We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
In the article, the author discusses global market culture, based on a virtual society, which introduced new items in the life of the world and the human. It shows clearly how far development of human have reached in its progessive aspirations and possibili ties. But, such a culture of virtual society has something destructive in itself, something violent, so that moral life becomes disoriented, because no safe foundation have left on which morality and moral consciousness should be formed. That fact causes a series of ethical and bioethical issues concerning the survival. The whole groups of people were challenged, the others are threatened, but religious awareness of responsibility for life and development of the world and the human, grows permanently. This could be noticed from John Paul's II encyclical letter Evangelium vitae, which is dedicated to development, preservation and evaluation of life, and which called nowadays culture, »the culture of death«. He invites all Christians and people with good will to decisevely fight for life in this world. This condition of development of the world and the human has not remain unknown in human history, because it has been crowded with violence and wars, but also with growing awareness and making sense in life and action. Through the history, the weaknesses and power of human freedom- if it is considered in its entirety- can be seen perfectly. So, even nowadays, a new hope in the possibility of reform and survival have to be born, which is the big task of bioethics. Hope – precisely in the deep of despair- has its right meaning and its necessity. It belongs to the order of Being, the order of Mercy of quest and receiving, so it can provide the living where we are, and how we are. Such a hope was different in a different periods of humankind. It shines with more brightness if it flies on the wings of religion, i.e. Christianity.
More...
The problem of justice, one of the key problems of contemporary political philosophy, is reconsidered in the light of a new paradigm: Оtfried Hoffe’s theory of transcendental exchange. The main research question is how this theory influences our understanding of the ways of formation of just moral and legal grounds in contemporary society. In order to understand justice adequately, it is important to regard it as personal responsibility, deeply related to attitudes of solidarity and recognition. There is an attempt to fuse moral and material grounds of social existence in order to overcome social injustice. Freedom and justice are rooted in the living world and are based on formal norms and procedures of morality and law. This gives us methodological grounds for understanding Hoffe’s philosophy of political justice, which regards freedom and justice as the main conditions of human existence.
More...
The article presents an analysis of the role of demos in power relations in democratic states. The author of the text postulates the need for contemporary political science research to expand its analyses beyond formal structures of political institutions and include in its scope also features of demos – the “cultural factor” to better understand the functioning and chances for success of democracy in different states.
More...
This article discusses to what extent meanings and discourses on ‘EU membership’on the one hand and on the ‘Balkans’ on the other, have shifted withinWestern Balkan countries in the past few years as a result of financial crisis inthe European Union. Focusing on Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, thearticle uses Derrida’s deconstruction to problematize the return of terms suchas ‘Balkan’ and ‘Balkanized’, as a way to explain failures of the economicsystem. The article concludes that in the case of BH and to a lesser extent inKosovo, there has been a de-mythicization of the EU.
More...
The aim of this article is to present Józef Tischner’s notion about negative and positive liberty. He does not oppose the first but, in his opinion, positive liberty is complementary to negative liberty (as freedom from restraint and interference by other persons and/or the state) and it has greater importance. However, Tischner defines positive liberty differently than Berlin. Primarily, for him, it is the possibility of doing Good.
More...
In this paper the author has analyzed Rothbard’s views in terms of social and eco-nomic issues in anarcho-capitalism. Market failures in the libertarian view were consid-ered as state failures (e.g. external effects, monopoly). The author has also considered opinions of critics of libertarian thought. On the ground of textual criticism this paper has demonstrated the controversy of Rothbard’s thesis and their inspirational power.
More...
Zadruga was the movement of Polish nationalists in years 1918–1939. Abandonmentof christion religion was its characteristic feature. Jan Stachniuk – an economist –was the founder of the movement. After the Second World, War Jan Stachniuk tried toreactivate Zadruga. He failed and was arrested. In the period of People’s Republic ofPoland the heritage of Zadruga was forgotten. After 1989 the intellectual traditionof Zadruga attracted new people. In the article, Zadruga’s concept of political system isdiscussed, both in reference to its totalitarian version present before the Second World War, as well as more liberalized after 1989
More...
The aim of the article was to present the UW party’s assumptions of the politicalsystem of the country. A particular attention was paid to the principle of separation ofpowers and the need to maintain a balance between the legislative, administrative andjudicatory power. The scope of the various authorities have been discussed, and specificsolutions pointed at which, according to UW ideologues, may have contributed to theirbetter functioning.
More...
