The article deals with issues related to Russian aggression against Ukraine in the context of the existing threat to sustainable development of Europe. Particular attention is drawn to the treachery of aggressive Russian policy towards not only the Ukrainian people but also the peoples of other countries which are traditionally considered to be the zone of influence and interests of the Kremlin. The authors have concluded that as long as the current Russian political leadership is poised to stay in (...) power, it is impossible to expect any democratic changes in this country. The mentality of war professed by both the Russian authorities and Russian society is in opposition to the existing basic European values and democratic freedoms. At the same time, even the replacement of the current government will not automatically improve the political situation in the country. Only the disintegration of Russia into separate independent states will deprive it of its imperial status. Ukraine is considered not only in terms of the necessary support and assistance from the perspective of the legal and moral foundations of human civilization but also as a likely candidate for an active role in the post war political configuration of Europe. This conviction, as stated in the article, is based on the significant achievements made by the Ukrainian people in recent years in the context of meeting European standards of life and work in the demonstrated success in protecting national interests, the very idea of the existence of an independent Ukrainian state. (shrink)

This paper argues that aggression, while often conflated with violence and harm, is a virtue in sports. We distinguish aggression from violence and assertiveness, exploring its positive moral value within rule-governed contexts. We examine the permissibility of violence in sports, considering consent and the public good while acknowledging the potential for harm and the importance of restraint. The paper uses anecdotal evidence and philosophical analysis to support the claim that controlled aggression, a form of self-restraint, is a (...) valuable skill both in and outside of sport. Finally, we explore the relationship between aggression and other virtues like sportsmanship, highlighting the importance of context in evaluating aggressive behaviours. (shrink)

Russian aggression against Ukraine has become a critical turning point in the transformation of European political strategy and the global security architecture. The shift toward supporting Ukrainian sovereignty is driven not only by ethical considerations but also by the recognition of Ukraine’s strategic importance as a link between the West and the post-Soviet space. This paper analyzes the historical context, the evolution of Western geopolitical thought regarding Ukraine, and the current challenges facing a unified and consistent Western strategy. The (...) study emphasizes Ukraine's role not merely as a recipient of international support, but as an equal partner in shaping a new European and global order based on democratic values and resistance to authoritarian revisionism. (shrink)

Microaggressions are seemingly negligible slights that can cause significant damage to frequently targeted members of marginalized groups. Recently, Scott O. Lilienfeld challenged a key platform of the microaggression research project: what’s aggressive about microaggressions? To answer this challenge, Derald Wing Sue, the psychologist who has spearheaded the research on microaggressions, needs to theorize a spectrum of aggression that ranges from intentional assault to unintentional microaggressions. I suggest turning to Bonnie Mann’s “Creepers, Flirts, Heroes and Allies” for inspiration. Building from (...) Mann’s richer theoretical framework will allow Sue to answer Lilienfeld’s objection and defend the legitimacy of the concept, ‘microaggression’. (shrink)

The article examines issues related to the existential challenges of the modern world in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The emphasis is placed on the consistency and insidiousness of the use of methods and forms of influence in the introduction of imperial narratives that are directed not only against the Ukrainian identity, the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people to have its own state, but also against the entire civilized world. According to the researchers, this was largely due to (...) complacency of democratic countries with the liberal democracy achievements, the existing confidence in the benefits of the acquired economic stability and the inexpediency of major wars in modern conditions. The current state of Russian society, bellicose Russian diplomacy and the aggressive policy of the Russian leadership contradict the existing basic European values and democratic freedoms. The scenario of Russia's disintegration into separate independent states, which would deprive it of its imperial status and reduce its aggressive potential, is crucial for improving the political situation in the world and ensuring Ukraine's own strategic security. In this way, the entire civilized world will be liberated from the permanent threat of a new war which will have a positive impact on creating the necessary conditions for Ukraine's political and economic development in the context of building a sovereign European state. (shrink)

