My new (Experimental) PHILOSOPHY (XPhi) book for FREE download https://www.academia.edu/31973890/_Meta-Philosophy_Theorizing_about_Philosophy_CMT_CB_and_CM_as_an_e xercise_inXPhi (Meta-Philosophy) Theorizing about Philosophy (CMT, CB and CMA) as an exercise inXPhi The processes of theorizing are explored, Weick's Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Conceptual Blending Theory and Conceptual Metaphor tool are described. This Meta-Philosophy investigation of philosophy and philosophizing is an exercise in Experimental Philosophy. The Empirical Generalization or Hypothesis arrived at states that: Philosophy/izing is like or resembles the process/es of Theorizing.

Bu çalışma, İslam hukukunda temel delillerden biri olan icmâa ilişkin bilginin sonraki nesillere hangi yollarla aktarıldığını ve bu aktarımın icmâın delil değeri üzerindeki etkilerini incelemektedir. İslam hukukunda icmâ, Kur’an ve sünnetten sonra üçüncü temel kaynak olarak kabul edilmekle birlikte hem normatif gücü hem de bilgi kaynağı oluşu sebebiyle erken dönemlerden itibaren teorik tartışmaların merkezinde yer almaktadır. İcmâın dinin asıllarını muhafaza etme ve ictihâdî meselelerde uygulama birliği sağlama gibi fonksiyonları, onun gerçekleştiğine dair bilginin doğru şekilde tespit edilmesi ve sonraki nesillere güvenilir (...) biçimde aktarılmasıyla doğrudan ilişkilidir.Özellikle icmâın vukuunun tespiti ve buna dair bilginin nakli meselesi, usûl-i fıkıh literatüründe süreklilik arz eden bir tartışma alanı oluşturmuştur. Erken dönemden itibaren icmâın vukuu ve nakline dair farklı görüşler ileri sürülmüş, haberin bilgi değeriyle ilgili yaklaşımlar, icmâın epistemolojik konumuna dair değerlendirmeleri doğrudan etkilemiştir. Bununla birlikte, bu tartışmalar çoğu usul eserinde farklı başlıklar altında ve sınırlı biçimde ele alınmış, icmâın nakil süreçlerini merkeze alan ayrıntılı ve bütüncül incelemelere nadiren konu olmuştur. Literatürde bu konuda kapsamlı bir çalışmanın eksikliği, icmâın nakil süreçleri ve delil değerine etkileri üzerine derinlemesine bir inceleme yapılması ihtiyacını doğurmuştur.Bu bağlamda araştırmanın temel amacı, icmâa dair bilgilerin hangi yollarla (mütevâtir, meşhûr, âhâd) nakledildiğini ve bu yolların icmâın delil değeri üzerindeki etkisini ortaya koymaktır. Çalışmada öncelikle icmâın tanımı ve kısımlarına yer verilmiş, ardından icmâın nakline dair metodolojik tartışmalar klasik ve modern usul kaynakları karşılaştırılarak detaylı biçimde incelenmiştir. Metodolojik olarak literatür taraması ve metin tahliline dayanan araştırmada, özellikle âhâd yolla nakledilen icmâlara dair usulcüler arasındaki görüş ayrılıkları vurgulanmıştır.Çalışmanın bulgularına göre, icmâın delil değerini belirleyen temel unsurlardan biri, onun gerçekleştiğine dair bilginin hem tahakkuk ettiği dönemde yaşayanlar hem de sonraki nesiller tarafından doğru şekilde aktarılmasıdır. Bu nedenle icmâın nakil yolları ve bu yolların bilgi değeri, onun İslam hukukundaki kaynaklık değerini doğrudan etkileyen kritik bir mesele olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Mütevâtir nakil, bilgi kesinliği açısından en güçlü yöntem olarak kabul edilmekte ve bu yolla aktarılan icmâın delil değeri neredeyse tartışmasız görülmektedir. Yalan üzerinde birleşmesi mümkün olmayan bir topluluğun icmâa dair oluşan bilgiyi sonraki nesillere aktarması esasına dayanan bu yöntemin kat’î bilgi doğurduğu kabul edilmektedir. Beş vakit namazın, zekâtın ve haccın farz oluşu gibi hükümlere dair icmâların bu şekilde nakledildiği ifade edilmektedir.Meşhûr yolla aktarılan icmâlar ise bilgi değeri bakımından mütevâtire yakın kabul edilmekte ve özellikle Hanefî usul literatüründe “ilmü’t-tüma’nîne” düzeyinde bir bağlayıcılığa sahip olduğu belirtilmektedir. Bu tür icmâlar çoğunlukla amel açısından bağlayıcı görülmekle birlikte, bazı fakihler tarafından kat’î bilgi doğurmadığı gerekçesiyle delil değerinin sınırlı olduğu ileri sürülmüştür.Âhâd yolla aktarılan icmâlar ise tartışmaların en yoğunlaştığı alanı oluşturmaktadır. Bir kısım fakih icmâın kat’î delil olması gerektiğini savunarak âhâd naklin delil değerini yeterli görmezken, diğer bir grup şer’î amelî meselelerde zanna dayanmanın caiz olduğunu belirterek bu tür icmâların geçerli ve bağlayıcı olduğunu kabul etmektedir. Özellikle Hanefîler ve bazı Şâfiî fakihler, âhâd haberle nakledilen icmâın amel açısından bağlayıcı olduğunu savunmuşlardır.Sonuç olarak araştırma, icmâ haberlerinin ihtiyatla değerlendirilmesi gerektiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Bununla birlikte bu ihtiyat, klasik literatürde yer alan icmâ nakillerinin bütünüyle geçersiz sayılmasını gerektirmemektedir. İncelenen veriler, bu nakillerin delil değerinin nakil biçimi, ittifakın mahiyeti ve icmâın gerçekleştiği nesil gibi unsurlara göre değiştiğini göstermektedir. Bu sebeple icmâ nakillerinin farklı derecelerde tasnif edilmesi ve buna göre değerlendirilmesi daha isabetli görünmektedir. Ayrıca icmâın nakil yolları ve delil değerine ilişkin tartışmaların, usûl-i fıkıh literatüründe güncelliğini ve teorik önemini koruduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. (shrink)

Color-motion asynchrony (CMA) refers to an apparent lag of direction of motion when a dynamic stimulus changes both color and direction at the same time. The subjective order of simultaneous events, however, is not only perceptual but also subject to illusions during voluntary actions. Self-initiated actions, for example, seem to precede their sensory outcomes following an adaptation to a delay between the action and the sensory feedback. Here, we demonstrate that the extent of the apparent asynchrony can be substantially reduced (...) when direction change is induced by a voluntary key press following a delay adaptation regime. We also show that the reduced color-motion asynchrony effect size following a motor-sensory recalibration is not a result of a change in the onset of perceived direction change relative to that of the color. This is particularly important as it implies, for the first time in the literature, that voluntary action is not only important in forming action-sensory outcome associations but may also act as a binding factor between the two perceptual features of a sensory event. (shrink)

Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) regards metaphor as a fundamental means of conceptualising the world, through which the ideology embedded in discourse can be unveiled. Drawing upon the methodologies of Critical Discourse Analysis and Corpus Linguistics, CMA comprises four principle stages: initially, contextual analysis for formulating research questions and selecting texts, followed by metaphor identification, interpretation, and explanation. This schematic four-stage CMA has found widespread applications in analyses of sensitive discourses, particularly political discourses. This study builds upon these schematic four stages, (...) putting forward a more specialised, hands-on analytical approach that is well suited for a range of research objectives in translation and bi/multilingual settings where both cross-linguistic and time-based perspectives can be considered. To provide a step-by-step guide of this cross-linguistic and time-based analytical approach, this study presents two case studies of the Chinese newspaper Global Times’ Chinese-English bilingual COVID-19 reports in 2020. Specifically, metaphor translation and a time series analysis of the attitudinal intensity (strengthening, weakening, or keeping the negativity towards the pandemic unchanged) as manifested through the translation of WAR metaphors were explored. The study concludes by suggesting the application of this analytical approach to other types of metaphor correspondence and time-based analyses. (shrink)

The Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) is a rapidly evolving region that experiences significant changes in land use patterns over time. Analogous to other Indian cities, these transformations are particularly evident in the periphery of Chennai's urban core, where substantial land use shifts have occurred between 2001 and 2021. These changes were assessed utilizing LANDSAT 7 Thematic Mapper (TM), LANDSAT 5 Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) for the years 2001 and 2011, and LANDSAT 8 (OLI) for 2021. This study employs unsupervised (...) classification to investigate major land use/land cover alterations. Findings indicate that CMA has undergone substantial land use modifications over the past two decades. Notably, there has been a marked decline in open land and vegetation due to extensive reclamation for urban and commercial development. The results demonstrate that the area covered by open land and vegetation decreased by 70.23% and 4.56%, respectively, while the built-up area increased by 56%. The study also identified a pattern of urban expansion primarily along the GST road, OMR road, and Thirupati highway. The research further examines land use changes by creating buffer zones at distances of 500 meters, 1 km, 1.5 km, and 2 km. The detailed analysis, along with the spatio-temporal differentiation maps and tables generated through geospatial data, will be invaluable for understanding the growth dynamics of CMA. This information will also support the decision-making process for local planners, stakeholders, and academicians. (shrink)

For large-scale optimization, CMA-ES has the disadvantages of high complexity and premature stagnation. An improved CMA-ES algorithm called GI-ES was proposed in this paper. For the problem of high complexity, the method in this paper replaces the calculation of a covariance matrix with the modeling of expected fitting degrees for a given covariance matrix. At the same time, to solve the problem of premature stagnation, this paper replaces the historical information of elite individuals with the historical information of all individuals. (...) The information can be seen as approximate gradients. The parameters of the next generation of individuals are generated based on the approximate gradients. The experimental results were tested using CEC 2010 and CEC2013 LSGO benchmark test suite, and the experimental results verified the effectiveness of the algorithm on a number of different tasks. (shrink)

Computational models of affect (CMAS), in their most common form, cannot take into account the qualitative (phenomenal) dimension of affect itself. Their expressivity can be extended, thus promoting the much sought-after standardization in the most theory-neutral way, using OWL (Web Ontology Language) and machine learning techniques. OWL is an expressive formal language, as well as an established open standard, and can be used to describe the models, possibly including qualitative entities at the fundamental level. The supervised machine learning techniques allow (...) the direct learning and application of models described as OWL ontologies. Thanks to human supervision (e.g. using datasets labeled by a human user), they can take into account the qualitative dimension of affect when the models warrant it. To further promote the aforementioned standardization, the task of classifying texts according to their affective content (known in computer science as "sentiment analysis") can be recommended as a way to assess the performance of the models. It is a multifaceted task, in which usually divergent fields as philosophy, psychology and computer science meet. Moreover, since it is a very current task in computer science, there are many resources available to facilitate the development of a standard benchmark for CMAS. (shrink)

