The insight phenomenon is thought to comprise two components: cognitive and affective. The exact nature of the Aha! experience remains unclear; however, several explanations have been put forward. Based on the processing fluency account, the source of the Aha! experience is a sudden increase in processing fluency, associated with emerging of a solution. We hypothesized that in a situation which the Aha! experience accompanies the solution in, the problem would be judged as less difficult, regardless of the objective difficulty. We (...) also planned to confirm previously discovered associations between the Aha! experience and accuracy, confidence, and pleasure. To test the proposed hypothesis, during the preliminary stage of the study, we developed a set of 100 remote associate problems in Russian and asked 125 participants to solve problems and indicate the Aha! moment, confidence, difficulty, and likability of each problem. As expected, the Aha! experience often accompanied correct solutions and correlated with confidence judgments. We also found a positive correlation between the Aha! experience and problem likability. As for the main hypothesis, we confirmed that the Aha! experience after the presentation of the solution was associated with a decrease in subjective difficulty. When participants could not solve a problem but experienced the Aha! moment after the solution was presented to them, the problem was perceived as easier than one without the Aha! experience. We didn’t find the same effect for the Aha! after solution generation. Thus, our study partially supports the processing fluency account and demonstrates the association between the Aha! experience and metacognitive judgments about the accuracy and difficulty of problems. (shrink)

The nature of abstract and concrete semantics and differences between them have remained a debated issue in psycholinguistic and cognitive studies for decades. Most of the available behavioral and neuroimaging studies reveal distinctions between these two types of semantics, typically associated with a so-called “concreteness effect.” Many attempts have been made to explain these differences using various approaches, from purely theoretical linguistic and cognitive frameworks to neuroimaging experiments. In this brief overview, we will try to provide a snapshot of these (...) diverse views and relationships between them and highlight the crucial issues preventing this problem from being solved. We will argue that one potentially beneficial way forward is to identify the neural mechanisms underpinning acquisition of the different types of semantics (e.g., by using neurostimulation techniques to establish causal relationships), which may help explain the distinctions found between the processing of concrete and abstract semantics. (shrink)

Values formed in culture, reflecting social relations, fulfilling a regulatory role, are defined as norms fixed in the culture of society. Moral norms that combine such properties of morality as normativity, imperativeness and evaluativeness act as significant foundations of culture. Values and norms enshrined in culture contribute to the integration and spiritual development of society The transformational processes taking place in modern society have influence on the value system. The relevance of this study is determined by the dialectic of emerging (...) contradictions in modern Russian culture caused by the formation of ambivalent values, norms, and attitudes in mass culture that have a negative impact on collective consciousness, on changing the value foundations of culture in modern society, which jeopardizes the safety of culture. In the focus of the analyzed problem, kitsch culture as a phenomenon of mass culture acts as the subject of research. The purpose of the study is to identify threats to cultural security coming from kitsch culture, which transforms the value foundations of culture, and to identify strategies to protect Russian culture. The study of the voiced issues is carried out through the prism of socio-cultural, structural-functional, interdisciplinary approaches. The novelty of the studied problem lies in the fact that kitsch culture acts as a pseudo-culture, which is devoid of aesthetic and artistic value and moral content, as one of the sources that creates certain risks and poses threats to cultural security. In particular, we are talking about the organization of joint activities of government agencies, public organizations, scientific, cultural and educational spheres, based on the principles of optimizing the constructive impact on the consciousness of the younger generation through the mediation process and inculturation. (shrink)

In the expansion of health ecosystems, issues of responsibility and sustainability of the data science involved are central. The idea that these values should be central to the practice of data science is increasingly gaining traction, yet there is no agreement on what exactly makes data science responsible or sustainable because these concepts prove slippery when applied to a global field involving commercial, academic and governmental actors. This lack of clarity is causing problems in setting goals and boundaries for data (...) scientific practice, and risks fundamental disagreement on governance principles for this emerging field. We will argue in this commentary for a commons analytical framework as one approach to this problem, since it offers useful signposts for how to establish governance principles for shared resources. (shrink)

The content of the article is in the thematic field of practical philosophy, designated as “philosophy for children”. Within the framework of the article, the author considers specificity of the philosophical language. The main linguistic means are explicated and described, making it possible to expand the usual descriptions of the world, to achieve expression of non-trivial philosophical intuitions, to outline new directions of philosophical search. Particular attention is paid to such techniques as using metaphors, tautologies and a vicious circle in (...) the definition in philosophical texts, as well as a step-by-step, gradual refinement of thought by introducing “operational concepts”. In conclusion, the author gives examples of tasks aimed at acquiring the language of philosophy by school-aged children (10–13 years old) as part of the program of additional education for children and adolescents “Green Sun” (team of authors: N. Ilyushenko, N. Kutuzova, D. Kutuzov, O. Davydik). (shrink)

