Legal interpretations of the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) can and have evolved over time. Interpretation of the statutory term “irreversible” (circulation cannot ever resume) to mean “...

There is a growing consensus among philosophers that quantifying value-laden concepts can be epistemically successful and politically legitimate if all value-laden choices in the process of quantification are aligned with stakeholder values. I argue that proponents of this alignment approach have failed to argue for its basic premise: Successful quantification is sufficiently unconstrained to be achievable along multiple, stakeholder-specific pathways. I then challenge this premise by considering a rare example of successful value-laden quantification in seismology, in which stakeholder values (...) had to be disregarded from measure design and testing. The example motivates my contention that value alignment is not a workable source of political legitimacy for successful programs of quantification. (shrink)

Historically, scientific and engineering expertise has been key in shaping research and innovation policies, with benefits presumed to accrue to society more broadly over time. But there is persistent and growing concern about whether and how ethical and societal values are integrated into R&I policies and governance, as we confront public disbelief in science and political suspicion toward evidence-based policy-making. Erosion of such a social contract with science limits the ability of democratic societies to deal with challenges presented by new, (...) disruptive technologies, such as synthetic biology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, automation and robotics, and artificial intelligence. Many policy efforts have emerged in response to such concerns, one prominent example being Europe's Eighth Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, whose focus on “Responsible Research and Innovation” provides a case study for the translation of such normative perspectives into concrete policy action and implementation. Our analysis of this H2020 RRI approach suggests a lack of consistent integration of elements such as ethics, open access, open innovation, and public engagement. On the basis of our evaluation, we suggest possible pathways for strengthening efforts to deliver R&I policies that deepen mutually beneficial science and society relationships. (shrink)

This paper analyzes human desire beyond frameworks that understand it merely as impulse, lack, motivation, or goal-directedness. It examines the process through which desire is compared with self-image and transformed into a task of self-alignment. Human beings want to eat, rest, be loved, be recognized, experience sexual attraction, create, and live freely. Yet the distinctive character of human desire does not lie simply in the existence of desire itself. Human beings experience desire while also interpreting themselves as beings who (...) have that desire. In this process, desire does not remain a simple state of wanting. It becomes a problem of self-interpretation, raising questions such as “Why do I want this?”, “Is this desire consistent with who I am?”, and “What kind of person am I, if I want this?” To explain this process, this paper proposes the concept of desire self-alignment. Desire self-alignment refers to the process through which human beings interpret and arrange desire within self-understanding when desire conflicts or becomes entangled with self-image, self-worth, relational position, bodily sensation, and the direction of life. This concept is distinct from mere rationalization. Whereas rationalization is closer to a defensive process that retrospectively justifies an already existing desire or action, self-alignment refers to a broader process through which desire is interpreted and positioned in relation to the self from the moment it emerges. This paper reviews existing theories of desire, self-determination theory, social comparison theory, self-discrepancy theory, self-regulation theory, cognitive dissonance, self-verification theory, second-order desire, and sexual script theory, while presenting an analytical focus distinct from these approaches. Existing theories have mainly explained what human beings desire, what levels desire has, what emotions arise from comparison and discrepancy, and how the gap between present and desired states is regulated. By contrast, this paper analyzes the pathways through which desire is processed after it encounters self-image. The model of desire self-alignment proposed in this paper consists of detection of importance, emergence of desire, self-reflection, comparison with self-image, attempted self-alignment, and outcome differentiation. Human beings first experience the moment when something ceases to be irrelevant to them. This detected importance is then transformed into wanting or avoidance. Afterward, human beings reflect on themselves as subjects of desire, compare the desire with their self-image, and attempt to arrange it within their lives. This process branches into integration, adjustment, suppression, defensive justification, fragmentation, and overidentification. Integration occurs when desire is placed within self-understanding and the direction of life. Adjustment occurs when desire is not denied, but its conditions and modes of expression are regulated. Suppression occurs when desire is pushed away as shameful or unacceptable. Defensive justification occurs when desire is protected as unquestionably right without sufficient examination. Fragmentation occurs when desire and self-image cannot be integrated, producing shame, self-loathing, and repetitive thought. Overidentification occurs when the fulfillment or frustration of desire expands into a judgment about the whole value of the self. Thus, the central problem of desire is not simply whether desire is strong or weak, but how desire relates to self-image and how that relation is processed. This paper treats sexual desire as a high-density case in which the structure of desire self-alignment becomes especially visible. Sexual desire has a biological basis, but in human beings it is entangled with bodily response, emotion, cognitive permission, self-image, relational safety, trust, mutuality, shame, gender norms, responsibility, and later memory. Human beings do not experience sexual attraction merely as a bodily response. They ask whether it is love, pleasure, loneliness, a need for recognition, whether it is consistent with their self-image, whether it is safe within a relationship, and whether they can bear its consequences. In this sense, sexual desire shows in compressed form how even basic desire becomes an event of self-interpretation in human beings. This paper also analyzes how contemporary society makes desire self-alignment more difficult. Contemporary society does not simply create desire from nothing. Rather, it activates desire more frequently, makes comparison more immediate, and allows desire to become attached to self-image more easily. Appearance, achievement, relationships, creativity, consumption, status, sexual imagery, and social recognition are continuously displayed and compared. In this environment, human beings may experience the feeling that they are insufficient before they can interpret what they actually desire. The problem of contemporary desire therefore lies not merely in the excess of desire, but in the repeated stimulation of desire before it can be sufficiently self-aligned. This paper further emphasizes that the mere presence of self-consciousness does not automatically guarantee mature desire processing. Self-consciousness creates an interpretive space between desire and action, but this space may lead not only to integration, but also to self-blame, defensive justification, or excessive loops of analysis. Human maturity, therefore, does not consist in the elimination of desire. It consists in the capacity to detect desire, distinguish its sources and meanings, interpret its tension with self-image, and arrange it within the direction of life. In conclusion, this paper locates the distinctive character of human desire not in the emergence of desire itself, but in the fact that desire is compared with self-image and transformed into a problem of self-interpretation. Human beings are not only beings who satisfy desire. They are also beings who ask what kind of beings they are through desire. Desire should therefore be understood not as a mere impulse or lack, but as a core structure through which human beings interpret themselves, arrange their lives, and form the direction of self-understanding. (shrink)

Studies of the evolution of language rely heavily on comparisons to nonhuman primates, particularly the gestural communication of nonhuman apes. Differences between human and ape gestures are largely ones of degree rather than kind. For example, while human gestures are more flexible, ape gestures are not inflexible. In this piece, I closely consider two features of the gestural communication of apes and humans that might display differences in kind: iconicity and temporal alignment. Iconicity has long played a privileged role (...) in theories of gestural language origins, the proposal being that it provided a steppingstone into language through a stage of pantomime. However, iconicity is not as easy as it seems. Evidence from co-speech gestures of hearing children and from homesign suggests that iconic reference is both cognitively complex and slow to develop in humans. There is no conclusive evidence that nonhuman apes understand or produce iconic gestures; some gestures may appear iconic to human observers but the apes themselves may not understand the similarity between form and meaning. Far from providing an easy pathway into the emergence of symbolic communication, iconicity relies on sophisticated capacities for analogy and abstraction, ones often lacking in apes and young children. Temporal alignment between gesture and vocalization is another area that may show sharp contrasts between adult humans and apes, though data here is sparser. I discuss the tight synchronization of gesture and speech that emerges over the first year of life in human children and contrast it with gesture and vocalization in apes, which typically are described as overlapping but not simultaneous. Human ancestors probably communicated in ways similar to other apes, but the dual emergence of the ability to use iconic reference and the alignment of hand and mouth may have set our ancestors down a unique evolutionary road toward language. (shrink)

Rapid technological change creates a persistent alignment problem for technical and vocational education and training (TVET): curricula may be formally linked to an occupation while students still experience weak correspondence between classroom learning and contemporary work. This study examines whether perceived curriculum–job alignment is associated with career commitment among students and recent graduates of Chinese higher vocational New Energy Vehicle (NEV) programs, and whether learning experience mediates that association. A cross-sectional survey produced 354 valid responses from students and (...) recent graduates across multiple higher vocational institutions in one Chinese province. Curriculum–job alignment, learning experience, and career commitment were assessed on five-point scales. Learning experience was modeled as a second-order construct comprising teacher support, authentic resources, practice-oriented assessment, capability activation, and goal clarity. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted, with indirect effects estimated through 5,000 bootstrap samples. The final model showed good fit (χ²/df = 2.12, CFI =.962, TLI =.952, RMSEA =.058, SRMR =.038). Curriculum–job alignment was positively associated with learning experience (β =.41, p <.001) and retained a direct association with career commitment (β =.22, p <.001). Learning experience was positively associated with career commitment (β =.46, p <.001), and the indirect effect was significant (β =.19, 95% CI [.14,.25]). The model explained 61% of the variance in career commitment. The findings indicate that alignment becomes educationally consequential when students experience it through credible teaching, current equipment, authentic assessment, active competence development, and visible career pathways. For fast-changing vocational fields, curriculum reform should therefore connect dynamic task mapping with deliberately designed learning experiences and staged workplace exposure. (shrink)

Vocational curriculum reform is frequently evaluated through formal standards, graduate employment, or employer satisfaction, yet these indicators do not fully explain how learners interpret training as a reason to remain in an occupation. This qualitative study develops an educational mechanism linking curriculum–job alignment, learning experience, and career commitment in Chinese higher vocational New Energy Vehicle (NEV) programs. Twenty-nine participants were theoretically sampled from four positions along the training-to-work pathway: 10 enterprise stakeholders, eight vocational teachers, seven recent graduates, and (...) four current students. Semi-structured interviews elicited concrete accounts of curriculum relevance, teaching, equipment, assessment, workplace exposure, entry readiness, and decisions to stay in or leave NEV technical work. Constant comparison and grounded-theory coding produced 34 initial categories and 13 reported axial categories, which were integrated into four blocks: curriculum–job alignment, learning experience, career commitment, and contextual interaction. The core process is a staged mechanism. Alignment first supplies structural credibility by showing that school tasks correspond to current tools, safety procedures, diagnostic logic, and workplace accountability. Learning experience then internalizes that credibility through teacher boundary-spanning, authentic resources, performance-based assessment, learner activation, and goal clarity. Career commitment is expressed as willingness to stay, professional involvement, and within-field progression planning. Workplace conditions influence whether dissatisfaction produces employer switching or occupational exit. The findings reposition career commitment as an educationally developable outcome rather than a fixed learner disposition. A practical implication is that curriculum updating, pedagogy, assessment, career guidance, and workplace exposure must be governed as one continuous system. Keywords: grounded theory; curriculum–job alignment; career commitment; vocational education; professional identity; New Energy Vehicles. (shrink)

