Michael Walzer is one of the most distinguished political philosophers and social critics of this century. His ideas have had great import and influence in political philosophy and political discussion, yet very few of his ideas have been incorporated explicitly into the business ethics literature. We argue that Walzer’s work provides an important conceptual canvas for business ethics scholars that has not been adequately explored. Scholars in business ethics often borrow from political theory and philosophy to generate new insights (...) and develop new substantive contributions. Many valuable theoretical resources are already used extensively—particularly Aristotle, Kant, Marx and a variety of utilitarian philosophers. Walzer offers another set of resources to bring to the conversation of what business ethics is and how business ethicists add value. This paper provides an opportunity to delve further into Walzer’s writings, particularly themes that are tied to business ethics, and to illustrate how his ideas can be extended to reshape our understanding of the field and develop new perspectives on ethical issues in commerce. (shrink)

Summary In the early years of the nineteenth century, the English chemist John Dalton (1766–1844) developed his atomic theory, a set of theoretical commitments describing the nature of atoms and the rules guiding their interactions and combinations. In this paper, I examine a set of conceptual and illustrative tools used by Dalton in developing his theory as well as in presenting it to the public in printed form as well as in his many public lectures. These tools—the concept of ‘atmosphere’, (...) the pile of shot analogy, and Dalton's system of chemical notation—served not just to guide Dalton's own thinking and to make his theories clear to his various audiences, but also to bind these theories together into a coherent system, presented in its definitive form in the three volumes of A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808, 1810, and 1827). Despite these links, Dalton's contemporaries tended to pick and choose which of his theories to accept; his system of notation failed to be adopted in part because it embodied the whole of his system indivisibly. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Martin Heidegger and OntologyEmmanuel Levinas (bio)The prestige of Martin Heidegger 1 and the influence of his thought on German philosophy marks both a new phase and one of the high points of the phenomenological movement. Caught unawares, the traditional establishment is obliged to clarify its position on this new teaching which casts a spell over youth and which, overstepping the bounds of permissibility, is already in vogue. For (...) once, Fame has picked one who deserves it and, for that matter, one who is still living. Anyone who has studied philosophy cannot, when confronted by Heidegger’s work, fail to recognize how the originality and force of his achievements, stemming from genius, are combined with an attentive, painstaking, and close working-out of the argument—with that craftsmanship of the patient artisan in which phenomenologists take such pride. In this study, it is important for us to understand, above all, the true intentions of our author, to illuminate what he thinks really needs to be said, and to surmise what is most critical for him.To get to the heart of Heidegger’s system, it seems fitting to begin with a problem that is generally familiar. We choose the problem of knowledge, a deeper understanding of which takes us to the very threshold of Heidegger’s thought. For this problem, central to modern philosophy, is one of the main obstacles of modern philosophy that Heidegger wishes to surmount. Neo-Kantianism, which takes knowledge as the philosophical problem of the first rank, is the movement against which Heidegger rebels with all his strength. We have, thus, every chance of gaining access to his thought by the main door, so to speak. Once inside the system we will try to trace its outlines, 2 reserving, for a second part of our work, the determination of Heidegger’s place in the history of ideas, especially in the phenomenological movement, as well as of his relations with the philosopher to whom he owes so much—Edmund Husserl. 31In its most general form, the problem of the theory of knowledge has a critical significance. It consists in delineating a domain where knowledge can be certain and in determining the criteria for the legitimate scope of knowledge. But this problem, as normal and as simple as it may appear, has deeper roots. That knowledge should need a criterion at all presupposes that truth is not identical to all that is known and that the course [End Page 11] of things can fail to correspond with the course of thought. “How does knowledge correspond to being?” is a more profound formulation of the problem of knowledge.But we are not going to touch anymore on the primordial phenomenon that generates the problem. The problem of correspondence between thing and thought presupposes a free activity of thought and its isolation in relation to the object. It is precisely this presupposition which renders their harmony and even their contact problematic. “How does the subject take leave of itself to attain the object?” is what the problem of knowledge, in the last analysis, boils down to. Its true source is thus the concept of “subject” as elaborated by modern philosophy. The cogito presided over the subject’s birth. The cogito was the affirmation of the privileged nature of the subject’s immanent sphere, of its unique place in existence; hence, the cogito was the specificity of the subject’s connection to the rest of reality, the sui generis nature which opens up the passage from immanence to transcendence, the passage from ideas contained in the thinking substance to 4 their “formal existence.”The concept of the subject, understood as a substance having a specific position in the entire domain of being, presents us with difficulties of two kinds. First, how do we understand this leave-taking from the self which the thinking substance brings about and which displays an entirely original aspect? Indeed, we could say that thought, in reaching out toward objects, does not actually take leave of itself, since its objects—considered as ideas and contents of thought—are, in a certain sense, already within it. In order to make sense of this paradox, Descartes... (shrink)