This paper is concerned with a recent, clever, and novel argument for the need for genuine collectives in our ontology of agents to accommodate the kinds of normative judgments we make about them. The argument appears in a new paper by David Copp, "On the Agency of Certain Collective Entities: An Argument from 'Normative Autonomy'" (Midwest Studies in Philosophy: Shared Intentions and Collective Responsibility, XXX, 2006, pp. 194-221; henceforth ‘ACE’), and is developed in Copp’s paper for this special journal issue, (...) “The Collective Moral Autonomy Thesis” (henceforth ‘CAT’). The argument goes as follows. -/- (1) We correctly assign blame (or obligations) to collectives in circumstances in which it would be a mistake to assign any (relevantly related) blame (or obligations) to their members. (2) If (1), then collectives are genuine agents over and above their members. (3) Therefore, collectives are genuine agents over and above their members. -/- Following Copp, I call (1) the Collective Moral Autonomy Thesis (CMA). Copp argues for CMA primarily by appeal to cases, but also offers two general arguments for it. In the cases that Copp describes, we are to judge that a collective act is blameworthy, though each member of the group that acts is blameless because he is merely following procedures appropriate for his participation, or because there are excusing factors, or because of overriding personal duties. -/- I argue that the case for CMA has not been made. In particular, I argue that, in each case in which we feel inclined to hold a group responsible for something but not its members, it is because -/- 1. we have accepted a false dilemma, that when no one agent is fully responsible for the action of a group of which he is a member, the only entity that could be responsible is the group as such, or 2. we have directed our attention to the wrong individual or individuals, or 3. we have become confused about the commitments of the individuals, or 4. we have mistaken ameliorating for excusing factors, or 5. we have mistaken moral blameworthiness and all-in rational blameworthiness, or 6. a combination of these things. (shrink)

Photo ID 71252867© Stepan Popov| Dreamstime.com Abstract While Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has been legalized in Canada since 2016, it still excludes eligibility for persons who have mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition. This temporary exclusion was set to expire on March 17th, 2024, but was set 3 years further back by the Government of Canada to March 17th, 2027. This paper presents a critical appraisal of the case of MAiD for individuals with mental illness as the (...) sole underlying medical condition through the analysis of three ethical theories: principlism, deontology, and utilitarianism. Through evidence and discussion, it will be demonstrated that MAiD, in this context, may be ethically justifiable on the grounds of upholding human rights, protecting dignity, and minimizing suffering. Introduction In June of 2016, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada.[1] Throughout the first six years, a temporary exclusion of eligibility for persons suffering solely from mental illness was extended.[2] The exclusion of mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition was set to expire on March 17, 2024.[3] However, on February 1, 2024, just over a month before the set expiration, the Government of Canada once again extended the exclusion, this time setting it back three years to March 17, 2027. There are currently several countries that allow MAiD for mental illness, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.[4] Some countries, like Spain,[5] do not give specific guidance, leaving the matter under discussion by ethicists and courts. In these countries, there are specific (although different) requirements for the process; overall, for mental illness, the illness must be verifiable and not simply related to a perception of satisfaction with the length of life. This extension ignited discussion on whether MAiD for persons who have mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition in Canada is ethically acceptable. As a complex, multi-faceted, and interdisciplinary issue, ethicists assessing MAiD must take into account various moral obligations and considerations. This paper analyses MAiD in this context through the application of three ethical theories: principlism, deontology, and utilitarianism. This paper concludes that, based on the current evidence and knowledge of this developing situation, MAiD for persons with mental illness in Canada may be ethically justified on the grounds of upholding human rights, labour obligations, and dignity. Through the exploration of research and discussions, it will be demonstrated that society at large ought to protect liberty and act towards relieving suffering, thereby supporting the potential eligibility of MAiD for persons who have mental illness. Principlism: The Capacity and Ability to Assess and Decide for One’s Own Life Principlism is the application of four principles: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Principlism supports permitting MAiD for mental illness due to the importance of autonomy in decision-making, equitable and just practices for MAiD assessors, and reducing suffering for patients and their family member(s) and/or friend(s). Carter v. Canada, the Canadian Supreme Court ruling of 2015—which changed Canadian law to allow for MAiD—held that the prohibition of MAiD infringed on Canadians’ right to “life, liberty, and the security of the person.” In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the criminal prohibition of MAiD violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[6] The Court concluded that the criminal law prohibiting MAiD interfered with people’s autonomy and dignity, which are protected by the rights of liberty and security of the person.[7] The ruling emphasized that Canada’s constitution reflects the fundamental importance of individual autonomy in personal decision-making. Research provides evidence that MAiD improves autonomy: A study among psychiatric patients found that 8 of 48 psychiatric patients said the mere option of accessing MAiD was enough to assess their future options for living wholly.[8] These findings complement a study entailing interviews with 30 adults who have mental illness, which emphasized that the ability to access MAiD allows individuals to analyze their quality of life, envision their desired future, and make decisions accordingly.[9] Although not all participants agreed that mental illness as the only underlying medical condition was appropriate for MAiD eligibility, many participants agreed that patient autonomy in decision-making was paramount and should be respected. However, autonomy as an ethical principle does not immediately grant all persons with mental illness the option to access MAiD. There are multiple eligibility criteria for those who wish to receive MAiD, which still must be approved and assessed. Currently, eligibility criteria for MAiD states that individuals must “give informed consent to receive MAiD, meaning that the person has consented to receiving MAiD after they have received all information needed to make this decision.”[10] Consent requires capability or capacity, which is the ability to understand relevant information, appreciate its potential consequences, and make an informed decision for oneself.[11] Like for many other diseases, disabilities, and conditions, patient capability is determined on a case-by-case basis.[12] Given the stigma surrounding those struggling with mental health, this thorough case-by-case examination of an individual patient’s capability and capacity without prejudice or partiality should lead to equitable and fair treatment. Without appropriate testing, those with mental illness could be wrongly stripped of their decision-making power. Arguments against MAiD for those with mental illness have raised concerns about the potential for individuals to harm themselves and others. A survey of MAiD providers demonstrated that physicians believed that the bereavement experience following MAiD is challenging and profoundly distinct and that bereavement support for all members involved should be required.[13] However, while watching one die (of MAiD) may cause harm to their families, friends, and support system at large, it is also important to recognize that watching someone suffer and struggle through their mental health journey also poses significant harm. Qualitative studies in Ontario, Canada, have interviewed family members of persons with mental illness as a sole medical condition, and interviewees shared that witnessing the illness and its impacts on their close one's lives was a very difficult experience.[14] As it relates to MAiD, participants emphasized that those living with mental illness are in the best position to understand their own pain and suffering and, in turn, make their own decisions about relief.[15] In an interview, a MAiD provider stated that MAiD may provide less suffering and more peace, and that, although it “depends on the family,... usually the family is more prepared and at peace.”[16] On the contrary, a person who has mental illness may perceive choosing MAiD as beneficial to their family member(s) and/or friend(s). Among those who died by MAiD in 2021, 35.7 percent reported that they perceived themselves as a burden on their family and friends.[17] While some authors report their concerns regarding such social burden as a potential driving factor for MAiD requests, others report that there are other additional burdens associated with requesting MAiD that may be financial, societal, and personal.[18] As such, the extension of MAiD eligibility to those with mental illness will likely only allow a small number of people to be granted MAiD.[19] Many others will be diverted to appropriate services and treatments. Patients’ decision to choose MAID noted their ability to make choices about their own care, reflecting the value of autonomy.[20] Although it is difficult to determine what is good for families in individual cases, MAiD presents an option that is both beneficent and non-maleficent. Therefore, these arguments satisfy the principles which do not necessarily conflict with MAiD. Deontology: The Duty to Recognize Vulnerability and Relieve Suffering The argument here begins with the fundamental focus of deontology—that moral duty lies in an action rather than in its consequences. Further discussion is required to analyze the impact of MAiD on healthcare workers. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Code of Ethics and Professionalism requires physicians to abide by virtues, commitments, and responsibilities in delivering health care and service.[21] The code states that “a compassionate physician recognizes suffering and vulnerability, … and alleviate[s] the patient’s suffering.”[22] In the context of MAiD for persons with mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition, vulnerabilities could be wide in range. Many Canadians are concerned with the interaction between mental health and other social determinants of health, such as the lack of medical, disability, financial, housing, and social support and resources.[23] As a result, another layer to the ethical issue arises: Does permitting MAiD for mental illness treat the symptoms of the issue rather than the root problem itself (social, economic, and systemic inequities)? Some argue against MAiD, stating that the nation should first focus on developing better quality care and service.[24] Others support MAiD as a potential harm reduction approach, given that most of these unjust conditions require a higher level of long-term structural and public policy overhaul.[25] The CMA Code also calls upon physicians to recognize and alleviate patients’ suffering. Some argue that while physicians and medical professionals do work to relieve suffering, they are trained to do so through a primary care-based diagnose-and-treat approach.[26] Studies that have captured Canadian physicians’ experiences providing MAiD report that, although physicians stated that the work was rewarding, it came with many challenges, including strained relationships with coworkers, increased workload, and inadequate compensation.[27] Physicians report that a part of the problem is that MAiD rules are written by lawyers and experts who are removed from its reality in medical practice. As a result, there is a lack of clarity surrounding practice norms and a lack of support for physicians.[28] Thus, while healthcare practitioners have a duty to relieve patients’ suffering, they should feel adequately trained and supported in doing so. If physicians and healthcare professionals recognize vulnerability and relieve suffering, then they should act accordingly, regardless of potential associations or outcomes. Making persons with mental illness eligible for MAiD ensures that treatment to relieve their suffering is available. However, it is imperative that there are sufficient resources and support available to healthcare professionals to ensure that they feel prepared and supported to provide MAiD, should they wish to do so. Utilitarianism: Minimizing Intolerable Suffering and Dying with Dignity Overall, utilitarianism is largely concerned with the greatest happiness principle—to increase the amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. So far, this paper has analyzed individual, family, and practitioner-based ethical considerations. But if MAiD were to be extended to those with mental illness as a singular underlying medical condition, what implications would this have for the world and society at large? There is a global drive toward authorizing organized ending of life, with an increasing number of countries legalizing MAiD.[29] The medical system is generally seen as a safe and appropriate system to carry out MAiD, especially when suicide and self-harm are regarded as “alternatives.” Yet despite these worldwide efforts, many argue through the theory of utilitarianism that the inability to see long-term consequences renders MAiD a premature solution, particularly for those who are unable or unwilling to seek other forms of potentially healing treatment or for those who may undergo MAiD only for a technological innovation or biomedical advancement to later come along as a potential cure.[30] While it is true that MAiD does not prevent these “premature deaths,” it is also true that it does not claim to.[31] MAiD provides an option to alleviate intolerable suffering. Some individuals with severe mental illness do describe their condition as intolerable suffering. MAiD is seen as an option to minimize suffering. It can also be seen as a way to die with dignity and relief.[32] While predicting outcomes is difficult, extending MAiD eligibility for persons experiencing mental illness does not undermine its ability to end suffering. It allows eligible individuals to take charge of their health, their life, and their future. Conclusion Based on the current evidence, allowing MAiD for persons with mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition presents as an ethically justifiable action. The right to self-determination and fair accessibility demonstrates that there is more harm done by prohibiting MAiD for mental illness than allowing it. Such liberty is a right, and in the context of relieving suffering, it is a duty that healthcare workers must uphold, although the ability to opt out of providing MAiD is well established. Thus, to recognize vulnerability and relieve suffering means to provide methods, such as MAiD, for those deeply impacted by mental illness. These justifications stand at both the individual level and for society at large. Nevertheless, it remains imperative to take an upstream approach that addresses the social determinants of health and aims to prevent mental illness and promote long-term, beneficial social change for those suffering, struggling, and vulnerable in our communities. - [1] Jaro Kotalik and David W. Shannon, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Canada Key Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 1st ed. 2023., The International Library of Bioethics, 104 (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30002-8. [2] Department of Justice Government of Canada, “Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Law,” February 21, 2024, https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/ad-am/bk-di.html. [3] Health Canada, “Final Report of the Expert Panel on MAiD and Mental Illness,” transparency - other, May 13, 2022, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advi sory-bodies/expert-panel-maid-mental-illness/final-report-expert-panel-maid-mental-illness.html. [4] Federal Public Service (FPS) Health Belgium, “Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia,” n.d., https://consultativebodies.health.belgium.be/en/advisory-and-consultative-bodies/federal-commission- control-and-evaluation-euthanasia.; Government of Netherlands, “Is Euthanasia Allowed in the Netherlands?,” n.d., https://www.government.nl/topics/euthanasia/is-euthanasia-allowed.; “Information on Requesting Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide,” n.d., https://guichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/sante/fin-vie/euthanasie/euthanasie-assistance-suicide.html. [5] Luis Espericueta, First official report on euthanasia in Spain: A comparison with the Canadian and New Zealand experiences, Medicina Clínica (English Edition), Volume 161, Issue 10, 2023, Pages 445-447, ISSN 2387-0206, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medcle.2023.06.021. [6] Government of Canada, “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” March 15, 2021, https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/. [7] Supreme Court of Canada, “Carter v. Canada,” Constitutional Law, 2015, https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14637/index.do.; Kotalik and Shannon, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Canada Key Multidisciplinary Perspectives. [8] Karandeep Sonu Gaind, “What Does ‘Irremediability’ in Mental Illness Mean?,” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie 65, no. 9 (September 2020): 604–6, https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743720928656; Lieve Thienpont et al., “Euthanasia Requests, Procedures and Outcomes for 100 Belgian Patients Suffering from Psychiatric Disorders: A Retrospective, Descriptive Study,” BMJ Open 5, no. 7 (July 27, 2015): e007454, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007454. [9] Hamer Bastidas-Bilbao et al., “Walking Alongside: Views of Family Members on Medical Assistance in Dying for Mental Illness as the Sole Underlying Medical Condition,” Qualitative Health Research 33 (September 29, 2023), https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323231197365. [10] Government of Canada, “Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Law.” [11] Commission sur les soins de fin de vie, “Les conditions de l’admissibilité à l’aide médicale à mourir au Québec: la constance dans l’évolution de la loi concernant les soins de fin de vie,” June 9, 2023, https://csfv.gouv.qc.ca/ fileadmin/docs/autres_rapports/csfv_lcsfv_conditions_ amm_2023-06-29.pdf.; Trudo Lemmens, “When Death Becomes Therapy: Canada’s Troubling Normalization of Health Care Provider Ending of Life,” The American Journal of Bioethics 23, no. 11 (November 2, 2023): 79–84, https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2023.2265265. [12] Justine Dembo, Udo Schuklenk, and Jonathan Reggler, “‘For Their Own Good’: A Response to Popular Arguments Against Permitting Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Where Mental Illness Is the Sole Underlying Condition,” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie 63, no. 7 (July 2018): 451–56, https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743718766055. [13] Konia Trouton et al., “Attitudes and Expectations Regarding Bereavement Support for Patients, Family Members, and Friends: Findings from a Survey of MAID Providers,” British Columbia Medical Journal 62, no. 1 (2020). [14] Bastidas-Bilbao et al., “Walking Alongside.” [15] Bastidas-Bilbao et al. [16] Trouton et al., “Attitudes and Expectations Regarding Bereavement Support for Patients, Family Members, and Friends: Findings from a Survey of MAID Providers,” 2020. [17] Ramona Coelho et al., “The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” Palliative & Supportive Care 21, no. 5 (October 2023): 871–78, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478951523001025; Health Canada, “Third Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada 2021,” report on plans and priorities;transparency - other, July 26, 2022, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/health-system-services/annual-report-me dical-assistance-dying-2021.html; Lemmens, “When Death Becomes Therapy.” [18] Coelho et al., “The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” October 2023.; Bastidas-Bilbao et al., “Walking Alongside.” [19] Olivia Stefanovich, “Opposition Parties Call for Indefinite Pause to MAID Expansion for Mental Illness | CBC News,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, January 28, 2024, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/special-joint-committee-maid-mental-illness-report-1.7095679; Benjamin Lopez Steven, “Number of Assisted Deaths Jumped More than 30 per Cent in 2022, Report Says | CBC News,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, October 27, 2023, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/maid-canada-report-2022-1.7009704. [20] Hamer Bastidas-Bilbao et al., “Searching for Relief from Suffering: A Patient-Oriented Qualitative Study on Medical Assistance in Dying for Mental Illness as the Sole Underlying Medical Condition,” Social Science & Medicine 331 (August 1, 2023): 116075, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116075. [21] Canadian Medical Association, “Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics and Professionalism” (Canada: Canadian Medical Association, December 8, 2018), https://policybase.cma.ca/link/policy13937. [22] Canadian Medical Association. [23] Coelho et al., “The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” October 2023; Stefanovich, “Opposition Parties Call for Indefinite Pause to MAID Expansion for Mental Illness | CBC News.” [24] John Paul Tasker, “Liberal Government Promoting a ‘culture of Death’ with Medical Assistance in Dying Law, Conservative MP Says | CBC News,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, March 6, 2023, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/culture-of-death-medical-assistance-in-dying-mental-illness-1.67695 04. [25] Coelho et al., “The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” October 2023; Kayla Wiebe and Amy Mullin, “Choosing Death in Unjust Conditions: Hope, Autonomy and Harm Reduction,” Journal of Medical Ethics, April 26, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2022-108871. [26] Ramona Coelho et al., “The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” Palliative & Supportive Care 21, no. 5 (October 2023): 871–78, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478951523001025. [27] Konia Trouton et al., “Attitudes and Expectations Regarding Bereavement Support for Patients, Family Members, and Friends: Findings from a Survey of MAID Providers,” British Columbia Medical Journal 62, no. 1 (2020), https://bcmj.org/articles/attitudes-and-expectations-regarding-bereavement-support-patients-family-m embers-and.; William Robert Nielsen, “MAiD in Canada: Ethical Considerations in Medical Assistance in Dying,” Canadian Journal of Bioethics 4, no. 2 (December 9, 2021): 93–98, https://doi.org/10.7202/1084456ar. [28] Coelho et al., “The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” October 2023. [29] Lemmens, “When Death Becomes Therapy.” [30] William Robert Nielsen, “MAiD in Canada: Ethical Considerations in Medical Assistance in Dying,” Canadian Journal of Bioethics 4, no. 2 (December 1, 2021): 93–98, https://doi.org/10.7202/1084456ar. [31] Steven, “Number of Assisted Deaths Jumped More than 30 per Cent in 2022, Report Says | CBC News.” [32] A. Plaisance et al., “Quebec Population Highly Supportive of Extending Medical Aid in Dying to Incapacitated Persons and People Suffering Only from a Mental Illness: Content Analysis of Attitudes and Representations,” Ethics, Medicine and Public Health 21 (April 1, 2022): 100759, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2022.100759. (shrink)

