Theories of organization and management have offered several concepts and models which indicate that organizational values are an important factor for running organizations successfully. A still unexplained question concerns the creation of balanced organizational values, which can support the achievement of several different and even conflicting goals of modern organizations. To explore balanced organizational values in contemporary business practice, we tested different models of organizational values on a sample of Fortune 100 companies. Research results demonstrate that none of the proportions/ratios (...) of balance proposed by the main models of organizational values from existing literature possesses/presents the ideal balance that is currently pursued in the business field. As a conclusion, a new model of balanced organizational values is proposed. (shrink)

The phenomenon of self-love elicits conflicting reactions. Some believe it is the key to happiness, while others are skeptical. This essay defines self-love as wholehearted concern for one's well-being, argues that it does not imply selfishness, arrogance, or vanity, discusses reasons to value self-love, and describes ways Logic-Based Therapy can be used to help people love themselves.

Aunque fueron contemporáneos, Borges y Wittgenstein nunca se conocieron, ni se citaron, ni se leyeron. Pero hay poderosas afinidades y conexiones entre ambos. Por ejemplo, al fin del Tractatus Wittgenstein entiende que hay que callar precisamente ahí porque se ha llegado a un punto en el que conceptual se subordina a lo poético. La idea de que la naturaleza estética del mundo no puede representarse por medio del lenguaje también es característica de Borges. El mar, los atardeceres, la llama de (...) una hoguera, por ejemplo, son la inminencia de una revelación que nunca se produce, son el hecho estético. La obra de Wittgenstein es estrictamente filosófica y al mismo tiempo literaria. Esa proposición parece verdadera también para el caso de la obra de Borges. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Schopenhauer on the Inevitability of Suffering Criticisms of Schopenhauer's Thesis that to Desire Is to Suffer The Unattainability of True Satisfaction The Inevitability of Boredom The Negative Nature of Pleasure and Satisfaction Happiness and Well‐Being Degrees of Unhappiness: The Possibility of Amelioration The Paradox of the Suspension or Negation of the Will The Inevitability of Unhappiness References Further Reading.

Several independent lines of research in neurobiology seem to support the phenomenologically-grounded view of the dreaming brain/mind as a useful model for psychosis. Hallucinatory phenomena and thought disorders found in psychosis share several peculiarities with dreaming, where internally generated, vivid sensorimotor imagery along with often heightened and incongruous emotion are paired with a decrease in ego functions which ultimately leads to a severe impairment in reality testing. Contemporary conceptualizations of severe mental disorders view psychosis as one psychopathological dimension that may (...) be found across several diagnostic categories. Some experimental data have shown cognitive bizarreness to be equally elevated in dreams and in the waking cognition of acutely psychotic subjects and in patients treated with pro-dopaminergic drugs, independent of the underlying disorder. Further studies into the neurofunctional underpinnings of both conditions will help to clarify the use and validity of this model. (shrink)

While agreeing with Bernard Reginster that Nietzsche's advocacy of the will to power as a psychological thesis is much more fundamental than his extension of it as a cosmological or metaphysical thesis, I criticize him for failing to support this interpretation, and I attempt to supply an analysis that does support it. Then, I take issue with the common tendency to sanitize Nietzsche's theory of the will to power, to make it more palatable—and with Reginster's treatment of this issue. This (...) leads me to an examination of Nietzsche's conception of power—and a critique of Reginster's account of it. (shrink)

In this short piece I am not undertaking to give a full discussion of the whole of Patočka’s “heretical” work. I wish only make clear its most essential core. What, in Patočka’s view, made Europe Europe and what is Europe’s bequest to the world after what Patočka describes as its fall, completed by the two world wars? What should Europe look to conserve in itself if- as seems likely - it would like to once again play a respected role in (...) world events? Is there something which the globalised world should take over from old Europe, or something which it should eschew, if it does not wish history to end and utter decadence to ensue? (shrink)

We extend Savage et al.'s music and social bonding hypothesis by examining it in the context of Chinese music. First, top-down functions such as music as political instrument should receive more attention. Second, solo performance can serve as important cues for social identity. Third, a right match between the tones in lyrics and music contributes also to social bonding.

