Search Results (2,321)

Youth soccer performance is influenced by multiple factors, including age, body size, and physical capacities, but the relative contribution of these variables to aerobic and explosive performance remains unclear. Understanding these relationships can improve the interpretation of field tests and support individualized training prescription. This study was designed to examine the association of age category, body mass, and height with physical performance in youth soccer players by jointly considering aerobic and explosive capacities, in order to support the interpretation of field tests within training prescription. Forty-five male players (15 U16, 15 U17, 15 U19) from the same club were assessed across two standardised on-field testing sessions, including the 45–15 test (estimated maximal aerobic speed, MAS) and vertical jump tests (squat jump, SJ; countermovement jump, CMJ; countermovement jump with free arms, CMJ_FH). Performance variables (SJ, CMJ, CMJ_FH, MAS) were treated as outcomes, while category, body mass, and height were included as predictors. A multivariate analysis was performed, followed by univariate analyses for each indicator. Results showed a significant multivariate effect of age category on overall performance (p < 0.001; η²p = 0.482), whereas height and body mass were not significant (p > 0.05). In univariate analyses, age category was associated with all variables: SJ (p = 0.005; adj. R² = 0.160), CMJ (p < 0.001; adj. R² = 0.287), CMJ_FH (p = 0.004; adj. R² = 0.173), and MAS (p < 0.001; adj. R² = 0.352). Performance increased progressively from U16 to U17 to U19, with larger between-category differences in aerobic capacity. In conclusion, age category was more strongly associated with the performance profile than height and body mass when considered jointly; these findings should be interpreted in light of the observational design and the lack of biological maturation measures. Full article

Contemporary interpretations of Jungian typological functions are often shaped by trait-based and cognitive or rationalist models. This paper argues that philosophical evaluation and reconstruction of typological theory are required. Drawing on distinctions from metaphysics—particularly between nominalism and realism and between bundle and substrate theories—this paper analyses how different interpretations of typological function are constructed and where their limitations arise. It shows that certain approaches collapse into nominalism by attributing shared features that do not obtain across their intended scope, while others fall into realist reification by treating functions as underlying entities. Even accounts that capture real patterns often remain bundle-like, describing co-occurring features without explaining reasons for their unity, or substrate-like, positing metaphysical identity where only structural similarity recurs. This account is further articulated through a structural analysis of signifying processes inspired by Lacanian theory, showing how functions can be understood as different modes of signifier chains. Applying the conceptual discussion to artificial intelligence, the paper argues that a clearer typological conception can inform how typology can better benefit artificial intelligence. Full article

Contemporary English speakers often make a distinction between things that are artificial and those that are deemed natural. On the one hand are places, things, and situations that humans have altered, and on the other those that are free (or relatively free) of human influence. This concept of “nature” is an important, if problematic, one: it influences much of the modern environmental movement, where nature often has positive connotations while the artificial is valued negatively. In this paper I will be focusing on an idea found in Tibetan anti-meat literature: that there is a moral difference between eating the meat of animals that “die as a result of their karma” and animals that are slaughtered. This idea, I argue, parallels the distinction between the natural and artificial found in many English language discussions about the environment. As such, my suggestion is that this idea could, with some development, help support dialogue over environmental issues between Western and Buddhist philosophers and communities. Full article

By differentiating the following four levels, namely Dao, De, Spirit-Illumination, and Supreme Harmony, Yan Zun is not proposing an evolutionary cosmology. Instead, he is offering a fourfold interpretation of Laozi’s Dao that can be presented as the four layers of non-being. The latter two layers, namely the Supreme Harmony and Spirit-Illumination, pertain to the phenomenon of creation and function as the material and spiritual principles of creation, respectively. Whereas the former two layers, namely the Dao and De, refer to the underlying principles of continuous creation, serving as the ultimate source and the unifying principle of continuous creation, respectively. Such an interpretation reflects Yan Zun’s grand synthesis of the thoughts implied in the Zhouyi, Zhuangzi, Laozi, etc. This synthesis has revealed the ontological depth of non-being inherent in the wisdom of Daoism. It should be regarded as the highest philosophical fusion based on Daoism during the Han Dynasty. It also constitutes, both philosophically and historically, the necessary link between Huang-Lao Daoism in the early Western Han and Wang Bi’s metaphysical Daoism in the Wei-Jin period. Full article

