How reliable are causal inferences in complex empirical scenarios? For example, a physician prescribes a drug to a patient, and then the patient undergoes various changes to their symptoms. They then increase their confidence that it is the drug that causes such changes. Are such inferences reliable guides to the causal relation in question, particularly when the physician can gain a large volume of such clinical experience by treating many patients? The evidence-based medicine movement says no, while some physicians and (...) philosophers support such appeals to first-person experience. We develop a formal model and simulate causal inference based on clinical experience. We conclude that in very particular clinical scenarios such inference can be reliable, while in many other routine clinical scenarios such inferences are not reliable. (shrink)

A phenomenon resulting from a computationally irreducible (or computationally incompressible) process is supposedly unpredictable except via simulation. This notion of unpredictability has been deployed to formulate recent accounts of computational emergence. Via a technical analysis, I show that computational irreducibility can establish the impossibility of prediction only with respect to maximum standards of precision. By articulating the graded nature of prediction, I show that unpredictability to maximum standards is not equivalent to being unpredictable in general. I conclude that computational irreducibility (...) fails to fulfill its assigned philosophical roles in theories of computational emergence. (shrink)

Aristotle and Spinoza, two influential philosophers in the history of philosophy, and the subject of their philosophy is Johar. is, by comparing the properties of essence from his point of view, the root of many differences in the great part of Western philosophy is catching up. It is worth noting that these two philosophers have similarities with the definition of essence They also have; But they differ a lot about its features and examples. Study of Aristotle's opinions in The two (...) books Organon and Metaphysics, and the explanation of Spinoza's attitude in the book of Ethics, is the first step of this article. Of course, a look at the substance in the custom and idiom of Ibn Nasina and his innovations can be a help for a better understanding. The essence is from the point of view of pilgrims. The criterion of the researcher for evaluation is the degree of compatibility of the essence definition with another It is the parts of the philosophical system. With the conducted studies, the result is that Spinoza's definition is stable It is more logical and has provided a more coherent system. (shrink)

It is a plausible speculation that conventional choices in outcome measures might influence the results of meta-analyses. We test that speculation by simulating data from trials on antidepressants. We vary real drug effectiveness while modulating conventional values for outcome measures. We had previously shown that one conventional choice used in meta-analyses of antidepressants falls in a narrow range of values that maximize estimates of effectiveness. Our present analysis investigates why this phenomenon occurs. Moreover, our results suggest the superiority of absolute (...) outcome measures over relative measures. This research program can be extended to test numerous other aspects of clinical research. (shrink)

In today’s schools, reading in an L2 is a very challenging task, and it is impossible to ignore the role of feedback in optimizing reading achievement. The present study was an attempt to investigate the type of both positive and corrective feedback moves utilized by L2 teachers in L2 reading comprehension classes. The study concentrated on six different kinds of corrective feedback, namely, explicit correction, recast, clarification request, metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, and repetition, as well as four positive feedback techniques: acknowledgment, (...) acceptance, rephrasing, and repetition. To this end, 40 participants were selected from a total population of 52 female EFL learners, aged 20-25, from an English language institute in Iran. In order to ensure the homogeneous entry behavior of the participants in terms of proficiency, the Oxford Placement Test , with reasonable measures of validity and reliability, was used to screen the students. All that happened in reading comprehension classes were audio recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. To ensure about the consistency of the researchers in coding the data, the inter-coder reliability was run using Cronbach’s Alpha. Statistical analysis of the results revealed that repetition was the most frequently provided positive feedback by L2 teachers , followed by rephrasing . Regarding corrective feedback, explicit correction was the most frequent feedback technique and elicitation the second one utilized by L2 teachers . The results of Chi-square test showed that there was a significant difference among the frequencies of the feedback types. Hopefully the findings of this research study would help L2 teachers to have a more profound understanding of what goes on in their classes. (shrink)

