The author analyses an approach within the framework of urban sociology, characteristic to Chicago School. This approach combined certain biological premises in understanding the city with the typical sociological approach, seeing the city as a superorganism and a product of nature, which is why it is called the ecological theory of the city. In this regard, the connection between biology and sociology, as well as the theory of Robert Ezra Park and Ernest Watson Burgess, as typical representatives of this sociological (...) trend, will be the subject of special analysis, aiming to bring the reader closer to the ecological approach in urban sociology. The topic of particular interest is Park’s idea of the city as a product of nature, with symbiotic substructure and cultural superstructure, as well as Burgess’s idea of city growth and the theory of the concentric zones of city structure. Other issues of the ecological theory of the city were also analysed. (shrink)

This paper examines the relationship between the ruler and the people in the legal philosophy of Immanuel Kant and the monarchomachical tract Vindiciae contra tyrannos, addressing the question of whether the people can resist and overthrow a tyrant. The first part of the paper analyses Kant’s legal philosophy and his rejection of the people’s right of resistance, since he believed that a ruler has only rights and no duties towards his subjects. Kant saw the state as the centre of freedom, (...) because it guarantees the coexistence of individual freedom through law. Consequently, he denies the right of resistance, equating an attack on the authority of the state with an attack on freedom. The second part examines the concept of resistance in Vindiciae contra tyrannos, which is based on the existence of two types of contract – the covenant between the ruler and the people with God, and the contract of government or the contract of submission between the ruler and the people. The doctrine of the Vindiciae contra tyrannos, which interprets resistance to tyranny not as a right but as a duty, is examined through the lens of the major conceptions of subjective rights and legal duties. Finally, the conclusion offers a comparison of these two perspectives on the right to resist. (shrink)

This paper examines the social theory of Lester Frank Ward, one of the most significant representatives of early American social theory, with particular attention to his conception of the state, which can be described as Hegelian. The first part of the paper gives a brief overview of early American social theory: its basic features, the issues that were the focus of attention during this period in the development of sociology in the US, and its most significant representatives. The basic features (...) of Ward’s social theory are then presented and examined in more detail. It is pointed out that it is: conceptual and essentially based on the natural sciences; based on the distinction between pure and applied sociology; systematic; supportive of progressive and pro-social reforms. It was directed against the individualist tradition. His theory was based on the belief that the human mind can direct social progress and that the order based on social inequalities, which is a product of the laissez-faire doctrine, cannot guarantee freedom and prosperity. The fundamental institution capable of doing so is the state. Therefore, the central part of this paper is devoted to his conception of the state and makes a comparison with Hegel’s theory of the ethical state contained in Hegel’s philosophy of objective spirit – philosophy of law and philosophy of history. It concludes by pointing out that Ward’s theory indicated the general direction of development of social circumstances towards the era of collectivism, and was also atypical of American social theory in some of its features. (shrink)