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It has often been claimed, e.g. by William James or Aldous Huxley, that mystical experiences across times and cultures exhibit a striking similarity. Even though the words and images we use to describe them are different, underneath the surface we find a common experiential core. Others have rejected this claim and argued that all experiences are intrinsically shaped by the mystics' pre-existing religious concepts. Against these constructivist objections, I defend the idea of a common core by arguing that even if all experience is interpreted through concepts, there could still be a common core. Those who reject the common core thesis usually argue that no distinction between experience and interpretation can be made since all experience is per se already interpreted. The notion of an uninterpreted experience is self-defeating. Drawing on current research on nonconceptual mental content, I argue (a) that experiences can have nonconceptual content; (b) that interpretation must be understood as conceptualization and (c) that conceptualization presupposes a raw mental content that is not conceptualized. This raw content is not experienced as nonconceptual. Rather, the nonconceptual, uninterpreted common core is an abstraction which shows itself only through reflection. Thus, the existence of a common core is compatible with the fact that all experiences are interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gambia's foreign policy on Senegal under the presidency of Yahya AJJ Jammeh (1996–2016) is the focus of this article. The study relied on speeches, statements and communiqués as its source of data for analysis. Using constructivism as a general theory and discourse analysis as a framework of analysis, the work argues that the Gambia's foreign policy towards its neighbour was built upon two main social constructs, namely 'two states, one people' and 'next-door enemy'. Despite changes in the leadership in Senegal, it is argued that the Gambian leadership consistently constructed Senegal in the same way during this period. The article concludes that these two constructs explain the often contradictory relationship between the two countries. While the 'two states, one people' construct was used to argue for and build cordial relationships, 'the next-door enemy' construct was invoked to condemn Senegal and justify strained relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This pedagogical note presents a novel learning activity (the icebox challenge) that was designed to facilitate deep learning of building physics energy transfer principles through a planning, prediction and analysis process following the Kolb learning cycle. The success of this strategy was evidenced by students relating and collating their knowledge and theoretical ideas and applying them to successfully solve a series of complex and inter-related practical building physics problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing methodological issues, I try to clarify relations between radical constructivism and the theories used as a basis of study by describing how social influences experienced by individuals are constructed. Also, I welcome the way other methodological questions may enrich future research by raising the issue of personal contact and inclusion of the first-person perspective in the construction of autism. Next, I discuss (a) the need to rethink the contemporary psychiatric/diagnostic category of autism; (b) some strong and weak points of the enactivist perspective; (c) the issue of inclusion of the “self–illness” relation in research on autism, as well as the validity of the term “illness” in this concept; and (d) the possibility of thinking about autism from the phenomenological perspective inspired by Heidegger’s category of understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the example of X-phemisms, I focus on the major epistemological difference radical constructivism makes to the theory of language and communication. Along these lines, I reflect on the relationship between values, affect and words as well as on the meta-communicative aspect of experience construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

> Context • Assuming upon the suggestion of dictionary makers and language theorists that some words are more pleasant than others and that it affects the way we should communicate, we put the cart before the horse and make a big categorial mistake. > Problem • Negative and positive emotional reactions to words are not something that can be deduced from words themselves and predicted before the communicative interaction. Instead, it is when, where and who utters these words that makes them sound good or bad for us, as observers. > Method • Based on the methods of experiential linguistic analysis of observational data I investigate philosophical roots and empirical manifestations of good and bad language in communicative interactions. > Results • I formulate and prove the hypothesis that euphemisms and dysphemisms are experiential factors of our dynamic situational construction of others. Our construal of some words as good or bad depends upon the experience we have of another person with whom we interact in situ. > Implications • Findings of my research illuminate the inherently experiential nature of language, which might lead sociologists and linguists to reconsider the way they approach the power of good and bad words. Moreover, it is argued to be neither possible nor necessary for scholars to make lists of euphemisms or dysphemisms, at least for non-written communication. > Constructivist content • I rely upon the concepts of radical constructivism such as experience construction, experiential field, construction of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two philosophical tools are used in this article, namely (1) that of philosophical-pluralism and (2) transcendent pluralism as a kind of glue to enhance our examining of creative pluralism. There is a diversity implant in positive modus of understanding this pluralistic pristine of creative pluralism within transcendence modus. To help facilitate this pluralistic pristine, the author makes use of three constructivist paradigms that are distinguished and used, namely (1) exogenous constructivism (rooted in a mechanistic metaphor) emphasising the reconstruction of structures preformed in the environment; (2) endogenous constructivism (rooted in an organismic metaphor) emphasising the coordination of previous organismic structures and (3) dialectical constructivism (rooted in a contextualistic metaphor) emphasising the construction of new structures out of organism and environmental interaction. Contribution: The aim of this article is to present a coherent metatheory by specifying the boundary conditions in which each root metaphor (constructive pluralism) best applies. These above-mentioned versions of pluralism as tools are a reminiscence and a jubilee of the efforts made by sapiens through diversity onto or into pluralism to enable the religious hamlet