Following the formation of disciplines/sciences in different fields of Islamic thought, the specific concepts and terminologies of these disciplines/sciences began to emerge. Then the special meaning and the area of utilization for every concept in each discipline/science were further clarified by compiling specific epistles of definition (ḥudūd), which would contribute to this process of conceptualization. For the terminological meaning of the used concept to be determined primarily and thus for the followed theological/sectarian affiliation to be supported, works belonging to this (...) genre have been written specifically for the field of theology. Especially, the Muʿtazilī theologians undoubtedly made the greatest contribution. Thusly, specific treatises containing theological concepts were compiled by names such as al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār (d. 415/1025), and his students Abū Rashīd al-Nīsābūrī (d. after 420/1029) and Ibn Sharwīn (fl. first half of the Vth/XIth century). Zaydī theologian and jurist Abū’l-Qāsim al-Bustī’s (d. 420/1029) Tahdhīb al-ḥudūd, which has no available copy, is also contemporary to the mentioned works. This tradition found its reflection in the Imāmī-Muʿtazilī line in Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭūsī’s (d. 460/1067) al-Muqaddimah fī l-madkhal ilá ṣināʿat ʿilm al-kalām, which could be seen as a concise theological work in terms of its construct and the explanations which it comprises, and in the work called al-Ḥudūd wa-l-ḥaqāʾiq, which is attributed to al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍá (d. 436/1044). Abū Jaʿfar al-Muqrī al-Nīsābūrī’s (d. mid-VIth/XIIth century [?]) al-Ḥudūd stands out as the most voluminous example in this tradition. The most important work belonging to this genre in the Muʿtazilī tradition, as it is the first among the available works, is the Ḥudūd al-alfāẓ of al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, which is found together with some other important Zaydī-Muʿtazilī works in a compilation discovered by us and thought to be lost until recently. In this treatise, which generally includes theological concepts and partially includes the concepts of Islamic law and the history of sects, al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār has put forward a language-based definition theory. His approach here is in line with the views he put forward on definition in his al-Mughnī. Accordingly, instead of definition (ḥadd) and description (rasm) carried out over five universals in classical logic, he adopted a method of lexical definition based on wording that agrees with the meaning of the concept in question and is clearer than it, and consequently gave a brief definition and explanation of the concept he deals with. This clearly shows that the previous Muʿtazilī theologians’ approach of language-based definition, which was used as an alternative to the conception of Aristotelian definition due to their distanced stance to philosophy was also inherited by al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār. The approach seen in some sources in the period following al-Qāḍī, such as Abū Rashīd al-Nīsābūrī’s al-Ḥudūd, also indicates his influence. (shrink)

Sekülerleşmenin Makyavelist davranışları tetikleyici bir faktör olabileceği varsayımından hareketle gerçekleştirilen bu çalışmanın amacı, seküler tutum ve Makyavelist davranış arasındaki ilişkiyi üniversite öğrencileri örnekleminde tespit etmektir. Nicel araştırma deseni oluşturularak yapılan bu çalışmada ilişkisel tarama yöntemi, örnekleme yöntemi ve online anket tekniği kullanılmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında Osmaniye Korkut Ata Üniversitesinde lisans düzeyinde öğrenim gören öğrencilere e-mail atılarak gönüllü bir şekilde ankete katılmaları istenmiş ve elde edilen 710 adet anket verisi ile analizler yapılmıştır. Elde edilen verilerle yapılan korelasyon ve regresyon analizi sonuçlarına göre (...) Makyavelist davranış ile seküler zihniyete kayma arasında düşük düzeyde de olsa anlamlı ve pozitif yönde bir ilişki varken, gündelik hayatta dini hassasiyetleri sürdürme ve siyasi otoritenin sekülerleşmesi ile yine düşük düzeyde de olsa anlamlı ve negatif yönde bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Seküler tutum boyutlarının Makyevelist davranışa etkilerine bakıldığında sadece seküler zihniyete kayma boyutunun Makyevelist davranışı anlamlı bir şekilde etkilediği görülmektedir. Diğer alt boyutlardaysa düşük düzeyde bir ilişki olsa da etkileşim gözlemlenmemiştir. SECULAR ATTITUDE AND MACHIAVELIST BEHAVIOR: A RESEARCH ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS (OKÜ CASE) Abstract Based on the assumption that secularization may be a triggering factor for Machiavellian behavior, the aim of this study is to determine the relationship between secular attitudes and Machiavellian behavior in a sample of university students. In this quantitative research design, relational survey method, sampling method and online survey technique were used. Within the scope of the research, students studying at Osmaniye Korkut Ata University at the undergraduate level were sent an e-mail and asked to participate in the survey voluntarily and statistical analyzes were made with 710 survey data obtained. According to the results of correlation and regression analyses conducted with the obtained data, it was determined that there was a significant and positive relationship between Machiavellian behavior and the shift to secular mentality, albeit at a low level, while there was a significant and negative relationship with maintaining religious sensitivities in daily life and secularization of political authority. When the effects of secular attitude dimensions on Machiavellian behavior are examined, it is seen that only the shift to secular mentality dimension has a significant effect on Machiavellian behavior. In the other sub-dimensions, no interaction was observed, although there was a low level relationship. (shrink)

