Pain medication is one of the responses to the mercy argument that utilitarian ethicists use for justifying active euthanasia on the grounds of prevention of cruelty and appeal to beneficence. The researcher reinforces the significance of pain medication in meeting this challenge and considers it the most preferred response among various other responses. It is because of its realism and effectiveness. In exploring the mechanism and considerations related to pain medication, the researcher briefly touches the Catholic ethical position on the (...) issue, a position that cannot be ignored in the development of contemporary bioethics. The researcher particularly deliberates on the contemporary Islamic discourse on the issue; by furthering the debate in line with the Islamic legal maxims and general guidance from the primary sources of Islamic law and ethics. The resolution on the issue is sought by synthesizing the views and legal maxims (al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyyah) on the issue, which in conclusion provide justification for pain medication by considerably regarding pain as necessity and pressing need. However, such resolution allows pain medication to the limit and proportion that removes the pain and prohibits overdosing the patient with medication that may directly cause the death. (shrink)

Patient autonomy has a critical role in making decisions in medical practice and it is accepted by international conventions on health care and various national medical codes. However, pertaining to terminally ill patients, this right becomes very problematic in regards to end of life decisions. Utilitarian ethicists motivated by materialistic worldview and individualism have made patient autonomy based arguments for the permissibility of active euthanasia. An appraisal of pro-euthanasia arguments that include the best interest, golden rule, and autonomy is made (...) in this paper. The best interest and golden rule arguments are based on subjective moral judgment thus failing the universalization test. The argument from autonomy is unconvincing because of the confounded autonomy of the terminally ill patients. (shrink)

Mercy is central to the very identity of Islam, yet this is not often recognized by theologians and scholars. This paper will demonstrate that the idea of mercy is important as a prelude to the understanding of Islam and an interpretation of its teachings. This important role of mercy is evident in Islam’s primary sources – the Quran and the Sunnah – and is not contingent on political, social, or historical contexts. It is well recognized that the proper comprehension of (...) Islam hinges on grasping the attributes of God, his divine message, and the character of his messenger. But what is often overlooked is that these aspects are fundamentally rooted in mercy. Islam encourages its followers to cultivate merciful virtues. It emphasizes that the compassionate nature of the faith should always precede the understanding and interpretation of its teachings. As a result, Muslims are encouraged to nurture a compassionate self, foster a benevolent mindset and approach, and anchor their religious obedience in the spirit of mercy. While followers of Islam are responsible for upholding this ethos, external observers too should try to view the religion fairly based upon this recognition of the centrality of mercy. (shrink)

This study attempts an exposition of different perceptions of obligation to medical treatment that have emerged from the Islamic theological understanding and how they contribute to diversity of options and flexibility in clinical practice. Particularly, an attempt is made to formulate an Islamic perspective on ordinary and extraordinary means of medical treatment. This distinction is of practical significance in clinical practice, and its right understanding is also important to public funded healthcare authorities, guardians of the patients, health and life insurance (...) institutions, and employers who provide health care coverage to their employees. Not only these parties, but also lawyers and justice administration functionaries such as public prosecutors and judges are in need of understanding this distinction to deal with relevant litigations. The distinction could be made regarding terminally ill patients and non-terminally ill patients separately. The essential factors that matter in making the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means of treatment are: (1) patient capacity (2) expert advice, and (3) nature of medication. Regarding terminally ill patients, medical treatment can become extraordinary because of (1) patient capacity and (2) nature of medication. In both these case the deciding condition applies: the expert advice taken from a group of physicians. In regards to non- terminally ill patients, extraordinary medical treatment includes three cases: (1) treatment that is known to be useless and futile, (2) treatment that endangers the life or cause more harm than what it removes, and (3) useful treatment, but the patient is unable to bear the cost. (shrink)

