This study explores the influence of informal institutions (including its dark side) on multinational enterprises (MNEs) in promoting sustainable development goals (SDGs) in a developing nation. Using qualitative interviews, we find that informal institutions, including “crime” and “corruption,” increase telecommunication MNEs' support of SDGs. Our findings underscore the critical role of understanding and harnessing informal institutions, showcasing their significant impact on shaping the actions and contributions of MNEs. This research not only contributes to institutional theory but also provides empirical evidence (...) of MNEs positively influencing local communities for sustainable development including socially embedded projects, knowledge externalities, and rural infrastructure. The study advocates for a collaborative approach involving government, local communities, and MNEs to ensure the effective implementation of SDGs. Consequently, the study offers valuable insights for policymakers, academics, and practitioners navigating the complex dynamics of MNEs' involvement in SDGs within developing countries. (shrink)

Hunhu/Ubuntu in the Traditional Thought of Southern Africa Philosophically, the term Hunhu or Ubuntu emphasizes the importance of a group or community. The term finds a clear expression in the Nguni/Ndebele phrase: umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. This article reflects upon Hunhu/Ubuntu as a traditional, indigenous philosophy of Southern … Continue reading Hunhu/Ubuntu →.

Background: Nurse managers have the burden of experiencing frequent ethical issues related to both their managerial and nursing care duties, according to previous international studies. However, no such study was published in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to explore nurse managers' experience with ethical issues in six government hospitals in Malaysia including learning about the way they dealt with the issues. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in August-September, 2010 involving 417 (69.2%) of total 603 nurse managers in (...) the six Malaysian government hospitals. Data were collected using three-part self-administered questionnaire. Part I was regarding participants' demographics. Part II was about the frequency and areas of management where ethical issues were experienced, and scoring of the importance of 11 pre-identified ethical issues. Part III asked how they dealt with ethical issues in general; ways to deal with the 11 pre-identified ethical issues, and perceived stress level. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and Pearson's Chi-square. Results: A total of 397 (95.2%) participants experienced ethical issues and 47.2% experienced them on weekly to daily basis. Experiencing ethical issues were not associated with areas of practice. Top area of management where ethical issues were encountered was "staff management", but "patient care" related ethical issues were rated as most important. Majority would "discuss with other nurses" in dealing generally with the issues. For pre-identified ethical issues regarding "patient care", "discuss with doctors" was preferred. Only 18.1% referred issues to "ethics committees" and 53.0% to the code of ethics. Conclusions: Nurse managers, regardless of their areas of practice, frequently experienced ethical issues. For dealing with these, team-approach needs to be emphasized. Proper understanding of the code of ethics is needed to provide basis for reasoning. (shrink)

İlahî vahyin son halkası olan Kur’ân, şirk, küfür, nifak ve zulmün her türlüsünden insanlığı kurtarmak için gönderilmiştir. Kur’ân, kendini yeni bir medeniyyet tasavvuru olarak insanlığa takdim etmiştir. Bunun için kendisine inananların, onu okuma, anlama ve hayatlarına rehber olmasını istemektedir. Müslümanlar, Kur’ân’ı sadece telaffuz ederek onun istediği bu rehberliği yerine getirmiş olamazlar. Müslümanlar, hem ellerinde bulunan Kur’ân âyetlerinden ve hem de çevrelerinde yer alan ve her gün yüz yüze kaldıkları kâinattaki âyetlerden gereğince istifade etmek zorundadırlar. Kur’ân, kendisini kabul edenlerin inanç, ibadet, (...) kişilik, kimlik, düşünce yapısı ve davranışlarının tevhide göre şekillenmesini ister. Şâyet Kur’ân’a inananların bu özelliklerinde bir değişim meydana gelmiyorsa, burada sorgulanması gereken çok ciddi problemler var demektir. Hiç kuşkusuz bugünkü Kur’ân eğitimi yöntemiyle, Kur’ân’ın istediği medeniyet seviyesini ve mü’min kişilikleri oluşturmamız mümkün değildir. Bu makalede hem Kur’ân’la olan ilişkilerimizin nasıl olması gerektiğini hem de toplumsal anlamda değişim ve dönüşümün esaslarını belirlemeye çalıştık. (shrink)

