(Awarded the International Society for Intellectual History’s Charles Schmitt Prize) Mīrzā Fatḥ 'Alī Ākhūndzāda’s Letters from Prince Kamāl al-Dawla to the Prince Jalāl al-Dawla (1865) is often read as a Persian attempt to introduce European Enlightenment political thought to modern Iranian society. This essay frames Ākhūndzāda’s text within a broader intellectual tradition. I read Ākhūndzāda as a radical reformer whose intellectual ambition were shaped by prior Persian and Arabic endeavors to map the diversity of religious belief and to critically assess (...) the limits of religion. That Ākhūndzāda’s critique of religion reached further than that of his predecessors is due in part to the influence of the European Enlightenment, but Ākhūndzāda’s form of critical reasoning was also substantially shaped by prior early modern intellectual genealogies. -/- . (shrink)

The broadcast nature of communication in transmission media has driven the rise of network coding’s popularity in wireless networks. Numerous benefits arise from employing network coding in multi-hop wireless networks, including enhanced throughput, reduced energy consumption, and decreased end-to-end delay. These advantages are a direct outcome of the minimized transmission count. This paper introduces a comprehensive framework to employ network coding in these networks. It refines decision-making at coding and decoding nodes simultaneously. The coding-nodes employ optimal stopping theory to find (...) optimal moments for packet transmission. Meanwhile, the decoding-nodes dynamically decide, through SMDP (Semi Markov Decision Process) problem formulation, whether to conserve energy by deactivating radio units or to stay active for improved coding by overhearing packets. The proposed framework, named ENCODE, enables nodes to learn how and when to use network coding over time. Simulation results compare its performance with existing approaches. Our simulation results shed new light on when and how to use network coding in wireless multi-hop networks more effectively. (shrink)

Some multi-path routing algorithm in MANET, simultaneously send information to the destination through several directions to reduce end-to-end delay. In all these algorithms, the sent traffic through a path affects the adjacent path and unintentionally increases the delay due to the use of adjacent paths. Because, there are repetitive competitions among neighboring nodes, in order to obtain the joint channel in adjacent paths. The represented algorithm in this study tries to discover the distinct paths between source and destination nodes with (...) using Omni directional antennas, to send information through these simultaneously. For this purpose, the number of active neighbors is counted in each direction with using a strategy. These criterions are effectively used to select routes. Proposed algorithm is based on AODV routing algorithm, and in the end it is compared with AOMDV, AODVM, and IZM-DSR algorithms which are multi-path routing algorithms based on AODV and DSR. Simulation results show that using the proposed algorithm creates a significant improvement in energy efficiency and reducing end-to-end delay. (shrink)

A common characteristic of all popular multi-path routing algorithms in Mobile Ad-hoc networks, such as AOMDV, is that the end to end delay is reduced by utilization of parallel paths. The competition between the neighboring nodes for obtaining a common channel in those parallel paths is the reason for end to end delay increment. In fact, due to medium access mechanism in wireless networks, such as CSMA/CA, data transmissions even through two Node Disjoint paths are not completely independent and each (...) path will affect the other one. In this paper we have modified the AODV protocol which results in selection of zone-disjoint paths, to the extent feasible, and as a result we achieve less end to end delay. The efficiency of the proposed protocol has been evaluated on different scenarios and there has been a noticeable improvement in the packet delivery ratio and also in the reduction of end-to-end delay comparing to AOMDV. (shrink)

Some of multi-path routing algorithms in MANETs use multiple paths simultaneously. These algorithms can attempt to find node-disjoint to achieve higher fault tolerance. By using node-disjoint paths, it is expected that the end-to-end delay in each case should be independent of each other. However, because of natural properties and medium access mechanisms in ad hoc networks, such as CSMA/CA, the endto-end delay between any source and destination depends on the pattern of communication in the neighborhood region. In this case some (...) of the intermediate nodes should be silent to reverence their neighbors and this matter increases the end-toend delay. To avoid this problem, multi-path routing algorithms can use zone-disjoint paths instead of node-disjoint paths. In this paper we propose a new multi-path routing algorithm that selects zone-disjoint paths, using omnidirectional antenna. We evaluate our algorithm in several different scenarios. The simulation results show that our approach is very effective in decreasing routing overhead and end-to-end delay. (shrink)

Directed Diffusion (DD) uses data aggregation to suppress data overhead however there is no guarantee that paths from nearby sources join after a few hops. In this paper, an efficient data-gathering protocol (EDAP) is proposed to address this problem by using a Virtual Sink (VS) node nearby the sources, which plays the role of sink node and broadcasts local interest messages and routes gathered data toward destination. Also, multiple paths are constructed between VS and the sink node, which leads to (...) load-balancing, and increase in the lifetime of the network. Simulation results show that in EDAP a significant amount of energy can be saved and the network lifetime will be increased considerably. (shrink)

