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Scientific Statesmanship, Governance and the History of Political Philosophy (Routledge Innovations in Political Theory #61)
by Kyriakos N. Demetriou Antis LoizidesOver the centuries, the question of "good" or "effective" governance has undergone several transformations and ramifications to fit within certain social, cultural and historical contexts. What defines political knowledge? What is the measure of expert political leadership? Various interpretations, perspectives, and re-conceptualizations emerge as one moves from Plato to the present. This edited book explores the relationship between political expertise, which is defined as "scientific statesmanship or governance," and political leadership throughout the history of ideas. An outstanding group of experts study and analyze the ideas of significant philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Kant, Burke, Comte, and Weber, among others. The contributors aim to interpret these thinkers’ approaches to "scientific statesmanship," deepening our understanding of the idea itself and decoding its theoretical complexities. In the face of the ongoing crisis of the traditional party system and the eroding structures within the new cultural-financial and political environment in the era of globalization, tracing the connection between Plato’s idealist statesmanship to twentieth-century modernist politics is an important and ever-challenging enterprise; one that promises to interest scholars of the history of western political thought, philosophy, classics and the classical tradition, political science, and sociology.
Scientific Structuralism
by Alisa Bokulich Peter BokulichRecently there has been a revival of interest in structuralist approaches to science. Taking their lead from scientific structuralists such as Henri Poincaré, Ernst Cassirer, and Bertrand Russell, some contemporary philosophers and scientists have argued that the most fruitful approach to solving many problems in the philosophy of science lies in focusing on the structural features of our scientific theories. Much of the work in scientific structuralism to date has been focused on the problem of scientific realism, where it has been argued that even in cases of radical theory change the most important structural features of predecessor theories are preserved. These structural realists argue that what our most successful theories get right about the world is these abstract structural features, rather than any particular ontological claims. More recently, philosophers of science have adopted structuralist approaches to many other issues in the philosophy of science, such as scientific explanation and intertheory relations. The nine articles collected in this volume, written by the leading researchers in scientific structuralism, represent some of the most important directions of research in this field. This book will be of particular interest to those philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians who are interested in the foundations of science.
Scientific Structuralism (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science #281)
by Alisa Bokulich Peter BokulichRecently there has been a revival of interest in structuralist approaches to science. Taking their lead from scientific structuralists such as Henri Poincaré, Ernst Cassirer, and Bertrand Russell, some contemporary philosophers and scientists have argued that the most fruitful approach to solving many problems in the philosophy of science lies in focusing on the structural features of our scientific theories. Much of the work in scientific structuralism to date has been focused on the problem of scientific realism, where it has been argued that even in cases of radical theory change the most important structural features of predecessor theories are preserved. These structural realists argue that what our most successful theories get right about the world is these abstract structural features, rather than any particular ontological claims. More recently, philosophers of science have adopted structuralist approaches to many other issues in the philosophy of science, such as scientific explanation and intertheory relations. The nine articles collected in this volume, written by the leading researchers in scientific structuralism, represent some of the most important directions of research in this field. This book will be of particular interest to those philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians who are interested in the foundations of science.
Scientific Thought: A Philosophical Analysis of some of its fundamental concepts (International Library of Philosophy)
by C.D. BroadThis is Volume I of a series of six on the Philosophy of Science. Originally published in 1923, this study offers a philosophical analysis of some of science's fundamental concepts and is ultimately based on a course of lectures delivered to the third year students of science at the University of Bristol in the session 1920-21.
Scientific Understanding and Representation: Modeling in the Physical Sciences (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Mathematics and Physics)
by Kareem Khalifa Insa Lawler Elay ShechThis volume assembles cutting-edge scholarship on scientific understanding, scientific representation, and their delicate interplay. Featuring several articles in an engaging ‘critical conversation’ format, the volume integrates discussions about understanding and representation with perennial issues in the philosophy of science, including the nature of scientific knowledge, idealizations, scientific realism, scientific inference, and scientific progress.In the philosophy of science, questions of scientific understanding and scientific representation have only recently been put in dialogue with each other. The chapters advance these discussions from a variety of fresh perspectives. They range from case studies in physics, chemistry, and neuroscience to the representational challenges of machine learning models; from special forms of representation such as maps and topological models to the relation between understanding and explanation; and from the role of idealized representations to the role of representation and understanding in scientific progress.Scientific Understanding and Representation will appeal to scholars and advanced students working in philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, philosophy of mathematics, and epistemology.