Journalistic practice and professionalism across the globe are characterized by certain universals as well as unique particularities. In most post-colonial societies, the ethical philosophies and professional ethos of journalists reflect the tension between the commitment to integrity and social responsibility, shared by journalists worldwide, and the contextual interpretation and application of these principles. This article examines the ethics and ethos of development journalism as a philosophically, culturally, and historically evolving professional ideology. It surveys the ethical landscape of development journalists and (...) shows how development journalists balance the dialectic of a universalist ethical philosophy and a relativistic professional ethos. (shrink)

This article explores contemporary development of a minority of Muslim in the largest Muslim country Indonesia. It closely examines the minority Muslim Papuan and looks at the construction and the institutionalisation of Muslim identity in post-special autonomy of Papua. Through a series of fieldwork in Jayapura, the capital of the Papua Province, in 2016 and reviews of documents, the article argues that the Council of Papuan Muslim serves not only a the association of minority Muslim Papuan but also as a (...) political instrument for the minority to fight for equality in Papuan public sphere. Importantly, the Muslim Papuan try reconcile the popular, but contradicted, notion of Muslim -and Islam- as newcomer -if not to mention as the colonial- in Papua and the presence of Muslim as a symbolic expectation for progress of the Papuan in general. Thus, the institutionalization of Islam, through the establishment of The Majelis Muslim Papua in Papua resorts as an ample case where multiculturalism is tested in contemporary Indonesia. (shrink)

In this paper, I reflect on whether the new Zimbabwe government under the presidency of Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has the capacity to arrest the developmental challenges facing the country in order to bring about inclusive development which will see the needs of the marginalized or excluded groups such as the poor, women, children, the elderly and people living with disabilities being addressed. I argue that two of the biggest problems bedeviling Zimbabwe today are chronic poverty and disease, which are a (...) legacy of the Zimbabwe government led by ousted former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe. I contend that Mugabe’s government failed to manage its politics, which, in turn, resulted in the decline of Zimbabwe’s economy in the last two decades leading to high unemployment, hyperinflation, brain drain, cash crisis and the outbreak of diseases among a host of problems. My claim is that the effects of the problems listed above are still being felt today. I submit that although the philosophy of hunhu/ubuntu became endangered during Mugabe’s reign, it can still be deployed in the new dispensation to bring about inclusive development by coming up with policies that will attract investors through improving relations with the developed world as well as dealing with the problem of corruption. Keywords : Governance, Development, Inclusive Development, Marginalization, Hunhu/Ubuntu. (shrink)

Hunhu/Ubuntu in the Traditional Thought of Southern Africa The term Ubuntu/Botho/Hunhu is a Zulu/Xhosa/Ndebele/Sesotho/Shona word referring to the moral attribute of a person, who is known in the Bantu languages as Munhu (Among the Shona of Zimbabwe), Umuntu (Among the Ndebele of Zimbabwe and the Zulu/Xhosa of South Africa) and Muthu (Among the Tswana of … Continue reading Hunhu/Ubuntu in Traditional Southern African Thought →.

Communication, Culture, and Human Rights in Africa provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary analysis of the interface between human rights and civil society, the media, gender, education, religion, health communication, and political processes, weaving theory, history, policy, and case analyses into a holistic intellectual and cultural critique while offering practical solutions.

U radu se obrazlaže interpretacijski model prepoznavanja, razumijevanja i tumačenja metaforike u pjesničkom tekstu, koji s jedne strane omogućuje sintaktički uvid u tekst, a s druge semantičku analizu, s ciljem cjelovite interpretacije pjesme. Podjela metaforičkih iskaza na razine riječi, rečenice, teksta i jezika metodologijski je aparat usredotočen na kompozicijsko- strukturalni opis pjesničkoga teksta. Čitanje pjesničke metaforike kao konstrukcije i funkcije te dominantnoga poetičkoga obilježja u pojedinim opusima nudi mogućnost izravnoga interpretativnoga povezivanja pojedinačnih pjesama s poetikom autora, književne skupine, stilske formacije (...) i umjetničke epohe. (shrink)

The present study discusses the action of burning the Holy Quran in Malmö, Sweden, by the Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, in more than 300 points in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, especially in terms of evolving into social events that turned into riots and fueled Islamophobic debates. The purpose of the study will be to understand the discussion universe formed by the acceptance of the Swedish State in an Islamophobic and racist act, such as the burning of the holy book (...) by Paludan, with a high incitement and humiliating power. In the present study, which has a qualitative design, books, articles and newspapers on the subject were examined by using the document analysis method. As a result, since the motto of unlimited freedom of expression of the Scandinavian model gives the right to swear at far-right politicians, especially insulting religion, the Muslim society living in Europe has become the target of politicians with a kind of state policy armor, making them increasingly sensitive and vulnerable in the position of hate objects. In this regard, there is a need to redefine where the limits of freedom of thought must end. (shrink)