In IEEE 802.15.4 standard for low-power low-range wireless communications, only one channel is employed for transmission which can result in increased energy consumption, high network delay and poor packet delivery ratio (PDR). In the subsequent IEEE 802.15.4-2015 standard, a Time-slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mechanism has been developed which allows for a periodic yet fixed frequency hopping pattern over 16 different channels. Unfortunately, however, most of these channels are susceptible to high-power coexisting Wi-Fi signal interference and to possibly some other ISM-band (...) transmissions. This interference manifests itself in the form of the presence/absence of other devices with either or both static and dynamic channel selection policies. In order to isolate channels with undesirable conditions, blacklisting mechanisms are defined to adapt the channel hopping process. However, the existing solutions which form blacklists unrealistically assume that the statistical model of the external interference remains fixed, and do not vary over time. In this paper, we realistically assume that the impact of external interferes on 802.15.4 may generally follow a non-stationary pattern, and accordingly formulate the adaptive channel hopping problem as a Dynamic Multi-Armed Bernoulli Bandit (Dynamic MABB) process from the machine learning theory. We then propose an online learning algorithm with track-ability properties for computing an adaptive hopping policy. Simulations confirm that when the statistics of the external interference has a switching regime, the proposed solution outperforms the previous schemes in terms of both energy efficiency as well as two important KPIs for TSCH-based networks, i.e., PDR and latency. (shrink)

—One of the promising applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is monitoring of the human body for health concerns. For this purpose, a large number of small sensors are implanted in the human body. These sensors altogether provide a network of wireless sensors (WBANs) and monitor the vital signs and signals of the human body; these sensors will then send this information to the doctor. The most important application of the WBAN is the implementation of the monitoring network for patient (...) safety in the hospital environment. In this case, supporting patients’ mobility is one of the basic needs, which has been underestimated in recent studies. The problem that involves providing the required energy for the units used in this type of network is challenging; for this reason, sent/ received units with very low power consumption and with a very small radius are used in order to save energy. The resulting small sending range, leads to the lack of support for patients' mobility. In this paper, the AD HOC mode is suggested for use to establish a network and a multi-path routing algorithm, for the purpose of importing patients’ mobility in hospital setting. The results of the simulation show that in addition to supporting patients' mobility, the use of the proposed idea instead of previously presented protocols, reduces delays in data transmission and energy consumption; and it also increases the delivery rate depending on the destination and the lifetime of the network, while on the other hand, it increases routing overhead. (shrink)

Finding multi-path routes in ad hoc networks due to their grid topology seems to be a trivial task, but because of CSMA/CA effects in these networks found paths are not completely disjoint unless an appropriate algorithm have taken into account. If such an algorithm provided and designed carefully it could improve multi-path video transmission over these kinds of networks. By using node-disjoint paths, it is expected that the end-to-end delay and BER in each case should be independent of each other. (...) However, because of natural properties and medium access mechanisms in ad hoc networks the end-to-end delay and also BER between any source and destination depends on the pattern of communication in the neighborhood region. In this case some of the intermediate nodes should be silent to reverence their neighbors and this matter increases the end-to-end delay. To avoid this problem, multi-path routing algorithms can use zone-disjoint paths instead of node-disjoint paths. In this paper we demonstrated a new multi-path routing algorithm that selects zone-disjoint paths that in addition used for video multi-path transmission over ad hoc networks. It is shown that by using this new algorithm along with choosing an appropriate scheme for video transmission over discovered paths, our approach receives enhanced results comparing previously used algorithms. (shrink)

Any properly designed network coding technique can result in increased throughput and reliability of multi-hop wireless networks by taking advantage of the broadcast nature of wireless medium. In many inter-flow network coding schemes nodes are encouraged to overhear neighbour’s traffic in order to improve coding opportunities at the transmitter nodes. A study of these schemes reveal that some of the overheard packets are not useful for coding operation and thus this forced overhearing increases energy consumption dramatically. In this paper, we (...) formulate network coding aware sleep/wakeup scheduling as a semi Markov decision process (SMDP) that leads to an optimal node operation. In the proposed solution for SMDP, the network nodes learn when to switch off their transceiver in order to conserve energy and when to stay awake to overhear some useful packets. One of the main challenges... (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)

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)

In a short paper, Smilansky (2022) provides an argument in favor of the belief in social progress. He considers the "probability of losing a child" to be a pivotal element among various criteria to be assessed in order to evaluate human progress and as this probability has decreased considerably in the modern era, he evaluates humanity today in a better situation than the previous generations. In this paper, I criticize Smilansky's argument and try to show that his account of the (...) difference between historical periods is superficial. (shrink)

بررسی اصلی‌ترین چالش‌های میان دامت و مک داول در باب نظریة معنا و توصیف مناسب رفتار زبانی .

