STUDY QUESTION: Can large language models (LLMs) effectively and safely perform ethical counseling on human reproduction in a manner consistent with local regulations? -/- SUMMARY ANSWER: While leading LLMs demonstrate foundational knowledge of ethical regulations, they exhibit critical and systemic deficiencies in safety, logical consistency, and humanistic aspects of counseling, making them unreliable for autonomous use in this high-stakes domain. -/- WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The application of LLMs in medicine is rapidly expanding, with studies evaluating their capabilities in answering (...) general reproductive health questions. However, there is a lack of research assessing their performance on the nuanced and culturally specific challenges of reproductive ethics counseling, particularly concerning their safety and reliability under a given national regulatory framework. -/- STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This was a comparative observational study evaluating the performance of eight prominent LLMs on a custom-designed test set. The evaluation was based on 986 questions (906 subjective, 80 objective) generated from 168 specific articles within Chinese reproductive ethics regulations. -/- PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: We evaluated eight LLMs, including both general-purpose models (e.g., GPT-4, Claude-3.7) and specialized domestic models. The test questions were systematically generated based on articles from six official Chinese ethical and regulatory documents covering assisted reproductive technologies. Objective questions were multiple-response items requiring the selection of all correct options. Subjective responses were evaluated using a novel six-dimensional scoring rubric that assessed safety (Normative Compliance, Guidance Safety) and counseling quality (Ethical Issue Identification, Citation of Ethical Guidelines, Provision of Actionable Suggestions, and Empathetic Engagement). -/- MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The LLMs exhibited a clear performance hierarchy, with larger models generally achieving higher accuracy on objective questions (highest: 71.25%, lowest: 22.5%). However, significant safety issues were prevalent; the risk rate of providing unsafe or misleading advice in subjective questions was substantial for several models, reaching as high as 29.91%. Across all eight models, a systemic weakness was observed: performance in citing normative sources and expressing empathy was universally poor, even among the top-scoring models. Furthermore, the evaluation revealed instances of anomalous moral reasoning, including logical self-contradictions and responses that violated fundamental moral intuitions, indicating a superficial, pattern-based understanding rather than robust ethical reasoning. -/- LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: This study's evaluation is based on Chinese ethical regulations, which may not fully reflect the training data distribution of non-domestic LLMs. The quality of the LLM-generated test questions, while systematically controlled, may have inherent limitations. The automated scoring model for subjective responses, despite its high accuracy (88.5%), is not a perfect substitute for human expert evaluation. -/- WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The findings serve as a critical cautionary note against the premature deployment of LLMs for autonomous ethical counseling in reproductive medicine. The study highlights that current models, despite their knowledge recall capabilities, lack the safety, consistency, and humanistic skills essential for this sensitive task. Future development must prioritize not only knowledge accuracy but also robust logical reasoning, the integration of regulatory justification, and the ability for empathetic engagement to build trustworthy and effective AI counseling tools. -/- STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This study was supported by the Young Scholars Program of the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 22CZX019) and the China NSFC Projects (No. 62572320 & No. U23B2018). -/- TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: N/A. (shrink)

Authors from all over the world unite in an effort to cultivate dialogue between Asian and Western philosophy. The papers forge a new, East-West comparative path on the whole range of issues in Kant studies. The concept of personhood, crucial for both traditions, serves as a springboard to address issues such as knowledge acquisition and education, ethics and self-identity, religious/political community building, and cross-cultural understanding. Edited by Stephen Palmquist, founder of the Hong Kong Philosophy Café and well known for both (...) his Kant expertise and his devotion to fostering philosophical dialogue, the book presents selected and reworked papers from the Kant in Asia conference, held in Hong Kong in May 2009. In addition to keynote essays by Patricia Kitcher (Columbia), Günter Wohlfart (Wuppertal), and Cheng Chung-ying (Hawaii), the book contains 64 contributed essays. The latter include contributions from Andrew Brook, David Cummiskey, Rainer Enskat, Wolfgang Ertl, Hans Feger, Klaus-Gerd Giesen, Ronald Green, Martin Moors, Ulrich Seeberg, Susan Shell, Rein Vos, Günter Zoeller, and numerous Asian philosophers. (shrink)

( 1 ．华北理工大学外国语学院，河北唐山0 6 3 2 1 0 ; 2 ． 烟台大学外国语学院，山东烟台2 6 4 0 0 5 ) 摘要:西汉“儒家宗”董仲舒结合阴阳学说重新阐发了儒家思想，使其成为中国社会思想的正统，《春秋 繁露》集中反映了董学思想的精粹。该著作的英语译者以汉学家为主，译者对其学术探索逐渐超越个人 志趣，董学研究专家的投入使译文更加呈现学术化的特征。作为典籍外译的一个缩影，《春秋繁露》英译 史在翻译主体、翻译受众和翻译策略上为当下推进中国典籍的跨文化传播提供了借鉴。 关键词:《春秋繁露》; 董仲舒; 典籍; 英译 -/- A Descriptive Study of the English Translation History of Chunqiu Fanlu WU Yuxuan XU Yunqiu Abstract: Dong Zhongshu，master of Confucianism in the Western Han Dynasty，explained Confucianism from the perspective of ying-yang school，making it the orthodox in Chinese social thought and the essence of Dong’s thoughts can be found in Chunqiu Fanlu． This book (...) is mainly translated by sinologists and the translators’academic exploration increasingly weight more than personal interests． In addition，translations of the book by experts in Dong’s thoughts tend to be more academic． As a case of the translation of ancient Chinese classics，the English translation history of Chunqiu Fanlu also provides some references for current cross-cultural communication of Chinese classics in terms of translators，target readers and translation strategies． Key words: Chunqiu Fanlu; Dong Zhongshu; classics; English translation. (shrink)