The use of genomic testing in pregnancy is increasing, giving rise to questions over how the information that is generated should be offered and returned in clinical practice. While these tests provide important information for prenatal decision-making, they can also generate information of uncertain significance. This paper critically examines three models for approaching the disclosure of variants of uncertain significance (VUS), which can arise from forms of genomic testing such as prenatal chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). Contrary to prevailing arguments, we (...) argue that respect for reproductive autonomy does not justify adopting a model on which an offer to disclose VUS is a routine part of genetic counselling. Instead, we contend that a commitment both to solidarity between healthcare providers and pregnant women and to the acceptance of a novel principle of caution under normative uncertainty means that we should instead adopt a model of VUS disclosure that imposes a strong presumption against offering to disclose VUS. The upshot of this is that it should be standard practice to only offer to disclose VUS when this is requested by the woman undergoing CMA. We defend our position against claims that arise from an alleged right to such information and that a presumption against an offer will lead to inequity. (shrink)

Son yıllarda ülkemizde Din Psikolojisi alanında veriye dayalı dindarlık araştırmaları artış göstermektedir. Dindarlığın pek çok bağımlı ve bağımsız değişkenle birlikte araştırıldığı görülmektedir. Dindarlığı konu edinen çalışmalardaki artış, bu konuda meta analitik çalışmaların yapılması gerekliliğini göstermektedir. Ancak yerli alanyazında özellikle cinsiyet değişkenini ele alan birkaç meta-analitik çalışma dışında diğer değişkenlerle dindarlık ilişkisini inceleyen meta-analiz çalışması bulunmamaktadır. Bu çalışmada dindarlık üzerinde medeni durum değişkeninin etkisini anlamak için meta-analiz araştırması yapılmıştır. Medeni durum-dindarlık ilişkisini ele alan ilk meta-analiz araştırması olması, çalışmanın önemini artırmaktadır. Bu (...) meta-analiz araştırması için öncelikle anahtar kelimeler ve dâhil edilme kriterleri belirlendi ve Ulusal Tez Merkezi veri tabanında bu kriterlere göre arama yapıldı. 11 doktora, 59 yüksek lisans ve 1 tıpta uzmanlık tezi olmak üzere toplamda 71 tezin dâhil edilme kriterlerine uyduğu ve meta-analiz için uygun veriler içerdiği görüldü. Bu tezlerden 4’ünün iki farklı veri içerdiği için her bir veri seti ayrı bir çalışma olarak araştırmaya dâhil edildi. Böylece meta-analize dâhil edilen çalışma sayısı 75’e yükseldi. Araştırma örneklemi 19346’sı evli (% 55,8), 15307’si bekâr (% 44,2) olmak üzere toplam 34653 kişiden oluşmaktadır. Çalışmada genel dindarlık puanları esas alınmış olup, etki büyüklüğü (Hedges’s g), yayın yanlılığı ve heterojenlik testi CMA v.4 analiz programı aracılığıyla hesaplanmıştır. Araştırma bulgularına göre meta-analiz, genel dindarlık boyutunda heterojen bir dağılımla anlamlı istatistiksel değerler ortaya çıkarmıştır (p. (shrink)

