Convictions and self-deception: attention and the fundamental vulnerability

The present study focuses on the anthropological factors that constitute a kind of specifically human vulnerability. This typically human fragility can be expressed in many different ways that have something in common with fallibility, faultiness, which consists in an oscillation between greatness and finitude. As far as vulnerability itself is concerned, it means a susceptibility to being easily affected, an exposure to injury. Insofar as I speak, in the rest of this research, of the phenomenon of self-deception, it is a question, in the case being investigated, of making injury to oneself. In order to understand how it is possible to wound oneself in the analysed sense, it seems necessary to refer to some kind of maintaining a rupture, of an inconsistency within a set of convictions that one forms about oneself, other people, and the world. My investigation below is divided into four parts. First, I describe analytically, and from a rather epistemological perspective, the essential components that define the phenomenon of self-deception. To do so, I will rely mainly on Donald Davidson's well-known text Deception and Division. Secondly, I briefly review the more important solutions that have been proposed to deal with the difficulty in question. These proposals can be classified into two groups: the first contains the solutions that consider the conflicting beliefs in terms of their intentionality; the second group of solutions, on the contrary, includes the non-intentional solutions. The brief examination of them shows that the most philosophically promising views bear the mark of an insurmountable weakness and therefore require new approaches. Thirdly, I propose to take up some of the achievements of Paul Ricoeur's thought and I justify my choice. In addition, I try to establish a link between the problem of self-deception and the Ricoeurian theme of attention. Fourthly and finally, starting from the Ricoeurian phenomenology of attention, I present a possible understanding of self-deception that would keep both the intentionality of the opposing convictions (and thus the philosophical scope of the problem) and its rootedness in a real human experience (and thus a concrete, less abstract character of the approach than the one referring to mathematical models). As a result, the study offers a new understanding of vulnerability as a constituent of the human condition.

Actuality and happiness of the soul: An Islamic epistemological perspective

Securing the focus of the study on psychological facts carried out by psychology to pass the scientific test still leaves a problem of definition. Such an identity crisis will be reconciled by using an Islamic epistemological perspective that incorporates conceptual-metaphysical studies as part of the scientific tradition by applying it to the analysis of the actualization of the function of the human soul. This paper aims to analyze the actualization of the potential of the human soul, the actuality or potentiality of human soul health, and the relevance of soul health to the happiness of the human soul. The theme of this paper uses qualitative research, literature study design, theoretical hermeneutic methods, content analysis techniques, and the author as a research instrument. It is known that the perfect actualization of the rational soul is the soul’s arrival at divine truth in theory and practice. The actualization of soul function in a person shows the level of his/her soul health. A happy soul is found in this healthy soul, namely a soul that has been freed from material tendencies and spiritual diseases. It also leads actions to the noble character and has longing and submission to God. These theoretical findings can be used to develop empirical-experimental research in psychology.

Place of History in the History of Science

This article aims to reflect on the place of history in the history of science from the perspective of Brazilian historiography of science, mainly according to the thought of the Brazilian physicist and historian of science, Carlos Alvarez Maia. Since the 1990s, Maia (2013) began to question why the history of science became (and still largely remains) a “history of absent historians” in the face of the predominance of history of science in the Natural Science Departments and the absence in History Departments. The dynamic and changing historiography of science itself reaffirms the lack of historical analyses using history’s methodological and conceptual apparatus. Thus, epistemological aspects appear interrelated to political-institutional issues. Consequently, one has a political-epistemological perspective for discussing the place – or non-place – of history in the history of science. The thought of Maia (2013) acts as an essential starting point for reflection. It constitutes a possible opening in constructing a consolidation of discussions about the impacts (of the absence and the presence of the conceptual apparatus of history) in developing new historiography of science conceptually historical.

Achieving effective interprofessional practice between speech and language therapists and teachers: An epistemological perspective

Interprofessional practice between speech and language therapists and teachers involve sharing knowledge and experiences to achieve a common goal of improving child outcomes. Although interprofessional practice has widespread support from both disciplines, it is not always easily implemented in day-to-day practice and numerous challenges have been documented. This study attempts to address these challenges through an epistemological perspective of interprofessional practice between teachers and speech and language therapists. Action research methodology was employed for this inquiry that spanned the duration of a school year. Data analysis placed an explicit focus on the experiences of interprofessional practice between the speech and language therapist and teachers, including an examination of how action was agreed and the processes underpinning collaborative working. An epistemological lens facilitated a more in-depth consideration of the diverse ways of knowing implicit in interprofessional practice and provided guidance on how to overcome the barriers, and realise the potential, of collaboration between speech and language therapists and teachers in daily practice. Four factors, rooted in an epistemological perspective, were generated from the analyses as core tenets of effective interprofessional practice. These included securing a participatory space; actively facilitating power-sharing; balancing the status of practical knowing with propositional knowing and anchoring interprofessional practice in collaboratively designed, practical activities that integrate ways of knowing. The former four factors, and their implications, offer concrete and practical direction for practitioners and educators on how to achieve effective interprofessional practice to help improve child outcomes collaboratively.

