Ako je u antičkom polisu Platona brinulo što se građani samodovoljno oslanjaju na vlastita uvjerenja o vrlinama, ne tragajući za znanjem, današnjeg žitelja globalnog pseudopolisa opčinjavaju simulirane informacije, slike i uvjerenja koja nezamislivim bujanjem kreiraju društvenu svijest. U sjenci masmedijskih pećina uočavaju se obrisi transformirane demokracije koja je sve izloženija silovitim naletima megakorporativnih interesa, dominantnih geopolitičkih utjecaja, kulturnog determinizma i redefiniranog vjerskog fundamentalizma. Usamljenom pojedincu na Agori sve je teže formirati i sačuvati vlastito mišljenje, ideje i vrijednosti. Infoprostor je pokriven (...) globalnom mrežom informacija i podataka, dok čin razmjene simboličkih sadržaja od čovjeka preuzimaju strojevi! Sloboda izražavanja medija je kisik otvorenog, javnog komuniciranja, stup demokratskih građevina, ali problem je u činjenici što čuvari informacijskih ulaza i dalje stražare, ovoga puta pred cyberprostorima.If Plato was upset that people leaned on their own convictions about virtues, without seeking knowledge, present resident of global pseudopolis is obsessed by simulated information, pictures and convictions, which create social consciousness with their hyperproduction. In shadow of massmedia’s caves, contours of transformed democracy can be seen. This democracy is more and more exposed to the interests of megacorporations, dominant geopolitical influence, cultural determinism, and redefined fundamentalism. Under such circumstances, to some lonely individual, “in Athena’s Agora”, is even more difficult to form and keep his or her own opinion, ideas and values. Infospace is covered by global network of information and facts; the process of symbolic exchange is taken off humans by machines. Freedom of speech in media is the air of open, public communication, the pillar of democratic structures, but problem is that watchmen of “information gates” still standing guard, but this time in front of cyber spaces. (shrink)

It is generally claimed that there exist exceptional circumstances when taking human life may be approved and when such actions may be justified on moral grounds. Precise guidelines in the medical field for making such decisions concerning patients who are terminally ill or have irreparable injuries incompatible with a bearable life, are difficult to establish. Recommendations that take the particular logical form of a rule, such as "in dubio pro vita", "when in doubt favour life") have been suggested and in (...) some countries incorporated into legal texts (Germany). We claim here that such a rule is of no value since it is open-ended and always allows for doubt, and a decision to employ measures that would support human life could always be argued to be a valid choice. Preservation of this rule could be encouraged, but giving it the force of law may put physicians at risk, as they may be challenged for choosing to terminate life in otherwise ethically and medically uncontroversial circumstances. (shrink)

The first part of this paper explores the kinship in diagnosis of contemporaneity of Hugo Ball and Martin Heidegger. Both thinkers recognize leveling as an important trait of their age. In Ball?s terms, leveling is identified with the apocalyptic abolishment of humanity. That happens by equalizing all of human creation, which becomes possible only after the abolishment of the hierarchy of values, thanks to which it was previously possible to distinguish a work of art from an average work. With Heidegger, (...) leveling is equated with the perverted forms of curiosity. Unlike the former forms of curiosity, coupled by the common desire for deeper insight, modern curiosity is fairly superficial, let loose with no boundaries to all the impressions which supersede the expected and already seen. In the second part of the paper, Husserl?s term of passive synthesis is examined, so we can observe the intervention of phenomenology from the perspective of deconstruction of the effects of leveling. I conclude with a warning that we cannot protect ourselves from the world to which we are exposed by natural subjectivity and conventional forms of knowledge. Which insight leads us to revert to the sources of subjectivity, the idea common to both the avant-garde and the phenomenologists. (shrink)

The relationship between nationalism and the rule of law has been largely neglected by scholars although separately they have often captured public discourse and have emerged as critical concepts. This book provides the first systematic account of this relationship. It develops an analytical framework for understanding the interactions of nationalism and the rule of law by focusing on the domains of citizenship, transitional justice and international justice. The book engages these insights further in a detailed empirical analysis of three case (...) studies from the former Yugoslavia. The author argues that while the tensions and contradictions between nationalism and the rule of law have become more apparent in the post-Cold War era, they can also be harnessed for productive purposes. In exploring the role of law in managing and transforming nationalism, the book emphasises the deliberative character of legal processes and offers an original perspective on the power of international law to reshape public discourse, politics, and legal orders. (shrink)

