Thomas Aquinas On the Problem of Angelic Nature

Тома от Аквино върху проблема за ангелската природа

Author(s): Gergana Dineva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: angels; nature; individuation; medieval philosophy; Thomas Aquinas; Giorgio Pini; simple form

The present text is intended to be a critical answer to the upcoming article of Giorgio Pini The Individuation of Angels from Bonaventure to Duns Scotus, where he bases the interpretation of the angelic nature according to Thomas Aquinas on two main premises: first, that the angels are pure forms; and secondly, that only forms, which can be received in matter, can be numerically multiplied. By focusing on the principle of individuation of intelligible natures, we will try to show, that according to Thomas, the angels are not pure forms, although they are simple forms and species subsistentes. Then we will try to clarify, that his argumentation concerning the principle of individuation of angels is based mostly on the specific understanding of potentiality and actuality and on the view of order of being.

“Mediterranea” and “Europe”. The Relativity of the Historical Map

„Медитерания“ и „Европа“.Относителността на историческото картографиране

Author(s): Kalin Yanakiev / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: map; history; Christianity; Bysantium; Mediteranea; Europe

Early Medieva and Rennaissance Neoplatonism - a Comparison: Augustine and Ficino

Раннохристиянският и ренесансовият неоплатонизъм – един паралел: Августин и Фичино

Author(s): Sergei Stefanov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: Christian Neoplatonism; Neoplatonism; Augustine; Marsilio Ficino; Plotinus; Renaissance philosophy

The Christian religion and the Neoplatonism have conceptual relations since the Late Antiquity and these relations are in many cases fruitful but constantly very problematic. The Weltanschauung of Christianity remains incompatible whit the one of pagan Neoplatonism although the attempts of some Christian authors to adopt certain Neoplatonic concepts. In the same time the Neoplatonism transfers the language of Christian religion into the culture of Late Antiquity, and the history of Christian Neoplatonism is the history of the overcoming of these “aporetic” circumstances. This article represents the attempts of Augustine and Marsilio Ficino of resolving the mentioned incompatibility by bringing together religio Christiana and the metaphysical visions of Plotinus. The evidences of the influence of early Augustine’s work over Ficino’s Christian Neoplatonism is shown most clearly in the way of reducing the second term of Plotinus’ doctrine of the three basic principles of being – the Intellect.

The "Light-Physics" of Roger Bacon

„Светлинната физика“ на Роджър Бейкън

Author(s): Alexandra Dokova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: Roger Bacon; light; mesieval physics; medieval philosophy; natural philosophy; optics;

This article aims to reveal the metaphysical background of Roger Bacon’s natural philosophy. Bacon attributes all natural causation to the “multiplication of species”. “Species” designates the “first effect of any naturally-acting thing”. It is the virtue or likeness of any natural power propagated from that power in all directions through suitable media. “Species”, or the first immediate effect of any natural action is definite, specific and uniform. As all natural effects are caused by the radiation of natural force, they are expressible in terms of “lines, angles and figures”. Central to Bacon’s philosophy of nature is the notion that all kinds of corporeal change are reduced to the “multiplicative force” of light. Assuming that the propagation of light is susceptible to mathematical analysis, the principal natural science is the Optics. Roger Bacon claims that the so called natural laws are the rules of rectilinear propagation, reflection and refraction of light. Roger Bacon’s theory of natural causation is illuminated by the concept that the basic structure and origin of the physical universe is due to the self-multiplication of light – the first corporeal form.

Abelard's Ethics - the Dialogue Between Faith and Reason in "Collationes"

Етиката на Абелар – Диалогът между вяра и разум в "Collationes"

Author(s): Lydia Kondova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: Abelard; ethics; faith; reason; theology; philosophy; Collationes; medieval philosophy; Middle Ages; Christian’s morality

Peter Abelard is not a typical medieval thinker not just because as a logician he is above all a philosopher, but also because of his ethics, which despite following the style of the Christian tradition, introduces new elements to Christian’s morality. The purpose of the ethics and the human knowledge in the Middle Ages is the salvation and this determines the character of the whole medieval philosophy. The reasons for the fragmentations of human knowledge stem from the primordial impairment of the human nature and the purpose of Abelard is to find a way for it to be overcome, even if only partially. Thus in the dialogue between faith and reason he gives rise to the knowledge that makes it possible to attain the ultimate objective of the human existence – the accomplishment of the perfection and the higher good in the salvation.

