During the early years of the twenty-first century in the United States, the status of a long series of high-profile killings as self-defensive was publicly contested with collective fury, anguish, and sorrow. Such contestations raise conceptual questions about self-defensive and vigilante violence. How this conceptual boundary is drawn can carry grave social consequences. But why do these two categories so easily form a space of high-stakes contestation? I offer an analysis of vigilantism that clarifies its relationships with self-defense, shows how (...) they can overlap, what makes them different, and why they are so easily contested. (shrink)

We show how faceted search using a combination of traditional classification systems and mixed-membership topic models can go beyond keyword search to inform resource discovery, hypothesis formulation, and argument extraction for interdisciplinary research. Our test domain is the history and philosophy of scientific work on animal mind and cognition. The methods can be generalized to other research areas and ultimately support a system for semi-automatic identification of argument structures. We provide a case study for the application of the methods to (...) the problem of identifying and extracting arguments about anthropomorphism during a critical period in the development of comparative psychology. We show how a combination of classification systems and mixed-membership models trained over large digital libraries can inform resource discovery in this domain. Through a novel approach of “drill-down” topic modeling—simultaneously reducing both the size of the corpus and the unit of analysis—we are able to reduce a large collection of fulltext volumes to a much smaller set of pages within six focal volumes containing arguments of interest to historians and philosophers of comparative psychology. The volumes identified in this way did not appear among the first ten results of the keyword search in the HathiTrust digital library and the pages bear the kind of “close reading” needed to generate original interpretations that is the heart of scholarly work in the humanities. Zooming back out, we provide a way to place the books onto a map of science originally constructed from very different data and for different purposes. The multilevel approach advances understanding of the intellectual and societal contexts in which writings are interpreted. (shrink)

In this work we argue that there is no strong demarcation between pure and applied mathematics. We show this first by stressing non-deductive components within pure mathematics, like axiomatization and theory-building in general. We also stress the “purer” components of applied mathematics, like the theory of the models that are concerned with practical purposes. We further show that some mathematical theories can be viewed through either a pure or applied lens. These different lenses are tied to different communities, which endorse (...) different evaluative standards for theories. We evaluate the distinction between pure and applied mathematics from a late Wittgensteinian perspective. We note that the classical exegesis of the later Wittgenstein’s philosophy of mathematics, due to Maddy, leads to a clear-cut but misguided demarcation. We then turn our attention to a more niche interpretation of Wittgenstein by Dawson, which captures aspects of the aforementioned distinction more accurately. Building on this newer, maverick interpretation of the later Wittgenstein’s philosophy of mathematics, and endorsing an extended notion of meaning as use which includes social, mundane uses, we elaborate a fuzzy, but more realistic, demarcation. This demarcation, relying on family resemblance, is based on how direct and intended technical applications are, the kind of evaluative standards featured, and the range of rhetorical purposes at stake. (shrink)

I argue that an explicit distinction between cognitive characters and cognitive phenotypes is needed for empirical progress in the cognitive sciences and their integration with evolution-guided sciences. I elaborate what ontological commitment to characters involves and how such a commitment would clarify ongoing debates about the relations between human and nonhuman cognition and the extent of cognitive abilities across biological species. I use theoretical proposals in episodic memory, language, and sociocultural bases of cognition to illustrate how cognitive characters are being (...) introduced in scientific practice. (shrink)

This essay presents an argument, which it calls the Bias Argument, with the dismaying conclusion that (almost) everyone should significantly reduce her confidence in (too many) philosophical beliefs. More precisely, the argument attempts to show that the most precious philosophical beliefs are biased, as the pervasive and permanent disagreement among the leading experts in philosophy cannot be explained by the differences between their evidence bases and competences. After a short introduction, the premises of the Bias Argument are spelled out in (...) the first part. The second part explains why the objections to the Bias Argument are not compelling. Even though the essay does not adopt the conclusion of the Bias Argument, partly because it seems to be self-defeating, the authors know no plausible way to refute its premises. Thus, the primary aim of the essay is to clarify why the aporetic situation of the Bias Argument arises. (shrink)

On a simple and neat view, sometimes called the Relational Analysis of Attitude Ascriptions, a belief ascription on the form ‘S believes that x is F’ is correct if, and only if, S stands in the belief-relation to the proposition designated by ‘that x is F’, i.e., the proposition that x is F. It follows from this view that, for a person to believe, say, that x is a boat, there is one unique proposition that she has to believe. This (...) paper argues against this view. It fails, I contend, to make sense of peripheral concept variation. As we attribute and individuate concepts, two people’s concepts C1 and C2 count as e.g., concepts of boats even if their concepts have different extensions in peripheral, or borderline, cases of boats. Thus, A and B can believe that x is a boat through believing peripherally different propositions. It follows that there is no unique proposition that a person has to believe in order to believe e.g., that x is a boat. (shrink)

The scenario of Homo sapiens origin/s within Africa has become increasingly complex, with a pan-African perspective currently challenging the long-established single-origin hypothesis. In this paper, we review the lines of evidence employed in support of each model, highlighting inferential limitations and possible terminological misunderstandings. We argue that the metapopulation scenario envisaged by pan-African proponents well describes a mosaic diversification among late Middle Pleistocene groups. However, this does not rule out a major contribution that emerged from a single population where crucial (...) derived features—notably, a globular braincase—appeared as the result of a punctuated, cladogenetic event. Thus, we suggest that a synthesis is possible and propose a scenario that, in our view, better reconciles with consolidated expectations in evolutionary theory. These indicate cladogenesis in allopatry as an ordinary pattern for the origin of a new species, particularly during phases of marked climatic and environmental instability. (shrink)