The importance of the self (nafas) with which heart is assumed to be connected is significantly present in Islamic ethics that could be derived from the primary sources of Islam, the scripture and Sunnah. However, the human heart (Qalb) is in need of further exploration concerning its relationship to ethics. Ethics is part of the Islamic worldview and authentic ethical behavior in such a worldview is connected to intentionality which is an attribute of the heart. The Islamic sources show that (...) the sound heart is at the center of an ethical agent that is free of vices, and the strength and motivation for good actions originate from the heart by the virtue of belief, Iman. Therefore, the right ethical behavior emanates from the heart. The important point is that intentionality as the property of the heart matters in Islamic ethics because ethical accountability is ultimately before God in Islam. Therefore, there is a responsibility for a Muslim to safeguard his heart from temptations and vices. Hearts can get ethically sick and one reason for such sickness and hardness could be because of committing sins repeatedly which are mostly unethical actions by their very nature. Therefore, a Muslim should keep his heart clean from vices. In ethical decision-making, the heart plays its role as its purity will lead to good actions and better understanding. The heart has intellectual and cognitive powers that can help in making ethical decisions. (shrink)

James Rachels’s distinction between killing and letting die maintains that there is morally no difference between killing a terminally ill patient and letting him/her die. Therefore, active and passive euthanasia dichotomy is a distinction without a difference. Hence, if passive euthanasia is allowed, active euthanasia should be permitted too. The paper demonstrated that the distinction between killing and letting die is: (1) irrelevant to euthanasia(2) extraneous to the medical profession, and (3) methodologically degressive. Furthermore, the paper demonstrated invalidity of the (...) bare difference argument of Rachels based on the distinction because of four reasons: (1) irrelevance to American Medical Association’s statement; (2) differences between the cases such as intentionality, causality, and agency; (3) straw man fallacy, (4) and weak analogy. Therefore, the paper concluded that relating the distinction between killings and letting die to bioethics and euthanasia is unjustifiable. (shrink)

Objective :This research aims at the constructing a basic perspective on critical thinking in line with Islamic principles with a brief explanation of such principles. Methodology :This study uses exegetical methods, by studying the relevant parts of the religious texts and systemizing the information in a critical way. Research findings: The research demonstrates that the principles for constructing an Islamic critical thinking perspective are found in the primary sources of Islam. The knowledge (العلم ;al-'ilm) makes the core of Islamic critical (...) thinking, and means of such knowledge are the revelation (الوحي; al-wahy), the use of senses (احلواس ;al-hawas), intellect (reason and heart, القلب و العقل ;al-aql wa al-qalb), historical experience or testimony (اوالشهادة السياحة ;al-siyahah aw al-shidah), and meditating on the natural and physical world (الكون ;al-kaun). There are other means such as prophetic dreams (الصادقة الرؤاي ;al-ruya al-sadiqah), insight (الفراسة ;al-firasah), illumination ( املكاشفة; al-mukashafah), and inspiration ( االهلام; al-ilham), though they are dismissed to account for any scholarly opinion or position and thus they remain non-binding according to Shariah. However, they can be a gift of a genius mind that is extraordinarily critical, helping such minds in understanding and creativity. Critical thinking includes using many human faculties and the Quran frequently emphasizes contemplation التفكر ;al-tafakur), reflection (التدبر ;at-tadabbur), understanding التفقه; at-tafaqquh), and reasoning (التعقل ;at-taakul); and these concepts are the foundations of critical thinking which could be developed and elaborated in many ways. Applications: The need of having an Islamic construction of critical thinking is because of the special worldview of Islam and its conception of knowledge which treats revelation (الوحي ;al-wahy) as the primary source of belief and knowledge. The findings of the study can be useful in fashioning a basic curriculum for critical thinking for Islamic educational institutions. (shrink)

Creativity and innovation is very part of human nature (fitrah) which makes human beings different from other beings that are so far found on the planet. The outcome of creativity can be both harmful and beneficial. And most of it depends on the moral standing of those to whom end products of such creativity are available. Islam gives high importance to health and the Muslim civilization that flourished in Bagdad and Spain during the medieval period made original contributions to medical (...) science. The contributions of the scholars of the age were led by religious ethics and spirit in pursuing, using, and creating knowledge. On the other hand, with the advent of modernity, science has received freedom to a greater extent to be ethics-free, neutral, and value- free. This approach has produced new important innovations in medical science and ways of their applications. Some of these innovations and their applications are beneficial and some others are beneficial too if guarded by appropriate ethics, yet some of the applications are questionable. After discussing the ethical repercussions of these innovations and applications, a general ethical framework on the subject is formulated on Islamic guidelines. (shrink)