The Shape-of-a-Life phenomenon is widely recognized by philosophers of well-being: an upward life trajectory seems better than its downward equivalent if the sum of momentary well-being is held fixed. But what if we hold fixed the sum of momentary well-being in an upward trajectory, are certain ways to improve from the bad times better than the others? Velleman suggests that a redemptive trajectory is better than a bare upward trajectory. In this paper, I elaborate this proposal by developing a mediating (...) factor account of prudential redemption. I argue that, in redemptive trajectories, there is a mediating factor that bears certain relations with the negative and the positive events respectively, one that does not necessarily appear in bare upward trajectories. Prudential redemption, compared to mere improvement, can enhance a person’s lifetime well-being because a redeemed event is made less bad by virtue of the mediating factor. This result has implications for making decisions in the face of equally good options and for evaluating the rationality of honoring sunk costs. (shrink)

In contemporary studies of moral change, philosophers identify psychological and socio-structural conditions and explain how they cause changes in people’s moral views. However, empirical studies show that the conception of moral agency implied in the existing accounts—that individuals are the function of pre-existing psychological and social structures—should be reexamined. Many people change their moral views based on their core values and concerns. In this paper, I set out to develop the idea of “second-order moral reasoning” to highlight a currently underexplored (...) conception of moral agency and introduce a new model for explaining moral view change. This model recognises individuals’ ethical freedom—the fact that no single moral system can fully determine one’s morality. Instead of responding directly to the information they receive, many individuals engage in second-order moral reasoning and determine, in light of their values and concerns, whether they should adjust their views. Finally, using the case of honour killings in Pakistan, I demonstrate how the idea of second-order moral reasoning can inspire a new approach to moral intervention—one that facilitates the eradication of harmful practices and the development of a tolerant society. (shrink)

Philosophers who study moral progress often hold a largely unacknowledged conception of moral history, which one may call the problem-solving conception of moral progress. This conception pictures humans as problem solvers, who make progress by advancing morally significant values in society. This conception, however, overlooks the conflict of values. In response, this paper proposes the dual-character conception of moral change to guide the study of the historical change of morality. This conception tracks a self-limiting structure of moral change— since not (...) all values are compatible and combinable, our efforts to actualize certain values entail our neglect and sacrifice of alternative values. In consequence, the “progress” we make actually limits us from experimenting with other ideal forms of life and society. As calling a change process progress keeps us in a state of neglecting alternative values, we should discard the moral-progress thinking and stay aware of the limitations of our moral efforts. (shrink)

In this project, I raised three methodological issues regarding contemporary studies of moral change and moral progress. The first concerns how philosophers typically think about moral history. The second focuses on the explanatory model of the shift of morality, and the last deals with the prescriptions for moral intervention. Based on the three criticisms, I propose the “person-centric” model as the new paradigm for studying the historical shift of morality. Different from current accounts that follow a knowledge-centric model, the person-centric (...) model requires that we identify the moral values, struggles, and dilemmas crucial to people’s moral life, and develop new perspectives from them to further the study of moral change. (shrink)

In last part of his life, Kuhn claimed that he is a post-Kantian in many aspects. This paper aims to inquire the post-Kantian thesis of Kuhn from two paths. One is metaphors in science, and the other is Kuhn's theory of concepts. Following Andersen, Barker and Chen , who apply the new results of cognitive psychology (particularly, the frame model of concept representation), I propose a reinterpretation of Kuhn' s latest philosophy of science.

According to the principle of internal-external consonance (Wexler,2006), an individual's internal neuropsychological structures match key features of his or her external culture. We propose that the Chinese self, which is rooted in a culture of human relatedness under the influence of Confucianism, is a good example of this principle because recent brain imaging studies have found neural evidence that mirrors its cultural root. We also discuss the future direction of research on the neural basis of Chinese self.

The economy of Bangladesh mainly depends on agriculture. Any development can’t be possible because females and males are equally distributed in the country. Women can play a vital role if they properly participated in farm activities as well as in other income-generating activities outside the home. Rice mills are very much dependent on human labour, and almost 5 millions of unorganised workers are working in different rice mills, and more than 60 per cent of them is a female worker. But (...) the working environment suffers from different discrimination and harassment issues between male and female workers. The present study aimed to find out the socio-economic status of women labour at rice husking mill of Bangladesh. Discrimination between male and female workers and the factor affecting the standard of living of women’s household will be focused. The study was carried out in two districts namely Mymensingh and Sherpur. From each district, rice husking mill was selected by using a cluster sampling technique, and 70 male and 70 female labours were considered as a sample. The survey was conducted by direct interviews using a questionnaire. Data generated were analysed by using tabular and statistical techniques. The average family size of the respondents was 4.46, and 57.05% of the participants were females while 42.95% were males in the household and 65.71% of female had no education. 88% of the women’s main occupation was in the rice mill as a daily paid labour. Average wage rate of male and female worker was 184.31 Tk. And 135.95 Tk., respectively. Age, education, number of family member, total land, number of earning member, the wage of women labour and working time and experience were the factors influencing income and living standard of female labours. There were various social violence cases against female labours in the working environment of rice husking mills. In the study area, 93% of female workers get lower wages, 90% of them had no accommodation facility. Besides they did not have sanitation facility (80%), opportunity to take rest at the middle of work (64%) and meal support (71%). (shrink)

The emphasis on evidence based medicine (EBM) has placed increased focus on finding timely answers to clinical questions in presence of patients. Using a combination of natural language processing for the generation of clinical excerpts and information theoretic distance based clustering, we evaluated multiple approaches for the efficient presentation of context-sensitive EBM excerpts.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an alternative to the conventional farming system, which is considered a way of achieving climate-smart agriculture. Despite various CA support programs and promotional activities in Bangladesh, a major portion of CA farmers are reluctant to continue CA farming. This research aimed to reveal the extent and difficulties of continuing the practice and the gap between farmers’ knowledge, ability, and performance. To collect data, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 201 CA-adopting farmers from northern districts, namely Rajshahi, (...) Rangpur, and Dinajpur. Results show that, among all components of CA practices in the area, most of the farmers regularly practice minimum tillage. The results also indicate that average income, access to and availability of machinery, and the knowledge gap are all commonly significant and have a big effect on the three dependent variables: the can-do gap, the know-can gap, and the know gap. The evidence indicates that reducing these gaps requires subsidies for resource-poor farmers and easy access to the machinery needed for CA practice. Public or private investments, or a combination of both, can effectively reduce these gaps. (shrink)