A Byzantine Discussion of Friendship: the Case of Nikephoros Gregoras' Letter Collection

Една византийска дискусия относно приятелството в писмата на Никифор Григора

Author(s): Divna Manolova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: Byzantine philosophy; epistolar collection; letter; frienship; Nikephoros Gregoras

The present article reconstructs and analyzes two rhetorical strategies of constructing epistolary friendship through the employment of specialized philosophical vocabulary and discussion. Case in point are two late Byzantine letters penned by Nikephoros Gregoras (ca. 1292/1295–1358/1361), a prominent historian, astronomer and philosopher at the Palaiologan court. The first part of the inquiry discusses letter 134, addressed to Ignatios Glabas, metropolitan of Thessaloniki from 1336 to 1341. The second half of the article is dedicated to letter 34, addressed to Maximos Magistros, a monk and later an archimandrite of the Chortaïtes monastery. Both letters seem to be written around the same time, i.e. during the second half of the 1330s. Letter 134 employs Aristotle’s theory of friendship as found in books VIII and IX of Nicomachean Ethics, as well as in Rhetoric. Here, with a subversive maneuver, Gregoras defends the claim that even those not equal in fortune could still be joined by the bond of friendship. Letter 34 exemplifies the opposite strategy: it praises the friendship of those who are the same in nature, employing Plato’s cosmological discussion in the Timaeus, as well as the corresponding commentary by Plutarch. In conclusion, the article argues for the primacy of rhetorical function over philosophical discussion in the two epistolary strategies employed by Gregoras.

The Problematic Union of the Human Soul and Earthly Body in Marsilio Ficino. Preliminary Notes to Book XVI, Cahper 1-7 of the

Проблемът за душата в земно тяло при Марсилио Фичино. Предварителни бележки към Книга XVI, Глава 1–7 от "Платоновата теология".

Author(s): Zornitsa Radeva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 18/2012

Keywords: prisca theologia; Renaissance philosophy; Marsilio Ficino; Platonic Theology; human soul; earthly body

The current paper attempts to present a preliminary perspective, which should serve as a necessary condition for an adequate detailed analysis of Marsilio Ficino’s discussion of the problematic union between human soul and earthly body in Book XVI, Chapter 1–7 of his opus magnum, the Platonic Theology. This perspective consists of three main statements, namely: 1. The human body as an earthly husk, which conceals the divine origin of our soul, constitutes an essential part of Ficino’ concept of man. The main task of the Renaissance thinker in the discussion in Book XVI lies in an attempt to look through this husk, which finds its parallel in the disclosure of divine truths concealed behind the quaint images of prisca theologia. 2. The chosen mode of discussion, the quaestiones, allows the adducing of many “reputable opinions”: as regards its form, such a treatment is in certain continuity with the scholastic tradition; as to its content, it reflects the reception of platonic texts, which has conditioned to a great extent the thought of the first translator of the Platonic corpus in the Latin West. 3. Ficino argues above all against the Epicurean thesis of the mortality of the soul existing in a perishable body, while at the same time, paradoxically, he is in fact going to integrate (but that should constitute the subject of a separate study) the Epicurean notion of the subtle bodies of the gods in his own conception of human and divine animate beings.

DEFINING DISABILITY AND REDEFINED POLICIES IN LIGHT PRIORITY FUNCTIONING AND DISABILITY (CIF)

A DEFINI DIZABILITATEA ŞI A REDEFINI POLITICILE ÎN LUMINA CLASIFICĂRII INTERNAŢIONALE A FUNCŢIONĂRII ŞI DIZABILITĂŢII (CIF)

Author(s): Matilde Leonardi / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: disability; human rights; social welfare; ICF classification; functions.

