Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason - Irfan Ajvazi.

In the historical process, the importance of doing interdisciplinary work has been accepted in all social sciences and has become an undeniable phenomenon. The history of Islamic thought can undoubtedly be seen as a very fertile field for such a study. It is because many different disciplines start the historical formation process from the same point. In other words, they are historically constructed on a common narrative. In this respect, interdisciplinary reading can be most functional in the context of usûl-ı (...) fiqh, kalam, philosophy and mysticism, which can be expressed as the pillars of Islamic thought. In this framework, we have identified Ahmed Mahmûd Subhi, the Egyptian thinker and academician, as a prototype in our study. As a matter of fact, Subhi has an approach that stands out with a holistic perception of Islamic thought and has produced texts that can build the idea in question. We can build Subhî's way of thinking with a tradition he abides by or in a teacher-student relationship. What is needed for this is to take an in-depth look at his life and works. Such a study will serve as the key to our understanding of Subhi's scientific method. The ultimate aim of this study is to emphasize the importance of taking different disciplines as a basis in order to make healthy and correct interpretations of Islamic thought. This issue, which we have expressed as a claim, will be embodied by Subhî's ideas in his texts and turned into a concrete structure. (shrink)

Drawing on Anscombe, in this essay I argue that we should not take Aristotle to be a moral philosopher, nor a virtue ethicist. This is because contemporary virtue ethics has little to do with Aristotelian ethics. While contemporary virtue ethics (or aretaic moral theory, as one may call it) operates on the level of moral and thus categorical norms, Aristotelian ethics—an aretaic life ethics—is primarily concerned with pragmatic norms. The main question for Aristotle is what a good general conduct of (...) life is. The major concern of aretaic moral theory, on the other hand, is to provide a criterion of morally right action and hence to define the concepts of the morally right, the impermissible and moral duty in aretaic terms. This shows that contemporary authors assume a primacy of virtue, while Aristotle assumes a primacy of eudaimonia. I illustrate this distinction by addressing the question of how the virtues benefit their possessor. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to examine the statements of Ibn al-ʿArabî regarding religions and beliefs through the perspectives of William Chittick and Reza Shah-Kazemi comparatively. Even though his expressions are occasionally elaborated in the light of the theory of the religious pluralism based on Western-Christian thought, by considering the universal message of the Qur’ān Chittick and Shah-Kazemi identify these expressions with “universalism.” This universalist approach bases on the distinction between “ontological will” and “religious will,” and “submission” which is (...) the substance of the term “islam.” While Chittick and Shah-Kazemi agree on issues mostly, it is possible to see that in some sense they differ from each other in their departure points and results. From this perspective, it is going to be seen that Ibn al-ʿArabî’s expressions encompass both the divine religions and other religions which do not have a revelation. To examine Ibn al-ʿArabî’s expressions by taking into account the propositions of the religious pluralism will be helpful to comprehend his outlook on the Qur’ān and the Prophet Muhammad. (shrink)

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Hikikomori (HQ-25) scale. -/- Participants: The sample of the study consisted of 418 nursing students. -/- Methods: Language and content validity and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used in the validity-reliability analysis of scale. In addition, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, item-total score correlation, and test-retest reliability methods were used. CFA, it was observed that three-factor structure of scale was preserved in the Turkish sample (...) as well. Significant correlations were found between the scale and other scales (p<0.01). -/- Results: As a result, it was adapted into Turkish, revealing that the scale is valid and reliable in measuring the social withdrawal behavior of individuals. It is recommended to evaluate using the scale in risky groups in terms of social withdrawal. (shrink)

Can video games or the playing of such games be morally objectionable? Many attempts to justify our intuitions about the morality of certain games or game activities are either unsuccessful or fall short. This is mainly due to a normative gap between reality and virtuality that classical approaches to moral philosophy cannot bridge. I am investigating to what extent an accurate action analysis can help us to justify our intuitions that, in some cases, something is ethically wrong with video games. (...) To do so, I am using Frankfurt’s volition theory to show how virtual game actions can be evaluated based on virtue ethics. This virtue ethical assessment is compatible with Ostritsch’s (2017) endorsement view. Especially in light of the gamification of our surroundings, the question of the ethical status of video gaming is becoming more and more urgent. By arguing that a virtue ethical approach can tell us more about the ethical aspects of video gaming, I will also argue that virtue ethics (because of similar problems in these fields) is promising regarding the ethics of simulation, art, and literature. (shrink)

Indication as Concept: Althusser, Spinoza, and the Logic of the “Groupes Althussériens” (1965-1968).

