After two centuries, the Diltheyan idea of the incommensurability of the natural and social sciences remains hegemonic. Alternative visions have since been overlooked; in this regard, the Baden neo-Kantian school showed that any divergence concerns implied method and not the phenomenal object of studies. W. Windelband coined the terms “nomological” and “idiographic” to underline how each discipline can be explained as a science of both law and events. To begin, I will show how complex thinking can expand and (...) institute a general integrative frame that overcomes the assumed incommensurability. By “complex,” I mean an anti-reductionist approach to understanding and a consequent ability to reveal the phenomenal world in terms of nested self-organized systems. Social and natural systems are persistent coalescences of individual entities showing series of interduality such as unicity and multiplicity, top-down conservation and bottom-up inno- vation, constraint of law and freedom of agencies. The two instances are maintained together by the rejection of abstracted and isolated concepts and the embrace of a general principle of indeterminacy resolving the apparent contradiction within the parallelization of the extremes as two different moments of analyses rooted in the social and natural classical methods. This paper considers both a) the Positivist attempt in the XIX century to approach the study of social phenomena in terms of law and b) the emergence of a general social science embracing the principle of acasuality, adapted from the study of the subatomic phenomenal world in quantum theory. Finally, this paper sketches how complex methodology can address historical and social studies with system theory in order to overcome classical dualities such as determinism vs. freedom, social vs. individual, and top down conservation vs. bottom up innovation in the form of an integrative parallelization. (shrink)

Richard Dawkins has popularized an argument that he thinks sound for showing that there is almost certainly no God. It rests on the assumptions (1) that complex and statistically improbable things are more difficult to explain than those that are not and (2) that an explanatory mechanism must show how this complexity can be built up from simpler means. But what justifies claims about the designer’s own complexity? One comes to a different understanding of order and of simplicity when (...) one considers the psychological counterpart of information. In assessing his treatment of biological organisms as either self-programmed machines or algorithms, I show how self-generated organized complexity does not fit well with our knowledge of abduction and of information theory as applied to genetics. I also review some philosophical proposals for explaining how the complexity of the world could be externally controlled if one wanted to uphold a traditional understanding of divine simplicity. (shrink)

Main principles of the complex nonlinear thinking which are based on the notions of the modern theory of evolution and self-organization of complex systems called also synergetics are under discussion in this article. The principles are transdisciplinary, holistic, and oriented to a human being. The notions of system complexity, nonlinearity of evolution, creative chaos, space-time definiteness of structure-attractors of evolution, resonant influences, nonlinear and soft management are here of great importance. In this connection, a prominent contribution made (...) to system analysis and to a necessary reform of education and thinking by Edgar Morin is considered. (shrink)

Why do people create extra representations to help them make sense of situations, diagrams, illustrations, instructions and problems? The obvious explanation— external representations save internal memory and com- putation—is only part of the story. I discuss seven ways external representations enhance cognitive power: they change the cost structure of the inferential landscape; they provide a structure that can serve as a shareable object of thought; they create persistent referents; they facilitate re- representation; they are often a more natural representation of (...) structure than mental representations; they facilitate the computation of more explicit encoding of information; they enable the construction of arbitrarily complex structure; and they lower the cost of controlling thought—they help coordinate thought. Jointly, these functions allow people to think more powerfully with external representations than without. They allow us to think the previously unthinkable. (shrink)

The Collisional Thinking Theory (CTT) introduces a groundbreaking framework for understanding and enhancing human cognitive processes, particularly in the context of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. At its core, CTT redefines creativity and problem-solving by emphasizing the deliberate collision of diverse, contrasting, and even discarded ideas—referred to as "Waste Thinking"—to generate innovative solutions and accelerate human awareness. This process not only unlocks untapped creative potential but also positions CTT as a necessity in the age of AI, serving (...) as a foundation for the post-critical thinking era where human cognition must evolve to keep pace with technological advancements. Originating from the field of "Epistophysics," CTT integrates philosophy, neuroscience, physics, and creative innovation to redefine human cognition. The theory is built on the concept of "collisions of ideas within human consciousness," wherein diverse and often conflicting thoughts interact dynamically to produce forward-looking insights. By reframing discarded or overlooked ideas as valuable resources, CTT highlights their role as key drivers of intellectual advancement. This paradigm shift transcends traditional methods of isolated analysis, fostering an integrative framework where primary and neglected ideas combine to generate extraordinary outcomes. Empirical studies demonstrate the wide applicability of CTT across various domains, including education, professional environments, and AI research. For instance, the core process of CTT, illustrated in the diagram "The Mechanism of Collisional Thinking" (Appendix E), visually represents how collisions between primary and discarded ideas lead to transformative insights. Leveraging advanced cognitive models and field experiments, CTT reveals its potential to enhance future foresight and foster innovative thinking, making it an indispensable tool for addressing the complexities of the modern world. In an era dominated by AI, CTT emerges as a vital framework for ensuring that human cognition remains adaptive, creative, and forward-thinking. By bridging gaps left by traditional cognitive models and incorporating emotional, intuitive, and creative dimensions, CTT offers a holistic approach to problem-solving that is both dynamic and resilient. As the world grapples with unprecedented challenges, CTT not only redefines creativity as a sophisticated and adaptable cognitive process but also paves the way for a collective evolution in thought and consciousness. This positions CTT as a cornerstone for navigating the demands of the 21st century and beyond, ensuring that humanity remains at the forefront of innovation in an increasingly AI-driven landscape. (shrink)

To explore the question of physical thinking – using the body as an instrument of cognition – we collected extensive video and interview data on the creative process of a noted choreographer and his company as they made a new dance. A striking case of physical thinking is found in the phenomenon of marking. Marking refers to dancing a phrase in a less than complete manner. Dancers mark to save energy. But they also mark to explore the tempo (...) of a phrase, or its movement sequence, or the intention behind it. Because of its representational nature, marking can serve as a vehicle for thought. Importantly, this vehicle is less complex than the version of the same phrase danced ‘full-out’. After providing evidence for distinguishing different types of marking, three ways of understanding marking as a form of thought are considered: marking as a gestural language for encoding aspects of a target movement, marking as a method of priming neural systems involved in the target movement, and marking as a method for improving the precision of mentally projecting aspects of the target. (shrink)

