E-Government refers to the administration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the procedures and functions of the government with the objective of enhancing the transparency, efficiency and participation of the citizens. E-Government is tough systems that require distribution, protection of privacy and security and collapse of these could result in social and economic costs on a large scale. Many of the available e-government systems like electronic identity system of management (eIDs), websites are established at duplicated databases and servers. An (...) established validation and management system could face a single failure point and the system is prone to Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS), denial of service attacks (DoS), malware and other cyber attacks. The execution of a privacy preserving and a secure decentralized system is enabled by the block chain technology. Here any third-party organizations do not have any control over the transactions of the Government. With the help of block chain technology, new and existing data are encapsulated within ledger or blocks, which are evenly distributed through the network in an enduring and sustainable way. The privacy and security of information are improved with the help of block chain technology, where distribution and encryption of data are performed through the total network. This analytical paper maps out the analysis of the security in the e-government system, utilizing the block chain technology that provides privacy and security of information and thereby enhancing the trust among the public sector. Qualitative and theoretical analysis is made for the proposed topic and implications of privacy and security of the proposed system is made. (shrink)

The integration of Internet Protocol and Embedded Systems can enhance the communication platform. This paper describes the emerging smart technologies based on Internet of Things (IOT) and internet protocols along with embedded systems for monitoring and controlling smart devices with the help of WiFi technology and web applications. The internet protocol (IP) address has been assigned to the things to control and operate the devices via remote network that facilitates the interoperability and end-to-end communication among various devices c,onnected over a (...) network. The HTTP POST and HTTP GET command that supports the RESTful service have been used to ensure the transmission and reception of packets between the IOT Gateway and Cloud Database. The emerging smart technologies based on the Internet of Things (IoT) facilitated features like automation, controllability, interconnectivity, reliability which in turn turn paved the way for a wide range of acceptance amongst the masses. The Internet of Things (IoT) has brought in many new emerging technologies into varoius field like our daily lives, industry, agricultural sector, and many more. The world is experiencing the explosive growth with the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) these years. The potential growth of IoT is enoromous which is evidenced by all the human beings in our day to day life. (shrink)

This study uses convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to automate wildlife surveillance by classifying animal species from images. It starts with collecting and preprocessing image data through resizing, normalization, augmentation, and noise reduction. Transfer learning with models like VGG16 or ResNet is used to enhance accuracy and training efficiency. A CNN model is developed using convolutional, pooling, and fully connected layers. The model is evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. Challenges like lighting variation, background clutter, and occlusion are addressed using (...) optimization techniques. The system supports conservation efforts and suggests future improvements with real-time monitoring and object detection. (shrink)

Building an accurate load forecasting model with minimal under predictions is vital to prevent any undesired power outages due to underproduction of electricity. However, the power consumption patterns of the residential sector contain fluctuations and anomalies making them challenging to predict. In this paper, we propose multiple Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) frameworks with different asymmetric loss functions to impose a higher penalty on underpredictions. We also apply a density based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) anomaly detection approach, prior (...) to the load forecasting task, to remove any present outliers. (shrink)

David Milner and Melvyn Goodale’s dissociation hypothesis is commonly taken to state that there are two functionally specialized cortical streams of visual processing originating in striate (V1) cortex: a dorsal, action-related “unconscious” stream and a ventral, perception-related “conscious” stream. As Milner and Goodale acknowledge, findings from blindsight studies suggest a more sophisticated picture that replaces the distinction between unconscious vision for action and conscious vision for perception with a tripartite division between unconscious vision for action, conscious vision for perception, and (...) unconscious vision for perception. The combination excluded by the tripartite division is the possibility of conscious vision for action. But are there good grounds for concluding that there is no conscious vision for action? There is now overwhelming evidence that illusions and perceived size can have a significant effect on action (Bruno & Franz, 2009; Dassonville & Bala, 2004; Franz & Gegenfurtner, 2008; McIntosh & Lashley, 2008). There is also suggestive evidence that any sophisticated visual behavior requires collaboration between the two visual streams at every stage of the process (Schenk & McIntosh, 2010). I nonetheless want to make a case for the tripartite division between unconscious vision for action, conscious vision for perception, and unconscious vision for perception. My aim here is not to refute the evidence showing that conscious vision can affect action but rather to argue (a) that we cannot gain cognitive access to action-guiding dorsal stream representations, and (b) that these representations do not correlate with phenomenal consciousness. This vindicates the semi-conservative view that the dissociation hypothesis is best understood as a tripartite division. (shrink)