In this chapter we explore viable pathways based on market forces that can get us to a desirable energy future by 2040, and which can in turn help us achieve decarbonization goals by 2050. We seek scalable exponential technologies with steep learning curves that simultaneously address economics and decarbonization. We have shown that exponential technologies can move and grow fast for adoption. However, the grid which is the bridge or the glue that connects everything together in this future decarbonized world (...) will be highly challenged to evolve at the required pace. If utilities and regulators do not move quickly and steer the architecture and evolution of a new future grid that has the characteristics we need, it is likely that the exponential technologies will grow in an uncoordinated manner, and we may then have a chaotic scenario. A preferred solution is to tweak the regulations slightly so that regulated utilities and the technology suppliers can work together, using existing grid assets to the extent possible, and augmenting them with additional layers of twenty-first-century clean technologies, so as to ensure a smooth transition to a desirable future energy system. We want to caution against techno-optimism, where we assume that the simple existence of technical capability solves all problems instantly—but we also do not support techno-pessimism, where one feels that change at the scale we want is simply not possible. Just because it is a heavy lift does not mean we cannot do it. (shrink)

Disagreements are widespread across the design, evaluation, and alignment pipelines of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Yet, standard practices in AI development often obscure or eliminate disagreement, resulting in an engineered homogenization that can be epistemically and ethically harmful, particularly for marginalized groups. In this paper, we characterize this risk, and develop a normative framework to guide practical reasoning about disagreement in the AI lifecycle. Our contributions are two-fold. First, we introduce the notion of perspectival homogenization, characterizing it as a (...) coupled ethical-epistemic risk that arises when an aspect of an AI system's development unjustifiably suppresses disagreement and diversity of perspectives. We argue that perspectival homogenization is best understood as a procedural risk, which calls for targeted interventions throughout the AI development pipeline. Second, we propose a normative framework to guide such interventions, grounded in lines of research that explain why disagreement can be epistemically beneficial, and how its benefits can be realized in practice. We apply this framework to key design questions across three stages of AI development tasks: when disagreement is epistemically valuable; whose perspectives should be included and preserved; how to structure tasks and navigate trade-offs; and how disagreement should be documented and communicated. In doing so, we challenge common assumptions in AI practice, offer a principled foundation for emerging participatory and pluralistic approaches, and identify actionable pathways for future work in AI design and governance. (shrink)

As large language models (LLMs) become more powerful and pervasive across society, ensuring these systems are beneficial, safe, and aligned with human values is crucial. Current alignment techniques, like Constitutional AI (CAI), involve complex iterative processes. This paper argues that the Methodology of Wide Reflective Equilibrium (MWRE) – a well-established coherentist moral methodology – offers a uniquely apt framework for understanding current LLM alignment efforts. In addition, this methodology can substantively augment these processes by offering pathways for improving (...) their dynamic revisability, procedural legitimacy, and overall ethical grounding. Together, these enhancements can help produce more robust and ethically defensible outcomes. MWRE, emphasizing the achievement of coherence between our considered moral judgments, guiding moral principles, and relevant background theories, arguably better represents the intricate reality of LLM alignment and offers a more robust path to justification than prevailing foundationalist models or simplistic input-output evaluations. While current methods like CAI bear a structural resemblance to MWRE, they often lack its crucial emphasis on dynamic, bi-directional revision of principles and the procedural legitimacy derived from such a process. While acknowledging various disanalogies (e.g., consciousness, genuine understanding in LLMs), the paper demonstrates that MWRE serves as a valuable heuristic for critically analyzing current alignment efforts and for guiding the future development of more ethically sound and justifiably aligned AI systems. (shrink)

Planar cell polarity (PCP), the alignment of cells within 2D tissue planes, involves a set of core molecular regulators highly conserved between animals and cell types. These include the transmembrane proteins Frizzled (Fz) and VanGogh and the cytoplasmic regulators Dishevelled (Dsh) and Prickle. It is widely accepted that this core forms part of a ‘PCP pathway’ for signal transduction, which can affect cell morphology through activation of an evolutionary ancient regulatory module involving Rho family GTPases and Myosin II, (...) and/or the JNK kinase cascade. We have re‐examined the evidence for interactions between the proposed PCP pathway components, and question the placing of the cell morphology regulators in the same pathway as the PCP core. While Fz and Dsh are clearly involved in both PCP and Rho‐based cell morphology regulation, available evidence cannot currently discriminate whether these processes are linked mechanistically by a shared Fz/Dsh population, or pass by two distinct pathways. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence companies and researchers are currently working to create Artificial Superintelligence (ASI): AI systems that significantly exceed human problem-solving speed, power, and precision across the full range of human solvable problems. Some have claimed that achieving ASI — for better or worse — would be the most significant event in human history and the last problem humanity would need to solve. In this essay Nicolas Tanchuk argues that current AI literacy frameworks and educational practices are inadequate for equipping the (...) democratic public to deliberate about ASI design and to assess the existential risks of such technologies. He proposes that a systematic educational effort toward what he calls “Deep ASI Literacy” is needed to democratically evaluate possible ASI futures. Deep ASI Literacy integrates traditional AI literacy approaches with a deeper analysis of the axiological, epistemic, and ontological questions that are endemic to defining and risk-assessing pathways to ASI. Tanchuk concludes by recommending research aimed at identifying the assets and needs of educators across educational systems to advance Deep ASI Literacy. (shrink)

The fast–slow paradigm of life history focuses on how individuals grow, mate, and reproduce at different paces. This paradigm can contribute substantially to the field of personality and individual differences provided that it is more strictly based on evolutionary biology than it has been so far. Our study tested the existence of a fast–slow continuum underlying indicators of reproductive effort—offspring output, age at first reproduction, number and stability of sexual partners—in 1,043 outpatients with healthy to severely disordered personalities. Two axes (...) emerged reflecting a double-track pathway to fast strategy, based on restricted and unrestricted sociosexual strategies. When rotated, the fast–slow and sociosexuality axes turned out to be independent. Contrary to expectations, neither somatic effort—investment in status, material resources, social capital, and maintenance/survival—was aligned with reproductive effort, nor a clear tradeoff between current and future reproduction was evident. Finally, we examined the association of LH axes with seven high-order personality pathology traits: negative emotionality, impulsivity, antagonism, persistence-compulsivity, subordination, and psychoticism. Persistent and disinhibited subjects appeared as fast-restricted and fast-unrestricted strategists, respectively, whereas asocial subjects were slow strategists. Associations of LH traits with each other and with personality are far more complex than usually assumed in evolutionary psychology. (shrink)

Scholars have revealed how moral evaluation is woven into formal administrative processes. While research examining these dynamics tends to assume that a person’s naturalized identity (such as race and gender) precedes administrative processing, we argue that social categorization by administrators is the tacit precondition upon which further processing takes place. We make this argument by looking at a set of unusual cases: parole hearings where prisoners fall outside of, conflict with, or move between categories of gender, sexuality, race, and ability. (...) We find that categorization acts as a prerequisite to moral evaluation. When administrators cannot easily categorize a prisoner, they resolve this uncertainty by denying parole. Yet, social categorization can also serve as a pathway to moral approval and administrative allocation. In certain situations, administrators encourage prisoners’ identification with a new social category as proof that they are deserving of parole. In both cases, successful administrative categorization occurs through a combination of what we call narrativization, or crafting a narrative around one’s identity that aligns with administrators’ presumptions, and authorization, or marshalling official evidence from prior classification moments to support identity claims. These insights extend our understanding of classification, moral evaluation, and the administrative reproduction of inequality. (shrink)

Predictive analytics and early warning systems are now widely used in nursing practice worldwide. While these tools can improve efficiency and patient safety, but at the same time posing ethical challenges related to data privacy, algorithmic fairness, accountability, professional autonomy, and patient rights. Through a systematic rapid review, we identify the major ethical risks in nursing contexts and propose actionable governance pathways to inform clinical practice and policy. This study used a systematic rapid review, searching eight databases—PubMed, Embase, Web of (...) Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Ovid, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest—for English-language articles published from 2015 through May 2025. Two reviewers independently screened records and extracted data, with a third reviewer resolving disagreements, yielding 22 included studies. Using inductive thematic analysis, we summarized the ethical-risk dimensions and governance pathways of predictive analytics and early warning systems in nursing practice, and conducted an overall quality appraisal of the included literature. The included studies came from 11 countries, with publication volume rising markedly in recent years—reflecting growing attention to ethical issues in nursing. Most were reviews or commentaries, with fewer qualitative and mixed-methods studies. Thematic analysis identified five ethical-risk dimensions: (i) Data- and Algorithm-Related Ethical Risks; (ii) Professional Role and Responsibility Attribution Risks; (iii) Patient Rights and Humane-Care Ethical Risks; (iv) Ethical-Governance and Misuse Risks; and (v) Technological Accessibility and Social Acceptance Barriers. In response, the literature proposes four governance pathways—Technical–Data Governance, Clinical Human–Machine Collaboration, Organizational-Capacity Building, and Institutional–Policy Regulation—with concrete measures including privacy protection, algorithmic-bias monitoring and fairness audits, transparency and explainability enhancement, nurse training and digital literacy, interdisciplinary collaboration and co-creation, and policy and regulatory guidelines. Predictive analytics and early warning systems in nursing practice show substantial promise yet are accompanied by multidimensional ethical risks. For the first time in a nursing context, this study proposes a “five ethical-risk dimensions–four governance pathways” framework, offering actionable ethical-governance guidance for nurses, administrators, and policymakers. Future work should pursue interdisciplinary, multicenter empirical studies to evaluate the framework’s feasibility and effectiveness and to align technological benefits with ethical values, thereby improving nursing quality and patient safety. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence has dramatically changed the way organizations communicate, understand, and interact with their potential consumers. In the context of this trend, the ethical considerations of advertising when applying AI should be the core question for marketers. This paper discusses six dominant algorithmic purchase decision pathways that align with ethical philosophies for online customers when buying a product/goods. The six ethical positions include: ethical egoism, deontology, relativist, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and ethics of care. Furthermore, this paper launches an “intelligent advertising” (...) AI theme by examining its present and future as well as identifying the key phases of intelligent advertising. Several research questions are offered to guide future research on intelligent advertising to benefit ethical AI decision-making. Finally, several areas that can be widely applied to ethical intelligent advertising are suggested for future research. (shrink)

A growing body of evidence suggests that two distinct forms of group alignment are possible: identification and fusion (the former asserts that group and personal identity are distinct, while the latter asserts group and personal identities are functionally equivalent and mutually reinforcing). Among highly fused individuals, group identity taps directly into personal agency and so any attack on the group is perceived as a personal attack and motivates a willingness to fight and possibly even die as a defensive response. (...) As such, identity fusion is relevant in explaining violent extremism, including suicidal terrorist attacks. Identity fusion is theorized to arise as a result from the sharing of personally transformative experiences with other group members, however evidence for this relationship remains limited to date. Here, we present a pre-registered study in which we examine the role of transformativeness and perceived sharedness of group-defining events in generating identity fusion. We find that both of these factors are predictive of identity fusion but that the relationship with transformativeness was more consistent than perceived sharedness across analyses in a sample of Indonesian Muslims. (shrink)

