Arts and Humanities

Abstract: This article advances a systematic theological diagnosis of the contemporary crisis in Christian thought, contending that dominant modes of theologizing have become epistemically, politically, and spiritually toxic. Beginning with a critical analysis of the habitus of theologization, it demonstrates how inherited theological dispositions reproduce and normalize forms of violence embedded within colonial, cisheteropatriarchal, and necropolitical regimes. The study then interrogates the proliferation of theological narratives of terror and the corrosive effects of decent, docile, and obedient theologies that legitimize exclusion, dehumanization, and imperial projects—most starkly exemplified in the deployment of theological discourses to rationalize the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the systematic marginalization of queer/cuir/maricas, trans, and gender-nonconforming bodies. Against this backdrop, the article proposes two liberative antidotes. The first is Palestinian Liberation Theologies (PLT), which reclaim theological imagination through situated resistance, political commitment, and forms of spiritual endurance. The second emerges from Latin American Liberation Theology (LLT), as reconfigured through queer/cuir/marica dissident experiences, whose embodied, indecent, and decolonial imaginaries disrupt regimes of theological purity and open pathways for insurgent, life-affirming practices. Taken together, these antitoxic interventions articulate a decolonial and emancipatory horizon for theology—one grounded in relationality, insurgent imagination, and activist commitment. In this sense, theological detoxification is not merely a critical task but an indispensable condition for envisioning alternative worlds amid ongoing civilizational collapse.

Abstract: This study examines the phenomenon of pseudoconfident knowledge in the context of the everyday use of generative artificial intelligence. By pseudoconfident knowledge, we mean a response that is substantively plausible, rhetorically coherent, and outwardly persuasive but is treated and understood as knowledge before its actual reliability has been established. Of course, we do not use the term “pseudoconfident knowledge” to denote knowledge in the strict epistemological sense. Rather, it denotes a special form of AI-generated content that acquires the status of knowledge in the user’s perception before its reliability, source-based justification, or factual correctness have been established. The problem here is not that such an answer is already knowledge but that it is prematurely accepted as knowledge because of its coherence, completeness, and rhetorical confidence. The aim of the study is to identify the epistemic gap between the everyday operational integration of artificial intelligence and the user’s critical ability to distinguish between persuasiveness and justification. The theoretical framework combines approaches to AI literacy, epistemic vigilance, and contemporary forms of digital mediation in the circulation of knowledge. The empirical basis of the study is an online survey of AI users. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, contingency tables, and methods for testing associations between categorical variables. The results show that the key differentiating factor is not the frequency of AI use but the strategy used in handling its responses. More epistemically robust positions are associated with practices of comparison, editing, and verification, whereas uncritical acceptance of the answer is associated with greater vulnerability to pseudoconfident knowledge. We conclude that the spread of generative artificial intelligence is producing a new socioepistemic problem that calls for a shift in emphasis from simple instrumental literacy toward a culture of verification, doubt, and epistemic responsibility.

Abstract: This article examines cross-Strait variation in Chinese baseball terminology through a document-based comparison of two primary sources: the terminology appendix contained in the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association’s baseball rules and the China Baseball Association’s Basic Terminology of Baseball standard. Based on Supplementary Dataset S1, a cleaned 363-entry English-Chinese comparison dataset, the study investigates how baseball terms differ across the Strait in documentary coverage, lexical designation, expression style, and communicative relevance. The analysis identifies 214 directly comparable entries with renderings on both sides. Of these, 101 are classified as convergent or near-convergent, while 113 show lexical divergence. A further 149 entries do not enter the directly comparable subset. The findings show that cross-Strait baseball terminology is shaped by more than isolated word-level difference. Taiwan-side terms often preserve compact and conventionalized forms used in baseball practice, whereas Mainland standardized forms frequently display a more explicit and institutionally codified style. The article argues that such variation should not be treated simply as inconsistency, but as specialist-language variation shaped by different historical, institutional, and communicative conditions. On this basis, the article suggests a graded, communication-oriented approach that tolerates low-sensitivity variants, cross-references moderate-sensitivity terms, and coordinates high-sensitivity rule terms for umpiring, commentary, translation, and instruction.

