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.

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.

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.

Автентичният реакционер

Author(s): Nicolás Gómez Dávila / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 4/2019

This short text presents Davila’s understanding of freedom and history beyond the notions of necessity, on the one hand, and arbitrariness, on the other hand, as well as beyond the rigid perspective of a unified dialectical-historical development. This understanding is embodied in the figure of the reactionary, who by his ideas, stands on the arena of modern times in opposition to the representative of necessity – the radical progressive, and the representative of historical arbitrariness – the liberal progressive. The authentic reactionary carries serene optimism, as he looks from the impasse of his situation in the present world towards a new horizon of essences, i.e., as he looks entirely beyond the world.

Магическата база на съзнанието

Author(s): Liuben Sivilov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 4/2019

The author uses the descriptions of magic in Homer to distinguish between three components of magic: 1) the impression made by magic, which is somewhat similar to the philosophical terms “astonishment”, “amazement”, “surprise”; 2) the capacity for discrimination, which functions similarly to dialectics; 3) its kinship with science, which becomes evident when the achievements of cosmology, art, biopsychology, neurology, are interpreted in a relevant way. Through such an analysis, it becomes easy to identify the magical techniques lying at the basis of human consciousness.

Ценностите, властта и културата на интернет

Author(s): Iva Kuyumdjieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2019

Апология на разума

Author(s): Dimitar Tsatsov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 2/2020

The article attempts to overcome the so-called "interpretations with the first derivative" in the interpretation and evaluation of Logic by Vasil Hadjistoyanov-Beron. For this purpose, we emphasize the importance of Kant's philosophy for the proper comprehension of a number of Vasil Beron’s basic views on the relation between psychology and logic, between philosophy and the natural science, and others.

Образът на мъртвия Христос в романа „Идиот“ и религиозният светоглед на Фьодор Достоевски

Author(s): Igor Evlampiev,Inga Matveeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2020

In the article, on the basis of the analysis of the pictorial image of the Dead Christ present in the novel “The Idiot”, it is concluded that the novel refers not only to the work by Hans Holbein “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb”, but to the whole tradition of representation of Christ dead and alone, and in particular to Titian’s later work “Pietà”. Holbein’s painting probably caught Dostoevsky’a attention with the fact that it depicts a dead Christ, who still has signs of life. It is the “inconclusiveness” of Christ’s death that gives rise to doubts in his resurrection, because during that period Dostoevsky considered the resurrection of Christ not as a new existence in the form of an independent person, but as an entry into the “general Synthesis” and a merger with all the humanity and even with the entire universe. The analysis of the meaning of Titian’s canvas “Pietà” leads to the idea (probably shared by Dostoevsky) that our world was created by an evil God and is ruled by the forces of evil; this allows us to speak of an affinity of the points of view of the two artists-thinkers with Gnostic Christianity.

Философски интерпретации на некласическите логики

Author(s): Martin Tabakov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2020

The paper examines questions that are essential to the philosophical interpretation of modern logic. The enormous number of different non-classical logics leads some philosophers to doubt the possibility of classifying them. Our objective requires a classification corresponding to the philosophical interpretation and importance of the systems rather than to their formal technical elements. This will not be a classification in the precise sense of the word, but a “typologization”, since a system may have different interpretations and the demarcation will not be strictly exclusive. I propose the following “typologization” of logics, corresponding to their philosophical evaluation (this is a “typologization”, and maybe even a classification, of the basic, most important and crucial philosophical-methodological interpretations of logical systems): “Logical systems serving as bases for a mathematical theory”; “Logical systems – attempts for the explication of logical inference”; “Logical systems expressing epistemological aspects. Logical systems related to ontological aspects”; “Logical systems as pure mathematical models without philosophical justification”; “Applied logic”; “Quasi-logical studies of language”.

Бъдещето на фронетичните социални науки

Author(s): Silvia Serafimova / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2020

In this article, I aim to clarify why the idea of prudence or practical rationality, as embodied in Aristotle’s concept of phronesis, is an object of special interest to some prominent social scientists such as G. H. von Wright and B. Flyvbjerg. I raise the hypothesis that if the concept of phronesis is elaborated upon as a value-rationality, as von Wright suggests, one can find some methodological hints for re-enchanting the status of the social sciences. Specifically, one can take a new stance in the debate whether or not social sciences can meet the requirements of so-called normal science, as the natural sciences do. As a crucial premise for outlining both the methodological advantages and disadvantages of phronetic social sciences in Flyvbjerg’s sense, I point out the role of what I call provocative humanism, which displays a developed vision of von Wright’s theory of provocative pessimism.

ИСТОРИЈСКИ КОНТЕКСТИ БИОМОЋИ У СЛИКАРСТВУ ФРЕНСИСА БЕЈКОНА И У ТЕОРИЈИ ПОСТСТРУКТУРАЛИСТА

Author(s): Aleksandar Zarić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 71/2020

The art of Francis Bacon is positioned as a London school of figurative painiting of the second half of the twentieth century, and as such it is the most direct reflection of the post-war traumas of the Nazi regime that befall Europe and the world. It was exactly at the time, at the intersection of social, economic, scientific and technological and cultural practices, that a Western neoliberal order was formed. It is a sample or archeological/historical layer also studied by post-structuralists Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari. This text is an attempt of explication of cer- tain links in the opinion that connect the painting of Francis Bacon and the theory of post-structuralism, which are focused on the issues of development of biopower within certain historical sites. Namely, post-structuralists realise that archeological layers are volatile historical categories, and each of them is an independent social and cultural creation. Bacon authentically connects these historical layers through his visual language, referring to older painters such as Velasquez, Rembrandt, Ingres or Van Gogh. Thus Bacon re-examines the status of the subject (conceptualises life by the powers of death using human body) and its liberties both in liberal and in neoliberal societies.

