ON CONSTRUCTIVE-ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY: A JOURNAL THEME INTRODUCTION [abstract]

In this journal theme introduction, first, I explain how comparative philosophy as explored in the journal Comparative Philosophy is understood and how it is intrinsically related to the constructive engagement strategy. Second, to characterize more clearly and accurately some related methodological points of the constructive-engagement strategy, and also to explain how constructive engagement is possible, I introduce some needed conceptual and explanatory resources and a meta-methodological framework and endeavor to identify adequacy conditions for methodological guiding principles in comparative studies. Third, as a case analysis, I show how the constructive-engagement reflective practice bears on recent studies of Chinese and comparative Chinese-Western philosophy, especially in the past decade, for two purposes: to illustrate the foregoing theoretic characterization of the constructive engagement strategy, and to identify and explain some constructive morals that might have general significance for comparative studies

Dealing with \u27western classical music\u27 in Indian music schools. A case study in Kolkata, Bangalore, Goa and Mumbai

This article summarizes the design and results of an efficiency study that accompanied a skill-enhancement project for Indian teachers of Western classical music in selected cities in India, undertaken by the Goethe-Institut Kolkata from 2009 to 2011 in collaboration with the University of Music Würzburg. At the same time it contributes to a segment of comparative music educational research with an interdisciplinary approach to provide further thoughts on a methodological and theoretical foundation in comparative music educational research. The framework of this case study is a challenge for the researcher since it evokes right from the beginning various prejudices ranging from postcolonial criticism to political intentions and workouts of (German) development policies and so forth; however, by understanding comparative research as the careful evaluation of one’s diversity of experience by acknowledging that this music praxis has roots in the past as well as in the present leads to an adjustment and a holistic understanding of this segment of music education in India. (DIPF/Orig.

Semi-Classical Approach to the Two-Level Pairing Model --Various Aspects of Phase Change--

Aspects of the phase change of the two-level pairing model are investigated in the semi-classical treatment by using the variational approch with the mixed-mode coherent state. In the classical limit, $hbar \to 0$, the sharp phase transition appears and the two phases exist in the region where the force strength is larger than a certain critical value. However, it is shown that, in the semi-classical treatment, the above-mentioned behavior of the phase change disappears in the analytical and the numerical treatments. As a result, new understanding about aspects of the phase change in this model is given.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures but figs.6, 7 and 8 are not included, using PTPTeX.cl

Creativity in the Philosophy Class. Concrete Research

The issue of creativity among teachers and pupils in terms of the dialogical praxis represented a real challenge concerning the research that we have done in high school classes in which philosophy is being taught. We have come to the conclusion that there is a direct linking between the diversity of the dialogical forms which pupils and teachers use and the forms of expression of creativity that are used during philosophy classes. Philosophical themes seem more attractive and interesting if the working methods in classes are modified and if pupils have to evaluate critically their own knowledge. (DIPF/Orig.)Die Kreativität der Schüler und Lehrer in der Methode dialogischer Praxis während des Philosophieunterrichts von Oberschulklassen stellte im Kontext dieser repräsentativen Untersuchung eine Herausforderung dar. Unsere Feststellungen zeigen die direkte Verknüpfung zwischen der Vielfalt dialogischer Formen, welche die Schüler und Lehrer übernommen haben und den Formen und Ebenen der Kreativität der Schüler während des Philosophieunterrichts. Philosophische Themen gewinnen an Attraktivität, wenn die Arbeitsmethoden in der Klasse dahin gehend geändert werden, dass die Schüler gefordert sind, ihre Kenntnisse kritisch zu bewerten und ihre Position aus einem philosphischen Blickwinkel zu überprüfen. (DIPF/Orig.

HOW TO SEPARATE CONCEPTUAL ISSUES FROM EMPIRICAL ONES IN THE STUDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Modern consciousness studies are in a healthy state, with many progressive empirical programmes in cognitive science, neuroscience and related sciences, using relatively conventional third-person research methods. However not all the problems of consciousness can be resolved in this way. These problems may be grouped into problems that require empirical advance, those that require theoretical advance, and those that require a re-examination of some of our pre-theoretical assumptions. I give examples of these, and focus on two problems—what consciousness is, and what consciousness does—that require all three. In this, careful attention to conscious phenomenology and finding an appropriate way to relate first-person evidence to third-person evidence appears to be central to progress. But we may also need to re-examine what we take to be “natural facts” about the world, and how we can know them. The same appears to be true for a trans-cultural understanding of consciousness that combines classical Indian phenomenological methods with the third-person methods of Western science

The critical layer during transition of the spiral Poiseuille flow in an annular gap

Subject of this paper falls under the broad heading of the propagation of disturbances causing transition in a fully developed spiral annular flow. The problem is approached through reformulation of the linearised equations of motion governing small-amplitude disturbances in a parameter space that differs from that conventionally employed for this purpose. The alternative parameter space comprises a suitably defined Reynolds number that is formed with a resultant characteristic velocity which is a vector sum of the axial and azimuthal characteristic velocities, a swirl parameter that is the ratio of the azimuthal to the axial characteristic velocity, and the ratio of the annular gap to the mean diameter of the cylinders. In the limits of the swirl parameter assuming very small or very large values, the newly derived generalised Orr-Sommerfeld and Squire equations for disturbance propagation in the revised parameter space reduce to the corresponding equations that are known and well established for the limiting cases of disturbance propagation as the swirl parameter goes to zero or infinity respectively. Furthermore, they also lead naturally to the criterion that determines from the equations themselves the analytical expression for the location of the critical layer in spiral annular flow, the scaling behaviour of the thickness of the critical layer with the Reynolds number and the swirl parameter, and the equation governing the dynamics of the flow in the critical layer. They thus explicitly reveal the effect of swirl on the critical layer.Comment: 14 pages. The replacement is a continuation of the earlier submissio

Trajectories in the Development of Islamic Theological Thought: the Synthesis of Kalam

The field of Islamic theology (kalam) is not merely a receptacle for the presentation of the creedal statements and doctrinal catechisms of Islam; it derives its raison d’être not only from the articulation and elucidation of the doctrines of faith, but also by means of its rational and painstaking explication of dogma. While many of the dogmatic statements expressed in Islamic theology naturally emanate from a traditional substratum, countless more are the result of dialectical discussions as theologians expounded upon abstract constructs of religious dogma. Recent academic research is exploring the history, trends, and conceptual achievements behind the Islamic experiment with theology, providing insights into the tradition’s ability to integrate, refine, and expand theological constructs. Scholars are also concerned with issues such as origins, authenticity, and ascription, although such matters are not deflecting attention from the rich stock of resources and materials kalam has to offer