This study demonstrates that there is a need of addressing neighborhood relationships in contemporary times. And in this regard, a position from Islam is considered in which neighborly relationships are based on Quranic ethical virtue ihsan i.e., doing good to others. The word neighbor in the Quran and Hadith is a general term that is not discriminatory. It includes Muslims and non-Muslims. This insight is very useful for building relationships in multicultural and multireligious communities for harmony and peace. To locate (...) a neighbor, though there are jurisprudential opinions, leaving it to its customary use is preferred in this study. The neighborhood rights and duties are given in detail. And it is also demonstrated that those prophetic narrations in which harming neighbors or committing sins against them is considered as the consequence of the absence of faith in fact show the disgust of such sinful acts; therefore, a sinful Muslim is not considered as a non-believer. The harm is especially illustrated with infringing the privacy of a neighbor. It has been shown that Ihsan includes ethically both non-maleficence and beneficence. Most of the prophetic traditions can be classified under these two categories. In addition to this, it is also shown that the neighborhood relations in Islam also include the Golden Rule which is allencompassing and in principle exhaustive. (shrink)

An Islamic approach from its theological sources to address the spiritual pain related to palliative care of terminally ill patients can be established on attaining a spiritual stage of soul or spirit termed as reassured soul. The attainment of such stage is based on hope of the patient to receive mercy and forgiveness of God. And the way of attainment of hope is possible by doing the repentance, praying, and patience. In combating the pain and suffering, the patient is supposed (...) to understand that the life in its reality is a test and facing such a test is possible by two ways, one is patient centric by building patience within to endure the suffering and second is seeking help from God by praying. For the spiritual wellbeing, the patient should understand that his suffering is in fact expiation for his sins. On the other hand, the visitors and caregivers of patients have certain responsibilities that contribute to enhancing of the spiritual well-being of the patient, including comforting them by giving hope to the patients and at the same time praying for their recovery. These all elements enhance the spiritual well-being of patients and help in prevention of suffering by spiritual means. (shrink)

There are common concepts between euthanasia and suicide because euthanasia is historically connected with the discourse on suicide. In widespread literature on euthanasia there is confusion over the concepts and definitions. These definitions are analyzed in this paper and along with other conclusions and distinctions the researcher has substantially defended his definition of euthanasia. There are two different usages of the term euthanasia: a narrow construal of euthanasia and broad construal of euthanasia. Contrary to other researches, the researcher agrees only (...) with the narrow construal of euthanasia, i.e. active euthanasia. The researcher’s definition of euthanasia is: intentionally causing a terminally ill person’s death through an action performed by a physician. As a result, passive euthanasia is expunged from the definition of euthanasia. In addition to that, the definition excludes suicide, assisted suicide, and physician-assisted suicide. (shrink)

Religious believers claim their religions are peaceful and genuine believers are peacekeepers and peacemakers. In substantiating justification to their claim, they very often refer to religious scriptures. Yet, on the contrary, their claim is confronted by an opposite claim: many wars were fought and are being fought in the name of religion; and a great deal of violence can be ascribed to the religious believers. In addition, religious scriptures and history of religions do attest, to a certain extent, permissibility of (...) using physical offence or defence. As a result, a question arises: Is the violence credited to religious believers, due to religions? Or is it because of certain secular causes in which religious texts get invoked very often? In responding to the question, the study relied on the theoretical criticism and justification. The study argued that religions, considering their historical inception, are fundamentally aimed at attaining holistic peace for their immediate subjects and subsequent followers, both spirituallyand physically. The study by referring to major religions of the world generally and Islam particularly, argued that in contributing to build global peace, religious believers can plausibly turn to primary peaceful intentions of the religions, if they are provided with a feasible atmosphere. (shrink)

