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Epistemic Value of Public deliberation in a Democratic Decision-мaking Process

Author(s): Ivan Cerovac / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

This paper discusses the epistemic value of public deliberation in a democratic decision-making process. I first discuss David Estlund’s standard account of epistemic democracy – in order to be legitimate, a decision must be a result of both fair and epistemically reliable procedure, i.e., of procedure that in most cases leads us to (procedure-independent) correct outcomes. This approach is characterized by the idea that democratic deliberation only has instrumental epistemic value, i.e., serves as a good means to achieve desired ends – a high correctness probability of the outcomes. I defend this approach from three objections put forward by Fabienne Peter, who claims that Estlund’s position is not a practicable conception of democratic legitimacy, that it makes unnecessary demands and that it is normatively misleading. Finally, I argue against pure epistemic proceduralism, an alternative approach that tends to reject consequentialist epistemology in favor of proceduralist epistemology. By doing so, it has lost a way to evaluate the epistemic value of (deliberative) democratic procedures, and is thus vulnerable to the problem of various (reasonable) people holding different epistemic practices and disagreeing on which practice should be the one that is epistemically valuable and that produces legitimate decisions.

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Иван Кацарски – Провалите на лявото и възходът на десния екстремизъм

Author(s): Ivan Katzarski / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 5/2016

In the last decades, left-wing parties and movements have been losing the positions they held in the first decades after World War II. Leaving aside objective factors, this is largely due to the suicidal behavior of the social democratic left, which became part of the new liberal consensus. At least in the richest societies, the left has lost its authentic sensitivity, has become weak, has become fragmented, and to a great extent, has lost its international character. As paradoxical as it may be, the extreme right has started to identify with traditionally left causes: against the expansion of transnational corporations, against the „American system“ as an embodiment of contemporary economic, military, media and cultural dominance, and for the protection of national communities and cultures. The extreme right has turned towards the people who lose by new liberal policies and, in fact, is gaining their approval not on the basis of left universalist principles but on the basis of ideas of national and „Aryan“ racial solidarity. Contrary to clichés regarding the impossibility of international cooperation between ultra nationalist formations, the extreme right has turned out capable of uniting ideologically and organizationally at a trans-national level. Here lies the secret of its success among diverse groups of the population. For its opponents, this makes it a hard nut to crack.

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Георгий Плеханов versus Фридрих Алберт Ланге

Author(s): Iva Manova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 5/2016

Georgij Plekhanov (1856–1918), the “father” of the Russian social-democratic movement, was one of the earliest writers who attempted to interpret the history of philosophy from the dialectical materialist standpoint. In the present article, Plekhanov’s approach to the history of philosophy is compared with the approach of the neo-Kantian philosopher Friedrich Albert Lange (1828–1875), whose book Geschichte des Materialismus greatly influenced the social-democratic thinkers of the revisionist current. Plekhanov disagreed with Lange on crucial issues, going as far as to accuse him of having contributed to the spread of a completely false notion of the essence and history of materialism. The aim of this article is to bring into focus the main differences between the two authors as regards their views on the history of materialism, and to outline the importance of “Plekhanov’s heritage” for the development of Soviet philosophical historiography.

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Цимервалд 1915–2015 г.: повтаря ли се историята или става нещо друго?

Author(s): Maksim Mizov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 5/2016

The article analyzes certain aspects of the “shadow” that the Zimmerwald conference casts on our times. On this basis, the author traces analogies between disturbing processes and trends in the ideological-political and organizational crises of social democracy in these two historical times. The betrayal of the left elites proves to be characteristic not only of the past but of the present as well. The author studies the trends of immorality and corruption of political elites, leading to the birth of radical left-wing moods and move-ments in political time-space.The article explains the causes and technique of the schism at the “tops” of the left and its effects for the fragmentation and weakening of the left’s role in states and societies. The author shows how in both historical ages under comparison, Reason, Peace and Progress are brutally and perfidiously substituted with Greed, War, and Regress.