The transition period brings about a need of working out the social strategy. It optimizes the social processes and helps to use carefully the resources of the society. Its essence is a human being measure of the social things (phenomena and processes) since a human being is the system forming element of a social system. Then it is necessary to analyze a human being as a system himself for concretizing the content of «a human being measure». A human being is (...) researched by the whole complex of the sciences. The humanities take a specific place. Them subject is the specific features of a human being, the consciousness of a man which defines a whole him life activities. Therefore the humanities play a leading part in the system researches of a human being. But there is significant to integrate the humanitarian knowledge himself. The hierarchy of the approaches is such: philosophical – culturological – ethnological –philological (folklore). This hierarchy gives opportunity to form the system knowledge beginning from interpreting the essence of a human being as the norm of his activities to its concrete characteristics. The hypothetic many levels model of the human activities (as analysis shows, cultural-anthropological by its content)serves as means for the well-founded choice of the future, the appreciation of the present through its prism, the electoral relation to the past and the purposeful influence on the social policy. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric Jahrgang: 45 Heft: 1 Seiten: 87-96.

The whole problem under our collective investigation, as I view it, is about understanding the human situation in terms of the impact of technology. The union of science and technology still resides within the limits of a “practical anthropocentrism” (Marsel G.), that is increasing satisfaction of human needs. An advancement in science and technology is accompanied by the desacralization of culture and the crisis of humanism. An awareness of the growing environmental, cultural, existential problems leads to the necessity to shift (...) the vectors of scientific inquiry and technological development. In this process, the role and mission of the humanities is an articulation and promotion of human perspectives of science and technological progress. The humanities’ mission consists in attracting attention of scientists and society to humanizing technology and its aiming not only towards the growth of power over nature, but also to the making of a new relationship to the humans, to solving global problems. (shrink)

Despite, or perhaps as a form of resistance to contemporary globalization tendencies, the Central Asia region has chosen a way of life that combines modernconditions with deeply ingrained ancient customs and traditions. The gap between the by-gone glorious nomadic past in the communities of the Great Steppe and the socio-cultural and economic setup of the independent countries in this region, for instance Russia and Kazakhstan, is huge, and without access to modern structures of knowledge dissemination, the cultural heritage of these (...) ancient nomadic communities remains largely unexplored. This paper seeks to present some of the hidden cultural treasures of these peoples. In order to do so, the study focuses on the semiotic implications of ornaments as intercultural signs amidst the nomadic cultures of Eurasia. (shrink)

The program of the evolution of the base of knowledge in machines' mechanisms on the example of technical systems of arbitrary purpose and structure with the aim of formalization and structurization of knowledge for creation of new techniques of automatized projecting in suggested. The program is declared as the process of transference of the base of knowledge from its initial state into final one, at the permissible restrictions in quality and resources in real time. The program's concept is based on (...) the introduction of N-measured structural space. Discrete coordinates of the multi-measured vector of this space are: flathierarchical sets of languages, objects, problems, estimations, resources, restrictions, types of working areas, etc. The vectors' co-ordinates define the set of the program projects. The possibility of choice of the optimal program strategies' realization is discussed. The concept can be applied to objects of arbitrary purpose. (shrink)

The article discusses the causes for the formation of the polysemanticity of the Latin word virtus (virtue; strength, valor, masculinity) and term virtual, which was derived from virtus. The emergence of the polysemantic character of virtual became possible due to the unique semantics of the word virtus, in which there are two dominant meanings – virtue and strength. According to Ekaterina Taratuta, there are two lines of constructing the meanings of concepts based on the root vir(t) – “Platonic” and “Aristotelian.” (...) We believe that on the basis of the first semantic “dominant” of the word virtus (virtue) a “Platonic” group of meanings of the word virtual was formed, and on the basis of the second “dominant” (strength) the “Aristotelian” group of meanings was formed. The first cause of the existence of the “Platonic” group of the meanings of virtual is the translation of the Greek word ἀρετή using the Latin word virtus in Roman philosophy, Biblical texts and Greek-Byzantine patristic writings, as a result of which the concept of virtus has been enriched with the meanings of the Platonic and Christian concept of ἀρετή. The second cause is that through the Plato’s doctrine of arete-eidos the concept of virtus has been enriched with the meanings of the Platonic concept of εἶδος. As Hans Kremer has shown, in Plato’s doctrine eidos is the source of order and beauty, which is reflected in the empirical world as arete – virtue, goodness; thus, eidos is inextricably linked with arete. As a result, in the “Platonic” sense the virtual is understood as the eidetic, the ideal. The first cause of the existence of the “Aristotelian” group of meanings of virtual is the translation of the Greek word δύναμις using the Latin word virtus in Biblical texts and in Greek-Byzantine patristic writings, as a result of which the concept of virtus has been enriched with the Christian meanings of concept of δύναμις. The second cause is the translation of the Aristotelian concept of δύναμις using the Latin word potentia : the word δύναμις has become the medium, linking the words virtus and potentia and, under the influence of the latter, differences in the meanings of virtus and potentia (and especially their derivatives virtualis (virtual) and potentialis (potential)) have gradually disappeared. As a result, in the “Aristotelian” sense the virtual is understood as the potential, the possible. (shrink)