Today anywhere in the world is immune from the problem of refugees and displaced persons. They are mostly people fleeing from wars, persecution, drought, famine or poverty and misery so decadent in their countries. They are people who only want to live in peace and a future, create a family and be happy living away from everything that oppresses them and cancels the hopes for the future. This article will know something more about these people, approaching with respect and responsibility, (...) one of the countries in Africa hardest hit by war but now walks on the path of peace: Mozambique. (shrink)

In dieser Arbeit wird vorgestellt die Entwicklung einer notwendigen Idee des Systems, die die wahre Form der Philosophie als Wissenschaft darstellt, wie es in Schellings späterem Denken, besonders während seiner Erlangen Vorlesungen von 1821 ausgeführt wurde. Schelling zeigt, dass das absolute Subjekt, das sich von einer Wissensform zur anderen bewegt, das über alle bestimmten Systeme erhobene Totalsystem bildet, und dadurch die Selbsterkenntnis erlangt, welche der wahre Inhalt der Philosophie als Wissenschaft ist. Das wahre philosophische Wissen ist das, was sich der (...) Bewegung des absoluten Subjekts widersetzt, wodurch das menschliche Bewusstsein als das Bewusstsein des absoluten Subjekts ausgebildet wird. Nur die Philosophie als Wissenschaft kann den Menschen zur höchsten Wissen über das Bewusstsein des absoluten Subjekts als sein eigenes Bewusstsein führen und bringen. (shrink)

This book argues that Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra employs circular and cyclical (diurnal and seasonal) symbols to communicate both the life-affirmative and the cosmological aspect of "recurrence" as a unifying idea. It shows that twelve day cycles, which run throughout the book's narrative, and the one full annual cycle, which encompasses the circular and the diurnal images in a continuous cycle of life affirmation, track Zarathustra's ever-changing identity throughout the text. In representing the eternal recurrence, the circular and the cyclical (...) symbols respectively convey the book's central message: Zarathustra comes into being in order to affirm existence as the teacher of eternal recurrence in an endlessly repeating cosmos. The study complements recent findings that Nietzsche's book is on eternal recurrence by establishing the unity among its language, structure, and fundamental conception, which solves the century-old problem of the communication or location of the doctrine within the text. The book is designed for the specialised audience of Nietzsche studies. It would also appeal to both students and professors in various disciplines across humanities and social sciences, as well as to anyone interested in understanding the basic tenets of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (shrink)