Optimization, in general, is regarded as the process of finding optimal values for the variables of a given problem in order to minimize or maximize one or more objective function(s). Brain storm optimization (BSO) algorithm solves a complex optimization problem by mimicking the human idea generating process, in which a group of people solves a problem together. The aim of this paper is to present hybrid BSO algorithm solutions in the past 5 years. This study could be divided into two (...) parts: strategies and applications. In the first part, different strategies for the hybrid BSO algorithms intended to improve the various ability of the original BSO algorithm are displayed. In the second part, the real-world applications in the past five years in optimization, prediction and feature selection processes are presented. (shrink)

The article examines the phenomenological notion of the beginning based on the author’s thesis that the transformation of the history of philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century implies the introduction of personal, existential or life motives. Hence, the history of philosophy ceases to be valid as one and unique, but becomes multiple and heterogeneous. Edmund Husserl thus recognizes three fundamental flows. First, the history of failed attempts of philosophy to realize its telos. In the second place is (...) the history of the constitution of natural sciences as a sign of the triumph of false intelligence. Finally, phenomenology sees itself as the philosophy of beginning, the promise of realizing what philosophers have always wanted. Husserl sees the roots of Europe in philosophy, but philosophy in the true sense of the word did not begin. Hence, European philosophy is necessarily a specter, a creation that has missed its own beginning. The failure of philosophical Europe does not consist in the errors and misconceptions that return again and again. It is contained in the fact that authentic European philosophy does not know how to begin in the true and authentic way. Its beginnings are false, they are only a simulation of initiation. Husserl’s specter appears by refusing to appear. (shrink)

U članku se najprije tematizira diskrepancija između oštre kritike fenomenologije Edmunda Husserla u Heideggerovim ranim freiburškim i marburškim godinama, s jedne strane, i afirmativnog spominjanja Husserlova imena u "Bitku i vremenu", s druge strane. Ovaj "okret" može se interpretirati na temelju tumačenja prema kojem Heidegger u svojem glavnom djelu nije ostao pri stavu o nedostatnosti fenomenologije, zato što mu je ona služila kao polazište za izlaganje vlastite filozofske pozicije. Nakon kritičkog razmatranja onih pozicija prema kojima je Heidegger kroz kritiku Husserla (...) ciljao na ontološku kritiku spekulativnoga idealizma, autor propituje razloge odgađanja razračunavanja s Hegelom, koje je Heidegger iznio u svojem habilitacijskom spisu. Provedba ovog razračunavanja na temelju nacrta destrukcije povijesti ontologije od početka se nije trebala razvijati sistematski, budući da je prevladavanje sistematskog izlaganja povijesti filozofije i povijesti uopće bilo postavljeno u središte poželjnih učinaka destrukcije.Der Artikel thematisiert zunächst die Diskrepanz zwischen scharfer Kritik an der PhänomenologieEdmund Husserls während der frühen Jahre in Freiburg und Marburg und die affirmative ErnennungHusserls Namen innerhalb von Sein und Zeit. Diese »Kehre« kann aufgrund der Deutung in-terpretiert werden, dass Heidegger in seinem Hauptwerk nicht bei der Einsicht der Mängel derPhänomenologie stehengeblieben ist, weil sie ihm als Anfangspunkt für die Auslegung der eigenenphilosophischen Position dienen. Nach kritischen Erörterungen derjenigen Interpretationen, die behaupteten,dass Heidegger durch die Kritik an Husserl auf die ontologische Kritik des spekulativenIdealismus zielte, befragt der Autor die Gründe für die Verzögerung der Auseinandersetzung mitHegel, die Heidegger in seiner Habilitationsschrift angekündigt hatte. Die Durchführung dieserAuseinandersetzung aufgrund des Entwurfs der Destruktion der Geschichte der Ontologie solltevon Anfang an nicht systematisch entwickelt werden, da die Überwindung der systematischenAuslegung der Geschichte der Philosophie und die Geschichte überhaupt – in den Mittelpunkt derwünschenswerten Wirkungen der Destruktion gelegt wurde. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the hermeneutical method of Theodoret of Cyrus, who was one of the most important Biblical commentators and an influential theologian of the School of Antioch. This paper attempts to point out the fact that in the person of the Blessed Theodoret we find the first attempt of synthesis between the Antioch and Alexandria hermeneutical schools. In his hermeneutical work Theodoret attempted to overcome the contradictions existing up to that point and to follow (...) a middle way, without discarding neither the literal nor the spiritual-allegorical interpretation. It could be argued that Theodoret rejected the extreme hermeneutical trends of both the Alexandrian and Antioch inspirations; he developed his unique methods and tactics, which were rooted in the previous patristic tradition of the Church Fathers. (shrink)