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YOUNG PEOPLE AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS ON CRAIOVEN STUDENTS

Author(s): Vlad Ovidiu Cioacă,Stefan Laurentiu Scuipici / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

The involvement of young people in politics is a recurrent topic in local public debates. Protestant movements in the last period come to confirm and enhance the interest of researchers and public figures for this issue. Through this research, without any exhaustive claims, we intend to investigate the degree of interest and participation of the students in Craiova in the political life, the perceived quality of life among them, the trust in the political institutions, their ideological positioning.The conclusions we have reached show an increased interest and active political participation of young people, satisfaction and optimism regarding the political direction in which Romania is heading, but also a notable contradiction between the self-positioning and the real ideological positioning.

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Unfamiliar concepts as an obstacle for critical thinking in public discussions regarding women’s rights issues in Latvia. Reflective thinking in the ‘fake news’ era

Author(s): VEINBERG Sandra / Language(s): English Issue: 22 (2)/2018

In Europe it is now out of the question to express any doubts regarding the prevention of violence against women. The majority of the Latvian population also condemns the physical abuse of women; however, the Istanbul Convention which deals with this matter was not ratified here. A number of factors were at play, the most significant of which was pressure exerted through the direct influence of a campaign that had been organised by opponents of the broadest understanding of human rights. Such pressure was exerted on decision makers (MPs and political parties), with indirect impact on the population via social media and the news media outlets. Campaigns by interest groups which spread opposing views are not unusual in a democratic society; however, in this case there was no discussion between the opposing parties. The public domain was not open to an interaction of views and beliefs based on arguments and critical thinking, as the argument of the opponents rested entirely upon their beliefs, whereas the supporters of the convention relied upon valid proof. This article looks at the reasons behind the failure in terms of group communication to establish a constructive discussion on a topic that was so essential to Latvian society: one which served to combat and eradicate violence against women. It also seeks to establish whether the use of an irrational form of convincing technique contradicts the logic of critical thinking, and whether the emergence of unfamiliar and/or incomprehensible concepts on the agenda of a public discussion may serve to put the brakes on the constructive discussion of women’s rights issues which is so essential today to Latvian society as a whole.

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Coverage of the problem of human trafficking in the media: content analysis of materials of editions of Russian Federation

Author(s): Makhzuna Bozorova / Language(s): English Issue: 23 (1)/2019

The mass media is a powerful and important instrument in the process of combating such a serious problem of the 21st century, as human trafficking. Covering this topic demands from representatives of journalism profession on having special experience and approaches, because it is connected with the process of difficult conversation with victims and accomplices of trafficking. It is on the one hand, but on the other hand – it is relative with intercourse with the representatives of law enforcement and power structures. Additionally, there is a row of characteristics and specifies of work with the sources of information, about which every journalist must be aware who is specializing on this topic, that was considered here. The article demonstrates the content analysis of these factors at the example of the materials of such newspapers and magazines of Russia as “Ogonyok” (“Light”), “Argumenti i fakti” (“Arguments and facts”), “Mir novostey” (“World of news”), “Migraciya XXI vek” (“Migration XXI century”) for 2009-2017 which were selected by the author.

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Philosophical Thought of Phan Boi Chau

Author(s): Cao Xuân Long / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2019

Phan Boi Chau (1867 – 1940) was a representative of revolutionary thinkers, revolutionaries, poets and educators of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In his life of ups and downs, he has left many valuable ideas as lessons for the development of the country today. These are the views stemming from the pressing need of history for the fight for the liberation of nation and human; a combination of Eastern and Western cultural thought and Vietnamese cultural tradition; at different stages, his philosophical thought constantly changed and developed.

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Arendt and Heidegger: the Human Condition Reconsidered

Author(s): Tengiz Tsimnaridze / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2019

Heidegger’s name is often brought up in connection to Arendt’s The Human Condition (1958), since his thought had a pervasive influence on Arendt’s work. Although Heidegger is not mentioned in The Human Condition, Arendt herself claims in her letter that her work “grew right out of the first days in Marburg and so is in all respects indebted to” him. Accordingly, this article is an attempt to search for the roots of Arendt’s philosophical views in her magnum opus. Based upon close reading of Heidegger’s texts, this article argues that Heidegger’s later philosophy has impacted on Arendt’s ontology and her understanding of modern society in The Human Condition. My plan is as follows: first, to note Arendt’s relationship to Western tradition of political philosophy; second, to discuss Arendtian notions of political action and public realm; and third to study her conception of modernity.