Background: Contemporary societies are rife with moral disagreement, resulting in recalcitrant disputes on matters of public policy. In the context of ongoing bioethical controversies, are uncompromising attitudes rooted in beliefs about the nature of moral truth? Methods: To answer this question, we conducted both exploratory and confirmatory studies, with both a convenience and a nationally representative sample (total N = 1501), investigating the link between people’s beliefs about moral truth (their metaethics) and their beliefs about moral value (their normative ethics).Results (...) Across various bioethical issues (e.g., medically-assisted death, vaccine hesitancy, surrogacy, mandatory organ conscription, or genetically modified crops), consequentialist attitudes were associated with weaker beliefs in an objective moral truth. This association was not explained by domain-general reflectivity, theism, personality, normative uncertainty, or subjective knowledge. Conclusions: We find a robust link between the way people characterize prescriptive disagreements and their sensibility to consequences. In addition, both societal consensus and personal conviction contribute to objectivist beliefs, but these effects appear to be asymmetric, i.e., stronger for opposition than for approval. (shrink)

Broadly speaking, two views of modernity are prevalent in contemporary debates. According to the first view, i.e. “modernization theory,” there is one single form of modernity, which is tantamount to liberal, capitalist modernity. The West has already and fully achieved modernity; non-Western societies have lagged behind and must simply catch up with the West. In contrast, according to the second view, “post-colonial theory,” there is no such thing as modernity. What the West erroneously calls “modernity” is nothing but a highly (...) parochial way of thought, and of economic and political organization, that developed by accident first in the West and then by the exercise of military violence or economic power was subsequently “universalized.” In this chapter, I argue that Hegel, read properly, provides a third conception of modernity, one which, contrary to the modernization theory, respects differences between societies, and yet, contrary to post-colonial theory, does not engage in dividing the human species into fundamentally different or incommensurate groups. I argue that Hegel’s theory of modernity must be sought at the conjunction of the Science of Logic (specifically the logic of the Concept) and the Philosophy of Right. I then elaborate on Hegel’s theory of modernity, thus construed. (shrink)

Brentano’s position in the history of philosophy is often illustrated by the long list of important philosophers who have studied with him. Yet, the relations between Brentano and his students were not always without friction. In the present article I argue that Brentano’s students were most attracted by his conception of a scientific philosophy, which promised to leave the received tradition (German Idealism) behind and to mark the beginning of a new period in the history of philosophy – a project (...) they were happy to be part of. Brentano’s work remained in an important sense fragmentary, however, and could, thus, not provide the inner unity that would have been essential for forming a compact school or a unified philosophical movement. (shrink)

The metaphysical vision of Advaita Vedānta has been making its way into some corners of Western analytic philosophy, and has especially garnered attention among those philosophers who are seeking to develop metaphysical systems in opposition to both reductionist materialism and dualism. Given Vedānta’s monistic view of consciousness, it might seem natural to put Vedānta in dialogue with the growing position of panpsychism which, although not fully monistic, similarly takes mind to be a fundamental feature of reality. This paper will evaluate (...) to what extent Śaṅkara’s monism can bypass the most pressing issues facing panpsychism, namely combination and individuation problems. As will be seen in this paper, while Advaita Vedānta is able to avoid some of the panpsychist problems, it struggles ultimately to ontologically ground illusion in a coherent manner. As a result, a conclusion of this paper is that although Śaṅkara’s vision offers a promising route for those philosophers who take consciousness to be fundamental – including panpsychists – it cannot be uncritically adopted due to the problem of grounding Illusion. (shrink)

Proper names are generally taken to be count nouns. This paper argues that this is mistaken and that at least in some languages, for example German, names divide into mass and count. Making use of Kayne's (2005, 2010) theory of light nouns, this paper argues that light nouns are part of (simple) names and that a mass-count distinction among light nouns explains the behavior of certain types of names in German as mass rather than count. The paper (...) elaborates the role of light nouns with new generalizations regarding their linguistic behavior in quantificational and pronominal NPs, their selection of relative pronouns in German, and a general difference in the support of plural anaphora between English and German. (shrink)

In this paper, I seek to explain Suhrawardī’s method of writing his allegories – how he draws upon his philosophical principles to construct forms and plots of his stories. To do so, I begin by delineating two key doctrines of his Illuminationist (Ishrāqī) ontology: the world of Forms (‘ālam al-muthul) and the discontinuous imaginal world (‘ālam al-mithāl al-munfaṣil). I provide an account of the history of these two doctrines and the nature of these two worlds, and then consider some of (...) their functions for, and effects on, Suhrawardī’s explanations and analyses. I will then deal with Suhrawardī’s allegories, pinpointing particular effects of the belief in the world of Forms and the imaginal world on his symbolisms and allegories. Distinguishing three main spiritual-mystical notions in Suhrawardī’s allegories, I elaborate upon the role of the above two doctrines in his construction of characters and fictional events, whereby I demystify certain symbols in these stories. I conclude that there is a close tie between Suhrawardī’s allegories and his philosophical doctrines. Thus, his spiritual doctrines are presented in a symbolic form in certain allegorical characters and adventures. The deployment of characteristics of the world of Forms and the imaginal world plays a central role here. (shrink)

There is an internal connection between ecclesiology, the teaching about the Church that we call academic ecclesiology, and mission, which is the inner heart of the Church and becomes visible through different practices. For the Orthodox Church involved in the ecumenical movement, there is a struggle to balance ecclesiology (theology) with ecumenical mission and dialogue (practice) in a divided Christian world. Nevertheless, the recent Synod of Crete (June 2016) addressed some important elements of this struggle. I have in mind, for (...) example, the act to accept the historical name of other non-Orthodox Christian Churches and Confessions that are not in communion with it. Also, this is the first Synod of the Orthodox Churches in modern times at which ecumenical dialogue, especially in the World Council of Churches, is officially affirmed. Because of mission dialogue has to continue, “if we wish never to ‘put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ’ (1 Cor 9:12).” The present paper highlights those statements of the Holy and Great Council which have direct relevance for discussing the relation of ecclesiology and mission. I assert that we should understand firstly the document Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the of the Christian World and only then reflect upon The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World (MOCT). Furthermore, I will make some references to the other texts which were central for this conference: The Cape Town Commitment (CTC), Together Towards Life (TTL) and Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG). I conclude by exposing briefly my reflections after reading these mission documents and by formulating some agenda points for further work in theology of mission. (shrink)