This study addresses the subject of Islamic ethics from definitional and disciplinary perspectives. It highlights the need for relevantization of Islamic ethics to contemporary issues in a systematic manner which, in turn, calls for development of Islamic ethics as a complete discipline with ability to meet all types of challenges: conceptual, practical, normative, applicative, etc. Regarding the definitional issue, different from and more expansive than the traditional understanding of alākhlāq, the researcher argues that a proper definition of ethics should include (...) ethically relevant habits, character, and behavior in its subject matter. As an academic discipline of paramount, practical significance, Islamic ethics should adequately address metaethical, normative, and applicative aspects of the subject. In terms of metaethics, Islamic ethics is derived from revealed knowledge; whereas, principles of Islamic jurisprudence (us
l al&fīqh) offers the best available methodology for the discipline in meeting demands of normativity and application. Regarding the nature of the subject of Islamic ethics, the researcher argues that understanding Islamic ethics as virtue ethics is unjustifiable reduction because a careful study of the subject from its sources would prove that Islamic ethics is rather an integrated field comprising of virtues ethics, divine command theory, duty&based ethics, etc. Therefore, Islamic ethics should be developed, taught, and learned as a whole composite of above&mentioned elements. (shrink)

Euthanasia is one of the significant bioethical issues that has grown in complexity over time because of unprecedented developments in medicine, biotechnology, palliative care, and advanced medical technology. The issue is ethical and legal; new and old. To address this issue from the perspective of Islam, responses have emerged from various sections such as organizations of Muslim doctors, independent writers, fatwÉs, and above all from the Islamic jurisprudential bodies and Islamic medical code. œ”:In this chapter, euthanasia and its types are (...) explained. Active euthanasia is explained with related issues which come under it and ethical guidance from the main sources of Islamic jurisprudence is taken to understand Islamic ethical position on the issue. In a similar way, passive euthanasia is explained and the issues which come under it are explained and a detailed discourse is given in understanding the issues and how Islamic approach to medical treatment solves these issues. (shrink)

The researcher believes that James Rachels’s defense of active euthanasia deserves a critical and normative analysis because of its dehumanizing consequences. The researcher demonstrates that Rachels’s position is conceptually, theoretically, practically, and normatively unjustifiable. The researcher supports his position by three steps.

Abstract: The Spotify Status Dataset is a valuable resource that provides real-time insights into the operational status and performance of Spotify, a popular music streaming platform. This dataset contains a wide array of information related to server uptime, user activity, service disruptions, and more, serving as a critical tool for both Spotify's internal monitoring and the broader data analysis community. As digital services like Spotify continue to play a central role in music consumption, understanding the platform's status becomes crucial for (...) ensuring a seamless user experience. This dataset offers numerous research and analysis opportunities, whether you're interested in exploring service availability trends or investigating user behavior patterns during service disruptions. This study highlights the significance of the Spotify Status Dataset, its potential applications, and the valuable insights it can offer to various stakeholders, from Spotify engineers working to enhance service reliability to researchers studying the effects of downtime on user engagement. It invites readers on a journey through this dataset to uncover the secrets of Spotify's operational status and its impact on music enthusiasts worldwide. (shrink)

Abstract: In, this research embodies the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together data science, healthcare, and public health to address one of the most significant global health challenges in recent history. The achievements of this study underscore the potential of advanced machine learning techniques to enhance our understanding of the pandemic and guide effective decision-making. As we navigate the ongoing battle against COVID-19 and prepare for future health emergencies, the lessons learned from this research serve as a testament to the (...) power of data-driven insights and the unwavering commitment of the global scientific community in the face of adversity. (shrink)

The explanation of why and how consciousness arises in the physical world and also the regular relationship of mental states with physical states are one of the most difficult philosophical topics to be considered in contemporary philosophy of mind. The naturalistic and physicalist attitude of most philosophers of the mind has led to the idea that the field and especially the issue of consciousness is very challenging. In the meantime, some philosophers of religion also have a proposed a kind of (...) theistic hypothesis as a theory to explain consciousness and other mind-body issues as an argument for the existence of God. (shrink)

The explanation of why and how consciousness arises in the physical world and also the regular relationship of mental states with physical states are one of the most difficult philosophical topics to be considered in contemporary philosophy of mind. The naturalistic and physicalist attitude of most philosophers of the mind has led to the idea that the field and especially the issue of consciousness is very challenging. In the meantime, some philosophers of religion also have a proposed a kind of (...) theistic hypothesis as a theory to explain consciousness and other mind-body issues as an argument for the existence of God. (shrink)

