Because of the transcendental emphasis of his critical works, Immanuel Kant has been criticised for not being able to accommodate the notion of multiplicity. This paper outlines a complex argument designed as a means to the rescue of Kant from this repudiation. To this end, the paper proposes a new, strong reading of the doctrine of aesthetic ideas that unveils the idiosyncratic play of the mental powers, constituted of two separate acts, that equips one to intuit an unnameable mark that (...) evades both empirical apprehension and logical comprehension. By analogy with the two types of cognition, stipulated in the Stufenleiter (and elsewhere), I shall suggest that the two distinct kinds of a feeling of pleasure, stirred up by the generation of an aesthetic idea, add an overlooked, aesthetic element that renders Kant a philosopher of multiplicity. (shrink)

In the paper, I propose a project of social coordination as naturalistic social ontology (CNSO) based on the rules-in-equilibria theory of social institutions (Guala and Hindriks 2015; Hindriks and Guala 2015). It takes coordination as the main ontological unit of the social, a mechanism homological across animals and humans, for both can handle coordination problems: in the forms of “animal conventions” and social institutions, respectively. On this account, institutions are correlated equilibria with normative force. However, if both humans and animals (...) solve coordination problems in a similar way, and only humans have social institutions, how do the latter evolve? I suggest identifying possible causes of this evolution among cognitive capacities like mindreading and imitation by building dynamic models. Social ontology becomes constrained by the evolution of the forms of coordination and by the cognitive mechanisms involved in the emergence and persistence of social institutions. It means that it becomes bound to what might be derived from social institutions, i.e., social roles, structures and their derivatives. It shows how conceptual relations might emerge from causal. I conclude the paper with the discussion of the relationship between involved types of explanation, mechanistic and equilibrium ones. (shrink)

Сталий і безпечний людський розвиток багатьма зв'язками пов'язаний з гуманітарною безпекою, яка зумовлена адекватною реакцією особистості на екстремальну ситуацію. Цілеспрямований вплив на поведінку і превентивну діяльність особистості в кризових ситуаціях стає можливим, завдяки формуванню особистісної структури свідомості людини – ментального патерну безпеки. Це відкрита, динамічна, відносно стійка, функціональна структура, що розвивається. Її конституювання відбувається на свідомому і підсвідомому рівнях психіки людини. Формування ментального патерну зумовлено потребами в безпеці, соціальним досвідом їх реалізації, спеціальними знаннями, гуманістичними ціннісними орієнтаціями, соціальним статусом, роллю, установками, (...) мотивацією і рефлексією особистості. Ментальний патерн безпеки містить когнітивну, семантичну, ціннісну, емотивну і поведінкову підструктури. Їх функціонування утворює комплекс моделей і схем адекватного реагування на кризові, екстремальні ситуації, конституює соціальні практики безпеки. Основною функцією ментального патерну безпеки є формування соціальної, психологічної та професійної готовності адекватного осмислення, поведінки і превентивної діяльності в надзвичайних ситуаціях. Провідна роль у формуванні ментального патерну безпеки належить системі освіти в інтересах сталого розвитку. Знання про конституювання ментальних структур безпеки може бути використано як концептуальна основа модернізації освіти в інтересах сталого і безпечного людського розвитку. (shrink)

Mont Publishing House and Valery Vino deliver the first volume of an eclectic collection in aesthetic education. Aesthetic Literacy is an experiment in philosophy of culture, and this volume features cross-genre contributions by: Theodore Gracyk (Minnesota), Babette Babich (Fordham), David Konstan (NYU), Katya Mandoki (UNAM), Arnold Berleant (Long Island), Jale Erzen (Middle East Tech), Curtis Carter (Marquette), Clive Cazeaux (Cardiff), Fabrizio Desideri (Florence), Ken-ichi Sasaki (Tokyo), and many others... -/- .