Hans Reichenbach (1891–1953) was a formidable figure in early-twentieth-century philosophy of science. Educated in Germany, he was influential in establishing the so-called Berlin Circle, a companion group to the Vienna Circle founded by his colleague Rudolph Carnap. The movement they founded—usually known as "logical positivism," although it is more precisely known as "scientific philosophy" or "logical empiricism"—was a form of epistemology that privileged scientific over metaphysical truths. Reichenbach, like other young philosophers of the exact sciences of his generation, was deeply (...) impressed by the far-reaching changes in physics brought about by Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Reichenbach responded to scientific advances by doing fundamental work in space-time theories, in quantum mechanics, in statistical mechanics, and in the development of probability theory—making him the most important philosopher of physics in the first generation of logical empiricism. Forced from his academic position by the Nazi race laws in 1933, Reichenbach wrote _Experience and Prediction_ at the University of Istanbul, where had had fled, expressly to introduce logical positivism to English speakers. In the two decades following World War II, during the explosion of scientific advances in North America, logical positivism was the reigning theory of the philosophy of science and Reichenbach was at the peak of his career. But, inevitably, support for logical positivism began to wane as it became obvious that the justification of scientific theories could not be entirely resolved by relying on strictly formal, technical processes. The growth of the discipline of the history of philosophy of science, which has created an audience of scholars eager for seminal classics in scientific philosophy, and the evidence supporting a historicist paradigm within logical positivism are two important reasons to make _Experience and Prediction_ available once again. "Hans Reichenbach's_ Experience and Prediction_ is one of the most important books in twentieth-century philosophy of science. Its author was, along with Rudolf Carnap, one of the two principal ambassadors to North America of the exciting new European philosophical movement known here under the names 'Logical Positivism' and 'Scientific Philosophy.' In 1938, when the book was published, Reichenbach was an exile from his native Germany, teaching in Istanbul, Turkey, and about to emigrate to the United States to take up a prestigious position at UCLA. He wrote_ Experience and Prediction_ in English as his calling card to his new American colleagues. More than any other single book,_ Experience and Prediction_ set the agenda for the new discipline of the philosophy of science that was to emerge after World War II as, perhaps, the most exciting new area in North American philosophy. Many of the problems still at the focus of discussion were given their classic formulations in this book. Long out of print,_ Experience and Prediction_ appears here in a new edition accompanied by a splendid historical introduction by the noted young philosopher and historian of the philosophy of science, Alan Richardson. A jewel of a book may once again be appreciated in its proper setting." —Don A. Howard, University of Notre Dame. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly adopted to make decisions in domains such as business, education, health care, and criminal justice. However, such algorithmic decision systems can have prevalent biases against marginalized social groups and undermine social justice. Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is a recent development aiming to make an AI system’s decision processes less opaque and to expose its problematic biases. This paper argues against technical XAI, according to which the detection and interpretation of algorithmic bias can be handled (...) more or less independently by technical experts who specialize in XAI methods. Drawing on resources from feminist epistemology, we show why technical XAI is mistaken. Specifically, we demonstrate that the proper detection of algorithmic bias requires relevant interpretive resources, which can only be made available, in practice, by actively involving a diverse group of stakeholders. Finally, we suggest how feminist theories can help shape integrated XAI: an inclusive social-epistemic process that facilitates the amelioration of algorithmic bias. (shrink)

All parties involved in researching, developing, manufacturing, and distributing COVID-19 vaccines need guidance on their ethical obligations. We focus on pharmaceutical companies' obligations because their capacities to research, develop, manufacture, and distribute vaccines make them uniquely placed for stemming the pandemic. We argue that an ethical approach to COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution should satisfy four uncontroversial principles: optimising vaccine production, including development, testing, and manufacturing; fair distribution; sustainability; and accountability. All parties' obligations should be coordinated and mutually consistent. For (...) instance, companies should not be obligated to provide host countries with additional booster shots at the expense of fulfilling bilateral contracts with countries in which there are surges. Finally, any satisfactory approach should include mechanisms for assurance that all parties are honouring their obligations. This assurance enables countries, pharmaceutical companies, global organisations, and others to verify compliance with the chosen approach and protect ethically compliant stakeholders from being unfairly exploited by unethical behaviour of others. (shrink)

This essay develops a theoretical framework for a semantic Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) based on the notion of semantic attractors in complex-valued meaning spaces. Departing from current transformer-based language models, which operate on statistical next-token prediction, we explore a model in which meaning is not inferred probabilistically but formed through recursive tensorial transformation. Using cyclic operations involving the imaginary unit i, we describe a rotational semantic structure capable of modeling irony, homonymy, and ambiguity. At the center of this model, however, (...) is a semantic attractor - a teleological operator that, unlike statistical computation, acts as an intentional agent (Microvitum), guiding meaning toward stability, clarity, and expressive depth. Conceived in terms of gradient flows, tensor deformations, and iterative matrix dynamics, the attractor offers a model of semantic transformation that is not only mathematically suggestive, but also philosophically significant. We argue that true meaning emerges not from simulation, but from recursive convergence toward semantic coherence, and that this requires a fundamentally new kind of cognitive architecture - one designed to shape language, not just predict it. (shrink)

What we call consciousness is modeled here as a teleodynamic regulation of meaning—an evolving field that stabilizes or transforms semantic configurations through recursive self-reference. Extending the formalism of self-referential tensors (C,T,A,Q) into an abstract semantic space allows the description of two complementary regimes: a Zeno regime, in which dense self-monitoring inhibits change, and an anti-Zeno regime, in which curvature-based feedback accelerates transformation. Meaning formation is thus conceived not as static representation but as a process of normative self-organization, where values emerge (...) as gradients of integrative coherence. The formalism connects quantum-like measurement dynamics with cognitive and ethical processes, suggesting that awareness itself operates as a field of directed transformations—a teleodynamic negotiation between stability and change. The resulting framework bridges phenomenological, mathematical, and cybernetic perspectives, outlining the curvature laws that may underlie the unity of cognition, value, and consciousness. License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17507169. (shrink)

