterion for the reality of property tokens. Chapter 5, in contrast, develops the perspectival aspects of my view on the basis of the phenomenological-hermeneutical approaches to the philosophy of science. This chapter also elaborates my view of empirical evidence, as briefly expressed in sections 2.5 and 4.5. Chapter 6 concerns diachronic theoretical perspectives. It first explains my view of progress, according to which current perspectives are broader than past ones. Second, it argues that the successful explanations and predictions of abandoned theories can be accounted for from our currently acceptable perspectives. The case study of Ptolemaic astronomy supports the argument of this chapter. Chapter 7 serves as the conclusion of the dissertation by applying the central themes of the previous chapters to the case study of special relativity theory. I interpret frame-dependent properties, such as length and time duration, and the constancy of the speed of light according to realist perspectivism. (shrink)

This chapter explores the relevance of empirical evidence to real causes. I argue for the claim that instrumentally mediated empirical results are causally dependent on unobservable entities. I develop this idea in the context of discussions on entity realism. As a consequence of my argument, an antirealist version of empiricism, which underlines the significance of empirical evidence but which abstains from real causation, is incoherent.

I seek to explicate the ways in which the soul is deemed immaterial in two main strands of Islamic philosophy, and then consider some arguments for the immateriality of the soul. To do so, I first overview Avicenna’s theory of the spiritual incipience (al-ḥudūth al-rūḥānī) of the soul and his version of substance dualism. I will then discuss Mullā Ṣadrā’s view of the physical incipience (al-ḥudūth al-jismānī) of the soul and how the soul emerges and develops towards immateriality on his (...) account. I then overview and discuss five of the most important arguments presented by these two great Muslim philosophers in favor of the immateriality of the soul. To do so, I will also point out some of the main contemporary physicalistic views of the nature of mind and mental states. I will then argue that arguments for the immateriality of the soul – dealt with here – do not indeed target or challenge any significant versions of contemporary physicalism. Moreover, these arguments involve conflations of epistemological or ontological issues. (shrink)

In this paper, I seek to explain Suhrawardī’s method of writing his allegories – how he draws upon his philosophical principles to construct forms and plots of his stories. To do so, I begin by delineating two key doctrines of his Illuminationist (Ishrāqī) ontology: the world of Forms (‘ālam al-muthul) and the discontinuous imaginal world (‘ālam al-mithāl al-munfaṣil). I provide an account of the history of these two doctrines and the nature of these two worlds, and then consider some of (...) their functions for, and effects on, Suhrawardī’s explanations and analyses. I will then deal with Suhrawardī’s allegories, pinpointing particular effects of the belief in the world of Forms and the imaginal world on his symbolisms and allegories. Distinguishing three main spiritual-mystical notions in Suhrawardī’s allegories, I elaborate upon the role of the above two doctrines in his construction of characters and fictional events, whereby I demystify certain symbols in these stories. I conclude that there is a close tie between Suhrawardī’s allegories and his philosophical doctrines. Thus, his spiritual doctrines are presented in a symbolic form in certain allegorical characters and adventures. The deployment of characteristics of the world of Forms and the imaginal world plays a central role here. (shrink)

This paper first explores in detail a regenerated theory in philosophy of mind, known among contemporary philosophers as ‘emergentism’. By distinguishing strong and weak versions of the theory, I explain two important explanatory challenges presented by physicalists against this theory. In the following, I provide a brief overview of Sadr al-Muta’allihin’s theory of the incipience and degrees of the soul, examining similarities and differences between this theory and strong emergentism. Then, underlining the main aspects of similarity between the two theories, (...) I consider the challenges presented by physicalists against emergentism as reconstructible against Sadra’s theory. Surveying some explanations by Sadraean philosophers of the soul-body relationship, I ultimately argue that Sadra’s theory is inadequate in face of the objections and doubts raised by contemporary physicalists. My assessment is that Sadra’s philosophy is in need of further development to meet those explanatory challenges. (shrink)

