Seeing is (Dis)believing

The backbone of Victorian spirit investigations rested with the credibility of the witnesses who attended spiritualist events such as séances. But how did someone become a credible witness of spirit or psychic phenomena? What were the processes by which their testimonies became trustworthy representations of genuine experiences? This paper explores these questions by examining the visual epistemology of the scientific naturalist and sceptic John Tyndall (1820–1893), as a way of understanding the politics of constructing scientific testimony during the late Victorian period. Visual epistemology can be defined as an embodied practice of observation that moves beyond merely being the physical act of looking at things to include a range of skilled activities. Key to this paper is an attempt to challenge earlier whiggish accounts in the historiography that have perpetuated the myth that science conquered spiritualism in the nineteenth century. Instead, it exposes a more complicated narrative about Victorian science’s uneasy relationship with spirit and psychic phenomena, and raises important questions about the authority and limit of scientific naturalism.

Norms of Testimony in Broad Interdisciplinarity: The Case of Quantum Mechanics in Critical Theory

While much interdisciplinarity brings together proximate fields, broad interdisciplinarity sees integration between disciplines that are perceived to be non-neighboring. This paper argues that the heterogeneity among disciplines in broad interdisciplinarity calls for stricter epistemic norms of testimony for experts that act as translators between the disciplines than those suggested for intra-scientific testimony. The paper is structured around two case studies: the affective turn in social theorizing and the use of quantum mechanics in critical theory as exemplified by Vicky Kirby’s use of work by Karen Barad. These are argued to be instances of broad interdisciplinary borrowing where few translators have joint expertise in both disciplines. For most, therefore, the engagement with for instance the integration between quantum mechanics and critical theory is possible only by the aid of translators. For those without sufficient interactional expertise, however, the epistemic credentials of the translations they inevitably rely upon are inscrutable. Furthermore, any comparison between translations is challenged since translations are argued to be few due to the cognitive divergence between disciplines in broad interdisciplinarity. Consequently, the epistemic integrity of broad interdisciplinarity can only be secured through additional norms of testimony for translators. The paper proposes that (a) all translator’s testimony in broad interdisciplinarity must aim to be neutral with respect to disputed issues within the relevant disciplines and (b) any deviation from (a) must be clearly highlighted.

Scientific Testimony Terhadap Hukuman Mati Bagi Pelaku Tindak Pidana Narkotika

The rise of narcotics circulation in recent years, has caused many losses not only economic losses but the loss of a generation of people who have lost common sense to become victims of life, even though in a very productive age. Based on this condition, the legal policy taken by the government by making maximum legal sanctions for drug dealers and drug dealers with a maximum sentence of life or death sentence. This writing aims to examine the position and function of scientific testimony on the death penalty for narcotics offenders and the perspective of North Sumatra BNN and North Sumatra Regional Police on scientific testimony on the death penalty for narcotics offenders. The results of this study indicate that the use of scientific testimony in criminal cases will scientifically reveal narcotics criminal cases, so that it can be seen what articles can be applied in narcotics crime cases, that the position and function of scientific testimony against capital punishment for narcotic offenders is as a tool or means to supplement other evidence whether a suspect is indeed eligible for a death sentence or not and also whether or not a recommendation from the results of scientific testimony can change the law enforcement authorities not to impose the death penalty for narcotics offenders depending, whether the investigator or the investigator is willing to use information from the letter of the results.

Emotion and Reason in Scientific Creation

The dual roles of cognition and emotion in creativity that have emerged at many points in the book so far are examined in their own right. Through the lens of medieval philosophy, especially the work of Robert Grosseteste, then Kant, Spinoza, Hume, and the recent study of Iain McGilchrist, this chapter examines the structure of how the affective works in the origination of ideas, not just in response to them. Contemporary scientific testimony to the creative function of emotion leads to a detailed case study of a Caltech project to develop a polymer additive to make jet fuel safe in crashes, and other stories of scientific creation, earth the philosophical discussion in experience.