The Joint Battle Management Language (JBML) is an XML-based language designed to allow Command and Control (C2) systems to interface easily with Modeling and Simulation (M&S) systems. While some of the XML-tags defined in this language correspond to types of entities that exist in reality, others are mere syntactic artifacts used to structure the messages themselves. Because these two kinds of tags are not formally distinguishable, JBML messages in effect confuse data with what the data represent. In this paper we (...) show how a realism-based ontology combined with a rule language can be used to make these distinctions explicit. The approach allows storage of the contents of JBML messages in a Referent Tracking System in a format that mimics the structure of reality thereby providing an aid to message validation. (shrink)

In this paper, I try to offer a full-fledged defense of principle-based ethics against moral particularism. My discussions not only refute particularists’ allegations against moral generalism but also provide a positive rationale for a principle-based approach in ethics. By borrowing insights from Brandom’s and Peregrin’s normative pragmatism, I describe the fundamental roles of moral principles. In my view, moral principles constitute morality, and they can function as default reasons in our moral deliberations. Moreover, I argue that my principle-based conception of (...) ethics has advantages over particularism since it explains the phenomenological experience and covers basic intuitions in the moral domain that particularists have difficulty explaining. (shrink)

Aristotle has repeatedly stated in his works that 'being has several senses'. Is this to be regarded as his pluralistic ontology, an approach that seems to be too nascent? If so, how can this newfound approach in ontology be linked to the ideas of the father of this science, i.e. Aristotle? These are the questions that the present article seeks to answer. First, we will show that Aristotle thinks of 'being' in four senses. Then, step by step he proceeds to (...) leave different senses aside, insofar as only one sense remains: being in the sense of the figures of the categories. We argue, then, that it is better to found Aristotle's ontological pluralism upon the fourfold sorts, instead of the tenfold categories. We will provide some reasons for this preference, i.e. in defense of the fourfold sorts and against the tenfold categories. Each of these four modes of being will be discussed. Finally, a version of ontological pluralism will be provided and attributed to Aristotle: Sorting Version. According to this version of pluralism, we will demonstrate how Aristotle speaks of the ontologically fundamental structure of the world. (shrink)

Management of information is facilitated by unambiguously tracking portions of reality over time. To track the portions of reality, a referent tracking system is used. The referent tracking system is able to communicate with other tracking systems and/or tradition information systems. Errors in the referent tracking system are detected and corrected to maintain actual representations of the portions of reality.

This paper introduces the novel concept of Neutro-BCK-algebra. In Neutro-BCK-algebra, the outcome of any given two elements under an underlying operation (neutro-sophication procedure) has three cases, such as: appurtenance, non-appurtenance, or indeterminate.

The practice of assigning authorship for a scientific publication tends to raise two normative questions: 1) ‘who should be credited as an author?’; 2) ‘who should not be credited as an author but should still be acknowledged?’. With the publication of the revised version of The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ECCRI), standard answers to these questions have been called into question. This article examines the ways in which the ECCRI approaches these two questions and compares these approaches (...) to standard definitions of ‘authorship’ and ‘acknowledgment’ in guidelines issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). In light of two scenarios and the problems posed by these kinds of ‘real-world’ examples, we recommend specific revisions to the content of the ECCRI in order not only to provide a more detailed account of the tasks deserving of acknowledgment, but to improve the Code’s current definition of authorship. (shrink)

In the article of Bueno titled “Davidson and Skepticism: How Not to Respond to the Skeptic,” he intends to demonstrate that although Davidson’s theory of Coherence holds many attractions, it does not entail a response to any kinds of skepticism including Global, Lottery, and Pyrrhonian. In this study, the goal is to criticize the work of Prof. Bueno in connection with two criticisms raised by him over Davidson’s anti-skeptical strategy. Further, by giving some reasons in favor of Davidson’s anti-skepticism argument, (...) it will be shown that neither the above stated criticisms nor the global skepticism response could undermine the validity of anti-skepticism argument. (shrink)