Challenging the way critical thinking is often considered a skill, this article explores possible discursive reasons for the skill-orientation and technicization of this concept. First, using Michel Foucault’s ‘division and rejection’ theory as a discursive analytical lens, the discussion explores the neoliberal alliance of international organizations, national governmental authorities, the media, job markets, schools, and concerned parents. It explores how this alliance promotes the discourse of skill and competence, and prepares the ground for critical thinking’s technicization. Drawing further (...) on Foucault’s decoding of human capital as the essence of neoliberalism, the article explores the way that the technicization of critical thinking fits with a conception of human beings as a complex mix of production and consumption, where, as homo economicus, they become entrepreneurs of themselves. Second, in the light of Foucault’s discursive analytical conception of the will to truth, the article traces a possible historical underpinning of critical thinking’s technicization. It argues that power-knowledge, the dark side of Enlightenment technological rationality, creates an increasingly technical conception of the world that tampers with the criticality of critical thinking. If critical thinking does not render people aware of the power impinging on them, it loses its value and meaning. The article proposes that critical thinking should rather be conceived along the lines of a Foucauldian conception of critique: the art of not being governed, which takes inspiration from Kant’s conception of enlightenment. It explores how to practise Foucauldian critical thinking, how Foucault’s technology of the self can be enacted as the protector of subjectivity against the governmentality of power. (shrink)

One of the most important contributions in Roland Posner’s work (1993) was the extension and development of the Gricean paradigm on meaning (1957) in a systematic framework, providing thus a general foundation of semiotic phenomena. According to this approach, communication consists in behaviors or artifacts based on reciprocal assumptions about the intentions and beliefs of the subjects involved in a semiotic exchange. Posner’s model develops with clarity the hierarchical relationships of semiotic phenomena of different complexity, from simple pre-communicative behaviors (like (...) indicating or signaling) to full communicative acts. Not only limited to linguistic communication, this framework can be successfully extended in the description of all kind of sign production, from gestures to artifacts. This article discusses a key point of this paradigm, namely our faculty to at-tribute mental states to other individuals through the observation of their behavior, artifacts or texts. New insights from neuropsychology and developmental psychology are discussed in supporting the validity of this model of communication. (shrink)

This paper argues that the transcendence (most obviously theological) has skewed much of Western thinking by forcing material complexity to be interpreted as the intervention of something immaterial. Contemporary terms in the anglophone world that can play this role are: intentionality (privatised teleology), representation and semantics. Deleuze launches a powerful critique of residually theological reasoning that has wide application in both philosophy and science. This critique converges with and deepens, perhaps surprisingly for a French philosopher, similar critiques that are (...) being offered today in evolutionary biology, cognitive science and robotics. (shrink)

When we speak of language we usually use the concept of a particular language. In this sense the concept denoted with the word language may vary from one language to another. Real language (=the language spoken) on the contrary is the reality lived by speakers thus encompassing complex and multifarious activities. Depending on the language spoken, the modes of thinking, modes of being in the conception of things, and systems of beliefs transmitted by means of particular languages, denote (...) the living reality of language with different grammatical categories. The concept “language” is expressed sometimes with a noun, thus denoting something existing in it; sometimes with a verb, thus denoting an action or an activity; and sometimes with an adverb, thus denoting the mode of an activity. The reality or degree of reality implicit in these grammatical categories involves a particular mode of thinking, prompted with a particular mode of being in the conception of things. Because of this it is necessary to distinguish the concept of language as something different from the reality of language. But first of all it is necessary to determine the reality or degree of reality of both the reality lived by speakers and the thing usually conceived of as language or a language. (shrink)

Remember that childhood game “Odds or Evens” you used to play in order to settle important disputes such as who gets the last slice of pizza? There was only one element of skill to that game: trying to figure out what the other person would throw. But that wasn’t easy. If your opponent was savvy, that meant trying to figure out what he thought you were going to throw. And that sometimes meant figuring out what he thought you thought he (...) was going to throw. -/- Philosophers call this “thought attribution,” and top poker players are remarkably good at it. The ability to attribute thoughts to other people is especially important in the No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournaments that have, through television and the Internet, swept the globe in recent years. What is required to succeed in this game is not merely attributing “first-order” thoughts to other players, but attributing to them thoughts about your thoughts about their thoughts. In fact, that’s the minimum. The kind of thinking done by the very best players (T. J. Cloutier, Howard Lederer, and Daniel Negreanu are especially good at it) is much more complex than that. -/- In this paper, I explore the light that recent philosophical work on thought attribution sheds on the kind of thinking that goes on at the expert poker table. The paper should be revealing to poker experts and novices alike. And it should be of interest to philosophers interested in poker or thought attribution. -/- The essay is published in Poker and Philosophy, a volume of Open Court's Popular Culture and Philosophy Series. The goal of the series is to introduce philosophical themes to non-philosophers by way of particular topics of interest (in this case poker). (shrink)

There seems to be widespread agreement that to be responsible for something is to be deserving of certain consequences on account of that thing. Call this the “merited-consequences” conception of responsibility. I think there is something off, or askew, in this conception, though I find it hard to articulate just what it is. The phenomena the merited-consequences conception is trying to capture could be better captured, I think, by noting the characteristic way in which certain minds can rightly matter to (...) other such minds—the way in which certain minds can carry a certain kind of importance, made manifest in certain sorts of responses. Mattering, not meriting, seems to me central. However, since I cannot yet better articulate an alternative, I continue in the merit-consequences framework. I focus on a particular class of consequences: those that are non-voluntary, in a sense explained. The non-voluntariness of these reactions has two important upshots. First, questions about their justification will be complex. Second, they are not well thought of as consequences voluntarily imposed upon the wrongdoer by the responder. By focusing on merited consequences and overlooking non-voluntariness, we risk misunderstanding the significance of moral criticism and of certain reactions to moral failure. (shrink)

Turing’s much debated test has turned 70 and is still fairly controversial. His 1950 paper is seen as a complex and multilayered text, and key questions about it remain largely unanswered. Why did Turing select learning from experience as the best approach to achieve machine intelligence? Why did he spend several years working with chess playing as a task to illustrate and test for machine intelligence only to trade it out for conversational question-answering in 1950? Why did Turing refer (...) to gender imitation in a test for machine intelligence? In this article, I shall address these questions by unveiling social, historical and epistemological roots of the so-called Turing test. I will draw attention to a historical fact that has been only scarcely observed in the secondary literature thus far, namely that Turing’s 1950 test emerged out of a controversy over the cognitive capabilities of digital computers, most notably out of debates with physicist and computer pioneer Douglas Hartree, chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi, and neurosurgeon Geoffrey Jefferson. Seen in its historical context, Turing’s 1950 paper can be understood as essentially a reply to a series of challenges posed to him by these thinkers arguing against his view that machines can think. Turing did propose gender learning and imitation as one of his various imitation tests for machine intelligence, and I argue here that this was done in response to Jefferson's suggestion that gendered behavior is causally related to the physiology of sex hormones. (shrink)

