Debates between Habermas and the poststructuralists - specifically, Derrida, Foucault and Lyotard - over the nature of critiques of Enlightenment rationality and modernity are investigated in order to argue for an agenda for critical theory beyond the 'French Fries and the Frankfurter'.1 Part I interrogates key elements of Habermas' theory of communicative rationality in his reconstruction of Enlightenment modernity and his critique of the poststructuralists. This orients the discussion toward an evaluation of Habermas' neo-Kantianism, theory of language (discourse ethics), and (...) the 'critique' he employs in his bid to defend and complete the project of modernity. Key Words: critical theory • Derrida • Enlightenment modernity • Foucault • Habermas • Lyotard • Marx • postmodernism debates. (shrink)

This book is a meticulous argument for the contemporary value of Marx's democratic theory as an interpretive key for the postmodernism debates.

The case of May Redwing, an American Indian woman assessed for competence is examined in detail. The case highlights the interconnections between the cultures of medicine and law and notes the importance of criteria of competence assessment, but also underscores the necessity of attention to the patient'scultural background in a multi-disciplinary competence assessment team process. Three interrelated areas of inquiry are explored: (1) Can we expect a morally and politically justifiable assessment of competence from a multi-disciplinary approach? (2) What pitfalls (...) threaten a multi-disciplinary approach? and (3) How are the patient'scultural background and values relevant to a proper assessment of competence? These questions are investigated in the context of analyzing and evaluating a particularly difficult case. Although focused on a specific case, the study is instructive and cautionary for any group undertaking the challenges of multi-disciplinary competence assessment. (shrink)

The concept of guardianship, its associated principles, distinctions, and articulation of the legal needs of the elderly are introduced via a review of well-canvassed criticisms of Canadian guardianship legislation. Claims that the reformed legislation of Alberta, Quebec, and British Columbia represent models of adequate adult guardianship compared with traditional (archaic lunacy) law are examined. This paper argues that these renovated models exhibit a dubious normative advance over traditional legislation. Specifically, the normative presuppositions of the reformed legislation, such as, restriction to (...) an autonomy-paternalism framework, and the norms of the liberal individual and state, obscure important issues in at least two key areas which challenge the models' assumptions; namely, assessment and legal competence and assessment and need. The development of guardianship laws and of social arrangements that are more responsive to the life experiences of the elderly requires critical re-articulation of the nature of individuals and their communities. (shrink)

Mark Coeckelbergh (Int J Soc Robot 1:217–221, 2009) argues that robot ethics should investigate what interaction with robots can do to humans rather than focusing on the robot’s moral status. We should ask what robots do to our sociality and whether human–robot interaction can contribute to the human good and human flourishing. This paper extends Coeckelbergh’s call and investigate what it means to live with disembodied AI-powered agents. We address the following question: Can the human–AI interaction contribute to our moral (...) development? We present an empirically informed philosophical analysis of how the AI personal assistant Siri changes its users’ way of life, based on the responses obtained from 20 semi-directive individual interviews with Siri users. We identify changes in the users’ social interaction associated with the adoption of Siri. These changes include: (1) the indirect effect of reducing opportunities of human interaction, (2) the second-order effect of diminished expectations toward each other in a community, and (3) the acquired preference to obtain hassle-free interaction with Siri over human interaction. We examine them in relation to concerns that are voiced in the current debates over the rise of AI, namely the suspicion that humans could become overly reliant on AI (Danaher 2019) and the worry that social AI could impede on moral development (Fröding and Peterson, Ethics Inf Technol 23:207–214, 2012; Li, Ethics Inf Technol 23:543–550, 2021). We analyze the ethical costs that come from these changes in light of virtue ethics and address potential objections along the way. We end by offering directions for thinking about how to live with AI personal assistant while preserving favorable conditions for moral development. (shrink)

L'article exhume une supercherie littéraire empruntant au goût chinois publiée à Paris en 1788 et tente d'en décortiquer les implications intellectuelles. Le faux porte sur le détournement du titre de l'ouvrage—référence au pamphlet de Morelly, alors communément attribué à Diderot—, de l'auteur—Confucius, philosophe contemporain de Socrate qui n'a laissé aucun ouvrage de sa main—, du travail de traduction—qui par définition n'a jamais pu exister—et de commentaire—attribué à un jésuite de la mission française en Chine. Le véritable aute ur du faux, (...) Louis Lavicomterie, Montagnard et régicide, l'a revendiqué pendant la Révolution. La reconstitution des circonstances et des arrière-plans historiques du texte tente de circonscrire la charge émotive et pamphlétaire de ce message chinois falsifié pour véhiculer un plaidoyer en faveur de l'abolition de la peine de mort et une satire de la justice et du clergé. Derrière Confucius, Lavicomterie a inscrit Voltaire en filigrane. On peut y lire autant de miroirs des attentes à la veille de la Révolution: la recherche d'une morale laïque permettant de dépasser les discordes religieuses et le rejet du droit divin, fondement de l'Ancien Régime. (shrink)