Study in the period of coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown and the effect of different exercise training programs on the quality of life dimension are limited. This randomized control study as a part of which the impact of an 8-week neuromuscular training program on the 90 healthy young individuals’ QoL after COVID-19 lockdown was assessed using a short form of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire comprising of four domains. The intervention group took part in a neuromuscular training program consisting of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (...) and whole-body vibration training. In contrast, the control group did not participate in any programmed physical activity. From pre- to post-intervention test, the NT group significantly and substantially improved [mean change ] all the QoL domains, physical for 12.78 scores, psychological for 13.12 scores, social relationships for 20.57 scores, and environmental for 24.40 scores. These results suggest that the NT program could enhance QoL in young and healthy participants following COVID-19 lockdown. (shrink)

The paper is a translation of an article by D. Prole which examines the difference and the resemblance of the phenomenological project and the early avant-garde movements. Responding to the crisis of the classical in the realms of aesthetics and strict philosophy both phenomena strive for authenticity, approaching it each in their own way: the Dadaists and the Expressionists fundamentally reject all the rationality and oppose academicism, while phenomenologists do not dispute the academic tone of philosophizing, even when they go (...) beyond the Husserlian methodology. Phenomenology absorbs the classical spirit and places it at the heart of modern philosophizing. Exploring the kindship of phenomenology with the early avant-garde, the author focuses on the concept of neutralization, which replaced the concept of negation in the 20th century. Turning to the understanding of neutralization by Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Adorno, the author shows that both in the field of the free artistic experiment and within the framework of the strict philosophical discourse, neutralization enables contemporary subjectivity to present itself as a distant individuality. The preface to the translation discusses the possibility of placing phenomenology in a situation of dialogue with the theories and practices of the Russian avant-garde. The similarity of two approaches is evidenced by the examples of the Russian avant-gardists’ appeal to the tradition and their sensory approach to the experience of reality. (shrink)

Recent advances in the neuroscience of episodic memory provide a framework to integrate object relations theory, a psychoanalytic model of mind development, with potential neural mechanisms. Object relations are primordial cognitive-affective units of the mind derived from survival- and safety-level experiences with caretakers during phase-sensitive periods of infancy and toddlerhood. Because these are learning experiences, their neural substrate likely involves memory, here affect-enhanced episodic memory. Inaugural object relations are encoded by the hippocampus-amygdala synaptic plasticity, and systems-consolidated by medial prefrontal cortex (...) (mPFC). Self- and object-mental representations, extracted from these early experiences, are at first dichotomized by contradictory affects evoked by frustrating and rewarding interactions (“partial object relations”). Such affective dichotomization appears to be genetically hardwired the amygdala. Intrinsic propensity of mPFC to form schematic frameworks for episodic memories may pilot non-conscious integration of dichotomized mental representations in neonates and infants. With the emergence of working memory in toddlers, an activated self- and object-representation of a particular valence can be juxtaposed with its memorized opposites creating a balanced cognitive-affective frame (conscious “integration of object relations”). Specific events of object relations are forgotten but nevertheless profoundly influence the mental future of the individual, acting (i) as implicit schema-affect templates that regulate attentional priorities, relevance, and preferential assimilation of new information based on past experience, and (ii) as basic units of experience that are, under normal circumstances, integrated as attractors or “focal points” for interactive self-organization of functional brain networks that underlie the mind. A failure to achieve integrated object relations is predictive of poor adult emotional and social outcomes, including personality disorder. Cognitive, cellular-, and systems-neuroscience of episodic memory appear to support key postulates of object relations theory and help elucidate neural mechanisms of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Derived through the dual prism of psychoanalysis and neuroscience, the gained insights may offer new directions to enhance mental health and improve treatment of multiple forms of psychopathology. (shrink)

Human nature, regardless of how we perceive it, whether from an ethical or psychological standpoint, is arguably such that it prevents the overwhelming majority of people from killing other humans....