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)

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)

It is widely assumed that hallucinations are not a type of perception. Coupled with the idea that hallucinations possess phenomenal character, hallucinations raise a problem for naive realism, which maintains that phenomenal character is at least partly constituted by perceived worldly objects. While naive realists have typically responded by adopting a disjunctive view of phenomenal character, I argue that to resolve this conflict we should instead reject the idea that hallucinations are not a type of perception. I defend this view (...) by considering six alleged differences between hallucination and perception that are thought to support the idea that we do not perceive worldly objects when hallucinating. I argue that these differences are all accommodated for in a particular type of perception, picture perception. Drawing on picture perception's resources, I offer an account of hallucinations and their idiosyncrasies, in a way that is plausible in our world, that accounts for the variety of hallucination types, and that is compatible with naive realism. (shrink)

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)

Abstract: Heart diseases are increasing daily at a rapid rate and it is alarming and vital to predict heart diseases early. The diagnosis of heart diseases is a challenging task i.e. it must be done accurately and proficiently. The aim of this study is to determine which patient is more likely to have heart disease based on a number of medical features. We organized a heart disease prediction model to identify whether the person is likely to be diagnosed with a (...) heart disease or not using the medical features of the person. We used many different algorithms of machine learning such as Gaussian Mixture, Nearest Centroid, MultinomialNB, Logistic RegressionCV, Linear SVC, Linear Discriminant Analysis, SGD Classifier, Extra Tree Classifier, Calibrated ClassifierCV, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis, GaussianNB, Random Forest Classifier, ComplementNB, MLP Classifier, BernoulliNB, Bagging Classifier, LGBM Classifier, Ada Boost Classifier, K Neighbors Classifier, Logistic Regression, Gradient Boosting Classifier, Decision Tree Classifier, and Deep Learning to predict and classify the patient with heart disease. A quite helpful approach was used to regulate how the model can be used to improve the accuracy of prediction of heart diseases in any person. The strength of the proposed model was very satisfying and was able to predict evidence of having a heart disease in a particular person by using Deep Learning and Random Forest Classifier which showed a good accuracy in comparison to the other used classifiers. The proposed heart disease prediction model will enhances medical care and reduces the cost. This study gives us significant knowledge that can help us predict the person with heart disease. The dataset was collected from Kaggle depository and the model is implemented using python. (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)

Most readings of Tayib Salih’s Season of Migration to the North have focused on Mustafa Saeed and the nameless narrator, both male characters, and they have largely avoided a politically radical reading of the novel. This article attempts to present the female character, Hosna, as the revolutionary par excellence, following Lacan and Slavoj Žižek’s reading of Antigone. Th rough Žižek’s distinction between the act and action, this article argues that Hosna’s deed at the end of the novel, murder and suicide, (...) is not just an action out of hopelessness but rather an act that aims to make a new social order possible. We will try to connect Žižek’s distinction between act and action to Benjamin’s distinction between divine violence and mythic violence and Lacan’s idea of “Th ing-directed desire” (Marc De Kesel 245). By doing so, this article aims to put the extreme violence of Hosna in a new light and argues against the readings that simply ignore her act as an extreme form of violence and fail to see it in a broader framework of philosophical and sociological understanding. (shrink)

هدف از پژوهش حاضر، بررسی مسائل اخلاق هوش مصنوعی در حوزۀ هنر است. به‌این‌منظور، با تکیه بر فلسفه و اخلاق هوش مصنوعی، موضوعات اخلاقی که می‌تواند در حوزۀ هنر تأثیرگذار باشد، بررسی شده است. باتوجه‌به رشد و توسعۀ استفاده از هوش مصنوعی و ورود آن به حوزۀ هنر، نیاز است تا مباحث اخلاقی دقیق‌تر مورد توجه پژوهشگران هنر و فلسفه قرار گیرد. برای دست‌یابی به هدف پژوهش، با استفاده از روش تحلیلی‌ـ‌توصیفی، مفاهیمی همچون هوش مصنوعی، برخی تکنیک‌های آن و موضوعات (...) اخلاقی هوش مصنوعی در هنر تبیین و بررسی شده است. نتایج پژوهش نشان می‌دهد موضوعات اخلاقی همچون حریم خصوصی و نظارت، دستکاری در رفتار، تاری و شفافیت، سوگیری در تصمیمات سیستم، و اتوماسیون و اشتغال حوزۀ هنر قابل‌بررسی است. این موضوعات اخلاقی، گاهی درتقابل و گاهی در ارتباط مستقیم و هم‌سو با یکدیگر قرار دارند. بررسی‌ها نشان می‌دهد پاسخ به پرسش‌های اخلاق هوش مصنوعی در حوزۀ هنر، نیازمند پاسخ به پرسش‌های اخلاقی به‌صورت عام در هوش مصنوعی است. The aim of this paper is to explore the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of art. Drawing on the philosophy and ethics of AI, this study examines the ethical challenges that may arise in the art domain. Given the increasing use and penetration of AI in the field of art, there is a need for more careful attention to the ethical dimensions of this phenomenon by scholars of art and philosophy. To achieve the objective of the paper, concepts such as AI, some of its techniques, and the ethical issues of AI in art are explained and analyzed using the analytical-descriptive method. The findings of the study reveal that ethical issues such as privacy and surveillance, manipulation of behavior, opacity and transparency, bias in decision systems, and automation and employment can be investigated in the field of art. These ethical issues are sometimes in conflict and sometimes in direct relation with each other. This study suggests that addressing the ethical questions of AI in the field of art requires addressing the ethical questions of AI in general. (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)

The Indeterminacy of Translation and Radical Interpretation The indeterminacy of translation is the thesis that translation, meaning, and reference are all indeterminate: there are always alternative translations of a sentence and a term, and nothing objective in the world can decide which translation is the right one. This is a skeptical conclusion because what it … Continue reading The Indeterminacy of Translation and Radical Interpretation →.