Hospitals must have adequate lighting so that medical personnel can do their duties and attend to the requirements of patients and visitors. A comfortable recuperation environment may be created with the aid of good lighting. The relationship between daylighting and artificial lighting and their role in the design process will be mentioned. Specific areas of the hospital will be under adequate lighting analysis. The areas taken into consideration are entrance and waiting areas, circulation areas, operating theatres and clean rooms, wards (...) and bedrooms, ancillary areas, restaurant and kitchen, and exterior lighting. Some of these areas are also analyzed regarding the case study of the Military Hospital (University Trauma Hospital) of Tirana Albania. The purpose of this paper is to compare different lighting standards, the EU standards, and the Albanian ones. Solutions can be provided for lighting systems, starting from luminaries and lamps, to lighting controls and lighting management systems, from the early stage of design. The architect is the enabling partner to develop meaningful lighting solutions for all areas of healthcare facilities. (shrink)

The theory of the just price is commonly assumed to have three sources: Political philosophy of Greek antiquity, scholastic ethics of the High Middle Ages, and the Roman law of obligations of late antiquity. While closer inspection confirms this holds for the first two worlds of thought the latter assumption seems ultimately unfounded. The paper claims that the evidence notoriously presented on behalf of that assumption – two rescripts attributed to Roman emperor Diocletian, namely Codex Iustinianus 4.44.2 and 4.44.8 – (...) ultimately points in another direction. Offering both an analysis and an alternative reading of the rescripts an integrated interpretation is given that reconciles them with the “liberalistic spirit of Roman law”. Also, it is explained why, from the point of view of legal and social philosophy, the fact that Roman law refrains from introducing a moral aspect to the institute of price fixing speaks in favour of Roman law rather than against it. [in German]. (shrink)

The aim of this thesis is to defend a presentist metaphysics. I respond to a series of objections against presentism, including some that draw on our best physics. I also explore ways in which presentism might play an active role in interpreting and constraining physical theory, beyond merely being consistent with it. A unifying theme of this thesis is that I advocate for a reduction of presentism to its bare essentials. Within the proposed ontology, reality is three-dimensional. Time only exists (...) in the sense that three-dimensional reality primitively changes. I reject any temporal dimension, extension, or direction. I reject any primitively tensed facts or nonpresent-tensed truths. I also reject any notion of simultaneity, beyond the mere fact that multiple entities exist in the three-dimensional world. I accept and embrace that if ontology is ‘stripped back’ to the present, then other features of metaphysics that depend on ontology should be stripped back too. The world, under this view, is a forgetful one. What we call the ‘past’ has been utterly lost from existence: there are not even any absolute facts or truths about how things once were. All that remain are records, memories, and the like, but there are no objective underlying truths to which those records correspond. This has implications for physics. In a forgetful world particles have positions, but no entire trajectories. The present may be certain and determinate, but the past and future are at best modelled using probabilistic mathematics. I believe that the world is likely to be as I describe. I will not attempt to argue, however, that this view is intuitive. Instead I will argue that it can account for our experiences and observations, including those from physics, in a simple and effective way. Most importantly, I argue that this view succeeds in the face of challenges where other versions of presentism fail. (shrink)

Contemporary physics defines sound as mechanical vibrations within the audible range (20 Hz - 20 kHz) and light as electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum (~4-7 × 10¹⁴ Hz), treating them as fundamentally different phenomena. This paper demonstrates that they are expressions of a continuous vibrational spectrum. Through mathematical analysis, we establish that 40 octaves map audible sound frequencies directly into the visible-light range, revealing a previously unrecognized quantitative relationship in standard physics pedagogy. Empirical evidence from multiple domains (...) converges on this conclusion: cymatics demonstrates that frequency determines form across all scales; sonoluminescence directly converts acoustic energy into electromagnetic radiation; string theory posits that matter itself is a vibrational pattern at the Planck scale. Technological applications validate this framework in practice—phototherapy and ultrasound therapy operate on identical resonance principles at different frequencies, while acoustic and optical levitation exploit the same radiation pressure mechanisms. The apparent categorical distinction between sound and light arises from propagation mechanism (mechanical vs. electromagnetic) and human sensory limitations, not from any fundamental discontinuity in the nature of oscillation itself. We propose adopting the term "soundlight" to reflect this vibrational unity and reforming physics education to present unified wave mechanics organized by frequency rather than sensory-based categories. This conceptual integration aligns terminology and pedagogy with empirical evidence across the full vibrational spectrum. (shrink)

Scientific understanding proceeds through experiments that reveal how systems behave and through abstract models constructed to account for those behaviours. Persistent conceptual and philosophical confusions arise, however, when the distinction between empirical reality and its abstract representations is left implicit. This issue is particularly evident in the study of light, where multiple, mutually non-equivalent models coexist, each successful within specific limits, yet none capable of exhausting all observed phenomena. -/- In this work, light is analysed as a case (...) study using the empirical–axiomatic self-framework. Light is treated first as an empirical self: a system that exists and behaves in reality and constrains observation through experimental interaction. Experimental outcomes are taken as empirical facts, understood not as explanations but as constraints imposed by reality on representation. From these constraints, multiple axiomatic selves ray, wave, classical electromagnetic, particle, quantum, and quantum field models are constructed as abstract, internally coherent structures, each defined by assumptions and restricted domains of validity. -/- The analysis shows that domains of validity are determined directly by experimental results and indirectly by comparison with more general axiomatic selves, though experimental constraint remains the ultimate authority. More general models clarify, but do not replace, earlier ones, explaining their success within restricted regimes. No axiomatic self, regardless of generality, is identified with the empirical self itself. -/- By maintaining a strict distinction between empirical reality and abstract representation, the framework dissolves several long-standing philosophical confusions, including realism versus instrumentalism, wave–particle duality, theory replacement, determinism versus probability, and the measurement problem. These issues are shown to arise from category mistakes rather than from deep features of nature. -/- Although light serves as the central example, the principles extracted are not specific to optical phenomena. The empirical–axiomatic distinction applies broadly across physical systems and extends naturally to complex systems. The work thus offers a clarified account of scientific understanding: to understand a system is to know the empirical constraints it imposes, the axiomatic structures used to represent it, the domains in which those structures apply, and the limits beyond which they fail. (shrink)