It is understandable that, since the fall of the Berlin wall, researchers interested in the social and political upheavals brought about by this phase of history should have concentrated their attentions on what had been the immediate sphere of influence of the Soviet centre of power. However we are within our rights today to ask why our understanding of the structural (economic and social) transformations in what is conveniently called the ‘post-communist’ period and space, and of post-bipolarisation regional relationships, (...) should be confined to that region of the world corresponding to the ex-USSR and the Eastern countries. (shrink)

The special rights and responsibilities of the great powers have traditionally been treated as a key component – even a primary institution – of international society in the English School literatu...

Purpose. The article is aimed to study the anthropological, socio-philosophical and philosophical-legal dimensions of the ontological sphere of human life within the discourse of restricting human rights during pandemic threats. To do this, one should solve a number of tasks, among which are the following: 1) to explore the anthropological and praxeological understanding of fear as a primary component of human existence in a pandemic, which prevents people from changing their lives for the better and healthier, having fun and happiness; (...) 2) to put a focus on the habituation of fear as a two-dimensional adaptation to risks and threats from pandemics; 3) to reflect the anthropological features of changes in human life experience under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the discourse of human rights and public health measures. Theoretical basis. Today, international guiding principles on human rights response to global natural threats have been updated. However, there are still no specific legal recommendations concerning measures on human rights protection during outbreaks of various infectious diseases. However, the influence of unexpected global challenges causes a change in the anthropological component of society and the state, so it requires immediate comprehensive research. Originality. It was substantiated a systematic approach to the implementation of modern healthcare policy towards the recognition of human life as the highest value, increasing the level of psychological preparedness for pandemic challenges and approximation of statutory provisions of human rights protection to modern challenges and threats to the health of the individual, society and state. The study of anthropological, socio-philosophical and philosophical-legal dimensions of human existence in the discourse of pandemic threats made it possible to reveal the profound influence of fear on human life, social justice and, consequently, identify the moral and legal dependence of the development level of society and the state on the level of axiological and anthropological concept of human dignity. Conclusions. Based on the study of statistical reports, international analysis and the use of personal authorial methods, the following can be stated: the methods of combating the modern pandemic have directly affected everyone on national and international level. Their influence is significant because it changes the rules of coexistence and life of people in all spheres. However, the influence on the consciousness and other intentions of the individual has mostly temporally insignificant limits. (shrink)

This article considers two prominent, competing approaches to defining the scope of business responsibility for human rights. The first approach advocates extension of business responsibility beyond the boundaries of the enterprise to encompass broader ' spheres of influence'. The second approach advocates a business ' responsibility to respect* human rights (but not a ' positive* duty to protect, promote or fulfil rights).Building on a critical evaluation of these competing accounts of business responsibility, this article outlines a modified account, (...) referred to as a framework of ' spheres of responsibility*. On such an account, business responsibility for human rights outcomes is conceptualised not only in relation to direct ' harms' imposed by business, but also in relation to corporate influence over broader relationships and institutions that shape and constrain the substantive realisation of human rights. (shrink)

This article considers two prominent, competing approaches to defining the scope of business responsibility for human rights. The first approach advocates extension of business responsibility beyond the boundaries of the enterprise to encompass broader ‘spheres of influence’. The second approach advocates a business ‘responsibility to respect’ human rights. Building on a critical evaluation of these competing accounts of business responsibility, this article outlines a modified account, referred to as a framework of ‘spheres of responsibility’. On such an (...) account, business responsibility for human rights outcomes is conceptualised not only in relation to direct ‘harms’ imposed by business, but also in relation to corporate influence over broader relationships and institutions that shape and constrain the substantive realisation of human rights. (shrink)