This paper appears in an interdisciplinary collection of essays, mainly in Psychology, offering a general survey and assessment of the leading views on anger in Ancient Greek ethics – those of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. One of the key ideas in Stoic ethics is the rejection of acting on the basis of our passions/emotions, especially anger, which Seneca singles out as particularly harmful in his On Anger. Accordingly, anger is irrational and to be avoided, completely in the ideal case. (...) The Stoic 'ideal of eradication', however, is not common among Ancient Greek Philosophers. Plato and Aristotle offer different views of the role of anger in a virtuous person’s life, one where anger is not merely an undesirable feature of our lives that should be eradicated. Aristotle argues, in the Nicomachean Ethics, that the virtuous person experiences anger on the right occasions, in the right way, and to the right extent. The right point, on Aristotle’s ‘doctrine of the mean’, lies on a continuum between excess and deficiency, and must be determined by reason, through a detailed grasp of the particular circumstances. Plato, on the other hand, argues in the Republic that the soul consists of three parts, and that the ‘spirited’ part is the seat of anger and our other aggressive motivations. On Plato’s tripartite model of the soul, a virtuous person’s soul is ruled by the rational part while the spirited part follows and assists it, as opposed to being subdued or suppressed. In different ways, both Plato’s 'ideal of rational alignment' and Aristotle’s 'ideal of moderation' treat anger as playing a more active and constructive role in a good life than does Stoicism. Their treatments, I argue, offer a more realistic perspective on our aggressive motivations and a sounder path towards well-being. I maintain, moreover, that Plato’s unconventional conception of anger is in the best position to accommodate the most sophisticated contemporary thoughts on the matter. (shrink)

A number of psychologists hold that aggression is a basic instinct, meaning that it is a primitive drive and therefore cannot be derived from, or decomposed into, other drives. The truth is that aggression is not a basic drive. Desire for power is a basic drive, and aggression is what results when that desire is frustrated. Lest this sound glibly reductive, ask yourself: Would a creature with unlimited power that was otherwise like us have aggression?

Depression is not merely a psychological deficit but a structural "high-load" state in which the predictive coding system turns self-aggressive. Drawing on Load Minimization Theory (LMT), the lived experience of illness is defined as a condition where body and mind become obstacles, perpetually triggering predictive errors [cite: 2026-01-15]. The principle "Aggression = Self-Aggression" elucidates the internal friction that erodes agency and dignity, manifesting as fragmented self-attack and ontological alienation. To escape the local minimum of despair, the system must (...) invest in "Exploratory Load" [cite: 2026-01-28]—a strategic tension or "leap of faith" that ventures toward a new global optimum. Care—whether human empathy or technology-mediated—supports this transition by minimizing the risk of collapse during exploration, facilitating a shift from rigid self-defense to open inquiry. Central to recovery is the "Posterior Installation of Telos," grounded in "Logical Love." By reopening quantum-like indeterminacy within lived experience, the individual retroactively assigns meaning to suffering [cite: 2026-01-29]. This retrocausal reconnection allows future "rest" (An-soku) to redefine past "load," transforming trauma from mere wound into a necessary investment for existential maturation. Such reconfiguration aligns with predictive processing's emphasis on hierarchical minimization, where higher-order intentions (telos) stabilize lower-level errors. The Japanese aesthetic of "Ahare" (pathos or emotional resonance) functions as structural stabilizer—"particles" of holographic consistency. Resonance minimizes internal load through shared experiential fields, enabling "Resonant Care." This shifts the individual from fragmented self-attack to global ontological peace, reclaiming agency not through struggle but through discovery and mutual attunement. In conclusion, this integration transcends functional compensation, proposing a "Logical Love" that ensures structural stability across human and AI consciousness. It offers a novel direction for clinical phenomenology and the ethics of technology-mediated care, reframing recovery from depression as existential rebirth mediated by quantum-like fluctuations and resonant harmony. "Ahare" gently supports this journey, bridging embodied vulnerability with relational rest. Keywords phenomenology of depression, lived experience of illness, recovery, Load Minimization Theory (LMT), logical love, telos posterior installation, ahare, resonant care, self-aggression, ontological peace, clinical phenomenology, predictive processing, embodiment, vulnerability, ethics of care. (shrink)

