Kent B. Olson

The philosophy of science encompasses three major approaches: the logical approach exemplified by Popper, the sociological approach exemplified by Bloor, and the historical approach exemplified by Laudan. While these approaches are valuable, they may overlook the unique and context-specific aspects of individual scientific changes, leading to Wittgenstein's fallacy of "seeing what is common". Our paper employs case studies as counterexamples to demonstrate how each approach fails to be descriptively exhaustive. We emphasize the significance of contextual contingencies and individual creativity in scientific innovation and contend descriptively that metatheoretical homogeneity is non-existent. By acknowledging the intricacies of scientific changes, we can enhance our comprehension of changes within science.

M. R. Pinheiro

Aims: to prove that The Sorites, and The Liar are invalid, and unsound arguments. Study design: The study was designed in a way to allow for those who have a logical background, but not specific formation, to understand all that is involved. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Burwood, Sydney, NSW in June of 2022. Methodology: We summarized the theories involved, then applied them, and, through processes of analysis, and synthesis produced inferences. Results: With The Sorites, one dimension leads to no conflict, since the conclusion does not eventuate, and more than one dimension leads to no conflict because the premise does not eventuate. Yet, we need to describe the blurred region somehow. With The Liar, ‘this sentence is false’ = ‘this sentence’ or X=X is false, and X is clearly different from X is false, and we are back to a reasoning that is similar to that of the Russell’s Paradox. What really matters, though, is that ~T and Fare different things in language, since ~T may mean mainly false, but partially true, so that we need to find a logic that describes ~T as it is in language first, and only then come up with symbolic deductions. Conclusion: The Sorites and The Liar are invalid, and unsound arguments but they represent reasons for us to have a logical system that is better than the Aristotelian or Classical Logic systems. Whoever solves The Russell’s will solve The Liar. Nonclassical Logicians have created alternative logical systems that may be used to deal with blurred regions, and problems requiring more than one truth-value, but these systems are not good enough to replace CL or Aristotle’s Logic.

M. R. Pinheiro

Aims: The Sorites are presented as a tool to produce evidence on there being something wrong with both the Aristotelian Logic and the Principle of Mathematical Induction. Study design: The study was designed in a way to allow for those who have a logical background, but not specific formation, to understand all that is involved. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Burwood, Sydney, NSW, Australia in June of 2022. Methodology: We summarized the theories involved, then developed theories and, through processes of analysis and synthesis produced inferences. Results: The evidence is dismissed for the mathematical induction, so that The Sorites is not a tool to produce evidence on there being something wrong with it and Aristotle’s Logic seems to be incomplete in its description in the sources consulted. Set Theory proves The Sorites to be the result of equivocated reasoning and a more complete description of Aristotle’s Logic should have the same effect, so prove that The Sorites is the result of equivocated reasoning. Conclusion: The principle of mathematical induction is once more reinforced and the Aristotelian Logic might need a more complete description. The Sorites is not an argument for Mathematics: its reasoning is simply wrong.

Kent B. Olson

J.M.E. McTaggart argued that if time is to exist, it must exist in one of two ways. Either the A or the B-series. The A-series is crucial to the B-series. It consists of the relations of past, present, and future. Contemporary physical models of the universe suggest that every bit of carbon in this universe is a product of the big bang. Being itself is composed of tiny supersymmetric strings. Pragmatically speaking, what this suggests is a living now. If the big bang thesis is correct, there is no future out there, time is isomorphic our expanding universe. The current moment is as close as we can get. McTaggart forces us to choose which series: a tensed, static view of time, or a non-tensed dynamic one. The future does not exist, then his tripartite relation does not hold. After examining at the twin paradox, it looks as if the most viable option given a scientific perspective would be a tensed, dynamic account of time.

Gerhard Preyer

In retrospect, what German sociologists have called the positivism dispute since the early 1960s is something like a storm in a teacup, but it has had a cognitive blocking effect on many members of the following generations of philosophers, and sociologists. The starting point for the concept of positivism is Horkheimer's Kritik der instrumentellen Vernunft (German edition 1967, Eclipse of Reason 1947). The reason for discussing Horkheimer's incomprehension of positivism once again is that, for example, the 100 years of sociology at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Germany), celebrated in 2019, motivates this, and in the so-called critical theory, the blind spot of observation is the failure to acknowledge the shortcomings of Horkheimer's critique of positivism. When we confront it, we counteract a Babylonian confusion of languages. Two references to sociology, and philosophy in Germany since the 1950s help contrast Horkheimer's concept of positivism, and its history of influence. The aim of this small study is to identify the false premises of Horkheimer's critique of instrumental reason, and Adorno's deficits. If they are recognized, this can certainly have a philosophical-therapeutic effect on the reader.

Elsie H. Dunnam

This article brings a discussion about how the American police coped with the events involving the global financial crisis, which generated reduction of even 50% in their figures. The readership that would most benefit from the findings would be the own police, and the government. The discussion goes through insightful study of the sources, where at least three fronts of investment have been identified: working with the community, technology, and managerial change. Inside of working with the community, community policing of a certain type, and partnership policing clearly showed very positive, and quantifiable, plus quantified results in the consulted, and mentioned sources. Inside of technology, it was the Body-Worn Video, and the Domain Awareness System that played the same role, of reassuring us on the solidity of the results of the selected sources. The conclusion is that, despite the much that has changed in management, much more can change to produce an even greater amount of positivity, and certain strategies, such as foot patrols with Broken Windows Policy in hotspots, work better than others. The inferential work is based on Mathematical Logic, and the selected sources are studied through the lens of the top levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.Keywords Crisis, Management, Police, Community

Marcia R. Pinheiro

In this paper, we produce evidence on terrorism being a prevalent issue, present a few pros and cons of applying each one of three selected criminological theories (feminist criminology, cultural criminology, and rational choice theory) to determine reasons to perform a special type of terrorist act, the jihad, and, after weighting up pros and cons, we come up with a decision on what theory, amongst the three we here study, explains terrorism better, following that with a suggestion of policy.

Marcia R. Pinheiro

In this paper, we talk about the existence and influence of James Beard, a very respected expert in food critique and American cuisine. We try to show his impact on our history and society.

Marcia R. Pinheiro

In this piece, we discuss several issues of major importance for a few disciplines that are usually associated with the Faculty of Arts (Philosophy, History, Writing, etc.). Namely: what posthumanism is as well as what it should be, how Kafka’s short story, A Report to an Academy (1988), compares to the posthumanist pieces of a few other writers, and whether A Report to an Academy should be treated as a posthumanist text or not.

Gerhard Preyer, Georg Peter

The study gives an overview of Raimo Tuomela’s philosophy of sociality and social ontology. It is shown how the subjects of his analysis of the foundation of the social domain are connected. Thereby the overview is a help for the study of his work in progress, and comparing and contrasting his account with that of the other founders of the analysis of collective intentionality (Bratman, Gilbert, and Searle), and their related topics, for example I-mode and we-mode, collective commitment, social groups, cooperation, and institutions, and the ongoing contemporary analysis. It is concluded that the core of Tuomela’s social ontology is a sociology of membership. An open-minded exchange involving the differences among the accounts which have emerged from the 1990s onward will only lead to a re-systematization of the social domain if the social structure and membership conditions of the social systems have undergone drastic changes.