zahra khazaei

In daily life, humans adopt their responsibilities with a sense of freedom and choice, but in a world where deterministic laws prevail, this adoption faces challenges. This conflict comes from the belief in a free image of human being. Questions arise as to how humans can be free in coercion and how their will can act freely? If humans have their own free will, this creates their responsibility. But if humans cannot be free, why should they be blamed or praised based on their behavior? Also, in the absence of human free will, the need for moral, legal, and social concepts is challenged. From the perspective of skeptical philosophers such as Galen Strawson, free will and consequently moral responsibility are impossible. Given his fundamental argument, he is skeptical about the possibility of free will. He argues that free will can be possible if the individual is their own essential cause, but the individual is not their own essential cause. This article tries to examine and criticize Galen Strawson's view of freedom from an analytical-descriptive perspective.

In compatibilists believe that we cannot act freely and be morally responsible for an action in a deterministic world, while compatibilists don’t deny the possibility of free action and moral responsibility for the agent, and they believe that we can find some kind of compatibility between moral responsibility and causal determination. This article will analyze Alfred Mele's zygote argument of manipulation, which is an argument in critique of compatibilism between moral responsibility and the deterministic world. Manipulation argument is an argument based on an agent's intuition of a situation in which the agent is under the control of another person or force. It wants to show that an agent in a manipulated situation, despite satisfying the compatibilists conditions, is not morally responsible for her action, and she is like the agent in a deterministic world.

The toxicity and persistence of heavy metals in the environment have necessitated usingtrees as biological indicators. This study aimed to evaluate the concentrations of heavy metals, including Pb, Zn, and Cd, in the leaves of two commonly cultivated ornamental plant species, Bougainvillea glabra (paper flower) and Cassia floribunda (burhan flower), known for their adaptability in urban environments, within the green spaces of Mahshahr Port in 2024. This descriptive-analytical research involved the collection of leaf samples fromBougainvillea glabra and Cassia floribunda trees across 13 regions of Mahshahr City, with three replications in June 2024. Chemical digestion was performed using the Jackson (1980) method, which involves acid digestion of plant material to release heavy metals for analysis. Heavy metal concentrations were measured using a Perkin Elmer 900T atomic absorption spectrophotometer (USA). The mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn in the leaves of Bougainvillea glabra were 0.108, 0.154, and 1.705 mg/kg, respectively. In contrast, the concentrations in Cassia floribunda were 0.120, 0.184, and 1.996 mg/kg, respectively. Statistically, Cd (P=0.008) and Pb (P=0.035) concentrations were significantly higher in Cassia floribundathan in Bougainvillea glabra (P<0.05). However, the Zn levels in Cassia floribundawere slightly higher but not statistically significant (P=0.844, P>0.05). The detected concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn in both species were below permissible limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO), indicating minimal contamination. The concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn in the leaves of Cassia floribunda and Bougainvillea glabra were within normal limits and below the standard permissible levels. However, based on the findings, these two species are unsuitable for phytoremediation of heavy metals. These results highlight the broader potential of ornamental plants as cost-effective tools for urban environmental management and pollution assessment, though further studies are needed to identify more effective species for phytoremediation purposes. Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Climate change affects all sectors of the economy to some extent, but the agricultural sector may be the most sensitive and vulnerable. This phenomenon can lead to increased migration and heightened conflict risks. Today migration is a challenge for all developing countries. Climate migration and the occurrence of consecutive droughts in the Khuzestan province and the city of Ahvaz are also caused by rising temperatures and lack of precipitation, among other factors The aim of this research is to assess the capabilities for reducing migration in the city of Ahvaz and develop a migration strategy. In this study the SWOT model was used and questionnaires were adjusted based on the Likert spectrum and completed and analyzed with the opinions of experts. Initially in the first stage, internal factors, namely strengths and weaknesses, were identified, and in the next stage, external factors, namely opportunities and threats, were identified and weighted. Among the external factors, threats with a weight of )0.460)and among the internal factors, weaknesses with a weight of )0.440) had the highest weights assigned to them. The results showed that the strategic migration strategy for the city of Ahvaz is close to a minimum-minimum or defensive strategy. The main message of this article emphasizes the use of defensive and reduction strategies.This means that in this area weaknesses should be reduced and threats should be avoided. These weaknesses and threats are the basis for migration and hinder the sustainable development of Ahvaz.
 

