1914 И КРАЯТ НА БЪЛГАРСКОТО ВЪЗРАЖДАНЕ:

Author(s): Plamen Antov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2016

This article, which may conventionally be classified under the genre philosophy of history, develops two metaphors of high symbolic value. The first is the year 1914, as the start of World War I, the third and last in a se-ries of wars at the start of the 20th century in which Bulgaria was involved. It led teleologically to the year 1919 (Neuilly) which marked the symbolic – therefore absolute – end of the Bulgarian National Revival. The second metaphor is the figure of Yavorov in its his mytho-biographical projection – the poet’s suicide in October 1914 can be seen as a collective metaphor, as a metaphor of a collective ontological loss; but also as an attainment of a qualitatively new state; as the loss of the Revival’s monolithic national aspect and the acquiring of the tragic experience of Modernity and its social fragmentariness.

МЕТАФОРИКА НА ПОЗНАНИЕТО?

Author(s): Andrey Leshkov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2016

The article aims to present Maurice Merleau-Ponty's philosophy, mainly as documented in the writings of his last period, as essentially metaphorical. The au-thor studies this French philosopher's conception, which is based on the idea that metaphorization embodies a peculiar mode of cognition that possesses a philosophical dignity of its own. It is suggested that the metaphor provides an effective door to a proper understanding of the ontology of cognition as determined by the ontology of the flesh. The author maintains that what Merleau-Ponty means by Being and being cannot be understood without seriously taking into consideration metaphorics as a form of cognizing in the proper sense of the term. This approach to metaphorics should further clarify the idea of „sensible concepts“ in his work.

ЩО Е ПРОСТИТУЦИЯ И ИМА ЛИ ТЯ ПОЧВА В СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКА БЪЛГАРИЯ

Author(s): Magdalena Garvanova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2016

The article aims to show how the problem of prostitution was constructed as a form of social deviation and discusses the legitimate practices undertaken for its neutralization during the socialist period – 1944-1989. The historical-sociological analysis applied in the article shows that, in the time of totalitarianism, „paid love“ was ideologically deprived of a social ontology, and the authorities began a secret struggle with the „priestesses of Venus“ by undertaking a series of repressive actions against prostitutes, aimed at disciplining and resocializing them. However, with the expansion of the nomenklatura system, the authorities took a differentiated view on the prostitute: she was used, on one hand, as a mechanism for imposing communist morality and social control, on the other hand, as a means serving the dark side of the oligarchy apparatus.

Росен: сблъсък между идеално и реално

Author(s): Martin Tabakov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2016

Интелигентният дизайн и съвременната еволюционна биология

Author(s): Georgi Marinov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 2/2016

In the last few decades, intelligent design (ID) has been the focal point of opposition against evolutionary theory, which attempts to present itself as a scientifically valid alternative to the purely materialistic understanding of the evolutionary process. So far, it has had almost no success among professional biologists, but has occasionally been more warmly received by non-specialists within the academic community and by the general public, even though the main goal of the ID movement – to introduce the teaching of ID in schools as an official alternative to evolution – remains out of reach. Biologists are the ones most resistant to ID ideas, not because of a rigid ideological commitment to materialism on their part, but rather because the main ID arguments are based on a combination of deep misunderstanding and dishonest misrepresentation of evolutionary theory. The article discusses these arguments in detail and gives a brief introduction to the history of the ID movement and its underlying motivation.

Възможността, която желае (за една динамична онтология)

Author(s): Boyan Manchev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

This article discusses aspects of transformationalist materialism, or modal ontology, attempting to synthetically present its program, as introduced in my books The Body-Metamorphosis (2007), La métamorphose et l’instant - Désorganisation de la vie (2009) and especially L’altération du monde (2009). Today the crucial philosophical question of materialism is posed, as always, imperatively and urgently, and under radically transformed conditions. What will be the future destiny of matter, given that a quasi-organic substance is violently imposed on the world? Is materialistic thought still possible in this seemingly immaterial world? In clear opposition to the new para-materialist or quasi-materialist obsessions with “objects”, I believe that the question regarding the matter of the world, the modalities of its expansion and transformations - in other words, the question of “things” – is, paradoxically, crucial today primarily as an extension and radicalization of the question of subjectivity, and hence of agencies and forces; thereby, the political question of decision, rupture and change is also radicalized. Hence, the central question I pose is the question of change, the question of movement, the question of the dialectical connection between thing and process, thing and change. This way of reflecting on the issue tries to approach the premisses of the decisive questions of contemporary philosophy, science and politics. What is a subject, or in a more general perspective, what is an agent? What is process? What is change? What is it that remains unchanged? What is persistence? What is decision? What is the force of desire? What is the desire of the things, the desire of matter?