This paper is a brief survey of the history of Altai shamanism in the 20th Century, and of the main influences, both from "inside" (from within the Altai community) and from the outside onto shamanic beliefs and practices of the Altai, especially onto the shamanic revival. Based on my experiences living in 1988 and 1989 in Gorny Altai, the paper reports on aspects of present‐day shamanism, and the emergence of neo‐shamanism in the post‐Soviet period. The decline of shamanism due to (...) the impact of the Old Believers, the Orthodox Church and the emergence of Burkhanism in 1904, as well as the repression during the Soviet period, is described and is noted as influential in contributing to the current revival of shamanism in its "neo‐shamanistic" form. Several factors that facilitate the regeneration of shamanism are identified and discussed. (shrink)

This paper presents a new reading of Kant's moral feeling: in lieu of highlighting a positive feeling of respect, I am interested in a thorough phenomenological interpretation of a negative feeling of humiliation. The paper's tone is set by underscoring that human moral Gesinnung is that which is necessarily cultivated, which entails that the striving moral agent, among other things, learns to identify and confront inclinations. It is argued, then, that one's mindfulness of the various kinds of pain of humiliated (...) inclinations presupposes the agent's aesthetic attunement to the law of duty. To this end, two phenomenological interpretations are offered. First, general humiliation Kant caters for in the Critique of Practical Reason. Second, specific humiliation Kant alludes to in the Metaphysics of Morals. On the whole, the paper's findings ascertain the epistemic weight of humiliation, which to date has been undervalued. (shrink)

The variation in genome size and basic chromosome number was analyzed in the wide range of angiosperm plants. A divergence of monocots vs. dicots (eudicots) genome size distributions was revealed. A similar divergence was found for annual vs. perennial dicots. The divergence of monocots vs. dicots genome size distributions holds at different taxonomic levels and is more pronounced for species with larger genomes. Using nested analysis of variance, it was shown that putative constraints on genome size variation are not only (...) stronger in dicots as compared to monocots but in the former they start to operate already at the family level, whereas in the latter they do so only at the order level. At the same time, variation in basic chromosome number is constrained at the order level in both groups. Higher basic chromosome numbers were found in perennial plants as compared to the annual ones, which can be explained by their need for a higher genetic recombination as compensation for the longer life-cycles. A negative correlation was found between genome size and basic chromosome number, which can be explained as a trade-off between different recombination mechanisms. (shrink)

An explanation of the inter-gender difference in longevity consistent with the 'disposable soma' theory of ageing is proposed. It is based on the concept of r-K selection as applied to the inter-gender situation. The concept predicts that the gender with a higher potential reproductive rate (males) should invest relatively less in somatic maintenance, which in its turn should result in a lower longevity according to the 'disposable soma' theory of ageing. In females, which are interpreted as K-selected organisms, the reproductive (...) strategy strongly depends on steady, secure constitution designed for oocyte/embryo bearing and is therefore closely related to somatic maintenance, whereas in (r-selected) males it has a greater behavioural component - risky, variable, with a greater potential reproductive success at the expense of somatic maintenance. The higher metabolic and growth rates, a higher premature mortality and a longer period of sexual competence of males also find explanation as a complex of r-selected traits. (shrink)

Preface of the ESPES: The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics symposium on Aesthetics and Ageing.

Ambiguity affects decisions of people who exhibit a distaste of and require a premium for dealing with it. Do ambiguity-neutral subjects completely disregard ambiguity and react to any vague news? Online vending platforms often attempt to affect buyer’s decisions by messages like “20 people are looking at this item right now” or “The average score based on 567 reviews is 7.9/10”. We augment the two-color Ellsberg experiment with similarly worded signals about the unknown probability of success. All decision-makers, including ambiguity-neutral, (...) recognize and account for ambiguity; ambiguity-neutral subjects are less likely to respond to vague signals. The difference between decisions of ambiguity-neutral and non-neutral subjects vanishes for high precision signals; still less than 60% subjects choose the ambiguous urn, even for high communicated probabilities of success. We conjecture participants may discard information, if they see no contradiction between it and their prior beliefs, hence the latter are not updated. Higher confidence makes subjects more likely to discard the news, and empirically ambiguity-neutral subjects appear more confident than those ambiguity-averse. (shrink)

Kant’s doctrine of aesthetic ideas, along with his brief treatment of ugliness, has been the focus of some recent literature. In this paper, I employ an original approach, which nonetheless draws from Kant’s oeuvre, to pin down the phenomenological complexity of a spectacular event that took place at the inception of the French Terror—the decapitation of Louis the XVI. To this end, the first section of the essay fleshes out an interpretative framework explicating how seeing the guillotine as an aesthetic (...) idea could serve as a means to actualise the revolutionary ideal. The second section introduces a reading of Schwärmerei and argues that this unruly genius is accountable for the creation of aesthetic idols, rendering a spurious aesthetic experience. Finally, in the last section, I argue that there is a significant distinction between Kant’s account of ugliness and loathing, and that the latter stands for neither a moral nor an aesthetic response to a morally repellent object, but rather is an extraordinary sensible response. (shrink)