U obraćenju i životu svetog Augustina veliku je ulogu odigrala ljubav prema filozofiji. Toliko je značajan njezin utjecaj na njegov životni tijek da se čak govorilo o dva obraćenja: jedno na filozofiju, drugo na kršćanstvo. Ako bi bilo pretjerano govoriti o dva obraćenja, jer se radilo o istom procesu u kojem je filozofija odigrala značajnu ulogu u Augustinovu boljem razumijevanju kršćanstva, ipak se ne može zanijekati važnost filozofije u njegovoj intelektualnoj formaciji. Ako mu je kršćanstvo predstavljalo puninu, onda mu je (...) filozofija predstavljala značajnu dionicu puta, pridonoseći jasnijem poimanju Boga, te razumijevanju mnogih filozofskih pitanja koja do tada nije shvaćao .Iz Augustinova se iskustva vidi da filozofija s jedne strane podrazumijeva, a s druge budi želju za znanjem i povećava žeđ za spoznajom . No, ne bilo kakvom, već spoznajom istine, radi čega Augustin polemizira protiv akademika onoga vremena koji su pali u skepticizam. Svaka spoznata istina, po Augustinu, čovjeka upućuje na okretanje prema vlastitoj nutrini, te na hod prema Istini, koja, osim što se objavljuje kroz proces spoznaje kao Logos, pomaže čovjeku objavljujući se utjelovljenjem, čime postaje vidljiva i opipljiva. Upravo filozofija u prvom trenutku daje Augustinu najsnažniji poticaj da se podigne iz blata nemorala, površnosti i lagodnog života, svjestan da ne može osjetiti čistoću istine ukoliko sama sebe ne očisti, kao što su uostalom držali filozofi platonske i neoplatonske tradicije. Zapaljen žarom za filozofskom spoznajom i slašću koju u njemu ostavlja okus istine, odlučuje se na moralno življenje, podlažući život radikalnoj promjeni koja ga preporađa i usmjeruje njegov život novim pravcem. Rastvarajući jedra filozofije vjetru Duha Božjega i objave, usmjeruje svoju lađu u sigurnu luku vjere, odlučujući potom cijeli svoj život posvetiti izučavanju filozofije u krugu najbližih prijatelja, tvoreći čak svojevrsnu filozofskomonašku zajednicu.Ukoliko je to prvo razdoblje Augustinova života obilježeno ljubavlju prema filozofiji onda se razdoblje nakon obraćenja ne može razumjeti ukoliko se nema pred očima hermeneutiku ljubavi. Cjelokupna Hipončeva misao biva prožeta »filozofijom ljubavi«, čime integrira dimenziju ljubavi u filozofiju kao njezin bitni dio, što nije bio slučaj klasične grčke filozofije. Ovakav je velik korak mogao napraviti samo zahvaljujući kršćanskoj objavi koju shvaća kao nužnu pomoć da čovjek ne skrene s puta istine u pogrešku i zabludu. Shodno tome, Augustin prihvaća Boga ne samo kao vrhovno dobro ili kao jedno, poput uglednih filozofa svoga vremena, već ga prvenstveno spoznaje kao ljubav, koja jedina daje obrazloženje stvaranja i odgovore o smislu ljudskog postojanja.Love of philosophy played a major role in St. Augustine’s conversion and life in general. The influence of philosophy on the course of his life was so vital that it could even be said that he converted twice – first to philosophy, then to Christianity. If, however, it is an exaggeration to talk of two conversions since the two processes are but one, in which philosophy played a key role in Augustine’s better understanding of Christianity, the importance of philosophy in his intellectual development can, nevertheless, not be denied. If, for St. Augustine, Christianity represented fullness, then philosophy epitomised a crucial segment of his path contributing both to a much clearer conception of God and an understanding of many philosophical questions, which he had not understood up to then .St. Augustine’s experience reveals that philosophy, on the one hand, implies and, on the other, arouses one’s desire for knowledge, as well as augments one’s thirst for insight . Not just any insight but insight into truth, due to which St. Augustine polemicised against his contemporary scholars who fell for and into scepticism. According to St. Augustine, each understood truth directs man to turn to his very own inner being, and to take the path leading to the Truth, which – besides unveiling itself as Logos through the process of understanding – helps man, disclosing itself through embodiment, with which it becomes both discernible and tangible. It is precisely philosophy that provides St. Augustine with the most powerful and timely stimulus to rise from and above the filth of immorality, superficiality and an easy life, aware that he cannot experience the purity of truth unless he cleanses himself first, which is, after all, what the traditions of both Platonism and Neo-Platonism claim. Burning with desire for philosophical insight and the delight that the taste of truth leaves him with, he decides to live morally while radically changing his life and thus becoming re-born and directed towards a new course. Hoisting the sails of philosophy before the winds of the Spirit of God and the revelation, St. Augustine guides his vessel into the safe harbour of faith, deciding to devote his entire life to the study of philosophy in the company of his closest friends, thus creating a philosophicalmonastic community of its kind.If the pre-conversion years of St. Augustine’s life are distinguished by his love of philosophy, then the post-conversion years of his life cannot be understood without the hermeneutics of love. His entire thought is imbued with the »philosophy of love«, with which he integrates the dimension of love into philosophy as its essential segment, which was not the case with classic Greek philosophy. He could take this giant step only owing to Christian revelation, which he holds to be a necessary help to man, preventing him from deviating from the path of truth to the path of error and misconception. Accordingly, St. Augustine does not only accept God as the supreme good or as one, as many reputable philosophers of his time do, but primarily understands Him to be love, which is the only concept capable of providing justification of creation and answers to the questions of the meaning of human existence. (shrink)

En una de sus formulaciones más simples, la tesis quineana de la equivalencia empírica entre teorías sostiene que dada una teoría T que dé cuenta del conjunto de observaciones O, es posible que haya otra teoría T* lógicamente incompatible con T, pero empíricamente equivalente, i. e. da cuenta del mismo conjunto O de observaciones. El propósito de este ensayo será el de examinar el impacto de esta tesis frente a la del realismo científico ingenuo, reformulándola en términos más precisos y (...) examinando su plausibilidad. La conclusión será que la tesis de la equivalencia empírica no es una tesis lógico-filosófica como aquellas sobre las que se basa (subdeterminación de las teorías por la experiencia, holismo epistemológico), sino que su carácter es práctico y condiciona sobre las actuales capacidades para observar y testar; también se explotará esta consecuencia para mostrar cómo podría darse cabida a un tipo de realismo a pesar de las tesis quineanas. Se tendrá como referente el artículo de W. V. O. Quine “On Empirically Equivalent Systems of the World” (1975). (shrink)

Through a study of the history of the concepts of wealth and poverty, this paper investigates the onset of a transition in the conceptual architecture of epidemiological research concerning social differences in mortality rates from 1858 to 1914. It raises the question as to what the concepts of wealth and poverty meant to those who used them and what objects of interventions the conceptual architecture surrounding the concepts enabled the researchers to create. It argues that a transition began in the (...) late 19th century in which an important framework for the understanding of causal relations behind the mortality patterns changed and that this change in turn influenced the scope of what was conceived as relevant objects of intervention. (shrink)

