Journal of Contemporary Philosophical and Anthropological Studies

Faith and Reason: Reinventing Scholasticism in Postmodern Philippine Catholic Education

John Mark Astorga — 2024-11-10

This paper aims to present the necessity of a new scholastic movement as an intellectual and religious movement and to reinvent it in the context of 21st Century Philippine Catholic Education. This reinvention of Scholasticism aims to design a curriculum for Senior high school students in order to equip them in understanding and defending the Catholic Faith and Teachings. Since the Catholic Church is facing the problems given by postmodernism and atheism, there is a need for another scholastic movement to counter these problems. This paper uses in-depth and comprehensive analysis of texts related to reinvention of scholastic movement in the 21st Century. The researcher used Purposive Sampling technique to carefully select the articles based on their relevance to the reinvention of scholastic movement. This paper uses updated and relevant research papers for analysis. In addition, to argue that there is a need for a new scholastic movement in Philippine Catholic education, the Hegelian dialectic was used, the idea of history repeating itself became the start point of this paper to argue that this is philosophical sound and valid. This paper examines the necessity of the 21st Century Philippine Catholic Education to the reinvented scholastic movement and it also offers a comprehensive curriculum design to reinvent scholasticism in education. Since, it aims to craft a curriculum which is anchored to apologetics and scholasticism, this proposed curriculum can equip the students to be effective Christians who will defend the church and its teachings. With this, the Religious Education for Grade 11 and Grade 12 will be a strong foundation of Catholic Faith in the 21st Century Philippine Education for Catholic schools.

The Study of Segregation and its Consequences in the Kabul City

Mohammad Reza Ibrahim — 2024-10-28

This study investigates urban segregation in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, utilizing a multifaceted theoretical framework that integrates various explanatory models of segregation. The research targets the general population of Kabul, with a sample size of 233 individuals selected through a non-probabilistic cluster sampling technique. Data were collected using a comprehensive questionnaire focused on the Afghan context, incorporating insights from relevant studies. The analysis was conducted using SPSS software, employing both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Demographic characteristics and participant responses in ethnically dominated areas were summarized using frequencies and percentages, while key variables were examined using measures of central tendency, dispersion, and distribution, including mean, standard deviation, variance, skewness, and kurtosis. The segregation tendencies of Kabul residents were analyzed using T-test, ANOVA and Spearman correlation. The results reveal a pronounced level of segregation within Kabul, with significant implications including the reinforcement of ethnocentric attitudes, the preservation of distinct subcultural identities, enhanced feelings of community security, and increased intra-group political and social engagement. The study found that followers of Shia Islam tend to segregate themselves from other religious groups, while the Pashtun ethnic group shows the lowest tendency toward segregation. Additionally, Kabul citizens tend to live among their own religious groups and the lower the level of education of individuals, the greater their tendency to separation.

The Criticism of Human Rights Violations in Indonesia

Fikri Gali Fernando Holqi — 2024-11-20

This study aims to analyze the concept of human rights violations in Indonesia by identifying human rights violation provisions in Indonesia and human rights violations in Indonesia based on the Philosophy of Ethics. This study uses a qualitative approach with a type of library research. The data analysis technique uses the flow charts model. The theoretical analysis technique uses the Summa Theologiae by Thomas Aquinas and the Ethica by Baruch de Spinoza. The 1998 tragedy is included in the gross human rights violations in Indonesia. Especially Summa Theologiae and Ethica, the statement of the state administrator, in this case, is that the MENKO-POLHUKAM is far from the existence of moral values and ethical virtues. This is based on the absence of moral values that should lead to action as a decision-making agenda through ethics and intellectual traditions. In this regard, the MENKO-POLHUKAM cannot construct a rational nature in the context of basic choices being dominated by “lust” through “affectus”. So, it tends to lead to the “libertum atribium” being free. Ethically, the MENKO-POLHUKAM, as a state administrator, is required to do good deeds and be able to respect victims of human rights violations.

From Culture to Cultures: Understanding Edward Sapir’s Prophecy through Herderian Lenses

Alexandru Casian — 2024-10-28

In 1934, the American anthropologist, Edward Sapir made a scientific prophecy on the concept of culture which remained largely overlooked but have proved to be surprisingly accurate and relevant in the contemporary era. He was focused on conceptual pluralisation and fragmentation. By predicting the pluralisation of culture, Sapir captured a trend that we can witness nowadays in the continuously growing number of cultures, subcultures, counterculture, and new conceptual interpretations and ramifications. His use of the Herderian concept of culture(s) requires a close inspection facilitated by interdisciplinary methodologies such as historical epistemology. Widely credited as the creator of the term “culture” in its plural sense, Johann Gottfried von Herder played a crucial role for Sapir’s academic formation. In the ruptures and continuities that culture as a concept has experienced, one can find valuable epistemological insights. Sapir did not come up with a daring prediction out of an uninformed position. Putting Sapir’s prophetic statement in the context of his academic and professional journey and in the context of the general research trends of the twentieth century reveals a strong Herderian heritage intensified by the psychologisation of anthropology that has ultimately led to an increasingly powerful and progressively sophisticated pluralisation of culture.