Karl Popper and Leo Strauss were two German speaking philosophers of Jewish descent, both having lived under Hitler’s rule, deeply disturbed by the events of the Holocaust; both leaving their homelands to settle in English speaking countries and adopting the teaching profession. In spite of so many similarities, no two persons could have such opposing personalities as these two men. It is strange how similar experiences could lead to the development of completely opposite philosophies. On the one hand we have (...) the peaceful and quiet politics of Popper, simple and straight forward, understandable and like a scientific theory open to criticism and verification. On the other hand however, are the political views of Strauss, a mystery wrapped in an enigma, leaving one to wonder where Strauss talks esoterically and where he is what he is, leaving behind a string of questions never to be answered with surety. This article is a comparison of the political views of Popper and Strauss. (shrink)

The idea of the uniformity of nature, as a solution to the problem of induction, has at least two contemporary versions: natural kinds and natural necessity. Then there are at least three alternative ontological ideas addressing the problem of induction. In this paper, I articulate how these ideas are used to justify the practice of inductive inference, and compare them, in terms of their applicability, to see whether each of them is preferred in addressing the problem of induction. Given the (...) variety of contexts in which inductive inferences are made, from natural science to social science and to everyday thinking, I suggest that no singular idea is absolutely preferred, and a proper strategy is probably to welcome the plurality of ideas helpful to induction, and to take pragmatic considerations into account, in order to judge in every single case. (shrink)

Much has been said about the need for improving the current definitions of scientific authorship, but an aspect that is often overlooked is how to formulate and communicate these definitions to ensure that they are comprehensible and useful for researchers, notably researchers active in international research consortia. In light of a rapid increase in international collaborations within natural sciences, this article uses authorship of this branch of sciences as an example and provides suggestions to improve the comprehensibility of the definitions (...) of authorship in natural sciences. It assesses whether the definition of authorship provided by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity can deal with current issues and problems of scientific authorship. Notably, problems that are experienced in project groups with researchers coming from multiple countries. Using theories developed by Jürgen Habermas and Robert Merton, a normative framework is developed to articulate ethical authorship in natural sciences. Accordingly, enriching the current definition of authorship with normative elements and using discipline-specific metaphors to communicate them are introduced as possible ways of improving the comprehensibility of the definition of authorship in international environments. Finally, this article provides a proposal to be considered in the future revisions of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. (shrink)

Roseoloviruses are ubiquitous worldwide. Its infection in children is very common causing a disease named as Roseola infantum. It appears that most of the children are still being suffered by the same disease without any proper treatment all over the world. And, the situation becomes worst when these latent viruses reactivated in future to develop disease complications and cancer in human. The Present review is an attempt to describe Roseoloviruses causing diseases including cancer in human in the light of recent (...) researches done so far in the past. (shrink)

Throughout their writings, John McDowell and Richard Rorty draw on Kant’s influential account of experience. For Rorty, Kant is the antagonist who succumbs to foundationalism or what Sellars calls the Myth of the Given and Wittgenstein is the hero who helps in overcoming the siren call of the Myth. McDowell, however, is ambivalent toward Kant. With Sellars, he applauds Kant as the hero who helped us vanquish the Myth of the Given. But he argues that Kant failed to recognize the (...) full strength of his account of experience and capitulated to a subjective idealism. Wittgenstein, for McDowell, is the hero who helps us achieve an account of experience that gets to the things themselves. I adjudicate the philosophical and the exegetical tensions between Rorty and McDowell and support the latter’s approach to experience and to the reading of Kant and Wittgenstein. (shrink)

Neutrosophic theory has many applications in graph theory, bipolar single valued neutrosophic graphs (BSVNGs) is the generalization of fuzzy graphs and intuitionistic fuzzy graphs, SVNGs. In this paper we introduce some types of BSVNGs, such as subdivision BSVNGs, middle BSVNGs, total BSVNGs and bipolar single valued neutrosophic line graphs (BSVNLGs), also investigate the isomorphism, co weak isomorphism and weak isomorphism properties of subdivision BSVNGs, middle BSVNGs, total BSVNGs and BSVNLGs.