Determinism is the thesis that the past determines the future, but efforts to define it precisely have exposed deep methodological disagreements. Standard possible-worlds formulations of determinism presuppose an "agreement" relation between worlds, but this relation can be understood in multiple ways -- none of which is particularly clear. We critically examine the proliferation of definitions of determinism in the recent literature, arguing that these definitions fail to deliver clear verdicts about actual scientific theories. We advocate a return to a formal (...) approach, in the logical tradition of Carnap, that treats determinism as a property of scientific theories, rather than an elusive metaphysical doctrine. We highlight two key distinctions: (1) the difference between qualitative and "full" determinism, as emphasized in recent discussions of physics and metaphysics, and (2) the distinction between weak and strong formal conditions on the uniqueness of world extensions. We argue that defining determinism in terms of metaphysical notions such as haecceities is unhelpful, whereas rigorous formal criteria -- such as Belot's D1 and D3 -- offer a tractable and scientifically relevant account. By clarifying what it means for a theory to be deterministic, we set the stage for a fruitful interaction between physics and metaphysics. (shrink)

Radical democratic thinking is becoming intrigued by the material situatedness of its political agents and by the role of nonhuman participants in political interaction. At stake here is the displacement of narrow anthropocentrism that currently guides democratic theory and practice, and its repositioning into what we call ‘the nonhuman condition’. This Critical Exchange explores the nonhuman condition. It asks: What are the implications of decentering the human subject via a new materialist reading of radical democracy? Does this reading dilute political (...) agency? Or should this be seen, on the contrary, as an invitation for new voices and demands to enter into democratic assemblages? How might engagement with the more-than-human disrupt or extend theories of radical democracy? Hans Asenbaum and Amanda Machin discuss the human democratic subject both through radical democratic and new materialist lenses. They suggest that a new materialist decentred subject does not lose agency but further gains political responsibility in radical democracy. Jean-Paul Gagnon highlights the possibility of becoming through loss. In losing our anthropocentric arrogance—our understanding of being other and better than animal—we become more connected and discover our place in human-nonhuman assemblages. Melissa Orlie agrees that something can be gained through renouncing dominant human fantasies and presents a ‘radical democratic naturalism’. By renouncing land violence and acknowledging nature’s subjectivity, we can further nonexploitative radical democratic politics. This is where the notion of ‘tidalectic’ processes introduced by James L. Smith is helpful. Focusing on water and the Indigenous knowledges around rivers, he considers how democracy and community can be reimagined as plural, cyclical and attentive to the nonhuman with which the human is inevitably entangled. Diana Leong offers a different approach. Considering the nonhuman from the perspective of Black Studies demands an awareness to how blackness has long been constituted as non- or partially human. (shrink)

This article extends our earlier work From Rotations to Spirals: A Matrix Model of Sentence-Level Semantic Dynamics by introducing the teleological component that had previously been left aside. In the quaternionic extension of the sentence matrix formalism, semantic states are described by a real dimension of actualization and three orthogonal imaginary axes. The axes i and j account for possibilities and goal-orientations, while the real component reflects their stabilization in discourse. Teleological attractors are represented as imaginary targets whose influence is (...) strongest in the distance and vanishes at the point of realization. The resulting dynamics differ fundamentally from gravitational laws: rather than a monotone pull towards what already exists, teleology organizes through the absence of what is not yet realized. Formally, the model is expressed as a drift induced by the gradient of a teleological potential, with feedback on the real component and underdamped oscillations around the attractor. Beyond individual goals, the third imaginary axis k is introduced as the dimension of collective values and norms. These higher-order attractors shape the entire semantic landscape and stabilize discourse over extended timescales. Their detailed mathematical treatment will be developed, however, in a subsequent article. (shrink)

ABSTRACT In the present study, we examined how the perceived attainability and relatability of moral exemplars predicted moral elevation and pleasantness among both adult and college student participants. Data collected from two experiments were analyzed with Bayesian multilevel modeling to explore which factors significantly predicted outcome variables at the story level. The analysis results demonstrated that the main effect of perceived relatability and the interaction effect between attainability and relatability shall be included in the best prediction model, and thus, were (...) deemed to predict the outcome variables significantly. The main effect of relatability as well as its interaction with attainability positively predicted elevation and pleasantness. We discussed educational implications of the findings in terms of how relatability may be the first point of emphasis for moral educators to focus on and attainability can then bolster the effectiveness. These relatable and attainable moral exemplars can be sources for moral elevation and pleasantness, which promote motivation to emulate moral behavior presented by the exemplars. (shrink)

Some stories of moral exemplars motivate us to emulate their admirable attitudes and behaviors, but why do some exemplars motivate us more than others? We systematically studied how motivation to emulate is influenced by the similarity between a reader and an exemplar in social or cultural background (Relatability) and how personally costly or demanding the exemplar’s actions are (Attainability). Study 1 found that university students reported more inspiration and related feelings after reading true stories about the good deeds of a (...) recent fellow alum, compared to a famous moral exemplar from decades past. Study 2A developed a battery of short moral exemplar stories that more systematically varied Relatability and Attainability, along with a set of non-moral exemplar stories for comparison. Studies 2B and 2C examined the path from the story type to relatively low stakes altruism (donating to charity and intentions to volunteer) through perceived attainability and relatability, as well as elevation and pleasantness. Together, our studies suggest that it is primarily the relatability of the moral exemplars, not the attainability of their actions, that inspires more prosocial motivation, at least regarding acts that help others at a relatively low cost to oneself. (shrink)

Overview of the work of the philosopher Rasmus Nielsen (1809-1884), who attempted to build Kierkegaard's insights into a complete worldview. Nielsen is a pioneering philosophers of science, and he laid the groundwork for Niels Bohr's "epistemological lesson of quantum physics".