to think and share. This pluralistic approach of orientation, I hope, will empower sapiens in their respective hamlets to define, articulate and designate to enhance their own epistemological and ontological vantage points wherefrom their individual, coherent and contextual ways of thinking, acting and projecting their lives in a positive modus by emphasising the reconstructions of their performance in their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the mechanism of local border traffic (LBT) at external borders of the European Union (EU) and Schengen Area in the Baltic Sea region (BSR) from the point of view of the paradigm of constructivism. The LBT mechanism is an example of the practical application of constructivism: the goal of LBT is to stimulate cross-border cooperation (CBC) in its various dimensions. As a result, new interests and new identities may develop in border areas. This study proved that the greatest opportunities for shaping relations between societies and states in BSR are in the Polish–Russian, Norwegian–Russian, and Lithuanian–Belarusian borderlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education / Al Mejlh Altrbwyh is the property of Kuwait University, Academic Publication Council and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Filosofía (0185-3481) is the property of Universidad Iberoamericana Cuidad de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, I argue that Henry James’s unreliability in his short fiction shows a recurring peculiarity hitherto undiscussed or, at best, subsumed under the standard approach to this phenomenon. Even when his character-narrators report questionable information at odds with the authorial design as inferred by the reader, they seldom fail to trace such information to their own subjectivities and distinguish it explicitly from authenticated fictional fact. Relying on the metarepresentational capacity of real (and realistic) minds to process information inseparably from its source and aided by key rhetorical notions, I theorize this special kind of unreliability which I call overt, transparent, or selfacknowledged. Then I explore its different manifestations in “The Diary of a Man of Fifty” (1878), “The Aspern Papers” (1888), and “The Way It Came” (1898), three Jamesian tales whose narrators variously manage to keep track of their own minds as the source of their (often unwarranted) representations. On the resulting evidence I conclude that the limits of James’s unreliable narration are narrower and less disruptive than customarily held to be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neo-realism and neo-liberalism, which had been regarded as mainstream theories up until profound changes took place in the 1990s in international structure, considered the international area a domain in which states mainly pursue their strategic interests. In this period, NATO adopted policies that emphasized cooperation, and NATO countries developed collaborative and collective responses to tackle international problems. This approach demonstrated that pure interest-based mainstream theories could not provide enough theoretical framework for the new policies. In the same period constructivism, which is considered among critical theories and emphasizes the interaction of states, offered a different framework than classical theories. In this context, the study tries to understand transformation policies from a constructivist approach perspective. In the study, it has been found out that cooperative security, enlargement, and collective security policies could be understood by the constructivist approach's following claim; material force is given meaning according to the shared knowledge, norm and values and these could be spread by social interaction; though the success of this understanding depends on the suitable strategic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on discussion by Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard on radical transformation in aesthetic, ethical and religious stages of life. It highlights the relationship of Kierkegaard with depression and the aspect of his philosophy. It also discusses the positive role of depression in the success of reflective aestheticism.

Coaching is an interesting topic in teaching and learning used to develop learners. Coaching helps develop student potential by focusing on the aspect of self-learning. In this study, the author developed a coaching model based on the philosophy of progressivism and the constructivism learning theory. Semantic analysis and a text clustering technique were applied to generate a model. The model was implemented using the AB experimental design with secondary school students. The sample group was comprised of forty secondary school students in the Suphanburi province, Thailand. The results show a coaching model named the 3Es. The 3Es model comprises three components--engage, empower, and enliven--with twenty coaching roles. After implementing the 3Es model, it was found that the students' potential increased before, during, and after the implementation of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue Quebecoise de Droit International is the property of Revue quebecoise de droit international and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue Quebecoise de Droit International is the property of Revue quebecoise de droit international and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Przeglad Sejmowy is the property of Kancelaria Sejmu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Shane Glackin's 2019 Philosophical Quarterly article aims to (a) offer a framework for understanding the philosophical debate about the nature of disease and (b) utilise this framework to reply to several standard objections to normativist (particularly social constructivist) theories of disease. Specifically, Glackin claims his model avoids three central challenges to normativism, which we term the 'Flippancy Problem' (which charges that normativism implies diseases can be cured by adjusting our attitudes towards them), 'Repugnancy Problem' (which charges that normativism implies we must endorse repugnant historical views regarding 'conditions' like Drapetomania as 'genuine diseases in their day'), and the 'Explanatory Problem' (which charges that normativism cannot explain why diseases warrant certain kinds of medical intervention without lapsing into vicious circularity). Although we find Glackin's framework helpful in clarifying the terrain of the debate, we argue these three challenges continue to afflict his preferred construal of the normativist/social constructivist position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author offers an overview of his book "Nietzsche's Constructivism: A Metaphysics of Material Objects." He attempts to provide a comprehensive account of Friedrich Nietzsche's material object metaphysics and claim that he is a constructivist. He describes Nietzsche's constructivist concept as flexible and is not limited into defending common sense ontologies but can adapt with the times.