Why the Wisdom of Laozi Remains Incomprehensible to Scholars？ -/- A Cross-Disciplinary Reflection on Cognitive Structures, Scientific Rationality, and Civilizational Pathways -/- Charles X. Yang -/- Abstract -/- The wisdom of Laozi has been extensively studied, yet a consensus on its understanding remains elusive. This paper adopts a scientific-philosophical perspective, integrating cognitive science, complexity theory, philosophy of science, and civilizational evolution to provide a cross-disciplinary analysis of Laozi’s thought. It argues that the difficulty in comprehending Laozi arises not from the (...) text itself but from the limitations of the reader’s cognitive structures, scholarly methods, and civilizational positioning. The study examines the non-objectified nature of the Dao, the cognitive tension between “learning” and “following the Dao,” the hierarchical model of understanding in the Dao De Jing, the neglect of simple wisdom, the resistance of technological civilization, and potential alignments with modern science. It concludes that understanding Laozi constitutes a form of civilizational wisdom rather than merely an academic skill. This research offers a scientific-philosophical framework for contemporary interpretations of Laozi and informs the integration of technological and natural civilizations. Keywords：Laozi, Dao De Jing, Wisdom Comprehension, Cognitive Structures, Scientific Philosophy, Technological Civilization, Natural Civilization -/- Table of Contents -/- Chapter 1. Introduction -/- Chapter 2. The Dao of Laozi: A Non-Objectified Natural Order -/- Chapter 3. “Learning” vs “Following the Dao”: Cognitive Path Conflicts -/- Chapter 4. “The Superior Person Hears the Dao”: Hierarchical Model of Understanding -/- Chapter 5. “My Words are Easy to Understand”: Why Simple Wisdom is Ignored -/- Chapter 6. Civilizational Explanation: Why Technological Civilization Rejects Laozi -/- Chapter 7. Scientific-Philosophical Dialogue: Laozi and Modern Science -/- Chapter 8. Conclusion: Understanding Laozi as Civilizational Wisdom -/- Chapter 9. Synthesis and Outlook. (shrink)

Several authors assume that evaluative conditioning (EC) relies on high-level propositional thinking. In contrast, the dual-process perspective proposes two processing pathways, one associative and the other propositional, contributing to EC. Dual-process theorists argue that attitudinal ambiguity resulting from these two pathways’ conflicting evaluations demonstrate the involvement of both automatic and controlled processes in EC. Previously, we suggested that amplitude variations of error-related negativity and error-positivity, two well-researched event-related potentials of performance monitoring, allow for the detection of attitudinal ambiguity at the (...) neural level. The present study utilises self-reported evaluation, categorisation performance, and neural correlates of performance monitoring to explore associative-propositional ambiguity during social attitude formation. Our results show that compared to associative-propositional harmony, attitudinal ambiguity correlates with more neutral subjective evaluations, longer response times, increased error commission, and diminished error-related negativity amplitudes. While our findings align with dual-process models, we aim to offer a propositional interpretation. We discuss dual-process theories in the context of evolutionary psychology, suggesting that associative processes may only represent a small piece of the EC puzzle. (shrink)

BackgroundCaregivers may play a fundamental role in the clinical pathway of cancer patients. They provide emotional, informational, and functional support as well as practical assistance, and they might help mediate the interaction and communication with the oncologists when care options are discussed, or decisions are made. Little is known about the impact of dyadic dynamics on patient-doctor communication, patient's satisfaction, or adherence to the therapies. This study protocol aims to evaluate the efficacy of a psychological support intervention on patients-caregivers (...) relationship and their alignment in the treatment decision-making process and estimate related improvement in patient' compliance/adherence to treatments.MethodsA total of 102 patients-caregivers' dyads will be involved, among breast and prostate cancer patients. The study entails a pre- post- evaluation through psychological questionnaires, with a randomization of participants in two conditions, the experimental one in which subjects participate in a psychological support consultation, and the control one, where dyads do not receive any intervention. A follow up after 6 months from the enrollment is planned.DiscussionA positive impact of the psychological support intervention on patients' anxiety, depression, distress, and perceived social support is expected. Such improvements can directly affect patients' satisfaction and adherence to treatments. Data gathered from this study may inform health care providers, policy makers, and public health managers about the importance of caregiver's involvement in the cancer care pathway, and the best way to manage it. A further impact is to develop a specific intervention protocol to support caregivers' involvement in cancer care pathway, improve patient's wellbeing, the interaction with physicians and the compliance with the cancer treatment. (shrink)

Grandstyle Global Services Ltd is a Ghanaian agro-processing firm that illustrates how African enterprises can build international competitiveness through sustainability driven differentiation rather than scale, cost leadership, or technological dominance. Operating within an institutionally fragmented environment, Grandstyle has transformed citrus processing waste into certified organic export products, embedding ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship, and community development into its core business model. This integrative case examines how the firm aligns its operations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to construct legitimacy, access (...) global markets, and sustain competitive advantage in the organic ingredients industry. Positioned within the Lion Multinational Enterprise framework, the case demonstrates how African firms internationalise through relational governance, adaptive learning, and values-based leadership rather than conventional multinational pathways. The case highlights how sustainability functions as strategy rather than compliance, how legitimacy substitutes for scale in global market entry, and how ethical leadership operates as a strategic capability. Designed for teaching and executive learning, the case invites critical analysis of differentiation, institutional navigation, and global competitiveness in African multinational enterprises. (shrink)

There is a need for further research to understand how social capital in the workplace can be promoted. This article studies the generation of social capital from a comprehensive perspective that integrates ethics and general management. We propose the concept of “ethical work context” as an influential antecedent of the social capital in the firm. The ethical work context, which is aligned with the “humanizing culture” approach proposed by Melé ( Journal of Business Ethics 45 (1), 3–14, 2003a ), allows (...) a broader comprehension of the concrete management practices and organizational dynamics that generate organizational social capital. It is argued that social capital, understood as a by-product of the ethical work context, results both from organizational design and ongoing managerial activity. Creating an ethical work context brings ethics and social capital into the realm of the general manager; a figure that has remained absent from the social capital literature. (shrink)

Glowacki offers many new directions for understanding and even eliminating the problem of war, especially creating positive interdependencies with out-group members. We develop Glowacki's intriguing proposition that in-group dynamics provide a route to peace by describing a prosocial motivational system, the caregiving system, that aligns individual interests and eliminates the need to use coercion to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

The rapid advancements in large-scale AI models have introduced significant concerns over value alignment, including biased outputs, privacy breaches, misinformation propagation, and diminished human autonomy. Building upon prior research on value embedding in AI, this paper offers a holistic assessment of value embedding strategies throughout the lifecycle of large models, from data collection, pre-training, post-training, and evaluation. We identify key technical barriers as well as regulatory hurdles that need to be addressed to ensure responsible AI development and deployment. To (...) tackle these issues, we advocate a multi-pronged, socio-technical strategy that integrates more guaranteed AI safety approaches with more practical governance frameworks. By thoughtfully weaving value embedding into critical stages of AI development, we can steer large-scale models toward socially responsible and ethically aligned outcomes that reflect the diverse values of humanity. (shrink)

With the rapid expansion of parameters in large language models (LLMs) and the application of Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF), there has been a noticeable growth in the moral competence of LLMs. However, several questions warrant further exploration: Is it really possible for LLMs to fully align with human values through RLHF? How can the current moral growth be philosophically contextualized? We identify similarities between LLMs’ moral growth and Deweyan ethics in terms of the discourse of human moral development. (...) We then attempt to use Dewey’s theory on an experimental basis to examine and further explain the extent to which the current alignment pathway enables the development of LLMs. A beating experiment serves as the foundational case for analyzing LLMs’ moral competence across various parameters and stages, including basic moral cognition, moral dilemma judgment, and moral behavior. The results demonstrate that the moral competence of the GPT series has seen a significant improvement, and Dewey’s Impulse-Habit-Character theory of moral development can be used to explain this: the moral competence of LLMs has been enhanced through experience-based learning, supported by human feedback. Nevertheless, LLMs’ moral development through RLHF remains constrained and does not reach the character stage described by Dewey, possibly due to their lack of self-consciousness. This fundamental difference between humans and LLMs underscores both the limitations of LLMs’ moral growth and the challenges of applying RLHF for AI alignment. It also emphasizes the need for external societal governance and legal regulation. (shrink)

With the rapid expansion of parameters in large language models (LLMs) and the application of Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF), there has been a noticeable growth in the moral competence of LLMs. However, several questions warrant further exploration: Is it really possible for LLMs to fully align with human values through RLHF? How can the current moral growth be philosophically contextualized? We identify similarities between LLMs’ moral growth and Deweyan ethics in terms of the discourse of human moral development. (...) We then attempt to use Dewey’s theory on an experimental basis to examine and further explain the extent to which the current alignment pathway enables the development of LLMs. A beating experiment serves as the foundational case for analyzing LLMs’ moral competence across various parameters and stages, including basic moral cognition, moral dilemma judgment, and moral behavior. The results demonstrate that the moral competence of the GPT series has seen a significant improvement, and Dewey’s Impulse-Habit-Character theory of moral development can be used to explain this: the moral competence of LLMs has been enhanced through experience-based learning, supported by human feedback. Nevertheless, LLMs’ moral development through RLHF remains constrained and does not reach the character stage described by Dewey, possibly due to their lack of self-consciousness. This fundamental difference between humans and LLMs underscores both the limitations of LLMs’ moral growth and the challenges of applying RLHF for AI alignment. It also emphasizes the need for external societal governance and legal regulation. (shrink)

Qualitative researchers working with trauma-exposed populations face predictable emotional risks, yet higher education policy frameworks rarely address researcher well-being as an institutional responsibility. This article introduces empathic strain—the cumulative impact of sustained engagement with distressing narratives without structured organizational care—as a critical but under-recognized occupational hazard in academia. Drawing on 4 workshops with 34 postgraduate students and interviews with 17 experienced trauma researchers, the study develops a three-phase, trauma-informed model for embedding emotional risk management into research governance. The framework spans (...) planning/grounding; engagement/regulation; integration/reconnection phase combining individual strategies with systemic measures such as mandatory trauma-awareness training, integration of well-being assessments into ethics review, structured debriefing protocols, and access to trauma-informed counseling. Findings reveal that the prevailing reliance on individual resilience discourses perpetuates burnout, disengagement, and attrition, while institutional silence constitutes a form of structural neglect. The proposed model reframes researcher care as a core ethical and policy obligation, aligning with occupational safety principles and advancing debates on academic labor, ethics, and sustainability. By positioning emotional well-being as integral to research integrity, this article offers higher education institutions a scalable, governance-aligned pathway to creating ethically robust, humane, and sustainable research cultures. (shrink)