The term 'Machiavellianism', used to designate a tough politics knowing no ethical barriers, entered firmly into circulation as far back as the sixteenth century. It was the negative reaction to the maxims in The Prince that defined the initial attitude toward Machiavelli's doctrine, and the internal polemic with this initial assessment has spawned an endless stream of literature endeavoring to justify in one way or other the ill-starred secretary of the Florentine Republic. In sheer number of publications, pro-Machiavelli views exceed (...) anti-Machiavelli views by many times. And yet questions remain; the original negative reaction is not eradicated, just as the striving for apologetics is not eradicated. (shrink)

Осмислення глобальних проблем існування людства заклали гносеологічні передумови формування актуальної філософської проблеми – екзистенційної безпеки. Становлення екзистенційної безпеки як теоретичної проблеми відбувалося через осмислення перспектив існування людства і пошук відповідей на екзистенційні виклики часу. Найбільш варіативне осмислення названої проблематики утворюють напрацювання представників культурологічної, феноменологічної, екзистенційної та інших течій філософії постмодерну. Аналіз праць надає підстави стверджувати, що антропогенним джерелом екзистенційних загроз є людське мислення, позбавлене моральних та гуманістичних цінностей як життєвих пріоритетів. Потреба у переформатуванні базових підстав осмислення світу, викликає необхідність розробки (...) когнітивної парадигми, яка має інтегрувати смислові структури безпеки життя та соціальні практики запобігання загрозам людському існуванню на підставі системи етичних пріоритетів і життєвих цінностей. Зроблено висновок, що когнітивна парадигма екзистенційної безпеки є сукупністю ідей, фундаментальних знань, ціннісних настанов, методологічних підходів, зразків вирішення пізнавальних завдань, відповідно до яких вибудовується інтегральне знання про загрози людському існуванню та шляхи їх подолання. (shrink)

The article discusses the problem of the naturalistic methodology of social ontology. Following Katherine Hawley's (2018) analysis, the author considers three approaches: conceptual analysis, the ameliorative (or normative) approach, and inference to the best explanation (from best social science to social ontology). Hawley concludes that only the first two can provide a viable naturalistic social metaphysics, and the latter cannot. The author, drawing on the notion of naturalistic limitations of social ontology, shows that only a conclusion to the best explanation (...) can lead to a consistent realistic social ontology; this methodology avoids the problem of being rooted in concepts that do not have an empirical basis, which contradicts realism, and also does not imply normative prescription, which also contradicts the realistic description of the world. The problem critics attribute to inference to the best explanation - the lack of a predictively strong theoretical core of social theory from which to infer social ontology - can be resolved by satisfying three criteria (Turner, 2007): physical realizability, computability, and cognitive realism. The author proposes to implement them through the introduction of naturalistic restrictions into game theory. Formal models of coordination described by a correlated equilibrium - coupled with evolutionary explanations of the cognitive mechanisms responsible for the causal processes that make formally described coordination possible - may provide the desired theoretical core from which ontology can be derived. (shrink)

The article is dedicated to the study of the relationship between the diversity of the world of knowledge and the world of man. The role of knowledge in human life is shown, the mechanism of its influence on the human world is revealed, the diversity of knowledge in the context of plurality of language images is revealed, the relationship of such philosophical disciplines as epistemology and philosophical anthropology, which deal with the problems of knowledge and man, respectively, is clarified. It (...) is shown that сurrently, scientists are concerned about knowledge that corresponds to all the canons of classical rationality and yet turns out to be deeply irrational in its moral indifference regarding its use. It is substantiated that the times of classical rationalist euphoria from the success of science are over and it is time to reject the enlightenment illusions about science as a ‘panacea’ for all social ills. The discrimination of pre- and out-scientific knowledge does not meet the modern requirements of the new epistemology. Some anthropological and humanistic parameters of cognition are highlighted, and an attempt is made to offer a certain anthropological view of the world as a whole. It is shown that the turn from epistemology to ontology, which took place in the philosophical thought of the twentieth century, does not mean that epistemology has exhausted the possibilities of its development and should withdraw from the historical arena or relegated to the periphery of philosophical research. Moreover, nowadays we are increasingly talking about a cognitive or epistemological turn in philosophy. Classical epistemology is being replaced by various variants of modern non-classical epistemology, such as the cognitive approach, various versions of modern philosophy and sociology of science and anthropology of cognition, evolutionary and social epistemology, etc. The leading feature that defines and unites these areas of non-classical epistemologies is their anthropologisation, which testifies to the inextricable connection of such philosophical disciplines as epistemology and philosophical anthropology. (shrink)