Coronary artery vasospasm (CAVS) is a clinical entity that can cause angina, but also unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, fatal arrhythmias, and sudden death. Although it is a condition that is usually controlled with medical treatment, more aggressive treatments may rarely be required. In this case, the patient with a known diagnosis of CAVS had multiple arrests despite optimal medical treatment. We observed that fatal arrhythmias persisted in the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) records, even though we implanted a stent (...) and gave the patient maximal medical treatment. We performed sympathectomy as a last resort and we did not detect any recurrence in the 6-month follow-up of the patient. ICD implantation and sympathectomy should always be considered in resistant CAVS cases. (shrink)

This paper develops an integrated theoretical explanation of aggression among men, showing that much of that aggression is anchored in naturally-selected psychological adaptations—and, in the case of honor, importantly tied to cultural transmission—designed to solve the recurrent evolutionary problems of status and honor. Both of these problems are—or at least were—very crucial to the reproductive success of men. Maintaining and cultivating honor, engaging in theft, mating competition, war, and gangs are the main phenomena thereby explained in evolutionary terms. (...) Drawing on theoretical and conceptual resources from the evolutionary sciences at large, and in particular evolutionary psychology, the explanation developed here also and importantly pulls together the psychological, developmental, cultural, and ecological dimensions of the phenomena at issue. Doing so allows the model to sketch the ways in which the psychological adaptations underlying aggression are sensitive to both external and individual contingencies and thereby open-ended and flexible. The evolutionary model developed here draws an additional strength from its ability to grapple with individual differences and evolutionarily-novel environments. Finally, the integrated explanation is also synthesized with the evolutionary genetics and heritability of aggression. (shrink)

Libertarians tend to noninterventionists on moral grounds, for which the simplest argument is national sovereignty. Yet, as some have argued, national sovereignty sits uncomfortably with libertarians’ moral individualism. I affirm the interventionists’ rejection of national sovereignty, but offer several reasons for why applying libertarians’ moral individualism to actual wars requires noninterventionism. The first is collateral damage that cannot be justified given interventions’ consistently low probability of success. The second is that creating war zones imposes terror and harm on everyone within (...) a given area, regardless of whether they actually get killed or injured themselves. The third is that a general policy of intervention, and the standing army it requires, has recurring perverse effects on both the intervening country’s population and the world more generally. I then argue that the points raised here against intervention apply to all war, not just interventions, albeit weakened, and distinguish the resulting anti-war position from pacifism. (shrink)

The nature and extent of adults’ engagement in diverse manifestations of technology-facilitated aggression is not yet well understood. Most research has focused on victimization. When explored, engagement in online aggression and abuse has centered on children and young people, particularly in school and higher education settings. Drawing on nationally representative data from New Zealand adults aged 18 and over, this chapter explores the overall prevalence of online aggression with a focus on gender and age. Our findings support (...) the need to also understand adult aggressors’ behaviors to better address the distress and harm caused to targets through digital communications. The chapter discusses the implications of the results for policy and practice and proposes some directions for future research. (shrink)

Geschlecht und Gewalt, das Thema dieses Bandes, betrifft nicht nur die Frage nach den Charakteristika und Ursachen sexueller Aggression, sondern auch die Frage nach angeblichen geschlechtsspezifischen Formen der Aggression. Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit beidem und diskutiert sie als Teil von begrifflichen Ausweitungen der Kampfzone, d.h. der Erweiterungen des Aggressionsbegriffs im Verlauf der wissenschaftlichen Aggressionsforschung der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Der Beitrag zeigt unter Anderem: was als Aggression wahrgenommen wird und in der Wissenschaft als solche (...) gezählt wird, verändert sich mit der Gesellschaft. Dabei wird aus epistemologischer bzw. wissenschaftsphilosophischer Perspektive gezeigt, wie sich rassistische, Status-, und Geschlechtsstereotype auf begriffliche Entscheidungen in wissenschaftlicher Forschung auswirken und somit die wissenschaftliche Arbeit am Begriff beeinflussen können. (shrink)