There is a perplexing transition in Dr. Reza Davari's thought, when he problematizes the relation between Iranian and Western history/cultures, on which this paper is focusing. The interperative objective is to clarify this transition on the basis of the implicit relation between the two most fundamental concepts in his earlier and later thought respectively westernization and underdevelopment. Although, by this transition, the level of discussion transits from an ontologico-philosophical to an intellectualist one. So, there are two different levels of problematization (...) in his thought which differ deeply. Therefore, we are not just dealing with the substitution of fundamental concepts, but with different problematizations and different levels of discussion. Obviously, there will be new problems arising which are not just concerning with the justification of the transition but with the problematization of westernization itself. Finally, it's been concluded that in order to clarify these new problems, we should step back to the level of philosophical discussion, and first of all to the clarification of the I-not-I relation which has been neglected thoroughly in the whole project. (shrink)

Abstract -/- Before Descartes, middle age philosophers like Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Duns Scotus (1266-1308), and Francisco Suarez (1548-1617) used to discuss the distinction between essence and existence in three ways (of course, Ibn-Sina was the first who made this distinction to rehabilitate Aristotelian philosophy in the Islamic heritage). Descartes was aware of that, but discussed it according to the relation between mind and body. Yet, he told us many times that he was used to separate essence from existence in metaphysical (...) issues. The objective of this paper is first to rephrase his untold opinion about the relation between essence and existence on the basis of his conception of the problem of distinction according to mind and body, and second, to disclose that Descartes's conception of existence is twofold. At the end, it is claimed that his twofold notion of existence and his inability to overcome it, is the principal factor in his failure to explicate everything according to first principles, and so in his failure to defeat skepticism. (shrink)

Descartes' methodical doubt is being criticized by naïve realists and others who don't find doubt as a good starting point for metaphysical thought, however, the philosophical achievements of his method have been absorbed in all later philosophies. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how an inevitable question concerning the foundation of Descartes' mathesis universalis, which led him to investigate this foundation by applying this very method in Metaphysics, has finally enabled him to discover his most important philosophical principle, (...) i.e., the necessary relation between being and reason in the identity of the "I". To demonstrate this, after summarizing the fundamental ideas of mathesis uneversalis, and showing the inner necessity of introducing the methodical doubt to fortify these ideas, the decisive role of metaphysical doubt as the third step of the methodical doubt, and malicious demon as its second phase would be highighted. It would also become clear that the metaphysical doubt has a great importance as a turning point from different aspects: as a knot that ties mathesis universalis with its underlying Metaphysics; as a bridge from within the psychological "I" to the metaphysical "I". (shrink)

Abstract -/- The objective of this paper is to clarify that the distinction Malkam Khan makes between natural (ordinary) and scientific reason, is crucial to his entire thought, and he makes this distinction because he is aware of the critical status the idea of method has in the formation of the scientific reason. So, I try to prove that the idea of method and the distinction he makes between these two reasons are the same idea which is to be considered (...) as his central idea. According to Malkam Khān, following the principles of this reason is the key to prosperity and progress. So, he believes that in order not to be colonized, we should progress, and in order to become prosperous, we should act according to the principles of scientific reason. On the basis of this analysis I claim that he thinks like a strategist, therefore, whenever we want to interpret his thought as a consistent whole, we should consider this particular approach. My own approach in this paper is in harmony with the main argument of Malkam Khān, trying to interpret his thought not on the basis of his personal character, his concealed intentions, or simple political events in which he was a part, but on the basis of seeing his thought as scientifically (objectively) as possible by focusing on his own writings in different stages of his thought-life, and analyzing them structurally. (shrink)

This paper offers a practical argument for metaphysical emergence. The main message is that the growing reliance on so-called irrational scientific methods provides evidence that objects of science are indecomposable and as such, are better described by metaphysical emergence as opposed to the prevalent reductionistic metaphysics. I show that a potential counterargument that science will eventually reduce everything to physics has little weight given where science is heading with its current methodological trend. I substantiate my arguments by detailed examples from (...) biological engineering, but the conclusions are extendable beyond that discipline. (shrink)

We simulate trial data to test speculative claims about research methods, such as the impact of publication bias.