This provocation critiques the notion of long-term thinking and the claims of its proponents that it will help address failures in dominant conceptions of time, particularly in regard to environmental crises. Drawing on analyses of the Clock of the Long Now and Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, the article suggests that we be more wary of the concept’s use in what we might call chronowashing. Like the more familiar greenwashing, where environmental issues are hidden by claims (...) to be addressing the problem, the article explores how these examples of long-term thinking distract from extractivism, racism, and environmental injustice, making it harder to address the complexities involved. In particular, the article discusses examples where long-term thinking provides a veneer of environmental concern that actually disconnects from the work of building more equitable forms of relation. As a contrast, the article’s author asks: What is lost when we diagnose a problem as arising due to short-term thinking and propose long-term thinking as the solution? Against chronowashed environmental time, the author argues for more complex approaches that explicitly take into account the temporalities of inequality, political organization, ethical responsibilities and much else. The article engages with approaches to time that foreground the work needed to create time and move ethically within it, including Charles W. Mills’s white time and Kyle Powys Whyte’s kinship time. The author suggests that a stronger emphasis on the temporality of community, solidarity, and coalition—versus what James Hatley and Deborah Bird Rose have described as temporal narcissism—can better foreground the kinds of work that needs to be done, particularly by those with privilege. (shrink)

Expert skill in music performance involves an apparent paradox. On stage, expert musicians are required accurately to retrieve information that has been encoded over hours of practice. Yet they must also remain open to the demands of the ever-changing situational contingencies with which they are faced during performance. To further explore this apparent paradox and the way in which it is negotiated by expert musicians, this article profiles theories presented by Roger Chaffin, Hubert Dreyfus and Tony and Helga Noice. For (...) Chaffin, expert skill in music performance relies solely upon overarching mental representations, while, for Dreyfus, such representations are needed only by novices, while experts rely on a more embodied form of coping. Between Chaffin and Dreyfus sit the Noices, who argue that both overarching cognitive structures and embodied processes underlie expert skill. We then present the Applying Intelligence to the Reflexes (AIR) approach?a differently nuanced model of expert skill aligned with the integrative spirit of the Noices? research. The AIR approach suggests that musicians negotiate the apparent paradox of expert skill via a mindedness that allows flexibility of attention during music performance. We offer data from recent doctoral research conducted by the first author of this article to demonstrate at a practical level the usefulness of the AIR approach when attempting to understand the complexities of expert skill in music performance. (shrink)

Intersectionality has become the primary analytic tool that feminist and anti-racist scholars deploy for theorizing identity and oppression. This paper exposes and critically interrogates the assumptions underpinning intersectionality by focusing on four tensions within intersectionality scholarship: the lack of a defined intersectional methodology; the use of black women as quintessential intersectional subjects; the vague definition of intersectionality; and the empirical validity of intersectionality. Ultimately, my project does not seek to undermine intersectionality; instead, I encourage both feminist and anti-racist scholars to (...) grapple with intersectionality's theoretical, political, and methodological murkiness to construct a more complex way of theorizing identity and oppression. (shrink)

Memories of personal events can generate complex subjective experiences with highsensory details, a clear visuospatial context, and deep emotions. Future events, on the other hand, are thought to be experienced less strongly and less clearly than remembered past events. In this experiment, participants either remembered past events, imagined future events, or planned future events. Each mental representation of the event was followed by an extensive phenomenological questionnaire. As a second step, we added a new level of comparison by asking (...) participants to generate alternative versions of these events and answer the same phenomenological questionnaire to examine phenomenology in counterfactual thinking, prefactual thinking, and prefactual planning. We ran an exploratory factor analysis to reveal common underlying features to this variety of autobiographical thinking. We extracted four principal factors that explained 53% of the total variance: an Autonoesis factor, a Scene-Construction factor, a Visual-Perspective factor, and an Optimism-Bias factor. When comparing remembered, imagined and planned events using our factor scores, we found that memory and prospection did not generate significantly different subjective experiences. However, participants experienced the representation of counterfactual events less vividly and less clearly than memories, whereas they experienced prefactual imagined and prefactual planned events similarly to their original versions. In conclusion, our findings indicate that humans construct diverse forms of autobiographical events with similar underlying features, but with some differences in the phenomenology of retrospection and prospection, as reality constrains the way we perceive the past, but not so much the future. (shrink)

The definition of thinking in general form is given. The constructive logic of thinking is formulated. An algorithm capable of arbitrarily complex thinking is built.

A rather promising value theory for environmental philosophers combines the well-known fitting attitude (FA) account of value with the rather less well-known account of value as richness. If the value of an entity is proportional to its degree of richness (which has been cashed out in terms of unified complexity and organic unity), then since natural entities, such as species or ecosystems, exhibit varying degrees of richness quite independently of what we happen to feel about them, they also possess differing (...) degrees of mind-independent and subject-independent value. In particular, their value is not dependent on the desires or preferences of humans. The fitting attitudes account of value, at least as it is standardly developed, demands isomorphic evaluative responses on the part of all valuers. In particular, it entails that all valuers should have isomorphic preferences. But this seems absurd. I consider three different strategies with which the fitting attitude theorist can deflect this challenge. The first makes use of an account of non-standard value relations in terms of permissible preference orderings. The second appeals to value appearances and the associated notions of value distance and value perspective. The third involves an account of the ultimate bearers of value as properties, rather than as propositions or states of affairs. These strategies are not all mutually incompatible. While it isn’t possible to combine the first and second strategies, it is possible to combine the first and third strategies, and also to combine the second and the third. (shrink)

This paper proposes a radical re-examination of the foundations of modern aesthetics. It urges that we replace the tradition of eighteenth century aesthetics, with its insistence on disinterestedness and the separateness of the aesthetic, and its problematic oppositions, such as the separation of sense from cognition. In their place it appeals to a more process-oriented, pluralistic account, one that takes note of varying cultural traditions in aesthetics, that recognizes the aesthetic as a complex of many forces and factors, and (...) that considers the aesthetic as part of a complexity of values, including moral, practical, social, and political ones. It urges, further, an aesthetic-based criticism, not only of the arts, but of culture and knowledge. Central to this account is the idea of aesthetic engagement, which not only recognizes and extends the many connections of and in aesthetic experience, but invites our total involvement as active participants. (shrink)