The issue of the article is whether the experience of Beauty or love in Plato can be considered as some kind of religious experience. First, the article describes different views on the religious experience. Then it deals with Plato's view on beauty and love and their relationship. finally, demonstrating the divinity of Beauty in Plato, the article shows that if religious experience is an encounter of the experiencer with the divine being, or in religious term God, that manifests itself in (...) various forms, and that encounter is accompanied by a direct conscious of the divine being, then the experience of Beauty or love in Plato can be considered as a kind of religious experience. The article merely claims that the experience of Beauty or love is an instance of religious experience, and it does not have any epistemological view on religious experience, however, any epistemological view on religious experience logically includes the experience of Beauty or love. -/- Key words: religious experience, beauty, love, divinity, Plato . (shrink)

Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) was concerned that early Islamic philosophers were leaning too heavily and uncritically on Aristotelian and Neoplatonic ideas in developing their models of God and His relation to the world. He argued that their views were not only irreligious, but philosophically problematic, and he defended an alternative view aimed at staying closer to the Qur’an and the beliefs of the ordinary Muslim. Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) responded to al-Ghazali’s critique and developed a sophisticated Aristotelian view. The present chapter explores their (...) views in light of a problem facing any philosophical model of God in Islam or classical theism more generally, the problem of conceiving of God’s nature and relation to the world in a way that places an appropriate distance between God and humans. On the one hand, we want a notion of God that is not overly anthropomorphic, or that does not make him to be too much like us. On the other hand, we want to be able to say something positive and substantive about God. And we want to do this while preserving the harmony of reason and revelation, of philosophy and religion, as much as possible. (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)

The encounter of the medieval Muslims with Greek philosophy undeniably shaped the course of their philosophical and theological thought. This encounter led to the complex and contentious issue of ‘philosophy versus theology’. Medieval Muslim thinkers needed to develop a response to the issue of philosophy versus theology. The present article will first highlight the response of the Islamic theologians to their encounter with Greek philosophy in the form of three major trends in medieval Islamic theology: (1) strong opposition to the (...) application of reason and rationalist approach to Islamic doctrines, and strict adherence to the actual text of the Qur’an and the Hadith, (2) the adoption of Greek philosophy, and the application of reason and rationalist approach to explain and defend Islamic religion and (3) acknowledging the significance of reason in exploring the matters related to the natural world but, at the same time, stressing the subordination of reason to revelation. This article will discuss Atharism, Muʿtazilism and Ashʿarism as the representatives of the first, second and third trends, respectively. The response of the medieval Islamic theologians to the issue of philosophy versus theology serves as a context in which medieval Muslim philosophers carried out their philosophy–theology debate. The article will proceed to show that some medieval Muslim philosophers, such as Abu Bakr Al-Razi, subordinated religion or revelation to philosophy or reason. Other medieval Muslim philosophers, such as Al-Ghazali, subordinated philosophy to theology. The third group of medieval Islamic philosophers represented by Alfarabi argued for the reconciliation and harmonious co-existence of philosophy and religion. Contribution: This article highlights the response of medieval Islamic theologians and philosophers to the issue of philosophy versus theology that was caused by their encounter with Greek philosophy. (shrink)