Lorraine Daston ha señalado la influencia que The emergence of probability de Ian Hacking ha tenido en su trayectoria intelectual y en su elección de la etiqueta epistemología histórica para describir su trabajo. Hacking, por su parte, ha respondido a estos señalamientos que, en primer lugar, Daston y sus colegas no hacen epistemología, sino que más bien estudian conceptos epistemológicos como objetos que evolucionan y mutan; en segundo lugar, que su trabajo sobre la probabilidad no es epistemología histórica sino, (...) en todo caso, lo que él llama metaepistemología histórica o, mejor aún, ontología histórica. En el presente trabajo, analizo en qué forma entienden Daston y Hacking el tipo de investigación que denominan respectivamente epistemología y metaepistemología histórica, y exploro sus convergencias y divergencias con el fin de establecer posibles relaciones, intereses y antecedentes compartidos. Por último, sostengo que la obra de Hacking puede ser visualizada como resultado de investigaciones que caracterizan a la epistemología histórica, como consecuencia de su interés, estimulado por la lectura de Michel Foucault, en el análisis de las condiciones históricas de posibilidad para la emergencia de conceptos y objetos científicos. (shrink)

El libro de Lorraine Daston Breve Historia de la Atención Científica, publicado en español por editorial La Cifra en el 2012, consta de seis apartados a través de los cuales Daston formula una interesante pregunta desde las perspectivas de la psicología de la investigación científica y la epistemología de la historia natural: por qué, cuándo y cómo ocurre que los científicos dirigen su atención sobre determinados objetos de estudio y no sobre otros. O visto desde otro punto de vista, (...) cómo emergen los objetos científicos y cómo, en determinado momento, se desvanecen. (shrink)

Marine Lorrain : Dans votre travesti, est-ce que vous pouviez compter sur une aide quelconque des Tibétains tout au long de votre pèlerinage? Comment faisiez-vous pour subsister? Alexandra David-Néel : Ah, il y avait des villages. Devant les villages, on s’en allait mendier, puisqu’on était des mendiants. On s’en allait mendier et, puis, on chantait des choses religieuses aux portes des villages. Je fais ça très bien, du reste ; mon fils aussi, lui, il est tibétain, naturellement. Et alors,...