Introduction: Dignified care is one of the moral responsibilities of professional caregivers. However, in many cases the dignity of hospitalized patients, especially women in the delivery room, is not maintained. Dignity is an abstract concept and there has been no previous research exploring the dignity of pregnant women in the delivery room in Iran. Objectives: The objective of this study is to define and explain the concept of dignity for pregnant women in the delivery room from the perspectives of professional (...) caregivers. Research design: This is qualitative research. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured individual interviews. The conventional content analysis method was used to analyze the data. In qualitative content analysis, participant narrative is examined in-depth and sorted into categories and themes. Participants and research context: Potential participants who met the entrance criteria for this study were approached between July 2016 and February 2017. In all, 20 professional caregivers working in the delivery room setting within Iranian general hospitals were invited to participate in the study. The sampling was done through targeted sampling until saturation was achieved. Ethical considerations: The research ethics committee of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences has approved the study’s protocol and all commonly recognized ethical principles were followed throughout the study. Findings: The findings of this study were presented in three main themes, including “privacy,” “respecting patients’ preferences,” and “comprehensive attention” and eight categories. Discussions and conclusion: Women in the delivery room need to be taken care of in an environment where healthcare staff promote the preservation of dignity through maintaining privacy, by providing attentive care and through ensuring that patient preferences regarding care and treatment are respected. In such an environment, the dignity of these women would be maintained and desirable outcomes achieved. (shrink)

Religiosity has been linked with prosocial behavior and a preference for religious ingroups over outgroups. Yet, there are important differences in religious people’s beliefs, values, and practices. Fundamental and quest orientation toward religion may differentially predict intergroup bias in prosociality. Also, individualizing and binding moral foundations may have diverse effects on ingroup and outgroup bias in helping, as moral foundations theory suggests that individualizing and binding foundations differ in how much they focus on ingroup and outgroup moral considerations. In this (...) study, we examined the relationship between religious dimensions, moral foundations, prosocial behavior, and intergroup bias in helping. We found evidence for the effect of individualizing foundations, religious fundamentalism, and quest religion above and beyond demographics and other religious dimensions on intergroup bias in helping. Furthermore, there were independent positive effects of individualizing foundations, religious activity, and age, and independent negative effects of female gender and religious fundamentalism on prosocial behavior. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of the relations between religion, prosociality, and moral intuitions in a Muslim context. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with treatment-refractory trigeminal neuralgia and examine the utility of neuroimaging methods in identifying markers of such efficacy. Six patients with classical TN refractory to maximal medical treatment, underwent tDCS. All patients underwent pre- and posttreatment functional magnetic resonance imaging during block-design tasks as well as single-shell diffusion MRI acquisition. The precise locations of tDCS electrodes were identified by neuronavigation. Five therapeutic tDCS sessions were (...) carried out for each patient with either anodic or cathodic applications. The Numeric Rating Scale of pain and the Headache Disability Index were used to score the subjective efficacy of treatment. Altered activity of regional sites was identified by fMRI and associated changes in the spinothalamocortical sensory tract were measured by the dMRI indices of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity. Fiber counts of the bilateral trigeminal root entry zone were performed as an added measure of fiber loss or recovery. All patients experienced a significant reduction in pain scores with a substantial decline in HDI in the number of contralateral sensory fibers in the STCT with either anodic or cathodic tDCS treatment in four of the six patients. A significant reduction in FA was observed in the ipsilateral REZ in the posttreatment phase in five of the six patients. Preliminary evidence suggests that navigated tDCS presents a promising method for alleviating the pain of TN. Different patterns of activation manifested by anodic and cathodic stimulation require further elaboration to understand their implication. Activation and attenuation of responses at various sites may provide further avenues for condition treatment. (shrink)

There is a research programme in linguistics that is founded on describing language as an emergent phenomenon. This paper clarifies how the core concept of emergence is deployed in this emergentist programme. We show that if one adopts the weak understandings of the concept of language emergence, the emergentist programme is not fundamentally different from the other non-emergentist research programmes in linguistics. On the other hand, if one adopts the stronger understandings of emergence then the programme would have a unique (...) character, but at the cost of some corollaries (philosophical, but not only) which the emergentist linguists would seemingly want to avoid. We show that if the emergentists accept those corollaries, the resulting hypothetical emergentist programme would be totally different from the emergentist programme in its present shape. We conclude that the emergentist programme, as it stands, should be either abandoned or reshaped in both theory and methodology. (shrink)