Russian-Australian relations in the sphere of nuclear power are studied in this article. The history, evolution, current state and prospects of these relations are analyzed. Two agreements between the USSR/Russia and Australia on cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes of 1990and 2007 are studied and compared. The difference between two agreements is analyzed. Positive influence of these agreements on the intergovernmental relations is emphasized. According to the new agreement the expansion of cooperation in the sphere (...) of peaceful use of nuclear energy comparing with the previous agreement is also underlined. The cooperation in the sphere of supply and trade of Australian uranium using international fuel cycle center at Angarsk for enrichment is analyzed and defined as good and profitable for both countries. The positive influence of the cooperation on all spheres is emphasized. Factors influencing on the development of the relations are outlined. The change of political situation led to the confrontation between partners and the suspension of Australian uranium sales to Russia. The suspension of cooperation instead of written and ratified agreement led to significant degradation of Russian-Australian relations in economic and humanitarian spheres. (shrink)

The paper focuses on studying public attitudes toward science in Bulgaria and the role of political discourse in shaping public expectations and perceptions. The study's methodology includes an analysis of theoretical concepts and their empirical verification with data from a quantitative Eurobarometer survey (Special Eurobarometer 516) and a discourse analysis of the representation of the scientific sphere in the public debate. The Bulgarian social reality clearly shows a blurring of the role, nature, and participation of science in societal development, the (...) imposition of populist societal expectations towards it, as well as political statements that abuse the reputation of the scientific sphere and its representatives. (shrink)

Back in print are Hatch's classic Hibbert Lectures in which he calls into question the influence that Greek ideas had on the historical development of Christian theology. The earliest forms of Christianity were not only outside the sphere of Greek philosophy, but they also appealed, on the one hand, mainly to the classes which philosophy did not reach, and, on the other hand, to a standard which philosophy did not recognize. Edwin Hatch.

The ethnology of religion is a relatively young field of religious studies that emerged as a result of an interdisciplinary study of ethnicity and religion. It is she who studies the great variety of aspects of the interaction and combination of these social phenomena, although, as is well known, religion and ethnicity are the object of attention of various branches of science - religious studies, ethnology, anthropology, ethnography, cultural studies, history, etc. Each of them in their context analyzes their essence, (...) functionality, history, even some specific aspect of their interaction. The emergence of the ethnology of religion as a separate sphere of religious science due to the need for a holistic approach to the study of a complex system of relations "religion-ethnos" in all their diversity of forms, types, types. The synthetics of social phenomena that have arisen as a result of the interaction of ethnicities and religions have prompted to life at first comprehensive studies of these phenomena, and later - a synthesis of the sciences that studied them. The latter is a testimony to the further development of human knowledge, a necessary step towards an in-depth understanding of the relationship between ethnic and religious. These social phenomena throughout history are so closely intertwined that during certain periods of social life significantly influenced the tendencies and directions of the world historical process, determined the character of the formation of its laws. (shrink)

The purpose of the study is to reveal the features of the influence of empathy on the development of the sensory sphere of the younger school student in music lessons at school. The article focuses on the specifics of the formation of empathy, its connection with musical material. Scientific novelty lies in the substantiation of the purposeful development of the empathic sphere of children in music lessons, in the specification of its factors and criteria. As a result, the stages (...) of development of empathy, its connection with the life and sensory experience of the student, his behavior, personal characteristics, as well as the guiding role of joint creative activity with the teacher, which helps to develop the experience of the student's musical experiences, affects the formation of his feelings, develops the ability to recognize non-verbally expressed emotions by music, is revealed. (shrink)

The article develops the idea of forming postcapitalist social relations as a social revolution of an individual, which consists in the fact that popularity becomes a key advantage, the “possession” of which is a desired goal and a significant resource of political influence. At the same time, it is shown that this process leads to forming a new dominant stratum — personalities (“people with personality”): celebrities, popular bloggers, social media influencers, micro- and nanosignature. It is substantiated that the personaliat (...) domination is a consequence of contradictory social relations between the new aristocracy represented by the representatives of the personaliat and many people who do not “possess” a popular personality - the impersonaliat (“extra people”, “lower” precariat, those who turn out to be outsiders in the world of social platforms). This contradiction is associated with the rooting of a celebrity’s culture, which encourages a lot of people to fight for popularity and focus on finding advantageous differences from others in the process of self-realization. However, this struggle in the end for the overwhelming majority turns into an increase in creative competition and subtraction. Various new forms of subtraction that appear in situations of widespread self-realization are revealed. Accordingly, arguments are given in favor of the fact that in the context of the “personality revolution”, the truly left will be rather an alternative that will call into question the ways of solving social problems formulated by popular personalities. In other words, it will be possible to oppose the total pursuit of popularity with the projects of society, in which the person is relied not as someone who rises above the others, but as an involved person who values life in harmony with others higher than his own “I”. (shrink)

The widespread influence of religion, the absolute distribution and functioning of it at all stages of human history naturally generated and raises questions about the nature of this spiritual phenomenon, the transient force of its influence on the world of the inner human needs, as well as the spiritual culture of mankind as a whole.