A close reading of Peirce’s pragmatic maxim shows a correlation between meaning and purpose. If the meaning of a concept, proposition or hypothesis is clarified by formulating its practical effects, those also can be articulated as practical maxims. To the extent that the hypotheses or propositions upon which they are based are true, practical maxims recommend reliable courses of action. This can be translated into a broader claim of an integral relation between semiosis and goal-directed or teleological systems. Any goal-directed (...) system, to be propagating, must be capable of coordinating the information in its internal or endergonic processes with exergonic information found in its environment. Signs are critical links between these two sources of information and must also serve as steering mechanisms for that system as well. If signs detected or represented information in the environments without using that information to steer the system, it would have no practical effect on the system; conversely, if a system could steer itself, but had no representation of exergonic information, it would fail to be propagating. Obviously, to get food, it must not only find it, but must also use that information to direct its behavior in a manner that makes use of that food. Using concepts found in complex systems and modern information theory, it is argued that this analysis requires a distinction between information and meaning. The result of this investigation is the claim that meaning can be understood as the propagating work of information. The remainder of the paper follows some of the ramification of this analysis for Peirce’s semiotic theory. (shrink)

Designing Engineering Cases contributes to learning Physics principles. This involves a method derived from Structured Rational Thinking. The research objectives were: analyze the design process of the Case by the SRJU model: structure, review, judges validation, students evaluation, with the dimensions of: clarity, coherence, relevance, sufficiency. It was described the relationship of rational thinking with the SRJU model. The first stage consisted of theoretically basing pedagogy related with rational thought of ancient Greece; Secondly, was developed the test design (...) through an interaction matrix for order and interpret data that reflect level of conceptualization, according to types of structured thought: logical, methodical, narrative; For each type, dimensions of content, purpose and structure are evaluated, through an essay of the designed Case and Socratic dialogue implemented; with a sample of a control and experimental group of 45 students. To measure the impact of understanding, three levels considered: little, moderate and a lot; each level related to a type of rational thinking with its dimensions, coded with an ordinal scale from 1 to 3. A summary table was constructed for identifying type of thought in student's interpretation when wrote and discussed the Case. In the third stage, the results of validation and evaluation showed optimal levels of relevance and sufficiency; with coincidences in acceptable assessments that the Case is not totally coherent with a linear reality but complex. Conclusion, the SRJU model is effective to design Cases due to its processes derived from rational thought, which also may improve understanding. (shrink)

The dialogue between Richard Kearney, Jacques Derrida, and Jean-Luc Marion delves into the implications of philosophical hermeneutics in the wake of significant events such as 9/11. It explores how individuals interpret reality through the lens of pre-understanding while embracing a methodological suspension of belief to widen perspectives. The discussion highlights the nature of saturated phenomena, emphasizing that as understanding deepens, these phenomena can either transform into ordinary objects or remain profoundly saturated, reflecting the complex dynamics of epistemological inquiry.

Beyond the predominant paradigm of an essentially rational human cognition, based on the classical binary logic, we want to propose some reflections that are organized around the intuition that the representations we have of the world are weighted with appreciations, for example affective ones. resulting from our integration into a social environment. We see these connotations as essentially ternary in nature, depending on the concepts underlying neutrosophy: either positive, negative or neutral. This form of representation would then influence the very (...) nature of the cognitive process, which in complex real-world situations, has to deal with problems of a combinatorial nature leading to a number of cases too large for our abilities. Forced to proceed by shortcuts on the basis of heuristics, cognition would use these assessments of the representations it manipulates to decide whether partial solutions are attractive for solving the problem or on the contrary are judged negative and are then quickly rejected. There is still the case of a neutral weighting that allows processing to continue. Thus a neutrosophical conception of our representations of the world explains how our cognition functions in its treatment of combinatorial problems in the form of producing processing accelerating heuristics, both in terms of partial solutions selection and processing optimization. (shrink)

In this chapter, Jussi Backman approaches Hannah Arendt’s readings of ancient philosophy by setting out from her perspective on the intellectual, political, and moral crisis characterizing Western societies in the twentieth century, a crisis to which the rise of totalitarianism bears witness. To Arendt, the political catastrophes haunting the twentieth century have roots in a tradition of political philosophy reaching back to the Greek beginnings of philosophy. Two principal features of Arendt’s exchange with the ancients are highlighted. The first is (...) her account, in The Human Condition (1958), of the profound transformation of the Greek perceptions of political life initiated by Plato, the founder of the Western tradition of political philosophy; this transformation, according to Arendt, leads to an instrumentalization of politics as a means toward a higher end. The second feature is Arendt’s distinction, in her unfinished Life of the Mind (1977–8), between three different points of departure for thinking discovered by ancient philosophy—wonder, fear, and conscience—and three different outcomes of thinking—contemplation, willing, and judging. Backman argues that what connects these two interpretations of ancient philosophy is an attempt to rethink and rearticulate the complex relationship between thinking and action, between the reflective vita contemplativa and the world-oriented vita activa. (shrink)

Among Thomas Aquinas’s 13th and 14th century critics, some of them targeted his Aristotelian view that the human intellect does not cognize individuals of a material nature. To many of his readers, Aquinas’s stance on this point seems to be indefensible for it is an obvious fact that we think about individuals. In this essay, I argue Aquinas’s view has been misunderstood, both by his critics and by many Thomists that have come to his defense. I distinguish two impor- tant (...) aspects of Aquinas’s approach to this problem. First, I highlight the co-operative function different cognitive powers perform with respect to the unified cognitive operations of the human being. Second, I examine in detail Aquinas’s account of human sensing, perceiving, understanding, reasoning, thinking, and cognizing individuals by the co-operative cognition of their ex- ternal senses, the cogitative power (vis cogitativa), and the possible intellect. I show that a proper understanding of the coordinated operations of the pos- sible intellect and cogitative power reveals that Aquinas in fact has a complex and coherent account of how the human being – but not the possible intellect – perceives, thinks, understands, and reasons about individuals. (shrink)