The article explores the concept of humanism both in modern discourse and in historical retrospective. Human has always been at the center of philosophy, regardless of what spheres of being were studied. Anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, philosophy, and many other sciences explore various manifestations of a person, all of which are ultimately designed to answer perhaps one of the most critical questions – what makes us human? However, this discourse significantly changed over the course of two thousand years. For example, (...) Martin Heidegger points out an important nuance of the emergence of the concept of humanism, namely, as a kind of chauvinism – the division into humans (Romans) and non-humans (barbarians). This point of view is often overlooked, but it is critical to understanding the essence of this phenomenon. In the subsequent era of the Middle Ages, human was understood as the opposite of the divine, but in such realities, there were humanistic ideals and values. Already in the Renaissance, a return to the traditions of antiquity was announced, but the understanding of a person acquired a romantic character. Humanism clearly saw something more in a person than a person himself could demonstrate. It is for this metaphysical image that many critics of humanism have criticized this phenomenon. However, where there is criticism, there is progress, which is why this concept has gained a new round of discourse, which is why new trends have appeared that have brought the concept of humanism to a new theoretical level. As a historical phenomenon, humanism is faced with certain difficulties of new eras; because of these collisions, humanism is modified and adapted. Among humanism’s problems are multiculturalism, technological breakthroughs, and the need to search for new theories. In its development, the course of humanism takes on various forms and iterations. It is worth mentioning transhumanism (the idea of becoming someone more than just a human), posthumanism (philosophical views on human nature as a posthuman), and global humanism. (shrink)

На підставі аналізу дискурсу філософських ідей постмодерну Е. Гуссерля, М. Гайдеґґера та їх послідовників розкривається процес конституювання феноменологічної структури екзистенційної безпеки, яка розглядається як феномен свідомості та атрибут людського буття, що виражає ментальні основи збереження стійкості соціально-природної системи. Обґрунтовано, що семантична складова феномена безпеки формується у процесі розгортання та збагачення смислів від протосенсу до метасенсу, що зумовлює генерування первинного імпульсу людської активності, спрямованого на збереження життєвого світу. Метасенс уявляється як трансцендентний обрій розгортання всіх можливих смислів безпеки, як інтерсуб’єктивна реальність, феномен (...) колективної свідомості, що іманентно несе у собі культурні коди людського існування. Відповідність цільових та ціннісних установок інституціолізованих систем безпеки універсальним та позачасовим життєвим сенсам розглядається як іманентна умова збереження людського існування та регулятивний імператив рефлексії та мотивації людської діяльності. Актуальність звернення української філософської думки до аналізу екзистенційних критеріїв як граничних підстав людського існування посилюється загрозами та небезпеками, зумовленими військовою агресією російської федерації проти України. (shrink)

The study defines two main research areas of ideas about a rescuer psychologist. The first area is devoted to the issue of creating social representations about the specialist psychologist and his/her relations with representatives of other professional groups. The other area is represented by works focused on the direct analysis of the profession of psychologist, specific peculiarities of professional activity and personal characteristics of the psychologist. It is indicated that the study of the representations about rescuer psychologist’ involves collective consciousness, (...) and the main direction that allows to solve the reconstruction problem of idea about a rescuer psychologist in the system of categories and conceptual coordinates is psychosemantics. For this purpose, the method of associative experiment defines the basic constructs used by the population to evaluate the representation about a psychologist. The obtained words associations were used to develop a method of semantic scaling of the concept "Psychologist". The research has constructed the semantic profiles of perception of a civilian psychologist and a rescuer psychologist, their most pronounced characteristics were defined. With the help of multidimensional scaling the place of rescuer psychologist in psychosemantic space of psychologists of different kinds of activity was determined. Thus, the rescuer psychologist has the closest professional similarity with a military psychologist and forensic psychologist. According to the respondents' opinion, he/she mainly provides psychological correction and rehabilitation, he/she has to work in uncomfortable and dangerous conditions, and also to deal with both individual and group psychological problems. (shrink)