Sunnah, one of the two basic sources of the Islamic religion, has survived to the present day through transmission. The Messenger of Allah, the first interpreter of the Quran, explained the obscurities in the verses, the reason for their revelation and their context. Because, in addition to his duty to convey, he also has a duty to inform. For this reason, the Sunnah is considered a basic source, just like the Qur’an. The Qur’an was revealed fourteen centuries ago, gradually over (...) twenty-three years. It came to life with the life of the Prophet. After his passing into the afterlife, Muslims began to strive to understand the Qur’an and Sunnah correctly and to make them dominate their lives. For this reason, they made great scientific journeys and produced various works. At the beginning of these works are commentaries. Commentaries in which the verses of the Qur’an are explained with the words of the Prophet, his companions, and the followers are called narration tafsir. Maâlim at-tanzîl is an important commentary written by Baghawi (d. 516/1122) using this method. Baghawi, who lived during the founding and rise of the Great Seljuks, was born in 433/1041 in a small town called Bagshur or Bag, located between Marwarruz and Harat in the Khorasan region. In reference to this place, he was called Baghawi. He died in Marwarruz in 516/1122. He received a very good education and trained himself to produce works in the sciences of tafsir, hadith, fiqh and recitation. He narrated the Bukhari's al-Jâmi al-Sahîh from Abu Omar Abdulwahid el-Melihi (d. 463/1071), Abu Dawud’s Sunan from Abu Tahir Omar b. Abdelaziz ibn Ahmed al-Marwazi al-Fashani (d. 463/1071), Malik b. Anas’s Muwatta’ from Abu’l-Hasan Muhammed b. Muhammed ibn Saîd al-Shrazi (d.?). So much so that it can be seen that a significant part of the attributed narrations he narrated in his work called Sharhu's-sunna, as well as Maâlim at-tanzil, were the narrations he heard from the mentioned teachers. Baghawi's knowledge of isnad is also at a high level and he knows very well the narrations of the hadiths he narrated and the situations of the narrators in these narrations. In addition to criticizing the hadiths he narrated, he also evaluated their authenticity and showed that he was an authority on this subject. Maâlim at-tanzil is Baghawi's most well-known work and explains the verses with hadiths, the views of the companions, followers and later scholars. Since he was also a good haddith, he criticized the weak and fabricated narrations in the previously written commentaries. In Maâlim at-tanzil, before starting the commentary, the name of the sura, the number of verses, whether it is Meccan or Medinan, where and about what event it was revealed, are stated. First, explanations were made on the verses in terms of dictionary. Then, the interpretation of the verse with other verses and hadiths was started, the views of the companions and the followers were used, the explanation of the recitation aspects was given in detail, the different recitations were mentioned, the grammatical and syntax analyzes were made. The authority of the author in the field of hadith is clearly seen in the interpretation of the verses. The main feature of the work is that it is frequently referred to hadiths, unlike Masâbihu’s-Sunnah, most of the hadiths are narrated with their sources and almost all of them are based on the author himself. Although Israeli news were included in Maâlim at-tanzil, the author sometimes criticized them and rejected some of them. The aim of the article is to determine the author's method of using narrations in the interpretation of Surah al-Sajdah and the authenticity of these narrations. In this context, first Baghawi’s life and commentary are introduced. Later, the extraction and authenticity of the 16 narrations that the author conveyed while interpreting the surah were evaluated. The narrations have been researched in al-Kutub al-Tis'a and other reliable hadith books, especially Sharhu's-sunnah and Masâbihu's-sunnah. Based on the opinions of critics and scholars, the authenticity values of the narrations have been revealed. According to our findings, 12 of the 16 narrations were narrated with isnad and 4 without isnad. While 12 of the narrations are located only in Sharhu's-sunnah, 9 of them are only included in Masâbihu's-sunnah. The remaining 4 narrations are not included in either of his works. The distribution of the narrations in terms of the main hadith sources they are included in is as follows: 15 out of 16 narrations are located in al-Kutub al-Tis'a. 5 of these are in Bukhari, 7 in Muslim, 4 in Abu Dawud, 6 in Tirmidhi, 2 in Nasai, 2 in Ibn Majah, 1 in Darimi and 1 in Malik b. Anas’s Muwatta’ and 10 of them in Ahmed b. Hanbel. In terms of the end of the isnad, 1 is kudsî and 15 is marfû‘. In terms of authenticity, out of 16 narrations, 10 are sahih, 3 of which are muttefakun aleyh, 2 are hasan and 4 are weak. (shrink)