Метафорика на вкуса: Пруст и Кант

Author(s): Victoria Kirilova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

Our assumption is that the aesthetic concept of taste is a metaphor. Aesthetic perception occurs precisely when taste is understood as something different from tasting, although it is metaphorically connected precisely with the latter. As a metaphor, taste arises through both the similarity and the difference between concept and sensation, so that the indirect meaning overbuilds the literal one without negating it, and the relationship between the two remains. We consider taste as a metaphor in Marcel Proust’s "In Search of Lost Time". In our view, the important aspect here is the relationship in question and the distinction drawn between state of mind and sensation. We are referring to the sensory dimension of taste (tasting) and its metaphorical transformation into concept and experience. It is a basic aspect, which actually marks the beginning of "In Search of Lost Time". In the first part, entitled "Combray", the narrator talks about the taste of a small cake called “petite madeleine” and the unconscious reason which provokes the pleasure caused by an extraordinary similarity. The same episode is examined in Time Regained as part of the overall conception of "In Search of Lost Time". The sudden similarity occurs between two sensations and between two otherwise different moments. Thus, the particular state is identified, whereby an unknown but very valuable essence is expressed. We assume that in the episode of the small madeleine, taste actually represents the way of manifestation of all the moments associated with the advantage of involuntary memory (la memoire involontaire), insofar as through it is manifested the hidden nature of things that had not been experienced before. This is possible, even though the manifestation of the essence has no logical explanation and the unknown state transcends the boundaries of conceivable experience. We associate this idea with Kant’s aesthetic concept of taste, which is a metaphor, because of the similarity of characteristics, and insofar as the metaphor expresses essence in "In Search of Lost Time".

„Абсолютна метафорология“ ли е „абсолютната митология“? Мостът между Лосев и Блуменберг

Author(s): Silvia Borisova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

The article seeks to find and highlight the conceptual links between Losev’s “absolute mythology” and Blumenberg’s “absolute metaphorology”, viewed in the context of Blumenberg’s work on myth. For this purpose, the simultaneous affinity and contradistinction of myth and metaphor is taken as a support; the two are seen in their inevitable dialectic and in the ontological impossibility of one existing without the other. This dialectic marked Schelling’s idea of primordial (pre-mythical, pre-metaphorical) monotheism, of consubstantiality with otherness. For it’s part, Schelling’s philosophy of myth produces a kind of “mythology of the lost paradise”, which the author outlines in the article, beyond the formulations given in Schelling’s early and later writings. The author thereby proposes a possible way of consolidating the bridge between Losev’s and Blumenberg’s ideas.

Метафорите на Ерос

Author(s): Nevena Krumova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

The author aims to study the manifestations of Eros as an element of the virtual. The metaphor is the field, the language, in which we speak of the phenomena of the virtual. Hence, the article studies the metaphors of Eros. However, Eros has two sides – there is an objectivated and a non-objectivated Eros (earth and heavenly Eros). Therefore, a question arises: do the metaphors of the non-objectivated Eros differ from the metaphors of the objectivated Eros? To ingress the specificity of such a study, we will review in greater depth the metaphors relevant to Eros used by certain authors in Russian religious philosophy. The article discusses how schematism works for these metaphors with respect to the objectivated and non-objectivated aspects of Eros.

Хенри Дейвид Торо между

Author(s): Plamen Antov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

This essay situates H. D. Thoreau in a row of large cultural aporiae. The author argues an uncommon approach to Thoreau, not in the Kantian key of Transcendentalism, but as situated at the midpoint where Transcendentalism meets its antipode corporeality and reality: the author views the gesture Walden as a hidden expression of the kind of activeness that is of the essence of modern bourgeois-capitalist aggression against nature.Thoreau is seen as an American proto-philosopher who revolts against the European Cartesian metaphysization of philosophy, a trend whose ultimate manifestation is precisely Kant. Thoreau is seen as restoring the primordial totality of philosophy, similarly as the ancient philosopher who, in order to refute the assertion of his opponent that there is no motion in the world, simply stood up and took a few steps. – The gesture Walden is interpreted as an attempt to walk back those steps. As an attempt to restore the reality of the world, which has been lost in the course of civilization (seen as a process of increasingly dense veiling of reality under a network of symbols-simulations). Walden is at the center of this plot, personified by two mutually contrary cultural myths – the “European” Hamlet and the “American” Robinson Crusoe.Thus, on the other hand, Thoreau is seen as situated at the beginning of American Pragmatism considered as a philosophy of the “lower part” of the body (Bakhtin), of the thinking stomach. This fundamental non-metaphysicality of the American cultural genotype (world view) – the domination of bodily activity over reflection – has been paraphrased by a number of US presidents in the 20th and 21st century as the maxim “Bomb first, seek arguments later”. Yet at the same time, precisely in moving away from the European tradition, Thoreau finds himself at the point where the East begins. In Thoreau’s gesture Walden, the author finds and interprets the potential of this whole complex of dialectically “sublating” aporiae (at the core of which is the radical anti-cultural gesture, which is also a radical cultural gesture).