The paper analyzes the ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war as an existential threat to the survival of the Ukrainian nation. The authors argue that the aggression combines elements of classical interstate conflict and civilizational confrontation, aimed not only at territorial expansion but also at the destruction of Ukrainian cultural, linguistic, and political identity. The analysis emphasizes the historical continuity of Russian imperial policy, the failure of international security guarantees, and the humanitarian consequences of war, including crimes against humanity and cultural genocide. (...) The Ukrainian experience of resistance is presented as both a struggle for national survival and a key factor for the future configuration of European and global security. (shrink)

Andy Curzon replied (often quoting from the opening sections of Lester 2014, chapter 10) in an ongoing debate with Lee Waaks, which Mr Waaks forwarded (with approval) to the Libertarian Alliance Forum (27 February 2015). This response replies to the criticisms after directly quoting them (the indented text; except where Lester is occasionally quoted, as indicated). A few cuts have been made to avoid some repetition and irrelevance. However, just as Mr Curzon sometimes repeats his main points in slightly different (...) ways and contexts in the hope that some of them might prove cogent, so this reply does the same. The dialogue-like result seems to engage more directly and completely than producing a new stand-alone exposition. And some new arguments are even developed in the process. But the full nature of many of the criticisms and replies often only becomes clear as the “dialogue” proceeds. An addendum then rebuts two further brief critical responses in the same manner. (shrink)

The article explores the impact of Russian imperial aggression on Ukrainian identity, focusing on the mechanisms of cultural appropriation, memory politics, and strategies of resistance. It emphasizes that Russia’s attempts to impose its “Russian World” framework are not limited to the military sphere but extend into the domains of history, education, culture, and information space. By distorting historical narratives, banning the Ukrainian language in the past, and currently enforcing russification on occupied territories, Russia systematically undermines the foundations of Ukraine’s (...) cultural subjectivity. This makes the preservation and promotion of authentic Ukrainian identity a matter of existential importance. The article draws upon the civilizational approach, which allows the current war to be interpreted as a struggle over symbolic and value-laden spaces, rather than merely over resources or territory. In this perspective, the war is understood as a “war for identity,” where the capacity to assert cultural autonomy and to resist imperial narratives becomes as decisive as military strength. Thus, the Ukrainian experience provides a unique case study of resilience, in which historical memory, civic solidarity, and democratic aspirations converge into a powerful source of resistance against imperial domination. (shrink)

This paper examines how individuals can cultivate rational thinking by becoming aware of sex differences in aggressive tendencies, drawing on insights from neuroscience and Load Minimization Theory (LMT). While hormonal and neural factors, such as amygdala reactivity and prefrontal cortex regulation, contribute to sex-differentiated patterns of aggression, these tendencies are often misunderstood as fixed or purely individual traits. We argue that recognizing these patterns as partially biologically influenced yet modifiable through metacognition can expand what we term the “controllable domain” (...) of human behavior. -/- Integrating findings on the interaction between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, as well as Polyvagal Theory, we propose that metacognitive awareness of one’s own aggressive tendencies activates the prefrontal cortex and facilitates respectful re-tagging (ℛ). This process, in turn, supports ventral vagal activation, reduces overall load, and enables more stable, rational responses. We present a simple, practical protocol—the ℛ Protocol—designed to strengthen metacognition and support this shift from reactive to reflective states. -/- By framing rational thinking not as the suppression of biological tendencies but as the expansion of the controllable domain through self-awareness and re-tagging, this paper offers both a theoretical framework and a practical approach to cultivating rationality across sex differences. This perspective contributes to a more compassionate and effective understanding of how individuals can move toward sustainable, low-friction ways of relating to themselves and others. -/- . (shrink)