Liberalism and conservatism are one of the most important, influential and inspiring political theories of the modern epoch, in the post-traditional society of Europe. Both of them are specific and opposed ideological reactions to the crisis of socio-political order in England, followed by Glorious Revolution in 1688 and French Revolution in 1789. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to compare and analyze constitutive ideas of these two approaches, such as traditionalism, scepticism and organicism, which are the elements of conservatism, andliberal doctrine of universalism, rationalism in the sphere of politics, and specific understanding of human being and history. On the basis of the previous research, the author shows that some conservative ideas can help us to understand better specific weaknesses of liberal theory, referring to the idea of constant progress and melioristic philosophy of history, and the way they can be corrected.
More...
East-Central Europe being distinguished – despite different views – a geographical space does not constitute a distinct and coherent political, economic, social, and cultural space. Changes taking place in contemporary Europe, in particular those associated with integration processes mark a new, specific dividing line, different from that during the Cold War. It runs across the geographical, and, consequently, social, political, economic and cultural space of East-Central Europe. It is constructed by both different standards and indicators of social, political and economic life in that part of Europe and the specific shape of cultural identity. The research objective of the paper is to identify and analyze the “fracture” of social space in this part of Europe. It is assumed that social space is a complex, multifaceted construction. Especially significant seems to be the problem of the political empowerments of civil society and its limitations, the problem of the socio-economic situation, and the problem of cultural identity. It is also assumed that the EU’s political strategy currently being pursued, consisting in relinquishing the prospect of EU enlargement towards the east to include selected countries of the so-called post-Soviet area, contributes to strengthening “the fracture” of East-Central Europe. This is apparently the result of the European Union’s implementation of “A Europe of Projects” strategy, which is the measures undertaken under the European Neighbourhood Policy, Eastern Partnership, or Black Sea Synergy.
More...
The role of the public sphere has increasingly come to the fore in studies concerning the state of democracy in Europe. Similarly the role of culture in formations and transformations not only of personal but of political identities as well has attracted attention. It is the purpose of this article to bring these areas together in a comprehensive approach to media, culture and democracy with a view of the public sphere as a crucial mediating field. Article focuses on the role of media in sustaining and developing democracy, a democratic dialogue and in fulfilling the role of media as the critical watchdog of the political system and other powerful players on the European scene. The concept of knowledge democracy is meant to enable a new focus on the relationships between knowledge production and dissemination, the functioning of the media and our democratic institutions. The emerging concept of knowledge democracy moreover obliges us to realise that the institutional frameworks of today’s societies may appear to be deficient as far as the above mentioned undercurrents, trends and other developments demand change. Democracy is without a doubt the most successful governance concept for societies during the last two centuries. It is a strong brand, even used by rulers who do not meet any democratic criterion. Representation gradually became the predominant mechanism by which the population at large, through elections, provides a body with a general authorization to take decisions in all public domains for a certain period of time. Fragmentation of values has lead to individualisation, to uniqueness but thereby also to the impossibility of being represented in a general manner by a single actor such as a member of parliament. More fundamentally media-politics destroy the original meaning of representation.
More...
The question of discrimination, as far as it is considered in the field of philosophy, cannot be perceived as a problem which can be effectively combated. Even the most precise diagnosis of human nature will not restrain people from defining others as evil and inferior. The most universal and spacious conventions, declarations, cards or bills will not solve the problem either. They can be regarded as an example of applied philosophy at most. On the other hand, we should pose the question what the world would look like if political pragmatism were the main obligatory rule. Thus, the situation finds us between philosophical wishful thinking about a global order free from discrimination and macro – or micropolitical pragmatism.
More...
Zašto govorimo da je danas sve postalo političko i da se sve odvija u znaku estetskoga? Nisu li ta dva naizgled suprotstavljena pojma možda ipak samo Janusovo lice iza čije se maske skriva praznina drugih određenja osim onoga što suspendira svako moguće (nad)određenje? Govori se, naime, da je politika moć vladanja ljudima u zajednici (politeia, civitas dei, republika, monarhija, demokracija). Estetika se, pak, označava područjem čiste tjelesnosti iskustva onoga što pripada jeziku i slici u doživljaju ljepote. Nije riječ o osjećaju, već o doživljaju. Razlika je u tome što je osjećaj predmet psihologije. Usto je i pokretač umjetnosti kao odnosa između djela i promatrača. Doživljajem imenujemo refleksiju osjećaja na višoj razini opažaja. Politika kao moć i estetika kao doživljaj nisu u suprotnosti s obzirom na određenje onoga što ih omogućuje. Nemoguće je provoditi vladavinu moći bez podražaja u osjetilnome doživljaju. Odnos između tog dvojega čini se uzročno–posljedičnim. Ipak, problem nastaje kada se postavi u pitanje njihova veza. Ono što više ne određuje politiku kao moć niti estetiku kao doživljaj osjetilnosti u svijetu zacijelo dolazi s nastankom neke posve drukčije »politike« i »estetike«. S onu stranu »moći« i »osjetilnosti« prebiva njihovo mjesto. Očito je riječ o drukčijem odnosu. To je događaj djelovanja bez–temelja. Grci su ovo imenovali riječju an–arhé. Suvremeno mišljenje nakon Heideggera, otpočevši s etičkim obratom u djelu Emmanuela Lévinasa, može se otuda nazvati post–fundacionalizmom ili rastemeljenjem bezuvjetnoga načela »prirode«, bitka kao prisutnosti, ideje Boga i svega što je imalo značajke onto–teologijske tradicije.
