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The theme „science and values“ is general enough to encompass different topical facets. Here, I am concerned with two of these, related to the answers to the following questions: „How is science, as such, construed as a value today?“ and „Are there certain types of values that in some ways determine the conceptual paths for the growth of science?”
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Karl Popper developed his own axiomatization and interpretation of mathematical probability, commonly known as the propensity theory of probability. In arguing for his theory, he strongly criticized the so-called „subjectivist“ interpretation, which views probabilities as representing personal degrees of belief in the truthfulness of a proposition. Popper maintained that the subjectivist interpretation turns probabilistic statements into empirically unverifiable tautologies. I propose three arguments against this critique. First and foremost, the revision of personal beliefs, when available empirical evidence is given, is in fact the core of the subjective interpretation of probability. Secondly, it is relatively easy to show that the complete elimination of the subjective factor in scientific research is an utopian ideal. No philosophical interpretation of mathematical probability is able to shield scientific research from the inset of prior information – at least in the form of auxiliary hypotheses or theories. However, the subjective interpretation is the only one that explicitly includes the subjective factor in its calculations. Thirdly, the subjective factor may have a positive role and be extremely useful in science. Finally, I propose that we avoid using the relatively outdated terms „subjective probabilities“ and „subjective interpretation“ in probability theory. These elicit bad connotations and evoke scepticism in scientists from the natural sciences. In order to avoid ambiguity, it would be well to employ the commonly used modern terms „prior probabilities“ and „Bayesian interpretation“.
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Plato's Timaeus is taken as a background for certain views presented by Aristotle in his On the Heavens. The author discusses possible arguments for introducing a new (“fifth”) element.
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Based on the presence of a few genuinely Leibnizean themes in the post-anti-metaphysical situation of contemporary philosophy, this article tries to establish a connection between notions such as “being”, “perception” and “freedom” through the prism of a modal approach to ontology. A series of short writings by Leibniz, scattered through all periods of his thought, are closely read here. The principle of sufficient reason (determining the uniqueness of each and every thing) is seen as responsible for a potential coincidence of the usual modal concepts, which is the only way for humans to make their risky choices between being free-and-correct and being free-and-mistaken in their behavior. Since, according to the Leibnizian perspective of “monads”, persons are understood as “individuals”, it follows that individuals must turn attention to “simplicity” both within and outside themselves; the acting agents are viewed as objects of themselves, having no “parts” but rather participating in “relations” that are constituted within a void (which does not really exist according to Leibniz) and a continuum (in the metaphysical sense of the two terms). If we see that this position corresponds to the tension that exists between the urges or the nature of a creator who is to be conceived of in the traditional onto-theological manner, the conclusion we draw is that the only difference between humans and the Christian God of Leibniz is that the latter disposes of more power, energy and dynamics than the former, due to the “fact” that humans are only “images” (but not parts) of the “absolute”. Along the line of this attempt at a concise but systematic survey of Leibniz’s modal approach to matters of morality within the German mystical tradition, the article also offers relevant interpretations on the topic, coming from diverse philosophical perspectives (Russell, Heidegger, Deleuze, Harman, etc.) and from recent debates.
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The article aims to set and consider the problem of demarcation between both, formal and philosophical logic. It grows like a series of different stories where the point of philosophical logic is mentioned. The failure to demarcate its field is in the basis of many of the difficulties that arise when Russell tries to form his own conception for logical analysis and for observing the logical data. An attempt is proposed to locate and elucidate some transcendental components that could be visible when we are focused on Russell’s analytical practice. Although some thoughts are polemical, in my opinion, they have the power to form an impulse for outlining the aria of philosophical logic.
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What is ecstasy? Can we give a definition of rest, calm, and of soaring, vehement ecstasy? Are we capable of thinking aesthetically through the idea of the mobile and the immobile? Is it correct to say that the aesthetical is a form of ecstasy? The question arises as to what the aesthetical brings us, and from what it sets us free. If all these assumptions are correct, we should change our view of the aesthetic experience.Do we have the right to interpret the aesthetical experience as a dynamic psychological state that affects the physical level as well? An attempt to reconsider all these possibilities gives unexpected results.
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Kraus offers an alternative to the classical concept of beauty in terms of form and order, by building conceptual binary oppositions, borrowing Batаille’s concept of the formless and alternation- distortion as a counterpoint and cancellation of the hierarchic order in which beauty, as a value and ideal, is the highest. And while Krauss likens classical aesthetics and culture to Freudian sublimation and the vertical projection of the beautiful, she sees non-classical aesthetics and culture, focused around the formless, as a de-sublimation and leveling of the cultural and aesthetic image.
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The article examines the basic ideas of the manifestos and aesthetical program of Italian Futurists. The author presents their critique of classical art and classical painting, and their programme for a Futurist art that, under the designation of “transcendental plasticism”, implements Marinetti’s idea of “the beauty of speed”.
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The article is focused on the dramatic relation between a man and his portrait. In Oscar Wilde’s novel, the portrait plays a leading and decisive role as the objectification of conscience. In the name of beauty and youth impervious to time, a moral transfer of the human conscience is made. Instead of serving as an essential component in Dorian’s life, conscience is translated outside, to the portrait. The drama begins when the portrait begins to live the vice-ridden life of the literary character, while the latter remains eternally young and handsome...
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What is the contemporary notion of beauty? It seems to have vanished from the discourse of aesthetics with respect to art. However, in everyday life beauty is considered easy to define, especially in advertisement of plastic surgery and fitness and wellness institutions. The article deals with the implications of the development of the idea that beauty and health are obtainable through science and high technology.
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The article attempts to outline the specificity of the art created by Hristo and Jeanne-Claude. The author analyzes the connections and oppositions of their works to the situation in modern art. Their technical strategies are discussed in the context of Walter Benjamin’s views on the lost aura of the work of art under the conditions of its technological reproducibility. The author’s main aim is to show the performative character of Hristo and Jeanne-Claude’s large-scale architectural installations, which actively engage the audience in giving being and meaning to the work.
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Тhe text is focused on the interpretation of Aristotle's conception of the human being as a citizen, as a political creature, and his view on happiness as the goal of humans. The article discusses Machiavelli’s and Weber’s ideas – emblematic for modernity – about the relation between ethics and politics, and the theoretical reflection of this relation in the context of contemporary society as a risk society and in the globalized world. The article aims to distinguish, based on comparative analysis, between Aristotle's understanding of ethics and politics as two sides of the same coin, i.e., as aspects of the life of people in a community. The article discusses the importance of Aristotle’s view of humans as beings that are political because they are ethical and ethical because they are political.
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The aim of the article is to investigate the idea of moral entities (entia moralia), one of the two main original intellectual concepts contributed to natural law philosophy by the famous German thinker of the 17th century Samuel Pufendorf. The article clarifies the relevance of the idea in an interdisciplinary perspective, emphasizing the historical discourse of the philosophy of law. The article gives a precise classification and explanation of the forms of entia moralia, such as person, status, quality and quantity, distinguishing them from entia physica, and demonstrates the significance of this distinction for the philosophy of natural law.Hopefully, the discussion will deepen our knowledge on some essential questions of early modern natural law philosophy and explore the traces Samuel Pufendorf left in this field; it will also increase interest in contemporary research on the moral issues involved in new classical natural law theory.
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The article discusses “general intellect” and reveals the quite high incompatibility between post-operaismo and Marx, but also a certain change in Marx’s views after Grundrisse. The article also reveals Marx's inconsistency as a historical materialist, which is probably one of the causes of deterministic readings of his works today.
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