Applying Logic to Philosophical Theology: A Formal Deductive Inference of Affirming God’s Existence from Assuming the A-Priori-ness of Knowledge in the Sigma Formal Axiomatic Theory

Author(s):  
Vladimir O. Lobovikov ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Agostini

In this chapter I argue the following thesis: 1) Descartes’s Meditations never formulate the problem of God’s existence as it is required by the precepts of order; in particular, the only problem of existence posed by Descartes after the classification of thoughts in the Third Meditation does not concern God directly, but generally aliqua res. 2) Though Descartes qualifies the two proofs of the Third Meditation as a posteriori, they cannot be considered as homologous in their structure to the traditional a posteriori proofs: they both—and the second in particular—contain components that are truly a priori. 3) The proof of the Fifth Meditation, as it starts from the true definition of God and God’s essence, does not constitute a quoadnos version of the a priori demonstration belonging to mathematics, but is, in a strict sense, a potissima demonstration that is at least as evident as those of mathematics.


Histories ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-255
Author(s):  
Khaled Al-Kassimi

The (secular-humanist) philosophical theology governing (positivist) disciplines such as International Law and International Relations precludes a priori any communicative examination of how the exclusion of Arab-Ottoman jurisprudence is necessary for the ontological coherence of jurisprudent concepts such as society and sovereignty, together with teleological narratives constellating the “Age of Reason” such as modernity and civilization. The exercise of sovereignty by the British Crown—in 19th and 20th century Arabia—consisted of (positivist) legal doctrines comprising “scientific processes” denying Ottoman legal sovereignty, thereby proceeding to “order” societies situated in Dar al-Islam and “detach” Ottoman-Arab subjects from their Ummah. This “rational exercise” of power by the British Crown—mythologizing an unbridgeable epistemological gap between a Latin-European subject as civic and an objectified Ottoman-Arab as despotic—legalized (regulatory) measures referencing ethno/sect-centric paradigms which not only “deported” Ottoman-Arab ijtihad (Eng. legal reasoning and exegetic hermeneutics) from the realm of “international law”, but also rationalized geographic demarcations and demographic alterations across Ottoman-Arab vilayets. Both inter-related disciplines, therefore, affirm an “exclusionary self-image” when dealing with “foreign epistemologies” by transforming “cultural difference” into “legal difference”, thus suing that it is in the protection of jus gentium that “recognized sovereigns” exercise redeeming measures on “Turks”, “Moors”, or “Arabs”. It is precisely the knowledge lost ensuing from such irreflexive “positivist image” that this legal-historical research seeks to deconstruct by moving beyond a myopic analysis claiming Ottoman-Arab ‘Umran (Eng. civilization) as homme malade (i.e., sick man); or that the Caliphate attempted but failed to become reasonable during the 18th and 19th century because it adhered to Arab-Islamic philosophical theology. Therefore, this research commits to deconstructing “mainstream” Ottoman historiography claiming that tanzimat (Eng. reorganization) and tahdith (Eng. modernization) were simply “degenerative periods” affirming the temporal “backwardness” of Ottoman civilization and/or the innate incapacity of its epistemology in furnishing a (modern) civil society.


1989 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-466
Author(s):  
Winfred G. Phillips

Schubert Ogden is often considered a process theologican because, drawing upon the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, he holds a “process” view of the nature of reality and of God. But the strategy used in his philosophical theology makes Ogden a sort of “transcendental” theologian as well. I refer to Ogden's argument in The Reality of God that a necessary condition of the possibility of scientific and moral activity is the kind of confidence in the meaning and worth of life that must be seen as an implicit faith in God. This faith might be characterized as innate or a priori because Ogden portrays it not as derived from, but as presupposed by, all our experience; indeed, Ogden claims that such faith is the necessary condition of the possibility of even “secular” scientific and moral experience. Thus one might see this part of his philosophical theology as pursuing a transcendental strategy of argument.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Perin Shecaira

The paper provides a qualified defence of Bruce Waller’s deductivist schema for a priori analogical arguments in ethics and law. One crucial qualification is that the schema represents analogical arguments as complexes composed of one deductive inference (hence “deductivism”) but also of one non-deductive subargument. Another important qualification is that the schema is informed by normative assumptions regarding the conditions that an analogical argument must satisfy in order for it to count as an optimal instance of its kind. Waller’s schema (in qualified form) is defended from criticisms formulated by Trudy Govier, Marcello Guarini and Lilian Bermejo-Luque.


