Publication date: 16 April 2018 Source: Author: Svitlana Serdiuk, Dmytro Volkov This article highlights the results of the research on psychological features of eschatological expectations of young people with different levels of creative thinking. Our study shows that 26 % of respondents believe that the End of the World will not arrive. Twenty-four per cent of respondents are skeptical about the likelihood of the Apocalypse, but they admit its possibility. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents believe that the End (...) of Time will not come soon and the remaining 13% expect the Apocalypse very soon. Some respondents indicate that growth in the rate of prophecies connected with the End of the World in recent years suggests that humanity itself seeks it, while 9 % of respondents state the religious point of view in their works. Also 9 % of respondents believe that there will be no destruction of civilization or destruction of the planet but there will be a mental transition to another level of being. The existence of correlation between creative thinking and eschatological expectations was also empirically established in our study, especially in the group of respondents with a high level of verbal creativity. There is no correlation between the index of non-verbal creativity, personal religiosity and eschatological expectations in the sample. These results confirm that our study is relevant and offers great prospects for further scientific research. (shrink)

Dmytro Blazheiovskyi about History of Ukrainians.

The purpose of the present article is to contribute to the postphenomenological theory of technological mediation by introducing a new type of ‘human-technology’ relation named ‘transcending mediation’. Previously postphenomenology didn’t pay much attention to the role technology plays in mediating human relation to Transcendence. This was because of empirical turn and pragmatism that are anti-metaphysical in their nature. In the present paper, however, I will show that the empirical element of technology can be balanced by some metaphysical findings. Keeping this (...) in mind, I will rely on Karl Jaspers’s metaphysics of ciphers in order to demonstrate how technology mediates not only our relation to the world but also shapes human’s relation to Transcendence. As I am going to show in the present paper, this sort of mediation becomes possible because technologies are actively participating in so-called self-transcending practices. The latter, according to Karl Jaspers, are practices through which humans can elucidate one’s true self (e.g., become an Existenz). In this article, I will take a case of Smart education as a particular type of self-transcending practice and will show how contemporary AI educational systems enable and disable particular forms of becoming true self (Existenz). (shrink)

The present article aims to examine the Black Sea / Kuban Cossacks' songs as one of the most important historical sources, which allows us to understand the important aspects of the history of the North Caucasus Ukrainian people'. This is primarily due to the new challenges needed to study the evolution of their identity, certain features of the mentality, and "survival strategies" characteristic for the Ukrainian population in the region. New questions put by historians require expansion of sources where song (...) tradition, folklore, etc., can become invaluable material for comprehension and interpretation of the new understanding of the history process. The authors have based on the fact that in recent times there have been a fundamental change of attitude towards scientific issues and accordingly to sources, which scientists were based on. Strict approaches and requirements to sources which historians relied on during the period of "positivism" have become much more flexible and spread to the analysis of art, culture and folklore of certain social groups and historical periods. It has become possible to find new approaches to solving problems of scientific research and expand the range of issues which can already be answered. One of the unexplored phenomena, yet barely covered in the domestic science is the history of Ukrainian communities of the North Caucasus area. The authors propose to consider the peculiarities of mentality of this community through the prism of song tradition of the Black Sea / Kuban Cossacks that played a crucial role in all spheres of life. Besides, the features of song traditions of Ukrainian Cossacks which react very quickly to current events of certain historical periods allows us to consider it as a very important indicator of community' response to new circumstances in which the community was. The approach enables us to view features of "history of mentalities" of the Ukrainian community in the region much more than focusing on official documents and political declarations. (shrink)