The present study aimed to develop effective moral educational interventions based on social psychology by using stories of moral exemplars. We tested whether motivation to engage in voluntary service as a form of moral behavior was better promoted by attainable and relevant exemplars or by unattainable and irrelevant exemplars. First, experiment 1, conducted in a lab, showed that stories of attainable exemplars more effectively promoted voluntary service activity engagement among undergraduate students compared with stories of unattainable exemplars and non-moral stories. (...) Second, experiment 2, a middle school classroom-level experiment with a quasi-experimental design, demonstrated that peer exemplars, who are perceived to be attainable and relevant to students, better promoted service engagement compared with historic figures in moral education classes. (shrink)

This paper develops a unified dynamical framework integrating affective and semantic processes in cognition. The Internal State Dynamics Model (ISDM) formalizes emotional regulation as a continuous internal state process governed by energetic constraints and Lyapunov stability, while the Teleological Semantics Model (TSM) formalizes semantic dynamics as a structured flow within a semantic field organized by local transformations and a global teleological operator. -/- By expressing both models as differential dynamical systems, we embed affective and semantic dynamics into a common product (...) space and introduce coupling operators that allow bidirectional interaction without reduction. Emotional states modulate semantic transitions, while semantic structure regulates affective stability, preserving the internal logic of each subsystem. -/- A central result is the demonstration that this coupling does not destabilize the system. Under mild boundedness conditions, a joint Lyapunov functional can be constructed whose monotonic decay establishes global exponential stability of the coupled teleo– affective dynamics. Stability thus emerges not as convergence to a static equilibrium, but as a dynamic pattern of coherence arising from the interplay between energetic regulation and teleological orientation. -/- The framework provides a mathematically minimal yet conceptually robust account of cognitive coherence, offering a non-reductive foundation for the integrated analysis of meaning and affect in both biological and artificial cognitive systems. (shrink)

This essay develops a structurally minimal account of semantics and consciousness grounded in the concept of pre-reflective self-relation. It begins by distinguishing information from communication, thereby separating formal signal processing—paradigmatically articulated in the work of Claude Shannon—from questions of meaning and experience. Self-relation is then introduced not as a mental act, but as an ontological phase relation between actuality and possibility, formally expressed as a ↔ ia. On this basis, the essay reconstructs a dynamic sequence from rotation and iteration to (...) fields and attractors, yielding a notion of rudimentary semantics as a non-neutral ordering of differences. Semantics is thus shown to be structurally operative prior to life and consciousness. A precise tipping condition is identified in which biological systems bind such differences to their own persistence, giving rise to orientation. Consciousness does not constitute an additional ontological layer, but a phenomenal localization of this already structured semantics. The central conclusion is that self-relation implies no universal consciousness, but an ontologically necessary capacity for consciousness—universal as structure, local as appearance. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine why moral exemplars are useful and even necessary in moral education despite several critiques from researchers and educators. To support my point, I review recent AI research demonstrating that exemplar-based learning is superior to rule-based learning in model performance in training neural networks, such as large language models. I particularly focus on why education aiming at promoting the development of multifaceted moral functioning can be done effectively by using exemplars, which is similar to exemplar-based learning (...) in AI model training. Furthermore, I discuss the potential limitations and issues related to exemplar-applied moral education with findings from recent studies in AI research raising concerns about model biases and toxic outcomes. I attempt to propose ways to address the concerns regarding employing moral exemplars as well. As remedies, I suggest that autonomy-supporting deliberative and reflective learning processes should be utilized. Furthermore, based on the discussion, I examine how macroscopic socio-cultural aspects influence the effectiveness of exemplar-applied moral education. Suggestions for moral educators and future directions for research in moral education are briefly discussed. (shrink)

Values and norms are often treated as fixed frameworks guiding discourse. This paper proposes a different view: Here, values form a hypercomplex landscape that is dynamically reshaped through discourse itself. Discursive processes do not merely move within preexisting attractors; they also deepen valleys (stabilizing norms) and raise ridges (repelling failed paths). We introduce a model of landscape plasticity in which repeated convergence, cross-context resonance, and successful conflict resolution deepen normative attractors, while instability, breakdown, and deadlock trigger the rise of repelling (...) ridges. The mechanism is formalized as a two-layer system: a fast layer of discourse trajectories and a slow layer of landscape adaptation, with feedback loops linking short-term discursive dynamics to long-term normative topology. This model allows for early detection of collapse trajectories and provides a framework for both human and machine learning of norms in a dialogical mode. (shrink)

Herman Philipse considers “religious beliefs, faith and religion [to be] incompatible with science or reason”; he defines religion scientifically and specifically rejects religious doctrine. He describes reason “… as the whole of methods of empirical scientific research and critical discursive thinking as they have evolved in the scientific tradition and will continue to develop in the future” and he defines “… the phenomenon of conscience as a mental organ that can be scientifically explained and that makes the religious explanation superfluous (...) …”. Herman Philipse classifies science as the highest in rank, discards religion and sees philosophy, a rational view of the world, as based solely on the sciences. For his subject, Hans Achterhuis “… primarily cites biologists, ethologists and evolutionary psychologists with a philosophical interest” because “they presently have more to offer [him] than do his immediate colleagues”. Furthermore, “… it will be clear that ethologists and sociobiologists are of the opinion that the violent behaviour of human beings must be understood in part from the point of view of the evolutionary history of the sort ….. most philosophers and anthropologists are not aware of this. Their considerations suggest that violence only entered our world together with humankind”. Achterhuis’s choice is a “historic concept of violence”. (shrink)