In this paper, we critically reflect on the concept of Euthanasia as understood in the West and in Africa, and especially in sub-Saharan Africa. From the Western block, we rely on the contributions of Ronald Otremba and James Rachels. In our view, Otremba represents the Traditional Western view of euthanasia, which holds that life is sacrosanct and therefore ought not to be taken away for whatever reasons. Otremba’s defense of passive euthanasia over active euthanasia stems from this understanding. Rachels, on (...) the other hand, does not see any morally significant difference between active and passive euthanasia, for the simplereason that the result is the same - death. Next, as we examine the African view of euthanasia with special reference to Munyaradzi Mawere’s interpretation of the Shona position on it, we want to ascertain whether or not there is something that can be called African euthanasia, and if not, whether or not the understanding of euthanasia in Africa has Western roots. (shrink)

Over the years, there are various research on cultural development seen from socio-historical perspective. The uniqueness of Islam in Malay region as it is diverse and open to outside influences is important to be look at; as it differs greatly from "the Islam" that have been practiced in the Middle East. Based on the discussions, the ulemas or Muslim clerics of this region and the Malays themselves have already practiced the supra-madhhab model as proposed by many contemporary scholars. Using Shia (...) influences in the Malay culture, this paper attempt to show how sectarianism within Islam was never entertained by the Muslims in this region. In fact, Shi'ism was so embedded in Malay culture. Although being dominated by Sunnism, most of the Shia doctrines and pillars were widely accepted and embraced. The axiology of Shi'ism in Malay culture reflected in many religious texts, classical literature and cultural events. However, as sectarianism rising in this region, the Shia influence and its axiology slowly eroded and were victimized by unnecessary foreign interventions. (shrink)

This paper is going to explore the issue about the construction of Muslim identity in Papua. There are many challenges faced by Muslim particularly on identity in Papua. The existence of Muslim placed in Majelis MuslimPapua provides strongly the collectives of Muslim. The well-beings give in the changes of relation patterns among communities in Papua. Muslim is being seen as the one that can change Papua including demographics, politics, and economics. This paper has been done in Jayapura city since 2016. (...) The data are collected through observation, in-depth interview, and literature review. There are three findings in this study. The first finding is that Majelis MuslimPapua is not only the communication media for Muslim people but also the fights media for Muslim of Papua after the special autonomy prevailed. Majelis Muslim Papua is a response of the relationship dynamic of all people in Papua especially in Jayapura which is so dynamic. The second is Muslim of Papua is being taken as the power to change in Papua especially on the citizens’ composition or demography according to the religions. Immigrants who come in Papua are strongly working on the changes in cultures and structures which are built before. The last finding is the existence of Muslim of Papuaestablishes multiculturalism and admits each other in the lives of Papua that is more open. (shrink)

The relationship between postcolonialism and feminism is often complicated and conflict-laden in its struggles against empire and patriarchy and its related social categories of oppression. The question is, How have African women in former colonies balanced their act? To address this question, the article focusses on Boleo, A Setswana Novel. Firstly, theories of post-coloniality and feminism are explored. Secondly, four creative African women writers are analysed for their take on the intersection of postcolonialism and feminism prior to reading Boleo, A (...) Setswana Novel. Thirdly, the analysis of Boleo indicates boundary crossing and cross-border oppressions and solidarity in the struggle against apartheid that features a female protagonist and other minor characters. It is proposed that because the novel equates apartheid with sin ( boleo ), it thus constructs salvation as the concerted communal efforts of resistance and suspicion towards the institutions of the oppressor, characterised by baitiredi [independent or self-actualising workers], a political movement founded by Boleo. The analysis of the African novel indicates that the struggle against colonial and patriarchy gave rise to the First Things First; Second Things First and Both Things Simultaneously approaches, which are evident within African women creative writers. Contribution: This article adheres to the journal’s scope and vision by its focus on a systematic, historical, exegetical and practical reflection within a paradigm in which the intersection of philosophy, religious studies, social sciences and humanities generate an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary contested discourse. (shrink)

