Since its publication twenty years ago, Brian Massumi's pioneering Parables for the Virtual has become an essential text for interdisciplinary scholars across the humanities. Massumi views the body and media such as television, film, and the internet as cultural formations that operate on multiple registers of sensation. Renewing and assessing William James's radical empiricism and Henri Bergson's philosophy of perception through the filter of the postwar French philosophy of Deleuze, Guattari, and Foucault, Massumi links a cultural logic of variation to questions of movement, affect, and sensation. Replacing the traditional opposition of literal and figural with distinctions between stasis and motion and between actual and virtual, Massumi tackles related theoretical issues by applying them to cultural mediums as diverse as architecture, body art, the digital art of Stelarc, and Ronald Reagan's acting career. The result is an intriguing combination of cultural theory, science, and philosophy that asserts itself in a crystalline and multifaceted argument. This twentieth anniversary edition includes a new preface in which Massumi situates the book in relation to developments since its publication and outlines the evolution of its main concepts. It also includes two short texts, “Keywords for Affect” and “Missed Conceptions about Affect,” in which Massumi explicates his approach to affect in ways that emphasize the book's political and philosophical stakes.
Sports-based disability assistance volunteer services play a crucial role in promoting social inclusion and harmonious development, with college students serving as the primary participant group in such initiatives. To explore the underlying mechanisms driving university students’ participation in these volunteer services, this study constructs an extended Theory of Planned Behavior model. Building upon the traditional constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Behavioral Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceptual-Behavioral Control, and Willingness to Participate), this model introduces the core variable Level of Awareness. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling and mediation analysis based on questionnaires collected from 697 college students in China. The structural model demonstrated good fit. Key findings are as follows: The SEM model fit well: RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.95. Level of Awareness significantly and directly influenced Willingness to Participate, while also significantly and positively predicting Behavioral Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Perceptual-Behavioral Control. Concurrently, Behavioral Attitude (β = 0.31, p < 0.001), Subjective Norms (β = 0.30, p < 0.01), and Perceptual-Behavioral Control (β = 0.25, p < 0.01) significantly predicted Willingness to Participate, partially mediating this relationship. This study confirms that Level of Awareness is a key antecedent variable for stimulating behavioral intention, providing new theoretical perspectives and practical insights for recruiting and mobilizing youth volunteers in Chinese universities or official social organizations: (1) Factors that influence the level of awareness of sports programs for people with disabilities significantly affect the intention to participate; higher levels of awareness are associated with stronger intentions to participate. (2) The level of awareness, as a core factor, positively influences behavioral attitude, subjective norms, perceptual-behavioral control, and willingness to participate, and therefore constitutes the core of the theoretical model. (3) Behavioral attitude, subjective norms, and perceptual-behavioral control each significantly influence willingness to participate; the path coefficients for behavioral attitude and subjective norms are slightly larger than the path coefficient for perceptual-behavioral control. These three variables mediate the relationship between the level of awareness and intention to participate in sports-based volunteer services for people with disabilities.
Enrico Cinti, Sebastian De Haro, Mark Golden
et al.
This paper introduces the physics and philosophy of strange metals, which are characterized by unusual electrical and thermal properties that deviate from conventional metallic behaviour. The anomalous strange-metal behaviour discussed here appears in the normal state of a copper-oxide high-temperature superconductor, and it cannot be described using standard condensed-matter physics. Currently, it can only be described through a holographic dual, viz.~a four-dimensional black hole in anti-de Sitter spacetime. This paper first introduces the theory of, and specific experiments carried out on, strange metals. Then it discusses a number of philosophical questions that strange metals open up regarding the experimental evidence for holography and its realist interpretation. Strange metals invert the explanatory arrows, in that usual holographic arguments are seen as giving explanations of the bulk quantum-gravity theory from the boundary. By contrast, the aim here is, by using holography, to explain the experimentally discovered and anomalous properties of strange metals.