A significant part of the population of all countries of the world includes physically-motor disabled people. Paying attention to the issue of the disabled and the necessity of culture building and respect for human dignity in this field, this group of people in the society, like other people, need to meet their needs in the urban environment. This research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the obstacles and limitations of the presence of physically-motor disabled people in the urban spaces of Ahvaz. According to the nature of the subject and the goals for which it is planned, it is descriptive and analytical type and belongs to applied research. Research method, library method, field method, statistical population of 53946 disabled people; In order to select the sample size, Cochran's formula was used, according to which the sample size was 380 people. In order to analyze the data, first through the spss software, the desired indicators will be used to test the hypotheses from the T test, for the final evaluation of the model (DEMATEL). The findings obtained from the DEMATEL technique showed that among the indicators, the permeability and accessibility index have the most interaction, and the buildings index has the least interaction, and the permeability and accessibility index are the most influential factors, and the urban furniture index is the most influential factor. Conclusion that by using T test in the first hypothesis the average of all indicators was equal to 3/93 and in the second hypothesis the average was 4/13.

Jesse Prinz is known as one of the serious defenders of moral sentimentalism. Usually, sentimentalists give little role to moral reasoning in the process of producing moral judgment. But Prinz, unlike others, believes that moral reasoning and emotions both play a role in morality.In this article, after examining Prinz's view on the nature of reasoning, by examining his answers to the following questions, his view on the nature of moral reasoning is extracted:What is the relationship between moral reasoning and the traditional division of theoretical/practical reasoning? Does moral reasoning fit into this division? If so, which of the two types is it?Does moral reasoning have a deductive structure or not? If its structure is inference, which is the type of inference?What is the relationship between moral reasoning and moral generalism and particularism? Does moral reasoning require the use of general principles or not?Can moral reasoning be motivating?What is the purpose of moral reasoning? In other words, what is its function? Literature Review:In his various works, Prinz has written about moral reasoning. But it has not considered the nature of moral reasoning in a coherent way and in an integrated framework. Therefore, it can be claimed that our article is the first writing for a coherent examination of the nature of moral reasoning from Prinz's point of view.

In this article, Prinz's answers to the mentioned questions are extracted from his various writings, then each of these answers will be analyzed and finally, some criticisms that may be made to these answers will be given.

After analyzing Prinz's point of view, we believe that:He considers moral reasoning as a type of theoretical reasoning. Because he believes that moral reasoning is formed to justify moral judgment. So it is not like practical reasoning that leads to action/intention.Like Jonathan Haight, he believes that moral reasoning is presented after moral judgment and to justify it, but he believes that moral reasoning has another function: resolving moral disagreement.According to our analysis, he must have considered the structure of justification in moral reasoning as foundationalism. Because he believes that moral reasoning ultimately ends with fundamental norms that cannot be argued for.We think Prinz considers moral reasoning in the form of allegorical inference or case reasoning. Because he explains the process of justifying a moral judgment by comparing it to a specific example of a category.Prinz seemed not to believe that moral reasoning is based on general rules and principles. Because he does not believe in general moral rules according to the point of view of moral relativism. On the other hand, his view that moral reasoning is case reasoning is consistent with the view of moral particularists.Since Prinz is a moral sentimentalist, then, like David Hume, he must believe that moral reasoning has no motivational effect on action. Because in Prinz's view, since moral judgments are the product of emotions, they are motivating in themselves and do not require moral reasoning.Finally, unlike evolutionary ethics, he does not believe we have an innate capacity for moral reasoning. 