What happens to the inner light of consciousness with the death of the individual body and brain? Reductive materialism assumes it simply fades to black. Others think of consciousness as indicating a continuation of self, a transformation, an awakening or even alternatives based on the quality of life experience. In this issue, speculation drawn from theoretic research are presented. -/- Table of Contents Epigraph: From “The Immortal”, Jorge Luis Borges iii Editor’s Introduction: I Killed a Squirrel the Other Day, Gregory (...) M. Nixon iv-xi Research Essays The Tilde Fallacy and Reincarnation: Variations on a "Skeptical" Argument Teed Rockwell 862-881 Death, Consciousness, and Phenomenology, Steve Bindeman 882-899 The Idealist View of Consciousness After Death, Bernardo Kastrup 900-909 Consciousness, a Cosmic Phenomenon—A Hypothesis, Eva Déli 910-930 The Theory of a Natural Afterlife: A Newfound, Real Possibility for What Awaits Us at Death, Bryon K. Ehlmann 931-950 Near-Death Cases Desegregating Non-Locality/Disembodiment via Quantum Mediated Consciousness: An Extended Version of the Cell-Soul Pathway, Contzen Pereira & J Shashi Kiran Reddy 951-968 On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness After Brain Death, Massimo Pregnolato & Alfredo Pereira Jr. 969-991 Science and Postmortem Survival, Edward F. Kelly 992-1011 Explorations ISS Theory: Cosmic Consciousness, Self, and Life Beyond Death in a Hyperdimensional Physics, Chris H. Hardy 1012-1035 Does the Consciousness End, Remain Awake, or Transform After Death? Radivoj Stankovich (with Micho Durdevich) 1036-1050 Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death, Ken Bausch 1051-1063 Death, Consciousness and the Quantum Paradigm, Ronald Peter Glasberg 1064-1077 Living With Limits: The Continuum of Consciousness, Donald Brackett 1078-1098 Mysticism, Consciousness, Death, Mike Sosteric 1099-1118 What Dies? Eternalism and the Afterlife in William James, Jonathan Bricklin 1119-1140 Theories of Consciousness and Death: Does Consciousness End, Continue, Awaken, or Transform When the Body Dies? Roger Cook 1141-1153 It’s the Other Way Around: Matter is a Form of Consciousness and Death is the End of the Illusion of Life in the World, James P. Kowall & Pradeep B. Deshpande 1154-1208 Statements A Feminine Vision for the World Consciousness, & a New Outrageous Ontology, Lorna Green 1209-1217 The Mask of Eternity: The Quest for Immortality and the Afterlife, Iona Miller 1218-1228 Are We Really “such stuff as dreams are made on”? Chris Nunn 1229-1225 Is the Afterlife a Non-Question? (Let's Hope Not), Deepak Chopra 1226-1230 Life After Death? An Improbable Essay, Stuart Kauffman 1231-1236. (shrink)

This essay delves into the essentialities of object-giving sources within the formulation of epistemic objectivity. It explores the relationship between objectivity and intentional states, particularly in the context of immediate and transcendent experiences. A key focus of this paradigm is the examination of inferences and how they are held in X’s intentional processes. These claims about inferences contribute to the perception of objectivity by highlighting the epistemological transitions of things that occur in the constitutive ideation. Additionally, the activity within X’s (...) episteme leads to significant articulations that reflect a structural realism of experiences. The essay also introduces a convention of the experiential-intentional process so that the causality manipulations could be avoided by the precents of sources of ideation. In this instance, the central niche is occupied by transcendental reflections of intentionality, which are fundamentally founded on experiences and objectivity, and they possess a distinct rhetorical quality. They manifest as acts, propositional forms, and constituents, all of which contribute to the understanding and justification of objectivity. To establish such a framework that upholds objectivity, certain prerequisites must be met. Firstly, the framework must possess justificational resources that prevent causality manipulations. Secondly, pre-reflective sources should not inter-define causality in epistemic circumstances, although this does not exclude the emergence of causal relations, and thus this approach offers a correlational explanation. Lastly, transcendental reflections should remain compatible with the experiential-intentional process, allowing for the accommodation of subjectivity in the justification of objectivity. (shrink)

Given the great significance of institutions in the journey towards sustainability, most of them lack the ability to measure and improve their ESG activities. Based on this argument, this work presents the development of a web-based application called ESGConnect, intended to assist institutions in the evaluation process pertaining to their sustainability practices through an interactive structured submission and feedback mechanism. In ESGConnect, institutions provide ESG-related documents, which administrators verify and score with recommendations on how to enhance the documents based on (...) the Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria. User-specific dashboards are present on the tool: administrators monitor submissions, whereas users see scores and comments associated with the submissions. In addition to these items, ESGConnect also supports collaboration because students and various stakeholders are allowed to have a dedicated online community for discussion and sharing information on sustainability practices. The architecture of the platform relies on Java Servlets, JSP, and database integration for easy handling of user management and data. Preliminary testing does indeed suggest that ESGConnect might be able to facilitate better communications and actionable insights for institutions interested in improving their sustainability efforts. Expansion of the platform features and improvement in scalability to service a much larger number of educational institutions are part of the future work. (shrink)

The project is aimed at an arduous task of precise identification of medicinal plant species with the problem being pertinent in those industries that include botany, Ayurveda, pharmacology, and biomedical research. Most of the traditional identification methods are quite serious challenges for users, researchers, and students because they are usually time-consuming, knowledge-intensive, and prone to human errors. Our proposal develops an advanced web-based application for this process by utilizing state-of-the-art methods in image processing and machine learning. We will create a (...) platform where users can upload or take pictures of plant specimens and obtain accurate identifications and comprehensive medical information by using machine learning algorithms with plant species image datasets. This application is done in a way that the interface would be user-friendly and favor research, identification, and learning, especially for Ayurvedic practitioners, biomedical specialists, botanists, and students. Therefore, our project is aimed at developing an exhaustive and reliable solution for medicinal plant identification and study by overcoming the deficiencies of existing systems, such as a small dataset, poor variable quality, and lack of complete medicinal information. (shrink)