Islamic theologians have held differing views on ethics. Ash'aris believe that the goodness and badness of actions are solely determined by divine law, while the ʿAdlīyeh (including Mu'tazilis and Shi’ites) assert that these qualities are intrinsic or rational. This means that ʿAdlīyeh believes that even in the absence of religion, humans can distinguish between goodness and badness and they are independent to religions. This belief is so prevalent in Shi’ites texts that students of theology often conclude that anyone who does (...) not believe in the intrinsic goodness and badness of actions (IGBA) is not in Shi’ites boundary. However, this repetitive assertion has obscured dissenting opinions within Shi’ites. For instance, when Morteza Motahhari (an Islamic contemporary philosopher and a student of Tabatabaei), discovered that his teacher did not believe in the IGBA, he reconsidered his mentorship and Motahhari critics his teacher. This article, in addition to examining Tabatabaei's views, traces their roots to Farabi's philosophy. Given that both were Muslim philosophers and Farabi was likely a Shi'ite, identifying this connection can influence contemporary Shi'ite philosophers and create a third way in theorizing Shi'ite ethics. This article employs a persuasive paradigm, a qualitative approach, content analysis method, and library research collecting data method. (shrink)

A comparative discussion on "Spiritual Health", as one of the most imperative health fundamentals was initiated. This concept has recently been added to the previous health constituents including physical, psychological and social aspects by the World Health Organization. The words "spiritual" and "health" for many people are two separate and independent issues, while they are inextricably linked. Spirituality in health is not material in nature but belongs to the realm of ideas that have arisen in the minds of human beings, (...) particularly ennobling ideas. Considering the important role which spiritual health plays in our overall sense of happiness and fulfillment as well as the direct connection between spiritual wellness and physical health, the perspectives adopted by Rene Descartes, as the "father of philosophy and modern Humanism" and Allameh Tabatabaee, as the "representative of Islamic philosophy" were compared in the present study. Due to his humanistic perspective, Descartes holds that spiritual health is of an abstract nature and is solely connectedwith human's conscience and intellectual insight indication of a naturalistic (materialistic) interpretation of humans,but it is not concerned with humans' desires, behavior and ultra-humanistic realm. Tabatabaee believes that spiritual health depends on humans'ultra‐naturalistic realm and meaning‐seeking nature, i.e. the acceptance of absolute reality principle (God) as the meaning of life that aside from correcting humans' insight and outlook assigns direction to his behavior and attitude. (shrink)

Introduction -- What and how can we learn from the Quran: a critical rationalist perspective -- A critical rationalist approach to religion -- A critical assessment of the programmes of producing "Islamic science" and "Islamisation of science/knowledge" -- Faqih as engineer: a critical assessment of fiqh's epistemological status -- A critical assessment of the method of interpretation of the Quran by the Quran, in the light of Allameh Tabatabaei's Tafsir al-mizan -- The disenchantment of reason: an anti-rational trend in (...) modern Shiʻi thought- the Tafkikis -- Islamic philosophy: past, present, and future -- Doctrinal certainty: a major contributory factor to "secular" and "religious" violence in the political sphere -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism: can they ever live peacefully together? -- The shape of the coming global civil society: suggestions for a possible Islamic perspective. (shrink)