Philosophy and religion were the two important sources of knowledge for medieval Arab Muslim polymaths. Owing to the difference between the nature of philosophy and religion, the interplay between philosophy and religion often takes the form of conflict in medieval Muslim thought as exemplified by the Al-Ghazali versus Averroes (Ibn Rusd) polemic. Unlike the Al-Ghazali versus Averroes (Ibn Rushd) polemic, the interplay between philosophy and religion in the political philosophy of Abu Nasr Alfarabi takes the form of harmonious co-existence. Although, (...) for Alfarabi, religion is an inferior form of knowledge as compared to philosophy, the present article will show that philosophy and religion play equally significant roles in Alfarabi’s virtuous city and that in the absence of either philosophy or religion, the political system proposed by Alfarabi cannot exist. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Attributing different titles to the activity of teaching Turkish to non-native speakers is related to the perspective of those who conduct this activity. If Turkish Language teaching centres are sub-units of Schools of Foreign Languages and Departments of Foreign Languages of our Universities or teachers have a foreign language background, then the title “Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language” is adopted and claimed to be universal. In determining success at teaching and learning, the psychological perception of the educational activity (...) and the associational power of the words used are far more important factors than the teacher, students, educational environment and educational tools. For this reason, avoiding the negative connotations of the adjective “foreign” in the activity of teaching foreigners Turkish as spoken in Turkey would be beneficial. In order for the activity of Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers to be successful, it is crucial to dwell on the formal and contextual quality of the books written for this purpose. Almost none of the course books and supplementary books in the field of teaching Turkish to non-native speakers has taken Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers into consideration. The books written for the purpose of teaching Turkish to non-speakers should be examined thoroughly in terms of content and method and should be organized in accordance with the purpose and level of readiness of the target audience. Activities of Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers are still conducted at public and private primary and secondary schools and colleges as well as private courses by self-educated teachers who are trained within a master-apprentice relationship. Turkic populations who had long been parted by necessity have found the opportunity to reunite and turn towards common objectives after the dissolution of The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This recent state of affairs resulting from the use of various alphabets such as Arabic, Kirill, Latin by Turkic republics that declared independence and by autonomous and semi-autonomous Turkic communities or Turkic minorities living in various regions in the World have risen the need for a common communicative language and alphabet among the cognate people of those communities. For this reason, Activities of Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers have gained a particular significance today. Activities of Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers are still handled within the scope of “Teaching Turkish to Foreigners” and people who have no background of Turkish language are given the same curriculum as Turkic speakers. This causes students who have zero Turkish language background and the ones who have the basic structural knowledge of the language at a native level to be given the same education in the same classroom environment and same tests. In these classrooms where the students’ levels of readiness vary dramatically, half of the students are unable to follow the lesson. While teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey to the Turkic speakers, the equivalence level of the words in the dialect to be taught must be taken into consideration. You can teach someone who knows nothing about a subject better than the ones that have different or inaccurate knowledge of the subject. The same applies to teaching Turkish spoken in Turkey to Turkic speakers. In order to decide which of The Turkic dialects is to be the common communicative language, we must pay attention to factors such as the geographical size of the land that the dialect is spoken in, the domain, the level of appeal and the power of the dialect in visual and print media. As Turkish spoken in Turkey is number one in almost all of these factors, it should be the common communicative language among Turkic speakers. When taught consciously in a classroom environment, the similarities and associations between the dialects would help Turkic speakers to learn Turkish language more easily; but when neglected, the result would be the opposite. To form the first texts with the common words in Turkic dialects in the books to be written for Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers would facilitate language learning. There is a need for a systematic study in terms of every aspect such as the title, the common alphabet, the books and materials to be produced and teaching methods to be used in Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers. The characteristics of Turkish dialect spoken in Turkey and other Turkic dialects are still not considered in the activities conducted on the subject; and the activity is considered as foreign language teaching instead of teaching another dialect of Turkish language. It is considered that Turkish as spoken in Turkey should be the common communicative language among the Turkish world and for this reason it is crucial to teach it to people who speak other dialects of Turkic languages. First of all, common and similar semantic, vocal and structural units in the dialects must be identified and texts and methods that emphasize these similarities must be determined. Teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey should be divided into two main sections as “Teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey to Native Turkic speakers” and “Teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey to Non-native Speakers” and teaching methods and educational tools should be determined accordingly. “Teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey to Native Turkic speakers” should also be classified into groups. For example, under the sub title of “Teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey to Turkic speakers”, specific course books for “Azerbaijan Turks, Kirghiz Turks, Kazakh Turks, Uzbek Turks and Turkman Turks, etc.” should be prepared in order to teach them Turkish as spoken in Turkey. In addition, instead of grammar based methods, techniques that give grammatical knowledge subtly should be preferred in Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers. While teaching Turkish to adults that come from various parts of the world with various language knowledge and skills, we should benefit from the power of pictures and shapes which are considered the common language of humankind. The sentence, which is the basic component that states a meaningful idea, should be taken as basis while teaching the language; and for the ones who do not know the Turkish alphabet, firstly letters, which are the smallest units of written language, should be comprehended by means of alphabets with pictures. Instead of making students memorize words, the meanings and forms of the words should be presented within the sentences while tenses and personal pronouns and endings should be comprehended within the sentence. While teaching sentences; first, correct pronunciation of the sentence, the meaning and correct articulation (first oral and then written) of the sentence, and then how to analyse the sentence structure and produce similar sentences should be taught; stress, intonation and spelling rules should be comprehended by means of sentences. Teaching Turkish as spoken in Turkey to Turkic speakers and Teaching Turkish to foreigners are still considered the same. A state policy has to be formed on this matter; the scope, content and teaching method of teaching Turkish to non-native speakers must be evaluated based on scientific criteria and measures must be taken in terms of professional Turkish language teaching. In a word, new measures must be taken and scientific studies must be conducted for the activity of Teaching Turkish as Spoken in Turkey to Turkic Speakers in terms of fields varying from raising course teachers, producing course books, determining the method and location of the class to the production and selection of educational tools. (shrink)