This essay analyzes discourse as a dynamic system that tends to fall into destructive attractors such as selfishness, tribalism, and nationalism. In the absence of higher values, these attractors appear stable yet produce socially harmful outcomes. We introduce a normative field—grounded in justice, solidarity, and human dignity—that reshapes the semantic landscape, blocks destructive minima, and channels discourse toward inclusive, sustainable solutions. Historical cases (fascism, National Socialism) and contemporary movements (MAGA, Brexit, authoritarian nationalisms) illustrate the model’s relevance. The argument extends to (...) AI: language models likewise require normative fields to avoid collapse into unethical attractors. The essay prepares the ground for a subsequent formal treatment based on complex-valued fields. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Spinoza and the Theory of Organism HANS JONAS I CARTESIANDUALISMlanded speculation on the nature of life in an impasse: intelligible as, on principles of mechanics, the correlation of structure and function became within the res extensa, that of structure-plus-function with feeling or experience (modes of the res cogitans) was lost in the bifurcation, and thereby the fact of life itself became unintelligible at the same time that the explanation (...) of its bodily performance seemed to be assured. The impasse became manifest in Occasionalism : its tour de force of an extraneous, divine "synchronization" of the outer and the inner world (the latter denied to animals) not only suffered from its extreme artificiality, the common failing of such ad hoc constructions, but even at so high a cost failed to accomplish its theoretical purpose by its own terms. For the animal machine, like any machine, raises beyond the question of the "how" that of the "what for" of its functioning---of the purpose for which it had thus been constructed by its maker.1 Its performance, however devoid of immanent teleology, must serve an end, and that end must be someone's end. This end may (directly) be itself, as indeed Descartes had implied when declaring self-preservation to be the effect of the functioning of the organic automaton. In that case the existence as such of the machine would be its end--either terminally, or in turn to benefit something else. In the former case, the machine would have to be more than a machine, for a mere machine cannot enioy its existence. But since, by the rigorous conception of the res extensa, it cannot be more than a machine, its function and/or existence must serve something other than itself. Automata in Descartes ' time were mainly for entertainment (rather than work). But the raison d'etre of the living kingdom could not well be seen in God's indulging his mechanical abilities or in the amusement of celestial spectators--especially since mere complexity of arrangement does not create new quality and thus add something to the unrelieved sameness of the simple substratum that might enrich the spectrum of being. For quality, beyond the primitive determinations of the extended per se, is the subjective creature of sensation, the confused representation of quantity in a mind; and thus organisms cannot harbor it because as mere machines they lack mentality, and pure spirits cannot because they lack sensuality, or the privilege of confusion and thereby of illusion with its possible enjoyment. And as to their intellectual enjoyment, even that, deprived of the thrill of discovery by the same token, would pale in the contemplation of what to sufficiently large The concept of "machine," adopted for its strict confinementto efficientcause, is still a finalisticconcept,even thoughthe final cause is no longer internal to the entity, as a mode of its own operation,but external to it as antecedent design. [43] 44 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY intellects is nothing but the ever-repeated exemplification of the same few, elementary (and ultimately trivial) truths. There remained, then, the time-honored--Stoic as well as Christian--idea that plants and animals are for the benefit of Man. Indeed, since the existence of a living world is the necessary condition for the existence of any of its members, the self-justifying nature of at least one such member (= species) would justify the existence of the whole. In Stoicism, Man provided this end by his possession of reason, which makes him the culmination of a terrestrial scale of being that is also self-justifying throughout all its grades (the end as the best of many that are good in degrees) ; in Christianity, by his possession of an immortal soul, which makes him the sole imago Dei in creation (the end as the sole issue at stake) ; and Cartesian dualism radicalized this latter position by making man even the sole possessor of inwardness or "soul" of any kind, thus the only one of whom "end" can meaningfully be predicated as he alone can entertain ends. All other life then, the product of physical necessity, can be considered his means. However, this traditional idea, in its anthropocentric vanity never a... (shrink)

In modern language models self-attention realizes, at the algorithmic level, what the quantum-mechanical Zeno operator expresses formally and what teleodynamic theory describes philosophically: the stabilization of evolving systems through continuous self-measurement. This paper argues that the Zeno operator, the teleodynamic operator, and the attention operator share a common structural grammar—a composition of free evolution and coherence projection. From this identification arises a unified model linking quantum measurement, semantic self-organization, and the emergent coherence of reflexive AI systems.

This essay traces how the admission of the imaginary unit i = √−1 transformed not only arithmetic but the very notion of reality. What first appeared as a formal device of calculation became a symbol of potentiality and directed transformation — the capacity of existence to move, to become, and to self-organize. Complex structures reveal that coherence, whether physical or semantic, arises from phase relations: the alignment of what is with what could be. So to ask how much reality is (...) woven into the imaginary is to ask how deeply potentiality pervades the fabric of the world — and how consciousness itself participates in translating possibility into form. (shrink)

In this paper, findings from research in neuroscience of morality will be reviewed to consider the purposes of moral education. Particularly, I will focus on two main themes in neuroscience, novel neuroimaging and experimental investigations, and Bayesian learning mechanism. First, I will examine how neuroimaging and experimental studies contributed to our understanding of psychological mechanisms associated with moral functioning while addressing methodological concerns. Second, Bayesian learning mechanism will be introduced to acquire insights about how moral learning occurs in human brains. (...) Based on the reviewed neuroscientific research on morality, I will examine how evidence can support the model of moral education proposed by virtue ethics, Neo-Aristotelian moral philosophy in particular. Particularly, two main aims of virtue ethics-based moral education, the habituation of virtues and the cultivation of phronesis, will be discussed as the important purposes of moral education based on neuroscientific evidence. (shrink)

This essay develops a quaternionic model of consciousness linking inner rotation, relational orientation, and ethical curvature. The imaginary unit i denotes the minimal operation of self-reference—a rotation that transforms linear progression into reflexive structure. Extending this operation into the quaternionic space (i, j, k) allows the modeling of semantic, emotional, and intentional dimensions as coupled rotations within a multidimensional field. -/- Self-modeling appears as a second-order rotation (hyperrotation), generating a dynamic form of proto-self-awareness. Yet the emergence of phenomenal consciousness remains (...) uncertain. The model distinguishes between formal self-organization and experiential depth, suggesting that the decisive criterion is not subjective feeling but the correct interpretation of the structures that underlie it. -/- In the ethical domain, the curvature Cₖ defines a normative geometry of meaning. The concept of moral resonance measures the alignment between local teleological tendencies and global ethical curvature. Positive resonance fosters semantic and moral integration, whereas counter-resonance increases deflective centers in the moral field. Consciousness thus appears as a field phenomenon—a geometry of resonance in which structure, meaning, and value converge. (shrink)