This paper has been designed to develop the user-friendly server log management and monitoring system for the educational portal in an endeavor to enhance its capabilities. Server log management assumes a primary role in the current digital world in the maintenance of the health of the system, in the diagnosis of problems, and in ensuring that accountability is maintained. Current practice in log management is usually disjointed and does not have advanced mechanisms capable of handling the complexities of modern systems. (...) Our approach consolidates log information collection from the source thus coming through operating systems, applications, services, and devices on the network using Logstash to collect much easier log data. All log data collected will be structured in Elasticsearch with compression and archiving, which allows for long-term storage and minimizes the costs to the consumer. This means that users will be able to make more precise queries and filter log entries for analyzing the same in terms of time, log level, source, and keywords. In order to improve responsiveness to issues of critical concern, Kibana will be configured to send alerts based on predefined rules and provide insights through the use of charts and dashboards. All of these capabilities will allow them to determine trends, build reports, and support auditing and compliance. A high priority for the project was accessibility. We shall have an intuitive system: easy to implement, easy to use, for the target user groups intended here with minimum technical knowledge on their part, well supported by documentation. Deliverables expected would include a server log management system tuned for the Educational portal framework, which would improve system performance and security monitoring, real- time incident response, and operational efficiency through automating log classification. Finally, the project will implement Educational portal with an all-around effective tool for log management that can aid in efficient governance and security along with compliance to regulatory standards. Of course, our system will use the ELK stack to make it scalable and flexible enough to be ready for the unique demands of Educational based applications. (shrink)

Guava is a widely cultivated tropical fruit crop valued for its nutritional richness and economic benefits. However, guava production is often hindered by the prevalence of various leaf diseases, such as anthracnose, rust, and bacterial leaf spot, which significantly affect both yield and fruit quality. Timely and accurate detection of these diseases is critical to prevent widespread damage and ensure better crop management. Traditional disease detection techniques primarily rely on manual observation and expertise, which are not only time-consuming and labor-intensive (...) but also prone to human error. These limitations highlight the need for an automated, efficient, and scalable solution for guava disease identification. This project proposes a deep learning-based approach for the automated detection of guava leaf diseases using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). (shrink)

This chapter situates Karl Marx’s dissertation The Difference between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature (1841) within his intellectual biography. It explores the role of a German ideal known as Bildung, translated as “education”, “cultivation” or “culture”, within Marx’s classical education in the Gymnasium and the dissertation itself. Both Wilhelm von Humboldt, who reformed the Gymnasium curriculum prior to Marx’s attendance, and philosopher G.W.F. Hegel have classically inspired notions of Bildung. Each presents the white European man as the model (...) for this “education” or “cultivation”. This chapter argues that the dissertation assimilates Epicurus and his atom into this Eurocentric paradigm, with Marx taking for granted his predecessors’ racist teleology of history and applying their conception of the individual to the atom. Then, it addresses the dissertation’s influence in the development of historical materialism, a facet of Marxism already critiqued for its Eurocentrism. This chapter concludes by showing how non-White and non-Western Marxists have updated Marxist thought through constant critique of its Eurocentrism instead of abandoning its revolutionary vision. It suggests that Marxism is relevant to scholars of antiquity not because of the dissertation but the tradition’s self-interrogation of its foundational ideas and persistent focus on improving the conditions of the marginalised. (shrink)

The Next-Gen Medication Guidance System is a cutting-edge healthcare tool designed to streamline the process of drug selection and optimize therapeutic outcomes by providing personalized medication recommendations. The system utilizes an advanced combination of artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning algorithms to analyze a wide array of patient-specific data, including medical history, symptoms, lab results, demographic factors, and past medication responses. By processing this data, NMGS generates customized drug suggestions that are tailored to the individual needs (...) of each patient, ensuring that the prescribed treatments are not only effective but also safe. Key features of the NMGS include real-time drug interaction checking, adverse event prediction, and automated identification of potential contraindications, which help clinicians make informed decisions and minimize the risk of harmful drug interactions. The system is designed to integrate seamlessly with Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems, allowing healthcare professionals to access drug recommendations directly from their existing workflows, thus saving time and reducing the potential for errors. The system’s decision support is based on a dynamic, continually updated database of pharmaceutical information, clinical guidelines, and evidence-based research. This allows the NMGS to recommend the most current and relevant drug therapies, incorporating the latest advances in medicine and evolving medical standards. Additionally, the system can adapt to different healthcare environments, supporting both individual clinicians in private practice and large healthcare institutions. By enhancing clinical decision-making, the Integrated Drug Suggestion System aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce the incidence of adverse drug events, and promote the rational use of medications. The implementation of NMGS represents a significant advancement in the field of clinical informatics, contributing to the shift towards more precise, personalized, and efficient healthcare deliver. (shrink)

This project focuses on simplifying the legal documentation process for small businessesand individuals in India. Utilizing advanced technologies such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI-driven models, the system automatically drafts and simplifies complex legaldocuments. The platform features a user-friendly interface for easy input, integration withup-to-date legal resources, and ensures strict data privacy and security. By reducing the time, effort, and potential errors associated with legal documentation, the assistant aims to improve accessibility to legal services and promotegreater access to justice. (...) This documentation provides a comprehensive guide to the design, features, and implementation of the AI-powered solution. (shrink)