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) refers to technologies that track daily activities of persons in need of care to enhance their autonomy and minimise their need for assistance. New technological developments show an increasing effort to integrate automated emotion recognition and regulation (ERR) into AAL systems. These technologies aim to recognise emotions via different sensors and, eventually, to regulate emotions defined as “negative” via different forms of intervention. Although these technologies are already implemented in other areas, AAL stands out by its (...) tendency to enable an inconspicuous 24-hour surveillance in the private living space of users who rely on the technology to maintain a certain degree of independence in their daily activities. The combination of both technologies represents a new dimension of emotion recognition in a potentially vulnerable group of users. Our paper aims to provide an ethical contextualisation of the novel combination of both technologies. We discuss different concepts of emotions, namely Basic Emotion Theory (BET) and the Circumplex Model of Affect (CMA), that form the basis of ERR and provide an overview over the current technological developments in AAL. We highlight four ethical issues that specifically arise in the context of ERR in AAL systems, namely concerns regarding (1) the reductionist view of emotions, (2) solutionism as an underlying assumption of these technologies, (3) the privacy and autonomy of users and their emotions, (4) the tendency of machine learning techniques to normalise and generalise human behaviour and emotional reactions. (shrink)

There has been considerable recent interest in the “collective moral autonomy” thesis (CMA), that is, the notion that we can predicate moral successes, failures, and duties of collectives even if there are no comparable successes, failures, and duties among members. One reason why this position looks appealing is because the opposing individualist position seems to have what we might call an accounting problem. Individualists maintain that only individuals can be subjects of moral success, failure, or duty; however, many reasonable judgments (...) about collective actions include moral information on a scale and of a stringency that it does not seem possible to predicate even of the duties of members who have steering power in the actions of the collective. Here I offer a paradigm for thinking about responsibility judgments in organized collective cases to help individualism solve its accounting problem, and allow us to account within a strict individualist perspective for moral information that ostensibly favors CMA. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of religiosity on psychological well-being via meta-analytical method. In addition, the presence of moderator variables that may cause the influence quantity which was calculated as a result of meta-analytical process, is analysed. For these aims, studies that are suitable for the criterion of choice were identified. Within this context, without applying a criterion for date, the influence quantity of 10 thesis studies were calculated, which analyse the correlation between religiosity and (...) psychological well-being, and which include the number of samples used in meta-analysis and the number of pearson correlation coefficient (r) valu. Regarding the theses included in this study, 3 (30%) of them doctoral theses and 7(70%) of them are master’s theses. The number of people in samples is 5.914, 3.848 (65,06%) of which are from doctoral, and 2.066 (34,94%) of which are from master’s theses. For the analysis of the data, CMA (Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0) statistical package program was used. The publication bias of the researches covered in this study was analysed via “Funnel Plot Graphic”, “Classic fail-safe N”, “Begg and Mazumdar rank correlations” and “Egger’s regression test” statistics methods. As a result of these statistical analyses, no evidence of publication bias has been found. Heterogeneity test was conducted to identify which model is to be used in measuring the influence quantity of the researches included in the study. The Q(sd=9) statistical value for its heterogeneity was measured as 114,90 (p0,05). According to this, it was concluded that the sample groups in the studies covered in the meta-analysis did not have a moderator role in the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being. In addition, the average influence quantity for scientific publication types in Fisher’s z is respectively.193 for PhD, and.118 for master’s degree. The average influence quantity for these subsample groups was not considered to be statistically significant (QB=0,384; p>0,05), either. In other words, the type of publication does not play a moderator role in the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being. (shrink)

This study examines the first 11 Arabic leadership speeches of Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former jihadist insurgent who became Syria’s transitional president after ousting Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Drawing on Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA), the study analyzes how al-Sharaa employs metaphors to construct rupture with the Assad era, legitimize post-authoritarian leadership, and articulate political renewal. The analysis shows that al-Sharaa draws on metaphorical patterns typical of national and international post-conflict and post-revolutionary discourse to position himself as a pragmatic, collectivist, and service-oriented (...) national leader rather than a jihadist one. The findings support core CMA claims by demonstrating how metaphors are used to persuade, manage accountability, and preserve face, particularly in contexts of evidential uncertainty. The findings also reveal that metaphor use varies with audience and communicative purpose, indicating a situationally adaptive rather than ideologically fixed discourse. As the first systematic analysis of al-Sharaa’s leadership discourse, this study establishes a baseline for tracking shifts in metaphorical framing and ideological positioning as his political authority consolidates. (shrink)

A Charter on Medical Professionalism (CMA) has just recently been developed internationally, and the Canadian Medical Association is calling for public dialogue on medical professionalism now that reforms in the Canadian system of health care are imminent. We posit that good practices are at issue; we outline the essence of these in general and also specifically in the knowing, teaching and intervening components of practice. We also see challenges not to, but in, medical professionalism – first and foremost in the (...) profession's definition of good practices and the payer's confinement of insurance coverage to these. (shrink)

This paper identifies a novel function of slurs—compensatory manhood acts (CMAs)—alongside their more widely recognised subordinating, weaponised, and insider/outsider functions. CMAs occur when men perceive their masculinity as being under threat and respond by engaging in hypermasculine behaviours, including the use of misogynistic and homophobic slurs. Drawing on sociological findings, we argue that in their compensatory function, slurs are effective tools to restore status, assert dominance, and maintain hegemonic masculinity. Using a conventionalist framework for speech acts, we argue that CMSAs (...) are illocutionary acts in their own right, separate from but interwoven with other functions of slurs. We conclude by raising the theoretical question of how multiple illocutionary forces can coexist in a single utterance and suggest that illocutionary relativism may provide a fruitful approach to understanding these speech acts. (shrink)

The present work presents a general theoretical framework for the study of operators which merge partial probabilistic knowledge from different sources which are individually consistent, but may be collectively inconsistent. We consider a number of principles for such an operator to satisfy including a set of principles derived from those of Konieczny and Pino Perez [14] which were formulated for the different context of propositional merging. Finally we investigate two specific such merging operators derived from the Kullback-Leibler notion of informational (...) distance: the social entropy operator, and its dual, the linear entropy operator. The first of these is strongly related to both the multi-agent normalised geometric mean pooling operator and the single agent maximum entropy inference process, ME. By contrast the linear entropy operator is similarly related to both the arithmetic mean pooling operator and the limit centre of mass inference process, CM∞. © 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved. (shrink)

Since Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) was introduced, methods of studying conceptual metaphor have kept improving to respond to methodological criticisms. Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) proposed by Charteris-Black (2004) has been considered as a “thought-provoking contribution” to metaphor analysis (Deignan, 2005) when approaching metaphor from various perspectives: critical discourse analysis, corpus analysis, pragmatics and cognitive linguistics. CMA is originally applied to one conceptual level in metaphor – domain. However, this paper argues that CMA can be exploited at (...) four conceptual levels in Multi-level View of conceptual metaphor (Kövecses, 2017b) - image schema, domain, frame, and mental space. The combined framework of Critical Metaphor Analysis – CMA (Charteris-Black, 2004) and Multi-level View of conceptual metaphor – MLV (Kövecses, 2017b) can gain deeper insights into ideologies motivating metaphorical concepts for the Vietnam war as well as elucidate the conceptual structure of metaphor via the four levels. Hence, this combination fills the gap of lacking a framework with optimal balance of semantic, pragmatic, cognitive and critical dimensions. It also features the intriguing relationship between ideologies and conceptual structure, i.e., ideologies are embedded in all the four conceptual levels and systematically develop with increasing specificity from image schema to domain, frame and mental space. The focus of this paper is on our argument for an integrated framework of conceptual metaphor and the newspaper articles written by American war correspondents during the Vietnam war are used for illustration of how the integrated framework can help us better understand the conceptual metaphors in the articles. (shrink)

The study investigates the conceptualizations and ideologies concerning family destruction metaphors in same-sex marriage debates. With data from the official websites of two opposing camps in Taiwan, we explore the ways conceptual metaphors can be adopted along with other linguistic resources to shape, redefine and negotiate new meanings of family. Drawing concepts from critical metaphor analysis (CMA), this study shows that the same conceptual metaphor can be used in different contexts to construct and promote seemingly binary ideologies. The adoption of (...) family destruction metaphor suggests that family, ideally a complete, stable, and wholesome environment, is commonly accepted by campaigners as a destructible object worthy of protection. However, the different contextual use of this metaphor showed ideological differences in the ideal membership for marriage, the attackers and protectors of family, the victims of family destruction, and the causes and consequences of family destruction. By inviting the audience to make their own evaluation and interpretation of the metaphor, sensitive arguments can be made in a less direct but emotional manner to achieve the purpose of persuasion. Our results illustrate that conceptual metaphors can be used to reinforce conventional beliefs or introduce new values within a socially accepted frame. (shrink)

Dear Editor, -/- We are pleased to report that we have recently published an article in a well-established bioethics journal where we briefly review the evidence surrounding abortion pill reversal (APR) and argue that those who identify with the pro-choice standpoint should support APR provision (indeed, the ex-CEO of BPAS, Ann Furedi, has agreed in principle with this conclusion of ours in one of her tweets). We also hope that our article will serve as a record in the peer-reviewed and (...) indexed literature of the struggles our fellow CMA UK members have gone through to support women who eventually decided to keep their pregnancies, and the tribulations they had to endure from their colleagues in the medical establishment. It is perhaps somewhat symbolic that our paper has been published in a special issue dedicated to the ‘feminist ethics of care’ as APR and the sacrifice of our colleagues shows what care for women should really look like.(1) -/- We have made sure to spread the word about this as well. One of us has given an interview to Irish pro-life group Protect Life (still to be published) and we have submitted a post to a pro-life collaborative that also awaits publication. Finally, we have also published a post about this paper and current developments in the USA in a well-established bioethics news site, which has been republished in various online outlets.(2) -/- We believe that this promotion of APR is vital, as recent statements from both the UK and the USA indicate that the pressure against APR might grow. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have published a post entitled ‘Facts Are Important: Medication Abortion "Reversal" Is Not Supported by Science’.(3) Similarly, the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, together with other bodies (including the British Society of Abortion Care Providers) have posted a position statement stating that there is no reputable evidence for using progesterone in APR.(4) One truly wonders why these organisations are pushing this narrative despite the weight of the evidence available being in favour of APR and their organisations’ professed support for women’s choice. (shrink)