Članak predstavlja prikaz obilježavanja 50. obljetnice Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, koje se održalo u Zagrebu od 6. do 8. prosinca 2007., a uključivalo je simpozij Suvremena hrvatska filozofija, predstavljanje novih knjiga u izdanju Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, godišnju skupštinu Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, svečanu akademiju u povodu 50. obljetnice Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, te okrugli stol o Vladimiru Filipoviću, prvom predsjedniku Hrvatskog filozofskog društva.The paper outlines the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Croatian Philosophical Society that took place in Zagreb 6–8 December, 2007. (...) The event incorporated the symposium entitled Contemporary Croatian Philosophy, the presentation of books published by the Society, the annual assembly of the Society, the formal academy to mark the 50th anniversary, and the round table on Vladimir Filipović, the first president of the Croatian Philosophical Society. (shrink)

Promatrani s kulturalnoga i religijskog motrišta, europski korijeni su mnogovrsni: helenističko- rimski, »barbarski«, židovski, kršćanski, pa na neki način i islamski. Dakako, kršćanski korijeni i tradicija bili su i ostaju temeljni za razvoj europskog identiteta kakvoga danas poznajemo. Ne odnosi se to samo na religijski i moralni identitet nego i na općekulturalni, socijalno-ekonomski i estetsko-umjetnički. Doduše, ova tvrdnja često dovodi do raznih reakcija i diskusija u raznim europskim okruženjima te »zavodi« i odvodi ljude, njihove zajednice i njihove potencijale više u (...) prošlost nego u sadašnjost i budućnost. Temeljni doprinos kojega kršćanske crkve mogu ponuditi u današnjem i sutrašnjem europskom kontekstu ne odnosi se toliko na priznavanje i »pomirenje« oko povijesnih nesuglasica koliko na suradnju u izgrađivanju europske budućnosti. Doprinos toj izgradnji mogao bi se temeljiti ne samo na priznavanju identiteta nego i na otvorenosti drugome i na dijalog s njime, koji pak dovode do suživota u multietničkom, multikulturalnom i multireligijskom okružju. Otvorenost, dijalog i suživot imaju ipak neke nužne pretpostavke: a) pomirenje čovjeka sa samim sobom; b) pomirenje čovjeka sa sebi sličnima; c) pomirenje čovjeka sa svim stvorenim.Von kulturellen und religiösen Gesichtspunkten aus betrachtet, sind die europäischen Wurzeln vielfältig: hellenistisch-römisch, „barbarisch“, jüdisch, christlich und in gewisser Weise auch islamisch. Sicher bleiben die christlichen Ursprünge und Tradition grundlegend für die Entwicklung der europäischen Identität, wie sie uns heute bekannt ist. Dies betrifft nicht nur die religiöse und moralische Identität, sondern auch jene kulturelle, sozial-ökonomische und ästhetisch- künstlerische. Jedoch leitet diese These des Öfteren zu mannigfaltigen Reaktionen und Diskussionen in verschiedenen europäischen Umfeldern, „verführt“ und wegführt Menschen, ihre Gemeinden und ihre Potentiale eher in die Vergangenheit als in die Gegenwart und die Zukunft. Den hauptsächlichen Beitrag, den die christlichen Kirchen im heutigen und morgigen europäischen Kontext leisten können, betrifft nicht so sehr das Eingeständnis und die „Versöhnung“ bezüglich der geschichtlichen Uneinstimmigkeiten, sondern vielmehr die Zusammenarbeit in der Gestaltung einer europäischen Zukunft. Der Beitrag zu dieser Zusammenarbeit könnte nicht nur in der Kenntnis der Identität gründen, sondern auch in einer Offenheit zum Anderen und im Dialog mit ihm, die dann zu einem Zusammenleben im multiethnischen, -kulturellen, und -religiösen Umfeld führen. Offenheit, Dialog und Zusammenleben benötigen aber auch einige Voraussetzungen: Versöhnung des Menschen a) mit sich selber; b) mit seinesgleichen; c) mit der ganzen Schöpfung. (shrink)

In the research we focus on the construction of the sexual lifestyles of young people—undergraduates—in Slovakia and ask “which cultural sources are used?” and “which cultural demands exert pressures on these constructions?” The analysis was based on the answers respondents provided to a questionnaire relating to the preferences of values, aspirations regarding partner and sexual life as well as the socio-economic background of respondents. On the basis of the factor analysis and other steps, we obtained five groups of respondents with (...) different lifestyles: 1. Liberal—free, 2. Partner—monogamous, 3. Natural—instinctive, 4. Hedonistic—free, 5. Submissive—partner. The research proves that while constructing their sexual lifestyles, young people experience confusion as to their personal interests, preferences, internal orientation of partner relationships, and culturally prescribed norms of monogamous relationships. (shrink)