Social media has transformedevery communication and posting modality into sharing and expression of opinions. Everyday, an enormous amount of data shared on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram portrays varied emotions that range between positive endorsements and negative criticisms. This is the very aspect of sentiments that make up the core basis through which marketing strategies are developed, along with improvement of customer services and the promotion of brand loyalty for businesses and organizations. Traditional approaches to sentiment analysis will struggle with (...) dynamic and voluminous data from social media, which makes it require very high tools that would be able to analyze them in real-time. (shrink)

Slavná kniha Elementární formy náboženského života francouzského sociologa Émile Durkheima je jedním z nejdůležitějších příspěvků k sociologii náboženství. Po řadu let byla vychvalována a citována, stejně jako kritizována a zavrhována. Kniha se stala chartou celé řady sociálně vědních badatelů, zejména těch, kteří se zaměřovali na studium společnosti a náboženství. V roce 1966 však vyšel článek amerického antropologa Clifforda Geertze nazvaný „Nábo- ženství jako kulturní systém", v němž autor tvrdil, že Durkheimova teorie náboženství, stejně jako teorie náboženství Sigmunda Freuda, Bronislawa Malinowského (...) a Maxe Webera, by měla být překonána dokonalejší teorií náboženství. Touto dokonalejší teorií měla být Geertzova teorie. Porozuměl však Geertz Durkheimově teorii dostatečně, aby nás to opravňovalo k tvrzení, že Durkheim byl na poli teorie náboženství překonán? (shrink)

I prove both the mathematical conjectures P ≠ NP and the Continuum Hypothesis are eternally unprovable using the same fundamental idea. Starting with the Saunders Maclane idea that a proof is eternal or it is not a proof, I use the indeterminacy of human biological capabilities in the eternal future to show that since both conjectures are independent of Axioms and have definitions connected with human biological capabilities, it would be impossible to prove them eternally without the creation and widespread (...) acceptance of new axioms. I also show that the same fundamental concepts cannot be used to demonstrate the eternal unprovability of many other mathematical theorems and open conjectures. Finally I investigate the idea’s implications for the foundations of mathematics including its relation to Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem and Tarsky’s Undefinability Theorem. (shrink)

This paper presents the design and development of a Fitness App that integrates workout plans, dietary recommendations, and motivational features to help users maintain a healthy lifestyle. The app aims to provide users with personalized workout routines, meal plans, and motivational content to keep them engaged throughout their fitness journey. The goal is to create a comprehensive app that empowers users to take control of their health by providing them with the tools and resources they need to achieve their fitness (...) goals effectively. (shrink)

Advancements in cloud technologies have increased the infrastructural needs of data centers due to storage needs and processing of extensive dimensional data. Many service providers envisage anomaly detection criteria to guarantee availability to avoid breakdowns and complexities caused due to large-scale operations. The streaming log data generated is associated with multi-dimensional complexity and thus poses a considerable challenge to detect the anomalies or unusual occurrences in the data. In this research, a hybrid model is proposed that is motivated by deep (...) belief criteria and meta-heuristics. Using Search-and-Rescue—BrainStorm Optimization (SAR-BSO), a hybrid feature selection (FS) and deep belief network classifier is used to localize and detect anomalies for streaming data logs. The significant contribution of the research lies in FS, which is carried out using SAR-BSO which increases the detection power of the model as it selects the most significant variables by minimizing redundant features. The evaluation of accuracy is efficiently improved when compared with the predictable methods, such as Extract Local Outlier Factor (ELOF), Track-plus, Hybrid Distributed Batch Stream (HDBS), IForestASD, DBN, BSO-based Feature Selection with DBN, Genetic Algorithm-Deep Belief Network (GA-DBN), Mutual Information-Deep Belief Network (MI-DBN), information entropy-Deep Belief Network(I + DBN), Flat Field-Deep Belief Network (FF + DBN), African Vulture Optimization Algorithm-Deep Belief Network(AVOA + DBN), Gorilla Troop Optimizer-Deep Belief Network(GTO-DBN), and SARO-based Feature Selection with DBN. Further, the accurate detection of the anomalies in the data stream is established by the Deep Belief Neural Network (DBN) classifier. The model’s efficacy is determined using Apache, Hadoop, HDFS, Spark, and Linux datasets and evaluated against existing similar models. The model efficiency is provided using multiple evaluation metrics and is found effective. From the experimentation, the accuracy of the proposed model is found to be 93.3, 95.4, 93.6, 94.2, and 93.5% respectively for the dataset such as Apache, Hadoop, HDFS, spark, and Linux. This enhancement in accuracy is due to the selection of optimal features by the proposed SAR-BSO algorithm. (shrink)

How do we know what we know? • How do we perceive ourselves and the world around? • Is what we perceive the only reality that exists? (or) • Is there a different reality other than what we perceive? (Not referring to the source of C, but to the CoC, in the very limit of our physical structure).

This case study is a retrospection of my family’s experiences that highlight several ELE facets. Following a description, we attempt to explain some of these phenomena from the perspectives of science and other germane disciplines.

Diskusní článek věnovaný knize Martin Paleček, Antropologové v pasti? Mezi přírodou a kulturou. Červený Kostelec: Pavel Mervart, 2017, 257 stran.