İyi bir yaşamın nasıl mümkün olabileceğinin erdemle açıklanması, erdemin insan yaşamındaki önemini göstermektedir. Dolayısıyla insan fenomenlerini konu alan felsefede geniş bir yer tutan erdem kavramı özellikle etik alanında önemli bir araştırma konusudur. Etiğin tarihi geçmişinde, etik sorunlara kararmayan bir ışık tutmuş olan Kant’ın etik görüşüne genel olarak bakıldığında, erdem kavramının pek ön planda olmadığı görülmektedir. Bununla birlikte, Kant’ın erdem ile ilgili söyledikleri, erdemin ahlak yasasından daha az önemli olmadığını göstermektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Kant’ın erdem temelli bir etik kurmadığı için klasik (...) bir erdem etikçisi olmadığı veya etiğinde erdemin yerini ve önemini göstererek bir erdem etikçisi olduğu tartışmasının pek de anlamlı olmadığını göstermektir. Çünkü bu tartışma, Kant etiğini bir yere taşımaz. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Kant’ı, bir erdem etikçisi olduğu ya da olmadığı tartışmasına sokarak kategorize etmeden, Kant etiğinde erdemin yeri ve önemini ortaya koymak amacıyla, Ahlak Metafiziği adlı eserinin _Erdem Öğretisi_ bölümünde yapılan erdem tanımlamaları ve açıklamaları ile “en yüksek iyi” (_summum bonum_) kavramı ve erdem ödevleri ele alınacaktır. (shrink)

Ruchkin et al. use brain-activity data from healthy subjects to assess the physiological validity of a cognitive working memory model and to propose modifications. The conclusions drawn from this data are interesting and plausible, but they have limitations. Much of what is known about the neural mechanisms of working memory comes from single neuron recordings in animals, and it is currently not fully understood how these translate to scalp recordings of EEG.

This study aimed to examine the thoughts and expectations of patients receiving healthcare from their physicians and evaluate the ethical aspects of these thoughts and expectations. To determine the ethical aspects of the thoughts and expectations of patients, an open-ended question was asked on the web page of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) Health Care Command, which is accessible to the users of the TAF intranet system (the internet system used within TAF institutions). The participants were asked to express their (...) thoughts in their own words. A total of 804 participants answered the question by providing their input. The statements of the participants were classified separately by two public health specialists. The classification was made in accordance with the basic principles of patient rights, and they were collected under various headings including expectations about respect and care, good communication, informed consent, and fair and non-privileged distribution of healthcare services. The results show that patients tend to consider the physicians they see as solely responsible for all the negative issues that they encounter during their healthcare. This indicates that there is a need for extensive research on the underlying factors involved in the negative thoughts and feelings toward healthcare professionals in both TAF and Turkey in general. (shrink)

This paper discusses the epistemic import of highly abstract and simplified theoretical models using Thomas Schelling’s checkerboard model as an example. We argue that the epistemic contribution of theoretical models can be better understood in the context of a cluster of models relevant to the explanatory task at hand. The central claim of the paper is that theoretical models make better sense in the context of a menu of possible explanations. In order to justify this claim, we introduce a distinction (...) between causal scenarios and causal mechanism schemes. These conceptual tools help us to articulate the basis for modelers’ intuitive confidence that their models make an important epistemic contribution. By focusing on the role of the menu of possible explanations in the evaluation of explanatory hypotheses, it is possible to understand how a causal mechanism scheme can improve our explanatory understanding even in cases where it does not describe the actual cause of a particular phenomenon. (shrink)

