What is the ultimate nature of reality? This paper defends an answer in terms of informational realism (IR). It does so in three stages. First, it is shown that, within the debate about structural realism (SR), epistemic (ESR) and ontic (OSR) structural realism are reconcilable by using the methodology of the levels of abstractions. It follows that OSR is defensible from a structuralist-friendl...

This is the revised version of an invited keynote lecture delivered at the 1st Australian Computing and Philosophy Conference (CAP@AU; the Australian National University in Canberra, 31 October – 2 November, 2003). The paper is divided into two parts. The first part defends an informational approach to structural realism. It does so in three steps. First, it is shown that, within the debate abo...

Defining religion has never been simple; it is not a one-dimensional, monolithic condition but rather a complex enterprise with multi-dimensional consequences (Saroglou, 2013). Clifford Geertz (1973) characterized religion as a cultural form which “denotes an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means ...

According to systematic reviews, religious beliefs and practices are related to higher life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect (Koenig and Larson, 2001). The present research extends previous findings by comparing satisfaction with life and character strengths of non-religious people, religious people, who practice their religion and people that have a religious affiliation but do not...

This article discusses how constructivist psychology might contribute to studies of the history and philosophy of science. It is suggested that this would be a fruitful topic for graduate research, and a brief analysis is provided of what would be required to model the construct systems involved in the Priestley-Lavoisier controversy over the roles of phlogiston and oxygen in calcification. It ...

The multitude of satellite data products available offers a large choice for urban studies. Urban space is known for its high heterogeneity in structure, shape and materials. To approach this heterogeneity, finding the optimal spatial resolution (OSR) is needed for urban form detection from remote sensing imagery. By applying the local variance method to our datasets (pan-sharpened images), we ...

According to ‘Ontic Structural Realism’ (OSR), physical objects—qua metaphysical entities—should be reconceptualised, or, more strongly, eliminated in favour of the relevant structures. In this paper I shall attempt to articulate the relationship between these putative objects and structures in terms of certain accounts of metaphysical dependence currently available. This will allow me to artic...