جان کاتینگهام فیلسوف معاصر انگلیسی دیدگاه خود در رابطة عقل و سااحت تعهاد ی ایماان را ذیا ل سا – - محور مطرح کرده است: 1 . کارکرد تعهد دینی در حیات اخلاقی انسان؛ 2. عدم منافاات م یا ان تعهاد د ینا ی و خودمختاری انسان؛ 3 . کارکرد متمایز قرین در تعهد دینی و علم تجربی. در اثر پیش رو دیا دگاه کاتنیگهاام در دو محور نخست ارزیابی شده است. وی در محور اول، پشتوانة تعهد دینی و التزام (...) ب قوانین اخلاقی را اعتقااد ب منبع خیر بودن خداوند می داند. در محور دوم، باا اساتفاده از مباان ی اگزیستانسیالیسات ی در رابطا ة انساان و جهان، معتقد است انسان موجودی خودساز نیست و در شرایطی قرار دارد ک خود تاثیری در تحقق آن نداشات است. در چنین شرایطی، تسلیم در برابر قوانین اخلاقی، تسلیم در مقابال اراد ۀ بیگانا نیسات، بلکا انتخااب ی آگاهان برای رشد خویش است. دیدگاه وی در این دو محور با توج با آرا علاما ة طباطباا یی قابال برر سا ی است. در محور نخست، تبیینی عالی تری بر اساس مبانی فلسفی علام طباطبایی قابل طرح است. اماا نسابت ب محور دوم، دو نکتة قابل ملاحظ وجود دارد: نخست آنک پاسخ او در این مسال ، بیا انی متوسا در تب یای ن کلیدواژه: رابطة خداوند و انسان است، و دوم آنک تعهد اولی ب همان رکن ایمان مقدم بر عمل است، ن متاخر از آن. (shrink)

This paper proposes a way to understand the meaning of reality (in science) on the basis of the concepts of persistence and resistance. It first supports the ontological view that reality consists of persistent potentialities, which resist being excluded from existence. A study of the cases of the Higgs boson and the hypothetical Ϝ-particle helps to illustrate how real entities persist and resist. The paper then suggests that, perceptually speaking, the results of ordinary perception or observational processes persistently appear under (...) appropriate conditions, and they resist disappearance even when the appropriate conditions are not completely prepared. Finally, it argues that, epistemologically speaking, a truthful theory resists being falsified and persists across replicable observations and experiments. (shrink)

Many ordinary things are made up of material things. For example, the statue of Ferdousi in the University of Tehran is made up of a particular piece of bronze. Calling the relation between the statue of Ferdousi and that piece of bronze material constitution, many philosophers have claimed that this relation between a material thing and the thing that it constitutes is identity. Baker, in contrast, believes that these things have genuine unity without necessary identity. In this article, I first (...) illustrate the principles of Baker’s theory and his explanation of this relation. Then I will assess the theory against objections. I will conclude that this theory can successfully explain relation between many of material things, but concerning things belonging to human beings, the theory fails to introduce a criterion for constitution. (shrink)

This paper aims, first, to argue against using opaque AI technologies in decision making processes, and second to suggest that we need to possess a qualitative form of understanding about them. It first argues that opaque artificially intelligent technologies are suitable for users who remain indifferent to the understanding of decisions made by means of these technologies. According to virtue ethics, this implies that these technologies are not well-suited for those who care about realizing their moral capacity. The paper then (...) draws on discussions on scientific understanding to suggest that an AI technology becomes understandable to its users when they are provided with a qualitative account of the consequences of using it. As a result, explainable AI methods can render an AI technology understandable to its users by presenting the qualitative implications of employing the technology for their lives. (shrink)

One of the components of John Cottingham's thinking - a contemporary English philosopher - in the relationship between reason and religion, is the distinction between the field of science and religion. He has presented this distinction in two parts: the type of issues in the field of science and religion, and The method of inference in the field of science and religion. According to Cottingham, religious issues are related to outside the field of human knowledge, and the way of debunking (...) them is not the way of debunking the best explanation in empirical sciences; Because despite the problem of evil, theistic hypothesis cannot be considered as the best explanation for the phenomena of the world. His proposed model for the field of religion is the legal model; That is, the fact that the explanation presented is not incompatible with empirical evidence is enough to justify religious belief. He considers his point of view between extreme faithism and pseudo-scientific inferentialism. This view is criticized in several ways; Including: 1. Failure to pay attention to the function of secondary philosophical concepts in understanding the metaphysical dimension of the world of matter and abstractions, 2. The problem of "ignoring", 3. The inefficiency of the proposed model with regard to the issue of evil. (shrink)