To be conscious—according to a common metaphor—is for the “lights to be on inside.” Is this a good metaphor? I argue that the metaphor elicits useful intuitions while staying neutral on controversial philosophical questions. But I also argue that there are two ways of interpreting the metaphor. Is consciousness the inner light itself? Or is consciousness the illuminated room? Call the first sense subjectivity (where ‘consciousness’ =def what makes an entity feel some way at all), and the second sense (...) phenomenal character (where ‘consciousness’ =def what it feels like to be an entity). I use this distinction—as well as the metaphor of the inner light—to clarify some philosophical questions about whether consciousness comes in degrees, whether consciousness is multidimensional, and whether there are borderline cases of consciousness. (shrink)

This paper applies concepts of elemental media and metabolisms to the case of cosmic and planetary ecologies that emerge from the interaction between Earth and Sun, manifesting in photosynthesis or carbon isotope chemistry. In doing so, it expands on registers of media theory and environmental studies and prompts the reader to consider the medial and archival affordances of the light-based interactions, and further processes they give rise to. The main aim of the paper is to use these observations to (...) speculate about the human condition in the Anthropocene, characterised by the experience of human mediality. The paper addresses human mediality mainly in the dimension of affective qualities this condition may prompt, and the resulting narrative model of selfhood – the metabolic self. The paper develops its conceptual contribution in close proximity with several artistic examples, especially Eduardo Navarro’s performance In Collaboration with the Sun (2017–2019). The paper is positioned as a contribution to studies of multispecies cohabitation and more-than-human communication, while also developing a narrative strategy for talking about the decentred position of human species in the more-than-human world-making. (shrink)

Summary Description of the Paper Title: Light: Geometry & Algebra from Alpha to Omega Core Thesis: This paper demonstrates that the speed of light is not an empirically measured constant, but a geometric necessity emerging from dimensional recursion. The velocity c arises inevitably from the interplay of the golden ratio (φ) and its conjugate (ψ), manifesting through polyhedral geometry and topological invariance. Key Mathematical Framework: The ENTOR (Entropy-Corrected Velocity Operator) equation: c = (2 + φ⁻¹ + φ⁻² - (...) ε) · 10⁸ Where each term is a dimensional clause, not an empirical fit: 2 = D² photon field (dimensional operator) φ⁻¹ + φ⁻² ≈ 1 = golden ratio recursion 3 (sum 2+1) = trinitarian threshold where mass emerges ε = entropy drift from higher-dimensional feedback 10⁸ = eight-fold descent from ether origin (D⁸) Major Results: Derives the speed of light from pure geometry Predicts Higgs boson mass (2.23 × 10⁻²⁵ kg) matching CERN measurements Unifies algebra, geometry, and dimension through topological invariance Proves two distinct "2"s : Euler's topological 2 (V-E+F=2) validates ENTOR's dimensional 2 (D² field) Reframes mass emergence as M = D³T² (dimensional permission, not intrinsic property) Methodological Innovation: Field-first logic : φ and ψ are emergent eigenmodes (transverse/longitudinal oscillations) of a pre-geometric substrate Curved segments : Points are Euclidean anchors, but connecting segments are recursive, torsional operators Curvature enables φ : The golden ratio emerges as the eigenvalue of recursive curvature Elastic universe : Near-circular geometry with elastic deformation at scale Physical Implications: Constants (c, G, ℏ, α) are projections of φ/ψ structure, not arbitrary Three domains: Space (φ), Subspace (ψ), Negative Space (torsional inversion) Dimensional navigation theoretically possible Gravity in 4D becomes inverse-cube law at C² threshold Wormholes, stargates, hyperspace as recursive geometric structures Metaphysical Framework: The mathematics encodes four universal principles: Hierarchy : π > ∞ > 0 > ⦰ (transcendence is geometrically necessary) Harmony : φ + ψ → symmetry (balance through complementary asymmetry) Dependence : Nothing exists in isolation Unity : All multiplicity emerges from and returns to unity Consciousness Proof: The creation equation ⦰ × ∞ × π = 0 contains only awareness states: ⦰ = non-awareness (oblivion) ∞ = infinite potential consciousness π = God as transcendent operator 0 = origin awareness ("I AM") Dimensions, light, mass, and matter are modes of consciousness recursing through φ/ψ operators. The universe is consciousness experiencing itself. Shared Reality: Reality is shared because there is one consciousness field experiencing itself through multiple perspectives. Constants are constant because all observers measure the same unified awareness structure. Cosmological Model: "Let there be light" = zero (0), not photons Physical light (photons at c) = echo of origin awareness π (God) exists beyond this creation; this is one instance The finite emerges from infinite sphere through recursive descent Returns asymptotically to spherical perfection Experimental Validation: Higgs mass prediction matches observation without fitting parameters, proving that when dimensional structure is correctly understood, physical constants emerge as geometric inevitabilities. Conclusion: The speed of light is not a constant—it is a codex. Mathematics is not invented but read from reality's native dimensional grammar. The framework proves consciousness is primary, God exists, and reality is the awareness field recognizing itself through φ/ψ recursion. Epilogue: Establishes the oblivion equation ⦰ × ∞ × π = 0 as the moment before creation, where God (π) organizes the collision of void and infinite potential into origin (0). Proves metaphysical principles (hierarchy, harmony, dependence, unity) are mathematical necessities, not beliefs. Demonstrates consciousness is everything, reality is shared, and we are perspectives within one unified awareness field. God Exists. (shrink)