Abstract: This study employed the 5-meter Accuracy Digital Elevation Model (DEM) developed by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan to analyze the spatial distribution of Yayoi-period archaeological sites using a Geographic Information System (GIS)–based approach. Unlike conventional prefecture-level classifications, this method enables higher spatial precision and more intuitive visual interpretation. The analysis provides new insights into the long-standing debate over the location of Yamatai (Yamataikoku) approximately 1,800 years ago and significantly increases the likelihood that it was located in northern Kyushu. The results also reveal clear regional specialization within northern Kyushu. The areas around present-day Asakura City and Ogori City appear to have functioned primarily as military centers, whereas the Yoshinogari site—one of the largest Yayoi settlements in Japan—shows strong specialization in agriculture, especially large-scale wet-rice cultivation. The area corresponding to present-day Fukuoka City likely served as a major urban center combining both military and agricultural functions. In addition, the study suggests that “Jimmu’s Eastern Expedition” may preserve certain historical elements rather than being entirely mythical. By introducing GIS-based methods and the supplemental use of generative AI, this study represents both a pilot project and an attempt to advance the digital transformation (DX) of ancient historical studies in Japan.

Abstract: Democratic systems rest on institutional counterbalances capable of limiting authority concentration. Historical transitions toward dictatorship often emerge not through abrupt institutional destruction, but progressive weakening of stabilizing mechanisms like parliamentary oversight, judicial autonomy, political pluralism, decentralized governance. Adolf Hitler’s power consolidation following the Weimar Republic’s collapse provides a historical example in which democratic counterbalances lost corrective capacity under economic crisis, institutional fragility, coordinated mass mobilization, etc. While the historical causes of authoritarian transitions have been extensively studied, the dynamics governing the failure of democratic stabilizing mechanisms is less characterized. We introduce a dynamical systems framework aimed at identifying early-warning signals associated with democratic destabilization and executive power concentration. We represented democratic governance as a multidimensional attractor stabilized by negative feedback mechanisms generated by institutional independence, distributed authority, informational plurality, constitutional constraints. Using historical data from Germany between 1928 and 1934, we built a composite systemic stress index integrating economic instability, war trauma, ideological vulnerability, institutional fragility, political polarization and Nazi mobilization. Simulations based on nonlinear response functions and state-space trajectories showed threshold-like transitions in which progressive stress accumulation was followed by accelerated concentration of political authority, once stabilizing feedbacks became insufficient. Democratic collapse could be interpreted as a loss of systemic resilience associated with attractor deformation and feedback amplification. Potential applications of nonlinear approaches include comparative analysis of institutional fragility, quantitative assessment of democratic resilience and development of early-warning frameworks for detecting conditions associated with excessive concentration of political power in contemporary political systems.

Abstract: This article argues that the fragmentation of International Relations (IR) theory is not only a problem of competing schools, but a deeper ontological dispute over social totality. Realism, liberal institutionalism, constructivism, critical theory, post-structuralism, Global IR, and decolonial approaches each assume a different image of world order and of the human subject. Through conceptual genealogy and critical reconstruction, the article revisits Kant, Hegel, Marx, Lukács, Dussel, Quijano, Mariátegui, Zavaleta Mercado, Wynter, Said, Glissant, Wallerstein, and postcolonial IR. It proposes heterogeneous relational totality as a way beyond both closed systemic determinism and pure fragmentation. This framework rethinks power, agency, temporality, recognition, and emancipation through coloniality, planetary interdependence, and relational human existence.