Contrary to what is obtained from the analysis of Prinz's view on moral reasoning, some psychological results indicate that moral agents, at least in some situations, do not use moral reasoning only to resolve moral disagreements, but use moral reasoning to create moral judgments. If this research is true, and these actors act according to this moral reasoning, then moral reasoning is sometimes motivating. On the other hand, according to Prinz's moral relativism point of view, in situations where two moral actors disagree with each other in a fundamental judgment, moral reasoning has practically no function. So, what Prinz has introduced as the function of moral reasoning is a weak function. If these criticisms are true, they suggest, Prinz's analysis of moral reasoning is not entirely without fault. Therefore, either Prinz should start to modify some of his views on moral reasoning or give stronger reasons for his claim.

Sensational perception, reason, testimony and introspection are the fundamental sources of knowledge. It has been much debated that memory is one of the basic sources of knowledge. This article aims to apply the perspective of Frise and Allameh Tabatabai about the epistemological status of memory with an analytical approach. In this essay, we try to answer the questions raised such as, is the memory one of the sources of belief production? Do memory beliefs justify other beliefs? Are memory beliefs self-justified or do they need justification? This article shows that by relying on the epistemological function of memory, Frise considered it as a source of belief production, by which those beliefs can be used in the structure of reasoning. While unifying memory and imagination, relying on the reductionist approach of powers, Allameh Tabatabi has considered imagination as the source of partial beliefs, so that it performs this action with the cooperation of common sense and communication with the outside world. Both philosophers believe that memory is just like a repository whose epistemological status is meaningful in preserving the justified beliefs. Also, from the view point of Frise and Allameh Tabatabai, memory beliefs are among self-justified and basic beliefs that are used to justify non-memory beliefs. Therefore, the view point of these two thinkers can be closed to the reformed foundationalism approach.

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology which can revolutionize various scientific fields such as agriculture. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) are one of the metal oxide nanoparticles that are biocompatible and environmentally friendly. Zinc is an active element and a strong reducing agent. Ganoderma lucidum is a parasite fungus which has been used as a popular food and also to treat of various diseases. The medicinal value of strains of this fungus are related to their biologically active compounds such as proteins, flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Different issues have been reported for chemical synthesis of ZnONPs such as high cost and toxicity of chemicals, therefore, nowadays green synthesis method is widely used to synthesize metal nanoparticles due to its environmental friendliness, lower toxicity rate and more safety. Various natural components such as plants, algae, fungi and bacteria are used to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles which among them, green synthesis by plant extracts has attracted special attention for the synthesis of various metal nanoparticles. The purposes of the current study were to evaluate the possibility of using Foeniculum vulgare seed extract to synthesize green ZnONPs and the influence of ZnONPs and ZnO treatments on different characteristics of G. lucidum strains.   

In this study, the aqueous extract of vulgare L. seeds was used to synthesize green ZnONPs. G. lucidum strains (Gl01 and Gl16) were obtained from the forests of Mazandaran province and were used after verification of their nature. The formation of nanoparticles was confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of different concentrations of ZnONPs and ZnO (0, 4, 6 and 8 mM) on total phenolic content, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene and lycopene, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes including polyphenol oxidase (PPO), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR) of two wild strains of G. lucidum were studied in submerged culture. The study was conducted as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications. Analysis of variance was performed using SAS v.19 software and mean comparisons were conducted based on SNK method.

The results indicated that the shape of ZnONPs was spherical and they had a uniform distribution, with an average particle size of 13 to 25 nm. Bulk ZnO and ZnONPs significantly affected the biochemical properties of lucidum strains. The flavonoid content of both G. lucidum strains increased with increasing the concentration of bulk ZnO and ZnONPs. The results showed that ascorbic acid content of G. lucidum significantly increased in response to different concentrations of bulk ZnO and ZnONPs. The results clearly revealed a significant difference between treatments in terms of β-carotene and lycopene content, so that β-carotene and lycopene content increased with increasing the concentration of bulk ZnO and ZnONPs to 6 mM, but increasing the concentration until 8 mM, led to a significant decrease in these traits. Also, the results indicated a significant difference between treatments in terms of the activity of antioxidant enzymes including GPX, APX, PPO and GR. Based on results, the antioxidant enzymes activity increased with increasing the concentration of bulk ZnO and ZnONPs to 6 mM, and then, decreased at concentration of 8 mM. Also in both strains, the activity of antioxidant enzymes on 8th day was higher than on 4th day. The stress caused by heavy metals induces the biosynthesis of antioxidant compounds in plant cells. Studies have shown that application of ZnOPNs leads to increasing total phenol content resulting in enhancing antioxidant capacity of treated crops. Also, based on reports enhancing the antioxidant enzymes activity and increasing flavonoids and ascorbic acid content caused by ZnONPs application lead to lower reactive oxygen species in plant cells under stress conditions leading to lower cellular damages.   