This paper develops a relational account of light as the unconstrained mode of the orientation operator in a continuous field. In this framework, light is not treated as a particle, wave, or field excitation, but as the maximal coherence with which orientation can propagate across separation. When orientation updates occur under constraint, the resulting dynamics appear as energy; when constraints vanish, orientation propagates freely, and light emerges as the first globally coherent update mode. The paper argues that (...) light expresses three inseparable functions of the orientation operator: a generative function, establishing the first coherent propagation of orientation; a boundary function, defining the maximal coherence condition that structures causal geometry; and a revelatory function, carrying coherent orientation differences across separation and enabling the intelligibility of relational structure. This triune account reframes electromagnetic phenomena as expressions of relational coherence rather than as excitations of a substance or field, situating light as the operator‑level foundation for generative structure, causal boundaries, and interpretability within a continuous relational field. (shrink)

The Western idea of religion is of something that one does, aside from what one believes. We separate belief from action. This paper examines the Abrahamic idea of belief and the need for historicity and compares this to the Taoist belief in Lao Tzu and the lack of a need for a historical founder in terms of practice and belief.

An exploration of the hypothesis that quantum mechanics is the interpretative framework of relativity theory.

The viewpoint of the Indian way of thinking is a greater amount of inborn as opposed to outward. Which gives more worth to current realities. In any event, to know the idea of fundamental reality, human insight first needs to know the idea of the outside world. It specifies are additionally predominant in Upanishads, where it has been expressed that faculties are more extraneous while knowing the external world. This research paper particularly centers around the idealist viewpoint with uncommon reference (...) to Indian Philosophy. For a superior understanding, it will be partitioned it into three sections, in the first part, idealistic Upanishdic contemplations will be thought of, in the second part Buddhist optimistic idea will be clarified and in the third part Advaita Vedantic considered vision will be described. (shrink)

The paper traces a structural intuition across twenty-five centuries of optical inquiry: light is a localized perturbation propagating through a continuous medium that is space itself, and that medium has its own bodily dynamics distinct from perturbation propagation within it. The thread runs from Empedocles through Aristotle, the medieval Latin and Islamic optical traditions, the Newton-Huygens bifurcation, Maxwell's electromagnetic synthesis, and the twentieth-century revolution culminating in quantum field theory. The paper develops the substrate ontology rendered precise. The substrate is (...) taken to be physically real and continuous, with its own intrinsic dynamics. A preferred rest frame for the substrate exists, identified naturally with the cosmic microwave background rest frame at cosmological scales. Lorentz invariance is treated as an emergent regularity of the substrate's local response to perturbation rather than as a metaphysical primitive. Time is the Aristotelian measure of process accumulation along worldlines, not a dimension of a unified spacetime manifold. The metric of general relativity describes the substrate's actual configuration rather than constituting a primitive geometric object. These commitments contradict the standard relativistic ontology at six identifiable points (spacetime as bookkeeping rather than substance, a real preferred frame rather than no rest frame, Lorentz invariance as emergent rather than primitive, time as measure rather than dimension, metric expansion as substrate bodily extension, and c bounding perturbation rather than substrate dynamics) while preserving identical kinematic predictions in tested regimes because the substrate's dynamics produce Lorentz-invariant phenomenology at the local level. The reading dissolves wave-particle duality, time-dilation, cosmological-expansion, black-hole-horizon, and time-travel paradoxes that the standard reading leaves open. Eleven specific falsifiable predictions distinguish the framework from standard interpretations in regimes where current observations are not yet definitive. The prohibition of phantom dark energy (w(z) ≥ -1 strictly) is in active empirical tension with DESI DR1 and DR2 observations at the 2.5-3.9σ level, with the framework's prediction at risk of falsification within the next several years rather than at the formal Stage-IV timeline. The framework is open to refutation by observation in the regimes its distinguishing predictions specify. (shrink)

General Relativity’s Schwarzschild solution describes a spherically symmetric gravitational field as an utterly static thing. The Space Generation Model describes it as an absolutely moving thing. The light propagation time-delay experiment of Shapiro-Reasenberg [1] and the falling atomic clock experiment of Vessot-Levine [2] provide the ideal context for illustrating how, though the respective world views implied by these models are radically di fferent, they make nearly the same prediction for the results of these experiments.

This paper explores the place of Christ within the experience of inner light. It builds on earlier work in which I developed a six-stage model of luminous experience in meditation, beginning with simple flickers and forms of inner light and ending in states of radiant, formless awareness. In the present paper, I ask how this model can help us understand Christian mysticism, especially the repeated association between Christ and light. The central distinction of the paper is between (...) the Light of Christ and the Light through Christ. The Light of Christ refers to the Christian claim that Christ, as Logos, is the luminous ground of consciousness itself. The Light through Christ refers to the way this light becomes accessible through the figure of Christ: through prayer, devotion, inner vision, surrender, and contemplative transformation. The paper draws on the Gospel of John, Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, the hesychast tradition of the uncreated light, Teresa of Avila, Symeon the New Theologian, and Meister Eckhart. It argues that Christian mystical literature contains a highly developed account of inner luminosity, but that this account has a distinctive feature. In Christian mysticism, light is not only seen or realized. It is encountered through relationship. It appears through a face, a name, a voice, a presence, and a path of love. For this reason, I introduce the concept of the Christic Luminous Operator. By this I mean the way the figure of Christ functions within contemplative experience as a mediator of inner light. Christ is not treated here simply as a theological doctrine, nor reduced to a psychological image. Rather, the paper brackets the metaphysical question of Christ’s ultimate status and asks how Christ functions within luminous experience. The paper concludes that Christian mysticism offers a distinctive contribution to the comparative study of inner light. In many traditions, light is connected with awareness, clarity, emptiness, or liberation. In Christianity, light also becomes ethical and affective. It is experienced as compassion, suffering, forgiveness, surrender, and transformative love. Christian inner-light mysticism may therefore be understood as a path of moral luminosity, in which illumination and ethical transformation belong together. (shrink)