Repetitions (takrārs), which in the dictionary means ‘the repetition of something one after the other and its renewal in terms of wording and meaning’, are one of the most basic stylistic, address and textual structure features of the Qur’ān and at the same time one of the structural problems that have troubled the commentators. Repetitive nouns, verbs and letters in many verses, as well as sentences and phrases that sound like rhymes are of this kind. Although some of the benefits (...) of repetitions in the Qur’ān have been described in our tradition, it has also been stated by some that this is tiresome for a good and faṣīh word, far from any benefit, one of the disasters and defects of words that do not correspond to a mūciz word. At the same time, it has also been suggested that this is one of the things that indicate the corruption and weakness of the Qur’ānic naẓm and the existence of confusion in its naẓm. For this reason, literary scholars, linguists and commentators have considered the absence of repetition in phrases as one of the conditions of its feṣāhat (eloquence). In addition to all these, some in our tradition have treated these repetitive expressions not as a problem, but as a divine, transcendental style, and have sought a wisdom, a literary wit and a secret related to meaning. On the contrary, some have argued that the Qur’ān was revealed in the patterns of language use of the Arabs of that period, that the divine meaning and message was formed according to the speech patterns and styles of their words, advice and addresses, that the similarities of the patterns repeated in the Qur’ān were also found in their poetry, and for this reason, they associated the repetitions with the customs and habits of language use and literary tastes of the Arabs of the Hijāz region in daily speech and types of literature. Therefore, as some scholars in our tradition have argued, are these repetitions really a defect of expression, an artistic beauty? or structures that the Arabs of the nuzūl period did not know, were not familiar with, and did not hear, and that contain various subtleties of meaning? or on the contrary, are these expression patterns that were present and well-known in daily speech patterns and uses, in the literary genres of the Arabs of that day, and that were formed and manifested within the framework of their linguistic customs and traditions and literary tastes? İn this article, within the framework of these questions and problems, the relationship of the repetitions in the Qur’ān with the language usage customs, literary tastes, and linguistic cultural anthropological structures of the Arabs of the period of its revelation is examined. Therefore, as a result of this research, which is thought to be different from the existing academic studies, original and authentic, and the literature review method is used, ıt is clearly understood that the repetitions in the Qur’ān are ‘expressive structures related to the literary tastes, linguistic customs and traditions of the Arabs of the nuzūl period’ in terms of address/textual structure. (shrink)