Our study determined the appropriate concentrations of ZnONPs and ZnO based on positive effects on content and activity of antioxidant agents in lucidum strains. Among treatments, ZnONPs had a greater positive effect on mycelium antioxidant characteristics than bulk ZnO and also, the effects in Gl01 strain were more pronounced than in Gl16.

Allamah Tabatabaei is one of the theorist philosophers in Transcendent Philosophy, whose viewpoint of the soul, including the human personal identity, has not been discussed. This article deals with Allamah Tabatabaei’s viewpoint of monism or dualism about the human personal identity. In this case, we should discuss on the relationship between the soul and body, and their mutual influence on each other, and the personal identity resulting from that. It seems that those who believe in the causal relationship between soul and body, including Allamah Tabatabaei, should believe in dualism about the soul and the body. But, according to the ontological foundations of Allamah Tabatabaei and his acceptance of substantial movement, it is concluded that the soul and the body are two levels of one gradual and fluid reality. Allamah’s ontological view of the human personal identity is the main characteristic of the structure of debate and differentiates it from other views of the way of the relationship between soul and body in the philosophy of mind. In this article, it will be clarified that Allamah’s viewpoint, in spite of its fundamental difference from other viewpoints, is nearer to substantial monism and quality-dualism.

Medicinal plants contain valuable active compounds that are produced in limited quantities under natural conditions, so the use of methods such as tissue culture and stimulant materials is useful to produce more secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. In this study, the effects of methyl jasmonate and LED lights as two elicitors on physiologic and secondary metabolites in the roots of 30-day-old licorice seedlings in MS media were investigated. In this study, concentrations of zero, 0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2 μM methyl jasmonate as well as blue, red and blue+red light treatments, were used in three replications in a completely randomized design. The results showed that flavonoid content at wavelengths of 300 nm at a concentration of 1 μM methyljasmonate showed a significant increase compared to the control. According to results, the amount of phenolic compounds in methyl jasmonate treatment increased at a concentration of 1 μM and in blue light treatment. The highest activity of phenylalanine ammonialyase was observed in blue light, but the greatest amount of glycyrrhizin (12.10 µg/g FW) was recognized in red light treatment. Also, red light significantly increased the growth and proliferation of plants compared to other treatments. In general, it can be concluded that the use of stimulants such as methyl jasmonate and red and blue lights increases the amount of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants.

The problem of epistemic luck arises when a person has a true belief that is only true by luck. Before Gettier, it was believed that the element of justification would be sufficient for knowledge; but he showed that it is possible to have a justified true belief that is not an example of knowledge because of the intrusion of luck. Duncan Pritchard has examined epistemic luck in an extensive and detailed manner. He offers a modal account of luck based on two elements: a possible-worlds analysis of counterfactual conditions and a significance condition for the factors that make the truth of the belief lucky. Pritchard argues for the superiority of this account to those that focus on whether the truth of the belief is “accidental” and on whether the believer has sufficient control over the belief. Epistemic luck may be “reflective” or “veritic”. Both undermine knowledge claims, although Pritchard gives the central role to veritic luck in his anti-luck epistemology, which is based on two elements: a safety principle and a condition to ensure that the cognitive faculties of the agent are not impaired. In this article, we will describe, analyze, and subsequently, evaluate the viewpoint of Pritchard. In addition to the critiques offered by others, ambiguities in his counterfactual account of luck and other components of his theory detract from his theory.