In this article, the author aims to demonstrate how Agamben’s concept of Homo Sacer is ideally epitomized by a soldier in war. A soldier in war holds a peculiar position, as killing of soldiers is considered neither illegal by laws nor immoral by ethics, and so a soldier is not considered to be legally or morally “guilty” in the usual sense of the word if he or she kills another soldier in war. The author analyzes the notion of Homo Sacer (...) – a figure representing a human that can be killed without the killer being punished, but at the same time someone who cannot be sacrificed – and further demonstrates that a soldier in war can be said to hold precisely such a status. The reason why a soldier cannot be sacrificed resides in the fact that he has already been “sacrificed to war” by his own society, in exchange for the safety of all other members of society. Perceiving a soldier as Homo Sacer provides a novel explanation and an additional argument for the moral symmetry of combatants, one of the pillars of non-revisionist Just War Theory, as all soldiers can be understood as persons sacrificed by their own societies. (shrink)

Autor opisuje prvu deceniju filozofskog casopisa Arhe, koji je osnovao Odsek za filozofiju Univerziteta u Novom Sadu 2004. Od samog pocetka uredjivacka politika je stavila snazan naglasak na teme koje su povezane sa vazecim planom i programom, da bi se postojeca bibliografija prosirila i produbila originalnim prilozima nastavnika i saradnika. Osobenost casopisa prepoznata je u pruzanju prilike mladim autorima da objave svoje prve clanke, kao i u otvaranju prostora za sve svetske jezike. Posredstvom problemski usmerenog kritickog nacrta vodece ideje casopisa (...) Arhe, autor je prikazao osnovne teme, izbor kojim se rukovodio rad na prevodima, gostujucim predavanjima, okruglim stolovima i ostalim aktivnostima koje su zabelezene u pojedinim rubrikama casopisa. (shrink)

When teaching a novel mathematical concept, should we present learners with abstract or concrete examples? In this experiment, we conduct a critical replication and extension of a well‐known study that argued for the general advantage of abstract examples (Kaminski, Sloutsky, & Heckler, 2008a). We demonstrate that theoretically motivated yet minor modifications of the learning design put this argument in question. A key finding from this study is that participants who trained with improved concrete examples performed as well as, or better (...) than, participants who trained with abstract examples. We argue that the previously reported “advantage of abstract examples” manifested not because abstract examples are advantageous in general, but because the concrete condition employed suboptimal examples. (shrink)

In diesem Aufsatz wird betrachtet die Frage des Verhältnisses zwischen Natur und Menschen ausgehend vom alten unreflektierten Gebrauch des Ausdrucks Ethos im Sinne des gewöhnten Lebensortes, das von den es bewohnenden Lebewesen in bestimmten Ausmasse gestaltet wird. Diese Ausgangsposition wird weiter ausgearbeitet durch Begriffe des Heimortes bzw. der Heimwelt und Heimat. Verfasser vertritt die Auffassung, wonach dieser überlieferter Ethos-begriff den entsprechenden modernen Begriff nicht zu ersetzen vermag, er kann aber immerhin als seine zusätzliche Sinnbeilage verstanden werden. Die Letztere zeigt vielmehr (...) eine unerwartete Aktualität mit Rücksicht auf die gegenwärtige Problematik der Ökologie sowie Biodiversität. Hierbei wird vor allem die Frage geöffnet, welche Arten des Bewohnens als auch des Bodenkultivierens des jeweiligen Wohnortes sollen vorgezogen, und welche dagegen unterlassen werden. Als ein Imperativ hebt Verfasser die Notwendigkeit hervor eines umsichtigen Beziehens zu den anderen Lebewesen, zur Vegetation und natürlichen Umwelt mit denen wir das planetare Wohnort teilen, begleitet mit dem Respekt zur anderen, nicht-menschlichen Lebensformen sowie zu ihrem Wohlbefinden. (shrink)