Security and privacy are the major concerns in the internet of things (IoT) which are uncertain and unpredictable. Trust aware routing is one of the recent and effective strategies which ensure better resilience for IoT nodes from different security threats. Towards such concern, this paper proposes a new strategy called independent onlooker withstanding trust aware routing (IOWTAR) for IoT. IOWTAR introduced a new compound trust metric by combining three individual metrics namely independent trust, onlooker trust, and withstanding trust (a combination (...) of resilient trust and immovability trust). Independent trust and onlooker trust are assessed based on direct and indirect experiences of nodes about their neighbor nodes. Withstanding trust is assessed based on the stability and resilience of nodes towards dynamic topological changes and network failures respectively. Further, this work adapted the Firefly algorithm (FFA) to optimize the weights of individual trusts and establishes a secure path. Simulation experiments carried out over the proposed method had shown its superiority in terms of packet delivery ratio, delay, and throughput. The proposed method has gained an average improvement in the throughput is of 23.71%, 20.18%, 17.27%, and 2.88% from PSO, GSA, WOA, and CBBMOR-TSM-IOT methods respectively. (shrink)

This essay briefly evaluates the ongoing controversy between LIU Qingping and GUO Qiyong (and their followers) about the “moral heart ”of Confucianism in order to draw acomparison with Islamic ethics for mutual illumination of the two traditions.

This paper inaugurates a discussion about the phenomenology of union decision-making. Phenomenology provides a new lens that may enable us to gain penetrating insights into how unions function in the fractious world of human resources management. The present paper is preliminary to any fieldwork that may be undertaken. Its main purposes are to identify theory that could be the foundation of further practical work, relate recent work in the phenomenology of management to union practices and to propose directions of enquiry. (...) The relevant theory is that of Edmund Husserl who provides us with a practical method of enquiry into the real world of human resource practice. Husserl’s work has already been applied in relation to local government functioning and some of the findings there appear relevant to the present enquiry. In particular, the nature and role of plebiscites. (shrink)

In this paper, an interpretation of "necessity", inspired by a Leibnizian idea and based on the method of dialogical logic, is introduced. The semantic rules corresponding to such an account of necessity are developed, and then some peculiarities, and some potential advantages, of the introduced dialogical explanation, in comparison with the customary explanation offered by the possible worlds semantics, are briefly discussed.

This research aims to investigate managing information and planning for the participation of health charities. With the Covid-19 outbreak, it was important to use information systems to optimize health management. The correct processing of information is the basis for better use of health charities’ participation. Using the snowball technique, and semi-structured interviews, 47 experts and non-experts in Fars province were asked for their opinions. Next, based on the fuzzy network analysis, important factors were prioritized. Four categories and 8 important criteria (...) were identified. To prioritize the effective aspects of the participation of health charities in Fars province, a network analysis technique was used via MATLAB software. Strategy and programs with a normal weight of 0.34 showed the highest priority. Research and education with a normal weight of 0.26 received the second priority. Laws and regulations with a normal weight of 0.24 were placed as the third priority. Based on the obtained results, creating strategy and planning, training and building cultural in this field, ease of rules and regulations as well as planning of financial resources play an important role in managing the participation of health donors. With precise planning of health programs, donors see the transparency of decisions. They check the part that needs financing and equipment completion. Because the quality of plans and programs, effectiveness and efficiency of strategies, and the quality of results depend on the decisions made by donors. (shrink)

Through discussing scientific whaling, the paper brings the necessity of retrieving natural philosophy. The paper’s arguments favor an expanded vision of human encounter with nature, through the lens of natural philosophy, with a priority focus of expanding our imaginations to embrace the vast natural world. -/- There is no doubt that both the philosophy and science, two of the three significant areas of cultural and intellectual engagement (the other one is religion), have gone through changes over time. It is also (...) conspicuous that the modern natural science marginalized and suppressed specific concerns which were previously an indefeasible part of natural philosophy. -/- Bringing both historical and critical discussion of natural philosophy, the paper explores prospective retrieval of natural philosophy in contemporary modern science. Emphasizing the significance of natural philosophy’s imperatives both in the intellectual and field application of modern science, the paper reiterates commentary of Nicholas Maxwell, who advocates to correct three loopholes (Maxwell 2017): change the nature of social inquiry; opt aim-oriented rationality methods; and generalize the progress achieving methods of science. (shrink)

In this paper, we define the regular and totally regular single valued neutrosophic hypergraphs, and discuss the order and size along with properties of regular and totally regular single valued neutrosophic hypergraphs. We also extend work on completeness of single valued neutrosophic hypergraphs.