Bu makalede, müşriklerle sosyal ilişkinin mahiyetine dair Müslüman düşünce geleneğinde ortaya konulan literatür genel hatlarıyla ele alınmaktadır. Söz konusu literatür, “müşrikler bu yıldan sonra Mescid-i Harâm’a yaklaşmasınlar” (Tevbe 9/28) ayeti temelinde şekillenmiştir. Bu bağlamda âlimler şirkin mahiyeti, Mescid-i Harâm bölgesinin sınırları ile bu bölgeye yaklaşmamayı ifade eden fiilin içeriği ve özellikle de ayetteki uyarının Hac ibadeti ile sınırlı/kayıtlı olup olmadığı gibi hususları tartışma konusu yapmışlardır. Bu ayet çerçevesinde ortaya konulan literatürde iki görüşün ön plana çıktığı görülmektedir. Bunlardan ilki, Mescid-i Harâm (...) ifadesiyle kastedilen mananın tüm mescitleri kapsayacağı düşüncesinden hareketle “yaklaşmama” yasağın sınırlarını genişletirken diğer görüş, maslahatçı bir yaklaşımla söz konusu bölgenin Kâbe ve çevresiyle sınırlı olduğu iddiasına dayanmaktadır. Bu bağlamda ilk görüşte, harem bölgesine müşriklerin hiçbir surette giremeyeceği savunulurken ikinci görüşte, müşriklerin cahiliye döneminde yaptıkları tarzda hac ve umre ibadeti yapmak amacıyla söz konusu bölgeye giremeyecekleri ancak ticaret, seyahat vb. farklı maksatlarla gelebilecekleri vurgulamaktadır. Makalede konu H. VII. yüzyıla kadar kaleme alınan rivayet, dirayet, ahkâm ve Şiî tefsirler temelinde irdelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda Mukātil b. Süleymân, İmâm Şâfiî, Cassâs, Ebû Bekir İbnü’l-Arabî ve Kurtubî’nin kaleme aldığı ahkâm tefsirleri; Taberî, İbn Ebî Hâtim, Ebû İshak es-Sa‘lebî ve İbn Kesîr’in yazdığı rivayet tefsirleri; Mâtürîdî, Zemahşerî, Fahreddin er-Râzî, Beyzâvî ve Ebu’l- Berakât en-Nesefî’nin dirayet tefsirleri ile Şiî müfessirler Kummî, Ayyâşî, Ebû Ca‘fer et-Tûsîve Tabersî’nin tefsirleri incelenmiştir. Konunun bahsi geçen tefsirler temelinde ele alınmasındaki amaç ayetin anlaşılmasına bağlı olarak ortaya konulan fıkhî hükümleri ve gerekçelerini tespit ederek mukayese yapmaktır. Zira Tevbe suresi 28. ayetin anlaşılmasında, dini anlama tarzları bakımından Ashâbu’l-Hadis ve Ashâbu’r-Rey olarak nitelenen âlimlerin görüşlerinin belirleyici olduğu görülmektedir. Konu bağlamında Şiî tefsirlerin incelenmesindeki amaç ise söz konusu literatürde Tevbe suresi 28. ayetin ele alınmasına ilişkin bakış açısının Ashabu’l Hâdis’e mi Ashabu’r-Rey’e mi yakın olduğunu tespite yöneliktir. İncelenen tefsirlerde ilk görüşün İmâm Mâlik ve İmam Şâfiî’ye ait olduğu belirtilirken ikinci görüş Ebû Hanîfe’ye nispet edilmiştir. İmâm Mâlik ve İmam Şâfiî’ye ait olan görüş genel kabul görürken Ebû Hanîfe ve Mâtürîdî’nin benimsediği, Hanefî-Mâtürîdî âlimler tarafından kabul gören ikinci görüş, tarihsel süreçte şaz olarak nitelendirilmiş ve dikkate alınmamıştır. Makalede, H.7. yüzyıl’a kadar yazılan rivayet, dirayet, ahkâm ve Şiî tefsirleri özelinde bu görüşlerin temel mantığı, ortaya çıkış süreçleri ve bu çerçevede üretilen fıkhî hükümler analitik bir bakış açısıyla irdelenmeye çalışılmıştır. Makalede sonuç olarak Ashabu’l-Hadis’e mensup âlimlerden İmâm Mâlik ve İmâm Şâfiî’nin konuyu sadece müşrikleri değil tüm gayr-i müslimleri içerecek şekilde ele aldıkları ve bu gruplarla kurulacak sosyal, ekonomik ve siyasi ilişkinin mahiyeti hakkında fıhkî hükümler koydukları görülmektedir. Bu hükümlerle, Müslüman düşünce geleneğinde gayr-i Müslimlerin özellikle sosyo-kültürel açıdan ötekileştirilmeleri meşrulaştırılmıştır. Bu bakış açısı Müslümanların birlikte yaşama kültürüne katkı sağlamalarını engellediği gibi insana saygıyı temel alan Kur’an’ın bakış açısı ile de çelişmektedir. Bu bağlamda Ashabu’r-Rey’in önemli temsilcilerinden biri olan Ebu Hanîfe’nin yasaklama emrini cahiliye döneminde yapılan hac fiili ile sınırlaması konuya ilişkin bakış açısında ciddi farklılıklara imkân tanımaktadır. Ebû Hanîfe’nin bu anlama biçimi, gayr-ı Müslimlere ilişkin olumsuz bir uygulamaya imkân vermediği gibi takipçisi Mâtürîdî tarafından geliştirilerek ahlakî bir boyutta ela alınmıştır. Süreç içerisinde söz konusu anlama biçimi, aynı düşünce geleneğine mensup olan Cassâs ve Ebû’l-Berekât en-Nesefî tarafından devam ettirilerek geliştirilmiştir. (shrink)

In Economics Rules, Dani Rodrik (2015) argues that what makes economics powerful despite the limitations of each and every model is its diversity of models. Rodrik suggests that the diversity of models in economics improves its explanatory capacities, but he does not fully explain how. I offer a clearer picture of how models relate to explanations of particular economic facts or events, and suggest that the diversity of models is a means to better economic explanations.