Henry D. Potter, George F. R. Ellis, Kevin J. Mitchell
Free will discourse is primarily centred around the thesis of determinism. Much of the literature takes determinism as its starting premise, assuming it true for the sake of discussion, and then proceeds to present arguments for why, if determinism is true, free will would be either possible or impossible. This is reflected in the theoretical terrain of the debate, with the primary distinction currently being between compatibilists and incompatibilists and not, as one might expect, between free will realists and skeptics. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we argue that there is no reason to accept such a framing. We show that, on the basis of modern physics, there is no good evidence that physical determinism of any variety provides an accurate description of our universe and lots of evidence against such a view. Moreover, we show that this analysis extends equally to the sort of indeterministic worldviews endorsed by many libertarian philosophers and their skeptics, a worldview which we refer to as determinism plus randomness. The papers secondary aim is therefore to present an alternative conception of indeterminism, which is more in line with the empirical evidence from physics. It is this indeterministic worldview, we suggest, that ought to be the central focus of a reframed philosophy of free will.
Usep Suherman, Eliva Sukma Cipta, Saeful Anwar
et al.
In the face of increasingly complex educational challenges, there is a growing demand for leadership models that integrate ethical and humanistic values, particularly in Islamic elementary schools. This study explores the operationalisation of kindness-based leadership at MI Fitrah Insani, Leles, Garut, as a strategic response to the limitations of performance-oriented and hierarchical leadership paradigms. This study addresses the gaps in the literature regarding the implementation of ethical leadership grounded in Islamic values by examining how empathy, participatory communication, and ethical responsibility shape school culture and educational quality. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and a document analysis. Triangulation of these methods enabled a comprehensive understanding of institutional dynamics, leadership practices, and their impact on school climate, teacher motivation, and student engagement. The findings reveal that kindness-based leadership at MI Fitrah Insani fosters an emotionally safe and inclusive school environment. Through participatory decision-making, structured communication, and consistent appreciation practices, the leadership model contributes to improved teacher loyalty, pedagogical innovation, and heightened student participation. Despite structural, cultural, and operational barriers such as bureaucratic rigidity and limited professional development, adaptive strategies, including ethical leadership training, policy reform, and digital communication platforms, have enhanced the effectiveness and sustainability of this model. This study concludes that kindness-oriented leadership is not merely a normative ideal but a transformative practice that aligns with Islamic ethical traditions and addresses the academic and moral dimensions of education. The findings offer practical implications for Islamic schools seeking to cultivate character-driven and ethically grounded leadership.
Tayebeh Rakhshani, Afrooz Bagherfard, Amirhossein Kamyab
et al.
Abstract Background Women’s increasing workforce participation has led to stress, anxiety, and strained parent-child relationships, highlighting the need for effective interventions. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a promising yet underutilized approach to improving psychological well-being and parenting quality. This study examines its impact on self-compassion and parent-child relationships among health caregivers. Methods A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 40 health caregivers in Masjed Soleyman, randomly assigned to intervention (n = 20) and control (n = 20) groups. The intervention group participated in eight 90-minute mindfulness-based stress reduction sessions over two months. Data were collected using the Parent-Child Relationship Scale (PCRS), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) before and two months after the intervention. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 27 and included paired t-tests, independent t-tests, chi-square tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results Before the intervention, no significant differences were observed between groups in stress (P = 0.583) or self-compassion (P = 0.738). Post-intervention, stress (P = 0.001) and self-compassion (P = 0.001) significantly improved in the intervention group. Parent-child relationship scores also increased significantly (P = 0.001). Conclusion MBSR effectively enhances self-compassion, reduces stress, and strengthens parent-child relationships in working mothers. By fostering mindfulness and acceptance of their parenting role, mothers improved emotional regulation and connected more positively with their children. Trial registration Trial Id: 85639. IRCT Id: IRCT20223065147N2 . Registration date: 2025-09-28. Membership number: 65147.503
ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence and impact of anxiety and sleep disturbances during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay following cardiothoracic surgery in male patients, and to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of a structured psychological intervention combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) principles with environmental optimization.MethodsThis study was designed as a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted from January to April 2025 across three tertiary hospitals. A total of 120 adult male patients who underwent radical surgery for cardiac or lung cancer and were subsequently admitted to the ICU were enrolled. Baseline assessments were performed within 48 h after surgery. Participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group (n = 60) or the standard care group (n = 60) using a computer-generated randomization sequence with concealed allocation. While the standard care group received routine perioperative management, the intervention group additionally received a structured psychological intervention that incorporated components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)—including sleep education, relaxation training, and behavioral strategies—along with daily psychological support and environmental optimization measures such as noise reduction, lighting adjustment, and use of sleep-promoting devices.Primary outcomes included Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain, ICU length of stay, incidence of postoperative complications, and the 30-day postoperative quality of life as measured by the SF-36. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the predictive value of anxiety and sleep disturbances on postoperative outcomes.ResultsOn postoperative day 3, the intervention group showed significantly lower GAD-7 scores (6.3 ± 1.6 vs. 8.4 ± 2.3, p = 0.016) and PSQI scores (7.5 ± 1.6 vs. 10.2 ± 2.3, p < 0.01) compared to the standard care group. Pain scores were also significantly reduced (2.7 ± 1.2 vs. 3.6 ± 1.3, p = 0.018). The intervention group had a shorter ICU stay (2.5 ± 0.6 days vs. 3.7 ± 1.2 days, p < 0.01), a lower rate of postoperative complications (17% vs. 36%, p = 0.033), and significantly better SF-36 scores at 30 days post-surgery (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression identified both anxiety and sleep disturbance as independent predictors of postoperative complications (GAD-7: OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03–1.42; PSQI: OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.14–1.51).ConclusionAnxiety and sleep disturbances are common during the postoperative ICU phase in male patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery and are significantly associated with pain, complications, and recovery outcomes. Early implementation of a CBT-I–based psychological intervention in the ICU can effectively improve psychological status, shorten ICU stays, and reduce postoperative complications. The intervention is safe and shows high clinical utility, warranting consideration for integration into standardized postoperative care pathways, particularly in high-risk male populations.Clinical trial registrationThe study was retrospectively registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) under the identifier ChiCTR240000123.
It is widely acknowledged that the Galilean Relativity Principle, according to which the laws of classical systems are the same in all inertial frames in relative motion, has played an important role in the development of modern physics. It is also commonly believed that this principle holds the key to answering why, for example, we do not notice the orbital velocity of the Earth as we go about our day. And yet, I argue in this paper that the precise content of this principle is ambiguous: standard presentations fail to distinguish between two principles that are ultimately inequivalent, the "External Galilean Relativity Principle" (EGRP) and the "Internal Galilean Relativity Principle" (IGRP). I demonstrate that EGRP and IGRP play distinct roles in physics and that many classical systems that satisfy IGRP fail to satisfy EGRP. I further show that the Relativity Principle introduced by Einstein in 1905-which is not restricted to classical systems-also leads to two inequivalent principles. I conclude by noting that the phenomenon originally captured by Galileo's famous ship passage is much more general than contemporary discussions in the philosophy of symmetries suggest.
Quantum theory in its conventional formulation is notoriously subject to various measurement-related paradoxes, as exemplified by the "Schrodinger's Cat" and "Wigner's Friend" thought experiments. It has been shown, for example by Frauchiger and Renner, that nested measurements such as those occurring in the Wigner's Friend experiment can lead to inconsistencies concerning the putative outcomes of measurements. Such inconsistencies are commonly presumed to remain private and incommensurable, but this is not the case. A counterexample, in which the inconsistencies can be revealed among the observers, is reviewed. The implications for a recent attempt to shield Relational Quantum Mechanics from such inconsistencies are considered, and it is concluded that the attempt is not successful. Further implications for the state of the debate concerning the viability of quantum theory in its various formulations are discussed.
Many scientists view science as value-free, despite the fact that both epistemic and non-epistemic values structure scientific inquiry. Current ethics training usually focuses on transmitting knowledge about high-level ethical concepts or rules and is widely regarded as ineffective. We argue that ethics training will be more effective at improving ethical decision making if it focuses on connecting values to science. We pull from philosophy and psychology to define ethical decision making using the Four Component Model. This model states that in order to make an ethical decision someone must consider four components: moral sensitivity, moral reasoning, moral motivation, and moral implementation. We formed a moderated fellowship of fourteen science faculty from different disciplines who met for ten sessions over the course of a year, where they discussed the values embedded in different scientific norms. We then conducted interviews before and after the year-long fellowship that involved guided reflection of scenarios where there was some kind of ethical misconduct where the scientific practice required value judgements (e.g using unpublished data in their own work). We looked at how the fellowship affected the scientists' ability to recognize ethical dimensions regarding the scenarios. We found that this fellowship improved moral sensitivity, but their moral reasoning does not improve. We outlined our approach on how to look at scientists' ethical decision making and made recommendations on how to improve our approach. This work can inform future ethical training to align better with what scientists value and introduce useful concepts from philosophy and psychology to education research in physics.