This paper aims to highlight the life of computer technologies to understand what kind of ‘technological intentionality’ is present in computers based upon the phenomenological elements constituting the objects in general. Such a study can better explain the effects of new digital technologies on our society and highlight the role of digital technologies by focusing on their activities. Even if Husserlian phenomenology rarely talks about technologies, some of its aspects can be used to address the actions performed by the digital (...) technologies by focusing on the objects’ inner ‘life’ thanks to the analysis of passive synthesis and phenomenological horizons in the objects. These elements can be used in computer technologies to show how digital objects are ‘alive.’ This paper focuses on programs developed through high-order languages like C++ and unsupervised learning techniques like ‘Generative Adversarial Model.’ The phenomenological analysis reveals the computer’s autonomy within the programming stages. At the same time, the conceptual inquiry into the digital system’s learning ability shows the alive and changeable nature of the technological object itself. (shrink)

Contemporary medical diagnostics has a dynamic moral landscape, which includes a variety of agents, factors, and components. A significant part of this landscape is composed of information technologies that play a vital role in doctors’ decision-making. This paper focuses on the so-called Intelligent Decision-Support System that is widely implemented in the domain of contemporary medical diagnosis. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, I will show that the IDSS may be considered a moral agent in the practice of medicine (...) today. To develop this idea I will introduce the approach to artificial agency provided by Luciano Floridi. Simultaneously, I will situate this approach in the context of contemporary discussions regarding the nature of artificial agency. It is argued here that the IDSS possesses a specific sort of agency, includes several agent features (e.g. autonomy, interactivity, adaptability), and hence, performs an autonomous behavior, which may have a substantial moral impact on the patient’s well-being. It follows that, through the technology of artificial neural networks combined with ‘deep learning’ mechanisms, the IDSS tool achieves a specific sort of independence (autonomy) and may possess a certain type of moral agency. Second, I will provide a conceptual framework for the ethical evaluation of the moral impact that the IDSS may have on the doctor’s decision-making and, consequently, on the patient’s wellbeing. This framework is the Object-Oriented Model of Moral Action developed by Luciano Floridi. Although this model appears in many contemporary discussions in the field of information and computer ethics, it has not yet been applied to the medical domain. This paper addresses this gap and seeks to reveal the hidden potentialities of the OOP model for the field of medical diagnosis. (shrink)

Dmytro Shevchuk, Maksym Karpovets ABSTRACT: Performance theory is one of the methods that can explain dynamic and unpredictable social phenomena. The basics of our research are to be found in the artistic practices that destroyed previous classical patterns in art, while overcoming its boundaries. Accordingly, performance as a practical phenomenon has become the basis for ….

A major contribution to ecumenical reflection on the doctrine of God. The past century has seen renewed interest in the doctrine of God. While theological traditions disagree, their shared commitment to Nicene orthodoxy provides a common language for thinking and speaking about God. This dialogue has deepened our understanding of this shared way of thinking about God, but little has been done across ecumenical lines to explore God's hiddenness in revelation. In Hidden and Revealed, Dmytro Bintsarovskyi explores the hiddenness (...) and revelation of God in two separate theological streams--Reformed and Orthodox. Bintsarovskyi shows that an understanding of both traditions reflects a deep structure of shared language, history, and commitments, while nevertheless reflecting real differences. With Herman Bavinck and John Meyendorff as his guides, Bintsarovskyi advances ecumenical dialogue on a doctrine central to our knowledge of God. (shrink)

Intelligent algorithms together with various machine learning techniques hold a dominant position among major challenges for contemporary value sensitive design. Self-learning capabilities of current AI applications blur the causal link between programmer and computer behavior. This creates a vital challenge for the design, development and implementation of digital technologies nowadays. This paper seeks to provide an account of this challenge. The main question that shapes the current analysis is the following: What conceptual tools can be developed within the value sensitive (...) design school of thought for evaluating machine learning algorithms where the causal relation between designers and the behavior of their computer systems has been eroded? The answer to this question will be provided through two levels of investigation within the value sensitive design methodology. The first level is conceptual. Within the conceptual level, we will introduce the notion of computer intentionality and will show how this term may be used for solving an issue of non-causal relation between designer and computer system. The second level of investigation is technical. At this level the emphasis will be given to machine learning algorithms. (shrink)