One of the most basic stylistic characteristics of the Qur’ān is the agree-ment between syllables, sounds, lines and rhymes repeated at the end of the verses and give the same harmony. The question/problem “Are these words that have pleasant melodic structures and superior arts something that the Arabs of the 7th century Hejaz Region did not know, were not familiar with and did not hear, or are they expressions that existed in oral and literary types in their daily vocabulary formed (...) and embodied within the framework of well-known lexical customs and literary tastes?” is discussed in this article. For this purpose, the study examines the seciʿ and rhyming word structures in the verbal and literary discourses of the Jahiliya period Arabs. Then, based on the data in the ancient Islamic Literature, it examines the dialectical relationship of the melodic structures at the end of the verses of the Qur’ān with the characteristics of the seciʿ and rhyming literary products in the poems of the Arab poets of ignorance, and for the choice that the Arab society made it a custom and habit at that time to observe at the end of the words, and whether some rules of comparison of the language were abandoned or not. Of course, although the dialectical relationship between the seciʿ expression structures of the Qur’ān and the literary tastes of the Arabs of that period was addressed in the former literature with a weak and feeble voice between the lines, unfortunately, this has not been examined in modern studies yet. For this reason, we hope that the present study, which we think is original and authentic, will contribute to this field and as a result of the study, in which the literature review method was used, whether the harmonious, rhythmic, melodic sound and meter structures of the Qur’ān at the end of the verses are related to the literary tastes, lexical customs and traditions of the 7th century Arabs, or rather, these expressions were unknown to the Arabs of that day, will be uncovered along with the question whether it existed in a wonderful, transcendent and transcendent language and style that they were not familiar with, or in a local, regional, cultural anthropological nature that was compatible and agreeable with their tastes and expectations in that time. (shrink)

In this article, Spain’s system of autonomous communities as a model of regionalisation in terms of subnational integration is analysed regarding its historical background, legal framework, and political context. Regionalism is examined with special emphasis on Bask nationalism and is also discussed with reference to the recent independence movement taking place in Catalonia. The contribution of the European Union’s encouragement of regional self-government to the development of regional democracy in Spain is stated in the mentioned as well. Regionalisation in Spain (...) is important as the discussion on 2017 independence referendum in Catalonia continues to be relevant. Being within unitary state level the regionalised state model strengthened the integration of the historical nationalities/regions with Spain and soothed the influence of the separatist movements; however, with the recent rally of Catalan nationalism this model became a controversial topic. (shrink)

Die Liebe ist auf der einen Seite die erste Stufe des menschlichen Handelns, auf der anderen Seite ist sie die Letzte. Die Liebe ist bei jeder Periode der Emanzipation des Individuums dabei und führt ihre Existenz parallel zum Entwicklungsgrad des Bewusstsein fort. Die Emanzipation findet da statt, wo das Individuum und der Andere zusammen sind. Waehrend das "Ich" seine Emanzipation verwirklicht, traegt es auch die Emanzipation des Anderen in sich. Das kritische Bewusstsein des Individuums über Fakten, Begriffe und Phaenomene startet (...) beim Individuum seine Emanzipation, weil das kritische Bewusstsein eine dem Daseienden gegenüber unterschiedliche autonome und originelle individuelle Haltung verschafft und über sich und andere Bewusstsein bildet. Das zeigt, dass das philosophische Bewusstsein, das mit der Hoffnung begonnen hatte, sich im Emanzipationsabenteuer des Menschen zu einem höheren Niveau entfaltet. Die dritte Phase der Emanzipation est die Phase der Selbstverwirklichung des Individuums. Diese Phase bedeutet, dass das Individuum in Situationen, die ihn betreffen, nach freien Willen entscheiden kann und sich nicht der Macht eines anderen Willens beugt, dass es seine eigenen Begabungen, Fertigkeiten oder Faehigkeiten nach eigenen Willen verwirklicht. (shrink)

Several developments for diverse scientific goals, mostly in physics and physiology, had to take place, which eventually gave us fMRI as one of the central research paradigms of contemporary cognitive neuroscience. This technique stands on solid foundations established by the physics of magnetic resonance and the physiology of hemodynamics and is complimented by computational and statistical techniques. I argue, and support using concrete examples, that these foundations give rise to a productive theory-ladenness in fMRI, which enables researchers to identify and (...) control for the types of methodological and inferential errors. Consequently, this makes it possible for researchers to represent and investigate cognitive phenomena in terms of hemodynamic data and for experimental knowledge to grow independently of large scale theories of cognition. (shrink)

There are a number of well-established concepts explaining decision-making. The sociology of wise practice suggests that thinking preferences like the use of intuition form a cornerstone of administrators’ virtuous practice and phronesis is a likely candidate to explain this behaviour. This contribution uses conceptual and theoretical resources from the behavioural sciences, administration as well as philosophy to account for individual level differences of employees regarding thinking preferences in administrative professions. The analysis empirically investigates the behavioural dimension preference for intuition/preference for (...) deliberation to cast empirical evidence on three different intuitive markers present among individuals who also prefer to use deliberation. We explore possible explanations for the differences and similarities of our global sample of 2227 workplace respondents who conceptually represent phronetic practitioners. The results show that many phronetic practitioners prefer the intuitive marker of unconscious thought, besides using deliberation. (shrink)