This study represents chromosomal data for eight species of four genera from Apiaceae. The karyotype analysis in this research was performed using the squash technique on mitotic metaphase chromosomes. Out of the eight species studied, five are new reports (Dorema aucheri, Ducrosia assadii, Ferula oopoda, F. pseudalliacea, and F. sphenobasis), while three counts confirm (Dorema ammoniacum, Ducrosia anethifolia, and Smyrnium cordifolium) the findings of the previous studies. All species have a basic chromosome number of x=11. Dorema ammoniacum and D. aucheri have only one submetacentric chromosome while in Ferula pseudalliacea, about half of the chromosomes were submetacentric. In Ducrosia anethifolia, D. assadii, Ferula oopoda, F. sphenobasis, and Smyrnium cordifolium all chromosomes are metacentric.

Despite the importance of trust in epistemology, there is no consensus about its nature and issues. Some consider it a cognitive attitude and some think it an emotional attitude. The combination of cognitive and emotional elements is another point of view chosen by Linda Zagzebski. The combination of the two elements of belief and feeling, plus the element of behavior and its explanation in the context of virtue theory, distinguishes Zagzeski's view from the rest. This article focuses on Zagzebski's point of view and analyzes the nature, scope, and applications of epistemic trust. While accepting two types of self-trust and trust to others, she established a special commitment between these two and extended the scope of cognitive self-trust as a pre-reflective feature, according to the principle of equality, to trust others. Validity of testimony in justifying beliefs, exemplarist theory, and a new interpretation of the Consensus Gentium argument is among the applications of epistemic trust discussed in the article. Despite Zagzebski's effort to provide a more accurate explanation of epistemic trust and its application in various fields of epistemology, philosophy of religion, and moral philosophy, there are still ambiguities and weaknesses in her view that make it difficult to justify the role of epistemic trust.

Philosophers of the mind, based on various approaches to the problem of the mind, have proposed different criteria about human personality, "person" or "I". One of these criteria is having a first-person perspective. One of the proponents of this criteria is Lynne Rudder Baker, a non-reductionist materialist philosopher who considers human personality neither as an immaterial soul nor as reducing it over to physical things. According to her, a robust first-person perspective is sufficient and necessary condition for being a person. A being is a person if and only if it has the capacity for a first-person perspective. The robust first-person perspective is the ability to conceive of oneself as oneself, without the use of any name or description. It is same self-consciousness that distinguishes a person from other beings. In contrast, there is a rudimentary first-person perspective, which is specific to beings who, despite having consciousness, lack the self-consciousness feature. The present article has evaluated and criticized the Baker's point of view on first-person perspective with analytical and critical methodology. Ambiguity in the nature of the first-person perspective and being a person, an absence of argument for some claims and lack adequately clarity on some preconditions and presuppositions are some criticisms that were propounded on the acceptability and coherence of Baker's view.

In an effort to investigate the nature of faith, Robert Audi, the famous contemporary philosopher, discusses various types of faith that are internally interrelated and whose common component is the entailment of cognitive propositions. In addition to accepting the various types of faith, he sets the propositional, attitudinal, and universal faith as the basis and takes faith as a positive attitude to the truthfulness of religious propositions that is accompanied by the tendency to believe in the propositions, one that brings about action. Moreover, he puts emphasis on the non-doxastic propositional faith in which faith is not necessarily belief, but rather, it is only the potential for belief and in fact is a type of trust in religious propositions. For Audi, faith – with all of its components – agrees with his intended rationality. In his epistemic system, faith has a very important role in the justification of religious beliefs. In fact, religious obligations – such as belief, faith, and act – justify belief in God if they are rational. The present study analyzes the nature of faith from the viewpoint of Audi; examines its relationship with belief, rationality, and action; and finally evaluates it. Audi’s view to the nature of faith faces some problems, especially the non-doxastic propositional faith to which he attaches great importance and by which he justifies to a great deal the religious belief, such that it be not confirmed by the divine religions and believers in a religion, though it is a way to consider people whose views are not at the belief level as faithful.