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Gândirea politică românească în secolul al XIX-lea. Teme în dezbaterea contemporană

Author(s): Ion Goian / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 3/2019

The study offers a broad perspective on the origins of the modern political ideas in the three provinces that will agregate into the state of Romania in 19th and 20th centuries. In Moldavia and Valachia with the attempts of the boyars and other learned persons (mostly clerics) to import from the Western Europe new ideas about the state, the relations between state and churh etc., under the influence of Western Enlightenment. In Transylvania the same attempts to develop modern political ideas and a national political identity is summarized by the author in the context of the efforts of the majoritary Romanians to achieve equal political and civil rights which were denied to them by the ruler class under the domination of the Austrian Empire and, since 1867, by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

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Colonialism, Ethnicity and the Quest for Community Development in Africa

Author(s): Temisanren Ebijuwa / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2019

The aspirations of post-colonial political elites in Africa can be summed up as the quest for development. This quest since independence, involves, in part, the pursuit of a common citizenship, shared nationality and common interests and values, the evolution of which provide the bedrock for mutual co-existence and the commitment of all to the common good. It also involves the establishment of institutions that will guarantee peace, justice, and fairness. However, the process of realizing these goals of broadening the scope of socio-political interactions have been vitiated by our colonial experiences and consequently unleashed certain centrifugal forces that have made the quest for community development in most African states a daunting task.The divisive tendencies of the colonialists created communal identities, which provided a new symbolic and ethnocentric focus for each group where none existed and thus complicated the task of welding diverse elements in each colony into a coherent whole. This became the source of the proliferation of many life threatening conflicts which has impeded the process of community development in Africa. But why has these conflicts persist in spite of the several attempts to meet them? This paper argues that the above account fails because it ignores the values Africans place on human worth given expression in their communal context. The attempt here is to explore South Africa`s indigenous unifying social ethic of Ubuntu in arriving at a humane society that has a participatory value; founded on co-operation, charity, reconciliation and justice rather than the individualism of the West. This paper will, therefore, employ the analytic descriptive method to examine the above in a manner many scholars have ignored in an attempt to develop a viable sense of community in Africa. Hence, it is expected that this paper will initiate a perspective that will challenge extant interpretation of this discourse.

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Modern European Separatism: the Role of the European Union and Wealth

Author(s): Veselin Vasilev / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

The article is aimed at the change of the separatist discourse from ethnic self-determination to secession based on public spending and wealth redistribution. Further, it aims to explain the role of the European Union, its legislation and politics, in these processes amongst its Member States. Besides establishing that such role is both increasing and diminishing separatist tendencies due to the Single Market, legislation on regions or siding with Member States against secession, the article argues that the paradigm may change yet again to the notions of human rights, citizenship and immigration, due to the stall of economic secessionist aspirations.

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Културна памет – „инсталирана памет“. Психология на колективната памет като инструмент за политическа власт

Author(s): Dimitar Petkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2020

The thesis of this article is that the cultural (collective) memory at the current society is a part of the political power. The cultural (collective) memory is an “installed memory” which is needed for the creation of the own image of society. It justifies and legitimates the existence of power structure. The power takes care of the mold of the societies collective memory. From this point of view we may not perceive the cultural memory just as an implement for differentiation and right to the political existence of some concrete community. Because it is about and of something else, namely it is about power which must be served from the collective memory. The power rules the cultural memory and the power takes a decision what concrete have to be remembered and whatnot it means what have to be forgotten. The ideology of power plays an essential role in this process. The cultural memory is an “installed” memory because the government decides what kind of fulcrums to be imposed into it with the purpose of this memory to work in service of the power structures. The cultural memory also creates a special psychology in its bearers and this affects their behavior and perception of the world.

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„След Бог“ – проблем(атич)ни размишления

Author(s): Anguel S. Stefanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2020

These are reflections born by the reading of Richard Dawkin’s new book under the title Outgrowing God. A Beginner’s Guide. The text is not intended to be a review of this book, but an attempt at formulating problems and providing assessments of their putative answers. They refer to Dawkin’s optimism about the explanatory potential of natural selection and his atheistic position.

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Truth in Legal Norms

Author(s): Boyan Bahanov / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2020

The text examines the status of the truth in the legal norms, trying to answer the questions of whether they can be a subject to a truth assessment and, if such assessment is possible, how a truth value can be attributed to legal norms. To achieve this goal, first of all, the text discusses some basic linguistic conceptions concerning the nature and truth of legal norms and subsequently, a complex approach is being proposed for attributing truth-value to legal norms. On the one hand, the latter’s being studied by the methods of deontic logic and theory of possible worlds, and on the other hand, their relation to truth is being explained by semantic anti-realism.