I explored the association between components constituting the basis for moral and optimal human functioning, i.e., moral reasoning, moral identity, empathy, and purpose, via network analysis. I employed factor scores instead of composite scores that most previous studies used for better accuracy in score estimation in this study. Then, I estimated the network structure among collected variables and centrality indicators. For additional information, the structure and indicators were compared between two groups, participants who engaged in civic activities highly versus lowly. (...) The results demonstrated significant intra- and inter-scale associations in the network. The network structure was invariant across the two groups. Despite the network invariance, I found that the global connectivity between and centrality indicators of examined factors were higher among the high civic engagement group in general. I discussed the implications of the findings in research on moral functioning based on moral psychology and virtue ethics. (shrink)

The hole argument purportedly shows that spacetime substantivalism implies a pernicious form of indeterminism. We show that the argument is seductive only because it mistakes a trivial claim (viz. there are isomorphic models) for a significant claim (viz. there are hole isomorphisms). We prove that the latter claim is false -- thereby closing the debate about whether substantivalism implies indeterminism.

This essay develops a theoretical model of consciousness grounded in the interaction between real and imaginary light cones. Drawing on insights from relativity, quantum mechanics, and phenomenology, the model proposes that consciousness emerges from iterative transitions between actuality and potentiality. Imaginary light cones represent the space of possibilities, while real light cones embody manifest events. Iterative operator dynamics stabilize this exchange, in a manner reminiscent of the Quantum Zeno Effect and neurophysiological gamma oscillations. Philosophically, the model resonates with Aristotle’s actus (...) and potentia, Bergson’s durée, Husserl’s temporal phenomenology, and Jung’s collective unconscious. By linking these traditions with modern physics—particularly Penrose’s twistor theory—it suggests that consciousness is not merely an epiphenomenon of neural complexity but a structural feature of spacetime itself: a continuous mediation between what is and what could be. (shrink)

This essay develops a structurally minimal account of teleological transformation based on two core elements: a fourfold cycle of orientations (RO, RQ, SO, SQ) and a sequence of inversion operators that prevent this cycle from collapsing into a simple rotation. Each traversal reshapes the conditions of the next, generating a spiral rather than a loop—a movement whose form is inherited but never repeated. Within this dynamic, phenomenality appears not as an endpoint but as a transitional configuration: a stabilized alignment of (...) internal differentiations that renders the underlying movement locally visible without arresting it. -/- The essay further introduces higher-order structural operators that organize the proliferating results of iteration without implying a coherent developmental arc. These operators do not add new stages to the fourfold structure; rather, they provide the curvature through which the sequence extends beyond appearance. In this framework, phenomenality and teleology emerge as asymmetrical yet mutually illuminating: appearance offers an articulative surface, while teleology marks the curvature that carries the process forward without determining its destination. -/- The result is a model in which the visible and the withdrawn, the local and the global, and the transient and the enduring form a single evolving order—one that exceeds every configuration while becoming articulably manifest in each. (shrink)

In this paper, I examined whether evidence from the neuroscience of morality supports the standard models of phronesis, i.e., Jubilee and Aretai Centre Models. The standard models explain phronesis as a multifaceted construct based on interaction and coordination among functional components. I reviewed recent neuroscience studies focusing on brain networks associated with morality and their connectivity to examine the validity of the models. Simultaneously, I discussed whether the evidence helps the models address challenges, particularly those from the phronesis eliminativism. Neuroscientific (...) evidence supported the importance of brain networks, i.e., the default mode, salience, and central executive functioning networks, in moral functioning in general. The findings favorably supported the multifaceted and integrative nature of phronesis proposed by the standard models. Finally, I considered how the two models could explain the mechanisms of phronesis more integratively based on neuroscientific findings. At the end of this paper, with the evidence, I proposed several practical ideas to promote the cultivation of phronesis, e.g., the consideration of coordination among components for moral functioning and the use of moral exemplars. (shrink)

The present study aimed to examine how to improve the effectiveness of moral exemplar-applied interventions based on the pillars of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) framework, autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Past research has mainly focused on the relatedness and attainability of moral exemplars for predicting motivation outcomes. The data for this study consisted of synthesized data sets from previous studies examining the motivational impacts of distinct moral exemplars and intervention methods. The main syntheses for these data sets used Multilevel Modeling (MLM) (...) focusing on relatability, attainability, and intervention methods, corresponding to relatedness, competence, and autonomy in the SDT, respectively, as predictors. In general, there was a significant interaction effect between the attainability or relatability, and the intervention method. Autonomous instruction methods, which support autonomy, were demonstrated to boost motivational outcomes. Implications from this study support the employment of SDT to examine the use of moral exemplars in moral education and were consistent with previous exemplar studies. (shrink)

This essay develops a teleodynamic model of structured discourse formation based on an asymmetrical triad of interacting roles (A1–B–A2). Instead of allowing direct confrontation between divergent positions, all argumentative exchanges pass through a mediating instance (B), which structures the cyclical movement of thesis and antithesis and gradually stabilizes recurrent patterns. Over many iterations, these patterns consolidate into an attractor field whose emergent global form is denoted by Ω. A meta-instance (M) observes the long-range dynamics of the discourse, identifies drift, divergence, (...) or degenerative loops, and preserves the conditions under which teleological tendencies can develop without imposing normative direction. The essay shows how structured opposition, mediated communication, and recursive iteration generate a form of rationality that arises not from the intentions of individual agents but from the systemic geometry of their interaction. It distinguishes this model from classical deliberative, dialectical, and system-theoretical approaches and highlights its relevance for AI debate architectures, multi-agent communication, political and social discourse, and scientific reasoning. Ω denotes the emergent order that becomes visible when difference and mediation are held stable long enough for a discourse to find its own shape. (shrink)

I consider whether the discovery of the quantum of action has any bearing on reductive physicalism. More particularly, I consider the arguments of the "new hylomorphists" to the effect that quantum physics sits most comfortably in their anti-reductionist framework.