Ethnopharmacology is a very diverse approach to drug discovery that involves the observation, description, and experimental study of native drugs and their biological activities based on botany, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and other disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, history, and linguistics that helps discovering of natural products with biological activity. The aim of this study was to identify medicinal plants that have a traditional use in the north and west of Dashtestan county, Bushehr in the north of Persian Gulf.

The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 25 local informants by face-to-face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated.

A total of 117 medicinal plants related to 63 families were identified in the north and west of Dashtestan region. Zataria multiflora, Cuminum cyminum, Aloe vera, Achillea eriophora DC, Matricario chamomilla, Echium amoenum, Trachyspermum copticum, Foeniculum vulgare, Plantago psyllium,
Fumaria parviflora and Nigella sativa had the highest cultural importance index. The highest medical uses were for gastrointestinal discomforts, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, pediatric problems, kidney and urinary tract diseases, OB & Gyn problems, psychiatric and neurological diseases, dermatologic and the metabolic disorders, respectively. The native people used some of these medicinal plants for some diseases which these usages were unique for this region. For example, they used Achillea eriophora DC for ulcers, abscesses, and carbuncles, Matricario chamomilla for fever and abdominal discomfort, Echium amoenum for promotion of labor pain, Plantago psyllium for purulent infections, Fumaria parviflora for neonatal jaundice and Nigella sativa for musculoskeletal pains.

There is a vast variety of medicinal plants in the north and west of Dashtestan region. Although most of the therapeutic applications of these plants in this area are the same as Iran’s traditional medicine, the people in this region use some of these plants for some diseases which these usages are unique for this region. Thus, investigation about these plants should be initiated to discover novel drugs for clinical applications.

Direct Doxastic Voluntarism claims that all or some of the states associated with our beliefs, that is, the formation, maintenance, justification, and suspension of our judgments, are under our direct voluntary control. The followers of this view emphasize the important role of the will according to their own intellectual principles and in a way insist on the agent’s activity from an epistemological point of view. The present study, while analyzing the views of some epistemologists who believe Direct Doxastic Voluntarism seeks to answer the question of whether our beliefs and judgments are formed under the direct control of the will. Evaluating Direct Doxastic Voluntarism shows that although this approach is not very justified, due to the extreme role of the will for the formation of all kinds of beliefs, and confirmation and suspension of judgment. This has led to a global version of this thesis that may not be acceptable for most epistemologists. Yet by limiting its scope, it can be defended about some beliefs because of its compatibility with individuals’ cognitive experiences. By accepting a less global version of this doctrine, the present article examines the views of some direct voluntariors while denying the extreme scope of the will and emphasizes its position and reasonable role in the subject.

‘Yaghoot’ grape cultivar is the earliest cultivar known in the history of Iran. The main problem of this cultivar is the compactness and small size of its berries, under the influenced genes that are controlled mainly by Gibberellic Acid (GA3). Those undesirable traits reduce customer interest and profitability. To alleviate these problems, we used GA3 and carried out Girdling (G) to enhance the quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The GA3 treatment was used at four concentrations, i.e.: 0, 60, 90, and 120 mg/l, and was sprayed on plants three times (i.e.: 10 days before flowering, in the midst, and after flowering). The G treatment has achieved the proximity of the branch bases during the formation of berries. In this experiment, various morphological and biochemical traits were measured. The results exhibited that the GA3 and G treatments significantly positively affected the fruits' quantitative and qualitative characteristics. Both treatments were observed to increase the berry length, berry weight, berry diameter, berry width, cluster width, cluster length, cluster weight, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, proline, malondialdehyde, H2O2 content, total phenolic content, anthocyanin content, ascorbate content, flavonoids content, antioxidant capacity, catalase activity, peroxidase activity, polyphenol oxidase activity, superoxide dismutase activity, and ascorbate peroxidase activity. The interaction between the GA3 and G showed that they significantly increased the berry weight, proline content, antioxidant capacity, ascorbate content, peroxidase activity, polyphenol oxidase activity, ascorbate peroxidase activity, catalase activity, and superoxide dismutase activity. Those treatments are promising treatments that can help improve the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of ‘Yaghoot’ grapes.