Паметта като проблем пред мисълта (ноематика на забравата)

Author(s): Andrey Leshkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

Here we attempt to delineate a vanishing point of consciousness, the point where its contents are lost track of. This leads to a phenomenology of forgetting, which impresses an orientation to that which acts preconsciously within consciousness itself. When the vanishing point is reached, that point becomes its own other. This recession marks its flowing-away in time. However, the point is wedged between the limits of horizons. In the reduced world, that which is encountered horizontally is connected by the I can as a mode of access. For an I, all the horizons are modalities of forgetting. Its prevalence testifies to the finitude inherent in the ἔκστασις of consciousness. Here, cognition itself is based on a forgetting: anything known as enduring is pitted against the forgotten. And We have to face the forgotten in order to reveal forgetting’s contemporaneity with reflection. But in forgetting, I must be aware of forgetting: I is ineluctably implicated in cognizance (as illustrated by an approach to Husserľs intertwined themes of finitude and temporality). The phenomenology of forgetting points towards the situation of individuals and puts them vis-a-vis it in a reflective responsiveness, relating them to thinking in such a way that they can know themselves as being present in their thoughts. We should reconsider, then, the conviction that the transcendental ego no longer represents an abiding insight.

Екстатичната времевост като общ корен на δύναμισ и ἐνέργεια

Author(s): Vladimir Radenkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

The article offers an interpretation of the two Aristotelian concepts in the perspective of their productive assimilation by Heidegger. Primary to this interpretation is the assumption that the German philosopher reveals the possibility of thinking of δύναμις and ἐνέργεια as different and co-belonging aspects of the unitary structural integrity of the way in which the disclosure of the existing in its being is effectuated, a disclosure that is constitutive for human existence. First of all, based on the texts that present Heidegger’s reception most fully and coherently, the article attempts to show that, according to Heidegger’s interpretation, δύναμις is essentially an ec-static possibility of existence and as such it has its own constraint in terms of being located in the perspective toward some production (εργον), i.e. it is performed as ἐνέργεια. Further on, the article presents Heidegger’s understanding, merely alluded to by the German philosopher, that the two concepts have a common root in the so-called ecstatic temporality – together with the concept of λόγος, they are referred to the three “consubstantial” moments of this temporality. Finally, in a productive step, the article sketches the thesis that in every non-everyday reference of a human being to the existent, there is an "interference" between the available inventory of δύναμις (misinterpreted as an present possibility) and the temporal horizon (which transcends the present) of the co-belonging δύναμις and ἐνέργεια.

Какво е „Персифедрон“?

Author(s): Stefan Ivanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2-3/2017

The article analyzes the word and concept “Persifedron” in the context of Konstantin Pavlov’s play Persifedron and of his entire oeuvre, and also in the context of the critical reception of Pavlov and the conceptual common areas his work has with certain aesthetic systems.

Foucault, the History of Truth and the Genealogy of the Modern Subject

Author(s): Daniele Lorenzini / Language(s): English Issue: 3-4 EN/2016

This article explores the articulation between two of the main projects that characterise Michel Foucault’s work in the 1970s and the 1980s: the project of a history of truth and the project of a genealogy of the modern subject. After addressing the meaning and ethico-political value of Foucault’s history of truth, focusing above all on the shape it takes in 1980 (namely, a genealogy of a series of “regimes of truth” in Western societies), it offers an analysis of the related project of a genealogy of the modern (Western) subject, and more precisely of Foucault’s account of the processes of subjection (assujettissement) and subjectivation (subjectivation) within the Christian and the modern Western regimes of truth. It eventually argues that the essential political and moral issue that Foucault raises is not whether the subject is autonomous or not, but rather whether he or she is willing to become a subject of critique by opposing the governmental mechanisms of power which try to govern him or her within our contemporary regime of truth and striving to invent new ways of living and being.