Personification, one of major types of metaphors often employed to express an attitude, is also an argumentative tool, especially in media texts on politically contested events. The present investigation aims at disclosing the attitudinal stance in personifying Ukraine, Russia, the Western countries and Lithuania in a corpus of texts collected from Lithuanian media in 2015–2018. The study relies on the three-step Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA, Charteris-Black 2004), involving three levels: linguistic, cognitive and rhetorical. More specifically, they include (1) identifying personification (...) cases, (2) interpreting personification through cognitive metaphorical scenarios (Musolff 2016), and (3) explaining ideological implications encoded in the scenarios. The findings indicate that in the scenario of COMMUNICATION, Ukraine is mostly presented positively: active defender and in need of support, with occasional scepticism whether it is capable to change. The West, Lithuania including, is presented as a supporter, whereas Russia is viewed as a negatively evaluated antagonist. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that evidence based medicine (EBM) offers a more transparent system of knowledge and medical care than complementary medicine (CM). While an individual’s choice to use CM should be respected, users of this form of medicine, nevertheless, risk loss of autonomy. This loss of autonomy is an outcome of CM’s offering fewer transparent possibilities for informed patient consent In both EBM and CM patients risk physical harm(s) but science gives EBM patients the benefit of being able (...) to factor known side effects into their health care decisions. (shrink)

The pivotal insight that paved Conrad-Martius’ (1880–1966) (CM) way in elucidating the ontological exclusivity of the I, denoted as “I-adhering being” (Ichhaftes Sein), is that despite its peculiarity and incomparability to any other mode of being, only the ontological foundations of the real being in general might enable a faithful comprehension of the I. The phenomenological interpretation suggested in this article presents CM’s ontological understanding of the I vis-a-vis her philosophy of Being, in particular in regard to three of its (...) general characteristics – existence, intelligibility, and self-adherence (Sichheit/Selbsthaftigkeit) – which provide the critical approach to the ontological study of the I. Finally, the understanding of the ontological exclusivity of the I-adhering being is achieved by means of an explication of the joining together of its typical affinities and discrepancies in regard to Being in general. (shrink)

Mechanistic models are built using knowledge as the primary information source, with well-established biological and physical laws determining the causal relationships within the model. Once the causal structure of the model is determined, parameters must be defined in order to accurately reproduce relevant data. Determining parameters and their values is particularly challenging in the case of models of pathophysiology, for which data for calibration is sparse. Multiple data sources might be required, and data may not be in a uniform or (...) desirable format. We describe a calibration strategy to address the challenges of scarcity and heterogeneity of calibration data. Our strategy focuses on parameters whose initial values cannot be easily derived from the literature, and our goal is to determine the values of these parameters via calibration with constraints set by relevant data. When combined with a covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES), this step-by-step approach can be applied to a wide range of biological models. We describe a stepwise, integrative and iterative approach to multiscale mechanistic model calibration, and provide an example of calibrating a pathophysiological lung adenocarcinoma model. Using the approach described here we illustrate the successful calibration of a complex knowledge-based mechanistic model using only the limited heterogeneous datasets publicly available in the literature. (shrink)

Objectives: Self-compassion functions as a psychological buffer in the face of negative life experiences. Considering that suicidal thoughts and behaviors and non-suicidal self-injury are often accompanied by intense negative feelings about the self, self-compassion may have the potential to alleviate these negative attitudes and feelings toward oneself. This meta-analysis investigated the associations of self-compassion with STBs and NSSI.Methods: A literature search finalized in August 2020 identified 18 eligible studies, including 8,058 participants. Two studies were longitudinal studies, and the remainder were (...) cross-sectional studies. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using CMA 3.0. Subgroup analyses, meta-regression, and publication bias analyses were conducted to probe potential sources of heterogeneity.Results: With regard to STBs, a moderate effect size was found for self-compassion. Positively worded subscales exhibited statistically significant effect sizes: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. For NSSI, a small effect size was found for self-compassion. There was a large heterogeneity, and publication bias was minimal. Subgroup analysis results showed that sample characteristic was a moderator, such that a larger effect size was witnessed in clinical patients than sexually/racially marginalized individuals, college students, and healthy-functioning community adolescents.Conclusions: Self-compassion was negatively associated with STBs and NSSI, and the effect size of self-compassion was larger for STBs than NSSI. More evidence is necessary to gauge a clinically significant protective role that self-compassion may play by soliciting results from future longitudinal studies or intervention studies. (shrink)

Abstract This thesis presents a comprehensive epistemological framework that challenges the traditional conception of mind as an abstract, transcendent entity independent of reality. Instead, it proposes a Composite Epistemology that reconceptualizes the mind as a multi-leveled system fed by diverse inputs and operating through dynamic equilibrium between perception and reality. The theory introduces the Composite Mind Model (AM–CM–CA–SM), which integrates four hierarchical cognitive levels: Abstract Mind, Composite Mind, Conscious Awareness, and Supreme Mind. Through philosophical critique, neuroscientific evidence, and Islamic epistemological (...) traditions, this work establishes an interactive theory of knowledge that synthesizes innate disposition (fitrah), sensory perception, testimony (khabar), experience, and cognitive opposition as fundamental sources of knowledge. The thesis further addresses the problem of consciousness in scientific theorizing, proposing a rationalized idealism that views consciousness as a predictive mechanism entangled with matter, rather than separate from it. This foundational work aims to bridge the gap between classical philosophy, contemporary neuroscience, and Islamic intellectual heritage, offering a unified model for understanding human cognition and knowledge acquisition. (shrink)

Based on the work done in [][] in the o‐minimal and geometric settings, we study expansions of models of a supersimple theory with a new predicate distiguishing a set of forking‐independent elements that is dense inside a partial type, which we call H‐structures. We show that any two such expansions have the same theory and that under some technical conditions, the saturated models of this common theory are again H‐structures. We prove that under these assumptions the expansion is supersimple and (...) characterize forking and canonical bases of types in the expansion. We also analyze the effect these expansions have on one‐basedness and CM‐triviality. In the one‐based case, when T has SU‐rank and the SU‐rank is continuous, we take to be the type of elements of SU‐rank and we describe a natural “geometry of generics modulo H” associated with such expansions and show it is modular. (shrink)

After a long time, people are still debating over “Cartesian-like Dualism” (CLD), i.e. towards the separation of “res-extensa” from “res-cogitans”. Since we suspect that this is due to a general attraction of mind towards the darkness of metaphysics, we have investigated the mental origin of this attraction. In human mind, we can envisage three different functional levels emerging one from the other like in a Matrioska; the three levels cause the arousal of as many forms of “dualisms”: 1) The 1st-level (...) corresponds to the “Dual-state” of mind, an archetypic dualism made of Unconscious Mind (UM, the domain of biophysical/biochemical signals) and Conscious Mind (CM, the domain of thoughts, images and sounds), genetically committed to reciprocal and fruitful interactions. 2) the 2nd-level corresponds to “Double-perspective” dualism; it emerges from CM’s splitting into two opposite perspectives: the 1st-order perspective (1PP) (subjective, emotional, Self-oriented, etc.) and the 3rd-order perspective (3PP) (rational, objective, Self-detached, etc.), that are in psychological contraposition. During individual growth, Ego-sense installs in CM with the illusion of possessing FW, and dominates 1PP. Conversely, 3PP is typically interested in scientific argumentations and investigations; so, 3PP confutes 1PP’s convictions on scien-tific bases (e.g. 1PP’s conviction that the binomial Ego-FW is real). Yet, on the one hand, 3PP hasn’t got a scientific alternative to explain “who we really are”, on the other hand, 1PP exhibits a great success in everyday life cognition. Then, we necessarily step over the dualism of the 3rd-level, “Cartesian-like Dualism” (CLD). The emotional origin of this CLD holds back 1PP’s trick to claim its supremacy over 3PP. (shrink)

The violation of editorial independence by the CMA seriously damaged trust in CMAJ and raises questions whether the CMA can operate a truly independent journalOn February 20, 2006, John Hoey and Anne Marie Todkill, the two most senior editors of the Canadian Medical Association Journal were fired by the journal’s publisher, Graham Morris. At first, CMA spokespersons said that the firing had been planned for some time based on a desire to “refresh” the journal. Later they refused to offer any (...) explanation, and weeks later they declared that there had been “irreconcilable differences,” without specifying anything more. After the journal’s editorial board tried fruitlessly to convince the Canadian Medical Association to reinstate the dismissed editors, I resigned from the editorial board. I had been a member since 1999. My letter of resignation to the CMA’s president made these points:" “By interfering with the editorial autonomy of two outstanding editors and firing them without explanation, you have provoked a scandal that will be long remembered as a blot on Canadian Medicine. … Despite the acknowledged success of the CMAJ, you gave no cause for the editors’ dismissals. … You caused the editors to be fired without consultation with major members of the Journal Oversight Committee. … In your public comments, you were even disingenuous about whether the editors were fired. … In answering to the issue of the editors’ departure, you have hidden behind a veil of bureaucratic legalisms, and by arguing that the Editorial Board knows only “one side,” you have left the impression that the editors have done something nefarious. Thereby, you have besmirched the good names and reputations of the editors. … You have mounted a PR campaign to “spin” public opinion at the expense of honest, respectable and hard working … ". (shrink)

How might science and technology studies and science, technology and society studies learn from its studies of other knowledge traditions? This article explores this question by looking at Chinese medicine. The latter has been under pressure from modernization and “scientization” for a century, and the dynamics of these pressures have been explored “symmetrically” within STS and related disciplines. But in this work, CM has been the “the case” and STS theory has held stable. This article uses a CM term, reasoning-as-propensity, (...) to look at contemporary practices of cancer care in a hospital in Taiwan. It describes how shi informed the design of a new decoction, Kuan Sin Yin, while also relating to the production of scientific knowledge, biomedical interventions, Buddhist practices, and the patients living with cancer themselves. Does CM’s use of shi simply confirm the essential and incompatible otherness of CM? Looked at from outside the answer seems to be yes. However, this article explores how STS might change itself—and the theory–practice division in STS—by thinking through shi in dialogue with its othered object. This opens the possibility of an STS for CM. (shrink)

La primera parte de este escrito está dedicada a la tesis de Frank (1988), según la cual, la evolución de los sentimientos morales y la presencia de ellos en la toma de decisiones explica la ocurrencia de comportamientos no-oportunistas y su amplia propagación. Me interesa introducir la tesis de Frank en este escrito, porque allí se argumenta que ciertos mecanismos biológicos resultan, en últimas, en acciones que caracterizamos como acciones morales; específicamente, aquellas que relacionamos con nuestros compromisos con la sinceridad (...) y la honestidad. La segunda parte del artículo está dedicada, principalmente, a discutir el papel que puede tener la razón en la toma de decisiones en un contexto moral de acción (CMA). El objetivo de este artículo es ofrecer argumentos a favor del determinismo biológico-ambiental en un CMA, pues una explicación del porqué cierta elección es tomada racionalmente puede ser expresada satisfactoriamente en términos evolutivos, dejando espacio a la posibilidad de que la elección se encuentre, de algún modo, programada previamente. (shrink)