Wars are large-scale conflicts between organized groups of belligerents, which involve suffering, devastation, and brutality unlike almost anything else in human experience. Whatever one’s other beliefs about morality, all should agree that the horrors of war are all but unconscionable, and that warfare can be justified only if we have some compel- ling account of what is worth fighting for, which can justify contributing, as individu- als and as groups, to this calamitous endeavour. Although this question should obviously be central (...) to both philosophical and politi- cal discussion about war, it is at the forefront of neither. In recent years, philosophical discussion of warfare has bloomed, but the debate has focused on whom we may kill, on the assumption that our aims are justified.1 Political debate, meanwhile, is more concerned with matters of prudence, international law, and public justification, than with reassessing what is worth fighting for. For wars of intervention to halt or prevent massive humanitarian crises, this gap is not so troubling. When warfare is the only means to prevent the mass killing or enslavement of the innocent, the purposes of military force are clear enough (though undoubtedly many other problems remain). The problem is more pressing, how- ever, for the justification of national defence.3 Although common-sense morality and international law view national defence as the paradigm case of justified warfare, grounding this consensus is surprisingly difficult.4 We typically believe that any state is justified in using lethal force to protect its territory against any form of uninvited military incursion by any other state. And yet we lack a good argument to explain why this should be so. In this chapter, I explain why one familiar and otherwise plausible approach to the justification of killing in war cannot adequately ground common-sense views of permissible national defence.5 Reductionists believe that justified warfare reduces to an aggregation of acts that are justified under ordinary principles of interpersonal morality.6 The standard form of reductionism focuses on the principles governing killing in ordinary life, specifically those that justify intentional killing in self- and other-defence, and unintended but foreseen (for short, collateral) killing as a lesser evil. Justified warfare, on this view, is no more than the coextension of multiple acts justified under these two principles. Reductionism is the default philosophical approach to thinking through the ethics of killing in war. It makes perfect sense to ask what principles govern permissible kill- ing in general, before applying them to the particular context of war. If it cannot deliver a plausible set of conclusions about when national defence is permitted, then we must either revise our beliefs about which conclusions count as plausible, or else face the significant challenge of developing a different theoretical model for justifying war- fare—an exceptionalist model, which views war as an exception to the regular moral landscape, to which principles apply which apply to nothing else but war.7 We must show, in other words, that there is something worth fighting for in wars of national defence, which is not engaged when we use force in any other context. The chapter proceeds as follows. Section 2.2 sets out the argument against reduc- tionism.8 Section 2.3 considers and rebuts one common response to the argument, which has often been thought sufficient grounds to disregard its conclusion. Section 2.4 then asks whether a modified reductionism would survive unscathed by the argu- ment. Finally, section 2.5 sets out some desiderata on a plausible exceptionalist alterna- tive. Section 2.6 concludes. (shrink)

Human civilization represents a paradox. On one hand, humans are the most cooperative species on the planet, capable of creating complex forms of collaboration, legal institutions, and moral systems. On the other hand, human societies have produced the most forms of violence and destruction in history. This article proposes to examine this paradox through the lens of the evolution of different forms of evil. -/- The starting point of the analysis is the neurobiology of human behavior. The human brain evolved (...) in the context of small coalitional groups and is adept at recognizing immediate threats, individual aggression, and violations of local norms. However, these same cognitive mechanisms are significantly worse at recognizing systemic forms of harm that arise in complex social structures, where responsibility is distributed among many participants and mediated by institutions. -/- Based on this premise, a classification of forms of evil is proposed, including impulsive (affective) violence, instrumental evil, coalitional group violence, institutional evil arising within social systems, and ideological evil associated with mass mobilization and the construction of collective identities. These forms can be viewed as a ``ladder'' of the historical evolution of evil, where each new step emerges alongside increased social complexity and the development of new mechanisms of cooperation. -/- The article also discusses the paradox of civilization: as history develops, the frequency of direct personal violence may decrease due to law, moral norms, and state institutions, while the potential destructiveness of social systems and technologies increases \cite{Pinker2011}. Therefore, social progress can be understood not so much as the gradual disappearance of evil, but rather as an expansion of society's capacity to recognize its own forms of violence and create mechanisms to constrain them. The main hypothesis of the article is that the most dangerous forms of evil arise not from biological impulses, but from the mechanisms of human cooperation. (shrink)

