This paper develops a philosophical and empirical framework for evaluating the democratic legitimacy of algorithmic decision-making in European tax administrations. Drawing on evidence from fifteen jurisdictions, it investigates how four core public values—intelligibility, contestability, non-domination, and equality before the law—are articulated in policy discourse and translated into institutional practice within AI-enabled tax governance. Using a... more

Numerous academic disciplines are dedicated to the study of human behavior. Within these disciplines, a well-established standard governs the conduct of research, encompassing construct building, theory formulation, measurement development, and statistical analysis. While literature provides extensive criteria to ensure the quality of theory formulation, measurement construction, and the use of statistical procedures, comparatively little attention... more

This article advances the thesis that knowledge, agency, and responsibility can be stabilised beyond the individual mind within hybrid human–AI systems. It proposes and develops the Cognitive Tapestry as a philosophical framework grounded in computational models of associative memory—Entropic Hetero Associative Memory and Alpha–Beta BAM. Methodologically, it institutes projection–protection barriers to discipline inferences from computational... more

This investigation offers a systematic critique of Saul Kripke's anti-descriptivist theory of rigid designation through five converging lines of argument, aiming to demonstrate that descriptive content is not merely auxiliary but philosophically necessary for reference. First, the analysis shows that Kripke's causal–historical model cannot function without informational elements that effectively operate as descriptions, thereby reintroducing... more

This essay investigates the existential and philosophical dilemmas of modernity, drawing on the prophetic insights of Friedrich Nietzsche and José Rizal as critical entry points. Though situated on opposite ends of the globe, both thinkers discerned a paradox at the heart of modernity: its promise of liberation entwined with new forms of domination. Nietzsche’s pronouncement... more

Anti-Black racism persists as a global social phenomenon despite its lack of empirical foundation and its incompatibility with rational moral theory. This paper investigates the paradox of racism's endurance by integrating evolutionary psychology, cognitive bias theory, colonial history, and analytic philosophy. It argues that anti-Blackness is not a natural or biologically grounded disposition but a... more

In Mathematical Logic (1967), Stephen Kleene addresses a central activity of software engineering through his introduction of tally-based Turing machines. Yet in doing so, he inadvertently builds a subtle form of impredicativity into his theory: he implicitly defines the semantics of Turing computability by appealing to the very construct—the Turing machine—whose legitimacy is simultaneously under examination.... more

Confucian philosophy has shaped East Asia’s moral, social and educational life and still offers resources for human growth, yet its relevance is often underestimated. This article re-examines three interlocking themes—joy (le 樂 ), learning (xue 學 ), and self cultivation (xiushen 修 身 )—in conversation with the contemporary framework of emotional intelligence (EQ) in both... more

The concept of a ‘true self’ remains central to many contemporary spiritual narratives, often serving as a benchmark for authenticity and personal growth. However, this notion typically rests on essentialist assumptions that are increasingly challenged by both Buddhist philosophy and cognitive science. Drawing on the Buddhist doctrine of anattā (non-self) and empirical research on the... more

Contemporary mass interest in self-improvement and mindfulness requires philosophy to solve the problems of a modern soul no worse than other initiatives in the field of mind ecology. However, professional philosophers lose the philosophy and reduce it, for example, to teaching critical thinking. It often turns into a market product and falls victim to oversimplification. This stems... more