This work expands upon Leonardo Polo’s anthropological proposal regarding human work as a distinctive entrustment from Creator to each created person. Situated within philosophical anthropology as a branch of knowledge devoted to a deeper understanding of the human being, it delves into the highest human dimension—the personal act of being—as the heart of this dedication, and breaks down the appeal to destiny. The goals to which human beings aspire are innumerable, but they all ultimately depend on the first, the ultimate one. In light of the manifestative dimension—which in Polo’s framework corresponds to the order of human essence, distinct from yet intrinsically related to the personal act of being, and encompasses the sphere of human actions, possessions, and material, intellectual, and virtuous gains—this study, according to the view of work as an entrustment, offers a philosophical inquiry surrounding the ultimate destiny of work and the roles that other persons and the divine Person play in this search. Full article

This paper focuses on the increasing relevance of rewilding in the context of the global ecological crisis. This crisis is conceived not only as a loss of biodiversity, but also as a breakdown in our capacity to dwell meaningfully on Earth. Although rewilding has been developed primarily as an ecological restoration strategy, this paper argues that it is first and foremost an ethical concept. In this sense, starting from Næss’s ecosophy, contemporary theories of self-rewilding, and environmental virtue ethics, this paper develops a philosophical framework that interprets rewilding as a form of dwelling based on the concept of oikos (home). It shows that rewilding entails a transformation of human agency through identification and self-realization, which makes the “ecological self” emerge. As for its methodology, the paper adopts a conceptual and interdisciplinary approach, combining ecology, environmental philosophy, and virtue ethics. The paper concludes that the concept of rewilding should be linked both to ecological restoration and ethical flourishing, requiring the development of certain virtues—e.g., humility and the recognition of ecological dependence. In this regard, rewilding should offer a relevant context to rethink our relationship with nature, starting from the idea of dwelling in the common home. Full article

This article offers a new argument concerning the relationships between mathematics and physical reality in quantum theory. While, as dedicated to the centenary of Heisenberg’s invention of quantum mechanics, the article contains a historical discussion, it is not historical, but physical and philosophical. Heisenberg’s thinking leading him to QM and beyond is only part of the genealogy of this argument, which also differs from that of Heisenberg and builds on the previous work of the present author. Among the contributions in the article are a new conception of the ultimate reality responsible for quantum phenomena; a new understanding, based on this conception, of the role of mathematics in physics in quantum theory; a critique of Heisenberg’s and all Platonism in quantum theory and beyond; a new perspective on the role of symmetries in quantum field theory; and a new understanding of the relationships between continuity and discontinuity in quantum physics. Full article

Background/Objectives: Large language models (LLMs) and generative AI are rapidly being integrated into healthy ageing initiatives for tasks ranging from companionship and cognitive support to personalised health advice and reduction in social isolation among older adults. Current ethical discussions predominantly address bias, privacy, and accuracy, leaving unresolved three critical governance questions: How do LLM sentiments towards transformative technologies diverge from human values in ageing contexts? What epistemic status do LLM outputs hold when applied to geriatric care? When is trust in those outputs justified for older adults? And who bears responsibility when AI-informed decisions affect functional ability or well-being? Methods: The framework was developed through normative conceptual analysis, synthesizing philosophical principles of medical knowledge and trust, ethical theories of responsibility, empirical evidence on LLM sentiment divergence, digital ageism, and applications of AI in geriatric care (structured searches in PubMed, PhilPapers, and relevant databases, January 2020–March 2026). Results: The integrated framework produces (i) adaptation of SAIA for multidimensional evaluation of human–machine value convergence specific to healthy ageing values (functional ability, autonomy, dignity, equity); (ii) a four-tier classification of LLM outputs tailored to geriatric scenarios; (iii) conditions for warranted trust calibrated to age-related vulnerabilities such as cognitive decline and digital divide; and (iv) responsibility allocation via RACI models with testable hypotheses linking governance design to trust calibration and patient safety outcomes. Conclusions: Without explicit societal alignment and epistemic governance, generative AI risks reinforcing benevolent ageism, automation bias, and responsibility gaps in healthy ageing. The 2025–2027 period offers a decisive window to shape institutional norms that place functional capacity, human dignity, and value convergence at the centre of AI deployment in geriatric care. Full article