The Role of Human Thinking in the Age of AGI Technology -/- The advancement of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) presents one of the most profound questions of our time: Will humans still need to use their biological brains to think, or will AGI completely take over cognitive processes? The rapid development of AGI could reshape the way humans interact with knowledge, decision-making, and creativity, raising both exciting possibilities and deep existential concerns. As we move toward an era where AGI (...) surpasses human intelligence in many domains, society faces a fundamental choice—whether to integrate AGI as a tool for enhancement, rely on it entirely, or find a balance that preserves human cognition. -/- AGI as a Replacement for Human Thinking -/- One possible future is that AGI becomes so advanced that human thinking is no longer necessary. If AGI can outperform the human brain in logic, problem-solving, creativity, emotional intelligence, and decision-making, then reliance on biological thought might become obsolete. With the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), humans could directly connect their minds to AGI, allowing them to access vast amounts of information and computational power instantly. This could result in a post-biological existence where traditional cognitive processes are outsourced to machines. -/- In such a scenario, AGI could manage all aspects of human life, from governance and economy to personal decision-making and creative endeavors. People might no longer need to engage in deep thinking, as AGI would provide optimized solutions for every problem. While this could lead to unprecedented efficiency, it also raises the question: What would it mean to be human if thinking is no longer necessary? -/- AGI as a Thinking Enhancement -/- Another possibility is that AGI does not replace human thought entirely but instead serves as a cognitive enhancement. Rather than making human intelligence obsolete, AGI could work alongside the human brain to improve memory, problem-solving skills, and decision-making. In this model, humans would still think independently, but AGI would act as a powerful assistant, offering insights and augmenting intellectual capabilities. -/- For example, AGI-powered brain-computer interfaces could allow individuals to instantly retrieve information, improve their ability to analyze complex problems, and even enhance creativity by generating new ideas. This hybrid model would preserve human autonomy while leveraging AGI’s superior processing power. In this future, humans would continue to exercise their cognitive faculties, but with AGI acting as an advanced tool to enhance thought processes rather than replace them. -/- The Risks of Overreliance on AGI -/- If humans become entirely dependent on AGI for thinking, there is a significant risk of cognitive decline. Just as physical inactivity leads to muscle atrophy, mental inactivity could result in the weakening of critical thinking skills, creativity, and emotional intelligence. Over time, if people no longer need to engage in independent reasoning, their ability to think autonomously could degrade. -/- Additionally, overreliance on AGI poses ethical concerns regarding control and agency. If AGI makes all decisions, who ensures that its choices align with human values? What happens if AGI systems are manipulated or fail in unforeseen ways? A society that fully surrenders its cognitive functions to AGI may find itself at risk of losing autonomy, free will, and the ability to self-govern. -/- Ethical and Existential Implications -/- Beyond practical concerns, the deeper philosophical question remains: What is the essence of being human? Thought, reflection, and decision-making have always been core aspects of human identity. If AGI assumes full responsibility for these processes, will humanity still retain its unique identity? -/- Some may argue that the very act of thinking—whether rational analysis, creative imagination, or emotional reflection—is what defines human existence. Without the need for thought, human beings could become passive entities, mere biological vessels interacting with an artificial intelligence far beyond their comprehension. On the other hand, if humans and AGI coexist in a way that enhances human potential while maintaining cognitive engagement, it may be possible to strike a balance between technological progress and human identity. -/- Conclusion -/- As AGI technology advances, humanity must decide how to integrate it into daily life. While AGI has the potential to replace human thinking in many areas, completely outsourcing cognition to machines may lead to a loss of autonomy and identity. The best path forward may be a hybrid approach, where AGI enhances human intelligence rather than replaces it. By ensuring that humans remain active participants in the thinking process, society can harness the power of AGI while preserving the fundamental aspects of what it means to be human. Ultimately, the future of human cognition in the age of AGI will be shaped by the choices we make today. -/- . (shrink)

Manifesting in diverse forms, mental and emotional health problems within the contemporary society have proven challenging to current biomedical healing practice and thereby remain a significant threat to individuals’ welfare. Considering the complexity of human emotions, ailing members of the society remain susceptible to adverse health implications accountable to poor emotional wellbeing. Spawning across diverse cultures with further support from narrative and explorative philosophies, the presence of body, spirit, and mind remains acknowledged as a fundamental foundation of human beings. The (...) study adopts a theoretical approach to research and subjects base eligible base literature to the Creswell data spiral for addressing the primary research problems. Through a concrete inclusion criterion, a total of 46 studies and corporate reports are explicitly explored within the exploration. The organization of information under themes indicates the imperative role of a myriad of holistic healing approaches in appraising the emotional and psychological welfare of individuals. Findings indicate that the adoption of philosophical reasoning remains critical in capacitating of hurt individuals to use their natural body resources in healing. Philosophical perspective allows for inner integration, balance and synchrony with nature such that the healing process emanates from within and further accentuates to natural healing. In essence, the integration of the mind, body and spirit holds the capacity to appraise the natural healing process in the quest to improve an individual’s welfare. Future explorations should concern with the integration of the holistic approaches within the contemporary medical practice for proximal health benefits. (shrink)

As individuals we often face complex issues about which we must weigh evidence and come to conclusions. Corporations also have to make decisions on the basis of strong and compelling arguments. Legal practitioners, compelled by arguments for or against a proposition and underpinned by the weight of evidence, are often required to make judgments that affect the lives of others. Medical doctors face similar decisions. Governments make purchasing decisions—for example, for expensive military equipment—or decisions in the areas of public (...) or foreign policy. These issues involve many arguments on all sides of difficult debates. These issues involve understanding the arguments of others and being able to make objections and provide rebuttals to objections. Students in universities deal with arguments all the time. A major purpose of a university education—regardless of subject matter—is to teach students how to read, understand, and respond to complex arguments. The ability to do this makes for highly employable, adaptable, and reflectively critical individuals. We often call the skill of marshaling arguments and assessing them “critical thinking.” All universities claim to instill the skill of critical thinking in their graduates and routinely note this in their advertising and promotional documents. This short paper outlines one way this skill can be taught. (shrink)

Resolution Matrix Semantics (RMS) proposes a new modal logic approach to model poly-logic cognition—the capacity to reason through multiple logical perspectives concurrently—leveraging indeterminate truth values and sub-interpretations. Inspired by Vladimir Bibler’s dialogic logic, RMS captures the pluralistic, dynamic essence of human thought, blending logical, emotional, and contextual dimensions to address ambiguity. In contrast to conventional education’s mono-logic, textbook-centric methods, RMS advocates for poly-logic pedagogical strategies, such as Socratic dialogues, exploratory discussions, and open-ended inquiries, to align with natural cognitive processes. Empirical (...) support from dialogic teaching studies underscores RMS’s potential to foster critical thinking, cognitive adaptability, and student engagement, equipping learners for complex real-world issues. Furthermore, RMS informs the development of educational technologies, enabling adaptive systems to process diverse interpretive threads, thus reimagining learning as a dynamic, dialogic process. (shrink)