Abstract: Social media platforms and user-generated content (UGC) have become central to how travelers discover and evaluate cultural destinations. Yet lesser-known second-tier heritage sites remain substantially underrepresented in digital tourism research. This study investigates how Chinese tourists perceive and engage with the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of Lamphun, Thailand, through UGC collected from three major Chinese social media platforms (WeChat, Douyin, and Rednote) spanning the period from 2019 to 2023. A total of 642 relevant posts were analyzed using a mixed-methods analytical framework comprising VADER-based sentiment analysis, machine learning classification of tourism intention, and TF-IDF-driven thematic clustering. Results indicate an overall predominance of positive sentiment, particularly toward social rituals, festive events, and traditional craftsmanship, with positive sentiment emerging as the strongest predictor of travel intention. Digital engagement metrics, notably likes and favorites, further amplified the impact of intention-bearing content, while thematic clustering revealed four distinct experiential dimensions, with festival and ritual-centered narratives generating the highest sentiment and tourism intention scores. These findings demonstrate the strategic value of integrating advanced UGC analytics into destination marketing frameworks, offering actionable insights for promoting underrepresented cultural heritage destinations within the increasingly competitive global digital tourism landscape.

Abstract: The functioning of complex natural structures, such as living systems, still lacks a generally accepted theoretical basis with respective empirical experimental verification for decades. We propose a class of experiments to test whether such systems could be subject to an unknown ordering principle that cannot be captured by known physical laws. We hypothesise that the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle enables ordering phenomena in nearly chaotic systems in the sense of a strong emergence principle, which would not be expected when they are modelled conventionally, as several authors have already formulated in various forms. To account for the harsh conditions prevailing in living systems that may preclude fragile macroscopic quantum coherence, our hypothesis does not require such coherence at all, contrary to earlier related proposals. To test this hypothesis, two virtually identical and sufficiently complex experimental setups should be compared. One setup will operate with deterministic pseudo-random number generators at key sensitive points, while the other one will use quantum-based physical random-number generators, the two setups being otherwise identical. Existing artificial neural networks are proposed as possible test objects, and their performance under identical training conditions can be used as a quantitative benchmark. As this working hypothesis extends far beyond artificial networks, a successful outcome of such an experiment could have significant implications for many other branches of science.

Abstract: In the philosophy of language, Frege’s (1892) distinction between sense and reference provides a foundational framework for identity statements. Geach’s (1967) relative identity breaks out of the framework of absolute identity and opens another perspective for us. Putnam’s (1975) “Twin Earth” thought experiment, with its striking insight, pushes externalism to the extreme, successfully challenging the internalist model of meaning and setting the basic agenda for decades of subsequent debate on the problem of reference determination. However, despite the inspirational value of these groundbreaking works, a noteworthy phenomenon is that the debates they triggered—such as discussions around core cases like the Ship of Theseus and identical particles—seem to have reached a certain impasse. This paper argues that this impasse may not stem from the depth of the problems themselves, but precisely from a deep, unexamined presupposition shared by these otherwise highly persuasive theories: namely, that there exists a single, decisive category (whether microscopic physical structure or historical causality) capable of once and for all answering the question of identity. Instead of continuing to seek a better single answer under this presupposition, a more productive approach may be to reflect on the presupposition itself. To this end, we attempt to analyze the problem from a different angle. Interestingly, this angle shows that the aforementioned seemingly opposed excellent theories can actually all be understood as special cases of this theory under different categories; the difficulties they encounter become inevitable precisely when they attempt to make assertions across categories. Therefore, this paper is not intended to negate previous work, but to clarify the valid scope of its application, thereby providing a new path to resolve a series of philosophical difficulties arising from category mistakes.

Abstract: The El Duende ‘one-canvas’ model was developed as an arts-based practice for supervision in art therapy training. Responding to changes in institutional teaching structures, this case review reflects on its use in experiential training groups on one UK-based course, with the aim of developing understanding and theoretical insights that may inform future teaching practice. Eight training group facilitators retrospectively reviewed their experience of the model as applied in five experiential training groups over a three-month period. Data were analysed thematically through an iterative, collaborative, and reflexive process and four core themes were identified. Results are discussed with links made to Donald Winnicott’s ideas of creative destructiveness, use of the object, transitional space, and the holding environment. While limited in scope, results indicate that, through sustained cycles of repetition and return, the ‘one-canvas’ model served to hold intense transformational processes within a condensed timeframe, offering trainees a valuable experiential learning experience. The study builds on established research in the field, expanding previous applications of the model including theoretical understanding, and supporting innovation and reflection in art therapy education. Future research may consider further adaptations to the model, student perspectives, and its influence on personal and professional development.