BackgroundContemporary medical practice is complicated by many dilemmas requiring ethical sensitivity and moral reasoning.ObjectiveTo investigate physicians’ experience in ethical decision-making and their attitude towards ethics consultation.MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey 126 physicians representing the main clinics of Pleven University hospital were investigated by a self-administered questionnaire. The following variables were measured: occurrence, nature and ways of resolving ethical problems; physicians’ attitudes towards ethics consultation; physicians’ opinions on qualities and skills of an ethics consultant, and socio-demographic characteristics. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, (...) χ2 and t-test.ResultsResponse rate was 88.9% (n = 112). Men and women were equally represented (48.2%–51.8%). The sample consisted of experienced physicians: 42.9% had 11–20 years experience, and 33% had 21–30 years. According to 84.8% of respondents, ethical problems have been discussed in their specialty. Predominant dilemmas included relationships with patients and relatives (76.8%) and team work (67.6%). Over ¾ of physicians needed an advice in solving ethical problems. Ninety six percent responded positively to ethics consultation. They would mainly request it for resolving conflicts (72.5%), and in case of concern for the rightness of their decisions (52.7%). The image of an ethics consultant was built of clinical competence (70.9%), ability to deal with conflicts (59.1%), communication skills (58.2%), tolerance for different views (55.4%), and a special qualification in ethics (52.7%).ConclusionsThe study underlined that Pleven University hospital physicians face similar ethical dilemmas as their colleagues in other countries do. The expressed positive attitudes to ethics consultation should serve as a basis for further research and development of ethics consultation services. (shrink)

Globalization challenges the state-centric realist view of space and authority within International Relations. Using multifaceted concepts of territoriality and non-territoriality, this article goes into three versions of current territorial fragmentation or connectivity – deterritorialization, extraterritorialization and reterritorialization. They are to enable us to reveal the proliferation of globally relevant social and power dynamics above, below and within the state domain. At the same time, they are to illuminate the ambivalent role of states played in an era of global interconnectedness.

With aging, incidence of severe stress‐related diseases increases. However, mechanisms, underlying individual vulnerability to stress and age‐related diseases are not clear. The goal of this review is to analyze finding from the recent literature on age‐related characteristics of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis associated with stress reactivity in animals that show behavioral signs of anxiety and depression under mild stress, and in human patients with anxiety disorders and depression with emphasis on the impact of the circadian rhythm and the negative feedback (...) mechanisms involved in the stress response. One can conclude that HPA axis reaction to psycho‐emotional stress, at least acute stress, increases in the aged individuals with anxiety and depression behavior. Elevated stress reactivity is associated with disruption of the circadian rhythm and the mineralocorticoid receptor‐mediated glucocorticoid negative feedback. The disordered function of the HPA axis in individuals with anxiety and depression behavior can contribute to aging‐related pathology. (shrink)

The essay explores the special features of French Symbolist aesthetics, which consist of the conceptions of symbolization as correspondence between the spiritual and objective worlds, suggestion, artistic synthesis and synesthesia, beauty, the beautiful and the sublime. The author analyzes the main trends of Symbolist aesthetics in France – the Neoplatonic/Christian and the Solipsistic symbolism – and traces their influence on art. She shows that the attitude toward aesthetic philosophy inherent in French Symbolism turned out to be the backbone for Euro-American (...) culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. (shrink)

The essay introduces the reader to Russian contemporary research in the field of aesthetics. It provides a conceptual overview of key topics, discussions, main schools, and genres of the aesthetic scholarship present in today Russia.