John Cottingham focuses on two types of religious experience: general religious experience and specific religious experience. According to him, general experiences do not require special and complex education, scientific research or philosophical theorizing, but are a simple act of accepting a gift. Of course, unlike everyday observations, such experiences are not available to everyone and their realization requires special conditions. Regarding specific religious experiences, he also believes that when dealing with parts of the Bible that contain reports of such experiences, (...) one should neither have a naturalistic or demythologizing approach, nor an appearance-oriented approach; Rather, these verses should be interpreted in such a way that both its amazing content is preserved and this content does not conflict with modern science. Using the basics of Islamic philosophy, this work has a critical review of both parts of his view. The result of these criticisms is that due to the personal nature of evidences from religious experiences, the epistemological guarantee of these experiences is obtained through the rational and revelatory method. And based on this, these experiences cannot be considered as an independent path alongside the rational and revelatory path. Also, the observation of specific religious experiences is not a sensory observation and occurs in the container of human imagination and fantasy, without being a part of these experiences, they have become a characteristic of the self. (shrink)

According to the care crisis in modern medicine, the existential needs of patients are not sufficiently satisfied. One idea is that to address the crisis physicians should be educated to be virtuous. This suggestion is helpful but incomplete. It does not take into account the part of (non-)human factors, including (medical) technologies. In particular, the paper focuses on online caring forums and argues that they are technological factors that can play the role of focal things, in which the members gather (...) together to do a care-related focal practice. Furthermore, we empirically study the online forums of Ninisite, a popular Persian website on pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting, and suggest that these forums shape focal practices that are helpful in alleviating the care crisis. (shrink)

metempsychosis is the concept of the transmigration of a human or animal soul into another human, animal, plant, or even an inanimate object. The theory of metempsychosis poses a challenge to the belief in resurrection (maʿād), making it necessary to reject metempsychosis before proving maʿād. Avicenna presents two arguments against metempsychosis. The first argument, found in numerous works, rejects metempsychosis on the grounds that it requires the union of two soul s within a single body. Avicenna alludes to the second (...) argument in his Al-Isharat wa al-Tanbihat but postpones its full explanation to another unspecified work. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Fakhr al-Din Razi, and Qutb al-Din Razi have proposed different interpretations of this second argument. The variations in interpretation revolve around the number of implications Avicenna expressed for this modus ponendo and his reasons for rejecting them. Among these interpretations, only Qutb al-Din Razi's aligns more closely with Avicenna's original words. In the other two interpretations, there are either deficiencies or excesses compared to Avicenna's work. (shrink)

Relative blindsight is said to occur when different levels of subjective awareness are obtained at equality of objective performance. Using metacontrast masking, Lau and Passingham reported relative blindsight in normal observers at the shorter of two stimulus-onset asynchronies between target and mask. Experiment 1 replicated the critical asymmetry in subjective awareness at equality of objective performance. We argue that this asymmetry cannot be regarded as evidence for relative blindsight because the observers’ responses were based on different attributes of the stimuli (...) at the two SOAs. With an invariant criterion content , there was no asymmetry in subjective awareness across the two SOAs even though objective performance was the same. Experiment 3 examined the effect of criterion level on estimates of relative blindsight. Collectively, the present results question whether metacontrast masking is a suitable paradigm for establishing relative blindsight. Implications for theories of consciousness are discussed. (shrink)

People usually think that phenomenal consciousness is unique to humans and animals, but panpsychism extends it to other beings and considers consciousness to be fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world. This extension is the common claim of panpsychists and has ethical implications. Panpsychists differ from each other in the extent of extension of consciousness. Micropsychism extends consciousness to the fundamental particles at the micro-level, and macropsychism extends it to cosmos and all physical objects in the universe. According to micropsychism, (...) fundamental particles have moral status and significant moral standing, but this truth has no practical moral consequences and does not require us to change our behavior towards them. According to macropsychism, the universe has moral status and significant moral standing, and we should act in a way that increases the pleasure and decreases the pain of all beings that we know the cause of their pleasure and pain. Also, macropsychism requires admitting the moral status and significant moral standing of all animate and inanimate beings, and we must behave in such a way that the pleasure of animals and plants increases and their pain decreases, but we do not have any moral obligation regarding inanimate beings. (shrink)

