scholarly journals Irrlichtelieren (Will-o’-the-wisping-around)

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Brown
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Scientific Epistemology ◽  
The Will ◽  
Outside The Box

The lexeme Irrlichtelieren (will-o’-the-wisping-around, i.e. thinking outside the box) is Goethe’s neologism for a heterodox line of thought that displaces traditional methods of philosophy and science. Although the term occurs only once, in the student scene of Faust, Part One (FA 1.7:83.1917), the shifting value of will-o’-the-wisps in Faust and other works corresponds to the theories of scientific method Goethe advanced in essays of the 1790s and especially to the methodology of his Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Color) of 1810. While in Goethe’s letters and in the devil’s language in Faust, will-o’-the-wisps betoken illusion, they develop in the course of Faust into symbols of the ineffable truth that Kantian metaphysics had effectively substituted for God. The ironic dialectic of the will-o’-the-wisps shapes Goethe’s views of pedagogy and scientific epistemology and his positions on the idealist subject/object dichotomy, on the relationships of nature and truth, on representation and knowledge, and on knowledge and community.

Methodological Naturalism and Reflexivity Requirement

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-330
Author(s):  
Hamed Bikaraan-Behesht ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Vicious Circle ◽  
Methodological Naturalism ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Inductive Argument ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Methodological Rule

Methodological naturalists regard scientific method as the only effective way of acquiring knowledge. Quite the contrary, traditional analytic philosophers reject employing scientific method in philosophy as illegitimate unless it is justified by the traditional methods. One of their attacks on methodological naturalism is the objection that it is either incoherent or viciously circular: any argument that may be offered for methodological naturalism either employs a priori methods or involves a vicious circle that ensues from employing the very method that the argument is aimed to show its credentials. The charge of circularity has also been brought against the naturalistic arguments for specific scientific methods; like the inductive argument for induction and the abductive argument for the inference to the best explanation. In this paper, I respond to the charge of circularity using a meta-methodological rule that I call ‘reflexivity requirement.’ Giving two examples of philosophical works, I illustrate how the requirement has already been considered to be necessary for self-referential theories. At the end, I put forward a meta-philosophical explanation of the naturalism-traditionalism debate over the legitimate method of philosophy.

scholarly journals Does scientism undermine other forms of knowledge?

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndubuisi C. Ani
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Research Challenges ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Way Of Knowing ◽  
True Knowledge ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

Science has continually bridged the gaps in knowledge about reality by exerting its prowess in explanation, discovery and invention. Astonished by the successes of science coupled with the demonstrability and (purported) objectivity of scientific knowledge, scholars are lured to nurse the impression that science is the answer to all questions that need to be asked about reality. This has led to an intellectual fanaticism called scientism where science is seen as the only bona fide way of attaining any true knowledge whatsoever. Consequently, other fields of knowledge suffer grievously from being abandoned, belittled or modified to operate using the scientific method of inquiry. Against this backdrop, this paper argues that science is not the only way of knowing reality. Other fields of knowledge and their traditional methods of inquiry are vital in the understanding of reality that abandoning or constructing them in the scientific light is tantamount to having a parochial view of reality. Through its arguments, the research advances pluralistic, inclusive and complementary approaches.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research challenges the claims and influence of scientism, which holds that science has the answer to every question about reality. The paper contends that other epistemological methods of philosophical, religious, mythical and artistic forms are essential epistemological methods. Hence, the research advances a pluralistic and complementary approach in epistemology.

scholarly journals Rekonsiliasi Epistemologi Antara Agama dengan Sains (Telaah tentang Pemikiran Filsafat Seyyed Hossein Nasr)

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Ali Maksum
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Moral Awareness ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Spiritual Dimension ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Human Attention ◽  
Scientific Epistemology ◽  
Religious Morality

The framework of thinking about modern scholarship tries to break away from the spiritual dimension. Human consciousness is herded towards the secular. As a result, modern Western humans no longer know about the meaning and purpose of life. Then revisions arose in the form of relativizing the absurdities that had been attributed to the scientific method, while at the same time trying to pave the way for the entry of divine values and spiritual dimensions into the basis of scientific epistemology, ontology and axiology. Some even see that value based on revelation (religion) can enter the scientific methodology process. The scientific method can no longer be maintained in a neutral sense in the absolute sense. Postmodern criticism does not eliminate rationality and does not divert human attention from material phenomena to the spiritual world, but complements rationality with philosophical keys that contain world views and religious morality. Nasr's epistemological thinking has significance with modern or postmodern human consciousness, which requires moral awareness and the meaning of life. Nasr offers in the form of religious-spirituality formulations within the framework of modern human thought.

scholarly journals Desert Channels — The Impulse to Conserve.

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Adam Leavesley ◽  
Jennie Mallela
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
National Geographic ◽  
Collective Work ◽  
A Value ◽  
The People ◽  
Culture History ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
The Will ◽  
Landscape Biodiversity

AUSTRALIANS have pretty much all the science we need to conserve our landscapes, what lacks is the will and motivation to make it happen. This book challenges the assumption of many conservationists that science is, or should be the primary consideration in land management. Instead conservation is presented as a value — an impulse. Science is a key facet but no more important than the culture, history, economy or social context of the people and the place. Reading a bit like an extended National Geographic article, the book is presented in four parts entitled “Place”, “Landscape”, “Biodiversity” and “Livelihood”. Between each part is an artistic interlude of illustrations and within each chapter are standalone sidebars, captioned images and a soundtrack — the collective work of almost 50 contributors from diverse backgrounds and varying interests. The academic imperative to reference has been retained, but not in the heavy-handed scientific style. Each piece has a feeling of individuality; “this is where I come from, this is my experience, this is what I have learned and this is what I think.” Scientists are well represented amongst the contributors, but the scientific method is afforded no special prominence. The book is a collection of stories by self-professed conservationists — historians, biologists, painters, pastoralists, activists, palaeontologists, sociologists, traditional owners, photographers, students, agronomists, anthropologists, journalists, poets, public servants, archaeologists and more.

One Size Fits All?

Methodology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel C. Voelkle ◽  
Patrick E. McKnight
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Type I Error ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Type I ◽  
Finite Sample ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Repeated Measures Anova ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Latent Curve

The use of latent curve models (LCMs) has increased almost exponentially during the last decade. Oftentimes, researchers regard LCM as a “new” method to analyze change with little attention paid to the fact that the technique was originally introduced as an “alternative to standard repeated measures ANOVA and first-order auto-regressive methods” (Meredith & Tisak, 1990, p. 107). In the first part of the paper, this close relationship is reviewed, and it is demonstrated how “traditional” methods, such as the repeated measures ANOVA, and MANOVA, can be formulated as LCMs. Given that latent curve modeling is essentially a large-sample technique, compared to “traditional” finite-sample approaches, the second part of the paper addresses the question to what degree the more flexible LCMs can actually replace some of the older tests by means of a Monte-Carlo simulation. In addition, a structural equation modeling alternative to Mauchly’s (1940) test of sphericity is explored. Although “traditional” methods may be expressed as special cases of more general LCMs, we found the equivalence holds only asymptotically. For practical purposes, however, no approach always outperformed the other alternatives in terms of power and type I error, so the best method to be used depends on the situation. We provide detailed recommendations of when to use which method.

Doctrine of the will.

1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asa Mahan
Keyword(s):  
The Will
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