This study attempts to extend the literature in ethics research by developing and testing a model of an individual's ethical system which identifies the sources of influence on the decision process. The model is developed from an interdisciplinary literature review and includes six subsystems or spheres that exert influence on an individual: the workplace, family, religion, legal system, community, and profession. The study also examines the role of materiality in the decision-making process. Using this model, empirical tests (...) identify the spheres that exert the most influence on the decision-maker facing an ethical dilemma. In addition, the relative importance of the spheres and the interaction among the spheres is examined. Findings show that: (1) individuals rate variables at different levels of importance as the materiality of the breach changes and (2) the spheres that are considered most important for minor ethical breaches are different than the spheres considered most influential in a major ethical situation. Exploratory factor analysis suggests that the variables representing the spheres can be summarized by three factors. Further, it indicates that these factors change with materiality. (shrink)

While discussing critical individuality as oneof the main goals of liberal education, theemphasis has usually been on direct educationalmeasures. Much less attention has been given tothe social preconditions for its development.This paper discusses the societal aspect of thequestion by employing the notion of spherepluralism. The attempt is to point out someways in which the diversified nature of societycan be employed in its full potential for thedevelopment of critical individuality. Thearticle aims to outline a form of spherepluralism, which is based on (...) structuraldifferentiation, cultural diversity, communalvitality, confessional pluralism andcross-communal criticism. The suggestion isthat the critical potential of sphere pluralismpresupposes a proper balance between sphereautonomy and inter-sphere criticism as well asthat between social construction of meaning andobjective-structural constraints. (shrink)

The Sphere Model of Consciousness (SMC) delineates a sphere-shaped matrix that aims to describe the phenomenology of experience using geometric coordinates. According to SMC, an experience of overcoming of the habitual self and the conditioning of memories could be placed at the center of the matrix, which can be then called the Place of Pre-Existence (PPE). The PPE is causally associated with self-determination. In this context, we suggest that silence could be considered as an intentional state enabling self-perception to be (...) focused on the “here and now,” which in turn improves perception of one’s own body in space. To investigate these hypotheses grounded in the model, the current preliminary study examined the Place of Pre-Existence Technique (PPEt), in which practitioners are guided to focus on a self-defined aim; reach a state of detachment from the habitual self; envision the future. 481 volunteers PPEt practitioners completed self-report questionnaires before and after an intensive 3-day meditative training. We analyzed the possibly relationship between subjective experiences related to physical, emotional, mental, temporal, and spatial aspects, as well as self-determination and silence, before and after training. The results indicated a shift from a prevailing influence of mental dimension on the other aspects of experience, to a prevailing influence of spatial dimension. Silence was reported more often following the training, and predominantly related to the mental and emotional experiences. The results are discussed in relation to the shift from Narrative to Minimal Self and to increased balance among the considered dimensions. (shrink)

The political public sphere is important for democracy, and it is changing – this is how the quintessence of Jürgen Habermas’s monumental study on The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1989) could be summarized in simple words. In the fields of political sociology and social theory, history, but also research on social movements, cultural studies, and media and communication studies, his conception of the public sphere as a sphere mediating between the state and civil society has had a decisive (...) influence on the debate about the potential of collective reason for modern democracy. In this introduction we give a short overview of Habermas’s arguments on the rise and fall of the bourgeois public sphere, demonstrate the necessary link between the public sphere and democracy and, referring to the contributions to this special issue, sketch current transformations of the public sphere along three basic processes – digitalization, commodification, and globalization. (shrink)

