Philosophical beliefs

Author(s):  
Janet Wootton
Human Affairs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-342
Author(s):  
László Bernáth ◽  
János Tőzsér

AbstractOur paper consists of four parts. In the first part, we describe the challenge of the pervasive and permanent philosophical disagreement over philosophers’ epistemic self-esteem. In the second part, we investigate the attitude of philosophers who have high epistemic self-esteem even in the face of philosophical disagreement and who believe they have well-grounded philosophical knowledge. In the third section, we focus on the attitude of philosophers who maintain a moderate level of epistemic self-esteem because they do not attribute substantive philosophical knowledge to themselves but still believe that they have epistemic right to defend substantive philosophical beliefs. In the fourth section, we analyse the attitude of philosophers who have a low level of epistemic self-esteem in relation to substantive philosophical beliefs and make no attempt to defend those beliefs. We argue that when faced with philosophical disagreement philosophers either have to deny that the dissenting philosophers are their epistemic peers or have to admit that doing philosophy is less meaningful than it seemed before. In this second case, philosophical activity and performance should not contribute to the philosophers’ overall epistemic self-esteem to any significant extent.


Author(s):  
Paul McKeown ◽  
Rachel Ann Dunn

AbstractThe recent judgment in Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports in England and Wales held that ethical veganism was a protected philosophical belief under employment law. In contrast, vegetarianism was found not to be a protected philosophical belief in Conisbee v Crossley Farms Limited and others. The authors argue that the Employment Tribunal misunderstood the notion of vegetarianism when deciding that it was a ‘life-style choice’. There are different kinds of vegans and vegetarians, each with their own way of practising the philosophy which influences how they live their life. Not all people who follow a meat-free diet should be afforded this protection, and it depends on whether their belief is one which is determined by certain factors, such as animal welfare and environmentalism, rather than for health purposes. The authors explore the arguments and analysis in the above employment cases, coming to the conclusion that the tribunals oversimplified what it means to hold values such as veganism and vegetarianism, failing to understand the differences between different classifications and sub-groups when coming to a decision. The different kinds of vegans and vegetarians and their characteristics are outlined, before determining whether this should constitute protection under employment law, protecting individuals from discrimination. The situation in the USA and Canada regarding this issue is very different, and there are parallels drawn with attempting to establish veganism or vegetarianism as a religion, and where they could benefit from the recent decision in England and Wales. Finally, this paper concludes that ethical and environmental veganism and vegetarianism should both qualify as protected philosophical beliefs, but other kinds may fall short of what is required to satisfy the requirements under law.


2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Burnett

AbstractAbū Ma'shar (787-886) and al-Qābīsī (mid-10th century) were active astrologers and defenders of the scientific character of their discipline. They wrote works on criticisms brought forward against the discipline and challenged practitioners whom they considered as detrimental for the esteem and future fate of their science. Nevertheless, both writers can be seen as heirs to a single tradition of thought, which took its origins in Ptolemy's Tetrabiblios and developed largely independently of the religious or philosophical beliefs of a specific community. The arguments developed for proving the scientific value of astrology are interesting in their own right, and merit further study not only by historians of science but also by historians of philosophy.


Women Rising ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 40-43
Author(s):  
Aseel Alawadhi

This chapter is a translated interview with Aseel Alawadhi, a former parliamentary member and a philosophy professor at Kuwait University, who was accused of opposing Islam and the veil during her 2009 race for the Kuwaiti Parliament. In this interview, Alawadhi defends her philosophical beliefs and asserts the focus of her political campaign on women’s representation in Kuwaiti politics.


Author(s):  
Sharon K. Andrews ◽  
Lisa Lacher ◽  
Todd W. Dunnavant

The philosophical beliefs of instructors directly impact how a course is designed, the extent to which each instructor's belief systems may impact the course experience, and the beliefs that may underlie instructional design and engagement systems throughout the instructional process. The focus of this discussion evolves around the philosophical belief systems of three higher education instructors at different points in their career trajectory, from adjunct instructor to full professor, that focuses upon an analysis of philosophical beliefs associated with the teaching and learning process, that leads into the potential impact upon one's elearning instructional decisions and styles of instructional engagement that may support a better understanding of styles of transformative social learning environments within the higher education elearning instructional environment.


Author(s):  
Sharon K. Andrews ◽  
Lisa Lacher ◽  
Todd Dunnavant

The instructor is an integral member of the educational environment through leading, facilitating, and supporting the development of a learning community. This is integrally important within an elearning environment, wherein motivational engagement is a potentially more nuanced environment due to the differentiation in time, space, and place. The instructor's philosophical belief systems highlight the potential for transformative social learning environments that directly impact the instructional design of the course, differentiating enhancements towards supporting user experience, as well as highlighting the potential for transformative impacts within learning environments as well as the holistic learning community. Advancing an enhanced understanding around the instructor's philosophical beliefs around the teaching and learning process strengthens not only the efforts of the instructor towards critical pedagogical understandings, but also the larger learning environment that includes the impact of the virtual world upon the digital connections that undergird communities of learning.


Author(s):  
Caroline M. Crawford

Online instructors necessitate the implementation of immediacy and authenticity on a continuous basis within an instructional endeavor. Towards more fully understanding the immediacy and authenticity of an instructor's efforts, aspects related to interactive activities, instructor's philosophical beliefs systems, and understanding cognitive vulnerability within an online instructional environment are vitally important to learner success. Further, while developing a community of practice supports the instructor's efforts to engage learners more fully within the instructional success capable within an online instructional environment, while also focusing upon enhancing the talent pool within the course environment. A talent-propelled instructional environment supports the learners while also enhancing the instructor's viability and strength of positive instructional experience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-241
Author(s):  
Andrew Hambler

There have been a number of tribunal decisions on the admissibility of discrimination claims concerning ‘belief’ as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Some have favoured the claimant, establishing, inter alia, that opposition to fox hunting and hare-coursing, a belief in the ‘higher purpose’ of public service broadcasting and a commitment to vegetarianism constitute ‘philosophical beliefs’ for the purposes of the Equality Act. Others do not, such that a belief in wearing a poppy or, in contrast with an earlier decision, a commitment to vegetarianism do not qualify. The admissibility of these claims tended to turn on the extent to which the belief in question was considered cogent or was sufficiently weighty and substantial. In Forstater v CGD Europe & Anor, whether or not a belief fell into the protected category focused on the rather different issue of whether or not it was worthy of respect because of its compatibility (or otherwise) with the dignity and rights of others.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-313
Author(s):  
Kirk Lougheed

The epistemology of disagreement examines the question of how an agent ought to respond to awareness of epistemic peer disagreement about one of her beliefs. The literature on this topic, ironically enough, represents widespread disagreement about how we should respond to disagreement. I argue for the sceptical conclusion that the existence of widespread disagreement throughout the history of philosophy, and right up until the present day indicates that philosophers are highly unreliable at arriving at the truth. If truth convergence indicates progress in a field, then there is little progress in philosophy. This sceptical conclusion, however, need not make us give up philosophizing: That we should currently be sceptical of our philosophical beliefs is a contingent fact. We are an intellectually immature species and given the existence of the deep future we have some reason to think that there will be truth-convergence in philosophy in the future.


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