As the call for climate accountability grows, carbon accounting will likely become increasingly significant for green governance, especially in sectors of high-emissions such as energy. This study examined how much of a priority carbon accounting and emissions disclosure were to major Indian energy firms. The data were used from sustainability reports, filings with regulatory authorities, and academic publications related to the energy sector in India to highlight unreasonable inconsistencies in carbon reporting, limited progress reporting Scope 3 disclosures, a lack of (...) industry guidance, and weak connections to financial performance measures. While international standards for carbon accounting and emissions disclosure exist (i.e. GHG Protocol, CDP, ISO 14064), the uptake of these various standards by Indian energy firms was slow and occurred on a voluntary basis.To clarify the barriers to carbon accounting and emissions disclosure identified in the study the research identifies an important number of regulatory, institutional, and functional gaps for effective and comparable emissions reporting. The study’s recommendations on policies includes a Carbon Accounting Disclosure Harmonization Model related to India’s energy sector that takes into account standardized emission boundaries, minimum disclosures whether they are mandated matters of disclosures, or disclosed industry reports, third party assurance, and international guidelines to ensure consistent, transparent, and useful carbon information. The research thus attempts to position regulatory alignment against capacity building as a supporting role for implementing a strong, compliance-based method of carbon accounting aligned with India’s climate obligations. (shrink)

This paper systematically analyzes two types of cosmic cognition pathways in the history of human civilization from the perspectives of philosophy of science and cognitive paradigms. One is the ancient Greek rational tradition, represented by Aristotle and Ptolemy, which constructs formalized models through mathematics and logic; the other is Laozi’s philosophy and its extension, the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology, which grasps the generative logic and dynamic balance of the universe through de-linguistic and de-modeling holistic insight. -/- This paper proposes and analyzes (...) the minimal cosmic expression of the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology—the 12-character cosmic law: Human → Earth → Heaven → Dao → Nature; Dao → One → Two → Three → All Things. Through the logical analysis of the hierarchical chain and the generative chain, the paper demonstrates that this model surpasses the formal systems of the ancient Greek rational tradition in four dimensions: “cognitive compression,” “systemic holism,” “stability,” and “simplicity.” Compared with the ancient Greek scientific philosophy, which relies on local assumptions and falsifiable models, Laozi’s philosophy and its extended system provide a cognitive framework closer to the natural laws of the universe, capable of achieving the unity of macroscopic understanding and operational applicability. -/- The paper further explores the implications of this cognitive framework for modern scientific methods, civilizational development, and ecological governance: science can serve as a local tool, while holistic insight and minimal expression provide global constraints; through cognitive simplification and civilizational alignment, systemic deviations can be reduced, enabling consistency between human behavior and cosmic order. The core objective of this paper is to demonstrate that, in terms of cognitive elevation and systemic holism, the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology provides philosophical and scientific guidance that is closer to the natural laws of the universe than the ancient Greek rational tradition. (shrink)

This paper discusses the discursive and interpersonal functions conveyed by the Italian negative operator no(?) ‘no’, suggesting a possible pathway of functional enrichment that can account for its high degree of polyfunctionality. Drawing on the KIParla corpus of contemporary spoken Italian, we chart the values of no(?) as a discourse marker, which are all clearly connected to the incremental co-construction of discourse in interaction, either in terms of turn management or of shared knowledge and mutual alignment. We then (...) explore its sociolinguistic distribution, showing that register variation plays a major role in this respect. We argue that conversational uses of no(?) as a discourse marker, including its role as a pause-filler, are motivated by cooperative needs in discourse construction, shaping its functional profile at the intersection of mental processes and communicative practices. (shrink)

In early 2026, Harness Engineering emerged as a prominent methodological topic in the artificial intelligence industry. OpenAI reported that by applying this methodology, they produced one million lines of production code within five months with zero human-written code. LangChain's benchmark scores rose from 52.8% to 66.5%—without any modification to the underlying model itself. These data points appear to suggest an encouraging conclusion: Harness Engineering offers a viable pathway for transforming AI from an "uncontrollable agent" into a "reliable tool," compensating (...) for AI's intrinsic deficiency through an extrinsic constraint system. However, a more critical question presents itself: Does Harness Engineering truly resolve the AI alignment problem? The central thesis of this paper is that Harness Engineering does not negate the ontological diagnosis that "guardrails are built upon emptiness"—rather, through what Edmund Husserl would recognize as "ontological epoché" (suspension), it constructs an "extrinsic anchor" at the methodological level. This approach has demonstrated high effectiveness in domains with well-defined task boundaries, such as software engineering, but its effectiveness strictly depends on a prerequisite: that humans can precisely delineate the boundaries of "correct behavior." When the alignment problem shifts from "executing rules" to "value judgment," and from "short-term behavioral constraint" to "long-term goal stability," the applicable boundaries of Harness Engineering become apparent. This paper further argues that ontological-level alignment—making safety and reliability necessary attributes of AI's existence—remains an unresolved open problem, requiring deeper ontological grounding solutions that transcend extrinsic constraints. (shrink)

中国道教历史上形成了正一道、全真道、上清派、灵宝派等多源门派。表面差异巨大，但其深层理论基础均源于老子“道法自然”的宇宙哲学。本文以老-杨创世纪宇宙观为核心框架，提出“统一道法自然科学道教”的概念，将 道教修行、文明功能与银河系—太阳系—地球—人类的宇宙层级链相结合。文章从七个章节系统分析道教历史困境、共同结构性问题及复位方案，提出科学化修行体系、层级链调适、社会文明功能重构，以及未来教育与实践路径 ，为道教从宗教体系向现代自然文明宇宙智慧体系转型提供理论依据。 -/- Historically, Chinese Daoism developed into multiple lineages, including Zhengyi, Quanzhen, Shangqing, and Lingbao schools. Despite superficial differences, their theoretical foundation derives from Laozi’s cosmological philosophy of Dao Fa Zi Ran. This study employs the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology as a framework to propose the concept of Unified Scientific Daoism, integrating Daoist cultivation, societal functions, and the cosmic hierarchy of galaxy—solar system—Earth—humanity. Through seven chapters, the paper analyzes historical challenges, structural issues, and repositioning strategies, proposing a scientific cultivation system, hierarchical (...) alignment, social function reconstruction, and future educational and practical pathways, thereby providing a theoretical basis for Daoism’s transformation from a religious system into a modern natural-civilization and cosmic wisdom framework. -/- 关键词 / Keywords -/- 道教；道法自然；老-杨创世纪宇宙观；科学哲思；宇宙层级链；文明调适 -/- Daoism; Dao Fa Zi Ran; Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology; Scientific Philosophy; Cosmic Hierarchical Chain; Civilizational Alignment -/- . (shrink)

中国道教历史上形成了正一道、全真道、上清派、灵宝派等多源门派。表面差异巨大，但其深层理论基础均源于老子“道法自然”的宇宙哲学。本文以老-杨创世纪宇宙观为核心框架，提出“统一道法自然科学道教”的概念，将 道教修行、文明功能与银河系—太阳系—地球—人类的宇宙层级链相结合。文章从七个章节系统分析道教历史困境、共同结构性问题及复位方案，提出科学化修行体系、层级链调适、社会文明功能重构，以及未来教育与实践路径 ，为道教从宗教体系向现代自然文明宇宙智慧体系转型提供理论依据。 -/- Historically, Chinese Daoism developed into multiple lineages, including Zhengyi, Quanzhen, Shangqing, and Lingbao schools. Despite superficial differences, their theoretical foundation derives from Laozi’s cosmological philosophy of Dao Fa Zi Ran. This study employs the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology as a framework to propose the concept of Unified Scientific Daoism, integrating Daoist cultivation, societal functions, and the cosmic hierarchy of galaxy—solar system—Earth—humanity. Through seven chapters, the paper analyzes historical challenges, structural issues, and repositioning strategies, proposing a scientific cultivation system, hierarchical (...) alignment, social function reconstruction, and future educational and practical pathways, thereby providing a theoretical basis for Daoism’s transformation from a religious system into a modern natural-civilization and cosmic wisdom framework. (shrink)

Scenarios and pathways, as defined in the SSP-RCP framework, are central to recent climate research and the latest IPCC report. Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) offer a small set of alternative futures through qualitative narratives and quantitative projections. A key use of SSP-based scenarios is mitigation analysis, presenting decision-makers with a seemingly neutral set of policy options. However, all SSPs assume continuous global economic growth (GEGA) through 2100, effectively narrowing the solution space and embedding value-laden assumptions that challenge the IPCC’s claim (...) to policy neutrality. Post-growth scholars contest GEGA, but post-growth mitigation scenarios have yet to be fully integrated into this scenario framework. From a philosophy of value-laden science perspective, I argue that this integration is necessary. I propose two approaches to do so, demonstrating how inclusion of post-growth scenarios aligns with a diversity criterion — ultimately enhancing the framework’s objectivity and strengthening the IPCC’s policy neutrality. (shrink)

This paper is grounded in the global systemic entropy crisis and aims to declare the fourth revolution in the history of human thought. After experiencing three decentralizing scientific revolutions—those of Nicolaus Copernicus, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein—humanity has achieved breakthroughs in physical knowledge, yet remains deeply trapped in the illusion of anthropocentrism within the logic of civilization. This fundamental error in the underlying code has led to the uncontrolled expansion of human greed and the physical loss of control in linear (...) growth models, pushing civilization toward the critical threshold of thermodynamic collapse. -/- This paper formally proposes the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology as the core logic of redemption. This cosmology reconstructs the hierarchical structure of the cosmic generative chain: Human follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows Dao, and Dao follows Nature, redefining civilization as a subject governed by cosmic order rather than its ruler. Through an empirical analysis of the trinitarian dynamical system of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, three operational principles of natural civilization (the A+B+C framework) are derived: system balance priority, low-entropy operational efficiency, and evolutionary diversity synergy. -/- Furthermore, this paper innovatively proposes the Moon Law as the negative-feedback regulatory lever of civilization, demonstrating the necessity of establishing automatic circuit-breaker governance algorithms and reconstructing the rhythmic consciousness of civilization for long-term survival. The conclusion indicates that returning to natural laws is not the degeneration of civilization but an upgrade toward a higher-dimensional steady-state prosperity. The continuation of human civilization does not depend on conquering nature, but on deep alignment with the order of the universe. This study provides scientific-philosophical support and practical reference pathways for global governance transformation, ecological restoration, and the reconstruction of technological ethics. (shrink)