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:DULLES AND AQUINAS ON REVELATION 1. Beginning the Dialogue RESPECT FOR Avery Dulles' achievement in Models of Revelation 1 need not oonsist entirely in "enthusiastic recognition of its many merits " 2 even though it is " the mature reflection of an experienced teacher " and " as of now... the most comprehensive treatment on revelation in the English"'speaking world ".3 Learning from it involves recognizing the " worthwhileness (...) of dialogue with Dulles ' work ".4 In this questions,are essential to advancing the discussion. This article will proceed in appreciative dialogue by means of critical questions and wiH move in the direction of modifying aspects of Dulles' basic principle in Models of Revelation. Dialogue, according to the hermeneutical work of H.-G. Gadamer,5 is not first of all a genre for organizing,and presenting themes and ideas already attained. It belongs to the act of understanding itself, occurs in reading a text, always takes place in and through tradition and is one of the ways in which interpretation enters into every experience. In this light, the Summa Theologiae 6 of St. Thomas Aquinas belongs to a read1 Avery Dulles, Models of Revelation (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983). 2 Bernard Cooke, " God Revealing in Symbol", OommonweaZ 110: 308, May 20, 1983. 3 Dermot Lane, "A Review Essay: Dulles on Revelation", The Living Light, 21:74-76, Oct. 1984; p. 74. 4 William Loewe, review in New Catholic World, 226:185, July-August, 1983. 5 Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth wnd Method (New York: Crossroad, 1982); pp. 325-341, 345-351. 6 St. Thomas.Aquinas, Summa Theofogiae, Vol. 45, Prophecy and Other 445 446 THOMAS HUGHSON, S.J. ing of 211odels of Revelation, despite the absence of evidence that it influenced Dulles' theology of revelation. It does not belong to it, that is, because it served as a source for 211odels of Revelation. Nevertheless, the Summa is within, and has significantly changed, the theological tradition shared by 211odels of Revelation. Reading Dulles' book in light of its tradition, then, brings Aquinas into the dialogue 7 in a way that would not be appropriate for a strictly historical-theological analysis of influences upon Dulles' theology of revelation. The Summa stands as a classic 8 work in the Catholic theological tradition. The inescapable magnitude of Aquinas' achievement makes it pertinent to every part of that tradition. Karl Rahner judged that, " Thomas Aquinas is to be immbered among the great figures of theology with whom any contemporary theology must engage in a genuine dialogue ".9 Rahner observed, too, the way in which attitudes toward Aquinas have changed. He noted, "From being the teacher of theology in the theological schools themselves, Thomas has acquired the status of a Father of the Church ".10 In this new and somewhat reduced condition, Aquina:s' text's can assume their true proportions as theological classics whose claim upon generation after generation arises not so much from official sanction as from their self-evidencing power to speak about subject-matter whose intr:insic significance brings it before a succession of eras and to a variety of cultures. It is easy Charisms (2a2ae, 171-8), Latin text; English translation, Introduction, Notes, Appendices & Glossary by Roland Potter, O.P. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1969). English translations and Latin text will be from Vol. 45 through-out this article; references will be to parts of Aquinas' article. 7 M.-D. Chenu's Toward Understanding Et. Thomas, translated by A-M Landry & D. Hughes (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1964), it is true, places the modern reader in dialogue with medieval texts through careful recovery of their contexts. But the relationship tends to lead into Aquinas's texts and their meaning rather than back from them to contemporary themes. s H.-G. Gaclamer, pp. 253-258. 9 Karl Rahner, "On Recognizing the Importance of Thomas Aquinas", Theological Investigationg Vol. XIII, translated by D. Bourke (New York: Seabury Press, 1975); pp. 3-12, 6-7. 10 Rahner, p. 4. DULLES AND AQUINAS ON REVELATION 447 enough to see that dirulogue with Aquinas inspired the work of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan as well as the early writings of Edward Schillebeeckx and Johann Baptist Metz. Yet this is not to... (shrink)

The renowned Sri Lankan scholar Y. Karunadasa examines the Abhidhamma perspective on the nature of phenomenal existence. He begins with a discussion of dhamma theory, which provides the ontological foundation for Abhidhamma philosophy. (The dhamma theory is an Abhidhammic innovation that gives an overview of the bare phenomenon that form this world; it's a theory of real existents.) He then explains the category of "the conceptual" as the Abhidhamma's answer to the objects of common-sense realism. Among the other topics discussed (...) are the theory of double truth (ultimate and conceptual truth), the analysis of mind, the theory of cognition, the analysis of matter, the nature of time and space, the theory of momentary being, and conditional relations. The volume concludes with an appendix that examines why the Theravāda came to be known as Vibhajjavāda, "the doctrine of analysis." Not limiting himself to abstract analysis, Karunadasa draws out the Abhidhamma's underlying premises and purposes--the Abhidhamma provides a detailed description of reality in order to identify all sources of suffering and thereby point to a complete cure for the problem of suffering. (shrink)

El tema de nuestro tiempo ahonda y aclara la metafísica de la razón vital. Las distintas facetas que el lector irá hallando la necesaria exaltación de la vida, las críticas al racionalismo y al relativismo, la entrada en escena de la razón vital, la reforma radical de la filosofía que el perspectivismo de la realidad nos aporta se presentan en el libro con la habitual mano maestra del autor, con esa claridad que él llamaba la cortesía del filósofo. Junto con (...) La rebelión de las masas (también publicado por Austral), el pensamiento fundamental de uno de los grandes filósofos españoles de todos los tiempos. (shrink)