This paper revives phenomenological elements to have a better framework for addressing the implications of technologies on society. For this reason, we introduce the motto “back to the technologies themselves” to show how some phenomenological elements, which have not been highlighted in the philosophy of technology so far, can be fruitfully integrated within the postphenomenological analysis. In particular, we introduce the notion of technological intentionality in relation to the passive synthesis in Husserl’s phenomenology. Although the notion of technological intentionality has (...) already been coined in postphenomenology, it is “in tension” with the notion of technological mediation since there are still no clear differences between these two concepts and studies on how they relate one to another. The tension between mediation and intentionality arises because it seems intuitively reasonable to suggest that intentionality differs from mediation in a number of ways; however, these elements have not been clearly clarified in postphenomenology so far. To highlight what technological intentionality is and how it differs from mediation, we turn the motto “back to the things themselves” into “back to the technologies themselves,” showing how the technologies have to be taken into consideration by themselves. More specifically, we use the concept of passive synthesis developed by Husserl, and we apply it to technologies to show their inner passive activity. The notion of the passive synthesis enables to demonstrate how technologies are able to connect to a wider (technological) environment without the subjects’ activity. Consequently, we claim that technologies have their pole of action, and they passively act by themselves. (shrink)

У статті проведено економетричний аналіз з метою дослідження характеру впливу країнних ризиків на прямі іноземні інвестиції і транснаціональні корпорації за кордоном. За допомогою кореляційно-регресійної моделі встановлено універсальний показник для відображення ризику щодо здійснення ПІІ і діяльності ТНК в країнах, що розвиваються. Виявлено негативний зв'язок між індексом ЕМВІ та прямими іноземними інвестиціями ТНК. Емпірично доведено негативний вплив країнних ризиків на надходження ПІІ у певну країну і діяльність ТНК.

The paper “Crisis of the consumer society: searching for a new ideology” studies the ideology of the consumer society and its main tendencies such as values substitution, human self-isolation and loneliness and the dehumanization of the world. Based on the analysis of contemporary mass art and advertisements the author traces the growing gap between the real life of people and the dominating consumerist model of society. The author evaluates different radical movements (nationalist, racial, religious) as people’s attempt to discover their (...) identity, to find genuine feelings and experiences in the consumerist society. This results in the increase of xenophobia and intolerance in the intertwined and fragile modern world. The paper also states the possible solution to this problem – ajoint effort of the philosophers of the world to create a new, nonconsumerism ideology that would be able to overcome the existing detachment among people. (shrink)

Метою даної статті стало дослідження принципу Таліону як основного принципу дії єврейського права. Для цього було використано абстрактно-логічні методи, історико-правовий, феноменологічний, аксіологічний, гносеологічний методи, метод критичного та системного аналізу, метод компаративної теології. У результаті дослідження було богословсько охарактеризовано принцип Таліону, виявлено деякі проблемні моменти в цілісному розумінні даного принципу та запропоновано концепцію прямого взаємозв'язку між основними принципами формування і застосування єврейського права в біблійний період. Останнє й взяло на себе функцію наукової новизни цього дослідження, показало максимально тісний взаємозв'язок і кореляцію, (...) що, своєю чергою, дало можливість цілісно поглянути на певні проблеми і задати правильний алгоритм для подальших досліджень названої тематики. (shrink)

This article offers critical analysis of the debate between Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos about distinctive features of empirical science that allow to demarcate it from non-science and especially pseudoscience. Popper's demarcational proposition is explained as involving essentially two requirements, logical (to the theory itself, that it had potential falsifiers) and methodological (to scientists' attitude with respect to the theory, that they were willing to recognise its empirical falsification. Lakatos's criticisms of ‘Popper's basic rule’ that ‘criteria of refutation have to (...) be laid down beforehand’ and Popper's reply to these criticisms, as well as Lakatos's alternative demarcational proposition, are discussed. The argument is made that although Lakatos's criticisms and proposition have considerable merits, he goes too far in claiming that it is OK for scientists to wave away or ignore apparent falsifications of a theory so long as the theory is successful in generating lots of successful unexpectable predictions, and generally understates the importance of the critical attitude for the development of science. On the other hand, Popper's falsificationist approach can be modified so as to accommodate sound points of Lakatos's criticisms and proposition while retaining the basic structure and critical rationalist character of Popper's demarcational proposition. (shrink)