O objectivo principal deste artigo consiste em chamar a atenção para os problemas levantados pela ausência de quaestiones anexas a Metafísica XII. Partindo de uma série de remissões explícitas para temas a desenvolver no contexto daquele escrito aristotélico, feitas por Fonseca em vários passos que ocorrem nos tomos I, II e III dos seus Comentários à Metafísica de Aristóteles, constata-se que era intenção sua desenvolver, naquele lugar, temas ligados ao discurso filosófico sobre Deus, seus atributos, omnipotência e librerdade divinas, contingência (...) bem como tudo o que se refere às "substâncias separadas". Insto indica claramente que a metafísica de Fonseca se encontra inacabada no sentido em que não chegou a ser publicado o texto sobreum núcleo doutrinal importante, projectado desde o início da redacçã dos CMA para ser publicado no quarto tomo. Este facto deve ser tido em consideração em qualquer tentativa de interpretação global do pensamento de Fonseca e, sobretudo, na comparação com outras ontologias efectivamente acabadas, no sentido indicado. Suárez é o caso mais óbvio mas não o único. /// L'objectif principal de cet article consiste à attirer l'attention sur les problèmes posés par l'absence de quaestiones annexes à la Métaphysique XII. En partant d'une série de renvois explicites vers des thèmes à développer dans le contexte de cet écrit aristotélicien, renvois faits par Fonseca à plusieurs endroits des tomes 1, 2 et 3 de ses Commentaires à la Métaphysique d'Aristote, on constate que son intention était de développer, à cet endroit, des thèmes liés au discours philosophique sur Dieu, sur ses attributs, toute-puissance et liberté divines, à la contingence ainsi qu'à tout ce qui se rapporte aux "substances séparées". Cela signifie clairement que la Métaphysique de Fonseca se trouve inachevée au sens où n'a pas réussi à être publié le texte sur un point doctrinal important projeté dès le début de la rédaction des C.M.A. pour être publié dans le quatrième tome. Ce fait doit été tenu en ligne de compte dans toute tentative d'interprétation globale de la pensée de Fonseca et, surtout, dans comparaison avec d'autres ontologies effectivement achevées, au sens indiqué. Suarez est le cas le plus net, mais non le seul. /// This paper starts from the fact that the 4th volume of Fonseca's Commentariorum in Meiaphysicorum Aristotelis Stagiritae libros (CMA) contains no quaestiones to Met. XII. An analysis of several explicit remissions to topics and questions to be developed in the context of that Aristotelian script (Met. XII), made by Fonseca in several places in volumes I, II and HI of his CMA, reveals that his project was, from the beginning, to develop in the IV volume the subjects related to the philosophical discourse about God, divine attributes, omnipotence and freedom, contingency as well as to the 'separate substances'. This indicates clearly that the metaphysics of Fonseca remained unfinished given the fact that the text on an important thematic cluster was not published not withstanding the inclusion of such text in the original project of Fonseca. It is sustained that this fact should be taken in due consideration in any global interpretation of Fonseca's thought as well as in any comparison with other (finished) ontologies. Suárez is the most obvious case but not the only one. (shrink)

Increasingly, genomic analysis is being utilized to diagnose children with developmental delay or dysmorphic facial features suggestive of a congenital disorder. Genetic testing has rapidly evolved, and the genome-wide tests that we use today are significantly different from the more targeted single-gene tests of the last decade. Chromosomal microarray analysis is now a first line test for children with multiple birth defects, children with intellectual impairment, and children with an unusual constellation of symptoms that do not fit with a known (...) disease. There are three types of CMA that are currently clinically available. CMA by oligonucleotide array-based comparative genomic hybridization compares the hybridization signal from the patient's DNA to that of a reference DNA sample for each oligonucleotide on the array. Depending on the specific array, this can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of oligonucleotides. (shrink)

The Royal Society possesses three long-focus simple lenses of diameters 195, 210 and 230 mm, all inscribed with the signature ‘C. Huygens’ and various dates in the year 1686. These prove to have been made by Constantine Huygens, the elder brother of the famous Christiaan Huygens. All three lenses have been examined by a variety of physical and chemical methods, both to define their optical characteristics and to establish the composition of dated samples of late-seventeenth-century Continental glass. The focal lengths (...) of 37·9, 50·1 and 65·2 metres found by combination agree with Huygens' own values of 122, 170 and 210 feet respectively, and are so great that practical employment of the lenses in aerial telescopes has rarely been achieved. All are made from the same very poor glass—a heterogeneous and discoloured potash-rich ‘forest glass’—with a refractive index of 1·516, a costringence of 60, and a density of 2·5 g cm−3. The three lenses were ground with just two concave laps, of radii of curvature 27·11 and 71·15 metres, one lens being plano-convex to a high degree of accuracy. A claim by previous investigators that one lens was a ‘light flint’ glass has been disproved. (shrink)

The lodestone is an extremely rare form of the mineral magnetite that occurs naturally as a permanent magnet. It therefore attracts metallic iron as well as fragments of ordinary ‘inert’ magnetite. This ‘magic’ property was known to many ancient cultures, and a powerful lodestone has always commanded a high price. By the eleventh century AD the Chinese had discovered that a freely suspended elongated lodestone would tend to set with its long axis approximately north–south, and utilized this property in the (...) magnetic compass. They also appear to have discovered that this invaluable characteristic could be handed‐on to a steel needle if the latter were contacted with, or stroked by, a lodestone.The magnetism of the lodestone was scientifically investigated by William Gilbert in the sixteenth century, when he defined its ‘poles' and the well‐known rule that ‘like poles repel, unlike attract’. He also studied ‘inclination’ and ‘variation’, and means to aid the preservation of magnetic power. How to concentrate it by ‘arming’ the lodestone with caps or pole‐pieces of soft iron was discovered in the same century. These methods have been repeated, confirmed, and improved. The lodestone occupies a vital place in the history of magnetism, but little beyond Gilbert's work can be reached by historical studies because vastly improved steel or alloy permanent magnets, and electromagnets, replaced it before quantitative measurements were developed. These techniques have therefore been applied retrospectively to both museum specimens and contemporary natural lodestones. A good source of the latter was found to be the igneous complex known as Magnet Cove, Arkansas, and this material has been used as the ‘type example’. All specimens were discrete, well‐rounded, rusty brown pebbles found near the surface. Their unweathered interiors were black titanomagnetite. No significant trace element or crystallographic differences could be found between the lodestones and the magnetically inert material that always accompanied them. The magnetic moment per unit volume of the ‘as‐found’ Magnet Cove lodestones varied between 6.5 and 11.6 emu cm−3, which compares poorly with the hundreds of units characteritzing modern permanent magnets. Hysteresis loops gave a saturation intensity of 27–51 emu cm−3, suggesting that intensity has diminished since formation. This agrees with general experience of magnets, especially in the absence of a ‘keeper’. The initial volume susceptibility of Magnet Cove magnetite was about 0.18 for low fields, and always remained <1. This means that a normal terrestrial magnetic field with a maximum vector <1 Oe is unable to induce even the low magnetic moments we see today, while a field approaching 1000 Oe is required for saturation. These parameters, and the rare occurrence of lodestones as near‐surface fragments, support suggestions that they are the product of a lightning strike upon an exposure of a suitable magnetite. Transient currents averaging 30 000 A have been measured. This would give rise to a zone of potential magnetic saturation at least 12 cm in diameter, to which some of the ejected fragments would be exposed. An attempt to determine the period elapsed since formation of the Magnet Cove lodestone was made by annealing magnetically saturated specimens at temperatures up to 500°C, and measuring J v at weekly intervals for 100 days. The decay curves visually resembled exponential functions, but mathematical tests proved that they were not strictly so. Interpretation was therefore difficult, but a pragmatic procedure involving excessive extrapolation suggested an ‘age’ of about 3500 years. (shrink)

Detection of genetic aberrations in prenatal samples, obtained through amniocentesis or chorion villus biopsy, is increasingly performed using chromosomal microarray (CMA), a technique that can uncover both aneuploidies and copy number variants throughout the genome. Despite the obvious benefits of CMA, the decision on implementing the technology is complicated by ethical issues concerning variant interpretation and reporting. In Belgium, uniform guidelines were composed and a shared database for prenatal CMA findings was established. This Belgian approach sparks discussion: it is evidence-based, (...) prevents inconsistencies and avoids parental anxiety, but can be considered paternalistic. Here, we reflect on the cultural and moral bases of the Belgian reporting system of prenatally detected variants. (shrink)

In the face of what has been referred to as a crystal methamphetamine ‘‘epidemic’’ among gay men in North America, a number of health promotion efforts have been developed. While these efforts vary in approach, a core feature is the assumption that a user’s health depends on distinguishing accurate truths about CMA from inaccurate beliefs about CMA. Drawing on insights developed by Bruno Latour, this article unravels how this distinction plays out in the context of one expression of CMA health (...) promotion. I suggest that CMA health promotion may be more usefully understood as form of collective work in which various players throw up different knowledge practices for debate rather than an effort to mark the difference between truth and belief. In doing so, I suggest that of Latour, and science studies more generally, offers an opportunity for rethinking the nature of health promotion writ large. (shrink)

Tefsir literatüründe icmâ konusuna atıfta bulunan birçok tefsir kaynağına rastlamak mümkündür. Özellikle klasik dönem tefsirlerinde icmâın ciddi bir karşılığı mevcuttur. Bu açıdan bakıldığında tefsir ilminde icmâın hangi gerçekliğe karşılık geldiği, Müslüman âlimlerin tamamının bir âyetin anlamı üzerinde ittifak etmelerinin pratik anlamda mümkün olup olmadığı gibi soruların cevaplandırılması, bu meselenin tefsir literatüründeki yerinin anlaşılması açısından son derece önemlidir. Klasik dönemde bu önemli isimlerden biri, Taberî’dir (öl. 310/923). Onun Câmiʿu’l-beyân adlı tefsiri incelendiğinde icmâı tefsir ilminin beslendiği temel kaynaklarından biri olarak konumlandırdığı görülmektedir. (...) Taberî, birçok âyetin tefsirinde icmâ deliline atıfta bulunmakta ve bu delilden hareketle selefin görüşlerini değerlendirmeye tabi tutmaktadır. Bu yönüyle o, icmâ delilini, tefsirinin temel kaynaklarından biri olarak görmektedir. Taberî icmâ delilini çok yönlü kullanmaktadır. Tespit edildiği kadarıyla o, kimi zaman doğrudan icmâ ifadesine atıfta bulunarak ilgili âyette ittifak olduğunu belirtmektedir. Böylelikle âyetin tefsirini spesifik bir anlamla sınırlandırmaktadır. Bazen de anlam açısından birbirini tamamlayıcı görüşleri, ihtilaf penceresinden değerlendirmeyerek âyetin tüm anlamlarının doğruluğunu ortaya çıkaran icmâa işaret etmektedir. Bu bakış açısıyla o, âyetin işaret ettiği tüm mânaların doğruluğunu vurgulamaktadır. Bununla beraber Taberî, icmâ kelimesini mutlak anlamdaki ittifak mânasında kullanmadığı birçok âyet yorumunun mevcut olduğu da dikkat çekmektedir. Nitekim o, bir-iki kişinin, âyetlerin yorumunda cumhura muhalefet etmesine itibar etmemekte ve sayıca az kişilerin, genel kanaatin aksine olacak tercihlerini icmâa halel görmemektedir. Dolayısıyla Taberî’nin tefsirinde icmâın hücceti ve bağlayıcılığı açıktır. Bu çalışma tümevarım yöntemiyle Taberî’nin perspektifinden hareketle icmâ delilinin tefsir literatüründeki yerini ortaya koymayı hedeflemektedir. Bu yapılırken de alanın önemli isimlerinden Taberî’nin tefsiri merkeze alınacak ve yer yer mukayeseli okumalar yapılacaktır. (shrink)