Scientific Visual Representations in History
by Matteo Valleriani Enrico Giannetto Giulia GianniniThis book explores continuity and ruptures in the historical use of visual representations in science and related disciplines such as art history and anthropology. The book also considers more recent developments that attest to the unprecedented importance of scientific visualizations, such as video recordings, animations, simulations, graphs, and enhanced realities. The volume collects historical reflections concerned with the use of visual material, visualization, and vision in science from a historical perspective, ranging across multiple cultures from antiquity until present day. The focus is on visual representations such as drawings, prints, tables, mathematical symbols, photos, data visualizations, mapping processes, and (on a meta-level) visualizations of data extracted from historical sources to visually support the historical research itself. Continuity and ruptures between the past and present use of visual material are presented against the backdrop of the epistemic functions of visual material in science. The function of visual material is defined according to three major epistemic categories: exploration, transformation, and transmission of knowledge.
Scientific and Political Freedom in Islam: A Critical Reading of the Modernist-Apologetic School
by Uriya ShavitThe modernist-apologetic approach to the relation between revelation and science and politics has been a central part of Arab discourses on the future of Muslim societies for over a century. This approach introduced historical and theological narratives and interpretative mechanisms that contextualize reason and freedom in Islamic terms to argue that, unlike with Christianity, it is possible for Muslim societies to be technologically and politically advanced without forfeiting revelation as an all-encompassing, legally-binding guide. ‘Scientific and Political Freedom in Islam’ critically examines the coherence and consistency of modernist-apologetic scholars. This is done through a discussion of their general theorizing on reason and freedom, which is then followed by discussions of their commentaries on specific scientific and political issues in light of their general theorizing. Regarding the former, the focus is Darwin’s theory of evolution, while the universality of the "Biblical flood," the heliocentric model, the Big Bang model and Freudianism are also discussed. Regarding the latter, the focus is Islam’s desired structure of government and concept of participatory politics, while individual freedoms are also discussed. The book argues that the modernist-apologetic approach has great potential to be a force for liberalization, but also possesses inherent limitations that render its theory on the relation between revelation and freedom self-contradictory. Introducing a significant body of new information on the reasons for the failure of secularism and democracy and the attitudes towards Darwinism in the Arab world, this book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of Islamic Studies, comparative religion, democracy studies and evolution studies.
Scientific method: An Inquiry into the Character and Validity of Natural Laws (International Library of Philosophy)
by A.D. RitchieFirst published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Scientifically Thinking: How to Liberate Your Mind, Solve the World's Problems, and Embrace the Beauty of Science
by Stanley A. RiceShows the many advantages of thinking like a scientist and argues that today's problems require a scientific approach.You don't have to be a scientist to think like a scientist. Anyone can do it and everyone should. This book will show you how. The advantages are many: from detecting bias to avoiding error and appreciating the richness of the world. Author Stanley Rice, himself a scientist, explains that science is essentially organized common sense. While the brain is hardwired for common sense, unfortunately, it also relies on a number of misleading tendencies. Instead of reasoning objectively it tends to rationalize. Often it sees what it wants to see rather than what is really there. And it is adept at both self-deception and deceiving others. Rice notes that these tendencies were useful in the past as the human race evolved in an often-hostile environment. But today bias and delusions put us at risk of worldwide catastrophe.The author invites readers to participate in the adventure of scientific discovery. He provides many interesting and humorous examples of how science works. He shows how hypothesis testing can be used to tackle everyday problems like car trouble or seeing through the specious appeal of a fad diet. Beyond practical applications, science meets the basic human need to satisfy curiosity: it tells verifiable stories about the universe, providing humans with fascinating narratives supported by testable facts. The author also explores some of science's biggest ideas, including natural selection (creating order out of randomness) and interconnectedness (Earth's systems are intricately intertwined). Read this book and learn to think like a scientist. It will guard you against being manipulated by politicians, corporations, and religious leaders, and equip you to deal with the world's most pressing problems. And you will have a lot of fun doing it.
Scientism: Philosophy and the Infatuation with Science (International Library of Philosophy)
by Tom SorellFirst Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Scientists' Expertise as Performance: Between State and Society, 1860–1960 (History and Philosophy of Technoscience #6)
by Joris Vandendriessche Evert Peeters Kaat WilsThe essays in this collection explore our reliance on experts within a historical context and across a wide range of fields, including agriculture, engineering, health sciences and labour management. Contributors argue that experts were highly aware of their audiences and used performance to gain both scientific and popular support.