У статті окреслено сутність розуміння проблеми свободи в річищі ідеї суспільної угоди. Особливий наголос зроблено на спробі осмислення умов та принципів вільного досягнення справжньої згоди, яка не спотворюється зовнішніми та внутрішніми примусами, а конституюється силою кращого аргументу. Автор ставить за мету проаналізувати можливості такого втілення принципу свободи, яке сприяло б відповідальній повазі до гідності кожного, а справедливе вирішення конфліктів відбувалося б з урахуванням потреб не лише наших близьких, а й далеких людей. Доведено, що саме поступове розширення вітчизняного соціокультурного простору свободи (...) як індивідуального та національного звільнення, та екзистенційне і теоретичне усвідомлення її як сутнісного прояву відповідальності людського буття актуалізує новітні філософські дискурси свободи, втілені в працях як вітчизняних (Є.Бистрицький, Г.Ковадло, В.Лях, М.Попович), так і зарубіжних (І.Берлін, А.Велмер, Ю.Габермас, О.Гьофе, Ч.Тейлор) дослідників. У статті проаналізовано необхідність переходу від осмислення та убезпечення формальних засад та вимірів свободи до розуміння її нових соціокультурних складових. Автор доходить висновку, що свобода є засадничою умовою справедливого гідного життя, вкоріненого у відсутності приниження та злиднів, у чесності з іншими людьми та із самим собою. (shrink)

У статті досліджено важливу для сучасної філософії ідею про теоретичні межі та практичний сенс новітньої філософії контрактуалізму. А також доведено точку зору про те, що в подальшому розгортанні та осмисленні ідеї суспільної угоди засадничим має стати теоретичне та практичне визнання свободи та відповідальності, людської гідності та довіри людей одне до одного та до державних, суспільних інституцій. А осмислення таких людських чеснот та способів людського буття, як чесність, справедливість та відповідальність має доповнюватися їх існуванням в якості реальних соціальних практик. Звертаючись до (...) творів таких класиків сучасної філософії, як Ю. Габермас, Г. Йонас, А. Гонет, Ф. Фукуяма, доведено, що ті учасники суспільної угоди, яким притаманна свобода, гідність та відповідальність, можуть стати не лише об’єктами, а і суб’єктами суспільного буття, тобто громадянами. Автор статті прагне віднайти відповіді на запитання про те, на які виклики наштовхується сучасне демократичне суспільство і чи лише правлячі еліти є відповідальним за перспективи розвитку нашого суспільства. У теоретичному сенсі у статті йдеться про дослідження сучасного стану філософії контрактуалізму, її спроб вийти за межі процедурного формалізму та кантівського трансценденталізму, долучитися до осмислення не лише проблем свободи та справедливості, а й довіри та відповідальності кожного громадянина як суб’єкта реальної суспільної угоди. (shrink)