This scientific article is devoted to the study of the features of mediatization of the socio-political sphere in modern Ukrainian society. Using methodological approaches, the author proposes to clarify the main theoretical principles underlying the study of mediatization.The article identifies and classifies the key factors that influence the process of mediatization in Ukrainian society. Special attention is paid to the impact of the Internet, information warfare, media space and “new media” on the socio-political sphere.Applying content analysis of reports of (...) analytical centers of Ukraine, the author identifies and systematizes specific signs of mediatization of Ukrainian society. Analyzing these features, the article examines the impact of mediatization on the socio-political landscape of the country and identifies potential challenges and opportunities that arise in connection with this process. It has been proven that the progress of the technical component of the mediatization process entails both the emergence of new opportunities and significant threats to national security. It was established that the development of “new mass media” leads to a gradual increase in the role of messengers as sources of reliable information and the displacement of other (non-digital) ways of information dissemination. Initiatives unrelated to state intervention and self-regulation mechanisms in the information sphere are singled out as one of the most effective means of combating disinformation.The final part of the article provides recommendations regarding state regulation of the mediatization process in Ukrainian society. The author reveals the essence of the institution of public diplomacy as a potential means of strengthening national security in the context of the information society. The author points to the need for effective regulation, balanced protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens in the media environment, and also emphasizes the importance of developing media literacy among the population. The article offers a valuable contribution in the context of understanding the process of mediatization of the socio-political sphere in Ukrainian society and provides practical recommendations aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of this process.Keywords: Inte. (shrink)

The paper gives an outline of the Socratic Cynic school and its influence on Stoicism. In its first part the author gives a general characteristics of Cynicism of the 4th century B. C., showing, that the Cynic movment was based on the presupposition of an absolute incompatibility of virtue with the laws of polis. From the doxographical materials available it shows the basic characteristics of the Cynic virtue, such as self-sufficiency, the importance of physical work, stressing the poverty, a (...) new approach to women and an ascetic way of life. The second part of the paper is devoted to the relationship between Cynicism and Stoicism itself. It tries to highlight the consequences of the stoic merging of physics and ethics for a new understanding of life according to nature. The author argues, that the theory of appropriation - allowing for a value differentiation of the sphere of the indifferent in Stoa - introduced by the stoics was decisive for a new understanding of this Cynical philosophers' challenge. In conclusion an interesting personality of a cynicizing Stoic-apostate Ariston of Chia is presented, whose coming back to Cynicism in the frame of Stoa could not bring about a consequent revival of the original - often radical and exhibitionist - views an practices of old Cynics. (shrink)

Christianity has exerted invaluable influence on all spheres of human existence, first of all spiritual. Religious systems, being the same content for many nations, have a different effect on the history and consciousness of these peoples.Religious situation in Ukraine at the end of the XVI century. is marked by complexity. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, Ukrainian Orthodoxy, along with Catholicism, became dominant in the Commonwealth. But the episcopate of the Kievan Metropolitanate, worried about increasing its own (...) and church holdings, paid little attention to the training of staff for the Orthodox Church, the education of young people. At the same time, Catholic orders that appeared in Ukraine after the union, were active missionary work. Over time, they permeated all spheres of public life of the Ukrainian people. The prestige of Orthodoxy began to fall, causing the gentry to convert to Catholicism. The situation was complicated by the so-called right of "submission" to the king and "patronage" of the gentry, especially when the "patron" of Orthodox laymen became a Catholic or Protestant. Kievan Metropolis gradually embraced church disorder. (shrink)

Influencer marketing is an increasingly important and ubiquitous component of strategic communication campaigns, yet one that remains ethically fraught, due largely to the nonexistence of, and objections to, ethics codes and/or regulation guiding its use or disclosure. This article describes a unique academic/industry hybrid study conducted in the Czech Republic combining (a) mixed-methods research in which marketing professionals, industry associations, influencers, and consumers served as participants and (b) a case study of the subsequent development and implementation of – and positive (...) responses to – that nation’s first “Fair Influencer” Code of Ethics, whose content was based directly on the research findings. To date, the Code has 150 signatories, representing all constituencies of the influencer-marketing sphere, and has been lauded by Czech and Slovak consumer and media outlets as well as influencers themselves, suggesting the applicability of similar efforts in other nations where influencer marketing thrives but still lacks – and encounters resistance to – ethical or regulatory oversight. (shrink)