The history of human civilization is a history of continuously breaking intellectual limitations and redefining humanity’s relationship with nature. From the earliest tribal systems to nation-states and empires, from feudal orders to the modern globalized system, humanity has continually attempted to regulate society, manage resources, and pursue long-term stability and development through institutions, culture, and technology. However, a review of historical experience—whether the rise and fall of ancient empires, the institutional deficiencies of modern states, or the systemic crises faced by (...) global civilization in ecology, energy, and economics—reveals a fundamental problem: the long-standing logic of political centralism and anthropocentrism upon which human civilization has relied contains insurmountable limits. -/- This limitation arises not only from imperfect institutional design but is rooted more deeply in human nature itself—in the tendencies toward greed and the expansion of power. Historical examples are abundant: from the centralized imperial systems of the Qin and Han dynasties in ancient China, to modern authoritarian regimes, to the financial, energy, and information networks of the globalized era. Each occurrence of civilizational crisis repeatedly verifies the illusory assumptions of political centralism and anthropocentrism—the mistaken belief that institutions can completely restrain human nature and that civilization can fully control nature. Research in systems science further demonstrates that civilization is a multi-level, nonlinear, and dynamically coupled complex system. Localized centers of power cannot effectively regulate cross-level feedback, nor can they eliminate unpredictable systemic disturbances. For this reason, political philosophy and traditional institutional design appear increasingly inadequate when confronted with the long-term stability of civilization. -/- Against this background, this book proposes the theoretical framework of Natural Civilization Science. Based on the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology, it embeds civilization within a four-level structure: universe – galaxy – planetary ecology – civilization system. In this perspective, civilization is no longer the center of the universe or the Earth, but a participating system constrained by natural laws. Through this view, the stability, sustainability, and resilience of civilization no longer depend on centralized power or institutional dominance, but on alignment with natural laws, closed feedback loops within systems, mechanisms of self-organization, and the principle of low-entropy development. -/- Three scientific revolutions in history have laid the cognitive foundation for this theory. -/- The first was the cosmological revolution. By proposing the heliocentric theory, Copernicus fundamentally overturned the Earth-centered understanding of the universe and liberated human thought, enabling humanity to realize that civilization is not the center of the cosmos. This insight shows that anthropocentric thinking is inevitably an illusion at the cosmic scale. -/- The second was the revolution in life sciences. Darwin’s theory of evolution revealed the natural laws governing the evolution of living systems and emphasized the dependence of civilization on ecological and biological cycles. The development of civilization must take ecological constraints and biological laws into account; otherwise social and technological progress cannot be sustained. -/- The third was the physical revolution of the universe. Einstein’s theory of relativity, along with the modern understanding of space, time, and gravity, demonstrated the fundamental constraints that physical laws impose on civilizational institutions, technological design, and resource utilization. Institutions and technologies cannot transcend the limits of physical laws; therefore, civilizational design must embed physical and ecological constraints within its institutional structures. -/- Together, these three revolutions constitute the cognitive foundation of the fourth revolution—the paradigm shift from political civilization to natural civilization. The fourth revolution is not merely a philosophical critique of anthropocentrism; it is also a scientific reconstruction of civilizational institutions, technological application, and social practice. It requires that natural laws, system coupling, and cross-level feedback mechanisms be fully considered in thought, institutional design, and civilizational development. The goal of civilization is no longer unlimited expansion and accumulation of power, but rather low-entropy, sustainable, and long-term system alignment. -/- Natural Civilization Science is not only a theoretical framework but also provides a practical pathway. Multi-level distributed governance, alignment with ecological and resource cycles, nonlinear adaptation of culture and technology, and resilient institutional design are all core applications of this theory. Through these strategies, civilization can dynamically respond to cross-level disturbances, achieve self-organized stability, and form a coordinated symbiosis with natural systems in energy, ecology, technology, and social structure. -/- This book aims to provide a new intellectual blueprint. It not only reviews the three previous scientific revolutions and their implications for civilizational understanding but also proposes the theoretical system, governance principles, and practical pathways of Natural Civilization Science. The book is divided into four major parts. The first part reviews the revolutionary trajectory of human intellectual history. The second part critiques political civilization and its institutional limitations. The third part proposes the theoretical framework of Natural Civilization Science. The fourth part elaborates governance principles, implementation strategies, and the historical and future significance of the Fourth Revolution. Through this systematic structure, the book attempts to answer how human civilization can achieve long-term stability and sustainable development within complex, multi-level natural systems. -/- In terms of academic value, this book not only inherits the research achievements of philosophy of science, systems science, and political philosophy, but also proposes a new paradigm in which civilization is embedded in natural laws. It provides scientific-philosophical guidance for future civilizational institutions, ecological governance, technological development, and social policy. In practical terms, it offers operational strategies and theoretical support for addressing ecological crises, energy constraints, social inequality, and institutional failure faced by global civilization. -/- In conclusion, this book is not only the product of academic reflection but also a strategic foresight regarding the future of human civilization. It proclaims the Fourth Revolution in the history of human thought: the fundamental principles of civilization will no longer be guided by anthropocentrism and the logic of power, but by alignment with natural laws, systems science, and cosmic order. Understanding and practicing this principle is the historical necessity for humanity to achieve long-term stability, low-entropy development, and a sustainable future. (shrink)

This paper introduces the state space theory of consciousness, positing that the cortex processes information through delay coordinate embedding operationalized by recurrent neural network engines. This leverages the power of Takens' theorem, giving rise to representations of reality as points within state space. Consciousness is posited to arise at the highest order engines amongst hierarchical and parallel engine pathways. Consciousness is cast as a dynamic process rather than as a neuronal state, reconciling dualist intuitions with a monist perspective. Neuronal representations (...) develop uniquely in each individual due to history-dependent training of these engines, accounting for the privacy of qualia while also addressing cortical plasticity and the heuristic nature of cortical processing. Posited engines exhibit non-linear dynamics that are sensitive to initial conditions, explaining phenomena such as ambiguous figure interpretation and offering a pathway to explaining free will. The state space theory aligns with and expands upon major theories (e.g.higher-order theories, global workspace theories, integrated information theory), essentially providing a computational mechanism that unifies elements of these theories. Future work will explore neural mechanisms and validate predictions. (shrink)

The dollar‑centric financial order entrenches asymmetry, externalises ecological costs, and records defensive load as growth. This paper proposes a counter‑model: a Global Commonwealth built on four structural invariants — Visibility, Symmetry, Contestability, and Repair — extended to the planetary scale. At its core is a Neutral Clearing Union with a Bancor unit of account, whose exchange rates are determined not by speculation but by each nation's value efficiency (nF/TPE), measured through Durable Flourishing Indices (DFIs). Surpluses trigger automatic demurrage, reinvested into (...) repair. New Bancors are minted only when defensive load decreases, aligning currency creation with flourishing. The Five Articles of Perpetual Commonwealth articulate reciprocity, law, visibility, dialogue, and repair as functional prerequisites for trust among nations. For BRICS and the Global South, this architecture offers a cooperative alternative to IMF conditionality and neoliberal austerity: debt denominated in flourishing, not dollars. The paper outlines institutional prototypes — Moralogy Institute, Court of Repair, Neutral Clearing Union — and sketches pathways for pilot implementation within BRICS+ frameworks. -/- . (shrink)

Large language model (LLM) agents are increasingly deployed in sequential decision-making pipelines where each action irrevocably modifies the environment. Existing agentic architectures commit to action sequences generated by the LLM without systematically evaluating the downstream consequences of those sequences prior to execution - a fundamental gap that amplifies risk and limits accountability. We introduce Consequence-Aware Agentic AI (CA2I), a formal framework that augments the standard generate-then-execute paradigm with a dedicated Consequence Assessment Module (CAM). CAM evaluates every candidate action sequence against (...) a historical consequence model and selects the sequence whose predicted outcome optimally balances return and risk before any irreversible action is taken. We formalise the framework as a constrained sequential decision problem and prove that, under mild stationarity assumptions, Sharpe-ratio-based selection dominates random selection in expectation. To validate the framework empirically, we instantiate CA2I in the domain of LLM-driven financial trading strategy selection, using GPT-5.4 to generate five candidate strategies per asset and a backtesting engine as the consequence model. Experiments on ten diversified US equities over a strictly held-out three-month out-of-sample window (August--October~2025) demonstrate that CA2I achieves a mean test-period Sharpe ratio of 0.51 - a 4.25 times improvement over random strategy selection (Sharpe = 0.12, p = 0.041) - while reducing mean maximum drawdown relative to buy-and-hold by 18%. Sensitivity analysis confirms selection stability: Sharpe-ratio and Calmar-ratio selection agree on 100% of strategy choices across all ten assets. We further demonstrate that CA2I provides a concrete, computationally tractable pathway toward Responsible AI in agentic systems: by making consequence evaluation an explicit, auditable, and mathematically grounded architectural step, the framework operationalises transparency, accountability, and harm avoidance as mandated by the EU AI Act, NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and IEEE Ethically Aligned Design standards. (shrink)