The basis of Islamic alchemy and matter theory is found in the works of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (d. 200/815). Jābir developed an element theory similar to Aristotle’s system. Still, he interpreted matter and substance differently by transferring the basis of the theory from elements to qualities. In Jābir’s system, qualities are more often expressed by the term “natures” (ṭabā’iʻ). In Jābir’s thought, four na- tures precede the four elements, and due to the combination of two different natures with the sub- (...) stance each time, four distinct elements with different qualities occur. In Jābir, the “primary bodies” of the natural world are no longer the four Empedoclean elements but the “four natures”; air, water, earth, and fire are made up of these natures. Thus, Jābir gave the four primary Aristotelian qualities the role of genuine elements by making them tangible, independent, and corporeal entities. According to Jābir, the operation of transforming (transmutation) of ajsād (‘bodies’) such as iron, copper, tin, and lead, which is the primary purpose of the Art of alchemy, into silver and gold is carried out within the framework of the science of mīzān. The core of this transformation is based on an idea of causality in which the four natures and their specific proportions and measures are at the center. With the idea of causality that allows chemical transformation, Jābir also succeeded in extending the possibility of transformation in alchemy from the inorganic world to the organic world to an extensive range of entities. This study will discuss Jābir’s thoughts on body, substance, and experimental causality by ex- amining Jābir’s corpus through primary sources. (shrink)

Perspectives of Islamic philosophy; articles.

The nomination of candidate genes underlying complex traits is often focused on genetic variations that alter mRNA abundance or result in non‐conservative changes in amino acids. Although inconspicuous in complex trait analysis, genetic variants that affect splicing or RNA editing can also generate proteomic diversity and impact genetic traits. Indeed, it is known that splicing and RNA editing modulate several traits in humans and model organisms. Using high‐throughput RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) analysis, it is now possible to integrate the genetics of (...) transcript abundance, alternative splicing (AS) and editing with the analysis of complex traits. We recently demonstrated that both AS and mRNA editing are modulated by genetic and environmental factors, and potentially engender phenotypic diversity in a genetically segregating mouse population. Therefore, the analysis of splicing and RNA editing can expand not only the regulatory landscape of transcriptome and proteome complexity, but also the repertoire of candidate genes for complex traits. (shrink)

On the philosophy of religion and its effects on a society.

Background Nurse managers have the burden of experiencing frequent ethical issues related to both their managerial and nursing care duties, according to previous international studies. However, no such study was published in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to explore nurse managers' experience with ethical issues in six government hospitals in Malaysia including learning about the way they dealt with the issues. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in August-September, 2010 involving 417 of total 603 nurse managers in the (...) six Malaysian government hospitals. Data were collected using three-part self-administered questionnaire. Part I was regarding participants' demographics. Part II was about the frequency and areas of management where ethical issues were experienced, and scoring of the importance of 11 pre-identified ethical issues. Part III asked how they dealt with ethical issues in general; ways to deal with the 11 pre-identified ethical issues, and perceived stress level. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and Pearson's Chi-square. Results A total of 397 participants experienced ethical issues and 47.2% experienced them on weekly to daily basis. Experiencing ethical issues were not associated with areas of practice. Top area of management where ethical issues were encountered was "staff management", but "patient care" related ethical issues were rated as most important. Majority would "discuss with other nurses" in dealing generally with the issues. For pre-identified ethical issues regarding "patient care", "discuss with doctors" was preferred. Only 18.1% referred issues to "ethics committees" and 53.0% to the code of ethics. Conclusions Nurse managers, regardless of their areas of practice, frequently experienced ethical issues. For dealing with these, team-approach needs to be emphasized. Proper understanding of the code of ethics is needed to provide basis for reasoning. (shrink)

This paper addresses the issue of food security in developing countries and how agriculture plays an important role in achieving not only food security, but also in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. The promotion of trade liberalization by the World Trade Organization (WTO) through the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) has undermined the productive capacity of developing countries and their comparative advantage in the agricultural sector, marginalizing small-scale farmers and benefitting the big corporations. The paper looks at the issue of (...) intellectual property rights that big corporations have for seeds and their effects on small-scale farmers, and how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is insufficient to regulate the dominance of big corporations in the food and agricultural market. The paper is divided into seven sections: trade liberalization and food security, the WTO and the AoA, the effects of the AoA on developing countries, the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) on food security, CSR and TNCs, policy recommendations, and conclusions. (shrink)