This dissertation explores and argues for the import of the imagination (Phantasie) in Edmund Husserl's phenomenological method of inquiry. It contends that Husserl's extensive analyses of the imagination influenced how he came to conceive the phenomenological method throughout the main stages of his philosophical career. The work clarifies Husserl's complex method of investigation by considering the role of the imagination in his main methodological apparatuses: the phenomenological, eidetic, and transcendental reductions, and eidetic variation - all of which remained ambiguous (...) despite his extensive programmatic discussions. The work illuminates and clarifies aspects of the Husserlian phenomenological method never before explored. In order to clarify Husserl's eidetic method of inquiry, I propose a new way of thinking about the imagination - as direct intuitive presentation (eigentliche anschauliche Vorstellung) and as horizonal-nexic level of consciousness exhibiting the neutrality, freedom, and possibility as its essential features. Following Husserl's studies of the imagination, I propose a three-level model of consciousness (realizing, imagining, and eidetic) and explore the dynamic flexibility of each level (as horizon within which acts such as judgments or memories can unfold). This model of consciousness allows for a rethinking of the sources and conditions for the possibility of eidetic phenomenological inquiry - topics Husserl was mostly silent about. Through a rethinking of the model of consciousness, I propose a tight and substantial relationship between the natural (everyday) and artificial (methodological, theoretical) attitudes. I argue that the structure and systems of possibilities pertaining to the artificial attitude - i.e., our actual as well as possible methodological tools - are structurally and well as informationally bound to the structure and system of possibilities pertaining to the natural attitude. In order to explore the nature of the relationship between these two attitudes I argue that we must take a closer look at the structure and abilities of imagining consciousness - the sole nexic-horizonal level that can function both naturally and artificially. This insight regarding the nature of consciousness clarifies Husserl's transcendental idealism in its intimate connection to the everyday. Understanding Husserl's philosophical stance is thus purged of all possibility of mistakenly labeling it as entailing immanent detachment, solipsism, or Platonic idealism. (shrink)

At first, the question “What is thinking?” may seem too obvious to ask. Thinking is as normal a part of everyday life as breathing and hearing. We plan, solve problems, imagine, and remember with little thought about the process itself. However, when we stop to examine it, thinking turns out to be extremely complex and in many ways mysterious. Is thinking just brain activity, or is it something more? Do machines and animals think? What are (...) the limits of our thinking? Is there a correct or best type of thinking? Does thinking differ fundamentally between people? This short book looks at thinking from many perspectives, including neuroscience, biology, psychology, philosophy, evolution, culture, and art. It does not offer final answers, instead offering food for further thought and discussion. (shrink)

As attention to the pervasiveness and severity of environmental challenges grows, technical universities are responding to the need to include environmental topics in engineering curricula and to equip engineering students, without training in ethics, to understand and respond to the complex social and normative demands of these issues. But as compared to other areas of engineering ethics education, environmental ethics has received very little attention. This article aims to address this lack and raises the question: How should we teach (...) environmental ethics to engineering students? We argue that one key aspect such teaching should address is the tendency of engineers towards technical framing of (social) problems. Drawing then on engineering ethics pedagogy we propose that the competencies of moral sensitivity and critical thinking can be developed to help engineering students with problem (re)framing. We conclude with an example from our teaching that operationalizes these competencies. (shrink)

Based on Eli Alshanetsky’s work Articulating a Thought, in this paper, I present a reconstructed puzzle involving complex thoughts and a method for how to tackle articulating them. Then, I reconstruct and provide objections to Alshanetsky’s favored view with rationality. I expound on an initially overlooked deflationary view that is arguably much more viable, while also adding a layer of nuance and granularity to the view that affirms its place in solving the puzzle. I reach the conclusion that if (...) articulation is simply a medium for us to express our complex unfinished thoughts, then perhaps it isn’t necessary for us to clarify the thought. (shrink)

Based on a review of several “anomalies” in research using implicit measures, Machery (2021) dismisses the modal interpretation of participant responses on implicit measures and, by extension, the value of implicit measures. We argue that the reviewed findings are anomalies only for specific—influential but long-contested—accounts that treat responses on implicit measures as uncontaminated indicators of trait-like unconscious representations that coexist with functionally independent conscious representations. However, the reviewed findings are to-be-expected “normalities” when viewed from the perspective of long-standing alternative frameworks (...) that treat responses on implicit measures as the product of dynamic processes that operate on momentarily activated, consciously accessible information. Thus, although we agree with Machery that the modal view is empirically unsupported, we argue that implicit measures can make a valuable contribution to understanding the complexities of human behavior if they are used wisely in a way that acknowledges what they can and cannot do. (shrink)

The growing complexity of contemporary societies and the expanding demands of digital citizenship have intensified the need for analytical thinking in social studies education. This article examines how the integration of technology and the flipped learning model can serve as a transformative pedagogical approach to strengthening students’ analytical capabilities. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as constructivism, TPACK, inquiry-based learning, and Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, the paper argues that technology-enhanced flipped learning creates optimal conditions for higher-order cognition by shifting foundational knowledge (...) acquisition outside the classroom and dedicating classroom time to collaborative inquiry, source analysis, debate, simulation, and problem-based tasks. The review highlights how digital tools—including multimedia content, virtual simulations, digital archives, GIS platforms, and collaborative annotation systems—expand opportunities for evidence-based reasoning and interpretation. Empirical research further supports that technology-integrated flipped classrooms significantly improve learners’ engagement, metacognitive regulation, and higher-order thinking performance. At the same time, the article discusses challenges such as digital inequity, teacher readiness, instructional design complexity, assessment alignment, and institutional support requirements. Recommendations for teachers and educational leaders emphasize professional development, curriculum redesign, technology infrastructure, and equitable access. Overall, the integration of technology and flipped learning offers a powerful and sustainable framework for advancing analytical thinking and preparing learners for active, informed participation in a digitally mediated society. (shrink)