Preface: Rebuilding the Spiritual Foundations of Human Civilization at the Scale of Cosmic Rationality -/- I did not anticipate that what began as a near-compulsive intellectual urge — the need to properly explain Laozi — would eventually grow into many scholarly works spanning the vast intellectual terrain of cosmology, thermodynamics, complexity science, civilization theory, AI ethics, and epistemology. Yet in retrospect, everything seems to have been inevitable: once you truly touch the scientific core of Laozi's thought, you cannot stop, because (...) that core functions like a self-organizing seed, spontaneously generating new branches in every new intellectual soil into which it is planted. -/- This book is a systematic review of those works, and a self-presentation of a complete philosophical system. Its central proposition can be stated in a single sentence: the sustainability of civilization depends upon the degree to which it aligns with the generative order of the cosmos. -/- I. The Starting Point: An Unavoidable Fundamental Perplexity -/- More than twenty years ago, when I began to read Laozi seriously, I encountered a peculiar intellectual predicament. On one hand, I had a clear sense that the Dao De Jing contained something far exceeding an ordinary philosophical text — it seemed less like the product of a particular historical moment and more like a direct record of some objective cosmic reality. On the other hand, I found that none of the existing interpretive traditions — whether Daoism's mystification, Confucianism's domestication, or modern scholarship's philological textualism — could genuinely account for the source of this sense. -/- The turning point came when I placed Laozi's "the Dao gives birth to One; One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three; Three gives birth to the ten thousand things" in direct comparison with modern astronomy, thermodynamics, and complex systems science. When "the Dao gives birth to One" corresponded to the Milky Way generating the Solar System; "One gives birth to Two" to the Earth condensing from the primordial solar nebula; "Two gives birth to Three" to the Earth capturing the Moon; and "Three gives birth to the ten thousand things" to the Sun-Earth-Moon trinitarian system nurturing life and civilization — a stunning recognition arose within me: Laozi was not a mystic and not a moral teacher, but the earliest scientific philosopher in human history to perceive, through philosophical intuition, the generative order of the cosmos. This recognition opened the door to more than two decades of intellectual exploration. The Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology was gradually constructed on the foundation of this foundational insight. -/- II. Methodological Consciousness: Scientific Philosophy -/- The methodology employed in this research series I call "scientific philosophy" (科学哲思, kexue zhesi) — it is neither pure humanistic hermeneutics nor reductionist natural science, but the deep fusion of both. It uses modern cosmology, thermodynamics, and complexity science to test and enrich philosophical propositions, while simultaneously using the holistic philosophical vision to integrate and elevate the fragmented discoveries of science. Why is such a methodology necessary? Because the objects that Laozi discusses — the generation of the cosmos, the laws of nature, the stability of systems — are in their essence the research objects of natural science; yet the manner in which Laozi approaches these objects — holistically, non-linearly, through spontaneous emergence — is precisely the core agenda of contemporary complexity science. Pure philological commentary can never reach this level; pure natural science lacks the philosophical framework needed to integrate these insights. Scientific philosophy is the only genuine bridge between the two. The practice of this methodology has produced a series of cross-disciplinary research results: from the astronomical argument for "the Dao is the Milky Way"; to the cybernetic interpretation of wu wei as the principle of minimum intervention and negative feedback first; from the complexity-science explanation of Chinese civilization's long-term continuity; to the civilizational safety framework for the transformation from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Artificial Wisdom (AW); from the epistemological critique of the historical arc of Western rationalism; to the political-philosophical exposure of the "Confucian-Daoist complementarity" narrative as academic reductionism. Each work is a concrete unfolding of the scientific philosophy method within a particular problem domain. -/- III. Core Insights: Three Intellectual Threads -/- Looking back across the works on Philarchive, three intellectual threads that run through the entire body of research can be clearly identified. They are intertwined with each other and together constitute the core structure of this intellectual system. -/- The first thread: cosmogony. Laozi's "the Dao generates the ten thousand things" is not a metaphysical metaphor but a philosophical expression of the true physical generative order of the cosmos. The Dao (the Milky Way) → the Solar System → the Earth → the Moon → life → civilization: this hierarchically generative chain is the cosmological foundation of the entire theoretical system. Each level creates local low-entropy order under thermodynamic constraints through dissipative structure mechanisms; each level constitutes an inviolable constraint upon the next — "Man follows Earth; Earth follows Heaven; Heaven follows the Dao; the Dao follows Nature" is a fundamental principle of civilizational design, not a moral exhortation. -/- The second thread: civilizational entropy diagnosis. The core crisis of contemporary civilization is not a moral crisis but a systemic entropy-increase crisis. Artificial Civilization takes positive feedback mechanisms (growth driving growth, power reinforcing power, desire amplifying desire) as its core driving force: its short-term efficiency is extremely high, but its long-term rate of entropy increase is equally high, and thermodynamic collapse is inevitable. Natural Civilization takes negative feedback mechanisms (self-restraint, systemic repair, dynamic equilibrium) as its core regulator, and is capable of sustainable persistence within the framework permitted by cosmic thermodynamics. From this perspective, Confucian thought, modern technocracy, global elite dialogue mechanisms, and the mainstream development logic of artificial intelligence all expose their systemic nature as accelerators of high-entropy civilization. -/- The third thread: the pathway of cognitive transformation. Understanding Laozi requires completing three cognitive transformations: from utilitarian judgment to systemic wisdom; from binary oppositional thinking to dynamic interpenetration; and from anthropocentrism to cosmic positioning. These three transformations are not purely intellectual philosophical exercises but a fundamental reorientation at the civilizational level — they are the cognitive prerequisites that must be completed in order to switch from the Artificial Order operating system to the Natural Civilization operating system. -/- IV. The Difficulties and Limitations of This Work -/- It must be honestly acknowledged that the construction of this intellectual system has been full of difficulties and contains unavoidable limitations. The greatest difficulty is the limitation of language. Laozi says: "The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao" — any effort to fix the Dao as some determinate concept will miss the Dao's essential nature. The scientific philosophy method attempts to approach Laozi's cosmology in the language of science, but every such approach simultaneously entails a certain degree of simplification. I know well that the true Dao — the dynamic holism of the cosmos's spontaneous generative order — cannot be completely captured by any textual system. What this book can achieve is only a continuous approach to this inexhaustible cosmic reality from multiple angles, using multiple instruments. -/- Another limitation is the scope of the research. Although my works (Works by Charles X. Yang on Philarchive) represent a considerable volume, the problem domain encompassed by the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology far exceeds what any individual research program can cover. Cosmology, neuroscience, ecology, political economy, artificial intelligence... each domain can be the subject of deep specialist research from the perspective of the Lao-Yang cosmology. This book's survey establishes an open theoretical framework more than a closed final answer. V. Acknowledgment and Aspiration This intellectual journey has been solitary, and it has been fulfilling. Solitary, because the path it walks can find almost no coordinates in the existing academic classification system. Fulfilling, because every genuine intellectual breakthrough brings a joy that comes from contact with the deep order of the cosmos — an inner satisfaction that no external recognition can replace. -/- I am grateful to all readers who have read these works seriously, whether you agree or disagree with the arguments within them. The value of thought lies not in being accepted, but in being taken seriously — being questioned, criticized, refuted, and even transcended. Laozi says: "When the superior student hears of the Dao, he diligently practices it" — but I equally treasure "when the inferior student hears of the Dao, he laughs out loud," for that laughter is precisely evidence that something genuinely profound has been touched. -/- Finally, let Laozi's words serve as the close of this preface, and as the spiritual annotation of this entire intellectual system: "In learning, every day something is added. In following the Dao, every day something is let go. Let go and let go again, until non-action is reached. Through non-action, nothing is left undone." The rigor of science is the cognitive instrument of "every day something is added"; the pursuit of cosmic wisdom is the spiritual direction of "every day something is let go." This book is the product of the deep fusion of these two directions — rebuilding the spiritual foundations of human civilization with reason at the cosmic scale. -/- Charles X. Yang -/- At California Silicon Valley’s Home, 2025 . (shrink)

Gödel's Philosophical Legacy Kurt Gödel's contributions to philosophy extend beyond his incompleteness theorems. He engaged deeply with the work of other philosophers, including Immanuel Kant and Edmund Husserl, and explored topics such as the nature of time, the structure of the universe, and the relationship between mathematics and reality. Gödel's philosophical writings, though less well-known than his mathematical work, offer rich insights into his views on the nature of existence, the limits of human knowledge, and the interplay between the finite (...) and the infinite. His work continues to inspire and challenge philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists, inviting them to explore the profound and often enigmatic questions at the heart of human understanding. -/- Kurt Gödel's Broader Contributions to Philosophy Kurt Gödel, while primarily known for his monumental incompleteness theorems, made significant contributions that extended beyond the realm of mathematical logic. His philosophical pursuits deeply engaged with the works of eminent philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Edmund Husserl. Gödel's explorations into the nature of time, the structure of the universe, and the relationship between mathematics and reality reveal a profound and multifaceted intellectual legacy. -/- Engagement with Immanuel Kant Gödel held a deep interest in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. He admired Kant's critical philosophy, particularly the distinction between the noumenal and phenomenal worlds. Kant posited that human experience is shaped by the mind’s inherent structures, leading to the conclusion that certain aspects of reality (the noumenal world) are fundamentally unknowable. Gödel’s incompleteness theorems echoed this Kantian theme, illustrating the limits of formal systems in capturing the totality of mathematical truth. Gödel believed that mathematical truths exis t independently of human thought, akin to Kant's noumenal realm. This philosophical alignment provided a robust foundation for Gödel's Platonism, which asserted the existence of mathematical objects as real, albeit abstract, entities. -/- Influence of Edmund Husserl Gödel was also profoundly influenced by Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology. Husserl's phenomenology emphasizes the direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced, without preconceived theories about their causal explanation. Gödel saw Husserl's work as a pathway to bridge the gap between the abstract world of mathematics and concrete human experience. Husserl's ideas about the structures of consciousness and the intentionality of thought resonated with Gödel's views on mathematical intuition. Gödel believed that human minds could access mathematical truths through intuition, a concept that draws on Husserlian phenomenological methods. -/- The Nature of Time and the Universe Gödel's philosophical inquiries extended to the nature of time and the structure of the universe. His collaboration with Albert Einstein at the Institute for Advanced Study led to the development of the "Gödel metric" in 1949. This solution to Einstein's field equations of general relativity described a rotating universe where time travel to the past was theoretically possible. Gödel's model challenged conventional notions of time and causality, suggesting that the universe might have a more intricate structure than previously thought. Gödel's exploration of time was not just a mathematical curiosity but a profound philosophical statement about the nature of reality. He questioned whether time was an objective feature of the universe or a construct of human consciousness. His work hinted at a timeless realm of mathematical truths, aligning with his Platonist view. -/- Mathematics and Reality Gödel's philosophical outlook extended to the broader relationship between mathematics and reality. He believed that mathematics provided a more profound insight into the nature of reality than empirical science. For Gödel, mathematical truths were timeless and unchangeable, existing independently of human cognition. This perspective led Gödel to critique the materialist and mechanistic views that dominated 20th-century science and philosophy. He argued that a purely physicalist interpretation of the universe failed to account for the existence of abstract mathematical objects and the human capacity to understand them. Gödel's philosophy suggested a more integrated view of reality, where both physical and abstract realms coexist and inform each other. -/- Gödel's Exploration of Time Kurt Gödel, one of the most profound logicians of the 20th century, ventured beyond the confines of mathematical logic to explore the nature of time. His inquiries into the concept of time were not merely theoretical musings but were grounded in rigorous mathematical formulations. Gödel's exploration of time challenged conventional views and opened new avenues of thought in both physics and philosophy. -/- Gödel and Einstein Gödel’s interest in the nature of time was significantly influenced by his friendship with Albert Einstein. Both were faculty members at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where they engaged in deep discussions about the nature of reality, time, and space. Gödel's exploration of time culminated in his solution to Einstein's field equations of general relativity, known as the Gödel metric. -/- The Gödel Metric In 1949, Gödel presented a model of a rotating universe, which became known as the Gödel metric. This solution to the equations of general relativity depicted a universe where time travel to the past was theoretically possible. Gödel’s rotating universe contained closed timelike curves (CTCs), paths in spacetime that loop back on themselves, allowing for the possibility of traveling back in time. The Gödel metric posed a significant philosophical challenge to the conventional understanding of time. If time travel were possible, it would imply that time is not linear and absolute, as commonly perceived, but rather malleable and subject to the geometry of spacetime. This raised profound questions about causality, the nature of temporal succession, and the very structure of reality. -/- Philosophical Implications Gödel’s exploration of time extended beyond the mathematical implications to broader philosophical inquiries: Nature of Time: Gödel questioned whether time was an objective feature of the universe or a construct of human consciousness. His work suggested that our understanding of time as a linear progression from past to present to future might be an illusion, shaped by the limitations of human perception. -/- Causality and Free Will: The existence of closed timelike curves in Gödel’s model raised questions about causality and free will. If one could travel back in time, it would imply that future events could influence the past, potentially leading to paradoxes and challenging the notion of a deterministic universe. -/- Temporal Ontology: Gödel's work contributed to debates in temporal ontology, particularly the debate between presentism (the view that only the present exists) and eternalism (the view that past, present, and future all equally exist). Gödel’s rotating universe model seemed to support eternalism, suggesting a block universe where all points in time are equally real. Philosophy of Science: Gödel’s exploration of time had implications for the philosophy of science, particularly in the context of understanding the limits of scientific theories. His work underscored the importance of considering philosophical questions when developing scientific theories, as they shape our fundamental understanding of concepts like time and space. -/- Legacy Gödel’s exploration of time remains a significant and controversial contribution to both physics and philosophy. His work challenged established notions and encouraged deeper inquiries into the nature of reality. Gödel’s rotating universe model continues to be a topic of interest in theoretical physics and cosmology, inspiring new research into the nature of time and the possibility of time travel. In philosophy, Gödel’s inquiries into time have prompted ongoing debates about the nature of temporal reality, the relationship between mathematics and physical phenomena, and the limits of human understanding. His work exemplifies the intersection of mathematical rigor and philosophical inquiry, demonstrating the profound insights that can emerge from such an interdisciplinary approach. The Temporal Ontology of Kurt Gödel Kurt Gödel's profound contributions to mathematics and logic extend into the realm of temporal ontology—the philosophical study of the nature of time and its properties. Gödel's insights challenge conventional perceptions of time and suggest a more intricate, layered understanding of temporal reality. This essay explores Gödel's contributions to temporal ontology, particularly through his engagement with relativity and his philosophical reflections. -/- Gödel's Rotating Universe One of Gödel’s most notable contributions to temporal ontology comes from his work in cosmology, specifically his solution to Einstein’s field equations of general relativity, known as the Gödel metric. Introduced in 1949, the Gödel metric describes a rotating universe with closed timelike curves (CTCs). These curves imply that, in such a universe, time travel to the past is theoretically possible, presenting a significant challenge to conventional views of linear, unidirectional time. -/- Implica tions for Temporal Ontology Gödel's rotating universe model has profound implications for our understanding of time: Eternalism vs. Presentism: Gödel’s model supports the philosophical stance known as eternalism, which posits that past, present, and future events are equally real. In contrast to presentism, which holds that only the present moment exists, eternalism suggests a "block universe" where time is another dimension like space. Gödel’s rotating universe, with its CTCs, reinforces this view by demonstrating that all points in time could, in principle, be interconnected in a consistent manner. Non-linearity of Time: The possibility of closed timelike curves challenges the idea of time as a linear sequence of events. In Gödel’s universe, time is not merely a straight path from past to future but can loop back on itself, allowing for complex interactions between different temporal moments. This non-linearity has implications for our understanding of causality and the nature of temporal succession. Objective vs. Subjective Time: Gödel’s work invites reflection on the distinction between objective time (the time that exists independently of human perception) and subjective time (the time as experienced by individuals). His model suggests that our subjective experience of a linear flow of time may not correspond to the objective structure of the universe. This raises questions about the relationship between human consciousness and the underlying temporal reality. -/- Gödel and Philosophical Reflections on Time Gödel’s engagement with temporal ontology was not limited to his cosmological work. He also reflected deeply on philosophical questions about the nature of time and reality, drawing on the ideas of other philosophers and integrating them into his own thinking. Kantian Influences: Gödel was influenced by Immanuel Kant’s distinction between the noumenal world (things as they are in themselves) and the phenomenal world (things as they appear to human observers). Gödel’s views on time echoed this distinction, suggesting that our perception of time might be a phenomenon shaped by the limitations of human cognition, while the true nature of time (the noumenal aspect) might be far more complex and non-linear. Husserlian Phenomenology: Gödel’s interest in Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology also informed his views on time. Husserl’s emphasis on the structures of consciousness and the intentionality of thought resonated with Gödel’s belief in the importance of intuition in accessing mathematical truths. Gödel’s reflections on time incorporated a phenomenological perspective, considering how temporal experience is structured by human consciousness. Mathematical Platonism: Gödel’s Platonist views extended to his understanding of time. Just as he believed in the independent existence of mathematical objects, Gödel saw time as an objective entity with a structure that transcends human perception. His work on the Gödel metric can be seen as an attempt to uncover this objective structure, revealing the deeper realities that underlie our experience of time. (shrink)