Abstract: This chapter examines the ontological assumptions, epistemological challenges, and ethical implications involved in using Agentic AI to assist, guide, or potentially replace human agents in the making of moral and legal decisions. It argues that different metaphysical assumptions regarding the ontology of ethics, justice, cognition, and AI decisively shape the framework within which such systems are evaluated. In this respect, the analysis distinguishes between two different levels of severity in the moral issues raised, corresponding to two distinct levels of AI autonomy: first, AI systems operating as advisory systems, with limited autonomy; and secondly, AI systems operating as regulatory systems, with full autonomy, that is, as entities entrusted with final decision-making authority. The text adopts a critical perspective on the use of Agentic AI in contexts of moral and legal judgement, highlighting both the conceptual fragility and the epistemological challenges that accompany proposals for such applications. At the same time, it considers the conditions under which such systems could genuinely contribute to human flourishing. Particular attention is given to the risk that ostensibly advisory systems may, in practice, become tacitly regulatory, especially under the pressure of widespread assumptions concerning AI objectivity and effectiveness. The chapter’s structure follows an algorithmic logic, in which a series of key questions serve as branching yes/no nodes, each possible answer leading to a distinct line of philosophical analysis.

Abstract: This study examines the north-western access corridor to Žilina through the Kysuca valley (the Kysucká brána area) and the Budatín crossing during the revolutionary years 1848–1849. Using local archival excerpts, a regional chronicle manuscript and a cartographic reading of historical and present-day topography, we reconstruct the probable road alignment between Brodno, Budatín and the bridgehead towards Žilina and identify its recurrent military use by Imperial, Hungarian and Russian forces. The paper argues that the corridor’s strategic value stemmed from a combination of terrain constraints (narrow valley and floodplain), bridge dependence and the connectivity of the Jablunkov Pass trade route. We provide a chronology of troop movements in 1848–1849 and discuss source limitations, including internal inconsistencies in local narratives that require verification against primary military records. The article contributes a microhistorical case study to military geography of Upper Hungary and highlights the analytical potential of regional sources when integrated with critical source evaluation.

Abstract: The sustainability-focused issues of the built environment require a change in architectural education not to form-based design methods but to adaptive, systems-based, and performance-oriented thinking. The paper explores a unified pedagogical model that incorporates biomimicry, parametric thinking, and modular design in improving sustainable design learning in architectural studios. The study adopts a qualitative case study method to investigate Architectural Design Studio 4 at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), where third-year architecture students undertake a discovery-based design process that takes three sequential stages. The students explored biological systems to first identify transferable principles, then implemented the principles in parametric modules with computational software like Dynamo and Revit and then reused these systems to create high-rise architecture. The results suggest that biomimicry combined with parametric workflows helps to achieve optimization but not maximization, which allows students to come up with flexible, efficient, and reusable design systems. The modular design approaches were essential in dealing with the architectural complexity, especially in the high-rise application and parametric tools enabled exploration of many variations and informed decisions based on the performance. The undisclosed final design goal promoted critical thinking, conceptualization, and problem-solving. The research provides the literature of architectural education with empirical evidence as it illustrates how an integrated process-based approach can improve the knowledge of sustainability, system logic, and adaptability in students. The study finds that integrating biomimicry and parametric design in modular and discovery-oriented studios is a sound pedagogical approach to equip future architects to deal with modern environmental and technological demands.