Nietzsche and the Nietzschean Philosophy of Morality - Irfan Ajvazi.

In On Not Expecting Too Much from Narrative, Lamarque (2004) challenges theories of narrative identity. For while narrativity might tell us something of interest about our selves, the requirements for this would be so strong that theories of narrative identity would not be able to meet them. In contrast, he identifies minimal conditions for narrativity, so that our identity could be of a narrative nature as well. But in that case, the concept of narrativity would be so weak that it (...) would hardly be able to tell us anything about ourselves. I first examine Lamarque's criticism of narrative concepts of identity. He shows that stories, understood in a minimal sense, are not found but told and that they establish a temporal relationship between at least two events. I then examine the concept of teleological explanations of action. Considering the problem of deviant causal chains that causalists are confronted with, they are at least a serious alternative to causal explanations of action. By doing that, I also attempt to render plausible the irreducibility of teleological explanations of action to causal ones. Subsequently, I outline some features of teleological explanations of action. Finally, I defend the idea that teleological explanations of action are essentially narrative explanations of action because they meet Lamarque's minimal conditions of narratives. I then make the case that these kinds of narratives are not trivial with respect to our personal identity but, on the contrary, are the prerequisite under which we can perceive ourselves as rational agents. (shrink)

Descartes’ Discourse on Method - Irfan Ajvazi.

Reading Derrida’s Grammatology - Irfan Ajvazi.

The aim of this study is to stylistically analyze the common symbols in Charles Dickens’s Christmas Books, which revived the Christmas spirit in the dark Victorian era. Experiencing the vast impacts of Industrial Revolution, people in Dickens’s time were suffering from the consequences of industrialism, poverty, class distinctions and shifting values within a dark world. Upon combining sentimentality towards human nature, Dickens, in his Christmas stories, revived a festival which faded away from English life during the 19th c. Through this (...) blending of a Christmas spirit in the dark Victorian era, Dickens drew the desired picture of a better future for his readers. His ‘Dickensian’ style enables questioning and judging the discrepancies in the society and the defects of humanity while entertaining the reader with the concerns of family harmony, forgiveness, charity, happiness, compassion and Christmas joy. Yet instead of presenting his messages explicitly, in the deeper structure, Charles Dickens directs his readers through the messages with the use of symbols in his five Christmas stories. To this end, this study aims at clarifying the common symbols in the stories of Christmas Books to suggest that Dickens lights a candle via his stories for his readers who were imprisoned in the dark Victorian age. (shrink)

Reading Lyotard The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge - Irfan Ajvazi.

Ranciere's Aisthesis: Scenes from the Aesthetic Regime of Art -Irfan Ajvazi.

The Spectres of Hegel and Marx in the 21th Century -Irfan Ajvazi.

The Philosophy of Ideology - Reading Althusser and Machiavelli Politically - Irfan Ajvazi.

Creation or becoming as a philosophical and theological problem has always been one of the main controversial issues of philosophers and theologians. It is sometimes defended that creation is an instant act or event; sometimes it is thought that creation is a process without a beginning. In this article, the approaches of Ibn Arabī and Ibn Taymiyya to the issue of creation are examined and compared. These two scholars mainly advocate that it is not possible for creation to begin at (...) a certain time as an instant event. According to them, while nothing material can be co-eternal with God, He has always been creating and manifesting from eternity because of His perfection. This study argues that when this issue is taken in its various aspects, it will be seen that Ibn Arabī and Ibn Taymiyya stand together about the issue against both philosophers and theologians. (shrink)

Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus -Irfan Ajvazi.