In his 1936 paper,On the Concept of Logical Consequence, Tarski introduced the celebrated definition oflogical consequence: “The sentenceσfollows logicallyfrom the sentences of the class Γ if and only if every model of the class Γ is also a model of the sentenceσ.” [55, p. 417] This definition, Tarski said, is based on two very basic intuitions, “essential for the proper concept of consequence” [55, p. 415] and reflecting common linguistic usage: “Consider any class Γ of sentences and a sentence which (...) follows from the sentences of this class. From an intuitive standpoint it can never happen that both the class Γ consists only of true sentences and the sentenceσis false. Moreover, … we are concerned here with the concept of logical, i.e.,formal, consequence.” [55, p. 414] Tarski believed his definition of logical consequence captured the intuitive notion: “It seems to me that everyone who understands the content of the above definition must admit that it agrees quite well with common usage. … In particular, it can be proved, on the basis of this definition, that every consequence of true sentences must be true.” [55, p. 417] The formality of Tarskian consequences can also be proven. Tarski's definition of logical consequence had a key role in the development of the model-theoretic semantics of modern logic and has stayed at its center ever since. (shrink)

Qaside-i Khamriyya (meaning Wine Eulogy) of sufi poet Ibn-i Fārıḍ, in which he explained divine love through the metaphor of wine, attracted great attention in Islamic world and was translated into Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Scholars such as Davud-i Qayseri (d. 751 AH/1350 AD), Kemal Pashazāde (d. 940 AH/1534 AD), Abdulghani an-Nablusi (d. 1143 AH/1731 AD), Ibn Acibe (d. 1224 AH/1809 AD) explained this eulogy in Arabic, while poets such as Ali b. Shihābiddin al-Hamadāni (d. 786 AH/1385 AD), Molla Cāmi (...) (d. 898 AH/1492 AD), Idris-i Bitlisi (d. 926 AH/1520 AD) wrote commentaries in Persian. On the other hand, authors such as Abdussalam b. Numan b. Khalil (d. 1000 AH/1592 AD [?]), Ismail Anqaravi (d. 1041 AH/1631 AD), Abdulmacid-i Sivasi (d. 1049 AH/1639 AD), Qara Musṭafa Khulūsi (d. 1344 AH/1926 AD), Meḥmed Naẓım (d. 1345 AH/1926 AD) and Ṭahir al-Mavlavi (d. 1371 AH/1951 AD) translated the eulogy into Turkish. One of the authors who translators of this eulogy was Mehmed Said Efendi, sheikh of Uskudar Salimiya Takka, who lived in the 19th century. His work named Ṭarab-angiz (meaning Pleasure-provoking) is a condensed commentary with ornate prose of Qaside-i Khamriyya. In previous studies, Ṭarab-angiz was partly examined, and there was no mention about the identity and personality of the author. In the present research, the life and personality of Meḥmed Said Efendi is explained and the text of his work is examined.Summary: In Turkish literature which developed under the influence of Islam, translations and commentaries have important a place along with original texts. Coming within the sphere of Islam in early 10th century, Turks embarked on translating the texts immediately in order to learn their new religion and to perform its practices and continued to do so since then. Because they lived in the same culture and civilization climate, Turks learned Islam from Persians and were influenced by Persian language. However, adherents of this new religion also made direct translations from Arabic texts. The translations initially were made from religious works, but in time social, cultural and literary works, such as Persian classics and major eulogies of Arabic Literature, were also translated into Turkish by Turkish scholars. Qaside-i Burde by Ka‘b b. Zuheyr’in (d. 24 AH/645 AD), Qaside-i Nūniyye by Ebu’l-Fetḥ Busti’nin (d. 400 AH/1010 AD), Qaside-i Ṭanṭarāniyye by Ṭanṭarāni’nin (d. 485 AH/1092 AD), Qaside-i Münferice by Ibnu’n-Naḥvi’nin (d. 513 AH/1119 AD), Qaside-i Emāli by Ali b. Othman al-Ushi’nin (d. 575 AH/1179 AD) and famous eulogy named Qaside-i Bur’e by Muḥammed b. Said al-Buṣiri’nin (d. 695 AH/1296 AD) were among such works.Qaside-i Khamriyya by sufi poet Ibn-i Fārıḍ (d. 632 AH/1235 AD), also called sultan of minstrels, in which he explained divine love through wine attracted great attention in Islamic world and was translated into many languages and many commentaries were written on it. One of the commentary writers about this eulogy is Meḥmed Said Efendi, a 19th century sufi. His work entitled Ṭarab-angiz is a condensed commentary with ornate prose of Qaside-i Khamriyya.Studies conducted so far has partly dealt with the Ṭarab-angiz and identity and personality of Meḥmed Said Efendi have never been mentioned. Ṣarac mentioned, “It is a printed work but its writer, printing date, and the place was not found on the printed work”, while Yıldırım used the expression of “a work whose