Scientists who engage in science and the scientific endeavor should seek truth with conviction of morals and commitment to ethics. While the number of publications continues to increase, the number of retractions has increased at a faster rate. Journals publish fraudulent research papers despite claims of peer review and adherence to publishing ethics. Nevertheless, appropriate ethical peer review will remain a gatekeeper when selecting research manuscripts in scholarly publishing and approving research applications for grant funding. However, this peer review must (...) become more open, fair, transparent, equitable, and just with new recommendations and guidelines for reproducible and accountable reviews that support and promote fair citation and citational justice. We should engineer this new peer-review process with modern informatics technology and information science to provide and defend better safeguards for truth and integrity, to clarify and maintain the provenance of information and ideas, and to rebuild and restore trust in scholarly research institutions. Indeed, this new approach will be necessary in the current post-truth era to counter the ease and speed with which mis-information, dis-information, anti-information, caco-information, and mal-information spread through the internet, web, news, and social media. The most important question for application of new peer-review methods to these information wars should be ‘Who does what when?’ in support of reproducible and accountable reviews. Who refers to the authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers as participants in the review process. What refers to disclosure of the participants' identities, the material content of author manuscripts and reviewer commentaries, and other communications between authors and reviewers. When refers to tracking the sequential points in time for which disclosure of whose identity, which content, and which communication at which step of the peer-review process for which audience of readers and reviewers. We believe that quality peer review, and peer review of peer review, must be motivated and maintained by elevating their status and prestige to an art and a science. Both peer review itself and peer review analyses of peer reviews should be incentivised by publishing peer reviews as citable references separately from the research report reviewed while crossreferenced and crosslinked to the report reviewed. (shrink)

This book is a compilation of the work published by the present authors in various scientific journals mainly focused on understanding how quantum physics could decipher the experiences observed and reported during near-death and end-of-life situations. The authors claim that various theories and models proposed herein (though not propounding to be a complete one) are just an attempt to understand few aspects associated with such experiences connected to the phenomenon of death. They investigate the possible role of the quantum phenomenon (...) in the occurrence of these events and call for a detailed scientific investigation to validate any hypotheses made. (shrink)

An attendance system allows to add the attendance of the employee/student who is present on that day. This attendance system helps in maintaining the attendance details of every student efficiently. The attendance is generated if the student is present in that particular lecture. While the attendance is maintained on daily basis, the staffs have unique usernames and passwords to mark students if the student is present or absent. Subjects are handled by respective faculty to mark the attendance of all students. (...) Total attendance is generated by calculating the total number of days present divided by the total number of lectures. The reports generated are based on semester and are consolidated regularly. This system can add faculty, student, and their subjects respectively, also the system can put an attendance structure for a particular subject. (shrink)

Origin of life on earth transpired once and from then on, it emerges as an endless eternal process. Matter and energy are constants of the cosmos and the hypothesis is that the origin of life is a moment when these constants intertwined or interacted. Energy from the cosmos interacted with inorganic matter to support matter with retention of this riveted energy, as energy to be circulated within the primitive channelized structures to conserve energy by the materialization of the proton homeostasis (...) mechanisms developed from the obtainable inorganic matter. The driver for these processes as we now confirm, exists in the quantum world and through quantum phenomenal processes could have combined these constants to create the magic of life. Primitive earth was a chemical reactive system that triggered a macromolecular evolution by means of open thermodynamic systems, driven by cyclic gradients of temperature, electromagnetic radiation and chemical potentials which sustained life and proto-consciousness in the first life forms driven by the quantum processes. The origin of life is always an intriguing topic but the purpose for finding the cause should never be inclined towards obliterating it; for if that is the case, the further we seek, the farther it will go. (shrink)

In this paper, we present a case of a boy – Noah Wall, who till today surprises the world of neuroscience with his will to grow his brain and survive. The case presented in this study sets a stepping stone in understanding the advent of the will to make a choice, from a neuro-quantum mechanics interpretation. We propose that besides our internal states of choices (neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, cell differentiation, etc.) we also relate with external states of choices (love, compassion, empathy, (...) emotions, etc.) that contributes to its emergence. Quantum uncertainty seems to support the existence of a fundamental property based on which the universe functions; which means that even the nothing of free space has a small chance of containing something. Outcomes are not determined by prior or random events but by consciousness that gives rise to these outcomes. This provides us a lead into understanding the existence of the will and the origin of choice when we look deeper into the realms of the implausible interpretations of quantum mechanics. Free will is the ability for the mind to choose between possible outcomes. Willful power is therefore not only a psychological intervention but also a biological and quantum intervention, where we have the capacity to make choices about what direction we will take, making a change to the systematic functioning of our body. (shrink)

The rapid evolution of cyber threats has made traditional cybersecurity methods increasingly inadequate. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology in the field of cybersecurity, offering enhanced capabilities for detecting and responding to cyber threats in real time. This paper explores the role of AI in revolutionizing cybersecurity, focusing on its applications in threat detection, anomaly detection, and automated response systems. Through the use of machine learning algorithms, AI can analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and predict (...) potential threats, making it an essential tool in modern cybersecurity strategies. This paper also highlights the challenges and ethical considerations associated with implementing AI in cybersecurity. (shrink)