The UN Convention on the Right of Persons with Disability, approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 December 2006 and entered into force on 3 May 2008, introduced a new priority in the world agenda. The condition of persons with disability, previously considered as a matter of secondary importance, was transformed from a mainly a medical issue into a matter of respect for human rights. The author presents the new approach, the bio-psychosocial model of disability and shows that UN Convention and the ICF can be used together as long as it is clear that the path to be done implies research, cultural growing and changes, reforms and political willingness to consider disability not as an issue for some but a fact about human condition that concerns all citizens.

TUBERCULOSIS ILLNESS, A SOCIAL PROBLEM

TUBERCULOZA CA BOALĂ, O PROBLEMĂ SOCIALĂ

Author(s): Bianca Domokoş,Eniko Forna / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: tuberculosis; psychology; social worker.

Romania lies among in Europe regarding TB incidence. Precarious social status, inadequate social services and lack of social workers and psychologists in hospitals are some of the problems that influence TB incidence. In order to solve this TB problem we must take into consideration the psychology aspect as well as the social aspect of the disease because TB is affecting the whole personality.

IN PHASES OF MEDICAL SPIRITUALITY TERMINALS OF DISEASE

SPIRITUALITATEA ACTULUI MEDICAL ÎN FAZELE TERMINALE DE BOALĂ

Author(s): Mircea Gelu Buta / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: spiritualité chrétienne; médecine; malade/souffrant.

La médecine comme science a essayé de s’impliquer de plus en plus autant à l’amélioration de la qualité et du confort de la vie qu’à la modification des performances physiques et intellectuelles du corps humain. Dans la poursuite du succès, le médecin, comme homme de science, réduit à la technique, tenté à explorer les nouvelles possibilités offertes par cette-ci, a commencé peu à peu à s’éloigner autant de la composante bio-psycho-sociale de l’homme, que des problèmes existentiels de celui-ci. La spiritualité chrétienne nous enseigne que le principe fondamental qu’on doit appliquer dans la relation avec l’homme malade/souffrant est celui de le considérer comme étant une personne. Autrement dit, il est question d’observer toutes les trois dimensions de l’être humain. Mais si le corps, l’âme et l’esprit font référence à sa nature, c’est-à-dire à ce qu’on a en commun, la personnalité se réfère à ce que chaque être a de spécifique, d’unique et d’intransmisible.

CITIZENSHIP AND PARTICIPATION OF DISABILITY

CETĂŢENIE ŞI PARTICIPARE PRIVIND PERSOANELE CU DIZABILITĂŢI

Author(s): Maria Aluaș / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: human person; disability; citizenship; participation; bio-psycho-social model.

In this article the author analyzes the evolution of disability concept having as reference documents like International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability results, according this documents, the interaction between a specific health condition and environmental factors that person lives. There are several cultural, social, political and technical transformations that new documents introduce. Moving from the traditional view of disability as an individual problem to the recognition that persons with disabilities are deprived by society of equal of opportunities; from being considered as invisible citizens to being people entitled to human rights; from being considered as the objects of others decisions to the right of being conscious individuals who are capable to deciding for their own lives.

TRANSFORMATIONS IN MEDICINE AND SELF-UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN BEING

TRANSFORMĂRI ÎN MEDICINĂ ŞI AUTOÎNŢELEGEREA OMULUI

Author(s): Elena Colombetti / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: human being; body and personal identity; generation; techno sciences; disease.