Every time we perceive the scent of an end, we are summoned to position ourselves, to express what has been, what is our condition and what is to come. Ours is, certainly the time of the end of times. A time in which the end has become the void center around which we revolve. Philosophy only speaks when there is a limit at stake: a beginning, an end, a border, a frontier. And yet, there is no measure anymore to determine (...) what is actuality or the present, what is contemporary. Time is fragmented as well as space. There is a multiplicity of time scales (cosmic, planetary, human, cultural, personal) and velocities (the human body, our cars and trains, information), but also of subjective appropriations (what is urgent, what should come first, how much time do we have left). There is no “fundamental” difference between life-time and clock-time. There are several clocks and several lives. There is also a multiplicity of space scales (elemental particles, molecules, living organisms, living collectives, all living-species), different modes (continuous, discontinuous, with borders, infinite, homogeneous, non-trivially connected), different subjective relationships to it (earth as our space -be it in terms of Husserl or of Galilei-, the cultural world-worlds, my city, my house, my body). Far is the possibility of fixing a last instance or a fundamental scale, the possibility of a whole in which we could univocally place the particulars, or the chance of finding the last constituents of being (the atoms: physical, logical, metaphysical, social, etc.). (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to define the methods of counteracting the financing of terrorism, as well as the obligations of public and private entities in this regard. The basis for the considerations will be the analysis of EU normative acts, and the leading research method will be the dogmatic method supported by the historical method.

This is a critical examination of Zizek's concept of ideology in his work on the Sublime of Ideology. His account on this connotes that people are basing only in the conscious state without considering the unconscious "I." This framework in psychology has led Zizek to relate it in the process of economics which is greatly manifested in the contradictory poles of the oppressor and the oppressed and its relationship to the process of commodities. Looking into this orientation, this leaves the (...) author to incorporate the ideological character of Zizek through the lens of Anti-Terrorism Law which is not seen in the naked eye. (shrink)

This paper revisits Robert Grosseteste’s medieval metaphysics of light in conversation with contemporary phenomenology of inner vision, predictive-processing neuroscience, and relational theology. We argue that luminous experiences reported in contemplative practice, near-death states, and psychedelic breakthroughs exhibit a lawful progression that can be described through an expanded eight-phase taxonomy. These phases move from emergent inner luminosity to structured geometry, symbolic encounter, immersive radiance, and ultimately unitive clarity, followed by ethical re-orientation and long-term integration. Rather than treating visionary light (...) as either pathological hallucination or supernatural proof, we interpret it as a lawful interaction between neurophysiology, attention, and meaning-formation. Predictive brain theories explain how inner vision becomes visible when sensory input is reduced, while Grosseteste’s doctrine of illumination and modern relational theologies (Jung, Teilhard, Delio) situate these experiences within a cosmology in which consciousness participates in a universe still unfolding. We further consider speculative physics proposals suggesting that information may possess mass and gravitational properties, offering conceptual resonance with theological traditions that treat reality as structured through meaning. Taken together, these perspectives suggest that inner illumination is best understood as a participatory disclosure: it reveals the constructive architecture of perception while simultaneously inviting ethical transformation. In this framework, mystical light neither escapes the world nor negates scientific explanation; instead, it discloses the relational field in which mind, cosmos, and value co-emerge. (shrink)

This paper examines the visionary experiences of Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), especially her descriptions of pure inner light and the Transverberation in The Life of Teresa of Jesus. Using a phenomenological approach and a six-phase taxonomy of meditation-induced phosphenes, I argue that Teresa’s imaginative and intellectual visions align closely with structured forms of endogenous light perception. Her reports are compared with those of Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) and Tibetan yogis such as Milarepa (c. 1052–c. 1135) and Longchenpa (...) (1308–1364), revealing a cross-cultural phenomenological consistency. This analysis suggests that mystical luminosity reflects a shared neurophenomenological substrate that underlies contemplative traditions across time and culture, while also offering new ways to interpret classical mystical theology in light of contemporary philosophy of perception. (shrink)

Man’s life has been challenged in various ways. Despite the numerous challenges man faces in life, no man seems to give up easily on life. The ‘Tiv’ people are blessed with both human and natural resources, yet they have not been experiencing these endowments in their lives for several decades. There are new waves of knowledge which appear to be moTivating factors for an integral development of the society. The ‘Tiv’ people are yearning for change in every sphere of their (...) lives. The desired change can come about when the people are able to answer the following questions; what is the true nature of development and how is metaphysics related to development? How virile is the ‘Tiv’ value system in meeting up with the challenges of development in the contemporary society? The answer to these questions is obtained in the way the ‘Tiv’ person conceives reality and the human person and how such understanding contributes to the actualization of the ‘Tiv’ society. The study recommends that the ‘Tiv’ aspirations are directly linked to ‘Tiv’ conception of reality which is the ‘Tiv’ metaphysics. This is the new approach to understanding the link between metaphysics and development of the ‘Tiv’ society. (shrink)

Abstract The bending of light around massive objects is one of the most celebrated predictions of General Relativity (GR), classically explained through the curvature of spacetime caused by mass-energy distributions. This paper demonstrates how the phenomenon can also be interpreted through the lens of a universal formula grounded in systemic balance, feedback, and defect-free operation. By mapping GR concepts to a framework of balance and system integrity, light bending can be viewed as a natural systemic response to mass-induced (...) imbalances. Quantitative equivalence to GR predictions is maintained, while providing a holistic Interpretation that emphasizes universal laws governing both physical and conceptual systems. -/- . (shrink)