Under the conditions of the revolution in science and technology, of tremendous social changes, of the tempestuous and significant growth in the prestige of scientific knowledge, and of the exacerbation of the ideological struggle, there has been an immeasurable broadening of the social tasks and spheres of operation of such social phenomena as scientific criticism and self-criticism. Study of social, theoretical, and psychological cross-sections of these phenomena is one of the necessary conditions for cultivating lofty civic qualities, a communist (...) world-view, and the moral and aesthetic improvement of the individual. Special attention is directed to the socializing function of criticism and self-criticism in the Program of the CPSU, the materials of the Twenty-fourth Congress of the CPSU, and the resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On Literary and Artistic Criticism" and "On the State of Criticism and Self-Criticism in the Tambov Regional Party Organization." Scientific criticism reveals the extent to which the results or processes of practical activity are in accord with communist ideals and to what degree the moral and aesthetic norms of individuals and collectives are an expression of proletarian and general human culture. This is a distinctive intellectual and theoretical form of solution of social contradictions. Criticism is organically interwoven into theoretical and practical human activity. It breaks down old and established social traditions and customary values and impels human thought to undertake scientific quests. It does not permit society to content itself merely with its past triumphs. Scientific criticism arouses and cultivates class consciousness and provides an evaluation of social phenomena from the standpoint of the progressive class. Under the conditions of developed socialist society, criticism and self-criticism become an active means for improving ideological, political, and educational work, the development of the toilers' creative capacities, and activation of the sociopolitical and intellectual life of society. (shrink)

The problem of functioning of the religious complex in the conditions of postmodern society is quite urgent both in theoretical and practical terms. The need for its scientific analysis, its comprehension in the context of the radical changes that take place under the influence of such an outlook in the religious sphere, becomes obvious. Considerable contribution to the study of this issue was made by Ukrainian religious scholars M. Babiy, V. Bondarenko, M. Zakovych, A. Kolodny, O. Sagan, P. Saukh, (...) L. Filippovych, etc. (shrink)

Nigeria, as a geographical entity is replete with various ethnic and cultural identities that have continued to evolve from pre-colonial times to recenttimes. Granted that civilizations from Europe and Arabia have dictated almost all spheres of living, both in the Northern and Southern geographies of the country and eroded nearly all traditional values that would have assisted in curbing social and filial tensions; it is pertinent to inquire into the social relations before this ‘encounter.’ This is important as this (...) research seeks to invoke some aspects of the past that can be relevant for contemporary utility. Hence, through the method of critical analysis, this study takes a look at the socio-economic norms among the pre-colonial cultures that eventually evolved into Nigeria, paying attention to the place of slaves and women and laying emphasis on the filial and communal nature which allowed for a not too wide the gap between the rich and the poor. Even when this study is not unaware of the positive roles of foreign influence, it recounts the deficits of this presence and suggests that aproper way is to explore some indigenous ideas and apply them for contemporary living. Keywords: Culture, Family, Moral Values, Nigeria, Pre-colonial. (shrink)

The book takes a critical look at the phenomenon of disinformation by identifying the historical, technological and human elements that contribute to the current success of disinformation strategies. The author examines the origin of the word "Dezinformatsiya", used by Russian planners in the 1950s, to understand how military strategy has transformed into militarization of information. The book pays particular attention to the power of algorithmic platforms on the selection and dissemination of digital content and their role in the spread of (...) misinformation. This influences traditional editorial practices, disintermediating the production and distribution of news and amplifying a particular human cognitive mechanism: confirmation bias. The author investigates the Italian case to identify general archetypes, and typical and salient elements of disinformation strategies. The results offer a further interpretative aspect to studying disinformation, which represents a fracture in the digital public sphere, a kind of irrational object circulating in a space believed to be governed by rational engagement norms. The book conclusively shows how polarizing narratives used in disinformation strategies are the expression of complex ideological undergrowth embodied in extremes of the political spectrum. This highly topical book is for students and researchers from across the social sciences and media interested in the disinformation phenomenon. (shrink)

The public sphere plays a crucial role in the functioning of liberal democracy. As a sphere conceived ideally independent of state control and economic influence, it serves as the sounding board of social and political concerns, where communications take place, ideas are exchanged, and arguments are put forward. The liberal notion of the public sphere relies on values such as inclusivity, transparency, equality, and rationality. This paper explores the limits of the liberal notion of the public sphere by looking (...) into the recent media transformation, which blurry the boundary between public and private, change the form and content of the circulation of information, and are decoupling the communicative from the political realm. Taken together these media transformation ask for a reconsideration of the dominant model of the public sphere. (shrink)