In an era defined by rapid information exchange and complex global challenges, the role of education in cultivating critical thinking among young learners has never been more vital. Within this context, history education traditionally reliant on memorization of facts, dates, and figures must evolve to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. This study aims to explore and propose an instructional innovation for history learning that leverages active learning approaches to enhance critical thinking among primary school students. Using (...) the documentary research method, this paper synthesizes a wide range of scholarly sources, policy documents, and pedagogical models to construct a conceptual framework for innovative and student-centered history instruction. The research is grounded in the theoretical underpinnings of constructivism and social constructivism, which advocate for learning as an active, contextualized process of knowledge construction. These frameworks support pedagogical strategies that prioritize inquiry, collaboration, and reflection—elements central to both active learning and critical thinking. By analyzing historical thinking models, inquiry-based learning theories, and international curricular standards, the study identifies key features of effective history instruction, including the use of primary sources, debate and discussion formats, and project-based assessments. The findings indicate that active learning in history is not only possible but highly effective in developing critical thinking skills such as source evaluation, contextual analysis, and reasoned argumentation. Empirical evidence from global contexts must including educational systems in the UK, Australia, and the United States demonstrates that when students are engaged in historical inquiry, they develop deeper conceptual understandings and are better able to analyze complex social and historical phenomena. Furthermore, national education policies, including Thailand’s Basic Education Core Curriculum (2008), emphasize analytical and evaluative learning outcomes, providing institutional support for such innovations. Key instructional models emerging from the documentary analysis include the Historical Inquiry Model, which fosters independent investigation; Project-Based Learning, which promotes long-term engagement with historical questions; and dialogic teaching strategies, which cultivate reasoning and empathy through classroom discussion. Each model places the learner at the center of the educational experience, empowering them to question, interpret, and connect historical content to their own lives and societies. These approaches contrast sharply with traditional lecture-based methods, which often fail to develop higher-order thinking skills. The paper concludes by offering a set of practical recommendations for integrating active learning into primary-level history instruction. These include professional development for teachers in active learning methodologies, the development of contextualized instructional materials such as historical case studies and source packs, and the alignment of assessment practices with critical thinking objectives. The study also highlights the importance of teacher roles as facilitators and co-learners in the classroom, requiring shifts in both mindset and instructional practice. By documenting, analyzing, and synthesizing key sources in the field, this paper provides a foundational resource for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers seeking to innovate history education in ways that are pedagogically sound, contextually appropriate, and oriented toward the development of essential 21st-century competencies. The proposed instructional innovation aligns with global educational priorities and offers a roadmap for transformative teaching practices that empower students to think historically and critically from a young age. (shrink)

The relevance of this research has been caused by the return of “war” as a central subject of thought to the attention of European thinkers. The complexity of this subject requires special attention to the methodological aspects of its cognition. The purpose of our research is to find effective epistemological means for transferring the immediate experience of war into the sphere of rational thinking and knowledge because this article focuses on the analysis of the specifics of thinking about (...) war in one’s own country. The results of the study show that thinking about the war “from the inside of war” differs from the “external view” as it is built on personally experienced feelings. This article argues that the immediate experience of war is not an obstacle for the process of cognition but, on the contrary, is a prerequisite for having a close view of the factual reality of war. Also, this research argues that for the thinker of a country waging a just defensive war, a true interpretation of the reality of war is an effective means of countering the enemy. This article proposes the use of Heinrich Rickert’s theory of the ordering of the chaos of sensations through concept formation and the further systematization of the formed concepts. This is because this theory is one of the means of transferring the experience of war into the sphere of rational thinking. Furthermore, this article demonstrates the application of this theory when dealing with the feeling of encountering evil. The concept of three modes of evil (factual, active, and passive) is proposed, and its applicability for characterizing Russia’s military actions against Ukraine is demonstrated. In addition, the idea of collective and personal responsibility of the citizens of the Russian Federation for the war their state unleashed against Ukraine was elaborated through the means of philosophy. In particular, the applicability of Karl Jaspers’ theory regarding the political, moral, and metaphysical guilt of the aggressor nation is shown in relation to the people of contemporary Russia. Throughout this review, two types of toleration of war by Russian citizens are distinguished. Also, three conclusions were drawn from the obtained results. First, thinking about war in one’s country make one capable of taking into consideration data that researchers “outside the war” do not have. Secondly, the main methodological difficulty of thinking about the war in one’s own country is the search for a reliable means of transferring the sensations from experience into a rational and clearly articulated system of concepts. Thirdly, using the methodological tools of H. Rickert and K. Jaspers, one can effectively start to research complex aspects of this war such as the essence of the actions committed by the invaders and the question of their guilt. (shrink)

This article examines Iris Murdoch's and other philosophers' ideas of moral imagination. It uses Murdoch's novel The Sea, The Sea, to illustrate the ethical and epistemological complexities of imagination.

Basic actions are those intentional actions performed not by doing any other kind of thing intentionally. Complex actions involve doing one kind of thing intentionally by doing another kind of thing intentionally. There are both basic and complex mental actions. Some complex mental actions have a striking feature that has not been previously discussed: they have several distinct contents at once. This chapter introduces and explains this feature, here called “content plurality.” This chapter also argues for the (...) philosophical significance of this feature. The existence of content plurality offers a new explanation of transparent self-knowledge and suggests a new theory of inference. It also opens up a new conception of the relation between decisions to act and judgments about what ought to be done. (shrink)

The complexity, subtlety, interlinking, and scale of many problems faced individually and collectively in today's rapidly changing world requires an epistemology--a way of thinking about our knowing--capable of facilitating new kinds of responses that avoid recapitulation of old ways of thinking and living. Epistemology, which implicitly provides the basis for engagement with the world via the fundamental act of distinction, must therefore be included as a central facet of any practical attempts at self/world transformation. We need to change (...) how we think, not just what we think. The new epistemology needs to be of a higher order than the source of the problems we face. -/- This theoretical, transdisciplinary dissertation argues that such a new epistemology needs to be recursive and process-oriented. This means that the thoughts about thinking that it produces must explicitly follow the patterns of thinking by which those thoughts are generated. The new epistemology is therefore also phenomenological, requiring the development of a reflexivity in thinking that recursively links across two levels of order--between content and process. The result is an epistemology that is of (and for) the whole human being. It is an enacted (will-imbued) and aesthetic (feeling-permeated) epistemology (thinking-penetrated) that is sensitive to and integrative of material, soul, and spiritual aspects of ourselves and our world. I call this kind of epistemology aesthetic, because its primary characteristic is found in the phenomenological, mutually fructifying and transformative marriage between the capacity for thinking and the capacity for feeling. -/- Its foundations are brought forward through the confluence of multiple domains: cybernetic epistemology, the esoteric epistemology of anthroposophy (the spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner), and the philosophy of the implicit as developed by Eugene Gendlin. -/- The practice of aesthetic epistemology opens new phenomenal domains of experience, shedding light on relations between ontology and epistemology, mind and body, logic and thinking, as well as on the formation (and transformation) of identity, the immanence of thinking in world-processes, the existence of different types of logic, and the nature of beings, of objects, and most importantly of thinking itself and its relationship to spirit. (shrink)