Since the very beginning, the human being has known what medicine is because of their knowledge of illness and death. The history of medicine is, therefore, one of the places where the complexity of human being better arises. The particularity of the techne iatriké lies in the fact that the doctor doesn’t produce health, but simply restores it, or redresses a lost equilibrium. Medicine takes care of the patient by curing their health. But, along the time, medicine has been deeply transformed. Not only because of its greater capacity, but also because it has transformed its dynamism, most particularly in the techno-sciences era. These changes have involved a transformation of the way in which the human being understands himself. New categories have appeared: the human being is being conceptualized as something deliverable, a broader idea of responsibility towards the physical qualities of the new generations is emerging, and the oxymoron of sick people without any illness comes forward. All these changes and challenges call for a new comprehension of the role of the body in personal identity and restore anthropology as a central discipline in the ethics and bioethics field.

CHECK THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP INFORMED CONSENT

RELAŢIA MEDIC-PACIENT VERIFICATĂ ÎN CONSENSUL INFORMAT

Author(s): Alessio Musio / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: patient-physician relationship; non-knowledge; asymmetry in the patient-physician relationship; informed consent.

The present paper intends to introduce a opinionated understanding of the patient-physician communication in the context of research and experimental practice. Some aspects need to be taken into account, as conditions that cannot be overloaded in a patient-physician relationship: 1. the physician as researcher and as clinician; 2. the difference of perspectives and interests between patient and physician; 3. the influence of the non-knowledge (Sartre) on the patient-physician relationship; 4. their different experience. The paper argues the following. First, the asymmetry that distinguishes the patient-physician relationship should to be seen as a resource, contrary to the common opinion that tends to avoid it; second, precisely the process through which informed consent is obtained, if correctly understood, can be a privileged instrument which preserves the quality of this relationship.

DAYS UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY CLUJ-NAPOCA, 2009

ZILELE UNIVERSITĂŢII DE MEDICINĂ ŞI FARMACIE „IULIU HAŢIEGANU” CLUJ-NAPOCA, 2009

Author(s): Monica Pop / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: tuberculosis; social issue; religion.

Tuberculosis represents not only a medical issue but also a social problem. In consequence we wonder what society must do in order to solve this problem that faces us. Technically in medical terms, we have at or disposal treatment protocols proposed by the two recognized medical organizations: OMS and IUATLD. Behind these programs lies the question: “How can these programmers succeed?” At one hand these programmers require money and on the other hand: patient cooperation. Who else can assure harmony between the body and soul better than faith? A missionary activity between TB patients, especially those that come from precarious social environment, could be helpful.

ABOUT DISABLED

DESPRE DIZABILITATE

Author(s): Ioan Chirilă / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2010

Keywords: dependence; unity of creation; responsibility; spiritual disability; social assistance.

The author gives priority to the Holy Scripture, seeking to find what it is said about disability, what is the revealed text’s point of view toward this social reality. Another subject of interest to the author is the involvement of the Romanian Orthodox Church in supporting persons with disabilities. Apart from presenting the Romanian legislation regarding disabilities, the paper introduces some reflections on the whole and the responsibility of the parts for the whole.

An Outline of Hungarian Jewish Folklore (study)

A magyarországi zsidó folklór körvonalairól (tanulmány)

Author(s): Vilmos Voigt / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2007

An essay by Vilmos Voigt draws a picture of the tasks awaiting researchers of Hungarian Jewish folklore.

Friday Night (drama, first publication)

Péntek Este (dráma, elsõ publikáció)

Author(s): Dezső Szomory / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2007

An early drama written in 1895 of Dezső Szomory , is published for the first time.

Stanzas about a People. Song in the Night (Poems)

Strófák egy néprõl. Ének az éjszakában (versek)

Author(s): Géza Szilágyi / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2007

The Peak is „Uncompletedness”. Master O. O. Gives up to the Demons (poems)

A bevégzetlenség a csúcs”. O.O. mester átengedi helyét a démonoknak (versek)

Author(s): István Turczi / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2007

Culc Road. Flight of Stairs. The Song of Aaron Negev, Miracle Man. Shinor Valley. Dieta Sacra (poems)

Culc út. Lépcsõsor. Negev Áron csodarabbi nótája. Sinór-völgy. Dieta sacra (versek)

Author(s): György Péter Hárs / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2007