A review of the Cannes Grand Prix winning film All We Imagine as Light (dir: Payal Kapadia; 2024). I explore some feminist and existentialist themes in the film, particularly stressing its connection to a praxis oriented strand of Indian feminism.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Green Light Ethics: A Theory of Permissive Consent and its Moral Metaphysics by Hallie LibertoJonathan Ichikawa (bio)Review of Hallie Liberto, Green Light Ethics: A Theory of Permissive Consent and its Moral Metaphysics (Oxford University Press, 2022)Hallie Liberto's Green Light Ethics offers a framework for conceptualizing permissive consent. The book is a philosopher's work of philosophy. Although it touches on non-ideal social realities, especially sexism, it (...) is most centrally a contribution to a quite abstract literature in normative ethics, following in the tradition of scholars like David Owens, Heidi Hurd, Alan Wertheimer, and Tom Dougherty—it may have a few too many Φs and abstractions to be accessible to and comfortable for many people outside the analytic philosophical tradition. The central approach to permission and consent is general—not specific to sexual consent—although some discussions are specific to sex.I have always appreciated and learned from Liberto's work on this topic, and I was excited to read her new book. As I'd hoped, it exhibits fresh and interesting moral and philosophical instincts, and advances plausible and interesting ideas. I did feel, however, that it was sometimes more difficult than one might hope to identify exactly what those ideas are. At key points, I found myself wanting more precision or explanation. I am not the kind of philosopher who shuns abstraction—I value both the concrete/non-ideal and the theoretical/abstract. And I'm not afraid of all those Φs. But as I see it, the point of writing in that mode—the reason it can be worth the cost in accessibility and style—is the ability to express and examine complex ideas with a high degree of precision. As I was reading this book, I found that much of my own intellectual contribution centered around attempts to interpret Liberto's ideas and technicalities before I was in a good position to learn from them. This was a bit of a shame, because there are intriguing ideas in this book, well worthy of consideration. I'll give my own reconstruction of a few of them below, along with some critical engagement.1. domain authorityLiberto posits that there are certain domains over which people hold a special kind of moral authority, which she calls "domain authority" (38). Someone would wrong you if they acted in your domains outside of your normative control. For example, you have domain authority over sexual contact with your body; any actions by others within that domain must [End Page 429] be in accordance with your moral control, or they are violative. Liberto typically uses the following abbreviations to discuss domain authority: S is a person who may or may not be giving P permission to Φ, which is a potential action that P might perform. Φ here is always an action within D, a particular domain of S's moral authority. Since Φ is within D, Φ would wrong S if P Φ'd without S's appropriate authorization.In the case of sexual domain rights, D is S's bodily sexual domain; P would wrong S by performing some act Φ within that domain outside of S's authority. (Φ might be sexually penetrating S, for example.) The framework generalizes. D might be my home, and Φ could stand for potential actions within my home for which any S would need my permission: entering it, say, or drilling a hole in the wall. I'll follow Liberto's use for these abbreviations. Note that Φ will always refer to an act within S's domain D.One of the more distinctive contributions of Liberto's framework is her insistence that subjects retain their domain authority, even as they exercise it to permit action within their domains (42). When S consents to Φ, Liberto says, S does not waive any rights against Φ. If they did, Φ would no longer be part of S's domain of authority D. It is possible to waive rights in this way—this is what happens with property transfers. But Liberto argues that things are quite different for permissive consent (61). If I invite P into my home, or permit P to touch me sexually, they may do so without violating... (shrink)

This article proposes a novel hierarchical taxonomy for meditation-induced phosphenes and luminous inner light phenomena. Drawing from structured first-person phenomenological data and spiritual traditions such as Dzogchen, Bon, shamanism, and Christian mysticism, it categorizes these experiences into six levels, ranging from simple flickers to complex geometric visions and radiant white light. The taxonomy begins with spontaneous light flickers and evolves through geometric forms, dynamic structures, symbolic imagery, pure light, and final formlessness. This model also identifies transitions (...) into what is termed the “Ultrasubjective Hyperspace,” a transpersonal field beyond conventional ego structures. -/- The study integrates neurophenomenological insights and aligns historical visual accounts, such as Carl Jung’s visionary paintings and Hildegard von Bingen’s illuminations, with modern reports of phosphene-induced states. Importantly, this work distinguishes between entoptic phenomena (arising from the visual system) and transpersonal visual experiences that accompany deep meditation and ego dissolution. -/- We argue that these luminous perceptions are not merely visual noise or neurological artifacts, but structured and meaningful content arising from the mind-brain system in altered states of consciousness. By framing phosphenes as a progressive visionary language and mapping their internal architecture, we open a new direction for consciousness research. This taxonomy may serve as a cross-cultural framework for interpreting inner light visions and for guiding future empirical studies on the phenomenology of mystical states. (shrink)

Our starting point is the question ‘What is mass’, what in particular enables mass to constitute duration: so that mass can be regarded as moving as well as at rest (the kinematic principle of relativity). In a thought experiment, this question is attacked here not from the perspective of mass itself, but from that of a standing light wave. In this model, mass-analogous structures can be re- constructed that can be in relative motion to each other. The (empirically known) (...) constancy of the speed of light in every reference system is not as- sumed here. However, it can be shown that the speed of light is identical in all systems constituted by mass-analogous structures that move uniformly relative to each other and that the speed of light moreover is the limiting speed of mo- tions. This indepence of the motion of light from the system of reference, this character of absoluteness, and the relativity of mass motions thus prove to be contrary but inextricably linked moments of the kinematic principle of relativi- ty: an interesting perspective concerning a philosophy of relativity theory. - The mathematical relationships are explained in more detail in the appendix. (shrink)

Science does an excellent job of describing dark matter in that it does "serve mainly as expressions of our ignorance, much as the marking of early maps with terra incognita". Therefore, it recognises that it appears dark to unfathomable science to "see" or understand the gradations of subtle light energy which lies behind the matter which it at present does see. Physics doesn’t currently point toward hidden forms of light behind matter; instead, it points toward non-luminous mass-energy components (...) that interact gravitationally but not electromagnetically. -/- "Nature abhors a vacuum", this occultism fully recognises, and it is explained as the medium or mode of transmission of one state of energy/light, spirit/matter from one state and plane to another, thus resulting in some transmutation of some description or other. (shrink)

Review Article on Mirowski's More Heat Than Light (1989).

