БЕЛЕЖКИ КЪМ ФИЛОСОФСКИТЕ ПРОЧИТИ НА БЪЛГАРСКАТА ИСТОРИЯ

Author(s): Atanas Stamatov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2015

The paper analyses a set of texts usually referred to in our post-liberation humanities as “philosophy of the Bulgarian history”. The authors, who wrote on this topic, aimed to propose not only philosophically viable but also authentically Bulgarian reading of our history. The epistemological optics used by them to achieve this aim remind of the Weber’s “ideal types” as a means for rationalizing reality. The choice of the determinant is rational in view of the aim to define the unique Bulgarian nature during the studied period and the remaining factors of the historical past are constellated functionally around it using the logical operation “limitation”. Although the studied authors (I. Gjuzelev, St. Mihailovski, P. Mutafchiev, I. Ianev, St.Popov, V. Mutafchieva, N. Genchev, etc.) used different instruments, they reached common conclusions about the historical memory and the mentality of the Bulgarians. They are permanently marked by the feeling fora deficit of historical time. The solution is sought in the strategy for catching development and the means for its direct implementation lies in copying foreign experiences. However, one can see in the mechanical borrowing one of the reasons for the fragmentation of our historical being, the lack of consistency and continuity in our cultural and historical life. With regard to the historical space, conceived as ethnic, cultural and national land, it is mostly considered through the social dynamics of the geopolitical crossroad which is coded in the binary opposition “East-West”. The chronotopic characteristics are set in the problem of the identityand the appeal for transforming the tradition into self-constructing strategy for the future. The reasons for putting forward these questions lead us both to the “history as a thought” and the “history as an action”. The first case refers to the place and role of philosophy with regard to the historical synthesis. The second one refers to the causes which are rooted into experiencing the social crises which mobilize “the will for ethos”. The events in Bulgaria after 1989 put into focus the need for a new philosophical reading of our national history. Logically, it should be based upon the Bulgarian idea, laid down by St. Popov as “self-realization of the Bulgarians fed by their realized cultural appurtenance to Europe” and should be carried out,evading the “big ideologies”, via metamorphosing of a typically Bulgarian cultural model which have been formed throughout history.

ЯНКО ЯНЕВ: БАЛКАНСКО И ЕВРОПЕЙСКО

Author(s): Nina Ivanova Dimitrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2015

The article is devoted to the intense literary and public activities of the Bulgarian philosopher Yanko Yanev in Germany from the mid-1930s and until his death in 1944. Yanev was educated in Germany and defended a doctoral thesis under the supervision of H. Rickert. He is the author of competent studies on Nietzsche, Hegel, Goethe, Hölderlin, Novalis, Schopenhauer, etc. The article is focused on Yanev’s metaphysical inquiries, which brought him to perceive a kinship between the Balkans and Germany. The article discusses Yanev’s rejection of the claims regarding the Slavic nature of Balkan people, claims that he considered to be a Russian insinuation. Also commented on is his view that the Balkans are a construct, in the creation of which this Bulgarian thinker invested his Romantic attitudes and imagination.

Zagadnienie tożsamości bytu w filozofii buddyjskiej

Author(s): Krzysztof Jakubczak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2015

The Buddhist philosophical school of madhyamaka is famous for its statement that things do not have their own inherent nature, essence or self‑nature (svabhāva). As a result, it is said that there is no objective foundation of the identity of things. thus, the identity of things is not grounded in things themselves but is solely imputed and externally imposed on them. Things are what they are only for us, whereas for themselves, or from their ‘own side’ they are empty (śūnya). that is why madhyamaka philosophy is often compared to the philosophical conceptions inspired by a linguistic reflection (from Ludwig Wittgenstein to Jacques Derrida) which defines the problem of identity in terms of cognitive subjectivism and constructivism. Starting the analysis from the Abhidharma Buddhist tradition I will show that this reading of madhyamaka view is too narrow. I will demonstrate that it is a result of an assumption, shared by Parmenides and Plato and wrongly ascribed to this Buddhist school, that the identity of being must be grounded in the self ‑existing, self ‑defined and (relatively) permanent ontological foundation. this tacit assumption, if rejected, makes any identity a completely subjective and relative construct. the point I am going to argue for, however, is that the madhyamaka school sticks to an alternative understanding of objectivity; the foundation of all things is nothing but pure relation that precedes, in the ontological sense, all co ‑related elements (i.e. things). Therefore, the question comes up: how being‑in‑relationship or ‘relationality’ may be the foundation of identity and what kind of identity it endows. I will try to answer these questions.