Felsefe tarihi, Heidegger’e göre, varlık sorusu etrafında inşa edilmiştir. Büyük filozofların neredeyse tamamı yüzeydeki tüm farklılıklara rağmen esasında bu ontolojik soruyla ilgilenmişlerdir. Bununla birlikte özellikle özgün düşünce geleneğinde bir kırılmanın yaşandığı Platon’la birlikte “varlık sorusu”, gitgide sahihliğinden uzaklaşmış ve Descartes’ın modern felsefenin de başlangıcı olmak bakımından tepe noktasını oluşturduğu bir çizgide, özne ile nesnenin karşılıklı konumlandırılarak yorumlandığı bir epistemolojik soru haline dönüşmüştür. Epistemolojik yaklaşımın öne çıkan özelliği, özne-nesne ilişkisinde bilginin koşullarını belirleyerek öznenin bilme sınırlarını saptamaya çalışmaktır. Bu yaklaşımda nesne özneye (...) aşkındır; dolayısıyla öznenin nesneyi bilmesi ancak kendinden yola çıkmasıyla olanaklıdır; çünkü öznenin kendisine ilişkin bilgisi doğrudan gerçekleşen, içkin bir bilgidir. Dolayısıyla bu yaklaşımdaki temel varsayım, özne ile nesnenin birbirini dışladığı, nesnenin özneye tâbi kılındığı ikili bir dünya varsayımıdır ve bu varsayımda ortaya çıkan karakteristik sorun, dış dünyanın varlığının kanıtlanması/bilinmesi sorunudur. Sonuç olarak bu makalede Heidegger’in bu problemi “varlık sorusu” bağlamında nasıl bir çözüme kavuşturduğu gösterilmeye çalışılacaktır. (shrink)

This article is based on the premise that the constructed image of the national self is a fundamental criterion shaping the conceptions of history teaching in the Turkish educational system. In this regard, I argue that examining how particular ethno-religious groups are discursively positioned in relation to the idealised self-image can reveal whether and how history textbooks can be revised. Having described the historical and political context for the only curriculum revision occurred in 2013 concerning a non-Muslim community, the Assyrians, (...) the article demonstrates that specific discursive strategies are used to position the Assyrian community in relation to the favourable national self-image, rather than a fixed categorization for non-Muslim communities. Adopting the methodological framework of critical discourse analysis, the author examines the portrayal of the Assyrian community in the secondary school Turkish history textbooks taught over the last three decades and identifies how the topoi of justice and tolerance, as well as allegiance and betrayal allow a particular group to be a member of the larger body of ‘acceptable citizens.’. (shrink)

Die Liebe ist auf der einen Seite die erste Stufe des menschlichen Handelns, auf der anderen Seite ist sie die Letzte. Die Liebe ist bei jeder Periode der Emanzipation des Individuums dabei und führt ihre Existenz parallel zum Entwicklungsgrad des Bewusstsein fort. Die Emanzipation findet da statt, wo das Individuum und der Andere zusammen sind. Waehrend das "Ich" seine Emanzipation verwirklicht, traegt es auch die Emanzipation des Anderen in sich. Das kritische Bewusstsein des Individuums über Fakten, Begriffe und Phaenomene startet (...) beim Individuum seine Emanzipation, weil das kritische Bewusstsein eine dem Daseienden gegenüber unterschiedliche autonome und originelle individuelle Haltung verschafft und über sich und andere Bewusstsein bildet. Das zeigt, dass das philosophische Bewusstsein, das mit der Hoffnung begonnen hatte, sich im Emanzipationsabenteuer des Menschen zu einem höheren Niveau entfaltet. Die dritte Phase der Emanzipation est die Phase der Selbstverwirklichung des Individuums. Diese Phase bedeutet, dass das Individuum in Situationen, die ihn betreffen, nach freien Willen entscheiden kann und sich nicht der Macht eines anderen Willens beugt, dass es seine eigenen Begabungen, Fertigkeiten oder Faehigkeiten nach eigenen Willen verwirklicht. (shrink)