The author argues for the reductive interpretation of Descartes’ notion of the substantial union of soul and body, according to which the union is reduced to causal interactions. The opponents countered the reductive approach with the claims that Descartes (1) attributed sensations to the union rather than the soul; (2) held that the soul is the substantial form of the body; (3) identified some special conditions of the human body’s self-identity. In the article, the case is made that (a) these (...) claims lack clear textual evidence: if their context is properly considered, Descartes’ corresponding statements are consistent with the reductive interpretation; (b) they do not give proper weight to other Descartes’ statements (in particular, his numerous unambiguous statements that sensations are the soul’s states). The author argues that the reductive interpretation is consistent with other Descartes’ statements to which its opponents appeal - that sensations arise from the union of mind and body and that the causal interactions between the soul and the body are explained with the reference to their union. The consistency is achieved if we interpret these statements in the sense that the enduring union between a soul and a body is an ontological prerequisite and, hence, an explanation, of all interactions between the soul and the body and their effects (such as sensations): these interactions and effects would not take place without the union between this particular soul and this particular body. Such explanation is similar to the explanation of certain natural events by the laws of nature: just as the gist of a law of nature can be reduced to a set of causal dispositions, so the content of the notion of the union can be reduced to the emergence and maintenance of a set of causal dispositions between a certain soul and a certain body. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the reconstitution of the mythological worldview of the well-known European Symbolist writer Maurice Maeterlinck based on his famous drama ‘Princess Maleine’ that made a great impact on the development of the ‘new drama’ in the end of the 19th century. This analysis is performed in the context of the study of the symbolist semiotic system in French-speaking tradition. The lingua-poetic and mythopoeic intertextual analysis done, we have found that the mythological model in the play is (...) functioning with a large system of mythological structures and semantic patterns. The locus of ‘Princess Maleine’ is marked as Hades World and its inhabitants are connoting the mythical concept BAD LUCK. Only two actors, the protagonists Maleine and Hjalmar are connoted not only by the morbid semantics but also as the correlates of the astral world. Their death in Hades makes possible the eschatological catastrophe leading to the neutralization of the killers whereas the infernal semantics is neutralized and the cosmos tends to the restoring of harmony symbolized by the coming of the new day and of the new year. Besides, the protagonists are considered to be the sacred sacrifice to change the semantics of the mythological concept BAD LUCK to the harmonized GOOD LUCK. Three mythological models are reconstructed: LIFE with positive connotation, LIFE with negative connotation and DEATH with positive connotation. The projection of the play is modeled by the movement from the positively and negatively connoted concept LIFE to the positively connoted concept DEATH that is a distinctive sign of Symbolist conception of ‘tragic optimism’ developed by Maeterlinck. (shrink)

Information about the Department of Religious Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine during 2013.

One of the most important discourses in contemporary religious studies is the definition of the essence and role of religious education and the problem of its coexistence with the secular. On this occasion in the circle of researchers there are diverse, sometimes opposite, points of view. The following headings of the reception of expediency of the implementation of religious education are as follows: 1) the emphasis on the current legislation on the separation of church from the state, in particular the (...) laws of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" and "On Education"; 2) comparison of foreign experience in implementation of the implementation of religious education in the practice of social life, comparative analysis of the positions of supporters and opponents of religious education; 3) outline the problems of religious and spiritual education in the context of the formation of state-church relations, the complexity of incorporation of the religious component into the system of secular education, their demarcation; 4) the relevance of the distinction and delineation of religious and religious studies, the specificity of their functional orientation. (shrink)

Стаття містить результати дослідження, яке дало можливість удосконалити систему показників діагностування ефективності управління структурою капіталу акціонерних енергогенеруючих товариств, що, на відміну від існуючих, базується на аналізі управління власним та борговим капіталами з урахуванням значень економічної доданої вартості для них. Це дозволяє визначити "вузькі місця" в управлінні складниками структури капіталу акціонерних товариств та надати відповідні рекомендації для прийняття раціональних управлінських рішень. Обґрунтовано, що до показників оцінювання ефективності управління структурою капіталу акціонерних товариств доцільно відносити показник визначення рентабельності інвестованого капіталу, визначення структури капіталу, (...) фінансового важеля, середньозваженої вартості капіталу та економічної доданої вартості, яка є ключовим показником у рамках визначного комплексу. (shrink)

Jesus Christ said: "Two gentlemen can not serve." He himself, first of all, came to "the fierce bait of Israel", who sent the Apostles to the world, so that they would guide them to those who went to them. Already for St. Paul became apostolic for pagans.