Психологически трудности на левите ни идеолози

Author(s): Martin Tabakov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 3/2018

The consistent and logical assessment for the so-called “Socialist system” is „state Capitalism“ and all Marxist tenets about Capitalism -- class, class struggle, exploitation, nepotism, comprador bourgeoisie….should be applied to this system. Also the consistent and logical Marxist assessment of the actions of “Czarist Rus-sia" and USSR to Bulgaria would be being imperialistic. But although until 1940 Bulgarian Marxists sharply criticized „Czarist Russia“, Bulgarian Left today find it difficult to make such assessments.The reasons are not theoretical but psychological. As consecutive Marxists, they should come to uncomfortable conclusions about the System and about „Czarist Russia“ and USSR But for biographical reasons they have a deep personal sympathy for them. They believe that their prosperity has behaved to the "System", which in turn is the result of the occupation of Bulgaria from the USSR. And any negative assessment would be for them the attempt to destroy the world they have created and believe that this world was real, and challenging their value system. And often prefer to ignore all facts and logical analyzes, but to maintain their mental balance and to live in their artificial but beautiful world.

Васил Хаджистоянов-Берон и българският образователен идеал

Author(s): Nina Ivanova Dimitrova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 3/2018

This essay attempts to present Vasil Hadjistoyanov-Beron’s views on education in the context of the Bulgarian national revival. Vasil Beron (1804–1909) was a nephew of Petar Beron, the greatest Bulgarian scientist of his time; unlike his uncle, he was closely associated with the Bulgarian enlightenment. Vasil Beron was very much concerned with the balance between natural sciences and the humanities as components of the education of Bulgarians in the second half of the 19th century. As a doctor of medicine and author of works in the field of history of sciences, he insisted that philology, logic, psychology, theology, history, etc., should be taught in Bulgarian schools. The article draws a parallel between his views on the educational system in Bulgaria and public debates on the same topic that went on in the interwar period.

Обвиняващата мощ на една парадоксална едногласовост

Author(s): Iskra Tsoneva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 3/2019

Jonathan Littell’s novel The Kindly Ones, written in French, is a story about World War II and the Eastern Front, presented through the fictional memoirs of a sophisticated SS officer. The main aim of the article is to show how, by a radical rejection of the method of polyglossia, characteristic of narrative in the traditional novel, Littell merges his voice with the voice of his criminal hero, who accuses everyone – participants and witnesses alike, all of us.

Обособяване на изкуството

Author(s): Niklas Luhmann / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 3/2019

In the following two texts, Niklas Luhmann discusses the emergence and the differentiation of art as a social system. This process begins during the Renaissance and reaches its full-scale development with Romanticism, around the end of the 18th century. Of central importance is Luhmann’s account of communication, understood as behavior coordinated by symbolically generalized social codes. The German sociologist analyzes how the system of art functions today and criticizes the meaning that the concepts of “artist” and “spectator” have acquired in the Modern Age.

Вълшебни огледала с добавена реалност: eстетическата игра със собственото тяло

Author(s): Silvia Petrova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 3/2019

The article traces some aspects of the impact of augmented reality technology on the perception of the mirror image in the media context. The study is focused on so-called magic (or smart) mirrors, which can be interpreted as a new stage in the cultural evolution of the mastering of our reflection. With new magic mirrors, the screen of mobile devices functions as a mirror with a utopian function – it allows a continuous improvement of the image in search of perfect beauty. In this sense, the body (and also the world) is perceived as an endless field for aesthetic experimentation.

Етиката в рекламната комуникация

Author(s): Nikola Vangelov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 4/2019

With the expansion of globalization, more and more companies are considering ways to ensure success through effective marketing. But is it always possible to create a worldwide uniform brand image? Many companies have realized that even the universal needs of consumers are determined by differing attitudes and mental patterns of thought, behavior and communication. Of all marketing tools, advertising is the one most dependent on cultural codes, language and symbolism, for its purpose is to give social meanings to products. On this basis, the rule “think global, act local” ensures better communication and more powerful presentation because understanding in communication is based on shared cultural knowledge. This comparative study analyzes the transformations of brand slogans in Bulgaria and other markets, and points out many fundamental socio-cultural features. Evidently, not only the content of the message, but also its rhetorical diversity is determined by differing cultural values and expectations.