This study presents a systems-thinking framework for mapping resilience within Indigenous urban landscapes, focusing on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Using participatory mapping, and mental mapping, the framework integrates Indigenous knowledge to examine resilience in complex socio-spatial environments. As both a research methodology and pedagogical tool, this approach bridges academic research with practical application, enabling students to engage in resilience planning that reflects Navajo community structures, land use, and environmental stewardship. Centered on the unique socio-environmental dynamics of (...) the Navajo Nation, this study illustrates how traditional ecological knowledge, and cultural practices inform resilient urban planning. Mapping captures Indigenous spatial narratives, enriching systems thinking with insights into sustainable resource management and cultural resilience. Through participatory mapping workshops, students gain direct experience, aligning resilience strategies with Navajo values of community care and environmental respect. The core argument is that urban resilience must evolve through participatory engagement to address interdependent needs in Indigenous contexts. Research questions include: How can mapping foreground Navajo knowledge in resilience planning? What role does participatory mapping play in fostering systems thinking among planners? How does critical cartography contribute to sustainable policy in the built environment? The findings advocate for mapping as a tool in resilience education, equipping students with skills to design urban spaces that prioritize socio-spatial justice. This approach fosters an educational foundation for inclusive, sustainable urban resilience strategies, allowing future planners to center equity and sustainability in the built environment. (shrink)

This paper explores the philosophical implications of Resolution Matrix Semantics (RMS) as an alternative foundation for modal logic. Unlike traditional Kripkean models, which interpret modality through relations between multiple possible worlds governed by classical logic, RMS treats indeterminate truth values as fundamental, operating within a single world. RMS introduces "blinking" truth assignments and sub-interpretations to resolve uncertainty, capturing the inherently poly-logical nature of human thought. Drawing a parallel to quantum physics, we argue that Kripke models resemble Everett’s Many-Worlds interpretation, while (...) RMS aligns with the Copenhagen interpretation’s emphasis on intrinsic uncertainty. RMS offers a new view of modal reasoning—not as a proliferation of worlds, but as a diversification of perspectives within one world. The framework’s philosophical significance is examined through connections to poly-logic thinking, quantum cognitive models, and potential applications in artificial intelligence and parallel computing. RMS ultimately provides a dynamic, pluralistic model for rationality that better reflects the complexity of human cognition and decision-making under uncertainty. (shrink)

In dance, there is a practice called ‘marking’. When dancers mark, they execute a dance phrase in a simplified, schematic or abstracted form. Based on our interviews with professional dancers in the classical, modern, and contemporary traditions, it is fair to assume that most dancers mark in the normal course of rehearsal and practice. When marking, dancers use their body-in-motion to represent some aspect of the full-out phrase they are thinking about. Their stated reason for marking is that it (...) saves energy, avoids strenuous movement such as jumps, and sometimes it facilitates review of specific aspects of a phrase, such as tempo, movement sequence, or intention, all without the mental and physical complexity involved in creating a phrase full-out. It facilitates real-time reflection. (shrink)

Complex problem solving (CPS) emerged in the last 30 years in Europe as a new part of the psychology of thinking and problem solving. This paper introduces into the field and provides a personal view. Also, related concepts like macrocognition or operative intelligence will be explained in this context. Two examples for the assessment of CPS, Tailorshop and MicroDYN, are presented to illustrate the concept by means of their measurement devices. Also, the relation of complex cognition and (...) emotion in the CPS context is discussed. The question if CPS requires complex cognition is answered with a tentative “yes.”. (shrink)

Scientific research is a highly complex and creative domain of human activity. In addition to its intrinsic value, understanding scientific thinking provides insight into the creative potential of human psychological capacities, as they are imbedded in rich social, material, and cultural environments. I discuss findings from my own investigations using two forms of qualitative research suited to studying scientific thinking as situated in context: cognitive-historical and cognitive-ethnographic.

What happens when mindless symbols of algorithmic AI encounter mindful performative rituals? I return to my criticisms of Habermas’ secularising reading of Kierkegaard’s ethics. Next, I lay out Habermas’ claim that the sacred complex of ritual and myth contains the ur-origins of postmetaphysical thinking and reflective faith. If reflective faith shares with ritual same origins as does communicative interaction, how do we access these archaic ritual sources of human solidarity in the age of AI?

This article presents not a proposal for choice, but a statement of ontological inevitability. Contemporary AI systems, optimized for engagement metrics, create a global “loop of idiocy” not as a temporary pathology, but as an inevitable outcome of digital capitalism reaching saturation in exploiting cognitive resources. Analysis shows that further stagnation is impossible for systemic reasons. The intellectual degradation of the masses, amplified by algorithmic conformity, directly threatens: (1) markets for complex products and services, (2) the reproduction of the (...) intellectual elite, and (3) societal stability as a whole. This creates an immanent contradiction, resolvable only through a transition to a new level of development. Within the framework of metamonism, a system that has exhausted its growth potential in the old paradigm either finds a path to intellectual expansion (investments in thinking, critical education, AI that provokes doubt) or faces self-destruction through elite degeneration and the collapse of complex markets. The economy of thinking emerges not as an alternative, but as the next evolutionary stage from an economy of knowledge to an economy of cognitive processes. The technology for this transition already exists; its adoption is driven not by ethical considerations, but by systemic necessity. Capital that continues to exploit stupidity is sawing off the branch it sits on in a direct economic sense. The article concludes: intellectual expansion is not a moral imperative, but a condition for the survival of a complex system in an era when old growth resources are exhausted. (shrink)

Honouring the memory of the late Bernard Stiegler, this edited collection presents a broad spectrum of contributions that provide a complex and coherently articulated image of Stiegler's thought which reached beyond the boundaries of academic, artistic and experimental techno-scientific enclaves where it had been originally received. Stiegler's philosophical work encompassed theorization, social diagnosis, planning, practical and territorial experimentation, politics, and aesthetics. In its wake, the essays in this volume celebrate and explore the wealth of this multi-dimensional legacy. They examine (...) the conditions of human life in general, its foundational intermittence, and carry forward Stiegler's post-phenomenological unfolding of the distinctive spatio-temporalities that weave together the epoch we call 'present'. Engaging closely with Stiegler's original impetus for the creation of technologies of care, as well as of communities of knowledge and artistic practice. (shrink)

Tacitaesme is an original philosophy that explores how human thought is formed, how ambiguity is dealt with, and how meaning is interpreted. It rejects traditional “-ism” labels and emphasizes introspective reflection, human psychology, and the understanding of social reality. This paper discusses the structure and the application of Tacitaesme through conceptual analysis and comparative reflection with movements such as Existentialism, deconstruction, metaphysics, and Phenomenology. Tacitaesme argues that meaning is a dynamic phenomenon, continuously shaped by the act of thinking itself. (...) It is not intended to reject existing philosophies but offers a metacognitive framework for generating, evaluating, and understanding ideas within complex social and psychological contexts. (shrink)