Near Co-Laborations

The contribution discusses the formation and collaboration in the VERSUS project (Versorgung und Unterstützung in Zeiten von Corona/Provisioning and support in times of Corona) as a relational epistemic practice. VERSUS formed as research project to investigate how provisioning recon-figured during the pandemic in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The researchers involved come from different yet ‘near’ scholarly backgrounds: anthropology, sociology, and political theory. Such ‘near’ interdisciplinarity poses specific challenges and frictions for a co-laborative project. In analysing our own forms of working on working together, we aim to contribute to an emergent literature that focuses on co-laboration in projects of such ‘near’ disciplines used to take their differences serious. We discuss VERSUS through the notions of a) co-laboration, working with a shared epistemic orientation (tertium) for creating knowledge for specific fields, and b) collaboration as the everyday practice of working together during the unfolding pandemic. The collaborative software Slack enabled quick and less formal interaction, yet the instant-ness of the platform created challenging situations that we then discuss as important and generative moments in the project.

Integrasi Islam dan Sains

Lagging behind in the fields of science and technology is a problem that has emerged since the end of the Middle Ages (18th century AD), so that since then Muslims have been infected with "catching-up syndrome" which has caused negative responses and resistance from many groups. This is mainly due to theological concerns, cultural effects and ecological crises. At least the prominent resistance in the form of movements can be divided into three (1) restorationist movements, (2) Bucailis movements and (3) fundamentalist movements. The response to these efforts is counterproductive with efforts to catch up and at the same time with the spirit of Islam that upholds science. Therefore, a more basic study is needed on a proportional and harmonious integration integration framework. This can be done by incorporating Islamic values ​​that are principled without turning off the dynamic elements of science and technology, but can instead spur and direct them to the desired goal, the welfare of life. The integration of these values ​​touches three levels (1) the level of scientific mental development, which consists of: (a) encouragement to study nature, (2) positive appreciation and awarding of scientific activities and (c) presentation of scientific character. (2) The level of world view, namely establishing an Islamic world view of the universe such as (a) recognition of the existence of God as the creator and preserver of nature, (b) belief in non-physical reality and not just physical-empirical reality, (c) acknowledgment of the existence of the purpose of the universe and (d) recognition of the existence of a moral order for the universe. (3) Orientation level, which includes: (a) epistemic orientation, namely empirical truth that can lead to strengthening faith and closeness to God and (b) practical orientation in the form of technological application by affirming that the purpose of applying science is humanity and universal prosperity that related to the role of humans as Khalifah

Pour une biosémiotique des interactions: Régimes de signification et téléologie

Telos is in vogue in biosemiotic researches, which present the teleological solution as anti-Darwinian, while it is more often, for biologists, only ante-Darwinian. The assimilation of structuring contents to a “function”, and of the function to a “goal”, in an irreversible temporality, is the most frequent basis of this methodological creepage. The teleology is based on a projective and ascending epistemic orientation, to which we can oppose a retrojective, descending and achronic one, including modal and sensitive interactional semiotics.For semiotics, the challenge lies in the nature of its relationships with other disciplines, particularly biology. Indeed, we see that the temptation is great for semioticians to dwell precisely in the shadows and shams of other disciplines, and to call “sign” or “semiosis” what other sciences seem to have still some trouble to explain, with the risk of only confronting problems that will soon be obsolete. We propose here the theoretical and methodological principles of structural biosemiotics, and precisely attentive to the problems that biologists face, solve and renew.

Relations among psychotherapists’ epistemic orientation, personal style and emotion regulation

The main objective of this study was to examine the relations among psychotherapists’ epistemic orientation (i.e., intuitive, empiricist, and rationalist), personal style and emotion regulation strategies. Participants in the study were 674 psychotherapists of different theoretical approaches, who completed an online questionnaire containing measures of epistemic orientation, personal style, and emotion regulation strategies. Psychotherapists profiled as predominantly intuitive tended towards broader attention and greater emotional closeness as compared to those profiled as predominantly rationalist or empiricist. Furthermore, they also reported using more strategies for increasing the effects of positive emotions than rationalists. Implications for training, practice and therapist well-being are discussed.

Epistemic Orientation Short Scale: Development and Validity Evidence in a Sample of Psychotherapists

Epistemic orientation refers to the preferred mode of accessing and using knowledge and is a construct of growing interest in psychotherapy research. In this context, the main objective of this study was to develop and provide initial validity evidence for a brief measure of epistemic orientation in a sample of Brazilian psychotherapists. Participants were 674 Brazilian psychotherapists (78.5% female), aged between 22 and 78 years. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on different subsamples to establish the structure of the measure. Results revealed an instrument consisting of three factors (Rationalism, Intuitionism, and Empiricism) with good psychometric properties and fit indices (X 2 = 1.92, GFI = 0.94, CFI = 0.95 and RMSEA = 0.06). Factors exhibited good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. Criterion validity was evaluated by examining the scale’s ability to detect differences in the epistemic orientation dimensions as a function of therapist’s theoretical approach. Overall, the scale proved to be a valid self-report measure for investigating personal epistemology.

Symeon the New Theologian

For Symeon, Christianity is first and foremost a transformative experience of the divine, beginning in this life in response to the Gospel and scripture, mediated in the practices of the church, and brought to a fitting climax in the world to come. The epistemic corollary involves a particular conception of theological discourse, a vision of epistemic failure and struggle, and a grounding of theological claims in transformative perception of the divine as depicted in scripture and in the great dogmas of the canonical faith of the church. His epistemic orientation thus focuses on our epistemic faculties or capacities, their repair through divine action and grace, and their success in securing accurate depictions of the triune God. The chapter concludes with six questions and issues that deserve further investigation.