The relationship between life and knowledge in the view of Plotinus and Sadr ol-Mote’allehin and the comparison between their perspectives are of importance due to the fact that the ontological connection between life and knowledge in the opinion of the two philosophers conveys their intellectual affinity. Contemplation in the view of Plotinus is a sort of general and pervasive knowledge that exists in all the stages of being; the idea or knowledge that is recognized as the sameness of life by Plotinus. In Sadr ol-Mote’allehin’s view, knowledge as well as life are not only subordinate to being but also its exact sameness. Therefore, knowledge and life have unity in existence. Belief in the sameness of life and knowledge as well as the creatures’ living and knowledgeable existence, Reduction of life into knowledge, and the common foundations of the ontological relationship between life and knowledge -sameness of their origin and end, their graded reality, their common source in nature, and the world’s living and knowledgeable existence- in the view of the two above philosophers, have paved the way for a comparison between their perspectives. The result of this comparison is finding intellectual affinity and consensus between the two philosophers about the type of relationship between life and knowledge.

Editor's NoteThe Memorial of Prof. William J. WainwrightThe member of Editorial Board of Journal of Philosophical Theological ResearchWilliam “Bill” Judson Wainwright (1935-2020), a distinguished professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was the member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Philosophical Theological Research (JPTR).Wainwright is the author of several books in various fields of philosophy, especially the philosophy of religion, and numerous articles and chapters. Monotheism and Hope In God (2020), Reason, Revelation, and Devotion: Inference and Argument in Religion (2015), Religion and Morality (2005), and Heart and Reason (1995) are among his published books.His last published article is “God, Love and Inter-religious Dialogue”1, which was published by the Journal of Philosophical Theological Research in the autumn of 2020. Wainwright gave final approval to his paper but unfortunately could not see its publication. He passed away on November 5, 2020, a few days before we published his article. May he be in peace and God’s grace. I never met him but I understood from my contacts with him that “He was a very kind, respected, noble, and patient philosopher.”We decided to dedicate a special issue titled “Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics”: In Memory of William J. Wainwright to him. I would like to express my gratitude to all the philosophers who accepted my invitation and generously and kindly helped us in publishing this special issue by writing their valuable articles. We hope that Wainwright would be pleased with the publication of this issue.I will end my words with this wish, which was Wainwright's wish too, that: I wish that the followers of monotheistic religions can establish peace and tranquility in the world through inter-religious dialogue, mutual understanding, and extending their love for God to each other.1. Wainwright, W.J. (2020), God, Love, and Interreligious Dialogue, Journal of Philosophical Theological Research, 22(85), 5-13.

Patrick Grim has presented an argument against the compatibility of Divine Omniscience. Citing Cantor's Theorem and using the accepted definition of omniscience -knowledge of all true propositions- Grim denies the existence of an Omniscient due to the impossibility of a set that includes all true propositions. Grim's argument raised many answers by Christian philosophers. For example, Plantinga has objected to this argument by showing its self-contradictoriness. Although there are fundamental differences between Islamic and Christian theology in explaining the nature of omniscience, considering the capacity of Sadra's transcendent wisdom, by citing issues such as the definition and nature of collection as well as the conditions of impossible sequence, addition to refuting Grim's argument that there are more facts than the set of all facts, the possibility of the knowledge of Omniscient to an infinite series of sets of facts can be proved.