Miriam Schoenfield argues that moral realism and moral vagueness imply ontic vagueness. In particular, she argues that neither shifty nor rigid semantic accounts of vagueness can provide a satisfactory explanation of moral vagueness for moral realists. This paper constitutes a response. I argue that Schoenfield's argument against the shifty semantic account presupposes that moral indeterminacies can, in fact, be resolved determinately by crunching through linguistic data. I provide different reasons for rejecting this assumption. Furthermore, I argue that Schoenfield's rejection of (...) the rigid semantic account is based on a presupposition that ultimately implies the very same claim that is under dispute: the vagueness of moral predicates in imperfect languages persists in the perfect language, as well. (shrink)

There is a tendency among scholars to identify Alfarabi’s political philosophy in general and his theory of the state in particular with that of Plato’s The Republic. Undoubtedly Alfarabi was well versed in the philosophy of Plato and was greatly influenced by it. He borrows the Platonic concept of the philosopher king and uses it in his theory of the state. However, we argue that the identification of Alfarabi’s virtuous city with that of Plato’s The Republic is an inaccurate assessment (...) as it involves overlooking Alfarabi’s unique religiopolitical context. Alfarabi was a Muslim political philosopher, and the present article intends to understand Alfarabi’s theory of the state in light of his historical context. The article shows that, viewed through the prism of Islamic religion and political history, Alfarabi’s virtuous city seems distinct from that of Plato’s The Republic. (shrink)

In this paper I make a case for a genuine and legitimate role for philosophy in modern Islamic culture. However, I argue that in order to make any progress towards reinstating such philosophical activity, we need to look deep into the nature and essence of modern philosophy. In this paper I aim to do this precisely by challenging modern philosophy’s self conception as an absolute critique (i.e. a critique of everything/anything). I argue that such a conception is not only misconceived, (...) it is also ideological in character. Looking back to its origins, I develop a genealogy of modern philosophy’s self-understanding in order to deconstruct it and disassociate it from other possible alternative conceptions of philosophy. I argue that we should reject the notion of philosophy as absolute critique, as it is ideologically motivated and oppressive. Instead, I argue for a more modest conception of philosophy as a subject which provides tools for developing human powers of reflection. (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)

In his political treatise, Mabadi ara ahl al-madina al-fadhila, Abu Nasr Alfarabi, the medieval Muslim philosopher, proposes a theory of virtuous city which, according to prominent scholars, is modeled on Plato’s utopia of the Republic. No doubt that Alfarabi was well-versed in the philosophy of Plato and the basic framework of his theory of city is platonic. However, his theory of city is not an exact reproduction of the Republic’s theory and, despite glaring similarities, the two theories do differ in (...) many aspects. In both, Alfarabi’s Mabadi ara ahl al-madina al-fadhila and Plato’s Republic, the theory of virtuous city is accompanied by a theory of the soul. Since the theory of soul plays a foundational role in both theories of the virtuous city, the present article intends to provide an explanation for the differences between the two theories of the city in terms of the differences between the two theories of the soul. (shrink)

My dissertation contributes to a central and ongoing debate in the philosophy of perception about the fundamental nature of perceptual states. Such states include cases like seeing, hearing, or tasting as well as cases of merely seeming to see, hear, or taste. A central question about perceptual states arises in light of misperceptual phenomena. A commonsensical view of perceptual states construes them as simply relating us to the external and mind independent objects. But some misperceptual cases suggest that these states (...) fall short of contact with the world. The result is that perceptual states are either thought to fundamentally consist in a highest common factor that falls short of perceptual contact with the world, or are thought to be disjunctive in nature, with some cases involving perceptual contact, and others receiving a different analysis. Contrary to these views, I argue that no misperceptual cases compromise perceptual contact with worldly objects, so perceptual states should be understood as relations to the external and mind-independent world. I call this view I defend Pure Relationalism, and the view of misperceptual cases that makes pure relationalism possible Illusionism. (shrink)

There are two dominant approaches towards understanding medieval Muslim philosophy: Greek ancestry approach and religiopolitical context approach. In the Greek ancestry approach, medieval Muslim philosophy is interpreted in terms of its relation to classical Greek philosophy, particularly to the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. The religiopolitical context approach, however, views a thorough understanding of the religious and political situation of that time as the key to the proper understanding of medieval Muslim philosophy. Notwithstanding the immense significance of the two approaches (...) for understanding medieval Muslim philosophy, the question on the reason behind medieval Muslim philosophers’ preference for Plato’s Republic over Aristotle’s Politics in political philosophy is not accurately answered. This preference is usually attributed either to the availability or unavailability of the text or to the suitability or unsuitability of the text for Islamic theological views. However, this article shows that neither the availability or unavailability of text nor its suitability or unsuitability for Islamic religious and theological views can appropriately explain medieval Muslim philosophers’ preference for Plato’s Republic over Aristotle’s Politics in their political thought. This article proposes that the key to understand this preference lies in understanding the transmission of Greek philosophy to medieval Muslim philosophers. Contribution: This study highlights the significance of the thorough understanding of the transmission of Greek philosophy to medieval Muslim world as one of the important approaches towards proper understanding of medieval Muslim philosophy, particularly medieval Muslim political philosophy. (shrink)