The article consistently substantiates the idea of the special methodological and practical relevance of the philosophy of justice by J. Rawls devoted to the 50th anniversary of the publication of his "Theory of Justice" and the 100th anniversary of the birth of this outstanding modern philosopher. Not only "Theory of Justice", but also such important works of J. Rawls as "Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy" and "Justice as Fairness: A Restatement" are aimed at searching out the ways of (...) building an honest, dignified society and appearing in front of us as the most influential texts of the last century on political philosophy, philosophy of law and morality. To think about "justice as fairness" with Rawls is a constructive philosophical strategy. This very idea is advocated not only by followers but also by critics of Rawls's theory of justice. As the article emphasizes, beginning the ponders on the question of justice, J. Rawls notes that justice, as a fundamental condition of human existence, does not allow the loss of freedom by some to be justified by the great benefits of others. What was embodied in the desire of his "realistic utopia of justice" is to work out the mechanisms for the fair overcoming of social conflicts. And the unconditional importance of suggested by us consistent reconstruction of the relationship between justice and freedom in the thoughts of J. Rawls is also due to the fact that they led to the deep development of modern social and political philosophy, broadened its methodological and conceptual horizons. However, Rawls's philosophy of justice (as emphasized by such prominent philosophers as A. Нonneth, M. Nussbaum, E. Tugendhat, R. Forst) did not go beyond the distributive interpretation of justice and ignored the main issue of justice (and injustice) is the issue of power. (shrink)

У статті окреслено сутність розуміння модерною філософією ідеї суспільної угоди як нового принципу регуляції людського буття, що виконує роль засадничої легітимації суспільних відносин. Автор доводить, що модерний контрактуалізм еволюціонував від обґрунтування основних норм державно-правового суспільного ладу через інструментально-стратегічний розум та негативно-конфліктне тлумачення природи людини (Т.Гобс) до акцентування уваги на формальних умовах легітимації та практичному сенсі теорії суспільної угоди (Ж.-Ж. Русо), що постало засадою прагнень поєднання порядку зі свободою та повагою до моральної гідності кожної людини (І.Кант). Ці ідеї набули подальшого розвитку (...) та критичного осмислення в працях сучасних політичних філософів, таких як А.Баруці, О.Гьофе, Дж.Ролз, Р.Дворкін, Е.Макінтайр, К.-О. Апель, Ю.Габермас, Р.Брандт, В.Керстінг. Результатом їх творчості стало послідовне доведення необхідності обмеження індивідом власного егоїзму та свободи заради колективної волі більшості через пошуки такого способу соціальних взаємин, на засадах якого окрема людина підпорядковувалась би як суспільним інституціям, так і собі самій. Модерна теорія суспільної угоди не лише заснувала розуміння сучасної демократичної держави, а й прагнула обґрунтування усвідомлення індивідом обмеження власного егоїзму та свободи заради колективної волі інших громадян. Автор робить висновок про те, що в новітніх версіях контрактуалізму суспільна угода постає як широка домовленість, що є витоком політичних прав та обов’язків громадян, механізмом справедливого захисту їхніх інтересів. (shrink)

We exhibit a 10-element semigroup Q such that the question Does a given quasi-identity hold in Q? is co-NP-complete while the question Does a given identity hold in Q? can be answered in linear time.

Книга вводит читателей в круг современных междисциплинарных тенденций исследования научного познания. Для специалистов.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 inflicted severe damage on the country’s cultural heritage, triggering an upsurge in attempts to export cultural property across its borders. This paper deals with relevant issues related to the policy of Ukraine regarding the prevention of the export of cultural property abroad and the expertise of confiscated cultural property, as well as underscores the significance of enhancing state policy in this sphere in response to the challenges caused by Russian invasion. The notable increase (...) in illegal attempts to export antiquities abroad requires a revision of the procedure for appointing and conducting the expertise of confiscated objects. This primarily applies to excessively prolonged periods of expertise, the lack of uniform rules applicable to all art experts regardless of their affiliations, and the ambiguous criteria defining “cultural property” in Ukrainian legislation. The paper proposes measures to resolve these difficulties, including introducing preliminary expertise at customs control, unifying the requirements for experts’ conclusions, and clarifying definitions in legislation. (shrink)