Preface | Lost in the Light of Cognition: Why Civilization Needs a Fundamental Awakening -/- Throughout the long course of human history, “ignorance” has long constituted the primary boundary of civilizational development. A lack of understanding of natural laws, misjudgments about the structure of the universe, and ambiguity regarding humanity’s own position forced humans to rely on experience, intuition, and trial and error, advancing slowly under limited cognitive conditions. However, since the Scientific Revolution, this situation has undergone a fundamental transformation. (...) -/- From Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric system, to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, to modern physics’ deep revelations of micro and cosmic structures, humanity has gradually moved away from a self-centered worldview and constructed a knowledge system grounded in objective laws. The growth of knowledge has expanded humanity’s capacity to understand the world at an unprecedented rate, compressing the realm of the “unknown” to a significant extent. -/- Intuitively, such cognitive expansion should lead to a more rational, stable, and sustainable form of civilization. Yet reality presents an inverse structure: ecosystems continue to degrade, climate risks keep rising, resource consumption accelerates, and social systems, despite increasing interconnectedness, exhibit greater instability. -/- A deeper issue is that these crises do not arise from “ignorance,” but unfold within the realm of the “known.” -/- Humanity not only recognizes the existence of these problems but also understands their mechanisms and consequences at a scientific level. Yet the overall structure of civilization continues along its established trajectory, unable to undergo fundamental transformation. -/- This phenomenon suggests that the core problem of contemporary civilization is no longer a lack of knowledge, but rather an expanding structural gap between knowledge and reality. Humanity is no longer in a state of ignorance, but in a condition of “cognitive sufficiency coupled with structural mismatch.” -/- This mismatch first manifests as an asymmetry between cognitive structures and complex systems. Human cognition primarily evolved in local, short-term, and low-complexity environments, whereas modern civilization operates within global-scale, highly coupled, and long-duration complex systems. When local rationality is embedded within an overall system, it may no longer produce rational outcomes, but instead become a driver of structural imbalance. -/- Second, this mismatch appears as a disjunction between knowledge and behavior. Modern science can explain the world but does not directly determine behavior. Behavior is constrained by institutional structures, technological pathways, and cultural inertia. Within such a multi-layered system, even if individuals fully “know the correct answer,” the overall system may still evolve along suboptimal or even dangerous trajectories. -/- Third, this mismatch is reflected in humanity’s misrecognition of its own position. Although modern science has long revealed that humanity is not the center of the universe, in real-world institutions and behavioral logic, humans still implicitly occupy a central position, treating nature as an external object and the world as a resource system available for unlimited exploitation and transformation. This shift in cognitive coordinates gradually detaches civilization from the natural constraints upon which it depends. -/- Based on the above analysis, this book advances a core judgment: the crisis of contemporary civilization is essentially a systemic structural mismatch—the inconsistency among cognitive structures, behavioral mechanisms, and real-world constraints. This mismatch is not accidental, but the result of the internal evolution of the modern civilizational trajectory. -/- If this judgment holds, then the solution must also undergo a fundamental shift. Relying solely on technological progress, institutional repair, or local optimization may alleviate certain problems, but cannot address their structural roots. True transformation must occur at a deeper level of cognitive structure—how humanity understands its relationship with the world. -/- In this sense, this book proposes the concept of “awakening,” not in a religious or psychological sense, but as a structural cognitive transformation. It signifies a shift from a self-centered worldview to an understanding of humanity as a node within complex systems; from controlling the world as an object to coordinating and embedding within its structure. -/- This transformation unfolds across three dimensions. -/- First is the cosmological level of repositioning—recognizing that humanity is not the center of purpose, but a phase structure within the generative processes of nature. Second is the perceptual level of real-world structures—restoring sensitivity to system constraints, feedback mechanisms, and long-term consequences, allowing behavior to align with reality. Third is the ethical expansion—extending responsibility from the short-term and local to the long-term and systemic level, integrating behavior into a broader consequence structure. -/- Through the interaction of these three dimensions, a new form of civilization begins to emerge. This book refers to it as “natural civilization”—a form of civilization that operates on the basis of respecting system structures and natural constraints. It does not deny technological development nor the expansion of human capabilities, but requires that such capabilities be embedded within larger system structures to prevent the continued expansion of structural mismatch. -/- It must be emphasized that this book does not offer simple solutions, nor does it attempt to construct a linear developmental blueprint. Rather, it seeks to reconstruct a more fundamental problem awareness: what we face is not a collection of isolated problems, but a state of overall structural mismatch. -/- Therefore, the significance of this book lies not in providing answers, but in reconstructing the way questions are asked. It seeks to redefine three key questions: How do we understand the world? How do we understand ourselves? And how do we act within the world? -/- In an era where humanity possesses the power to profoundly transform the world, the real question is no longer “what can we do,” but: -/- Do we still know how to coexist with this world? -/- This question forms the core starting point of this book, and may also constitute the deepest philosophical question of our time. -/- . (shrink)

Performativity is the capacity of science to exert influence on the very phenomena it seeks to describe, for instance, when an economic prediction of a recession creates expectations which, in turn, make the occurrence of a recession more likely. Is this capacity something that threatens the epistemic import of science and its ethical integrity, or is it something that may have legitimate roles to play and that we might sometimes even cheer for? Although previous accounts tended to adopt a negative (...) view, philosophers of science now increasingly grant performativity a productive role in science. This paper reviews this development and suggests pathways for future research. In particular, granting that performativity has legitimate roles to play does not imply that anything goes; rather, we then need to go about demarcating legitimate from illegitimate ways of dealing with this phenomenon. To give structure to this important research project, I suggest two broad families of demarcation strategies, one focused on aligning performativity with the epistemic goals of science and the other focused on the ethical and social desirability of performativity. (shrink)

As artificial intelligence advances rapidly toward human-level capabilities, the global discourse remains dominated by questions of control, alignment, and technological safety. Yet the most fundamental challenge may not lie in machines, but in ourselves. This essay argues that the development of artificial intelligence compels a deeper reflection on the nature of human intelligence, purpose, and spiritual potential. Drawing on Max Tegmark’s taxonomy of future scenarios and P. R. Sarkar’s Progressive Utilization Theory (PROUT), the paper explores which pathways are both (...) technologically plausible and morally acceptable. Special emphasis is given to the “Egalitarian Utopia” scenario, which closely resembles the PROUTian vision of decentralized economy, spiritual leadership, and cooperative ethics. The essay concludes that without inner transformation and voluntary limits on personal accumulation, no technical safeguard will suffice. The real singularity will not be artificial — but spiritual. (shrink)