Essay on the manner of understanding truth in criminal proceedings

Author(s): Małgorzata Żbikowska / Language(s): English Issue: 30 (2)/2020

The subject matter of the article is a short reflection on the concept of truth in criminal proceedings. The author raises the question about the manner of understanding the truth in a criminal trial, as well as about the relation of truth to proof and probability – are such concepts compatible, mutually exclusive or differentiated in terms of categories? As a result of such contemplation, the author decided that the text of Article 2 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning material truth – in view of the today’s criminal law scholars and commentators – is similar to the concept of ontological truth, i.e. the understanding of truth in a way that does not refer to the state of affairs only (ontic truth), but also to the statements and judgements made with respect thereto. Such an understanding of truth also allows one to acknowledge the fact that the truth and belief that a certain event (that needs to be proven or made plausible) occurred are two different epistemic categories.

La poétique de la simplicité et le sens philosophique de la providence divine dans le récit La Jeune Sibérienne de Xavier de Maistre

Author(s): Łukasz Świercz / Language(s): French Issue: 12/2018

The article aims to present and analyse main problems of the novel of Xavier de Maistre La jeune sibérienne. Four main questions are taken under consideration: the poetics of the novel, relations between the philosophy of Joseph de Maistre – brother of Xavier – and the novel in question, problem of sentimentalism in La jeune sibérienne, and the category of simplicity in the text. The novel of Xavier de Maistre is compared to Sophie de Cottin’s fiction, presenting the same story in a more sophisticated way. The article also presents the theological and philosophical problems posed by the text, most of all the question of the providence and grace divine.

Неевклидова геометрия в „Критика на чистия разум“?

Author(s): Rosen Lyutskanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

The paper discusses a traditionally construed as problematic aspect of Kant's philosophy of mathematics: the place and importance of non-Euclidean geometry in the structure of mathematics. Kant's conception of pure intuition in mathematics is usually considered incompatible with the existence of mathematics, leaving no place for the latter. In this paper I argue that we can find a place for them, provided we know where to look. Of key importance in this respect is the concept of symbolic construction, which Kant employs in his discussion of algebra. The concept makes it possible to sidestep the limitations related to the requirement of constructibility in pure intuition. The development of Hilbert's formalism in the philosophy of mathematics can be seen as a continuation of this move that makes manifest its full potential, which was not, and even could not, be realized by Kant.

Безкрайното време – произход и форма

Author(s): Bogdana Paskaleva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

The article takes as a starting point Jacques Derrida's article “Ousia and gramme”. According to Derrida’s analysis, time, in the Western philosophical tradition, can be thought of as infinite only within the model of an infinite cyclical rotation. Then, employing arguments from Aristotle’s analysis of time in Book IV of Physics, the article seeks to prove that the infinity of time can be understood (from Aristotle’s point of view) as non-cyclical as well, inasmuch as the interpretation of the concept of time can be effectuated separately from the structure of the cosmos of which it is the time. Thus, we may assume that a concept of non-cyclical infinite time can be found in Aristotle’s account of time.

Съзнанието като предпоставка за правото и правото като предпоставка за свободната воля

Author(s): Boyan Bahanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

The present study expresses the thesis that there is a direct connection between the development of the consciousness of individuals in a society, the emergence of law, and the formation of free will. First, the article distinguishes between consciousness in the broad sense and consciousness in the narrow sense. The author also presents the different degrees of awareness, which will answer the question, at what level of their development human individuals attain the capacity to coexist in a legal society. Subsequently, the thesis will be argued that, in such a legal society, the necessary prerequisites are created for the formation of free will in the individual.

Смирение и оправдание или бунт и борба – философски бележки за отношението към страданието в религиозната вяра и обичайната нравственост

Author(s): Nikolay Turlakov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2021

In this paper, I consider an essential difference between religious faith and morality with regard to their respective attitudes towards suffering. Humility and justification or rebellion and struggle against suffering – this is the framework in which I try to outline the difference in question and to trace the choices made by heroes such as Sisyphus, Abraham and Job, and literary characters such as Zossima, Father Ferapont, Ivan and Alyosha Karamazov, Dr. Rieux and Jean Tarrou. Based on the example of these characters, I find that certain acts of unconditional religious faith dismiss the bad human conditions and earthly purposes (pain, suffering, bodily need, etc.), in contrast to the norms and maxims of morality deriving from people in their joint human existence and struggle. Insofar as religious faith is first and foremost turned to itself (it is a personal feeling that relates to the individual in his individuality) and is intended to achieve salvation (deliverance, healing, the attainment of Nirvana, etc.) of the believer’s soul, it can be said that faith in one’s attitude to life is ultimately a personal attitude (stemming from fear, reverence, or love) of man towards God or towards the divine. By contrast, acts of morality stem primarily from a perspective on human existence as coexistence with others, from empathy for others based not on the faith they share with us, but on the fact that they feel, understand and share with us the common destiny of vulnerable but authentic human beings.

review at Dev Nath Pathak, In Defence of the Ordinary: Everyday Awakenings, Bloomsbury Publications, New Delhi, 2021.

Author(s): Arunima Bhowmick / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

review