Tuber species are edible fungi and plant-symbiotic microorganisms that form a beneficial relationship with the roots of certain trees and plants (ectomycorrhizae). After interaction with a plant host, tuber species produced hypogeous fruit bodies of great economic value known as forest truffles. There are different species of truffles, but based on species and place of origin varied their quality and market price. Truffle identification is based on morphological analysis maybe fail to distinguish them due to highly susceptible to environmental conditions. But using molecular markers to identify truffles can be more accurate, less expensive and reliable monitoring. In this context, twelve inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) primers were chosen for amplifying the genetic materials of black and brown truffles. In this study, a total of 57 polymorphic bands were amplified (an average of 5.18 bands). The Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) value and gene diversity (H) was with an average 0.37 and 0.50, respectively. During the ISSR screening good amplification products were obtained from primers based on GA, (AG) G, (AG)T, and GAC repeats. The population analysis result revealed that there are three main clusters A, B and C. Four strains Ardabil, Khalkhal, Zanjan and Urmia were identified to be in the group A cluster.  The strains of at second and third groups were black and brown truffles respectively. The results indicated that truffles had two separate speciation events (DK = 2). According to DK = 2, the samples of Ardabil, Khalkhal, Zanjan and Urmia grouped in the same group and rest of truffles in other groups.

To investigate the effect of drought stress on the physiological and chemical properties of the sweet pepper and the impact of the foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) on alleviating the negative effects of this stress, a factorial experiment was carried out using a completely randomized design in the greenhouse conditions. Drought stress levels were 100% field capacity (as control), moderate stress (60% field capacity), and severe stress (30% field capacity). Foliar SA was also applied at three concentrations of 0 (as control), 0.5, and 1 mM when the plants were at the four-leaf stage. The results showed that drought reduced shoot and root fresh weight and dry weight, relative leaf water content, fruit length and diameter, chlorophyll index, and leaf area, and increased electrical conductivity, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, ascorbate, polyphenol oxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase. After foliar of application SA, electrical conductivity decreased and other above-mentioned characteristics increased, however, the increase in shoot dry weight, root fresh weight, and chlorophyll index was not significant. From the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that SA alleviates the negative effects of drought stress in pepper.

One of the topics in the philosophy of mind is the discussion of "I", which philosophers have referred to in various interpretations as "The self", "personal identity", "ego", "soul" and "spirit". Philosophers' different theories about the existence and even the nature of this seemingly simple and obvious have turned it into a philosophical problem. Galen Strawson is a physicalist who has addressed this issue by interpreting “The self”. On the one hand, he believes in the existence of the "empirical self", but on the other hand, he denies such qualities as Long-term persistence, personality, and agency, which seem to be essential to the meaning of the "I". The present paper tries to address, by an analythical-critical method, the question of how Strawson believed in the existence of the "I" despite the non-acceptance of these three characteristics. In this regard, first Strawson's view on the nature and existence of the "I" is analyzed, and after evaluating his view, it is concluded that the elimination of these three characteristics is due to weaknesses such as adopting a physicalist basis, a phenomenological method, and a purely mental view of the "I", confusion of the two positions of Truth and proof and his weakness in explaining the nature of unity over time.

The theory of “knowledge by presence” has a special place in the Sadra system. “Knowledge by presence” is both a theory of knowledge in Sadra's philosophy and a theory for explaining self-knowledge. Reflecting on this important theory will immediately make us realize its complex and mysterious nature. The present paper intends to provide an accurate and clear reading of this theory in a clearer language in the form of a comparative approach between this theory and one of the most important theories of self-knowledge in the analytic philosophy, namely the theory of “Knowledge by acquaintance”. At first glance, Russell's theory of “Knowledge by acquaintance” is one of the most similar to Sadra's theory. Such characteristics as the condition of presence, immediacy, and infallibility are examples of the similarity of these two theories. But the discussion of “unity of the knower and the known” in Sadra's theory is the point of separation between the two theories, and in fact, it is a place that will seriously challenge the claim of closeness between these theories. Finally, perhaps with some tolerance, Russell's theory is a primitive and incomplete picture of Sadra's theory. Furthermore, it should be noted that understanding these two theories in the context of the different philosophical systems of these two philosophers -namely Sadra's theory of Unity and originality of existence and Russel's theory of Knowledge by Acquaintance- makes it more difficult to claim the deep closeness between these two theories.