Abū Ishāq al-Isfarāyīnī (d. 418/1027) was one of the prominent figures of Khorasan Shafiʻīsm and a jurist among the Aṣḥāb al-Wujūh. He received education in Irāq from important scholars in the fields of theology (kalām), jurisprudence (fiqh), principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), and hadīth. After returning to Nishabur, he taught at a madrasa built in his name. He trained students such as ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī (d. 429/1037-38), Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Ṭabarī (d. 450/1058), Abu al-Qāsim al-Isqāf al-Isfarāyīnī (d. 452/1060), Abu al-Rabīʿ Ilākī (...) (d. 465/1073), and Abu al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072), who later influenced the course of Shāfiʿīsm. He authored works as an important hadith scholar and Ashʿarī theologian. Although most of these works have not survived to the present day, we learn about his views through excerpts from them. He held views, reflected in the prin-ciples of jurisprudence, that led to criticism for being influenced by the Muʿtazila. Despite being a theologian, his adoption of the jurists' method in jurisprudence further emphasizes the importance of his views. The aim of this study is to reveal Abū Ishāq al-Isfarāyīnī's thoughts on the principles of jurisprudence, specifically in the areas of hadīth, consensus (ijmā), indepen-dent reasoning (ijtihād), and imitation (taqlīd), and to identify their reflecti-ons on the Shāfiʿī school of jurisprudence. Since there is no specific study on Abū Ishāq al-Isfarāyīnī’s thoughts on jurisprudence in our country, we beli-eve that this research will contribute to future studies on his legal scholarship. (shrink)

The early period Ismaili jurist Al-Qādî al-Nu'mān appears as an important figure in the formation of Ismaili jurisprudence. There is very little information about Kadı Nu'mân's family, childhood, education and intellectual environment. His full name is Abû Hanîfah Nu'man b. Muhammad b. Mansûr al-Qādî at-Tamîmî Al Qayrawānî. He was born around 290/903 (late 3rd (9th) century) into an educated family in Qayravan in North Africa. There are different opinions about the sect he belonged to when he was growing up. On (...) the other hand, it is difficult to say for certain whether Nu’mān received education in the Ismaili sect due to the understanding of taqiyya in the madhhab. However, it is understood from the basic jurisprudence texts Nu’mān wrote that he most likely did not receive a Sunni education. Historians refer to him as 'Qadi Nu’mān or Abu Hanifah al-Shi'i' in order not to confuse him with the imam of the Hanafi school. Qādî Nu’mān served at different levels of the Fatimid State. Around 313/925, he entered the service of the first Fatimid caliph, Mahdi (r. 909-934 CE/297-322 AH), as a copyist and secretary. During the reigns of the third caliph Mansur and the fourth Fatimid caliph Mu’izz (d. 365/975), Qādî Nu’mān first served as a judge in Tripoli and then in Mansouriya, the Fatimid capital. After the Fatimids conquered Egypt and the center of government was moved to Cairo, Qādî Nu’mān was appointed by the fourth caliph Mu’izz as the head of the appellate courts (maẓālim). Qadi Numans career was at the peak in the period of Caliph Muiz. Qādî Nu’mān worked as a judge in the Fatimid State for about twenty-six years and continued this duty until his death in 363 (973). After the fall of the Fatimid caliphate, there haven’t been any other Fatimid or Ismaili jurists. Qādî Nu’mān is considered by contemporary Ismaili writers as a figure who systematically transformed Ismaili fiqh into an independent sect of fiqh. It can be said that Ismaili fiqh was developed through his works in the Fatimid period. His works continued as the main references in the fiqh studies and after the Fatimid period. With the death of Qādî Nu’mān, the period of ijtihad in Ismaili fiqh and its the establishment phase of Ismaili fiqh came to an end; The sect, in which esoteric interpretations were at the forefront, emerged as a distinctive school of fiqh by discarding ambiguity. Qādî Nu’mān was a very productive writer. He wrote important works related to the field of furu al-fiqh and usûl al-fiqh. Among his works, Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib is undoubtedly one of the most important works in the early history of fiqh methodology. The work in question, which was originally written with the aim of rejecting the Sunni fiqh method, discusses the approaches of the Sunni schools of fiqh on ikhtilāf, taqlid, ijma, nazar, qiyas, istihsan, ijtihad and ra’y in a polemical manner. It reveals the differences of the Ismaili method from the Sunni method in terms of the sources on which the fiqh is based, the authority to make ijtihad and the theory of interpretation of the texts. Qādî Nu’mān examined the relationship between reason and revelation in general and the role of religious authority in comprehending and interpreting the texts while criticizing Sunni methods. Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib has the characteristics of the works of development period as a form. It is possible to observe the question-answer and dialectic form which can be seen in the works of the development period throughout the work in question. Qādî Nu’mān endeavoured to persuade his opponents with a dialectical and argumentative style. Again, he replied to the Sunnis, who were his interlocutors, with their own proofs. In addition to these, Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib has a unique feature in the matter of content. Because it is not very familiar to any Sunni handbook of usûl al-fiqh. It does not mention the hâss, âmm, ijma, qiyas, amir, nahy, alfaz bets, etc. The text is very similar to the Ahbari movement of the Jafari sect for it rejects all forms of ijtihad. It was written at a time when fiqh was not yet stable. Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib gives us crucial information about the development of different usûl and fiqh sources in the middle of the fourth century. However, what is interesting here is that the information he gives about Ismaili method and fiqh is very little compared to the one about Sunni method and fiqh. Much of it centered on Sunni thought and its rejection. However, his ultimate goal was to defend the Ismaili doctrine. (shrink)

Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn al-Marwarrūdhī is one of the important representatives of Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School. Al-Ta‘līḳa is his famous work, which is one of the first commentaries of al-Muzanī’s Mukḫtaṣar. One of the important features of this work is the introduction to some of the subjects of ijtihād (process of juristic legal reasoning), taqlīd (acting upon the word of another without asking for specific proof), ijmā‘ (consensus of jurists) and view’s of the companions of the Prophet. The first systematic, complete and detailed (...) works of uṣūl al-fiqh (Islamic legal theory) that belonged to the Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School have reached to the present day belong to the second half of the V./XI. century. Making research on the studies which were done about uṣūl al-fiqh and formed the basis of this period is essential to follow the development of uṣūl al-fiqh of the Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School. Transfer of the uṣūl al-fiqh in al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn al-Marwarrūdhī’s al-Ta‘līḳa make it possible to determine the literatüre, which was formed in Khurāsān region in the period from the death of Shāfi‘ī to the first half of the V./XI. century until the first half of the Khurāsān region, which allows the determination of the uṣūl al-fiqh. In this study, on the basis of ijmā‘, al-Qāḍî Ḥusayn al-Marwarrūdhī’s method in al-Ta‘līḳa will be examined.Summary: Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn al-Marwarrūdhī is considered to be one of the most important representatives of the Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School. In addition to receiving fiqh education from al-Qaffāl al-Marwazī, who is accepted as the founder of the Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School in Shāfiʿī fiqh circles. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn, one of the most distinguished students of al-Qaffāl al-Marwazī, has become one of the important bearers of the fiqh heritage of Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School. The fact that the epithet “el-kāḍî” is used in the works of Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School to absolutely refer to al-Qāḍî Ḥusayn, is another issue that shows his being authority on fiqh. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn al-Marwarrūdhī has accomplished many works in the field of fiqh. The most famous and most important work of al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn is the al-Ta‘lîḳa, written according to the Mukḫtaṣar arrangement style of al-Muzanī. He is often cited as the author of the well-known work al-Ta‘lîḳa in the sect. Al-Ta‘lîḳa, commonly cited in fiqh studies to refer to the views of al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn, is one of the first commentary on Mukḫtaṣar by Muzanī. With these characteristics, al-Ta‘lîḳa is one of the outstanding manuscripts for exploring the fiqh legacy of the Khurāsān Shāfi‘ī School. Another important feature of this text is that uṣūl al-fiqh issues such as ijtihād, taqlīd, ijmā‘ and view’s of the companions of the Prophet (qawl al-ṣaḥābah) have been covered in the introduction of the work. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn discusses the issues of evidentiality and types of ijmā‘ and ijmā‘ of ṣaḥābah in the chapter on ijmā‘ in al-Ta‘lîḳa. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn also handles the debates on view’s of the companions of the Prophet in the section on ijmā‘ of ṣaḥābah. It is also seen that the proofs proposed for evidentiality of ijmā since Shāfiʿī’s period became more versatile and differed. The fact that the arguments al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn cites in the chapter of the evidences of ijmā‘ were also mentioned by his contemporary, al-Māwardī, an Iraqi Shāfiʿī jurist, points out the accumulation of knowledge in terms of proofs of ijmā. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn makes two related distinctions that are fundamentally related to the types of ijmā. The first is the division between ijmā supporters, those who argue for knowability of ijmā, and their opponents. According to this, ijmā is divided into two parts as ‘āmm (general public) ijmā‘ and khāṣṣ (scholars) ijmā‘. Opposition to ‘āmm ijmā‘, such as fardhs (obligations) in prayer, rawātib sunnah (the practice that the Prophet regularly performed) and feast prayer requires kufr (blasphemy). Al-Qāḍî Ḥusayn, who considers issues such as ‘awl (a sharing method in Islamic inheritance law), mut‘a marriage (a type of temporary marriage) and riba’l-faḍl (interest in exchange or sale transactions) which are seen as controversial ijmā‘ issues in literature, as khāṣṣ ijmā‘ and evaluates opposition to this type of ijmā‘ as fisq (impiety). The second division al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn makes is between ijmā‘ based on the text and apparent comparison, and the ijmā‘ based on hidden comparison. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn thinks that the opposition to ijmā‘ that is based on ijtihād or the text in terms of sanad (chain of narrators), requires blasphemy. In a sense, this is to accept ijmā‘ as a provision on an equal basis and to reduce the distinctions of ijmā‘ to literary level. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn also discusses evidentiality of qawl al-ṣaḥābah in connection with the issues of ijmā‘. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn opposes the thesis that ijmā‘ is only limited to companions’ era and argues that it can be realized in any century after the Prophet. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn, who discusses ṣaḥābah’s ijmā‘ under two categories: the views of ṣaḥābah that have gained prevalence among other ṣaḥābahs and those that have not gained prevalence among other companions, argues for evidentiality of qawl al-ṣaḥābah, which have gained prevalence and known not to be opposed. He provides significant information on ijmā‘ discussion in Shāfi‘ī fiqh methods with regard to the evidentiality of this type of qawl al-ṣaḥābah, which is referred ijmā‘ al-suqūtī (consensus based on lack of opposition-silence). The knowledge al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn cites with regard to the evidentiality of qawl al-ṣaḥābah which have not gained prevalence among other ṣaḥābahs differs from Māwardī, one of his contemporary, and his predecessors. The fact that he cites Shāfi‘ī’s previous and latest views with regard to the state of such qawl al-ṣaḥābah in the face of qiyās (legal analogy) enables him to make comparison using uṣūl material available in his era. Al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn, who mentions debatable issues among ṣaḥābah, makes controversial narrations. While al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn reports that there is not any conflict on the argument that it is legitimate to express a third view with regard to issues on which ṣaḥābah is divided in two groups and fall into conflict, his contemporary al-Māwardī and other Shāfi‘ī jurists report that it is not legitimate to propose a third view on such an issue as there is ijmā‘ on these issues. (shrink)