As an introduction to the six essays written in honor of Joseph Agassi’s last book, I explain the book structure and Agassi’s purpose in writing it. To the contrary of what I had in mind when I invited Agassi to pen this manuscript—his Cynic- and Zen-like educational practices, on which I have elaborated elsewhere and which required further clarification—Agassi chose to write on the intersection of the philosophy of life with academic philosophy. Following Socrates, he called for an active collaboration of both. By explaining why “philosophy is nothing … if it is not the advocacy of reason,” Agassi summed up his entire philosophy in what turned out to be his clearest and most insightful work, his testament.
Physical systems are characterized by their structure and dynamics. But the physical laws only express relations, and their symmetries allow any possible relational structure to be also possible in a different parametrization or basis of the state space. If observers were reducible to their structure, observer-like structures from different parametrizations would identify differently the observables with physical properties. They would perceive the same system as being in a different state. This leads to the question: is there a unique correspondence between observables and physical properties, or this correspondence is relative to the parametrization in which the observer-like structure making the observation exists? I show that, if observer-like structures from all parametrizations were observers, their memory of the external world would have no correspondence with the facts, it would be no better than random guess. Since our experience shows that this is not the case, there must be more to the observers than their structure. This implies that the correspondence between observables and physical properties is unique, and it becomes manifest through the observers. This result is independent of the measurement problem, applying to both quantum and classical physics. It has implications for structural realism, philosophy of mind, the foundations of quantum and classical physics, and quantum-first approaches.
The paper investigates the historical and contemporary pursuit-worthiness of cosmic inflation-the rationale for working on it (rather than necessarily the evidential support for claims to its approximate truth): what reasons existed, and exist, that warrant inflation's status as the mainstream paradigm studied, explored, and further developed by the majority of the cosmology community? We'll show that inflation exemplifies various salient theory virtues: explanatory depth, unifying/integrative power, fertility and positive heuristics, the promotion of understanding, and the prospect (and passing) of novel benchmark tests. This, we'll argue, constitutes inflation's auspicious promise. It marks inflation as preferable over both the inflation-less Hot Big Bang Model, as well as rivals to inflation: inflation, we maintain, rightly deserved, and continues to deserve, the concerted research efforts it has enjoyed.
I propose a method for tracking and assessing scientific progress using a prediction consensus algorithm designed for the purpose. The protocol obviates the need for centralized referees to generate scientific questions, gather predictions, and assess the accuracy or success of those predictions. It relies instead on crowd wisdom and a system of checks and balances for all tasks. It is intended to take the form of a web-based, searchable database. I describe a prototype implementation that I call Ex Quaerum. The main purpose of the present document is to motivate the project, to explain its underlying philosophy, to explain the details of the consensus protocol on which it is based, to describe plans for its future development, and ultimately to attract additional collaborators.
The rich body of physical theories defines the foundation of our understanding of the world. Its mathematical formulation is based on classical Aristotelian (binary) logic. In the philosophy of science the ambiguities, paradoxes, and the possibility of subjective interpretations of facts have challenged binary logic, leading, among other developments, to Gotthard Günther's theory of polycontexturality (often also termed 'transclassical logic'). Günther's theory explains how observers with subjective perception can become aware of their own subjectivity and provides means to describe contradicting or even paradox observations in a logically sound formalism. Here we summarize the formalism behind Günther's theory and apply it to two well-known examples from physics where different observers operate in distinct and only locally valid logical systems. Using polycontextural logic we show how the emerging awareness of these limitations of logical systems entails the design of mathematical transformations, which then become an integral part of the theory. In our view, this approach offers a novel perspective on the structure of physical theories and, at the same time, emphasizes the relevance of the theory of polycontexturality in modern sciences.