The concept of pragmatist philosophy in the educational process in Kurdistan region: Dewy as an example

Throughout history, human society have encountered various problems for which there have been some tentative solution while others have continued along with the development of the society in different quantitative and qualitative forms. One of the long-standing problems in Kurdistan region is the process of education which has a deep-rooted history in the region and it manifests itself in different forms at different intervals without being radically resolved. The researcher, an experienced educator, who has spent four decades in the process, possesses first-hand knowledge on the process and thinks that the problems are becoming more and more serious. The reasons for this sharp downfall are numerous and various. One key reason, for instance, is that the educational institutions, including the universities, annually graduate thousands of students who cannot become active members of the society and fail to invest and practice their skills and knowledge in the scientific fields. The reason, however, lies in the fact that the educational centers put more emphasis on the theoretical aspects of learning rather than the practical ones. Thus, the present study is assumed to be a scientific attempt seeking to delimit the various facets of the educational process by referring to the pragmatic philosophy (emphasis on the value of hard work and seeking knowledge); i.e., the thought that is workable, practical and implementable, since the educational process represents not only a preparation for a lifelong career but the life itself as well. The study consists of three sections. The first is the general framework where the problem, the goals, the scopes of the study with the definition of key terms has been stated. In the second section the researcher have outlined the second section of the study including, analyses of pragmatism program and review of the previous studies and literature. The third section covers three main topics: the educator, the student, and the program). The conclusions and the list of references are given at the end of the study.

Deliberation Without Democracy in Multi-stakeholder Initiatives: A Pragmatic Way Forward

Political CSR scholars argue that multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) should be designed to facilitate deliberation among corporations, civil society groups, and others affected by corporate conduct for their decisions to be considered democratically legitimate. However, critics argue that decisions reached within deliberative MSIs will lack democratic legitimacy so long as corporations are granted a role in helping to make them. If the critics are correct, it leads to a paradox. Corporations must be excluded from holding decision-making authority within MSIs if they are to function as democratically legitimate regulatory institutions at a global level. However, this risks severely diminishing the incentive of corporations to support and participate within MSIs, which often depend heavily for their success on the visibility provided them by corporate participants. In this paper, I argue that this apparent paradox should be considered irrelevant to the future study of MSIs since it is both unnecessary and impractical for researchers to focus on establishing democratically legitimate systems of governance within them. Instead, I recommend an approach informed by three touchstones of pragmatic philosophy to guide their future study—a criterion of usefulness, wariness of category disputes and commitment to experimentalism. I conclude by drawing on research in political science and social psychology that demonstrates an important practical role for deliberation within such organizations, arguing that researchers must zero in on the role that inclusive deliberation can play in bolstering their effectiveness as regulatory instruments.

A Didactic Model of Sustainability Commitment

This article proposes a model that describes and frames sustainability commitment. The model is based on didactic theory and pragmatic philosophy and is informed by several empirical studies on environmental and sustainability education (ESE) practice. The intention is for the model to serve as a critical perspective on ESE practices in secondary and upper secondary schools, and to offer a framework for the development of future practice with emphasis on teachers’ choices of content and teaching methods. The model suggests that a sound commitment is situated in the intersection of the intellectual, emotional, and practical aspects of sustainability. It is argued that: The intellectual aspect is essential for giving the commitment scientific rigor and a critical stance; emotions are vital for students to become dedicated; and skills to carry out appropriate actions for change is necessary for playing an active role in providing a sustainable transformation of society.

Thorstein Veblen’s Institutional Economics and Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s Behavioral Economics: an analysis of convergent points

ABSTRACT Original Institutional Economics and Behavioral Economics are two approaches that have challenged the conventional economics of their time regarding decision-making. Therefore, considering the original Institutional Economics according to Thorstein Veblen and Behavioral Economics as stated by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, this study aims to analyze if they have any convergent elements. As the key issue investigated in this study is decision-making, the convergence among these approaches relies on their psychological foundations. The psychological basis of original Institutional Economics is North-American pragmatic philosophy. This study offers a psychological approach to social learning and the theory of cognitive dissonance as the psychological basis of Behavioral Economics.