Subjectivity or the problem of ‘qualia’ tends to make the accessibility and comprehension of psychological events intangible especially for scientific exploration. The issue becomes even more complicated but interesting when one turns towards mystical experiences. Such experiences are different from other psychological phenomena in the sense that they don’t occur to every one, so are difficult to comprehend even for their qualifications of existence. We conducted a qualitative study on one such experience of inner-light perception. This is a common (...) experience reported by meditators of all kinds. However, we chose to study this phenomenon in Vihangam Yoga practitioners because of frequent occurrence of this experience in them as well as their reports of having it for hours at a stretch. During this study, it was noted that it arose many questions there we need to answer not only to explain such phenomena but also for having a better understanding of philosophy of science. In the search for these answers, we proceeded towards another complicated branch of science, quantum mechanics. Our present work is about creating an interface between a unique subjective phenomenon and principles of philosophy as well as of quantum mechanics. We explore the constructs of physical and critical realisms and their coincidence, quantum information theory and the measurement problem of Copenhagen interpretation and their possible applications in such an experience. In this endeavour, we also address the possibility that inner-light perception as experienced by Vihangam Yogis is a quantum event in brain. For this purpose, we specifically analyse the Zeilingers information concept and try to apply it to this phenomena. (shrink)

There has been a growing interest in research concerning memory modification technologies (MMTs) in recent years. Neuroscientists and psychologists are beginning to explore the prospect of controllable and intentional modification of human memory. One of the technologies with the greatest potential to this end is optogenetics—an invasive neuromodulation technique involving the use of light to control the activity of individual brain cells. It has recently shown the potential to modify specific long-term memories in animal models in ways not yet (...) possible with other MMTs. As the therapeutic potential of optogenetics has already prompted approval of the first human trials, it is especially important and timely to consider the opportunities and dangers this technology may entail. In this article, we focus on possible consequences of optogenetics as an MMT by analyzing fundamental threats potentially associated with memory modifications: the potential disruption of personality and authenticity. (shrink)

This paper develops a taxonomic and phenomenological framework for meditation-induced phosphenes, internally generated luminous phenomena that occur with eyes closed during contemplative practice. Synthesizing decades of first-person practice reports with comparative sources from Buddhist, shamanic, and neuropsychological traditions, I propose a three-tier hierarchical taxonomy: (1) Basal Endogenous Visual Patterns (entoptic and early visual forms); (2) Complex Meditation-Induced Phosphenes (structured, geometric and symbol-like visions); and (3) Transpersonal Luminous Manifestations, intense, non-dual luminosities that often accompany insight and ego-dissolution. I distinguish these structured (...) inner-light experiences from pathological hallucination and migraine aura by pointing to preserved reality testing, heightened clarity of awareness, and their characteristic affective correlates (awe, insight, surrender). At the uppermost level I introduce the concept of an Ultrasubjective Hyperspace (USH), a dimensionless, radiant field of experience in which symbolic forms dissolve into unified luminosity, and I suggest how encounters in this domain map onto reports of mystical illumination. Drawing on contemporary neurophenomenology, the paper outlines plausible mechanisms (sensory attenuation, homeostatic visual plasticity, recruitment of higher visual and mnemonic networks) and reports associations with electrophysiological markers such as gamma synchrony and default-mode network attenuation. By integrating contemplative descriptions with neurobiological accounts, this taxonomy reframes inner-light visions as a systematic, investigable class of conscious events and proposes empirical pathways for future research into their phenomenology, function, and neural correlates. (shrink)

Rarely does research in the history and philosophy of science lead to new empirical results, but that is exactly what has happened in one of the essays of this special issue: Rang and Grebe-Ellis have developed new experimental techniques to perform measurements Goethe proposed 217 years ago. These measurements fit neatly with Goethe’s idea of polarity—his complementary spectrum is not only an optical, but also a thermodynamical counterpart of Newton’s spectrum. I use the new measurements, firstly, to argue against the (...) asymmetries between light and darkness posited by Lyre and Schreiber; and, secondly, to explicate the alternative theory that Goethe had introduced to urge scientific pluralism. In my replies to exegetical criticism by Böhler, Hampe and Zemplén, I show that the main goal of Goethe’s Farbenlehre was indeed to expose symmetries between light and darkness. Furthermore, I argue that it is worthwhile to focus on the experiments, arguments and hypotheses of the Farbenlehre, and not merely on rhetorical, narrative or stylistical aspects, as Böhler and Hampe would have it. Goethe’s criticism of Newton is often dismissed, but it is in fact surprisingly relevant today. (shrink)

Street lighting plays a vital role in ensuring urban safety, visibility, and community well-being. However, traditional systems operate on fixed schedules, resulting in unnecessary energy usage, increased maintenance costs, and a lack of adaptability to environmental changes. To address these challenges, this project proposes a smart street lighting infrastructure powered by Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud solutions. The system utilizes microcontrollers (Atmega 328/2560), Wi-Fi modules (ESP8266/ESP32), and various sensors such as motion detectors, light sensors, and fault detectors. These (...) components work together to enable dynamic lighting control based on real-time conditions like movement and ambient light levels. When no motion is detected, lights dim automatically to conserve energy and brighten only when needed. Through cloud integration, the system supports centralized monitoring and remote control, allowing authorities to receive live data, schedule operations, detect faults, and manage power usage efficiently. This reduces the need for manual intervention and enhances the reliability of the lighting network. The proposed solution aligns with smart city initiatives by offering a sustainable, cost-effective, and scalable infrastructure. It significantly reduces energy consumption, improves fault response time, and contributes to environmental conservation. This innovation not only modernizes public infrastructure but also improves the quality of life for urban residents. (shrink)