Speaking of relations between logic and religion in Islamic world may refer to logic in two respects: logic in religious texts, from doctrinal sacred texts such as Qur’ān and sayings of the Prophet to the Qur’ānic commentaries and the texts related to the principles and fundamentals of jurisprudence, all of which make use of some reasoning to persuade the audiences or to infer the rules and prescripts for religious behavior of the members of religious community; and logic as a discipline (...) that is studied and applied both independently and as a tool for reasoning in schools of Islamic theology, systems of Islamic philosophy, and other types of knowledge in medieval Islamic world, all being strongly influenced by religious doctrines of Islam. Accordingly, this paper speaks of the different manifestations of using logical reasoning, particularly analogy, in Qur’ānic arguments, e.g. for the existence of God and resurrection after death; some contradictions or paradoxes reported by different opponents in the verses of Qur’ān; the place of logic in the classification of disciplines and the courses taught at the schools and seminaries; the influence of the attitudes of different religious sects on logic; the instrumental role of logic for both religious and secular reasonings; the relation between reason and dogmatic religious doctrines, and, finally, the reflection of this relation on progress or recession of logic in medieval Islamic world. (shrink)

To a greater extent than in other technical domains, research and progress in Artificial Intelligence has always been entwined with the fictional. Its language echoes strongly with other forms of cultural narratives, such as fairytales, myth and religion. In this essay we present varied examples that illustrate how these analogies have guided not only readings of the AI enterprise by commentators outside the community but also inspired AI researchers themselves. Owing to their influence, we pay particular attention to the similarities (...) between religious language and the way in which the potential advent of greater than human intelligence is presented contemporarily. We then move on to the role that fiction, science fiction most of all, has historically played and is still playing in the discussion of AI by influencing researchers and the public, shifting the weights of different scenarios in our collectively perceived probability space. We sum up by arguing that the lore surrounding AI research, ancient and modern, points to the ancestral and shared human motivations that drive researchers in their pursuit and fascinate humanity at large. These points of narrative entanglement where AI meets the wider culture should serve to amplify the call to engage ourselves with the discussion of the potential destination of this technology. (shrink)

Reason and revelation are a topic that is debated by many parties to determine the position and superiority between reason and revelation. There are differences of opinion among thinkers regarding the position of reason and revelation. This debate has also attracted the attention of many Islamic thinkers, including Islamic philosophers. This paper explores the ontological capture of reason and revelation debate by two of the most prominent Sufi philosophers, Ibn ‘Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā. This research employs a literature review as (...) a research methodology, with an emphasis on synthesis and integration. Through this research, it can be concluded that Ibn ‘Arabī’s and Mullā Ṣadrā’s ontological perspectives have deconstructed theological and epistemological disagreements between rationalists who place reason above revelation and their traditionalist opponents. Ibn ‘Arabī’s theory of creative imagination unveils the ontological order of reason and revelation, whereas Mullā Ṣadrā’s theories of tashkīk (gradation of being) and the union of the knower and the known during the production of knowledge (or to be more precise, the union of intellect and intelligible during intellection) consistently place reason and revelation not in opposing sides but rather in a single gradational existence. Both Ibn ‘Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā have broken the theological and epistemological vicious cycle by introducing ontological interventions into the debate. Ibn ‘Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā may or may not have intended to participate in the polemic; as a result, these outcomes were rarely mentioned in the historical context of the ideas. (shrink)

The present paper attempts to explore and problematize some of the prominent sides of Nietzsche’s understanding of truth from a critical point of view. Nietzsche’s conception of truth is modeled on the parameters of scientific relations to the world. Truth, on this assumption, is the function of objectifying reason and is grounded in the agreement between facts and propositions. When Nietzsche questions the value of truth and downplays it, he actually does that from the perspective of thus understood truth. Nietzsche (...) also believes that the supremacy of truth in life leads to nihilism as is very much the case in the modern world and proposes Dionysian art as a remedy against truth. This reductive view of truth, I argue, proves incapable of doing justice to the multi-faceted function of truth in all spheres of human life including science and art. A more fundamental view of truth is required not only to ground the workings of objectifying reason but also to defend the value of art. Truth is actually embedded, intrinsic and operative in the immediate context of human existence (what Heidegger calls “being-in-the-world”) and derives all its uses from this living context. This meaningful context as the realm of truth is the beginning of human being. It is the ground in which the artist stands and produces. It is thus what lends value and meaning to the work of art. It is likewise what makes it possible for scientific propositions to agree with facts. (shrink)