Ki beszél még Lukácsról?

Author(s): Zsuzsanna Lurcza / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 06/2015

The Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides: Transfigurations of a Book

Author(s): Shoshana Ronen / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

The article discusses the metamorphoses of a book: The Guide or the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides. The receptions of the book from the time of its publication (1191), and especially his translation into Hebrew (1224) were diverse and went through many changes during the last eight centuries. From its publication the book caused a storm among Jewish thinkers and rabbis, and was accused of being a profanation, was banned, and even burned. These facts are particularly intriguing taking into account the authoritative role of Maimonides in the Jewish world, who was considered as the second Moses, was named the “great eagle”, and his book Mishneh Torah, a comprehensive code of Halakhah (Jewish law) is a canonical book since then. Acceptance and rejection of this book can be observed in the Jewish world till today. The book was understood as the source for very different philosophical and theo-logical approaches. Therefore, it has a sense to talk about ‘many Guides for the Perplexed’. The article is concentrated particularly, on modern times: Haskalah and Zionism.

Wprowadzenie do estetyki chińskiej. Kategorie harmonii i wieloznaczności

Author(s): Ewa Świętek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2014

Artykuł przedstawia podstawowe założenia chińskiej estetyki. Filozofia i estetyka chińska są równie bogate jak estetyka zachodnia, dlatego też korzystanie z ich doświadczenia niewątpliwie pozytywnie wpływa na ogólny rozwój estetyki. W artykule omówiono źródła i etymologię jej podstawowych pojęć oraz zarysowano zakres badań porównawczych estetyki Chin i Zachodu. Przedstawiono wybrane kategorie chińskiej estetyki − wieloznaczność (analizowaną za pomocą idei hanxu) oraz harmonię. Przedstawiono także zasadę fǎ, uznawaną w tradycji chińskiej za wyjściową zasadę estetyczną.

Koniec sztuki w klasycznym konfucjanizmie

Author(s): Rafał Mazur / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2014

Sztuka i filozofia w Chinach związane są ze sobą mocno i od dawna. Jak twierdzą badacze sztuki, trudno odnaleźć w chińskich archiwach pisma nawiązujące do innych przykładów działalności artystycznej niż działalność filozofów. Sztuka była bowiem jedną z praktyk, jakim oddawali się filozofowie. Te dwa fenomeny ludzkiej działalności związane są ze sobą co najmniej od czasów najważniejszego filozofa Chin – Konfucjusza. W artykule przed-stawiam konfucjańską koncepcję sztuki, wykształconą w klasycznym (czyli starożytnym) okresie filozofii chińskiej.

Historia ceremonii herbacianej w Japonii

Author(s): Michał Sokołowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2014

Ceremonia herbaciana jest czymś niezwykle złożonym i prostym zarazem. Z jednej strony może być traktowana jako wyraz filozofii, duchowości, kultury i estetyki Dalekiego Wschodu, może być analizowana przez pryzmat buddyzmu zen, pośrednio także taoizmu, który do jego wykształcenia się przy-czynił, może być umiejscawiana w chińskiej i japońskiej kulturze i historii. Jest także ceremoniałem obostrzonym mnóstwem niezwykle szczegółowych i precyzyjnych reguł i zasad. Z drugiej strony pozostaje prostą czynnością wspólnego wypicia herbaty w atmosferze życzliwości i harmonii, bardzo przy tym uniwersalną i naturalną. Z jednej strony jest wyrafinowaną sztuką, z drugiej – całościową drogą życia. Złożoność nie wyklucza prostoty, gdy to, co najprostsze, okazuje się najtrudniejsze. Zen i ceremonię herbacianą łączy przekonanie o możliwości sięgnięcia w głęboki wymiar codzienności i znalezienia głębi w tym, co zwyczajne. Zarówno w zen, jak i w ceremonii herbacianej ważniejsze od zamkniętego systemu reguł są wskazówki i własna praktyka – nie jest możliwe dotarcie do ich sedna poprzez słowa ani poprzez teorię.Ceremonia herbaciana w duchu zen uczy sięgania do Doskonałości, której doświadczenie „tu i teraz” umożliwia osiągnięcie szczęścia nieuwarunkowanego od spełniania pragnień –w tym sensie pozostaje też aktualna i żywa niezależnie od obowiązującej etykiety, form, sposobów nauczania, interpretacji.