In this paper I propose a framework to understand the transition in Foucault’s work from the disciplinary model to the governmentality model. Foucault’s work on power emerges within the general context of an expression of capitalist rationality and the nature of freedom and power within it. I argue that, thus understood, Foucault’s transition to the governmentality model can be seen simultaneously as a deepening recognition of what capitalism is and how it works, but also as a recognition of the changing (...) historical nature of the actually existing capitalisms and their specifically situated historical needs. I then argue that the disciplinary model should be understood as a contingent response to the demands of early capitalism, and argue that with the maturation of the capitalist enterprise many of those responses are no longer necessary. New realities require new responses; although this does not necessarily result in the abandonment of the earlier disciplinary model, it does require their reconfiguration according to the changed situation and the new imperatives following from it. (shrink)

Contemporary philosophers have largely neglected Richard Taylor’s design argument. Given that the initial responses to the argument were largely negative, one might be tempted to conclude that the argument is simply philosophically inadequate. This paper rejects that conclusion by showing how Taylor’s argument has been misunderstood by his critics. In defending Taylor, it is shown that the two types of objections levied against him fail to even blemish his design argument, let alone refute it. Consideration is also given to the (...) argument’s historical lineage, along with a proposal for future considerations of the connection between epistemological realism and design. (shrink)

The relation between the regimes of the accumulation of men and the accumulation of capital is problematised in the works of Michel Foucault. The paper challenges the prevailing wisdom that the relation between these regimes is contingent. The fundamental question of the conditions of the possibility of relation between the two regimes is raised. It is argued that both regimes are primordially related. Focusing on the Foucauldian analysis of the regime of the accumulation of men and its constituent elements an (...) effort is made to thematize the primordial relation between the two regimes. It is shown that freedom is the condition of the possibility of a primordial relation between the two regimes. It is explained why freedom plays such a fundamental role in making possible and sustaining a capitalist order. The dual role of freedom as a principle of diversity and a principle of management is stressed. It is argued that capitalism as an order is conditioned upon the production and reproduction of individuals and populations that are simultaneously useful and free. It is also the condition of such an order that docility is produced without hampering utility. Freedom makes possible the enhancement of utility without making it unmanageable. (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)

I introduce the reader to the character and complexity of lying, in terms of how the lie should be defined as a particular type of intentionally deceptive utterance, whether or not the deceiver succeeded in that aim, and examine how we might usefully avoid prejudging the justifiability of the lying utterance when compared to alternative forms of intentional deception and the overall outcome sought.

Lynn White’s seminal article on the historical roots of the ecological crisis, which inspired radical environmentalism, has cast suspicion upon religion as the source of modern anthropocentrism. To pave the way for a viable Islamic environmental ethics, charges of anthropocentrism need to be faced and rebutted. Therefore, the bulk of this paper will seek to establish the non- anthropocentric credentials of Islamic thought. Islam rejects all forms of anthropocentrism by insisting upon a transcendent God who is utterly unlike His creation. (...) Humans share the attribute of being God’s creations with all other beings, which makes them internally related to every other being, indeed to every single entity in this universe. This solves the problem that radical environmentalism has failed to solve, namely, how to define our relation with nature and other beings without dissolving our specificity. Furthermore, Islamic ethics structures human relations strictly around the idea of limiting desires. The resulting ethico-legal synthesis, made workable by a pragmatic legal framework, can sustain a justifiable use of nature and its resources without exploiting them. The exploitation of nature is inherently linked to the exploitation of one’s self and of fellow human beings. Such exploitation, according to Qur’anic wisdom, is the direct result of ignoring the divine law and the ethics of dealing with self and “other.” Only by reverting to the divine law and ethics can exploitation be overcome. The paper ends by briefly considering possible objections and challenges vis-à-vis developing a philosophically viable yet religiously oriented environmental ethics. (shrink)

Reducing Being hierarchies down to the physical entities, empirical science having occupied with destroying the sanctity of the universe; does thinking about Sacred architecture suggests a way to release contemporary man from nihilism? The authors’ response is affirmative; therefore, investigating the quality of Sacred disclosure in the religious architecture of Islam and Hinduism, they search for understanding a lost meaning that had been manifesting there. The method of research consists of a comparative study about Islamic mosques and Hindu temples according (...) to phenomenology. Offering existential relation with Sacred architecture by a personal experience for understanding the quality of Sacred manifestation, they criticize semiology and phenomenology methods. (shrink)