More...
The 20th century is the Age of Darkness ruled by big propaganda, mass revolts, and totalitarian regimes. Many of these sprouted from the absolute ideals of the Enlightenment which in time provided the conditions for a Darkening and a Regression. Eastern Europe and Lithuania will remember this period as the great sunset of civilization marked by civil and class wars, the Holodomor, the Nazi concentration camps, the Holocaust, the Gulag, the deportations and exile, the collective farms and their labor days. In the midst of this process of de-civilization the article focuses on the Gulag and post-Gulag consciousness as it is reflected in human memory, literature, and film. The injuries that de-civilization and its proper part, the Gulag, inflicted on human thinking and imagining, and the consequences of these injuries on our own lives, are analyzed in terms of a dialectic of regression. This dialectic is opposed to a dialectic of progress or development and rather than showing phases of advancement it shows stages of deterioration. It is a thesis of this article that the dialectic of regression is not symmetrical to progress and does not repeat the same stages, only reversing direction, but displays a logic of its own and features peculiarly distinctive circles of Hell.
More...
The paper entitled “Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sovereignity: Postmodern Paradigm?” defines as its goal to question the term sovereignty as it has been profiled in Modern philosophic and political thought that in fact exists today. Reviewing the various sovereignty concepts aims at pointing how it can be perceived as a boundary term containing a unique incompleteness of international orders. The paper‟s second part is going to provide an analysis of the sovereignty concepts found at several contemporary authors (Carl Schmitt and Giorgio Agamben). After formulating the aforestated theoretical framework, the third part observes the BH sovereignty. That segment of paper will try to resolve a question boiling to the one whether is possible to speak about BH sovereignty, taking into regard constitutional and other constraints, through the lenses of a new paradigm of sovereignty. Due to atypical constitutional organization, it is dire need to fortify theoretically the present sovereignty that de iure and de facto does exist through contemporary viewing of sovereignty, not through bygone categories that are antiquated in present social order. This paper attempts to present a possible postmodern theoretical framework for rethinking sovereignty in the specific locus – the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
More...
This article aims at explaining a utilitarian and a realistic thought as the keystones of David Hume’s political theory. For this purpose, in the first section, I treat Hume’s moral theory as the basis of his political thinking. Hume thinks that every person has the natural ability to feel utility for society or humankind to be pleasant, but that this inborn ability is nevertheless limited such that we need artificial rules (virtues) for social interest. In the second section, through some concrete examples, I demonstrate that, in Hume’s political theory, such a utilitarian basis is connected solidly with realistic thought. Hume believes that political theory should take into consideration what is really possible for human nature and for the present social situation. Because of human nature, the real human world can never be perfectly moral. Thus, I argue that the central purpose in Hume’s political thought is not to build an ideal and perfect speculative theory; rather, it is to point out the concrete way to make a society or a nation more advantageous for its members in a realizable manner.
More...
Hans Maier u članku "Pojmovi za usporedbu diktatura: "Totalitarizam" i "političke religije" tvrdi da tradicionalni pojmovi tiranije, autokracije, despotizma i diktature ne mogu više biti primjenjivi u analizi totalitarne vladavine 20. stoljeća (Maier, 2004.: 188-203). Ako se ova prosudba može smatrati primjerenom, tada se suočavamo sa svojevrsnim "praznim središtem moći". Sve ono što je bilo samorazumljivo tijekom čitave povijesti zapadnjačke filozofije politike odjednom gubi tlo pod nogama.
More...
Govoriti o ljubavi odveć je lako, ili odveć teško. Kako ne pasti u egzaltaciju ili u emocionalnu banalnost? Jedan od načina krčenja puta između ova dva ekstrema jest uzeti za vodiča osmišljenu misao (pensée méditante), dijalektiku ljubavi i pravde. Pod dijalektikom ovdje podrazumijevam prepoznavanje/priznavanje (reconnaisance) inicijalne disproporcije između ova dva pojma i traganje za praktičnim, iako, moram smjesta reći, vazda krhkim i provizornim posredovanjem između ovih dvaju ekstrema.
More...