In this paper, we define the regular and totally regular bipolar single valued neutrosophic hypergraphs, and discuss the order and size along with properties of regular and totally regular bipolar single valued neutrosophic hypergraphs. We extend work on completeness of bipolar single valued neutrosophic hypergraphs.

هدف از پژوهش حاضر، بررسی مسائل اخلاق هوش مصنوعی در حوزۀ هنر است. به‌این‌منظور، با تکیه بر فلسفه و اخلاق هوش مصنوعی، موضوعات اخلاقی که می‌تواند در حوزۀ هنر تأثیرگذار باشد، بررسی شده است. باتوجه‌به رشد و توسعۀ استفاده از هوش مصنوعی و ورود آن به حوزۀ هنر، نیاز است تا مباحث اخلاقی دقیق‌تر مورد توجه پژوهشگران هنر و فلسفه قرار گیرد. برای دست‌یابی به هدف پژوهش، با استفاده از روش تحلیلی‌ـ‌توصیفی، مفاهیمی همچون هوش مصنوعی، برخی تکنیک‌های آن و موضوعات (...) اخلاقی هوش مصنوعی در هنر تبیین و بررسی شده است. نتایج پژوهش نشان می‌دهد موضوعات اخلاقی همچون حریم خصوصی و نظارت، دستکاری در رفتار، تاری و شفافیت، سوگیری در تصمیمات سیستم، و اتوماسیون و اشتغال حوزۀ هنر قابل‌بررسی است. این موضوعات اخلاقی، گاهی درتقابل و گاهی در ارتباط مستقیم و هم‌سو با یکدیگر قرار دارند. بررسی‌ها نشان می‌دهد پاسخ به پرسش‌های اخلاق هوش مصنوعی در حوزۀ هنر، نیازمند پاسخ به پرسش‌های اخلاقی به‌صورت عام در هوش مصنوعی است. The aim of this paper is to explore the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of art. Drawing on the philosophy and ethics of AI, this study examines the ethical challenges that may arise in the art domain. Given the increasing use and penetration of AI in the field of art, there is a need for more careful attention to the ethical dimensions of this phenomenon by scholars of art and philosophy. To achieve the objective of the paper, concepts such as AI, some of its techniques, and the ethical issues of AI in art are explained and analyzed using the analytical-descriptive method. The findings of the study reveal that ethical issues such as privacy and surveillance, manipulation of behavior, opacity and transparency, bias in decision systems, and automation and employment can be investigated in the field of art. These ethical issues are sometimes in conflict and sometimes in direct relation with each other. This study suggests that addressing the ethical questions of AI in the field of art requires addressing the ethical questions of AI in general. (shrink)

Turing does not provide an explanation for substituting the original question of his test – i.e., “Can machines think?” with “Can a machine pass the imitation game?” – resulting in an argumentative gap in his main thesis. In this article, I argue that a positive answer to the second question would mean attributing the ability of linguistic interactions to machines; while a positive answer to the original question would mean attributing the ability of thinking to machines. In such a situation, (...) defending the Turing Test requires establishing a relationship between thought and language. In this regard, Davidson's no-priority theory is presented as an approach for defending the test. (shrink)

كانت وجود علم و اخلاق را پيش فرض ميگيرد و به بررسـي حـدود و ثغـور هـر يـك ميپردازد. در اين راه او از اصطلاحات «عقل» و «فاهمه» استفاده ميكند. در اين مقاله به تعريف اين دو مفهوم نزد كانت، از ديدگاهي كه وجـه تمـايز آنهـا را آشـكارتر كنـد، پرداخته ميشود؛ سپس جايگاه اين دو قوه در حيطـة علـم بررسـي و آنگـاه بـا بررسـي مواضع اخلاقي كانت نتيجه گرفته ميشود كه از ديدگاه وي كار ويـژة عقـل در حيطـه عمل و اخلاق (...) رخ مينمايد و عقل محض در ذات خود عملي است. (shrink)