Conceptual constructive models are a type of scientific model that can be used to construct or reshape the target phenomenon conceptually. Though it has received scant attention from the philosophers, it raises an intriguing issue of how a conceptual constructive model can construct the target phenomenon in a conceptual way. Proponents of the conception of conceptual constructive models are not being explicit about the application of the constructive force of a model in the target construction. It is far from clear that how a conceptual constructive model exerts its constructive force on the constructed phenomenon of interest. Consequently, the function and the epistemic status of a conceptual constructive model are dubious at best. Making use of the conception of abstraction-as-aggregation, I argue that a conceptual constructive model can be used to construct the phenomenon of interest conceptually via a two-step process of abstraction: (1) abstracting away the lower-level details; and (2) aggregating the relevant information into a higher-level composite element. I contend that this process of abstraction, which is not playing the representational role as in a typical representational model, confers the constructive force on a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents a critical discussion of Justin Remhof's book "Nietzsche's Constructivism: A Metaphysics of Material Objects" which specifically focuses on a version of the paradox of conceptualizability. He explores the two theses about material objects and construction which are constitutively dependent on social practices and are socially constructed. He presents the standard principle about the logic of the paradox of conceptualizability.

Like Kant, the German Idealists, and many neo-Kantian philosophers before him, Nietzsche was persistently concerned with metaphysical questions about the nature of objects. His texts often address questions concerning the existence and non-existence of objects, the relation of objects to human minds, and how different views of objects impact commitments in many areas of philosophy―not just metaphysics, but also language, epistemology, science, logic and mathematics, and even ethics. In this book, Remhof presents a systematic and comprehensive analysis of Nietzsche's material object metaphysics. He argues that Nietzsche embraces the controversial constructivist view that all concrete objects are socially constructed. Reading Nietzsche as a constructivist, Remhof contends, provides fresh insight into Nietzsche's views on truth, science, naturalism, and nihilism. The book also investigates how Nietzsche's view of objects compares with views offered by influential American pragmatists and explores the implications of Nietzsche's constructivism for debates in contemporary material object metaphysics. Nietzsche's Constructivism is a highly original and timely contribution to the steadily growing literature on Nietzsche's thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and practitioners are increasingly attentive to contestation against symbols and institutions underpinning international order(s). Yet International Relations scholarship can benefit from greater understanding of ways in which contestation interacts with salient dimensions of social status in specific international organizations (IOs). Drawing on evidence from the history of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with a focus on democratic governance and human rights, this article analyzes status-related contestation as a significant, yet under-examined type of contestation in multilateral diplomacy. Status-related contestation conveys dissatisfaction about symbols, institutions, and actors which reinforce socially significant divisions that place a state (or group of states) at a social disadvantage in a particular multilateral venue. International organizations provide unique social contexts which affect the content of contestation. Building on scholarship in social psychology, constructivism, and status hierarchies in world politics, the article analyzes the evolution of a dimension (or basis) of social status in the OSCE and illustrates that, beyond domestic and material interests, state representatives communicate social identity-related concerns through language, for example, that expresses discontent with dividing lines, unfairness, or (dis)respect, in attempting to minimize negative social identities in multilateral organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes Maurizio Ferraris's "minimal realism" with the aim of showing that his criticisms of correlationism and constructivism are not convincing. Ferraris preserves both a substantivist vision of the objects of knowledge and a substantial difference between sensible things and concepts. These two issues prevent his Manifesto of New Realism from being considered the founding moment of the "new realism." The paper concludes with a reflection on those aspects that should be considered and avoided when proposing a philosophical realism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to show that Hegel's critique of Kantian Moral Philosophy, based on Rawls' interpretation, must be revised in some aspects, such as: the application of the categorical imperative; the problem of formalism and Kant's moral constructivism itself. A reconstruction of the main aspects of Rawlsian interpretation of Kant's practical Philosophy is necessary, considering Hegel's critique. This is explained in view of the advances it represents within a dialectical perspective and the possible repairs that can be made to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Warmińskie is the property of University of Warmia & Mazury in Olsztyn and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There have been tectonic shifts in the Indo-Pacific region, impacting relations among international actors, including traditionally close partners like Vietnam and India. By using the approach of realism and constructivism in international relations, this paper discusses Vietnam and India's approach to the Indo-Pacific region to expand their substantive strategic relationship. The paper finds out that geopolitical changes in the Indo-Pacific directly influence the bilateral relation and create challenges as well as opportunities. By using the SWOT model, the paper analyzes driving factors and challenges to the Vietnam-India relations. Through the findings, it suggests both countries need to take advantages of the regional cooperation to further Vietnam-India's strategic comprehensive partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]