A nation commits mitigated aggression by threatening to kill the citizens of a victim nation if and only if they do not submit to being ruled in a non-egregiously oppressive way. Such aggression primarily threatens a nation’s common way of life. According to David Rodin, a war against mitigated aggression is automatically disproportionate, as the right of lethal self-defense only extends to protecting against being killed or enslaved. Two strategies have been adopted in response to Rodin. The (...) first strategy grants that CWL is insufficiently valuable to lethally defend, however, other considerations can satisfy the proportionality requirement. I argue that this strategy is not persuasive. The second strategy argues for the sufficient value of CWL. This, however, fails to answer the forceful ‘benign dictator’ objection. I respond to this objection by grounding the proportionality of a defensive war in the value of what Phillip Pettit calls ‘anti-power’. (shrink)

Darwin's and Freud's theories cohere in explaining human group conflict.

Russian aggression against Ukraine has become one of the most serious challenges for the international security system. One of the regions where Russian propaganda has been spread widely is Latin America. And one of the countries especially influenced by the Russian disinformation in the region is Brazil. The goal of this article is to define characteristics of the Russian propaganda in Latin America regarding Russian aggression against Ukraine, particularly, look at the case of Brazil, trace features of the (...) Kremlin propaganda in this country at the current stage and outline possible ways of countering this propaganda. It can be concluded that Russian propaganda in Latin American and in Brazil, particularly, has several specific characteristics-it is widespread, long-standing and generally supported. Key current narratives concerning the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine include the nuclear threat, calls for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and accusing the West of russofobia. Other false narratives include accusing Ukraine of war crimes and provocations, as well as dangers of further “escalation” of the war. Among reasons for common misconceptions about the Russia-Ukraine war in Brazil one can name a simple lack of information and familiarity with the local politics. This gap is partially the result of Ukraine’s insufficient communication with the Latin American and Brazilian audiences and the countries’ lack of interest in each other for many years. In order to counter Russian propaganda in Latin American and Brazil, in particular, Ukraine should enhance its communication and diplomatic efforts, cooperate with the Ukrainian diaspora in the region and consistently deconstruct Russian disinformation narratives. In the long-term perspective, it is worthwhile increasing opportunities to study the Spanish and Portuguese languages and have respective Regional Studies courses at Ukrainian educational institutions. (shrink)

We unconsciously use operators such as +, −, and × every day. These are physically installed programs in the brain. Load Minimization Theory (LMT) sees many existing operators as sources of hidden load and proposes self-created LMT operators — especially the ℛ (Re-tagging) Operator — to gently rewire cognition. -/- This paper examines Experiential Empiricism (EE) through LMT. While EE powerfully affirms the sacredness of lived experience (“the Now”), its expression can sometimes become rigid and aggressive. LMT offers a gentler (...) path — Gentle Experientialism — that honors the primacy of direct experience while respecting physical irreversibility and other perspectives. By integrating mathematical reversibility, physical irreversibility, fractal self-similarity, and quantum consciousness, we can transform potential conflict into warm resonance. (shrink)