writer and production date is not known.” In his Ph. D. thesis entitled Translation and Commentary Tradition in Classical Turkish Literature in Anatolia, Ṣadık Yazar noted that the work belongs to Meḥmed Said, which was later cited by Aqdag. The final statement on this issue was made by İnce in his work entitled Arabic, Persian and Turkish commentaries of Qaside-i Khamriyya by Ibnu’l Fārıḍ. He examined a total of 18 commentaries and stated that no information is available about the life of Meḥmed Said although he mentioned Ṭarab-angiz.The birth date and place of Meḥmed Said Efendi are unknown. He is grandchild of Ali Behjet Efendi (d. 1238 AH/1823 AD), one of sheiks in Salimiya Dervish Lodge in Uskudar and son of Meḥmed Hidāyetullah Efendi (d. 1288 AH/1871 AD). Following the death of his father, Meḥmed Said Efendi himself served as the head dervish of this dervish lodge for 25 years and became a famous figure. He died in 1313 AH/1896 AD and was buried in the cemetery of the Salimiya Dervish Lodge.Meḥmed Said Efendi was the sixth sheikh of Salimiya Dervish Lodge. In many sources, he was mentioned as a venerable, righteous, devoutly religious, virtuous, polite and scholarly man. Meḥmed Said Efendi is thought to be a member of Mavlavi lodge of Naqshbandi Ṭariqa. He had successors such as Naqshi sheikh Uskudari Balabani Ḥasan Ḥusnu Efendi (d. 1347 AH/1928 AD) and Ismail Efendi (d. after 1307 AH/1890 AD). The poet had a commentary named Ṭarab-angiz in prose form and had a quatrain within the praising eulogy of Sheikh Ḥāmil Efendi (d. 1322 AH/1904 AD), head sheikh of Beylerbeyi Bedevi Dervish Lodge.It is clear from the expression, “A work by Meḥmed Said, the Imam of Central Dervish Lodge of Sultan Salim III,” at the beginning of Edition no: 450 in Suleymaniye Library, Pertev Pasha Collection and from the record of “Work: Ṭarab-angiz, Author: Ibnu’l-Fārıḍ, Translator and postscript writer: Meḥmed Said” in Edition no: 7350 of Marmara University Faculty of Theology Library that this work belongs to Sheikh Meḥmed Said Efendi. However, exact production date of this printed work is not known. The work consisted of 28 pages and in some editions a two-page correct-false chart was added.As usual, the work starts with an introduction section with expressions of “By the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” “Praise be to God,” and “Peace be upon Prophet Moḥammad.” This section also includes a praise for followers of Prophet Moḥammad, “Who made sphere of prophecy an eternal rose garden through the holy light of their enjoyed manners in addition to making the Shari’a candle shined and and converting them to great flowers of service with their strong inspiration torchs.” The commentator then embarked on praising Qaside-i Khamriyya, mentioning that the men of ability became helpless in explaination of beauty, charm and freshness of unique expression richness and refined allegory blossoms of the eulogy and that reaching the shore of rhetoric could be possible through diving into the guided wisdom of sea. In fact, according to commentator, the men of literature should be aware of the difficulty of translating this unique eulogy into Turkish language. However, everyone should dive into the sea of insight as a knowledge diver, collect its share in pearls of utterance and in emeralds of wits, arrange and put them in the string of prose”. Therefore, he wrote the commentary about the eulogy as a service to humanity and as a contribution to his own stock of comfort in the present and afterlife as much as he could, no matter how little it could be, and named it Ṭarab-angiz. Like most commentators of Qaside-i Khamriyya, Meḥmed Said Efendi commented on only about 33 couplets of the eulogy which contained a total of 41 couplets, and did not cover couplets from 23 to 30 in his work. The commentator used couplet-by- couplet translation method and started with praising for Ibn-i Fārıḍ and his couplets. Then, he gives the Arabic originals of the couplets and starts commentary with the expressions such as “couplets of great intuition, imagery couplets, product of couplet, enlightenment of couplet and concept of couplet.” In preface section of the work, the commentator, who usually quoted hadith texts in Arabic and poems, does not use them in his commentary. He only uses some lines of Arabic prayers and a quatrain of Molla Cāmi (d. 898 AH/1492 AD). This is a quatrain rubāi in Persian language meaning that “If you want no sorrow and no grief of the destiny, drink wine in a pub, because swirling of the goblet and worries of the world do not share the same place just as the tune and the sorrow do not coincide.” The lack of touching on the meaning of words, etymological structure and grammar rules in couplets makes it different from others, except the translation of Aḥmed Ṣāfi Bey. (shrink)