The article examines the dynamics and change of the contemporary public sphere caused by the emergence of digital media and their transformative impact on social life and communicative professions. For this purpose the stages in Jürgen Habermas's theory of the public sphere are traced, and, the main concepts in his two main works, dedicated to the classical public sphere (1962) and the one formed under the influence of digital media (2022), are analysed. The authors examine importance of this transformation (...) on the democratic process, the platformization of the media and its influence in modern society, as well as the problems of technology in the field of social networks. The article undertakes an attempt to build a theoretical framework for explaining the development of the contemporary public sphere in the conditions of accelerated change in communication technologies. (shrink)

This paper examines the debate over the relationship between the public sphere and communication, which has become a focus of attention after the publication of Jürgen Habermas's Structural Transformation of Public Sphere in English in 1989, following the two volumes of his The Theory of Communicative Action in 1984 and 1987. Although the historical account of the public sphere has also received a good deal of attention, I deal mainly with the normative dimension of Habermas's theory as it led to (...) a rethinking and reassessment of public broadcasting, to the end of restructuring it as a site where 'citizens act as a public'. That is to say, a site where people assemble and unite freely, and express and publicize their opinions on matters of general interest without constraint in an age of deregulated communications. Several scholars have provided us with maps for re-organizing the media of communications in this respect, but they have failed to analyze the 'information' which feeds the 'informed citizen'. This paper addresses not only what information means today—whether it is a digit, a signal, or content—but also how it is produced within daily routine practices and how the nature of the means of its dissemination influences its character. Another serious aspect of those assessments, including that of Habermas, is the global character of communications today. Habermas is well aware of the mismatch between the global market and the absence of its corollary in politics. Yet his silence in the economics of information, even as he acknowledges the digitalization of communications and 'a world public sphere', also calls for a critical account of the relations between 'information', democratic politics and the question of scale. (shrink)

Research on the influence of industry on chemical regulation has mostly been conducted within the framework of the production of ignorance. This special issue extends this research by looking at how industry asserts its interests––not just in the scientific sphere but also at other stages of policy-making and regulatory process––with a specific focus on the types of tools or instruments industry has used. Bringing together sociologists and historians specialized in Science and Technology Studies, the articles of the special issue (...) study the arenas in which instruments and practical guidelines for public policy are negotiated or used. The aim is to observe the devices in the making or in action, from the selection of actors to the production of thresholds, criteria, and other technical regulations. The introduction highlights how industry influence on expertise and regulation is undoubtedly far more pervasive and multifarious than has been conceptualized to date by social scientists. Putting this issue back at the heart of both the STS and social sciences research agendas is increasingly urgent and could lead to new inquiries able to highlight these logics even more widely, using fresh empirical examples. (shrink)

The era of the Tang dynasty was a period of great flourishing of all aspects of Chinese culture, when changes covered the most diverse spheres of philosophy, art and literature. The article examines the role played in this cultural transformation by translations from Sanskrit into Chinese of the religious and philosophical texts of Indian Buddhism. The specificity of the Chinese approach to the translation of Indian texts is demonstrated, when, at the initial stage, many works were translated in a (...) rather free style due to the lack of precisely established correspondences between Sanskrit and Chinese philosophical terms. The authors identify two additional factors that influenced the nature of the translations. Firstly, this is the requirement of compliance with the norms of public, mainly Confucian, morality. Secondly, the adaptation of the Indian philosophical context to the Chinese cultural and worldview traditions, which led to the emergence of new schools of religious and philosophical thought that were not known in India itself, such as Tiantai, Jingtu or Chan, each of which in its own way influenced the art of the Medieval China. Special attention is paid to the activities of the legendary translator, Xuanzang, whose travel to India gave a huge impetus to the development of Chinese philosophy in subsequent centuries, as well as to the contribution to Chinese culture and art, which was made by the translation activities of the three great teachers of the Tang era Shubhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. (shrink)

The author undertakes the job of analysing the real situation of the media in Albania from the viewpoint of the complex relations being set up between the spheres of religion and communications in the post-communist period. In the course of his argument he shows how religion is adopting a form in which events and stories of a communications order are being confused. These basic dimensions are assuming a particularly noteworthy aspect because Albanian society has the specific features of a (...) multi-faith environment where Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, etc. practices and rites can be found. The author also stresses the respect for norms and values of a secular model that precisely distinguishes the various spaces for discourse and intervention by actors. He notes how recent democratization has managed to facilitate a renaissance of religious usage, even though some priests may express a harsh view of the forms of expression of modernity. Churches and mosques are elaborating their own particular narratives of Albanian history, creating in this way the features of an interpretative multi-stranded story. (shrink)