Scopri il tuo potere: l'universo dentro di te
by Gautam SharmaLa consapevolezza dell'ego e la connessione al campo unificato. ...essere amati per se stessi ed essere apparentemente separati dal proprio stato originale di consapevolezza e dal campo unificato, ha proporzioni spirituali talmente profonde che, sin dalla prima infanzia si innescano dei processi in aree strategiche del cervello tali da provocare uno squilibrio e la dominanza, oltre alla negazione, alla sfiducia, al trascurare la nostra connessione al campo unificato e l'amore e la gioia e uno stato di consapevolezza spirituale ancora più profondo dentro di noi
Scottish Home Rule: The Answer to Scotland's Constitutional Question
by Ben ThomsonA proponent of Scottish Home Rule offers a clear and concise introduction to the merits of the policy and the history of the movement. Every debate about the Scottish constitution should include the topic of Scottish Home Rule, and if there is to be another referendum in Scotland then Home Rule should be one of the options on the ballot paper. Yet, for all its importance, Home Rule is not widely understood. The proposal is seen by many Unionists as the slippery slope to Independence. Meanwhile, Independence supporters regard it as a Unionist proposal to retain sovereignty over Scotland. It is however a strong proposal in its own right, with a separate history from Independence and a more likely steppingstone to Federalism. This book lays out the merits of Scottish Home Rule as the best solution for Scotland. It covers the history of support for the Home Rule option since 1860s, a clear outline of how it works, and a discussion about how it could both improve Scotland and act as a framework for constitutional reform across the UK.
Screened Out
by Jean Baudrillard Chris Turner'Watching the president's Christmas message produces this necropolar, white-mass sensation. Seeing the video broadcast of the Christmas service in the cathedral itself, with these pathetic screens and the young worshippers slumped around them here and there, you tell yourself that God and religion deserved better. Deserved to die, yes, but not this. However, watching the presidential figure and his sonorous inanity, you tell yourself that here at least you got what you deserved. Chirac is useless - that goes without saying - but so are we all ... Uselessness of this kind has no origin: it exists immediately, reciprocally; like a shared secret, you savour it implicitly - with its warm bitterness - particularly in these cold snaps, as the very essence of the social bond. Sanctioned by that other interactive uselessness - the uselessness of the screen.'World-renowned for his lively and often iconoclastic reading of contemporary culture and thought, Jean Baudrillard here turns his hand to topical political debates and issues. In this stimulating collection of journalistic essays Baudrillard addresses subjects ranging from those already established as his trademark (virtual reality, Disney, television) to more unusual topics such as the Western intervention in Bosnia, children's rights, Holocaust revisionism, AIDS, the Rushdie fatwa, Formula One racing, mad cow disease, genetic cloning, and the uselessness of Chirac. These are coruscating and intriguing articles, not least because they show that Baudrillard is - pace his critics - still susceptible and alert to influences from social movements and the world beyond the hyperreal.
Screening Characters: Theories of Character in Film, Television, and Interactive Media (AFI Film Readers)
by Johannes Riis Aaron TaylorCharacters are central to our experiences of screened fictions and invite a host of questions. The contributors to Screening Characters draw on archival material, interviews, philosophical inquiry, and conceptual analysis in order to give new, thought-provoking answers to these queries. Providing multifaceted accounts of the nature of screen characters, contributions are organized around a series of important subjects, including issues of class, race, ethics, and generic types as they are encountered in moving image media. These topics, in turn, are personified by such memorable figures as Cary Grant, Jon Hamm, Audrey Hepburn, and Seul-gi Kim, in addition to avatars, online personalities, animated characters, and the ensembles of shows such as The Sopranos, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad.
Screenplay: Children and Computing in the Home
by John Furlong Rosamund Sutherland Keri Facer Ruth FurlongWhat are young people really doing on computers at home?Computers feature heavily in the lives of today's young people, and this book sets out to question commonplace assumptions about the use of technology by children at home. Bringing together research from the perspective of psychology, sociology, education and media studies, the authors ask whether we are really witnessing the rise of a new 'digital generation'.Drawing upon the results of their in-depth research project, the authors filter and assess their findings accessibly, offering fascinating reading on:* how computers are used in the home* how parents and children negotiate access to and use of the computer* what role the computer plays in the day to day lives of families.This book makes use of illuminating case studies, and highlights key issues of concern around issues of equality and access in a wider social context. This truly interdisciplinary perspective will be instrumental in reshaping the understanding of teachers, ICT advisors, policy makers and all involved in ICT for children.