Introduction Reza Davari Ardakni, the Iranian contemporary philosopher, distinguishes development from Western modernity; in that it considers modernity as natural and organic changes that Europe has gone through, but sees development as a planned design for implementing modernity in other countries. As a result, the closedness of development concerns only the developing countries, not Western modern ones. Davari emphasizes that the Western modernity has a universality that pertains to a unique reason and a unified world. The only way of thinking (...) in this world is a philosophical thought based on human self-centered reason, and given the pervasiveness of Western civilization. Therefore, Davari does not consider Westernization as mere imitation of Western customs and methods, but rather as a way of existence in the world. Westernization is a subjective view of the world and beings. Westernization is not optional, enabling non-Western people to avoid it. According to the Westernization scenario, the world today is entirely Westernized, and Davari considers Westernization as the inevitable fate of the people of this era, seeing two alternatives for them, both of which ultimately lead to the same destination, which is to embrace development; either they seize the power of science and technology and join the process of global modernization and participate in it, or they become subdued by this process and accept it without participation. Davari regards the first type of Westernization as active and the second type as passive. Problematique Therefore, underdevelopment is not a concept of the ancient world, nor even of a world between the ancient and the modern, or on the threshold of modernization. Underdevelopment is a condition of suspension and timelessness and being exposed to modernization. To escape the paradox of underdevelopment, which is the inevitable historical fate of non-modernized societies, Davari sees no way out other than embracing development. In other words, Westernized societies, which have become confused due to modernization, have no escape route other than turning to development. Therefore, some critics of Davari accuse the theory of Westernization of being a theoretical rupture. M. T. Tabatabaei, by rejecting the theoretical rupture in the theory of Westernization, believes that in the argument of Davari, we are only faced with a shift from a philosophical to an intellectual level. Tabatabaei, by avoiding providing a philosophical response to the critics of the theoretical rupture, believes that the introduction of active Westernization and collaboration in science and technology as a solution to escape from underdevelopment conditions, is only a shift from a philosophical level to an intellectual level and does not involve a rupture. Therefore, it seems that the philosophical issue of how or the possibility of escaping from underdevelopment conditions is still an open non answered problem. In this study, seeking a philosophical answer to this problem, an attempt has been made to summarize Davari's definitions of development, underdevelopment, participation in the world of science, and the role of humanities and social sciences in development, using his writings and speeches. It is proposed that a way to escape from the clesedness of development based on Davari's views, is to make use of analytical method with emphasizing on concepts and theories of the philosophy and metaphysics of science. Argument According to Davari, the social and human sciences that are responsible for development planning in underdeveloped societies must consider the characteristics of underdevelopment in order to facilitate the transition to more favorable conditions. Davari identifies the following conditions for successful development: 1) replacing tradition with science as the organizing and coordinating principle in society, 2) recognizing the universality of philosophy and science of the Western modernity and the impossibility of blindly imitation and adopting it, 3) inevitability of actively engaging and interacting with development, 4) recognizing the internal dynamics of scientific progress and avoiding authoritarian control, and 5) promoting free participation in the scientific paradigms. Therefore, Davari suggests the following steps towards development: 1) recognizing and understanding the problems of society and the local ecosystem, 2) understanding the philosophical and cultural foundations of Western civilization, 3) understanding the historical context and paradigms of science, 4) understanding the philosophical and metaphysical foundations of science, 5) recognizing the intellectual and philosophical capacities of our own community, and 6) reflecting our own philosophical and metaphysical assumptions in the scientific world in a way that is compatible with scientific methods. Given the motivations for change in science at both the global and national levels, including the emergence of heterodox or indigenous sciences, and the inevitable nature of development, Davari points to the possibility of a path between absolute rejecting or accepting the mainstream social and human sciences. However, this path is challenging and contingent upon the aforementioned conditions and steps of transition. Conclusion It is necessary to seek this path within the realm of the philosophy and metaphysics of science, particularly in the origins and foundations of the social and human sciences. Research in the metaphysics and philosophy of the social sciences provides the opportunity for active scientific engagement in the scientific paradigms and a reconsideration of the foundations of science, allowing for different philosophical foundations while are compatible with scientific methods. Successfully finding a path between absolute rejecting or accepting the existing social sciences will lead to an internal transformation within the field of science and, in fact, will advance the boundaries of knowledge. Therefore, it is possible, while adhering to the conditions of transition and actively participating in the world of science and technology, and accepting the unity of modernity and avoiding selectivity and imitation, to search for a way to overcome the closedness of development through a reconsideration of the philosophical and metaphysical foundations of science, while recognizing our own intellectual heritage and critically assessing Western science and technology. (shrink)