The Interpenetration of Art and Philosophy in East Asian Poetry: the Metaphysical Threat to the Platonic Hierarchy

Author(s): Sandra Wawrytko / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

Why should art matter to a philosopher? In the context of Asian philosophy it is clear that a distinctive aesthetic underlies artistic expression encountering reality in such diverse art forms as Japanese haiku, Chinese landscape paintings, contemporary Ko-rean cinema, and even Bollywood films. Art has informed and guided politics in Asia, where artist philosophers continue to function as reformers and revolutionaries chal-lenging the status quo en route to connecting with reality. This is especially true in the case of Asian poets. In sharp contrast, the Euro-centric tradition of philosophy has ten-ded to marginalize and even denigrate the arts. Plato famously observed ‘there is an old quarrel between philosophy and poetry’ (Republic, 607b5‒6), seeking to circum-scribe the role of poets in his ideal state. This essay will focus on East Asia, both in terms of its historical embrace of poetry and contemporary manifestations. Special emphasis will be given to Buddhist poets from China, Korea, and Japan who wield po-etry as a form of upāya or skillful means to evoke, provoke, or document awakening. Buddhist epistemology challenges and dissolves the dualistic preconceptions that assume the existence of an insurmountable divide between ‘self ’ and ‘other,’ inner and outer, human and Nature. This may also yield important insights into why Plato and his followers have been so obsessed with the inherent power of the poet to undermine their vision of philosophy and the task of the philosopher.

The Hierarchy of the Transcendentals According to the Advaita Vedānta

Author(s): Marta Kudelska / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

In advaita vedānta, the status of real existence is ascribed to the Brahman only. The Brahman is the transcendental ultimate reality and it is not possible to describe it by any attribute. The present paper will focus on the problem of values. What is the status of values according to the pure monistic system? When advaita vedāntists call the empirical world sad-asad-anirvacanīya (real-unreal-indefinable), are we entitled to speak about the existence of values? And if they are real, what does ‘real’ mean in this context?All the attributes by which we describe the world can be grasped in groups. This division depends on the way in which we experience the world. One group encom-passes objects experienced by the external organs, by the senses; its realm is responsi-ble for aesthetic values. The second group leads to discrimination; its domain is ethics. The third prejudges the status of the world and advances metaphysical arguments. These three groups are arranged hierarchically. This order includes the cosmological and the soteriological model as well; thus the vision of the world in classical Indian thought appears as total harmony.

Notes Towards Defining ‘Theory’ (Śāstra) in Sanskrit; Systematic Classification Presented in Rājaśekhara’s Kāvyamīmāṃsā

Author(s): Katarzyna Pażucha / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

Even though the genre of śāstra is one of the most familiar and important constituents of the cultural and intellectual history of South Asia, it did not receive the proper atten-tion and the term itself remains obscure. Also in the tradition of Sanskrit letters itself the scope and nature of śāstra, it would seem, is not precisely delineated. Using the dis-cussion presented by Rājaśekhara, the tenth century poet and theoretician, in his Kāvy-amīmāṃsā, this article will try to bring together recent evaluations of the genre with a contextualized discussion of the tradition’s selfunderstanding.