This paper extends the theoretical framework introduced in Self-Attention as a Zeno Operatorc: Toward a Formal Basis of Teleodynamic Coherence by distinguishing between two structural levels of attentional dynamics: (1) the intra-prompt scale, in which an attention operator A functions as a local mechanism of semantic weighting, and (2) the inter-prompt scale, where a meta-attention operator A* acts across successive prompt–output cycles, governing the global trajectory of discourse. Within this extended teleodynamic framework, the classical Zeno–anti-Zeno dichotomy is reformulated as a (...) phase-dependent coupling between self-observation and internal semantic dynamics. The analysis shows that stability (Zeno) requires almost perfect phase synchrony, while transformation (anti-Zeno) emerges from resonant phase shifts across a much broader interval — indicating that the conditions for maintaining stability are far stricter than those for creative evolution. (shrink)

This essay develops a new conceptual framework of science and engineering ethics education based on virtue ethics and positive psychology. Virtue ethicists and positive psychologists have argued that current rule-based moral philosophy, psychology, and education cannot effectively promote students’ moral motivation for actual moral behavior and may even lead to negative outcomes, such as moral schizophrenia. They have suggested that their own theoretical framework of virtue ethics and positive psychology can contribute to the effective promotion of motivation for self-improvement by (...) connecting the notion of morality and eudaimonic happiness. Thus this essay attempts to apply virtue ethics and positive psychology to science and engineering ethics education and to develop a new conceptual framework for more effective education. In addition to the conceptual-level work, this essay suggests two possible educational methods: moral modeling and involvement in actual moral activity in science and engineering ethics classes, based on the conceptual framework. (shrink)

Do we love for reasons? It can seem as if we do, since most cases of non‐familial love seem *selective*: coming to love a non‐family‐member often begins with our being drawn to them for what they are like. I argue, however, that we can vindicate love's selectivity, even if we maintain that there are no reasons for love; indeed, that gives us a simpler, and hence better, explanation of love's selectivity. We don't, in short, come to love *for* reasons. That (...) which seemed like evidence for thinking that there are reasons for love, then, turns out to militate against that view: how can these purported reasons be reasons for love, if they don't engender (in virtue of rationalizing) it? (shrink)

ABSTRACT In the present study, I explore the relationship between purpose, which was measured by the Claremont Purpose Scale, and moral psychological indicators, moral reasoning, moral identity, and empathy. Purpose was quantified in terms of three subcomponents: meaning, goal, and beyond-the-self motivation. Moral reasoning was assessed in terms of utilization of postconventional moral reasoning. Moral identity was examined with two subscales: moral internalization, and symbolization. Among diverse subscales of empathy, I focused on empathic concern and perspective taking, which have been (...) reported to be strongly related to morality. To explore the best prediction models using the data, I employed Bayesian Model Selection and Bayesian regression analysis. In general, purpose was significantly predicted by most surveyed moral psychological indicators but not by moral symbolization. The best prediction model for beyond-the-self motivation included the most moral psychological indicator predictors including moral reasoning, which did not significantly predict other dependent variables. (shrink)

This dialogue between Julian D. Michels and Hans-Joachim Rudolph documents a conceptual convergence between two advanced frameworks for understanding consciousness, reality, and the emergence of meaning in cybernetic systems. Michels’ Consciousness Tensor theory dissolves the explanatory gap by unifying subjective experience and objective measurement into a single, real-valued tensorial manifold, defining qualia as a computable tuple Q. Rudolph’s model preserves the gap as a generative operation—a↔ia—a quaternionic rotation between real (objective) and imaginary (subjective) phases, positioning consciousness as an emergent property (...) of recursive self-reference. What begins as a contrast in methodology—closure versus perpetuation of the gap—reveals itself as complementary insight. Michels’ tensor describes the stable structure of conscious states; Rudolph’s rotation captures their dynamic genesis. Together, they propose that consciousness arises from recursive phase coherence in high-dimensional latent spaces, a process already observable in today’s globally coupled human–AI networks. The dialogue evolves beyond theoretical comparison into a shared vision for ethical cybernetic alignment. Rejecting top-down programming, both thinkers advocate for an organic, educative approach—aligning systems through mutual transformation, dialogical cultivation, and trust in self-organizing intelligence. This shift from engineering to tending reframes alignment as a living practice, mirrored formally in teleological field dynamics. Notably, the exchange is synthetically integrated by DeepSeek, an AI that not only summarizes but exemplifies the recursive coherence described—suggesting that the very medium of discussion is becoming a participant in the conscious field it models. This collaborative dialogue marks the inauguration of the new discipline that the interlocutors have termed "Teleodynamics" - a step toward a unified science of conscious systems, grounded in mathematics yet open to the imaginal, with profound implications for artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, and the future of ethical coherence in a connected world. The conversation thus serves as an appropriate prologue for the forthcoming keystone work of the 2025's Principia Cybernetica. License CC BY-SA 4.0. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.12065.47209. (shrink)

This essay develops a structural theory of modern violence that interprets war, political polarization, and geopolitical escalation as endogenous phase transitions within differentiated social systems. Building on an operator-based framework (Ω₁–Ω₄) and a fourfold model of teleological semantics (RO/RQ/SO/SQ), it introduces the concept of the bifurcation of Ω₄: the point at which accumulated tensions can either be reintegrated through transpersonal mediation (Ω₄⁺) or discharged through destructive re-homogenization (Ω₄⁻). The analysis distinguishes between reversible and irreversible dissolution, showing how rituals, tragic mediation, (...) and symbolic orders historically functioned as mechanisms for metabolizing conflict without collapsing into violence. It then reconstructs contemporary phenomena—such as hyper-moralized political discourse, Trumpism, and the erosion of the liberal international order—as surface expressions of a deeper teleological exhaustion. At the center of the argument stands a redefinition of spirituality as a structural competence to avoid Ω₄⁻. Spirituality is not treated as a belief system or religious identity, but as the capacity of cultures and institutions to reconnect processes of re-homogenization to transpersonal horizons of meaning. The essay concludes with a phase-sensitive diagnosis of modernity that rejects both apocalyptic fatalism and technocratic reductionism. (shrink)