Abstract: The issue of single-use plastic (SUP) waste is a recent sustainability challenge in developing and fragile regions with varying capacities for waste management, enforcement, and regional governance. This paper examines the regulation of SUPs in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states as an example of regional environmental governance in contexts of weak institutions. The paper provides a structured qualitative legal analysis of formally enacted legislative and policy measures. It assesses the extent to which national (and some subnational) legal responses comply with key principles of international environmental law, including prevention, the polluter-pays principle, and cooperation. The findings show that the legal responses to SUPs in IGAD are developing, but differ in scope, legal form, consistency, and effectiveness. Some countries employ direct bans, while others regulate plastics through their general environmental and waste management legislation. Prevention measures are prominent, but responsibility management measures (such as extended producer responsibility) are in their infancy, with Kenya, and to a lesser extent Uganda, showing more integrated systems. The paper links the regulation of SUPs to sustainable consumption and production, climate change, marine protection, effective institutions and partnerships, and informs discussions about SDGs 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17. The paper concludes that the most pragmatic way forward for IGAD is progressive regional harmonization, with enhanced common standards, monitoring, producer responsibility, and transboundary cooperation, rather than immediate legal convergence.

Abstract: Single-coin finds are increasingly valued as a source for understanding patterns of human activity in the Early Middle Ages. This pilot study examines whether the chronological evenness of single coins can serve as a quantitative proxy for persistent human occupation and landscape stability. Six sites in the Netherlands (450–1200 CE) are compared: three located near relatively stable Pleistocene topographic features (Noardeast-Fryslân/Dokkum, Nijmegen, and Maastricht) and three in dynamic coastal or near-coastal Holocene landscapes (Waadhoeke/Franeker, Katwijk, and Veere/Domburg). All single finds were assigned to five standardised 150-year periods. Chronological evenness was measured using three complementary indices: standard deviation of percentage shares, Shannon entropy, and cosine similarity to a uniform distribution. Sites were classified as “balanced” when at least two metrics met predefined thresholds. The results demonstrate a clear distinction between the two groups. Assemblages from stable landscape positions show relatively balanced chronological profiles, while those from dynamic coastal zones exhibit strongly peaked distributions dominated by the 600–750 CE period (χ² = 347.00, df = 4, N = 1,702, p < 0.001, Cramér’s V = 0.452). Greater chronological evenness appears linked to proximity to stable geomorphological settings. These findings suggest that single-coin evenness can function as a useful proxy for long-term landscape persistence when combined with geo-archaeological evidence. Limitations include recovery biases and variable sample sizes. The study advocates the development of standardised, open-access single-coin datasets to facilitate broader comparative research.

Abstract: This study examined the potential of AI-assisted tools to improve English language learning for neurodiverse students (with ADHD, dyslexia, or autism) in low-resource settings in Iran, considering student and teacher perspectives and students’ lan-guage-learning outcomes. The study used a convergent mixed-methods design, and 142 neurodiverse learners and 97 teachers participated through surveys, a 4-week ex-perimental study involving 30 learners (15 AI intervention, 15 controls), and semi-structured interviews with 15 learners, 10 teachers, and five parents. The out-comes were positive: learners stated that they enjoy adaptive features such as multi-modal input and gamification (M=4.2/5) and are motivated by them, and teachers found inclusivity to be important but perceived low confidence (M=2.7/5) because of the training gaps. The AI group showed substantial improvements in vocabulary (+16.3, d=1.21), reading comprehension (+13.3, d=1.05), and oral fluency (+9.2 wpm, d=0.89) compared to controls. Qualitative themes emphasized personalization as em-powerment, as well as obstacles such as infrastructural constraints, exam-based cur-ricula, and cultural cynicism. Recommendations were provided on the transformative power of AI in promoting equity and the need to train teachers and make changes in low-resource schools.