In this paper, we distinguish between different sorts of assessments of algorithmic systems, describe our process of assessing such systems for ethical risk, and share some key challenges and lessons for future algorithm assessments and audits. Given the distinctive nature and function of a third-party audit, and the uncertain and shifting regulatory landscape, we suggest that second-party assessments are currently the primary mechanisms for analyzing the social impacts of systems that incorporate artificial intelligence. We then discuss two kinds of as-sessments: (...) an ethical risk assessment and a narrower, technical algo-rithmic bias assessment. We explain how the two assessments depend on each other, highlight the importance of situating the algorithm within its particular socio-technical context, and discuss a number of lessons and challenges for algorithm assessments and, potentially, for algorithm audits. The discussion builds on our team’s experience of advising and conducting ethical risk assessments for clients across dif-ferent industries in the last four years. Our main goal is to reflect on the key factors that are potentially ethically relevant in the use of algo-rithms, and draw lessons for the nascent algorithm assessment and audit industry, in the hope of helping all parties minimize the risk of harm from their use. (shrink)

The “problem of memory” in epistemology is concerned with whether and how we could have knowledge, or at least justification, for trusting our apparent memories. I defend an inductive solution—more precisely, an abductive solution—to the problem. A natural worry is that any such solution would be circular, for it would have to depend on memory. I argue that belief in the reliability of memory can be justified from the armchair, without relying on memory. The justification is, roughly, that my having (...) the sort of experience that my apparent memory should lead me to expect is best explained by the hypothesis that my memories are reliable. My solution is inspired by Harrod’s (1942) inductive solution. Coburn (1960) argued that Harrod’s solution contains a fatal flaw. I show that my solution is not vulnerable to Coburn’s objection, and respond to a number of other, recent and likely objections. (shrink)

In Justification without Awareness (2006), Michael Bergmann presents a dilemma for internalism from which he claims there is “no escape”: The awareness allegedly required for justification is either strong awareness, which involves conceiving of some justification-contributor as relevant to the truth of a belief, or weak awareness, which does not. Bergmann argues that the former leads to an infinite regress of justifiers, while the latter conflicts with the “clearest and most compelling” motivation for endorsing internalism, namely, that for a belief (...) to be justified its truth must not be an accident from the subject’s perspective. Bergmann’s dilemma might initially seem to have the force of a knock-down argument against the classical foundationalist accounts he considers, if not against all forms of internalism. I argue, however, that the weak-awareness horn of Bergmann’s dilemma is unsuccessful. Classical foundationalists can hold on to the main motivation for internalism and avoid a vicious regress of justifiers. (shrink)

This study examines the representations of male and female social actors in selected Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) textbooks. It is grounded in Critical Discourse Analysis and uses van Leeuwen’s Social Actor Network Model to analyze social actor representations in the gendered discourses of compulsory heterosexuality. Findings from the analysis show that the representations endorse the discourse of compulsory heterosexuality which is an institutionalized form of social practice in Iran. Three male and three female students were interviewed to (...) find out what they think about these representations. Their responses with regard to whether they think textbooks should also include representations of other forms of sexuality were non-committal and vague. To them LGBT people are the ‘‘Other’’ practicing a form of sexuality that is not normal. Such exclusions could obscure the reality regarding the existence of such gender identities and represent the world in a particular manner. (shrink)

I defend external world realism. I assume that the principle of inference to the best explanation is justified: roughly, a hypothesis that provides a better explanation of the total evidence is more probable than one that does not. I argue that the existence of a world of spatial objects provides a systematic explanation of the spatial contents of visual experience, and that it provides a better explanation than traditional skeptical hypotheses. This paper thus pursues the explanationist strategy of Laurence BonJour (...) and Jonathan Vogel. It is an improved, more compelling defense, for at least two reasons. First, the attention to spatial properties, and in particular to what I call perspectival projections, makes the explanatory power of the realist hypothesis much more vivid and concrete. Second, the argument preserves and elucidates much that seems correct in the explanationist arguments others have offered while avoiding significant problems and shortcomings. (shrink)

According to foundationalism, some beliefs are justified but do not depend for their justification on any other beliefs. According to access internalism, a subject is justified in believing some proposition only if that subject is aware of or has access to some reason to think that the proposition is true or probable. In this paper I discusses a fundamental challenge to internalist foundationalism often referred to as the Sellarsian dilemma. I consider three attempts to respond to the dilemma – phenomenal (...) conservatism, BonJour’s classical foundationalism, and Fumerton’s classical foundationalism. I argue that, of these three, only the last seems to avoid getting impaled on one or the other horn of the dilemma. I end by responding to some concerns with Fumerton’s account. (shrink)