This is a work in the epistemology of functional neuroimaging (fNI) and it applies the error-statistical (ES) philosophy to inferential problems in fNI to formulate and address these problems. This gives us a clear, accurate, and more complete understanding of what we can learn from fNI and how we can learn it. I review the works in the epistemology of fNI which I group into two categories; the first category consists of discussions of the theoretical significance of fNI findings and (...) the second category discusses methodological difficulties of fNI. Both types of works have shortcomings; the first category has been too theory-centered in its approach and the second category has implicitly or explicitly adopted the assumption that methodological difficulties of fNI cannot be satisfactorily addressed. In this dissertation, I address these shortcomings and show how and what kind of experimental knowledge fNI can reliably produce which would be theoretically significant. I take fMRI as a representative fNI procedure and discuss the history of its development. Two independent trajectories of research in physics and physiology eventually converge to give rise to fMRI. Thus, fMRI findings are laden in the theories of physics and physiology and I propose how this creates a kind of useful theory-ladenness which allows for the representation of and intervention in the constructs of cognitive neuroscience. Duhemian challenges and problems of underdetermination are often raised to argue that fNI is of little, if any, epistemic value for psychology. I show how the ES notions of severe tests and error probabilities can be applied in epistemological analyses of fMRI. The result is that hemodynamic hypotheses can be severely tested in fMRI experiments and I demonstrate how these hypotheses are theoretically significant and fuel the growth of experimental knowledge in cognitive neuroscience. Throughout this dissertation, I put the emphasis on the experimental knowledge we obtain from fNI and argue that this is the fruitful approach that enables us to see how fNI can contribute to psychology. In doing so, I offer an error-statistical epistemology of fNI, which hopefully will be a significant contribution to the philosophy of psychology. (shrink)

Three new versions of Wason’s 2-4-6 rule discovery task incorporating error rates or feedback of uncertainty reduction, inspired by the error-statistical account in philosophy of science, were employed. In experiments 1 and 2, participants were instructed that some experimenter feedback would be erroneous (control was original 2-4-6 without error). The results showed that performance was impaired when there was probabilistic error. In experiment 3, participants were given uncertainty reduction feedback as they generated different number triples and the negative effects of (...) probabilistic error were not observed. These findings are informative not only about rule discovery tasks in general but also about contexts of inference under uncertainty. (shrink)

From the past to the present, it is an undeniable fact that there are many psychological problems in human life because of variety of stressors. There are many methods and ways of coping to face this reality and overcome the obstacles. Recently, pandemic is a huge topic which people have to be struggled. It is possible to say that preventing individuals from leaving the house by social isolation during the pandemic period causes depressive states by triggering feelings of loneliness, and (...) it is possible to say that the feelings of being blocked by deprivation of freedom brings along many psychological problems. In this period, anxiety and uncertainty of pandemic that eliminate the functionality of the person have great psychological effects. Because of the reasons which were aligned above, coping mechanisms are most needed to get over stressful effects of pandemic. The pandemic period is a difficult period in which many individual experience social, economic and especially psychological problems. During this period, people use various coping methods to eliminate their psychological problems. Especially, studies show that religious coping has an important role in coping with psychological problems. To start with explaining the variables in the present study, in its most basic sense, religious coping is explained with the tendency to cope with the difficulties that we encounter in life through religious values. Similarly, religious coping is a form of thought or behavior that helps individuals avoid stress and the negative emotions that it causes. Religious coping is defined as constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to combat certain external and/or internal urges that exceed or strain one's resources. To continue with psychological disorders, in order to understand psychological disorders, first of all, we need to understand psychological health. Psychological health can be defined as emotional and psychological well-being of people. (shrink)

From the past to the present, it is an undeniable fact that there are many psychological problems in human life because of variety of stressors. There are many methods and ways of coping to face this reality and overcome the obstacles. Recently, pandemic is a huge topic which people have to be struggled. It is possible to say that preventing individuals from leaving the house by social isolation during the pandemic period causes depressive states by triggering feelings of loneliness, and (...) it is possible to say that the feelings of being blocked by deprivation of freedom brings along many psychological problems. In this period, anxiety and uncertainty of pandemic that eliminate the functionality of the person have great psychological effects. Because of the reasons which were aligned above, coping mechanisms are most needed to get over stressful effects of pandemic. The pandemic period is a difficult period in which many individual experience social, economic and especially psychological problems. During this period, people use various coping methods to eliminate their psychological problems. Especially, studies show that religious coping has an important role in coping with psychological problems. To start with explaining the variables in the present study, in its most basic sense, religious coping is explained with the tendency to cope with the difficulties that we encounter in life through religious values. Similarly, religious coping is a form of thought or behavior that helps individuals avoid stress and the negative emotions that it causes. Religious coping is defined as constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to combat certain external and/or internal urges that exceed or strain one's resources. To continue with psychological disorders, in order to understand psychological disorders, first of all, we need to understand psychological health. Psychological health can be defined as emotional and psychological well-being of people. (shrink)