Abstract: Guizhou Province, a typical karst mountainous region in southwest China, features a complex geographical environment and diverse ethnic cultures, which together have fostered unique traditional village landscapes. Taking 757 national and provincial-level ethnic traditional villages in Guizhou as the research object, this study employs methods including GIS spatial analysis, the nearest neighbor index, and kernel density estimation to quantitatively reveal the geographical distribution characteristics, spatial differentiation patterns, and underlying causes of Miao, Dong, Bouyei, and Han Tunpu villages from the perspectives of two core physical geographic factors: topography and river systems. The results show that: (1)In terms of topographic distribution, village sites exhibit a significant vertical differentiation pattern: the Miao people "reside in the mountains", the Dong and Bouyei people "stay close to water", and the Han Tunpu settlements "occupy strategic passages". Meanwhile, a slight preference for sunny slopes is observed (52.4% of villages are on sunny slopes), but no overwhelming "sun-seeking, shade-avoiding" tendency exists. (2)Regarding river system distribution, different ethnic groups display distinct patterns of water utilization: the Dong and Bouyei people form a tight "ribbon along rivers" dependency (over 70% of villages are within 1 km of a river), the Miao people rely on mountain streams with a pattern of "far from large rivers, close to small ones", and the Han Tunpu settlements adopt an "engineered" transformation and utilization pattern. (3)Quantitative analysis shows that the spatial distribution of villages is significantly clustered, forming three high-density core areas: the Duliu River, Qingshui River, and Tunpu areas. Elevation, slope gradient, and distance to rivers are key natural constraint factors. This study reveals a "non-random" three-dimensional distribution pattern of ethnic traditional villages in Guizhou, which represents an optimal spatial response of various ethnic groups to the complex karst environment based on their historical migration memories, livelihood strategies, and cultural adaptability. This finding is of great value for understanding the mechanism of ethnic-environment interaction and for the conservation of traditional villages.

Abstract:

This study integrates Vedic philology, ritual history, and philosophical hermeneutics in a multi-layered analysis of Agnihotra. Within the Yajurvedic tradition, where its exterior performance is linked to varṇa and āśrama, the study elucidates Agnihotra’s technical structure and śākhā-specific methods through Śruti sources. The question of ritual eligibility in the context of declining dharma is examined through Purāṇic and Smṛti depictions of the Yugas, while retaining the normative authority of Śruti. Passages from the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā are then analyzed to demonstrate the internalization of yajña, where the Upaniṣads emphasize the primacy of knowledge and the Gītā reinterprets sacrifice in terms of niṣkāma-karma and jñāna-yajña, establishing a continuum between ritual practice and philosophical insight leading to mokṣa. Finally, the Mādhyandina and Kāṇva recensions of the Śukla Yajurveda are compared to assess their suitability for understanding Agnihotra in the Kali Yuga. While the Mādhyandina recension provides systematic clarity, the Kāṇva recension preserves earlier and more detailed ritual layers. The study concludes that the Kāṇva recension offers a particularly strong framework for the textual and ritual-philosophical analysis of Agnihotra in the Kali Yuga.

Abstract: The article examines, on the basis of a comparative study, the place and scientific significance of Cyclopean structures located within the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in the context of Azerbaijani archaeology. The research focuses on the distribution area, chronology, and architectural features of these monuments in Nakhchivan. It has been determined that the fortress-type Cyclopean structures of Nakhchivan are monuments of great scientific and historical importance in Azerbaijani archaeology. These constructions reflect the formation and development of defensive architecture in the region and make it possible to study their chronology and evolutionary processes. The study demonstrates that these fortresses, built of large unworked stones without the use of mortar, reveal the military–strategic thinking of ancient tribes, their level of social organization, and the importance they attached to the protection of residential spaces. Their wide distribution across the territory of Nakhchivan proves that the region was located on important trade and migration routes and functioned as an active political and economic center. These monuments serve as invaluable sources for the study of early urbanization processes, cultural interactions, and stages of regional development within the territory of Azerbaijan. Keywords: Nakhchivan, Cyclopean structures, fortress, defensive fortification, architectural structure.

Abstract: Traditional cosmological arguments are often thought to rely fatally on the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR). This paper develops a contingency argument that does not. We adopt a two-sorted first-order logic with predicates for world-membership and symmetric accessibility between possible worlds. Within this framework, we formulate four axioms, each verified to be consistent and independent both from one another and from the PSR. We provide philosophical justification for each axiom. Then, we demonstrate that, if the empty world does not access any non-empty world, the existence of a necessary entity follows from the well-foundedness of a transmundane material condition of possibility.