Explaining how stereotypes and norms influence role-identities during reflected appraisal processes, we develop a theory about diverse groups of minority men—the “minority masculinity stress theory”—and apply it to Asian American men. We conceptually integrate hegemonic masculinity, stereotypes, and mental health to examine how Asian American men experience masculinity and how their experiences are uniquely stressful. We analyze elicited text from an open-ended questionnaire to explain two experiences of masculinity-related stress: trying to live up to the masculine ideal and enacting work-related (...) role-identities. Regarding the former, we discuss four illustrations—toughness, body image, restrictive emotionality, and heterosexuality—and two involving the latter—achiever and provider. We found that Asian American men receive stereotypical reflected appraisals that contradict potentially positive self-concepts and emphasize achievement beyond typical standards of hegemonic masculinity. Moreover, Asian American men’s role-identities contradict hegemonic masculinity, resulting in reflected appraisals that predispose them toward stress. (shrink)

The Montessori Method is accepted as an alternative education model today. Although it was spread out in USA at the beginning of the 20th century, it is currently used and accepted all over the world. Although its application in pre-education is common, it has also been adopted and applied at different levels. The Montessori method differs from traditional education not only in terms of approach to students, teachers, discipline, and school environment, but also in the way it uses certain materials (...) in its education. According to Maria Montessori, kids should be at the center of education, and the duty of teacher is to observe and guide children. The Montessori method, which is mostly applied in general education, is also used in the education of religion, values, and morals. In this study, besides Maria Montessori's thoughts on general education, her thoughts on religious education are also discussed. This research focuses on Montessori schools in Indiana, United States -. In this study, the qualitative research method and the phenomenological approach are adopted. Observation, interview, and document analysis are used as data collection tools. The subject of the study is the discussion of the Montessori method in terms of research results in religion, values and moral education and Montessori’s point of view on the subject. All participants, who work as instructors in Montessori schools, determined by maximum diversity and snowball sampling, Observation in Montessori schools and the program of one of them is used as an aid in the interpretation of the research findings. (shrink)

All these activities of living beings, and the functioning of their organs, and the functioning of instruments demand a teleological explanation. Why do human beings toil? Why do living beings try to maintain the activities of the organism? What are the functions of specific organs or instruments? Intelligible answers can be given in teleological terms. Of course, one could ask many questions about these situations that would not require the teleological explanation; for example, questions concerning the mechanical structure of living (...) beings or of instruments. Yet this fact would not eliminate the legitimacy nor the utility of the teleological category. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to analyze the variability of the "Self-made-man" idea in the context of the Christian Middle Ages in its primarily historical and philosophical presentation. Research is based on the historical and philosophical analysis of the medieval philosophy presented foremost by the works of Aurelius Augustine, P. Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, and also by the modern researches of this epoch. Theoretical basis. Historical, comparative, and hermeneutic methods became fundamental for this research. Originality. The conducted analysis allowed to (...) draw a conclusion that, despite the still existing view of the Middle Ages as a kind of an ideological gap in the formation of the self-determination idea, the Christian philosophy of this period not only does not reject but also gives essentially the universal character of the ancient intention to recognize the individual’s right to self-determination and self-government, makes it not only religiously acceptable but also obligatory. Conclusions. Despite to general theocentrism, providentialism and fatalism of Christian medieval philosophy and culture in general, at its epicenter there is a man of a special type, focused on preserving spiritual autonomy and identity in the social dimensions of their existence, and at the same time, on personal responsibility for their own destiny. Such focus became a logical and somewhat unexpected result of the complex interaction of numerous factors of medieval culture, as well as the ideas and intentions inherited from Antiquity. In particular, the idea that a person who does not act freely cannot be morally responsible for what he does, as well as the intentions of the ancient sage to autonomy, autarky, and apoliticism. In the Middle Ages, this intention became essentially universal, as it became a right, even an obligation of every Christian to be free, at least from the worldly, in determining and realizing his own destiny. The gradual compromise recognition that personal salvation is possible only as a result of synergy, i.e. the co-participation of God’s grace and human freedom, legitimizes and strengthens its focus on active personal efforts and personal responsibility for one’s own salvation, in fact for one’s own destiny. All this in historical perspective was found in its radicalized and purified from all sorts of mystical and religious layers of expression in the idea of "Self-made-man". (shrink)