Tension Between Illusion and Reality in Zhuangzi’s ‘Dream of the Butterfly.’ Philosophical Analysis of Western Reception

Author(s): Agnė Budriūnaitė / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

One of the most important allegories of Daoism is the ‘Dream of the Butterfly’ in the second chapter of the Zhuangzi (Qi wu lun). Sometimes it is supposed to be a rep-resentation of all Daoist or even all Chinese philosophy in the West. This allegory encompasses fundamental Daoist notions, such as spontaneity, ‘free and easy wan-dering,’ non-action (wu wei), natural self-alternation (ziran), the no-perspective of a sage and the understanding of correlation between life and death. The purpose of this paper is a philosophical analysis of the relationship between illusion and real-ity in the Zhuangzi looking from the ‘Western’ perspective. To achieve this, I will re-view some of the most distinct English translations of the allegory that show possible multiple meanings of the allegory and many fundamentally different, sometimes op-posite interpretations of it and discuss the significance of the relationship between illusion and reality. There is a huge body of academic literature about translating and interpreting the texts ascribed to the Zhuangzi. I will mention only some of the commentaries and will pay more attention to other stories of the Zhuangzi, looking there for the explication and explanation of the main ideas found in the ‘Dream of the Butterfly.’

To Be Harmonious with the Heaven, the Others and the Self: Late-Ming Christian Literati Li Jiugong’s Meditation and His Comparative Scriptural Interpretation

Author(s): Bin You / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

From the perspective of comparative scripture, this paper is using the Shen si lu (Med-itations) by Catholic Literati Li Jiugong as a case study to investigate the dialogue and interaction between Confucianism and Christianity in the late-Ming period. Li’s theol-ogy, incorporating the three aspects of being in harmony with Heaven, other people, and oneself, is expressed in Confucian terminology. It represents the late-Ming Chi-nese theological understanding of God, human nature, and society. The paper analyses Li’s strategy of comparative scripture by which Confucian scriptural resources were reinterpreted, appropriated, and intertwined with the Christian meaning system. Fi-nally, the paper also discusses the significance of using the methodology of compara-tive scripture in interreligious dialogue and in furthering the indigenization of Chris-tianity in China.

Obrona jedności bytu w Brahmasiddhi Maṇḍanamiśry. Przykład argumentacji scholastycznej

Author(s): Paweł Sajdek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

Chāndogyopaniṣad 6 comprises as many as two out of six renowned “great sayings” (mahā¬ vākya): tat tvam asi and ekam evādvitīyam. The question arises as to whether the declared in śruti unity of the Absolute Being is to be understood literally or figuratively. The opponent (pūrva¬ pakṣa) presents three arguments for the figurative meaning of the words. Maṇḍana advocates the literal sense of the statement. The debate is a typical example of an Indian philosophical scholastic text. Scholasticism in India and scholasticism in medieval Europe share some characteristic features, though they also differ in many ways.

Atomizmus a buddhista filozófiában

Author(s): Mónika Szegedi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2019

Buddhism shares some features with other Indic traditions, but it has two distinctive radical doctrines: transiency and insubstantiality. Abhidharma as an independent exegetical tradition can be traced with certainty from the third century BC. The scholar monks elaborated a theory of matter relating to physical objects, the human body, and morally determining acts (karma). According to the theory, the atom (paramāṇu) can be defined in three aspects: 1. as the smallest physical measure, the basic unit of material objects including living bodies, 2. as the ultimate, theoretical limit (paryanta) of the reduction of matter (rūpa); an indivisible, resistant, space occupying material entity with no parts and spatial directions; 3. and finally, as the spatiotemporal synthesis of inherent, coefficient qualities and functions (dravya). A special feature of this theory is that atoms comprising a sentient body have also the quality of sensitivity as an elementary constituent. On the other hand, an atom also incorporates the set of sensible qualities which manifest themselves only in the space of attention directed to them. These sub-atomic factors (dravyas) are not autonomous, substantial entities, not independent particles, but rather naturally and necessarily coexistent and coefficient material functiontypes. The material of the atom cannot be separated or distinguished from these subatomic factors: it cannot be set as an autonomous substrate independent of its features. These features are not static qualities but functions, corresponding to and explaining our experience of physical bodies and their workings.