The agricultural sector of production is a unique sphere of the national economy, which determines the level and quality of life of the country's population, but largely depends on the level of development and regional characteristics of economic entities, especially small forms of agricultural production – peasant farms. The article presents the features of the development of peasant farms in the regions of Russia. Based on the analysis of features of development of peasant farms of constituent entities of the Russian (...) Federation grouping the number and share of production data of the farmers identified areas that require a differentiated approach in the implementation of state support. (shrink)

This study addresses the issues of screen synthesis through which a certain type of message is suggested; in this case: the impact of films featuring violence, cruelty, and aggression, as well as the polysemantic nature of the screen message and the transformation in the receptions of adolescents between 13 and 18 years old. The focus is on the motives for choosing topics in the film industry that are related to the interpretations of aggression and crime, mainly among young people. The (...) emotional involvement of the viewer, especially during the period of physical and mental maturation, is a precarious process with unpredictable consequences and side effects. Playing with the audience, with their conscious perceptions and unconscious experiences, especially through attempts at manipulation, which are not missing, can prove to be a very dangerous territory. (shrink)

Background: Bioethical courses were introduced in the curricula in medical universities in Bulgaria in 1990s. In the beginning, the courses were mainly theoretical, and systematic case analyses and discussions of movies were introduced later on. The benefits of using films to teach ethics have been previously analyzed in the literature; however, to our knowledge such studies in Bulgaria are yet lacking. Objective: The aim of this study was to survey the opinions of students and analyze the results from the application (...) of movies in bioethics teaching in a medical university in the north of Bulgaria. Methodology: A survey was carried out among 92 students in the management of healthcare. Two movies were used, and separate protocols for film discussion were developed. Ethical considerations: The study was conducted anonymously and with students’ free informed consent. Results and discussion: The students distinguished in total 21 different dilemmas and concepts in the first movie. The ethical dilemmas were classified into five groups: general ethical issues, deontological issues, special ethical issues, principles of bioethics, and theories of ethics. The second movie focused students’ attention on the issues of death and dying. In total, 18 elements of palliative care were described by the students. The range of different categories was a positive indicator of an increased ethical sensitivity. The students evaluated the movies’ discussions as a generally positive educational approach. They perceived the experience as contributing to their better understanding of bioethical issues. Conclusion: The innovative approach was well accepted by the students. The introduction of movies in the courses of bioethics had the potential to provide vivid illustrations of bioethical issues and to contribute to the exploration of specific theses and arguments. The presentation and discussion should be preceded by accumulation of theoretical knowledge. The future of effective bioethics education lays in the interactive involvement of students. (shrink)

Although clinical ethics consultation has existed for more than 40 years in the USA and Europe, it was not available in Bulgaria until recently. In introducing clinical ethics consultation into our country, the Modular, Ethical, Treatment, Allocation of resources, Process (METAP) methodology has been preferred because of its potential to be used in resource-poor settings and its strong educational function. This paper presents the results of a METAP evaluation in a hospital palliative care ward in the town of Vratsa. The (...) evaluation was based on Beauchamp and Childress’ four principles of biomedical ethics and involves implementation of specific instruments for clinical ethics decision-making. Research tasks emphasised analyses of ethics meetings in the ward. Data were processed by SPSS v.24 using descriptive statistical analysis. Altogether, 32 ethics meetings of an average duration 20.63 min were conducted on cases involving critically ill patients. Most of the participants (86.0%) expressed satisfaction with the ethics process. The principlist approach supported resolution of conflicts between autonomous patients and their relatives, clarified definitions of “medical benefit” and “social good,” and enabled assessments of the risk of unequal treatment. Even as the specific research tasks were achieved, further participant follow-up is necessary to identify any improvement in healthcare personnel’s ethical competence. METAP worked well in end-of-life care settings. Participants experienced several benefits, including improved team communication, better understanding of patient preferences, and confidence in the correctness of decisions. Despite the significant educational potential of METAP, the need for additional and ongoing ethics training of health professionals should not be underestimated. (shrink)

BackgroundOver the years, Bulgarian bioethics has been mainly an academic enterprise and fallen short of providing health professionals with skills for ethical decision-making. Clinical ethics support (CES) was piloted by the author through two bottom-up models – METAP (Modular, Ethical, Treatment, Allocation of resources, Process) and MCD (Moral Case Deliberation).AimsThis paper aims to present and analyse developments in the area of clinical ethics and the first experiences in CES in Bulgaria.MethodologyThe project reported here included a review of relevant literature on (...) CES methods and evaluation and a documentary review of data from two CES pilot projects: METAP and MCD.ResultsMost of the 69 METAP ethics meetings reviewed were first time meetings (88,4%); the average duration was 36 min and the average number of participants was four (44,9%). The meetings were organized in response to cases of severely or critically ill patients. The ethical dilemmas included choice of treatment (31,9%) and conflicts with the patient or their relatives (23,2%). Consensus was achieved in 34,8% of the cases. The situation was clarified with the patient (27,5%) and within the team (15,9%). The rights and obligations of both sides were discussed in 7,2% of the cases. The experience of the members of the Bulgarian Association of Bioethics and Clinical Ethics (BABCE) with MCD was also presented to justify the inference about the applicability of the two CES models in a Bulgarian context.ConclusionAmong Eastern European countries Bulgaria has made progress in CES. Both METAP and MCD have been found to be useful methods. (shrink)