Author(s):  
D. E. Luzzi ◽  
L. D. Marks ◽  
M. I. Buckett

As the HREM becomes increasingly used for the study of dynamic localized phenomena, the development of techniques to recover the desired information from a real image is important. Often, the important features are not strongly scattering in comparison to the matrix material in addition to being masked by statistical and amorphous noise. The desired information will usually involve the accurate knowledge of the position and intensity of the contrast. In order to decipher the desired information from a complex image, cross-correlation (xcf) techniques can be utilized. Unlike other image processing methods which rely on data massaging (e.g. high/low pass filtering or Fourier filtering), the cross-correlation method is a rigorous data reduction technique with no a priori assumptions.We have examined basic cross-correlation procedures using images of discrete gaussian peaks and have developed an iterative procedure to greatly enhance the capabilities of these techniques when the contrast from the peaks overlap.


Author(s):  
H.S. von Harrach ◽  
D.E. Jesson ◽  
S.J. Pennycook

Phase contrast TEM has been the leading technique for high resolution imaging of materials for many years, whilst STEM has been the principal method for high-resolution microanalysis. However, it was demonstrated many years ago that low angle dark-field STEM imaging is a priori capable of almost 50% higher point resolution than coherent bright-field imaging (i.e. phase contrast TEM or STEM). This advantage was not exploited until Pennycook developed the high-angle annular dark-field (ADF) technique which can provide an incoherent image showing both high image resolution and atomic number contrast.This paper describes the design and first results of a 300kV field-emission STEM (VG Microscopes HB603U) which has improved ADF STEM image resolution towards the 1 angstrom target. The instrument uses a cold field-emission gun, generating a 300 kV beam of up to 1 μA from an 11-stage accelerator. The beam is focussed on to the specimen by two condensers and a condenser-objective lens with a spherical aberration coefficient of 1.0 mm.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 878-892
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Napoli ◽  
Linda D. Vallino

Purpose The 2 most commonly used operations to treat velopharyngeal inadequacy (VPI) are superiorly based pharyngeal flap and sphincter pharyngoplasty, both of which may result in hyponasal speech and airway obstruction. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the bilateral buccal flap revision palatoplasty (BBFRP) as an alternative technique to manage VPI while minimizing these risks and (b) conduct a systematic review of the evidence of BBFRP on speech and other clinical outcomes. A report comparing the speech of a child with hypernasality before and after BBFRP is presented. Method A review of databases was conducted for studies of buccal flaps to treat VPI. Using the principles of a systematic review, the articles were read, and data were abstracted for study characteristics that were developed a priori. With respect to the case report, speech and instrumental data from a child with repaired cleft lip and palate and hypernasal speech were collected and analyzed before and after surgery. Results Eight articles were included in the analysis. The results were positive, and the evidence is in favor of BBFRP in improving velopharyngeal function, while minimizing the risk of hyponasal speech and obstructive sleep apnea. Before surgery, the child's speech was characterized by moderate hypernasality, and after surgery, it was judged to be within normal limits. Conclusion Based on clinical experience and results from the systematic review, there is sufficient evidence that the buccal flap is effective in improving resonance and minimizing obstructive sleep apnea. We recommend BBFRP as another approach in selected patients to manage VPI. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9919352


Addiction ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 92 (12) ◽  
pp. 1671-1698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Project Match Research Group
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  

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