Scripting the Environment: Oil, Democracy and the Sands of Time and Space (Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication)
by Geo TakachThis volume explores how to engage audiences both beyond and within the academy more deeply in environmental research through arts-based forms. It builds on a multi-pronged case study of scripts for documentary film, audio-visual and stage formats, focusing on how the identity of a place is constructed and contested in the face of environmental concerns around fossil-fuel extraction in a globalized, visual society--and specifically on the rising, international public-relations war over Alberta’s stewardship of the tar sands. Each script is followed by discussion of the author’s choices of initiating idea, research sources, format, voices, world of the story, structure and visual style, and other notes on the convergence of synthesis, analysis and (re)presentation in the script. Included are lively analysis and commentary on screenwriting and playwriting theory, the creation and dissemination of the scripts, and reflections to ground a proposed framework for writing eco-themed scripts for screen, audio-visual and stage formats.
Scripting the Moves: Culture and Control in a "No-Excuses" Charter School
by Joanne W. GolannAn inside look at a "no-excuses" charter school that reveals this educational model’s strengths and weaknesses, and how its approach shapes studentsSilent, single-file lines. Detention for putting a head on a desk. Rules for how to dress, how to applaud, how to complete homework. Walk into some of the most acclaimed urban schools today and you will find similar recipes of behavior, designed to support student achievement. But what do these “scripts” accomplish? Immersing readers inside a “no-excuses” charter school, Scripting the Moves offers a telling window into an expanding model of urban education reform. Through interviews with students, teachers, administrators, and parents, and analysis of documents and data, Joanne Golann reveals that such schools actually dictate too rigid a level of social control for both teachers and their predominantly low-income Black and Latino students. Despite good intentions, scripts constrain the development of important interactional skills and reproduce some of the very inequities they mean to disrupt.Golann presents a fascinating, sometimes painful, account of how no-excuses schools use scripts to regulate students and teachers. She shows why scripts were adopted, what purposes they serve, and where they fall short. What emerges is a complicated story of the benefits of scripts, but also their limitations, in cultivating the tools students need to navigate college and other complex social institutions—tools such as flexibility, initiative, and ease with adults. Contrasting scripts with tools, Golann raises essential questions about what constitutes cultural capital—and how this capital might be effectively taught.Illuminating and accessible, Scripting the Moves delves into the troubling realities behind current education reform and reenvisions what it takes to prepare students for long-term success.
Scripts and Social Cognition: How We Interact with Others (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy)
by Gen EickersThis book argues that our success in navigating the social world depends heavily on scripts. Scripts play a central role in our ability to understand social interactions shaped by different contextual factors.In philosophy of social cognition, scholars have asked what mechanisms we employ when interacting with other people or when cognizing about other people. Recent approaches acknowledge that social cognition and interaction depend heavily on contextual, cultural, and social factors that contribute to the way individuals make sense of the social interactions they take part in. This book offers the first integrative account of scripts in social cognition and interaction. It argues that we need to make contextual factors and social identity central when trying to explain how social interaction works, and that this is possible via scripts. Additionally, scripts can help us understand bias and injustice in social interaction. The author’s approach combines several different areas of philosophy – philosophy of mind, social epistemology, feminist philosophy – as well as sociology and psychology to show why paying attention to injustice in interaction is much needed in social cognition research, and in philosophy of mind more generally.Scripts and Social Cognition: How We Interact with Others will appeal to scholars and graduate students working in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, social epistemology, social ontology, sociology, and social psychology.
Scripture, Logic, Language
by Tom J. Tillemans E. Gene SmithDharmakirti, an Indian Buddhist philosopher of the seventh century, explored the nature, limits, and justifications of rationality within the context of Buddhist religious and metaphysical concerns. While Dharmakirti is widely recognized for his crucial innovations in Indian logic and semantic theory, his notoriously difficult thought nonetheless remains poorly understood. In this volume, one of the world's leading scholars of Buddhist philosophy sheds light on the interrelated topics of scripture, logic, and language in the works of Dharmakirti and his philosophical heirs, both Indian and Tibetan. Professor Tillemans' knowledgeable explanations of such technical subjects as the apoha theory of reference and the problem of entailment (vyapti) are coupled throughout with insightful reflections on how best to evaluate Dharmakirti's theories in light of contemporary philosophical thought. Scripture, Logic, Language is an informative and thought-provoking study for students of Buddhism as well as for those in the wider field of philosophy.
