We fine tune the distinction between the possible and what can be, mention some of the consequences and argue that the difference between material and logical implication is that of between what can be and what could have been.

The approach of the present paper is settled by the premise that we can no longer pretend that the assumptions of the Enlightenment set the rules for all rationality. The original contribution of the Frankfurt School philosopher, Theodor W. Adorno is firstly examined in his critique of the “enlightened” bequeathal of exclusionary epistemologies, an analysis which culminates with his account of the alternative “aesthetic understanding”. From this moment on, the working hypothesis is that art functions as a legitimate form of (...) knowledge that acknowledges the “excess” of experience that cannot be quantified by rational categories. Then, Martin Buber’s dialogical thinking functions in the logic of the argumentation as an illustration of the non-instrumental relation to the world through the artist/educator who is in a peculiar relation of faithfulness with what meets him in the world, overcoming the distance by means of a communing and inclusive love for the creation and the people entrusted to him. The Jewish thinker has joined art to the fundamental relations between one being and other being, as different than, but on a par with, knowledge. The focus of the main three sections is a cluster of themes of Dialectic of Enlightenment, the essence of the first generation of critical theory, which will then be narrowed down by Theodor Adorno in Negative Dialectics to the critique of the prototype of “identity logic”. All this is meant to function as an anticipation of Adorno’s final position in his Aesthetic Theory. The scope of these subtitles will be narrow and broad at once. Narrow, because Adorno’s work has been abstracted from the larger intellectual enterprise of the Frankfurt School and reference will be strictly made to the thematic critique of instrumental reason and its further development in the philosopher’s mature writings. Broad, because the alternative aesthetic reasoning Adorno ushers in might stand for the horizon of a dramatic renewal within the Romanian educational approaches and contemporary culture interaction. (shrink)

We discuss some of the consequences of the belief that while God keeps His promises under every possible circumstance He can nevertheless break them. One interesting consequence is that no proof is possible for the proposition that God keeps His promises. We also point out that for this believer, necessity and possibility cannot be reformulated as truth in all and some possible worlds, respectively.

This article critically engages with Laclauian theory of populism by utilizing Michael Oakeshott’s theory of politics. It argues that both build their works on similar post-foundationalist premises, accepting once the impossibility of a final ground of society as well as the possibility of its contingent political foundations. It then shows that both scholars conceptualise politics residing on a continuum between what they consider as two theoretical extremes: politics of faith and scepticism for Oakeshott, pure populism and pure institutionalism for Laclau. (...) In terms of the ways in which they operate, functions they fulfil, and effects they have on politics, these extremes overlap with one another to such an extent that they can be considered as near synonyms. This synonymy serves as a fertile ground to spread the seeds of a reconsideration of Laclau’s account of populism. Utilizing Fieschi and Heywood’s concept of entrepreneurial populism, the article briefly problematizes his account and calls attention to this particular species of populism gaining increasing popularity in contemporary politics. It is every bit of populist in its modus operandi yet neither subverts the status quo nor aims to reconstruct a new one, but simply plays it. (shrink)

In this follow-up of my previous article, I continue to analyze and describe the current situation of academic publishing in Romania, but this time I plan to take a closer look at the status of academic journals. While one could be impressed by the current proliferation of this type of publications, we must be aware that this also unavoidably brings inflation in this field and, as a predictable consequence, a lack of genuine interest for the matters published in these journals. (...) Also, we cannot help addressing the subject of profit-seeking publishers. (shrink)

This paper addresses the problem of the strategies and theories of democratic participation in Nigeria that breeds institutional marginality and bad governance due to shortfalls in pursuing the values of justice and empowerment as core democratic characteristics. The same democratic principles such as voting, parliament, constitution, judiciary, that are suggestive of gains such as responsible use, and peaceful transfer of power may not have translated fully into sociopolitical empowerment for responsibility and representation in the evolving democratic practice in Nigeria due (...) problems of agency and political ideology. Democratic theorizing and participation in Nigeria has defied orthodox presuppositions seen in the disrespect for basic rights and the disregard for the rule of law in democracy that allow for fair play within and among the elites and political grassroots. Thus this study investigates the Nigerian predicament as model or case study, raising questions about the reasons for the systematic disempowerment of groups. (shrink)