Materialism/physicalism that generally dominates in the contemporary analytic philosophy is challenged by fairly powerful anti-materialist arguments, notably the zombie argument (most influentially defended by David Chalmers) and the knowledge argument (the most widely discussed version of which was advanced and defended by Frank Jackson). These arguments highlight the explanatory gap from the physical (which, if materialism is true, should constitute everything that exists, including consciousness) to phenomenal mental states, the principal impossibility to explain the latter by the former, and from (...) this conclude that phenomenal consciousness is not physical, and so materialism is false. Materialist philosophers attempt to neutralize these arguments in several ways, the most influential of which is the strategy of phenomenal concepts. This article analyzes the main points of this debate with a focus on the knowledge argument, examines and responds to the main objections to the knowledge argument — that it should be mistaken because the alternative is epiphenomenalism, which is unacceptable; that no new knowledge but only new capacities and/or acquaintance are involved; that the knowledge is the same but in different forms; that the knowledge argument affects only type physicalism but not token physicalism. The case is made that psychophysical identities assumed by a posteriori physicalism are unexplainable in principle, and the postulation of brute unexplainable psychophysical identities glossed over by the strategy of phenomenal concepts amounts to dogmatic commitment (motivated by scientism) to a view despite its apparent falsity and its unintelligibility (the impossibility to explain how it can be true), made less unpalatable by offering an ad hoc theory about the mindbrain arrangement that makes us unable to see how the view can be true. As opposed to this, the position of the supporters of the knowledge argument and the zombie argument can be seen as guided by the principle of rational trust in obviousness and our capacities of judgement. (shrink)

The paper examines the relationship between aesthetics and politics. In modern humanities, we can find few conceptions of this relationship. These conceptions are not only part of political philosophy or political theory, but also a methodological instrument for analyzing modern politics and aesthetics. They provide an opportunity to understand both the features of contemporary politics and the state of modern aesthetic theory in light of the significant changes that have affected both of these spheres. This article analyzes the main models (...) of the relation between aesthetics and politics. We intend to explore the conception of an aesthetic representation by Frank Ankersmit, the conception of aesthetics as politics by Jacques Rancière, and the conception of the emancipation of society by Gianni Vattimo. (shrink)

The article analyses recent English publications in Cartesian studies that deal with two problems: (1) the problem of the intrinsic coherence of Descartes’s doctrine of the real distinction and interaction between mind and body and (2) the problem of the consistency of this doctrine with the causal principle formulated in the Third Meditation. The principle at issue is alternatively interpreted by different Cartesian scholars either as the Hierarchy Principle, that the cause should be at least as perfect as its effects, (...) or the Containment Principle, that the cause should contain all there is in its effects. The author argues that Descartes’s claim (in his argument against the scholastic doctrine of substantial forms) that it is inconceivable how things of different natures can interact does not conflict with the acknowledgement of interaction between things of different natures in the case of soul and body. The case is made that Cartesian mind-body interaction can agree with both the Hierarchy Principle and the Containment Principle, because the Principle is about total and efficient cause, whereas in the interaction, mental and brain states are only partial (and plausibly, in the case of brains states, occasional) causes. In particular, in the case of the causality in the brain-to-mind direction, the mind is conditioned by brain states to form the corresponding specific ideas on the basis of its innate general ideas of movements, forms, colours, etc. Eventually, for Descartes, the most natural way to deal with worries about the possibility of mind-brain interaction is to rely on God’s omnipotence, which certainly enables Him to arrange for such interaction. (shrink)