In the wake of the advent of genome editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein 9), there has been a global debate around the implications of manipulating the human genome. While CRISPR-based germline gene editing is new, the debate about the ethics of gene editing is not – for several decades now, scholars have debated the ethics of making heritable changes to the human genome. The arguments that have been raised both for and against the use of (...) genetic technologies in human reproduction reiterate much of the arguments made in the pre-CRISPR debate. As such, it is instructive for South Africa to reflect on these arguments now, in considering our position on the regulation of the use of this novel biotechnology. There are two dominant schools of thought in this area, bioliberalism and bioconservatism. Bioconservatives raise concerns about the risks of genetic manipulation, and argue that it ought to be limited or prohibited to avert these risks to human health and human nature. Bioliberal scholars are more open to the prospect of genetic manipulation, because of its potential utility. In this article, I conclude that in liberal democracies such as our own, bioliberal arguments ought to be seriously considered when formulating policy on human genome editing because of the extent to which they resonate with our Constitutional values and human rights. I further suggest that there is a need for an enquiry into the relevance of African perspectives on the ethical questions that arise concerning germline genome editing. (shrink)

The acquisition of a new skill usually proceeds through five stages, from novice to expert, with a sixth stage of mastery available for highly motivated performers. In this chapter, we re-state the six stages of the Dreyfus Skill Model, paying new attention to the transitions and interrelations between them. While discussing the fifth stage, expertise, we unpack the claim that, “when things are proceeding normally, experts don’t solve problems and don’t make decisions; they do what normally works” (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, (...) 1988, pp. 30 – 31). This leads us to offer an account of the “perspectival deliberation” that arises for experts and masters and that is distinct from the calculative deliberation characteristic of the lower stages of skillfulness. (shrink)

Influential cases have been provided that seem to suggest that one can fail to have knowledge because of the social environment. If not a distinct kind of social defeater, is there a uniquely social phenomenon that defeats knowledge? My aim in this paper is to explore these questions. I shall argue that despite initial appearances to the contrary, we have no reason to accept a special class of social defeater, nor any essentially social defeat phenomenon. We can explain putative cases (...) of social defeat with our existing epistemological apparatus. (shrink)

The New Evil Demon problem has been hotly debated since the case was introduced in the early 1980’s (e.g. Lehrer and Cohen 1983; Cohen 1984), and there seems to be recent increased interest in the topic. In a forthcoming collection of papers on the New Evil Demon problem (Dutant and Dorsch, forthcoming), at least two of the papers, both by prominent epistemologists, attempt to resist the problem by appealing to the distinction between justification and excuses. My primary aim here is (...) to critically evaluate this new excuse maneuver as a response to the New Evil Demon problem. -/- Their response attempts to give us reason to reject the idea that victims of the New Evil Demon have justification for believing as they do. I shall argue that this approach is ultimately unsuccessful, however much of value can be learned from these attempts. In particular, progress in the debate can be made by following those who advance the excuse maneuver and make explicit the connection between epistemic justification and epistemic norms. By doing so, the questions being debated are clarified, as is the methodology being used to attempt to answer them. (shrink)

This paper examines critical theorist Theodore Adorno's approach to dialectics and critique in his works Against Epistemology and Negative Dialectics. It considers three diads or polarities that Adorno considers to have been neglected by philosophy during Modernity: society and individual; subject and object; and entity and concept. Then it explores the necessity for philosophical critique, both of others and of oneself carried out through the equivocal concept of thought.

Context: The design of academic conferences, in which settings ideas are shared and created, is, we suggest, of more than passing interest in constructivism, where epistemology is considered in terms of knowing rather than knowledge. Problem: The passivity and predominantly one-way structure of the typical paper presentation format of academic conferences has a number of serious limitations from a constructivist perspective. These limits are both practical and epistemological. While alternative formats abound, there is nevertheless increasing pressure reinforcing this format due (...) to delegates’ funding typically being linked to reading a paper. Method: In this special issue, authors reflect on conferences that they have organised and participated in that have used alternative formats, such as conversational structures or other constructivist inspired approaches, in whole or in part. We review and contextualize their contributions, understanding them in terms of their connections to constructivism and to each other. Results: While this issue is of relevance across disciplinary boundaries, contributions focus on two fields: that of cybernetics/systems, and that of design. We identify the way that conference organization is of particular importance to these fields, being in self-reflexive relationship to them: the environment of a design conference is something that we design; while a conference regarding systems or cybernetics is itself an instance of the sorts of process with which these fields are concerned. Implications: Building on this self-reflexivity and, also, the close connection of design and cybernetics/systems to constructivism, we suggest that conference organization is an area in which constructivism may itself be understood in terms of practice rather than theory (and so knowledge. This in turn helps connect ideas in constructivism with pragmatic fields, such as knowledge management, and recent discussions in this journal regarding second-order science. Constructivist content: As a setting for the creation of new ideas, the design of conferences is of importance where we understand epistemology in constructivist terms as a process of knowing. Moreover, the particular fields drawn on - design and cybernetics/systems - have close connections to constructivism, as can be seen, for instance, in the work of Ranulph Glanville, on which we draw here. (shrink)

IoT Security Enhancement Using Machine Learning for Real-Time Threat Detection. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of interconnected devices that communicate over the internet, offering convenience and efficiency but also posing significant security risks. This project focuses on enhancing IoT security by detecting cyber threats such as DDoS, DoS, reconnaissance, and data theft in real-time. The main objective is to improve the accuracy and efficiency of threat detection using machine learning models like Random Forest. The system analyzes key (...) network behaviors, including data flow, traffic anomalies, and device interaction patterns. Unlike traditional rule-based intrusion detection systems, this approach dynamically monitors network activities to identify potential threats. The system has wide applications across domains such as smart homes, industrial IoT, healthcare, and autonomous systems, contributing to a more secure and resilient IoT ecosystem. (shrink)