Despite a century of learning research, why human beings desire to learn remains theoretically unresolved. Behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist paradigms explain the mechanisms of learning but presuppose rather than account for its motivational genesis—a gap this paper terms motivational minimalism. Drawing on René Girard’s mimetic anthropology, this paper develops Mimetic Learning Theory (MLT), grounded in philosophical anthropology (Plessner, Gehlen), hermeneutics (Rosa, Gadamer), and normative theory (Biesta, Honneth, Arendt). MLT reconceives learning as the reflective transformation of mediated desire. Humans do not merely copy actions but appropriate the desires of models who render knowledge, identity, and recognition worth striving for. Eight dominant learning paradigms are reread as partial articulations of this mimetic dynamic. Two novel constructs are introduced: mimetic load (the affective–cognitive tension from competing models of desire, complementing cognitive load theory) and zones of desire (a reformulation of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development). MLT does not displace existing frameworks but re-grounds them in a shared anthropological logic—that learning begins not in the mind, but in the field of mediated desire. Full article

This article develops a symbolic hermeneutic framework for interpreting contemporary socio-educational phenomena within the horizon of decolonial thought and Liberation Theology. It begins from the assumption that symbols are not merely decorative forms of representation but fundamental structures of meaning that shape both individual experience and collective life, especially through their educational effects. From this perspective, the article examines how the symbols circulating in social communication reveal the ideological underpinnings of imagination, authority, exclusion, and resistance. The essay then places this symbolic analysis in dialog with decolonial theory, arguing that the enduring epistemological legacy of colonialism continues to organize hegemonic forms of knowledge, subjectivity, and power. Particular attention is devoted to the concept of the frontier, first understood as a modern device of exclusion and then reinterpreted as a space of epistemic resistance, ethical encounter, and democratic confrontation among differences. The discussion further engages key authors of Liberation Theology and the philosophy of liberation—especially Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff, Enrique Dussel, and Paulo Freire—in order to show how religious discourse and pedagogical practice intersect in processes of emancipation. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretative approach grounded in philosophical hermeneutics and critical conceptual analysis. It reconstructs and compares major theoretical positions rather than presenting empirical data. The article argues that the integration of symbolic hermeneutics, decolonial thought, and liberationist theology offers an original framework for rethinking education as a transformative practice grounded in ethical responsibility toward the Other. By bringing the concepts of frontier, sentipensamiento, communality, and pluriverse into a single analytical constellation, the paper contributes to current debates in religious studies, critical pedagogy, and epistemic justice. In the context of contemporary global crises—migration, ecological devastation, social fragmentation, and the weakening of democratic participation—it proposes a renewed role for religion as a critical and generative force capable of opening new educational spaces for dialogue, liberation, and the reconfiguration of knowledge. Full article

This paper reconsiders Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy through the lens of early modern European encounters with Chinese ethics. Against the standard view that Kantian ethics excludes ritual and embodied practice, it argues that Kant’s formalism represents a critical transformation of a problem long addressed by Confucian moral philosophy: how stable moral judgment can be cultivated without reliance on revelation or external authority. By tracing the transmission of Confucian ethics through Jesuit mediation and Christian Wolff’s rational reconstruction, the paper situates Kant in a shared problem-space of moral formation, repetition, and regulation. It analyses the abstraction of ritual into form and the role of relational alignment in both Confucian li and Kant’s categorical imperative. The paper concludes by suggesting that Confucian models of cultivated action can illuminate the practical limits of modern moral formalism. This study distinguishes between intellectual history and comparative reconstruction: the former provides the historical context of early modern engagements with Chinese philosophy, while the latter interprets Kant not as an opponent of ritual, but as a philosopher who reformulates its stabilising function under the conditions of modern moral autonomy. Full article