We propose a new dynamic hybrid logic to reason about social networks and their dynamics building on the work of “Logic in the Community” by Seligman, Liu and Girard. Our framework distinguishes between the purely private sphere of agents, namely their mental states, and the public sphere of their observable behavior, i.e., what they seem to believe. We then show how such a distinction allows our framework to model many social phenomena, by presenting the case of pluralistic ignorance as an (...) example and discussing some of its dynamic properties. (shrink)

This study identifies global factors conditioning the global problematics of the direction of social development. Global threats were evaluated and defined as dangerous processes, phenomena, and situations that cause harm to health, safety, well-being, and the lives of all humanity, and require removal. The essence of global risks was defined. These risks were defined as events or conditions that may cause a significant negative effect for several countries or spheres within a strategic period if they occur. Global problems were (...) conceptualized. These problems were defined as phenomena, matters, and situations that are not completely understandable, interesting, actual, require solving and regulation, and in addition do not have unified solutions. Current global challenges were analyzed, defined as strategic guidelines that cause transformational changes and are receiving attention from humanity. Global trends were defined as courses of social development. The composition and role of global actors were described, and defined as international organizations, leading states, regional organizations, powerful corporations, institutional investors, large cities, and well-known personalities. The directions of positive courses of social development were developed by means of using the authors’ mechanism of solving the global problematics. (shrink)

This article on James Tenney, the American music theorist and composer, sets out the overall framework of his theory of music, in particular the systematic analysis conducted in his essay entitledMeta+hodos. Although these reflections cannot be included in the sphere of American musical phenomenology, they show remarkable similarities with phenomenological themes. A Gestalt approach centred on the description of sound phenomena is delineated, together with a conceptualization hinging on the phenomenal nature of music and the idea of perceivable structures and (...) expressive valencies. A theory of musical wholes and parts — from the cohesion and segregation viewpoint — is followed by a theory of form predicated on an original and significant definition: that form is the perception of differences. Finally, the methodological development of Tenney's theory is traced and criticized, in particular the conflict between descriptive and non-descriptive moments. (shrink)

Fifty years after the death of Edmund Husserl, the main founder of the phenomenological current of thought, we present to the public a four book collection showing in an unprecedented way how Husserl's aspiration to inspire the entire universe of knowledge and scholarship has now been realized. These volumes display for the first time the astounding expansion of phenomenological philosophy throughout the world and the enormous wealth and variety of ideas, insights, and approaches it has inspired. The basic commitment to (...) phenomenological concerns found in all this variety makes this collection a most signifi cant historical document. This second volume of the collection bears witness to a deliberate shift of attention from the earlier to the later phase of Husserl's reflections. We see how his issues - intersubjectivity, ethics, human encounter, the societal world, empathy, the sphere of the self, and the surpassing of dichotomies (bodylpsyche, etc.) - are now at the center of attention in the human sciences. Among the authors are H. Tellenbach, A. Rigobello, C. Balzer, C. Bjurvill, V. Molchanov, E. Syristova, O. Balaban, R. Boehm, M. Sancipriano, O. M. Anwar, Y. Okamoto, B. Holyst, T. Sodeika, and M. De Negri. The studies were gathered at the programs held by The World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning in the commemorative year 1988/1989, chiefly at the First World Congress of Phenomenology at Santiago de Compos tela, Spain, with the aim of assessing the current state of phenomenology. A-T. T. (shrink)

Which traveler, passing through the rural communities of Asia, has not been intrigued by the existence, on the periphery of the village, of shrines, piles of stones, trees, or caverns ornamented with offerings which, at certain key moments during the year, become the focal points of an intense religious activity? These sites are in fact consecrated to chthonian forces that, next to the ancestors, occupy a high rank in the relationship that the peasants of Asia or other regions around the (...) world establish with the divine. To be sure, the earth gods and the ancestors do not put themselves at the top of the pantheon that each society neatly builds for itself; but they nevertheless dominate the immediate sphere of individuals and social groups. They are at the center of their most routine cultic activities, and they are bestowed with a crucial role in the perpetuation of the groups with which they are identified and whose unity they symbolize. (shrink)