In common with traditional forms of epistemic internalism, epistemological disjunctivism attempts to incorporate an awareness condition on justification. Unlike traditional forms of internalism, however, epistemological disjunctivism rejects the so-called New Evil Genius thesis. In so far as epistemological disjunctivism rejects the New Evil Genius thesis, it is revisionary. -/- After explaining what epistemological disjunctivism is, and how it relates to traditional forms of epistemic internalism / externalism, I shall argue that the epistemological disjunctivist’s account of the intuitions underlying the New (...) Evil Genius thought experiment is at best incomplete. As presented, therefore, epistemological disjunctivism is unable to accommodate the core guiding intuitions of epistemic internalism. Given the stated aim of not being revisionary on this score, the view is at a dialectical disadvantage over the traditional forms of epistemic internalism the position is meant to replace. Unfortunately, therefore, at present, the impasse between internalism and externalism remains. (shrink)

In this introduction, we cover some ways in which the topic of noise is discussed today, and then point to some important open questions about noise and its experience. We then provide a synopsis of the papers collected in the volume.

My interest lies in offering a phenomenological perspective on how noise is experienced, with particular attention to what may be common to different sorts of noise phenomena. As a counterpoint to the notion that noise is an empty or constructed notion, I argue for two desiderata of a phenomenological account of noise; accommodating a plurality of noise experiences, on the one hand, and clarifying their specific phenomenal character, on the other. I then pursue these desiderata by turning to an examination (...) of some contemporary views of perception that have implications for how the phenomenal character of perceptual noise in particular is to be understood; an epistemic misfire view and a sensory misfire view. After clarifying each and its appeal, I convey concerns about the one and the other. I propose a third alternative for further exploration - a perceptual disjoint view - and point to how it ought to explored. On the premise that there is something like a unity of consciousness or experience, I lay out the idea that there may then be many forms of 'disunities' of experience. From an analysis of the latter, I suggest, one may account for many different types of experiences of noise, though with a common ‘phenomenal’ thread running through them. (shrink)

The current resurgence of interest in cognition and in the nature of cognitive processing has brought with it also a renewed interest in the early work of Husserl, which contains one of the most sustained attempts to come to grips with the problems of logic from a cognitive point of view. Logic, for Husserl, is a theory of science; but it is a theory which takes seriously the idea that scientific theories are constituted by the mental acts of cognitive subjects. (...) The present essay begins with an exposition of Husserl's act-based conception of what a science is, and goes on to consider his account of the role of linguistic meanings, of the ontology of scientific objects, and of evidence and truth. The essay concentrates almost exclusively on the Logical Investigations of 1900/01. This is not only because this work, which is surely Husserl's single most important masterpiece, has been overshadowed first of all by his Ideas I and then later by the Crisis. It is also because the Investigations contain, in a peculiarly clear and pregnant form, a whole panoply of ideas on logic and cognitive theory which either simply disappeared in Husserl's own later writings or became obfuscated by an admixture of that great mystery which is 'transcendental phenomenology'. (shrink)

In this paper, I argue that self-awareness is intertwined with one's awareness of possibilities for action. I show this by critically examining Dan Zahavi's multidimensional account of the self. I argue that the distinction Zahavi makes among 'pre-reflective minimal', 'interpersonal', and 'normative' dimensions of selfhood needs to be refined in order to accommodate what I call 'pre-reflective self-understanding'. The latter is a normative dimension of selfhood manifest not in reflection and deliberation, but in the habits and style of a person’s (...) pre-reflective absorption in the world. After reviewing Zahavi's multidimensional account and revealing this gap in his explanatory taxonomy, I draw upon Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Frankfurt in order to sketch an account of pre-reflective self-understanding. I end by raising an objection to Zahavi’s claim for the primitive and foundational status of pre-reflective self-awareness. To carve off self-awareness from the self’s practical immersion in a situation where things and possibilities already matter and draw one to act is to distort the phenomena. A more careful phenomenology of pre-reflective action shows that pre-reflective self-awareness and pre-reflective self-understanding are co-constitutive, both mutually for each other and jointly for everyday experience. (shrink)

Early Heidegger argues that a “homogenous space of nature” can be revealed by stripping away the intelligibility of Dasein's everyday world, a process he calls “deworlding.” Given this, some interpreters have suggested that Heidegger, despite not having worked out the details himself, is also committed to a notion of deworlded time. Such a “natural time” would amount to an endogenous sequentiality in which events are ordered independently of Dasein and the stand it takes on its being. I show that Heidegger (...) was indeed committed to such a temporal realism even though his treatment of these issues is somewhat scattered and pulled in different directions. In the course of my reconstruction, I renew an interpretation of Heidegger that stresses Dasein's thrownness into nature and I answer William Blattner's powerful interpretation of Heidegger as a failed temporal idealist who was unable to derive the sequentiality of ordinary time from Dasein's non-sequential originary temporality. Heidegger did not attempt to derive sequentiality; instead, he understood it as a built-in feature of the natural universe by which Dasein's activities are constrained. World-time turns out to be a co-production of Dasein's non-sequential originary temporality and the endogenous sequentiality of events in nature. (shrink)

Anh chàng Anhinga, còn gọi là chim cổ rắn, xuất trong hai bức tranh tiêu đề “Nóng” ngày 20/11/2023. Một năm sau, lại tìm được ngôi nhà mát mẻ hơn cho anh chàng. Chốn đó là xứ sở kỳ quặc, lắm chuyện kỳ khôi, nơi cư trú của ông Bói Cá, gọi là Xóm Chim. Chứ ở mãi trong Gallery mãi cũng chán.