The foundation of every society is the result of an arbitrary act: one of its parts takes control over the rest and (re)makes the world in its own image. Any sort of tribal, theocratic, feudal, political dimension in the history of our civilisation has indeed shaped reality according to its peculiar needs and aims, by means of a system of thought that could justify its permanence in time. The creation of artificial needs requires a distorted perception of inherent threshold values; (...) otherwise, Debord says, we wouldn't be the well-oiled cogs we're expected to be in the machinery of the system. The list of our natural needs is indeed quite short: only a few biological functions and a couple of psychophysical drives to be satisfied when necessary, such as sex and sociality. As a matter of fact, it doesn't take much for a human being to survive. Modern society can't afford to accept the concept of 'strictly necessary' though, not after its very existence became anachronistic and even threatening to a world ruled by the market-a world that needs buyers and consumers in order to survive. What Debord clearly points out is indeed the fake sense of freedom in our choices, the great lie presiding over our lives as consumers-a surrogate freedom that was bestowed upon us as yet another commodity. Even our dirtiest excesses are fed their daily fix of filth by the market; as long as our kinks imply some sort of purchase, we'll always find an industry willing to satisfy them. a use of the commodity arises that is sufficient unto itself; what this means for the consumer is an outpouring of religious zeal in honor of the commodity's sovereign freedom. waves of enthusiasm for particular products, fueled and boosted by the communications media, are propagated with lightning speed. a film sparks a fashion craze, or a magazine launches a chain of clubs that in turn spins off a line of products. the sheer fad item perfectly expresses the fact that, as the mass of commodities becomes more and more absurd, absurdity becomes a commodity in its own right... The spectacle is the moment when the commodity has attained the total occupation of social life. Not only is the relation to the commodity visible but it is all one sees: the world one sees is its world. Modern economic production extends its dictatorship extensively and intensively. In the least industrialized places, its reign is already attested by a few star commodities and by the imperialist domination imposed by regions which are ahead in the development of productivity. In the advanced regions, social space is invaded by a continuous superimposition of geological layers of commodities. At this point in the \"second industrial revolution,\" alienated consumption becomes for the masses a duty supplementary to alienated production. (shrink)

Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation - Irfan Ajvazi.

Deleuze's 'Difference and Repetition -Irfan Ajvazi.

Deleuze’s The Logic of Sense- Irfan Ajvazi.

Foucault’s Discipline and Punish- Irfan Ajvazi.

Freud‘s Id, Ego and Superego - Irfan Ajvazi.

Freud’s Interpretations of Dreams - Irfan Ajvazi.

Heidegger’s Being and Time - Irfan Ajvazi.

Heidegger‘s What Is Metaphysics? - Irfan Ajvazi.

Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception - Irfan Ajvazi.

Reading Derrida Margins of Philosophy - Irfan Ajvazi.

Reading Deleuze's Proust and Signs -Irfan Ajvazi.

Reading Hegel‘s Science of Logic - Irfan Ajvazi.

Reading Ranciere's The Ignorant Schoolmaster - Irfan Ajvazi .

Rancière’s The Emancipated Spectator - Irfan Ajvazi.

The Deconstruction of Philosophy : The Spectres of Jacques Derrida - Irfan Ajvazi.

Theory of Ideology and Historical Materialist Thoughts An Essay on Althusser and Lenin by Irfan Ajvazi.

The Philosophy of Hegel‘s Phenomenology of Spirit - Irfan Ajvazi.

The Relevance of Saramago‘s Novel Blindness - Irfan Ajvazi.

What Lacan and Freud Did See ? - Irfan Ajvazi.

Knowledge, despite the fact that there is no a complete definition yet, is one of the main discussion issues of philosophy, theology and tasawwuf. Some claim that knowledge occurs by means of reason that processes data transmitted by sense organs while others claim that knowledge occurs by means of a light released in the heart of humans. Since it is not mutual for all humans to have the light in the heart, focusing on the other way of knowledge, that it (...) is to follow reason, seems more significant and remarkable at this stage. In this respect, we attempt to investigate in this article how to treat reason and rationality in Iḥyā al-ʿulūm al-dīn, the work of Ghazzālī who has a strong impact on the Islamic thought. In this article our purpose is not to draw an exhaustive profile of Ghazzālī but to make an assessment for neutral, positive and negative statements of Ghazzālī with respect to reason and rationality in the work. While explaining his neutral statements it is a requirement to touch on the terms heart (qalb) and knowledge (ʿilm) as well because they are relevant to the subject of reason. The work, Iḥyāwas written by Ghazzālī for those who are responsible to preach to and have a close connection with masses. Since reason is the tool of knowledge only shared by all humanity, studying the ideas, especially ideas on reason and rationality found in this work gains importance. (shrink)