There is a striking contrast between the significance of Harold Hotelling’s contribution to industrial economics and the fact that his location model was invalid, unrealistic and non-robust. It is difficult to make sense of the explanatory value of Hotelling’s model based on philosophical accounts that emphasize logical validity, representational adequacy, and robustness as determinants of explanatory value. However, these accounts are misleading because they overlook the context within which the explanatory value added of a model is apprehensible. We present Hotelling’s (...) model in its historical context and show why it is an important and explanatory model despite its apparent deficiencies. (shrink)

"In Balanuye's work the reader finds effective insights into the nature of the overblown tailless monkey politely called the human race. The fragments sometimes enunciated as a chastising bolt, but mostly as a comedic nudge. And with each we have to sit up and listen - and think. That is what we deserve, do we not?" - Hüseyin İçen, Turkish translator of The Picture of Dorian Gray "An admirably collage-like and astringent contribution to the tradition, which reaches back at least (...) to Heraclitus, of aphorism and epigram." - David Shields, Author of Reality Hunger Philosophers are generally expected to engage in the three pursuits together and meticulously for a sufficient amount of time: reading, thinking, and arguing for or against by writing or speaking. According to this approach, it is possible for everyone to practice a philosophical life. Because the said approach does not allow an "all or nothing" type of rigidity; some may be more involved in this pursuit, some less. In any case, there is a difference of degree rather than a difference of type. It should be kept in mind that in the definition put forward, reading, thinking and discussion are nonetheless necessary but not sufficient elements to be an original philosopher. Allocating a serious place to all three elements in her life does not guarantee an original philosopher. Authenticity is a gem we still don't know enough about. The book in your hand consists of fragments, the shortest of which is a sentence and the longest of which is a few paragraphs. I wanted these fragments to invoke longer readings, reflection practices, and perhaps discussions, triggered by shorter readings. CONTENTS A BITE TO REPLACE THE PROLOGUE CHAPTER I: REALITY CHAPTER II: ENCOUNTERS CHAPTER III: CONTEXT ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Balanuye is a Turkish continental European philosopher and academic. His book Where Does Spinoza's Joy Come From? [published in Turkish only] went through numerous editions and contributed to the adoption of Spinoza's teaching by outside readers as well as philosophers in Turkey. He currently teaches at the Department of Philosophy at Akdeniz University. (shrink)

Considerable methodological difficulties abound in neuroimaging, and several philosophers of science have recently called into question the potential of neuroimaging studies to contribute to our knowledge of human cognition. These skeptical accounts suggest that functional hypotheses are underdetermined by neuroimaging data. I apply Mayo’s error-statistical account to clarify the evidential import of neuroimaging data and the kinds of inferences it can reliably support. Thus, we can answer the question “What can we reliably learn from neuroimaging?” and make sense of how (...) this knowledge can contribute to novel construals of cognition. (shrink)

This thesis explores the epistemology and theology of a Sufi theorist Ibn al-ʿ Arabī (d. 1240) and one of the most controversial Muslim scholars Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328) comparatively. Although scholars have long emphasized the differences between these two influential and significant figures, the purpose of this thesis is to focus on their potential similarities. The present work at the outset shows that both Ibn al-ʿ Arabī and Ibn Taymiyya regard revelation, the human intellect, and inspiration – unveiling (ilhām – (...) kashf) to be the main epistemological means for acquiring religious knowledge. However, they differ over the relative value of these means or tools. Both Ibn al-ʿ Arabī and Ibn Taymiyya place revelation at the top of the hierarchy, but after that Ibn al-ʿ Arabī places inspiration – unveiling ahead of reason while Ibn Taymiyya reverses the order. The other main subject elaborated in this thesis is the theological issue of the divine names and attributes. This subject is connected to many other theological problems, and both Ibn al-ʿ Arabī and Ibn Taymiyya pay considerable attention to it. Just as many similar approaches, ideas, and interpretations may be seen concerning their epistemological stances, it is possible to see similarities in their theological positions although there are crucial distinctions as well. The unique way of finding out this similarity is to keep in mind the existence of the duality found in the thought and expression of Ibn al-ʿ Arabī. Briefly, the main finding of the thesis is that Ibn al-ʿ Arabī and Ibn Taymiyya are more similar in their epistemologies and theologies than many scholars have thought. They are benefitting from the same epistemological means while putting them in different order. Also, they share similar theological points concerning the divine names and attributes, creation, the divine will, and the incomparability of God while expressing them through different conceptions and styles. (shrink)