Ijmā is ranked as the third shariah evidence after the Qur’ān and Sunnah in the science of Uṣūl. Shafi was the first one who made Uṣūl which had been known and used by the Islamic scholars, into a written document and who ascertained that Ijmā was the third of the shariah evidences. Kalām is one of the sciences in which Ijmā evidence is used. The scholars of Kalām used this evidence as far as the science of Uṣūl made it possible. (...) They always used it without changing any basics of religious beliefs and acceptances. That the aqidah of Ahl al-Sunnah has been supported with Ijmā which is regarded as one of naqly evidences, played an important role in eliminating suspicions which were tried to be aroused in momins’ mind. In this article, the function and importance of Ijmā evidence, which is one of the primary sources of the science of Uṣūl, in the science of Kalām and Aqidah of Ahl al-Sunnah has been studied.SummaryWhat the Qur’ān demands from us is to emphasize the spirit of unity among ummah and to keep out the factors that could trigger separation and division. Indeed, Allah emphasizes in the following verses in the Qur’ān on the protection of the unitary structure of the ummah: “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided” (Āl a-Imrān 3/103) and “And do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them” (Āl al-Imrān 3/105). Allah has commanded the Ulul ‘Azm Prophets to hold the religion upright and to avoid division. (al-Shūrā 42/13). The command of holding the religion upright and not to be divided in this religion means to certify what needs to be confirmed in the religion of Allah and to obey those that must be obeyed. This is also the proclamation of the principle of religion that all the prophets have consensus over.Ahl al-Sunnah understanding of Islam is identical to the understanding of the Prophet and his companions. For this reason, Ahl al-Sunna is the school that represents the main backbone of Islam. In Ahl al-Sunna, in many subjects, be it usūlî / primary or furū’ī / secondary, there has been ijmā. These ijmās are Sahaba ijmās and deductive ijmās that come from mutakallimūn (theologians) ijtihāds. Therefore, ijmā and ijtihād are closely connected to each other. Ijmā is supported by ijtihād and ijtihād is also the source of ijmā. Thus, the issue is no longer just a pure ijtihād; it turns out to be a degree that gives a solid knowledge after it has risen to some degree just after the nass/texts.Ahl al- Sunnah theologians are talking about two kinds of ijmā. The first is “ijmā taṣdīqī” (approval consensus) which is the consensus based on Sahaba İjmā. These are the ijmās that occur on the principles called ḍaruratal-diniyya (necessities of the religion), and accepted as solid proofs in religion. Issues such as the principles of faith, obligation of prayer and the fasting are the subjects that are determined by the solid/definite ijmā. Such ijmās are valid approvals on existing provisions. These ijmās based on solid nass (verses and hadiths). Such ijmās do not give any new information. The existing information is strengthened by the alliance of Muslims. In these areas, ijtihād cannot be done and Muslims do not need ijtihād on these issues. There is an consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah scholars about the unfaithfulness of the one who denies one or more of the principles which are accepted as the main obligatory principles in Islam. The other is the “deductive ijmā which the ijtihāds have roles over. This kind of ijmās, are formed as a result of mujtahids’ consensus over the same opinion on the issue of theological secondary issues. The issues related to the secondary theological issues which were open to the ijtihāds and the different results obtained on matters are not accepted as the cause of takfīr. However, depending on the subject he/she can be a sinner. Istidlālī/deductive ijmās are not considered as an independent proofs in ‘Ilm al-Kalām, rather a supportive ones and are considered as textual evidences.Since, texts that are accepted as sources give supposed information. In this regard, the Ahl al-Sunnah scholars accepted other members of the sect who have in secondary theological issues opposed the ijmā of the salaf / predecessor as Ahl al-Qibla, but named them as Ahl al-Bid’a (innovator in religion) because of their opposition to Salaf’s İjmās. Moreover, the scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah did not see them appropriate to participate in the Ijmās, which could occur between the generations that come after Sahābas/companions.Not all disputes have been criticized in Islam. It is a blessing for the ummah to claim different opinions on the issues subject to ijtihād. Since the ummah, in this way, will bring new solutions to emerging issues and as a result, Islam will have a mechanism to produce a dynamic solution. This can only be possible through ijtihād. Dispute is to propose different views on a subject. If this view is not in the actual matters that could harm the unity of the Ummah, rather in the case of ijtihādi issues, this conflict could turn to be mercy.The reason why the methodists evaluate the ijmā within the scope of the authorized evidence is that because they think it is essential that the ijmā be based on a proof. From this point of view, the alliances that occurred in mental matters were not considered as ijmā. The theologians always tried to support their claims with nass/textual proofs. When the ijmā is realized, whether known or not, they have stated that there is certainly a religious proof behind it. Because, the provisions that were reached through ijmā, cannot be against the provisions of the Prophet.Many issues in Islamic Belief and Kalām works are supported by the mental and textual evidences as well as by deductive ijmā. However, many of the claims of Ijmās in these works reflect the inter-sect ijmās of the Ahl al-Sunnah. The sects outside the Ahl al-Sunnah were excluded. This attitude is, above all, the aim of ensuring the integrity within the sect, and trying to protect the Ahl al-Sunnah belief. Since the ijmā evidence has a function that prevents all kinds of arbitrary and divisive thoughts and turns the supposed knowledge into the qat’ī/certain one, it raises the provision to the next level just after the nass, rather than merely being a ijtihādi provision. In the case of the forerunner of the Ahl al-Sunnah, the Māturīdes and Ash‘arites have not differed in in understanding of ijmā in terms of methodology.Although they have different views on the definition and content of the ijmā, they have a common understanding of alliances of Mujtahids on the same view. The mutakallims (theologians) of Māturīdī and Ash’arī schools have used the proof of ijmā as supportive evidence in the cases related to Kalām. al-Ash’arī not only adopted the proof of ijmā but also used it in practice in. He did not make any distinction in proof of ijmā as practical, theological, methodological or sub-divisional; he used it freely in every field. Māturīdī and Ash’arī scholars decided that the ijmā could occur in religious matters and that there would be evidence when it was formed; In the case of mental issues, they have required the knowledge to be based on solid information. In the case of ijmā in purely mental issues, they have disputed over the issue. While some Ahl al-Sunnah scholars stated that since purely mental matters were certain knowledge and therefore don’t need ijmā, they also ruled that because the mujtahids could get this knowledge from religious texts, therefore ijmā could occur in mental matters as well. (shrink)

This study examines the rejection of consensus (ijmāʿ) based on independent legal reasoning (ijtihād) as a significant critique raised by Ibn Ḥazm (d. 456/1064), a prominent representative of the Ẓāhirī tradition, against the classical uṣūl al-fiqh understanding of ijmāʿ. This issue is primarily analyzed within the context of the characteristic features of the Ẓāhirī school, and the traces of this approach are pursued throughout the study. The study reveals the evidence upon which Ibn Ḥazm rejects ijmāʿ founded on ijtihād, despite (...) its acceptance by the vast majority of uṣūl scholars. Furthermore, Ibn Ḥazm’s approach to the evidence used by the majority (jumhūr) on this matter, drawing from his own sources, is identified. The evidence presented by Ibn Ḥazm concerning the issue is classified into rational (ʿaqlī) and transmitted (naqlī) categories. In substantiating his position, Ibn Ḥazm relies on certain scriptural texts (nuṣūṣ), asserting that the path of the believers is constituted solely by divine revelation (naṣṣ), and that a path not based on revelation cannot be considered the path of the believers. He argues that ijmāʿ, in order to serve as a source of legal ruling, must be formed within the framework of the Qurʾān and the Sunna. Additionally, Ibn Ḥazm emphasizes that the religion, as articulated within the Qurʾān and Sunna, has been perfected, encompasses all aspects of life, and that seeking any evidential source beyond the revealed texts constitutes the innovation of a new religion. Finally, the study addresses certain examples of ijmāʿ that the majority claim are established upon opinion (raʾy) and analogical reasoning (qiyās), and examines Ibn Ḥazm’s approach to these examples within the framework of the Ẓāhirī school to which he belonged. The study demonstrates that in evaluating the issue of ijmāʿ based on ijtihād, Ibn Ḥazm adheres to the Ẓāhirī approach, which places at its center the absolute determinativeness of the revealed text (naṣṣ) in the derivation of divine rulings (ḥukm sharʿī). Consequently, for Ibn Ḥazm, God’s ruling is confined to what He has revealed, and to go beyond this is to add to the religion. In conclusion, this study examines Ibn Ḥazm’s views on the foundation of ijmāʿ within the framework of his Ẓāhirī perspective and elucidates his systematic stance against all human interpretive and inferential mechanisms that lie outside the revealed text. (shrink)

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia which is estimated to impact 350,000 people over 65 years of age in Canada. The lack of effective treatment and the growing number of people who are expected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the near future are compelling reasons why continued research is in this area is necessary. With additional research, there needs to be greater recognition of the complexity of seeking ongoing informed consent from those with Alzheimer’s disease. (...) This complexity is because the impairment of memory and cognitive ability does not diminish in a linear manner, but rather fluctuates between periods of impairment and relatively normal cognitive lucidness. There is limited discussion in the guidelines of those progressing from early stages of Alzheimer’s disease who have intermittent cognitive function. Guidelines to research and Research Ethics Boards require further development to facilitate researcher including those with Alzheimer’s disease while protecting this growing pool of potential participants. (shrink)