Biobanks act as the custodians for the access to and responsible use of human biological samples and related data that have been generously donated by individuals to serve the public interest and scientific advances in the health research realm. Risk assessment has become a daily practice for biobanks and has been discussed from different perspectives. This paper aims to provide a literature review on risk assessment in order to put together a comprehensive typology of diverse risks biobanks could potentially face. (...) Methodologically set as a typology, the conceptual approach used in this paper is based on the interdisciplinary analysis of scientific literature, the relevant ethical and legal instruments and practices in biobanking to identify how risks are assessed, considered and mitigated. Through an interdisciplinary mapping exercise, we have produced a typology of potential risks in biobanking, taking into consideration the perspectives of different stakeholders, such as institutional actors and publics, including participants and representative organizations. With this approach, we have identified the following risk types: economic, infrastructural, institutional, research community risks and participant’s risks. The paper concludes by highlighting the necessity of an adaptive risk governance as an integral part of good governance in biobanking. In this regard, it contributes to sustainability in biobanking by assisting in the design of relevant risk management practices, where they are not already in place or require an update. The typology is intended to be useful from the early stages of establishing such a complex and multileveled biomedical infrastructure as well as to provide a catalogue of risks for improving the risk management practices already in place. (shrink)

Objective: Atlas is located at a critical point close to the vital centers of the medulla oblongata, which can be compressed by the dislocation of the atlantoaxial complex or instability of the atlantooccipital joint. This study aimed to determine in detail the morphometric and morphological characteristics of the atlas to guide the reduction of the risk of complications and increase the success rate in various surgical approaches for the craniovertebral junction. -/- Methods: In this study, 17 atlas vertebrae whose measurement (...) parameters were pronounced and unknown gender, age, and ethnic characteristics were examined. -/- Results: Totally 16 parameters, 11 of which were bilateral and 5 were unilateral, were examined on the atlas. Also, no accessory foramen transversarium was found in these atlas vertebrae. Of the 23 foramina transversaria that were prominent and not broken, 7 were found to be round-shaped (30.43%), and 16 were oval-shaped (69.57%). -/- Conclusion: It is deducted that the results obtained in this study will help to have information about the morphometry and morphology of atlas vertebrae. Although information such as age, gender, and ethnic origin is not known about the bones evaluated, it is the advantage of this study that a large number of parameters are evaluated and compared with previous publications. Nevertheless, it seems that there is a need for studies in which much more cases are assessed, and information such as age, gender, and ethnic origin is known. (shrink)

In The Origins of Totalitarianism Arendt explores the histories of anti-semitism and imperialism and their influence on the development of modern totalitarian regimes. Arendt argues that anti-semitism, race-thinking, and the age of new imperialism from 1884-1914 laid the foundation for totalitarianism in the twentieth century. Arendt traces how racism and anti-semitism were used as instruments of imperialism and nationalism in nineteenth-century Europe.

This study aims to explore a demoethical model for sustainable development in modern society. It proposes an approach that focuses on organizing activities to improve sustainable development. Specifically, it presents a demoethical model relevant to Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 organizations. The objective is to identify demoethical values that can drive sustainable development in the era of digitalization. Through a literature review and analysis, this study identifies key components of the demoethical model and provides practical recommendations for stakeholders involved in (...) digital transformation. The analysis of demoethical norms and phenomena, such as education, nurturing, mind, knowledge, science, and honest work, has enabled the identification of values that align with sustainable development in society. The results of the study demonstrate that the notion of a demoethical foundation for sustainability is rooted in the concept of spirituality as the basis for a new societal development scenario and its relationship with nature. The study shows that ideas about the demoethical basis of sustainability are based on the priority of spirituality as the basis of a new scenario for the development of society, as well as the integration of demographic, socio-economical, and ecological components in system-wide modeling. (shrink)