In this paper, I propose to look closely at certain crucial aspects of the logic of Rawls' argument in Political Liberalism and related subsequent writings. Rawls' argument builds on the notion of comprehensiveness, whereby a doctrine encompasses the full spectrum of the life of its adherents. In order to show the mutual conflict and irreconcilability of comprehensive doctrines, Rawls needs to emphasise the comprehensiveness of doctrines, as their irreconcilability to a large extent emanates from that comprehensiveness. On the other hand, (...) in order to show the possibility and plausibility of the political liberal solution he needs to emphasise that most of these doctrines are reasonable: i.e., they are willing to cede a portion of their authority to political liberalism for the right reasons. Yet, if they are willing to cede a portion of their authority to a political conception they cannot be as comprehensive as we initially thought they were. All these elements highlight the tension in the argument itself. I suggest that many of these tensions can be removed by making Rawls' account more flexible. In this context I propose certain amendments to Rawls' account, which may overcome some of the tensions mentioned above. (shrink)

As in all languages, Arabic and accordingly Quran which was revealed in a clear, fluent form of Arabic language, have words and concepts that are used in various meanings. The root “SHB” is one of these words which express different meanings depending on its context. This word is used ninety seven times in name and verb form in Quran to express “the togetherness/conversation which is constituted in different places and times, by people who have different ideas and beliefs, among themselves (...) (believer- believer or nonbeliever – nonbeliever) and with others (believer – nonbeliever) in this world and in the Hereafter”. -/- In this study, the basic/root meaning of the root “SHB” is identified firstly by the help of classical dictionaries, commentaries of Quran, and poems. Then the use of this word in Quran in name and verb forms is pointed, and its meanings which differ according to the verse, to the attaching words and to the context are identified. (shrink)

Rawls in his later philosophy claims that it is sufficient to accept political conception as true or right, depending on what one's worldview allows, on the basis of whatever reasons one can muster, given one's worldview (doctrine). What political liberalism is interested in is a practical agreement on the political conception and not in our reasons for accepting it. There are deep issues (regarding deep values, purpose of life, metaphysics etc.) which cannot be resolved through invoking common reasons (this is (...) the fact of free reason itself), and trying to resolve them would involve us in interminable debates and would hamper the practical task of agreement on the political conception. Given the absolute necessity of a political society which is stable and enduring, it is thus wise to avoid these issues in founding a political society and choosing its basic principles - this is the pragmatic part of Rawls's position. In this paper I argue that this strategy leads Rawls into a paradox: (i) although the intention is to stay independent of comprehensive doctrines, the political conception is in fact totally (and precariously) dependent on comprehensive doctrines (not just on one doctrine but on each and every major doctrine in society). It is dependent on them: for its conceptualisation as an independent idea, for its justification, for the check of its reasonability in relation to the external world, for the formation of identities and value inculcation and hence for the formation of its model citizen; (ii) the very search for independence makes the political conception more dependent on comprehensive doctrines, and by extension makes it potentially more prone to intervention in and tampering with comprehensive doctrines (it is enough to show that it is a strong conceptual possibility to cast doubt on the whole strategy). Thus, for example, the political conception relies on the hope that “firmly held convictions gradually change” and that it would “in fact . . . have the capacity to shape those doctrines toward itself”. The purpose of the Rawlsian conjecture is to give these “hopes” a concrete, practical form by giving advice to proponents of the comprehensive doctrine on how they can do all this and “try to show them that, despite what they might think, they can still endorse a reasonable political conception”. I further argue that this paradox can be overcome by making the core of political liberalism more flexible. (shrink)

The manufacturing industry is evolving rapidly, becoming more complex, more interconnected, and more geographically distributed. Competitive pressure and diversity of consumer demand are driving manufacturing companies to rely more and more on improved knowledge management practices. As a result, multiple software systems are being created to support the integration of data across the product life cycle. Unfortunately, these systems manifest a low degree of interoperability, and this creates problems, for instance when different enterprises or different branches of an enterprise interact. (...) Common ontologies (consensus-based controlled vocabularies) have proved themselves in various domains as a valuable tool for solving such problems. In this paper, we present a consensus-based Additive Manufacturing Ontology (AMO) and illustrate its application in promoting re-usability in the field of dentistry product manufacturing. (shrink)

This study addresses the issue of the climate change crisis, which has caused many dangerous phenomena for humanity, due to greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, drought, and others. The most important reason for this phenomenon that worries the world is human behavior, especially the use of fossil fuels. The largest contributor to this behavior is international oil companies, which export oil to all countries of the world. The most important major source of oil is the Middle East. Oil (...) companies operating there play an essential role in the growth of the oil industry around the world, which has caused a significant increase in the level of global greenhouse gas emissions. The study reviews the practices undertaken by national companies in the Middle East and their attempts to mitigate the effects of climate change by adopting environmental sustainability policies. This study aims to evaluate national oil companies operating in the Middle East region to determine the level of companies’ ability to contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. The study reached many results and identified companies with high environmental performance and positive methods that can be disseminated to achieve the required environmental sustainability and implement sustainable development practices, and how to benefit from social marketing and direct it towards enhancing awareness of climate risks. (shrink)