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The Remediation of (Post-)Humanities

Author(s): Laurent Milesi / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

‘Humanity does not exist at all yet or it barely exists.’ French historical figure Jean Jaurès’s statement, famously echoed by Jacques Derrida, then by Bernard Stiegler, provides a fittingly provocative starting point for my reflections on the present condition and future of the ‘humanities’, envisaged both as the pluralization of what differentiates ‘us’ from other species and as the academic implementation of programmes (as well as the philosophical questioning) in the name of humanism.This article investigates the condition of the humanities in the digital age as always already that of the ‘posthumanities’. The impact of the Derridean deconstruction of the sign as technological ‘trace’ is recalled as an antecedent to Stiegler’s conception, from his first volume of Technics and Time onwards, of humanity as indissociable from an exteriorizing technicity which gave rise to a third kind of, or ‘epiphylogenetic’, memory. The second part looks at Stiegler’s notion of ‘pharmacology’, his diagnostic of the enslavement of contemporary homo technicus through tele-technologies and his pragmatic search for socio-political, cultural and educational remedies. Taking my cue from his approach as well as inflecting Bolter and Grusin’s notion of ‘remediation’, I conclude with a final section envisaging tomorrow’s ‘remedial’ (post)-humanities, adducing as precursor examples a couple of creative practitioners (Mark Taylor and Gregory Ulmer) and emphasizing the rich potential of videogames in such a ‘re(-)creative’ process.

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In Search of the Drama of History: Or, National Roads to Modernity

Author(s): Roman Szporluk / Language(s): English Issue: 01/1989

Ernest Gellner and Miroslav Hroch ask about the content of the drama of modern history and the identity and role of its principal actors, and thus go beyond the less interesting question of how Marx's or List's ideas are interpreted in Communism and Nationalism. Accordingly, in my response, profoundly grateful as I am to my critics for writing their essays, I will build on their comments to clarify further that larger question of the role of nationalist actors and ideas in the drama of modern history. [...]

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On striking Similarities between Chapters XIV – XIX of Machiavelli’s The Prince and the Fifth Book of Aristotle’s Politics

Author(s): Aleksandr Mishurin / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

In the article, I try to refute an old and widespread superstition according to which the new political philosophy created by Niccolo Machiavelli breaks with classical political philosophy by taking a novel position toward the political; that is, that classics were idle “idealists” while Machiavelli is a coldblooded “realist”. To do that, I compare the most explicit part of The Prince (chapters XIV-XIX) with the end of the fifth book of Aristotle’s Politics and attempt to show that in the most pivotal chapters of his most famous work, the Florentine, in fact, often borrows Aristotle’s advice on how to preserve a tyrannical rule.

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Нравствеността като изграждащ и променящ правото фактор

Author(s): Georgi Mihaylov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

This article studies the specific designation of morals under the conditions of a modern society. Due to the circumstances that morals are able to overcome differences between the social regulatory systems and to unite the perceptions of a regulatory framework, they have become a major contemporary metalegal regulator. Being a significant social regulator, morals also play a mediation role between law and other social regulatory systems. In this role of theirs, they make a substantial factor having an influence on building and changing legal prescriptions. Morals are also studied as a variable in the conditions of a dynamically developing society and changing conditions of living. Some models of behaviours, which were considered to be against moral only several decades ago, are nowadays regarded as completely normal.

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PHENOMENOLOGY, DECONSTRUCTION, AND CRITIQUE: A DERRIDEAN PERSPECTIVE

Author(s): Stella Gaon / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

Critical phenomenology is gaining currency as a progressive philosophy of emancipation, but there is no consensus on what its “criticality” entails. From a Derridean perspective, critique can be said to involve radical self-interrogation; a philosophy that questions its own conditions of possibility or grounds is one that opens itself to its auto-deconstruction. Deconstruction produces undecidability, however, which means that the philosophy in question can no longer account for its political claims or its normative force. This is the predicament in which critical phenomenology, like any other critical theory, will find itself when it takes its critical injunction to heart.

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