Modern transformation of religious institutions and religion in general, affect the livelihoods of the western society. Today there are so many religious movements that offer a solution to secularized man's material and spiritual problems. Some came from the East, the other formed under the influence of modern culture and media. There are two main areas: first representatives insist on religious adaptation to social norms, the latter require preservation of authentic religious forms and principles. Some researchers emphasize the possibility of combining (...) scientific and religious worldviews - this compromise position will allow to reconcile the two camps, whose representatives are in a state of confrontation. Virtualization social life leads to changes within the religious organizations and the emergence of new trends, which focus on the development of communication technologies and the creation of new philosophical approaches. Traditional religious systems use virtual space as a tool for data transfer, but refuse to implement religious practices in the virtual space. The third kind of organizations - conformists, appealing to tradition, but using modern science. Technological process leads to a change in the nature of the human person, which adapts to the new conditions and accepts new cultural, religious, and ideological positions. This leads to both personal and social changes, which are the subject of this article. (shrink)

In this article, I discuss Richard Swinburne’s case for the conception of substance causation, identified with the substances-powers-liabilities account of causation, versus the conception of event causation, identified with alternative accounts. I specify the place of Swinburne’s argument in the debates about agent causation, and uncover reasons to be sceptical about the claims that substance causation is a genuine alternative to event causation, and that it helps to comprehend the specifics of the causation involved in free agency. I also advance (...) considerations in favour of the relations-between-universals account of causation that can make it preferable to the SPL account. (shrink)

At the present stage of scientific research, one of the undefined problems in religious studies is, first of all, the problem of the expediency and relevance of the use of the term "primitive religions" or "primitive religious beliefs" in relation to both representatives of Aboriginal peoples of the present and the analysis of the development of religions in the history of forms of religion. discovered in general. The problem of determining the original religion and its forms of expression is somewhat (...) compounded by the fact that the use of special terminology in theoretical developments depends not only on the various features of research methodological approaches, but also on the language in which studies are commonly published. Therefore, the use of one or the other terminology requires the isolation of a possible synonym for relatively adequate nomination of these religious manifestations. (shrink)

Indigenous beliefs of Australia have attracted the attention of numerous generations of researchers of the XIX - XX centuries. The reasons for this interest were not limited by the exotic beliefs of the traditional beliefs of the distant region of the planet. Anthropologists, ethnographers, sociologists, historians and religious scholars, considering the preservation of one of the most archaic systems of economy and social organization among the tribes of Australia, respectively, considered the aboriginal beliefs as a spiritual result, reflecting the most (...) archaic system of social relations, referring to them as a kind, "The standard of primordial religion." So, the Soviet researcher S. Tokarev notes that the beliefs of Australians are the most archaic religious phenomenon that has remained to this day and a classic, typical example of totemism. (shrink)

The emergence and spread of various non-pagan religious movements can be called one of the global trends of today. This process is also characteristic of individual religious manifestations in Ukrainian society. On the territory of Ukraine, the revival and activation of non-pagan movements has its own specificity. We highlight some aspects of the phenomenon of revival of the Ukrainian denomination not only in its general confessional expressions, but also from the standpoint of scientific determination and investigation of the problems of (...) self-identification of representatives of different currents of Ukrainian neo-paganism. First of all, we include in the concept of "self-identification" the following points: national self-determination of an individual, confessional self-name, which signifies belonging to a certain religious organization and attributes of self-determination, which has its manifestation in national and religious symbolism, clothing elements and more. (shrink)

У статті розглядаються та аналізуються основні теоретико-методологічні підходи до висвітлення проблематики становлення та формування модерних націй, витоків їхніх ідеологічних, соціально-економічних та історичних основ. Уважається, що в наш час, коли такі поняття, як "нація", "національна держава", "національна ідентичність" набули широкого вжитку в політичному дискурсі держави, наукове обґрунтування цих термінів та визначення інтелектуального та історичного їх змісту є особливо актуальним та важливим.