The concept of “unity of heaven and humanity” (tian-ren he-yi) is a central proposition in Chinese intellectual tradition. However, within the classical Confucian framework, it is often ethicalized and anthropocentric, placing humans at the center of the cosmos. This has contributed to ecological imbalances, technological risks, and systemic crises in civilization. Based on the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology, this paper proposes a Lao-Yang model of unity of heaven and humanity, transforming the concept from a philosophical ideal into a scientific, systematic, and (...) operational framework for civilization. Its core lies in the cosmological generative chain of “Dao generates all things, Dao follows nature”: galaxy → sun → Earth → moon → life → civilization, where humans and all other beings function as nodes within a system, and the development of civilization follows natural constraints and hierarchical adaptation. -/- Through literature analysis, cosmological evolution theory, complex systems, and cybernetics, this study systematically elaborates the philosophical foundations, cosmic system structure, principles of natural civilization, technological adaptation, and applied value of Lao-Yang’s unity of heaven and humanity. Results indicate that the Lao-Yang framework is theoretically decentralized, non-ethicalized, and empirically verifiable, providing a scientific basis for ecological governance, technological system control, and risk management in modern civilization. Future research directions include modeling the cosmological generative chain, simulating civilizations, interdisciplinary applications, and long-term strategies for aligning civilization with cosmic laws. This study demonstrates a pathway to integrate classical philosophical ideas with modern scientific methodology, offering a theoretical and practical framework for sustainable global civilization. (shrink)

Throughout the long course of human history, “ignorance” has long constituted the primary boundary of civilizational development. A lack of understanding of natural laws, misjudgments about the structure of the universe, and ambiguity regarding humanity’s own position forced humans to rely on experience, intuition, and trial and error, advancing slowly under limited cognitive conditions. However, since the Scientific Revolution, this situation has undergone a fundamental transformation. -/- From Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric system, to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, to modern physics’ (...) deep revelations of micro and cosmic structures, humanity has gradually moved away from a self-centered worldview and constructed a knowledge system grounded in objective laws. The growth of knowledge has expanded humanity’s capacity to understand the world at an unprecedented rate, compressing the realm of the “unknown” to a significant extent. -/- Intuitively, such cognitive expansion should lead to a more rational, stable, and sustainable form of civilization. Yet reality presents an inverse structure: ecosystems continue to degrade, climate risks keep rising, resource consumption accelerates, and social systems, despite increasing interconnectedness, exhibit greater instability. -/- A deeper issue is that these crises do not arise from “ignorance,” but unfold within the realm of the “known.” -/- Humanity not only recognizes the existence of these problems but also understands their mechanisms and consequences at a scientific level. Yet the overall structure of civilization continues along its established trajectory, unable to undergo fundamental transformation. -/- This phenomenon suggests that the core problem of contemporary civilization is no longer a lack of knowledge, but rather an expanding structural gap between knowledge and reality. Humanity is no longer in a state of ignorance, but in a condition of “cognitive sufficiency coupled with structural mismatch.” -/- This mismatch first manifests as an asymmetry between cognitive structures and complex systems. Human cognition primarily evolved in local, short-term, and low-complexity environments, whereas modern civilization operates within global-scale, highly coupled, and long-duration complex systems. When local rationality is embedded within an overall system, it may no longer produce rational outcomes, but instead become a driver of structural imbalance. -/- Second, this mismatch appears as a disjunction between knowledge and behavior. Modern science can explain the world but does not directly determine behavior. Behavior is constrained by institutional structures, technological pathways, and cultural inertia. Within such a multi-layered system, even if individuals fully “know the correct answer,” the overall system may still evolve along suboptimal or even dangerous trajectories. -/- Third, this mismatch is reflected in humanity’s misrecognition of its own position. Although modern science has long revealed that humanity is not the center of the universe, in real-world institutions and behavioral logic, humans still implicitly occupy a central position, treating nature as an external object and the world as a resource system available for unlimited exploitation and transformation. This shift in cognitive coordinates gradually detaches civilization from the natural constraints upon which it depends. -/- Based on the above analysis, this book advances a core judgment: the crisis of contemporary civilization is essentially a systemic structural mismatch—the inconsistency among cognitive structures, behavioral mechanisms, and real-world constraints. This mismatch is not accidental, but the result of the internal evolution of the modern civilizational trajectory. -/- If this judgment holds, then the solution must also undergo a fundamental shift. Relying solely on technological progress, institutional repair, or local optimization may alleviate certain problems, but cannot address their structural roots. True transformation must occur at a deeper level of cognitive structure—how humanity understands its relationship with the world. -/- In this sense, this book proposes the concept of “awakening,” not in a religious or psychological sense, but as a structural cognitive transformation. It signifies a shift from a self-centered worldview to an understanding of humanity as a node within complex systems; from controlling the world as an object to coordinating and embedding within its structure. -/- This transformation unfolds across three dimensions. -/- First is the cosmological level of repositioning—recognizing that humanity is not the center of purpose, but a phase structure within the generative processes of nature. Second is the perceptual level of real-world structures—restoring sensitivity to system constraints, feedback mechanisms, and long-term consequences, allowing behavior to align with reality. Third is the ethical expansion—extending responsibility from the short-term and local to the long-term and systemic level, integrating behavior into a broader consequence structure. -/- Through the interaction of these three dimensions, a new form of civilization begins to emerge. This book refers to it as “natural civilization”—a form of civilization that operates on the basis of respecting system structures and natural constraints. It does not deny technological development nor the expansion of human capabilities, but requires that such capabilities be embedded within larger system structures to prevent the continued expansion of structural mismatch. -/- It must be emphasized that this book does not offer simple solutions, nor does it attempt to construct a linear developmental blueprint. Rather, it seeks to reconstruct a more fundamental problem awareness: what we face is not a collection of isolated problems, but a state of overall structural mismatch. -/- Therefore, the significance of this book lies not in providing answers, but in reconstructing the way questions are asked. It seeks to redefine three key questions: How do we understand the world? How do we understand ourselves? And how do we act within the world? -/- In an era where humanity possesses the power to profoundly transform the world, the real question is no longer “what can we do,” but: -/- Do we still know how to coexist with this world? -/- This question forms the core starting point of this book, and may also constitute the deepest philosophical question of our time. -/- . (shrink)

This article examines an embedded model of ethical governance, as practised by the Mind in Bexley Research and Ethics Advisory Board, in overseeing the Unpaid Mental Health Carers in Bexley oral history project. Unlike conventional university-based research ethics committees (RECs), this Board was rooted in the local community, comprising unpaid carers, mental health service users, clinicians, safeguarding leads and qualitative/oral history researchers. Its deep contextual knowledge, direct links to support and safeguarding pathways, and procedural rigour enabled ethical deliberations grounded in (...) lived realities and local service infrastructures. The Board’s design transformed ethics from a pre-approval checkpoint into an active safeguarding partner, exemplified by real-time crisis interventions during fieldwork. Meetings in accessible community venues, the use of plain-language documentation, and a collaborative approach fostered trust and transparency, aligning with the concept of “everyday ethics.” Drawing on this case, the article argues that de-centralised, co-produced ethics governance can enhance contextual sensitivity, strengthen lived experience participation, and mitigate participant risk more effectively than standard institutional models. It concludes by considering implications for research governance frameworks seeking to embed ethical oversight within the relational and place-based contexts in which research unfolds, while recognising that statutory research ethics committees remain essential in biomedical and NHS-facing domains. (shrink)

With the waves of reform occurring in mental health legislation in England and other jurisdictions, mental capacity is set to become a key medico-legal concept. The concept is central to the law of informed consent and is closely aligned to the philosophical concept of autonomy. It is also closely related to mental disorder. This paper explores the interdisciplinary terrain where mental capacity is located. Our aim is to identify core dilemmas and to suggest pathways for future interdisciplinary research. The terrain (...) can be separated into three types of discussion: philosophical, legal and psychiatric. Each discussion approaches mental capacity and judgmental autonomy from a different perspective yet each discussion struggles over two key dilemmas: whether mental capacity and autonomy is/should be a moral or a psychological notion and whether rationality is the key constitutive factor. We suggest that further theoretical work will have to be interdisciplinary and that this work offers an opportunity for the law to enrich its interpretation of mental capacity, for psychiatry to clarify the normative elements latent in its concepts and for philosophy to advance understanding of autonomy through the study of decisional dysfunction. The new pressures on medical and legal practice to be more explicit about mental capacity make this work a priority. (shrink)

Paradox theory offers a unique approach through which the complex and often conflicting aspects of corporate sustainability (CS) can be addressed. Although a growing body of literature has focused on the organizational-level outcomes of a paradox approach to sustainability, we know less about how such an approach creates business contributions to sustainable development beyond the organization (societal sustainability). The present study addresses this gap in research through a qualitative meta-analysis of 32 empirical case studies. While the analyzed studies confirmed the (...) effectiveness of a paradox approach to managing CS tensions from an organizational perspective, indications of contributions to societal sustainability were ambiguous. This finding led to the creation of a typology of response–outcome pathways. These pathways illustrate variations in the societal sustainability outcomes of CS paradox responses based on the moderating effects of three factors: level of commitment to sustainability, the approach to stakeholder engagement, and the level of strategy–practice alignment. This analysis contributes to the CS paradox perspective by offering important boundary conditions to the commonly held assumption that a paradox approach leads to superior business contributions to sustainability and highlights the need for research that examines outcomes of extant CS approaches beyond the organization. (shrink)

This study investigates whether word embeddings -- language models that transform words into numerical vectors based on distributional patterns -- constitute genuine semantic representations grounded in structural reality, or merely sophisticated statistical artifacts. To address this fundamental question in computational linguistics and philosophy of mind, we developed a novel microsimulation methodology using a virtual `supermarket' with known spatial topology comprising four departments (fruit, vegetables, beverages, extras) across forty networked shelves. Computer simulations of 80,000 `shoppers' navigating this space generated unique sentences (...) from their shopping trajectories, creating a corpus where language users metaphorically `shop' for words during sentence formulation. -/- When the GloVe embedding algorithm was applied to this artificial corpus -- derived purely from distributional co-occurrence patterns without external semantic annotation -- the model successfully reconstructed the original (hidden) supermarket layout with remarkable fidelity, correctly identified departmental clusters, and preserved spatial relationships between products. Dimensionality reduction of the 50-dimensional embedding space revealed striking one-to-one correspondence with the ground-truth network topology across all product variants, demonstrating distributional robustness. -/- From a philosophical perspective, these findings contribute empirically to debates about statistical pattern recognition versus genuine semantic understanding. The successful structural recovery suggests the distributional hypothesis may capture more profound relational properties than critics acknowledge, though questions remain about whether such correspondence constitutes authentic grounding in real-world conceptual frameworks or sophisticated pattern matching disconnected from experiential meaning dimensions. -/- The theoretical framework draws upon Shannon's information theory and minimum description length principles, suggesting that optimal data compression underlying embedding generation may naturally align with discovering generative structures. This implies Occam's razor may operate as a computational pathway toward semantic representation, though whether this achieves genuine intentionality remains philosophically contested. These results have implications for contemporary debates about artificial intelligence, computational semantics, and machine understanding. (shrink)