Scripture, Tradition, and Reason in Christian Ethics: Normative Dimensions
by Bharat Ranganathan Derek Alan Woodard-LehmanHow should we understand the relationship between Christian ethics and religious ethics? Among comparative, ethnographic, and normative methodologies? Between confessional and non-confessional orientations, or between theology and philosophy? This volume brings together emerging religious ethicists to engage the normative dimensions of Christian ethics. Focusing on scripture, tradition, and reason, the contributors to this volume argue for a vision of Christian ethics as religious ethics. Toward this end, they engage with scripture, interpretation, and religious practice; examine the putative divide between reason and tradition, autonomy and heteronomy; and offer proposals about the normative characterization of conceptual and practical issues in contemporary religious ethics. Collectively, the volume engages Christian thought to make an argument for the continuing relevance of normative methodologies in contemporary religious and theological ethics.
Scriptures and the Guidance of Language: Evaluating a Religious Authority in Communicative Action
by Steven SmithIn this book, Steven G. Smith focuses on the guidance function in language and scripture and evaluates the assumptions and ideals of scriptural religion in global perspective. He brings to language studies a new pragmatic emphasis on the shared modeling of life-in-the-world by communicators constantly depending on each other's guidance. Using concepts of axiality and axialization derived from Jaspers' description of the 'Axial Age', he shows the essential role of scripture in the historical progress of communicative action. This volume clarifies the formative power of scriptures in religions of the 'world religion' type and brings scripture into philosophy of religion as a major cross-cultural category of study, thereby helping philosophy of religion find a needed cross-cultural footing.
Scrutinising Elites and Schooling in Post-Communist Poland: Globalisation, European Integration, Socialist Heritage, and Tradition (Routledge Research in Education)
by Alexandra Margaret DunwillThis book offers new insights and methodological tools to improve our understandings of how prestigious schools in Poland navigate the major political, social and cultural crosscurrents. The range of choice for elite schooling in Poland has expanded during its post-communist transformation. However, while elite education in countries such as the US, Australia, UK, France, and Switzerland has been extensively studied, post-communist countries have been largely neglected. This book explores the emergence of such schools within a context influenced by a range of different and often conflicting social forces. In doing so, the study elucidates how the socio-historical processes since 1989 diversified Poland’s egalitarian education system and facilitated the emergence of schools for elites. The book demonstrates that social and political changes in Poland triggered the emergence of new elites with different political and social outlooks, leading to a variety of types of elite schools that reflect and reproduce the elites’ positions and idiosyncrasies. A bespoke theoretical arrangement scrutinises extant and generated data from elite schools’ websites, online readers’ forums, and interviews with elite school principals. The book contributes new insights into elite schools in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, enriching the existing body of knowledge on elites and elite schools around the world. It will be of interest to researchers and postgraduate students investigating elite education, sociology of education, education policy, and education and international development.
Sculpting the Buddha Within: The Life And Work Of Shinjo Ito
by Shuri KidoThe definitive biography of Shinjo Ito, the founder of one of the main traditions of Buddhism, which has almost 1 million members worldwide.This is the first major biography of Shinjo Ito, the founder of the Shinnyo-en tradition of Buddhism and one of the twentieth century’s most innovative spiritual teachers. Shinjo was schooled in the millennium-old esoteric Buddhism of Japan, and used that as the basis for developing a unique lay practice grounded in the principles and concepts of the Mahayana version of the Nirvana Sutra. Sculpting the Buddha Within is an important book that traces Shinjo Ito’s evolution not only as a spiritual master but also as a human being. Living in a time of unprecedented change, Shinjo Ito’s personal life was often marked by hardships and personal grief, experiences that became the foundation for cultivating universal compassion. Committed to making buddhahood tangible for others and a goal worth aspiring to, Shinjo Ito also excelled as a sculptor of devotional images. His wish was to help his practitioners see their own potential for goodness so that they, too, would want to work diligently to shape and give form to their inner buddha. Rather than encouraging his followers to believe in a fixed system of practice or beliefs, Shinjo Ito taught how to live life in accordance with one’s buddha nature—and the gratitude, creativity, and happiness latent within it.
Sea Libre Donde Esté: Una guía práctica para vivir con plena consciencia
by Thich Nhat HanhFreedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. This compendium of the core teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, based on a talk given at a prison, shows how mindfulness practice can cultivate freedom no matter where you are.