Reclaiming the Commons: Law, Rhetoric, and C.S. Peirce’s Pragmatic Philosophy

This article returns to C.S. Peirce’s pragmatic philosophy and Roberta Kevelson’s law and semiotics framework in order to propose a theory of justice that is rooted in rhetoric and the community’s evolving sense of legal legitimacy. It argues that this community is best conceptualized as part of the commons, the basis for a governance paradigm that is newly emerging from the world of activism. After providing an overview of the theory, it describes two promising litigation efforts designed to reclaim the commons from privatization.

Pragmatism as a pillar of the New Developmentalism

ABSTRACT The scholars of New Developmentalism have generated a substantial body of knowledge regarding structural transformation and the policies that should be adopted to foster its achievement. Nevertheless, as is argued in this paper, New Developmentalism, by contrast with Neoliberalism, lacks a strong philosophical foundation to legitimise the policies it favours on grounds other than their ability to generate prosperity. It is also argued that new-developmentalists should explicitly adopt a pragmatic philosophy in order to become a more serious alternative to other political economy doctrines.

Theological and Intellectual Roots in Deobandi Thoughts

This article focuses on one of the important books of Muḥammad Qāsim Nānawtawī—Ḥujjat al-Islām. Many of his 32 books, epistles and letters are written in response to Christian and Hindu missionaries. From the perspective of neo-ʿilm al-kalām (Islamic scholastic theology) they have great importance. These are the works through which a lay reader can understand Nānawtawī’s methodology in polemics and his various dialectical aspects, which are based on propositional logic and pragmatic philosophy and differ from the early discourses of ʿilm al-kalām. Most of his works include his critiques and strong refutation of both Christian theological anthropology and Hindu mythology. This article examines a limited part of Nānawtawī’s dialectic discussions which include the existence of God, His essence, meaning of the monotheism, including evidence in support of monotheism and his refutation of the Trinity.

THEOLOGICAL AND INTELLECTUAL ROOTS IN DEOBANDI THOUGHTS: A PARADIGM FROM MUḤAMMAD QĀSIM NĀNAWTAWĪ’S DISCOURSES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HIS ḤUJJAT AL-ISLĀM

This article focuses on one of the important books of Muḥammad Qāsim Nānawtawī—Ḥujjat al-Islām. Many of his 32 books, epistles and letters are written in response to Christian and Hindu missionaries. From the perspective of neo-ʿilm al-kalām (Islamic scholastic theology) they have great importance. These are the works through which a lay reader can understand Nānawtawī’s methodology in polemics and his various dialectical aspects, which are based on propositional logic and pragmatic philosophy and differ from the early discourses of ʿilm al-kalām. Most of his works include his critiques and strong refutation of both Christian theological anthropology and Hindu mythology. This article examines a limited part of Nānawtawī’s dialectic discussions which include the existence of God, His essence, meaning of the monotheism, including evidence in support of monotheism and his refutation of the Trinity.

Chairing UK Select Committees: Walking Between Friends and Foes

In this article, we aim to look at the political, social and emotional world created by the UK’s House of Commons select committees and the part played by their chairs. Drawing upon the theoretical traditions of political anthropology (Spencer (2004, Anthropology, Politics and the State: Democracy and Violence in South Asia, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press)), group analytical theory (Foulkes (1948, Group Analytic Psychotherapy: Method and Principles, London, William Heinemann Medical Books)) and pragmatic philosophy (Dewey (1922, Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology, New York, NY, Henry Holt and Company)), we view the experience of individuals as relational, created in their interaction with other individuals and groups. The context is that select committees aspire to consider evidence impartially and work cohesively to hold government to account. Our focus is on the political work of the chairs of Commons’ select committees. Committee chairs, members and staff are constrained by the architecture, rules and rituals in their bid to achieve plausibility, but at the same time find the room to express individuality in the ways that they manage emotions and communicate with others through words, silence, bodily movements or facial expressions. By embodying the committee, and mediating between those involved, the work of chair involves walking between friends and enemies—forming alliances, dealing with disagreements and disciplining the unruly—to create the impression that select committees are above party politics.