This article examines how divine infinity in Western metaphysics is re-specified through transformations in the concept of ground. Traditional metaphysics usually understands God as the first principle of the world. Yet God can function as ground not merely because He is the first cause, but because He is understood as a being that in some manner exceeds finite beings. We argue that the meaning of divine infinity depends on how God is understood as ground. To show this, the article focuses on three philosophers—Scotus, Spinoza, and Deleuze—and traces the changing forms of divine infinity across three decisive stages. First, in Scotus, God is still understood as an infinite being transcending finite creatures, yet through the univocity of being, God and finite beings enter a common conceptual field. Second, in Spinoza, God no longer appears primarily as an infinite being transcending finite beings, but is determined as absolutely infinite substance and infinite power; correspondingly, ground is no longer the first being external to nature, but becomes a productive cause immanent to nature. Finally, in Deleuze, ground is no longer borne by any substance, but is understood as the plane of immanence constituted by relations of difference and intensity; divine infinity accordingly no longer appears as a property of some ultimate being, but is transformed into the plane’s own self-sufficiency and lack of exteriority. On this basis, the article argues that modern ontology is not a simple break with the theological tradition, but rather effects within theological problems themselves a metaphysical transformation of divine infinity: as the structure of ground changes, the relations between God and world, and between the infinite and the finite, are continually rewritten. Full article

This study aimed to develop and validate a children’s psychological richness questionnaire across cultural contexts using a descriptive approach. The study sample consisted of 1041 children aged 10–17 years (12.94 ± 2.14), including 440 Saudi Arabian and 601 Egyptian participants. The results indicated a general one-factor structure in both the Saudi sample and the total sample, whereas two main factors emerged in the Egyptian sample. Moreover, the exploratory factor analysis showed that the two-factor model provided a better fit than the general one-factor, as demonstrated by the Akaike and Bayesian information indices, reflecting the model’s efficiency in representing the psychological structure of children’s psychological richness. Additionally, the artificial neural network analysis identified the most central and influential items within each cultural context. The findings also revealed that the questionnaire has a high degree of internal consistency. Furthermore, the results showed no significant differences in psychological richness between children in the Saudi and Egyptian contexts. Full article

The introduction of the special and general theory of relativity had significant implications for the notion of time, especially the relativity of clock time. Many physicists and philosophers concluded that the theory also showed that time was unreal and that the universe was a four-dimensional block universe. The argument focused on particular aspects of the theory—relative simultaneity and general covariance, respectively—to arrive at this conclusion. But while it is true that views about time can be inferred from the theory of relativity, the unreality of time is not a deductive consequence of the theory. It is therefore possible to ask whether the theory is compatible with the reality of time. If invariant and asymmetric features of the theory are taken into account—the space-time interval ds and entropic relations—as will be argued in this paper, a dynamic notion of time emerges as a philosophical consequence of the theory of relativity. This paper defends a Heraclitean, dynamic view, against the predominant Parmenidean, static view of time. Full article

This paper examines the essence and dilemmas of Hobbes’s mechanical materialism, which posits that all things—God, the soul, and the mind—are bodies subject to mechanical laws. Rejecting metaphysical assumptions, Hobbes emphasizes the absoluteness of bodies over appearances, insisting that all knowledge originates from sensory experience. A central issue in his philosophy is the nature of motion: if every movement requires an external cause, what initiates the first? While Hobbes dismisses the concept of a self-moved mover as incoherent, his appeal to agnostic theology introduces contradictions. To resolve this, he proposes the concept of endeavor (conatus) as the fundamental principle of motion, but it remains insufficient to explain motion’s origin fully. Nevertheless, Hobbes’s philosophical framework offers a materialist perspective for understanding the world, revealing how mechanical processes serve as the foundation for comprehending reality. Full article