For a non-zero natural number n, we work with finitary $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -formulas $$\psi (x)$$ without parameters. We consider computable structures $${\mathcal {S}}$$ such that the domain of $${\mathcal {S}}$$ has infinitely many $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -definable subsets. Following Goncharov and Kogabaev, we say that an infinite list of $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -formulas is a $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -classification for $${\mathcal {S}}$$ if the list enumerates all $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -definable subsets of $${\mathcal {S}}$$ without repetitions. We show that an arbitrary computable $${\mathcal {S}}$$ (...) always has a $${{\mathbf {0}}}^{(n)}$$ -computable $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -classification. On the other hand, we prove that this bound is sharp: we build a computable structure with no $${{\mathbf {0}}}^{(n-1)}$$ -computable $$\Sigma ^0_n$$ -classifications. (shrink)

This is a reply to the article by A.M. Dorozhkin, S.V. Shibarshina “Epistemological Randomization, or On Creativity in Science”. The comprehension of the general philosophical problems of scientific rationality is inextricably linked with the creative development of the world. An actual philosophical position can be formed on the basis of the intersection of several alternative approaches. The first is connected with the understanding of rationality as a special style of thinking of the epoch, in which the coordinate system of the (...) worldview is set. Such rationality sets general ideas about the cognizability of the world, and forms methodological and theoretical scientific strategies. Rationality outlines the boundaries of a scientist’s creative thought. Addressing the problem of the rationality of scientific creativity involves the use of a second approach, on the basis of which we can talk about the use of a variety of logics in describing the world. At the same time, confidence in their connection with reality allows us to hope for the formation of a holistic description of the problem in the future. In this case, we are dealing with an act of cognitive activity, as a result of which our consciousness throws a rational construct as a network on a situation of uncertainty, explaining and mastering it – the picture of the world is ordered. According to the third position, the evaluation of scientific results is flexible, plastic in nature: what is perceived as methodologically erroneous today may turn out to be a scientific discovery tomorrow. Thus, it can be stated that the creative thinking of the researcher is inscribed in certain cultural conditions of understanding reality, and this situation has a rationally given meaning. At the same time, the human mind always strives beyond the limits of the definable and categorically set, with the help of rationality, progressively groping the boundaries of the unknown and going beyond the limits of the possible. (shrink)

The article is a reply to Ilya T. Kasavin’s “Creativity as a social phenomenon” and is devoted to the phenomenon of the scientific precariat. A systematic analysis of the relations between the scientific precariat and the academic community as a dialectical opposition of the individual and the collective is undertaken. The method of critical analysis is aimed at rethinking the stable ideas that have developed in science about the collectivity of scientific work. The concepts of labor and employment in science (...) are considered. It is concluded that the global development of digital technologies has led to the disappearance of the boundaries between physical and intellectual labor, against which there is an elevation of creative activity. The availability of information on the Internet, opening up incredible opportunities for research, destroys the monopoly of professional scientific communities on the possession of scientific knowledge. Scientific precarious loudly declare themselves in the public space, demonstrating the boldness and unusual nature of the ideas expressed. Inspired seekers of scientific truth embark on a free voyage through the vastness of the unknown. Traditional scientific communications, while retaining their significance, are enriched with new, non-standard ideas of precarious scientists who, ignoring rules and hierarchies, bring the creative spirit of freedom into modern science. However, the activities of such scientists may have an ambiguous assessment: a precarious scientist completely loses touch with the existing methods and approaches of classical science, and flight from work standards instead of expanding the horizons of scientific creativity turns into new problems caused by “multi-task” and instability of the labor activity of a “free” scientist. Despite the fact that in the conditions of the development of modern society and technology, the opposition of the pair of individual and collective is leveled, many scientists need common structures that determine the development of science, which at the present stage of the development of scientific knowledge are rather represented not by a social organization, but by an intellectual, linguistic and methodological unity focused on the creative development of the world. (shrink)