In this article I argue that the value of epistemic justification cannot be adequately explained as being instrumental to truth. I intend to show that false belief, which is no means to truth, can nevertheless still be of epistemic value. This in turn will make a good prima facie case that justification is valuable for its own sake. If this is right, we will have also found reason to think that truth value monism is false: assuming that true belief does (...) have value, there is more of final epistemic value than mere true belief. (shrink)

In 2035 global egg demand will have risen 50% from 1985. Because we are not able to tell in the egg whether it will become a male or female chick, billons of one day-old male chicks will be killed. International research initiatives are underway in this area, and governments encourage the development of an alternative with the goal of eliminating the culling of day-old male chicks. The Netherlands holds an exceptional position in the European egg trade, but is also the (...) only country in the European Union where the downside of the egg sector, the practice of killing day-old male chicks, is a recurrent subject of societal debate. ‘Preventing the killing of young animals’ and ‘in ovo sex determination’ are the two alternative approaches available to solve this problem. It is clear that both approaches solve the problem of killing day-old male chicks, either by keeping them alive or by preventing them from living, but they also raise a lot of new animal welfare-related dilemmas. A thorough analysis was undertaken of these dilemmas and the results are presented in this article. The analysis resulted in an ethical framework based on the two main approaches in bioethics: a consequentialist approach and a deontological approach. This ethical framework was used to develop an online survey administered to ascertain Dutch public opinion about these alternative approaches. The results show that neither alternative will be fully accepted, or accepted by more than half of Dutch society. However, the survey does provide an insight into the motives that are important for people’s choice: food safety and a good treatment of animals. Irrespective of the approach chosen, these values should be safeguarded and communicated clearly. (shrink)

This article evaluates an emerging element in popular debate and inquiry: DYOR. (Haven’t heard of the acronym? Then Do Your Own Research.) The slogan is flexible and versatile. It is used frequently on social media platforms about topics from medical science to financial investing to conspiracy theories. Using conceptual and empirical resources drawn from philosophy and psychology, we examine key questions about the slogan’s operation in human cognition and epistemic culture.

Proponents of the problem of animal suffering claim that the millions of years of apparent nonhuman animal pain and suffering provides evidence against the existence of God. Neo-Cartesianism attempts to avoid this problem mainly by denying the existence of phenomenal consciousness in nonhuman animals. However, neo-Cartesian options regarding animal minds have failed to compel many. In this essay, I explore an answer to the problem of animal suffering inspired by the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas. Instead of focusing on phenomenal consciousness, (...) the neo-Thomistic view of animal minds focuses on self-awareness. After proposing and providing evidence for this view, I conclude that nonhuman animal suffering is not morally significant. (shrink)

The discipline of applied ethics already has a certain familiarity in the Anglo-Saxon world, above all through the work of Peter Singer. Applied ethics uses the tools of moral philosophy to resolve practical problems of the sort which arise, for example, in the running of hospitals. In the University at Buffalo (New York) there was organized on April 24-25 1998 the world's first conference on a new, sister discipline, the discipline of applied ontology. Applied ontologists seek to apply ontological tools (...) to solving practical problems of the sort which arise in various extra-philosophical domains, including law and government administration. (shrink)

In general, epistemic internalists hold that an individual’s justification for a belief is exhausted by her reflectively accessible reasons for thinking that the contents of her beliefs are true. Applying this to the epistemology of testimony, a hearer’s justification for beliefs acquired through testimony is exhausted by her reflectively accessible reasons to think that the contents of the speaker’s testimony is true. A consequence of internalism is that subjects that are alike with respect to their reflectively accessible reasons are alike (...) with respect to what they have justification to believe. Testimony should be thought no different: hearers that are alike with respect to reflectively accessible reasons to think that a speaker’s testimony is true are alike with respect to their justification for beliefs based upon that testimony. But it has been recently argued that this view faces powerful counterexamples. So the central question is this: assuming that a hearer can acquire justification to believe a proposition through the testimony of a speaker, can epistemic internalism provide the resources to explain how such justification is possible? My aim in this paper is to address these counterexamples, and in so doing, defend epistemic internalist accounts of testimony. (shrink)

(Added April 2023: This draft is superseded by Briggs, R.A., & George, B.R. (2023). 'What Even Is Gender?'. Routledge. DOI 10.4324/9781003053330, and in particular by the first three chapters thereof. While this much earlier draft remains available for archival purposes, you are encouraged to read and cite the 2023 book and to use its terminology.) -/- This paper presents a new taxonomy of sex/gender concepts based on the idea of starting with a few basic components of the sex/gender system, and (...) exhausting the possible types of simple associations and identities based on these. The resulting system is significantly more fine-grained than most competitors, and helps to clarify a number of points of confusion and conceptual tension in academic and activist conversations about feminism, transgender politics, and the social analysis of gender. (shrink)