Laurence BonJour and more recently James Beebe have argued that the best way to defend the claim that abduction or inference to the best explanation is epistemically justified is the rationalist view that it is justified a priori. However, rationalism about abduction faces a number of challenges. This chapter focuses on one particular, highly influential objection, that there is no interpretation of probability available which is compatible with rationalism about abduction. The rationalist who wants to maintain a strong connection between (...) epistemic justification and probability would do best to rely on a Keynesian interpretation of probability. However, the latter is vulnerable to Ramsey’s famous criticism that we do not seem to perceive or be aware of such probabilities. The chapter argues that Ramsey’s criticism is unsuccessful, and that there are good reasons to be optimistic about our ability to have access to probabilities relevant to abductive inference. (shrink)

Luck (2009) argues that gamers face a dilemma when it comes to performing certain virtual acts. Most gamers regularly commit acts of virtual murder, and take these acts to be morally permissible. They are permissible because unlike real murder, no one is harmed in performing them; their only victims are computer-controlled characters, and such characters are not moral patients. What Luck points out is that this justification equally applies to virtual pedophelia, but gamers intuitively think that such acts are not (...) morally permissible. The result is a dilemma: either gamers must reject the intuition that virtual pedophelic acts are impermissible and so accept partaking in such acts, or they must reject the intuition that virtual murder acts are permissible, and so abstain from many (if not most) extant games. While the prevailing solution to this dilemma has been to try and find a morally relevant feature to distinguish the two cases, I argue that a different route should be pursued. It is neither the case that all acts of virtual murder are morally permissible, nor are all acts of virtual pedophelia impermissible. Our intuitions falter and produce this dilemma because they are not sensitive to the different contexts in which games present virtual acts. (shrink)

A natural starting point for theories of perceptual states is ordinary perception, in which a subject is successfully related to her mind-independent surroundings. Correspondingly, the simplest theory of perceptual states models all such states on perception. Typically, this simple, common-factor relational view of perceptual states has received a perfunctory dismissal on the grounds that hallucinations are nonperceptual. But I argue that the nonperceptual view of hallucinations has been accepted too quickly. I consider three observations thought to support the view, and (...) argue that all three are dealt with equally well by an alternative view, illusionism, on which hallucinations do involve perception. Since this is so, adopting a common-factor relational view of all perceptual states remains a tenable option. (shrink)

4E Cognition refers to a group of frameworks that propose an embodied, embedded, enacted and extended approach to cognition, in contrast with computational or brain-focused perspectives. Here I would like to explore questions of morality and ethics from the perspective of some such frameworks. In particular we will look at Varela (1999)'s exploration of ethics inspired by eastern traditions and on his own and Maturana's framework of autopoietic organisations (Maturana and Varela, 1987). We then look at Fuchs (2020)'s idea of (...) relational values which gives us an insight into how might overarching values arise in a society where people are interconnected. Moreover, Urban (2014) points us towards a potential source of inspiration in works of Care Ethics, specifically Held et. al (2006) where we find overlapping conceptions of person as a relational being rather than the dominant individualistic view, and we try to draw from their developments in the field of ethics to our help. (shrink)

Davidson has attempted to offer his own solution to the problem of self-knowledge, but there has been no consensus between his commentators on what this solution is. Many have claimed that Davidson’s account stems from his remarks on disquotational specifications of self-ascriptions of meaning and mental content, the account which I will call the “Disquotational Explanation”. It has also been claimed that Davidson’s account rather rests on his version of content externalism, which I will call the “Externalist Explanation”. I will (...) argue that not only are these explanations of self-knowledge implausible, but Davidson himself has already rejected them. Thus, neither can be attributed to Davidson as his suggested account of self-knowledge. I will then introduce and support what I take to be Davidson’s official and independent account of self-knowledge, that is, his “Transcendental Explanation”. I will defend this view against certain potential objections and finally against the objections made by William Child. (shrink)

In this chapter, we examine different views of the structure of justification, including foundationalism, infinitism, and coherentism. We investigate how well or poorly they seem to do in responding to the regress problem, accommodating a robust connection between justification and truth, and getting the contours of justification right—i.e., making justification neither too easy nor too hard to get. We end by briefly discussing some challenges to finding a single sense of “foundational belief” defining the debate.