Methodology of Modern Research Concerning Childhood – The Perspective of Childhood Studies

Modern research concerning childhood has been developing mostly based on the concept of children’s rights, which is seen not only in the topics of research but also in the objectives and methodological aspects. The aim of the paper is to show how respecting children’s subjectivity and their right to voice opinions in matters that affect them are reflected in childhood studies by means of the specific epistemological perspective, which is seeing the reality through children’s eyes, and the preference for some methodological solutions, i.e. the types of research and the applied methods that are useful in obtaining reports, opinions and assessment of children. The analysis of scientific and research discourse allowed identification of several preferred methodological types of childhood studies, i.e. ethnographic, meta-analytical using big data, survey and longitudinal research. It also allowed indication of the current which is developed in research on childhood and is related to promotion of participatory research with children.

The method of comparative-historical analysis: a tailor-made approach to public diplomacy research

In view of the major methodological challenges which confront researchers in public diplomacy (PD), the paper recognizes the method of comparative-historical analysis (CHA) as an eminently suitable approach for robust empirical studies. The paper starts by exploring different conceptualizations and operationalizations of public diplomacy. Subsequently, four defining characteristics of CHA are identified: (1) CHA starts from a positivist epistemological perspective; (2) CHA-based research usually is concerned with “big questions;” (3) comparative methods are applied in CHA, either across different cases or within cases across time, allowing for in-depth analyses; (4) by considering respective starting points, specific historical developments, and cultural particulars, CHA is committed to methods drawn from historical research, including process tracing and causal narrative. The paper demonstrates that CHA, in view of these characteristics and with its highly interdisciplinary pedigree and methodological eclecticism, is eminently suited for studies exploring PD practices and outcomes. To provide a tailor-made approach for such endeavors, CHA is innovatively combined with the method of structured, focused comparison. Finally, drawing on both the different operationalizations of PD and the requirements of CHA, a comprehensive matrix for CHA-based PD research is presented, offering a tangible framework for future empirical analyses.

Should We Rethink Supervision?

Supervision as such has been the subject of great interest, and there were many arguments to support it; most of that talk being conducted in the strict frames of psychology and psychotherapy. Considering this and the fact that, as other fields of science, psychology has its own limitations (due to some self-imposed boundaries), we believe that a brief discursive exploration must be undertaken, at least from an anthropological perspective. It is also to envisage that the problem of supervising psychology or psychotherapy should also be considered from an ethical point of view to enhance a general epistemological perspective. Additionally, one cannot forget that the psychologist, the psychotherapist, and the supervisor are and live, as well as other people, in that mainstream of humanity that encompasses all of us. Such a living and existence certainly occurs with some indelible idiosyncrasies that we will attempt to unravel these in our article. Moreover, we could have – even at the level of psychologists or psychotherapists – some unresolved psychological issues, most of them due to the closed academic environment they live and work in.

Symbolic-discursive violence and new media: An epistemological perspective

The following research studies, from a theoretical perspective, the different forms of symbolic and discursive violence and the transmission of hate speech through new media. The main objective is to understand the consequences of symbolic violence through language and how this affects freedom of expression. Reflective and critical argumentation is highlighted through an exploratory analysis carried out by a literature review, where it is determined that the confrontational narrative used by the media contributes to the dehumanization, demonization and polarization of specific collectives.

An-Other4 Reading of Peace Construction in ELT

Someone recently suggested to me: “war is more profitable than peace” (J. Rodríguez, personalcommunication, October 24th, 2017). This prompted my consideration of the idea that peaceconstruction in multiple settings could entail purposes other than the taken-for-granted and literalones (Aldana, in press). In this reflective article, within the journal’s language and conflict theme,I will discuss discourses related to the handling of peace construction in order to examine itstransformation in governmental, academic and media documents up to 2019. Documentscontaining the word peace in various contexts were selected, and as such the period varied. Thework is approached from my position as a mixed-race educator and researcher with a decolonialand critical epistemological perspective. This qualitative exploratory study approaches peaceconstruction in ELT from a field of methodological uncertainties and a creative toolbox. Bothhistoricizing and critical discourse analysis resources are employed in an inclusionary manner toachieve the eventualisation (Restrepo, 2008) of multiple ways of understanding and referring tothe construction of peace in ELT. In this sense, the role of language appears as an underlyingstarting point. The results discuss the discourse about pacification for progress in ELT as adiscursive event with different universal and market interests. It constitutes an alternative readingof peace construction in ELT as linked to seemingly disperse discursive events mediated bylanguage in real documents.