Четири- или петелементалното присъствие в микро- и макроизмеренията на човешкото съществуване

Author(s): Valeri Ivanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The ratio of simple and elementary constructive qualities creates complex interrelationships and dependencies that make our world independent of whether we look at its micro- or macro-specificity. Traditional Chinese „five elements“ have always sought their comparison with the „four elements“, building the traditional pattern of existence in Western culture and philosophy. Does the explanation of the world and its existence can lead to a different reality, transformed into the creative reproduction of our inner or outer world ?! How can we „translate“ the traditional culture of the perceptions that make up this world to find their adequate and faithful expression in our contemporary relationships of global ties and values ?! These are questions of the East-West meeting today or tomorrow.

Философия във военното изкуство в Древен Китай

Author(s): Georgi Zlatev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

“Winning without fighting” is an important thought in ancient Chinese military theory. The one who proposed this, Sun-Tzu, born around 500 BC, was a contemporary of Confucius. His masterpiece, The Art of War, is universally regarded as classics even today. Confucian and Daoist schools of thought emphasize moral virtue as a precondition for the proper governance of the state. Another one of the four main schools of thought in Ancient China, the Legalism, on the other hand argues that the well-being of the state would be best guaranteed by clear-cut rules rather than any reliance on private morality. This paper focuses mainly on the Legalist point of view about warfare, legislation and state governance.

ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN BEING IN THE CLASSICAL CHINESE THOUGHT

Author(s): Antoaneta Nikolova / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

The paper aims at discussing the ecological implications of the understanding of the human being in the Classical Chinese thought. The study consists of three main parts. In the first one, the peculiarities of the Chinese thought as a philosophy of dynamism are discussed. I argue that in contrast to the Western thought, where the main ontological question is connected with the issue of essence and the epistemological approach is based on the opposition of subject and object, the Chinese thought reveals reality in terms of dynamism, where the most important concepts are these of processes, relations and transformations.In the second part, I analyse the place of human beings in this dynamic universe in terms of three different perspectives: (i) their relations; (ii) their actions/interactions; and (iii) their value. I point out that it is the harmony that could be defined as the most privileged position in the Chinese universe. In the third part, I discuss two main kinds of ecologically wise behaviour of human beings that are in accordance with the dynamic nature of the universe: (i) the Confucian idea of the outer harmonisation of the human society with the patterns of transformation in the Universe and (ii) the Daoist idea of the inner achievement of the pivot of transformation within oneself. In the conclusion, I outline the idea that the combination of inner and outer activity of harmonisation with reality could be used as an example of wise ecological behaviour and attitude to nature.

Intuitive Learning in Moral Awareness. Cognitive-Affective Processes in Mencius’ Innatist Theory

Author(s): İlknur Sertdemir / Language(s): English Issue: 25/2022

Mencius, referred to as second sage in Chinese philosophy history, grounds his theory about original goodness of human nature on psychological components by bringing in something new down ancient ages. Including the principles of virtuous action associated with Confucius to his doctrine, but by composing them along psychosocial development, he theorizes utterly out of the ordinary that makes all the difference to the school. In his argument stated a positive opinion, he explains the method of forming individuals’ moral awareness by means of inseparable integrity of feelings and thoughts, saying human being are born innately good. According to Mencius, heart-mind correlation is the motivational complement of inner incentives. Knowledge and virtue, which are extensions of inborn goodness, comprehended intuitively; then affective motives respond to circumstance, what is learned transmits to cognitive process and eventually behavior emerges. Comparing during the years of Warring State period he lived, in western geography Aristotle, who is one of the pioneers of Greek philosophy, argues deductive and inductive methods in mental activity. On the other hand, Mencius uses analogical reasoning throughout his self-titled work. This essay is an attempt to assert that most postulates of developmental theories, which have been considered an integral part of modern psychology, begin with Mencius in early era. Secondly, this study also aims to discuss the main paradigm of Mencius across emotivist-rationalist opposition, which keeps emotion above thought as well as reason above emotion.

Mário de Andrade’s Thinking on Aesthetics

Author(s): Eduardo Jardim Moraes / Language(s): English Issue: 26/2021

This article presents...