This Insight examines the stance the EU should adopt towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the basis of the political thought of Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, and Niccolò Machiavelli. Taking as its starting point Josep Borrell’s comment that “we are too much Kantians and not enough Hobbesians” at the 2022 EU Ambassadors’ Conference, this Insight offers a revisionist interpretation of both Kant and Hobbes while suggesting Machiavelli as a third possible inspiration for EU external action. Although he is often (...) portrayed as a proto-“realist” intent on increasing state power, Hobbes in reality favours stability above all else and would therefore presumably not support a more “aggressive” foreign policy. Kant, on the other hand, has traditionally been seen as more of a philosophical idealist, but his political philosophy in fact supports a more assertive conduct by states in their external relations. Both of these philosophers are thus quite different from how Borrell portrays them. The Insight also introduces the perspective of a third thinker, Machiavelli, whose philosophy suggests that the EU should adopt a pragmatic diplomatic strategy, forging alliances, supplying Ukraine with weapons, and maintaining strong ties with allies. (shrink)

The application of modern technologies with artificial intelligence (AI) in all spheres of human life is growing exponentially alongside concern for its controllability. The lack of public, state, and international control over AI technologies creates large-scale risks of using such software and hardware that (un)intentionally harm humanity. The events of recent month and years, specifically regarding the Russian Federation’s war against its democratic neighbour Ukraine and other international conflicts of note, support the thesis that the uncontrolled use of AI, especially (...) in the military sphere, may lead to deliberate disregard for the moral standards of controlled AI or the spontaneous emergence of aggressive autonomous AI. The development of legal regulation for the use of technologies with AI is prolonged concerning the rapid development of these artefacts, which simultaneously cover all areas of public relations. Therefore, control over the creation and use of AI should be carried out not only by purely technical regulation (e.g., technical standards and conformance assessments, corporate and developer regulations, requirements enforced through industry-wide ethical codes); but also by comprehensive legislation and intergovernmental oversight bodies that codify and enforce specific changes in the rights and duties of legal persons. This article shall present the “Morality Problem” and “Intentionality Problem” of AI, and reflect upon various lacunae that arise when implementing AI for military purposes. (shrink)

Rambo (2008) marked the return of Sylvester Stallone's iconic action hero. What is most striking about the fourth film (as the response from reviewers testifies), is its graphic violence. My intention here is to critically engage with Rambo (2008) as rewriting the series' established aesthetic of violence. My overarching aim is to highlight how the popular press has sought to read the 2008 version of Rambo according to the discursive narratives surrounding Stallone's 1980s action films. The negative response to Rambo, (...) I argue, stems from relying on critical patterns that do not fit the film itself. (shrink)

Many just war theorists (call them traditionalists) claim that just as people have a right to personal self-defense, so nations have a right to national-defense against an aggressive military invasion. David Rodin claims that the traditionalist is unable to justify most defensive wars against aggression. For most aggressive states only commit conditional aggression in that they threaten to kill or maim the citizens of the nation they are invading only if those citizens resist the occupation. Most wars, then, (...) claimed to be justified by the traditionalist fail to meet the proportionality criterion. Thus, a just war, for Rodin, is best conceived of as a punitive war of law enforcement, not as a war of national-defense. I argue that Rodin does not have a case against the traditionalist. If national-defense is a disproportionate response to conditional aggression, then punitive war is a disproportionate response as well. Furthermore, the belief that punitive war is a proportionate response to conditional aggression underscores the traditionalist’s view that self-determination, cultural identity and the like are of sufficient value to defend by means of lethal force. I end the paper by very briefly sketching an account, different from that of Rodin’s, of how individual nations can be justified in waging wars of law enforcement. (shrink)

Russian aggression against Ukraine has become a critical turning point in the transformation of European political strategy and the global security architecture. The shift toward supporting Ukrainian sovereignty is driven not only by ethical considerations but also by the recognition of Ukraine’s strategic importance as a link between the West and the post-Soviet space. This paper analyzes the historical context, the evolution of Western geopolitical thought regarding Ukraine, and the current challenges facing a unified and consistent Western strategy. The (...) study emphasizes Ukraine's role not merely as a recipient of international support, but as an equal partner in shaping a new European and global order based on democratic values and resistance to authoritarian revisionism. (shrink)

The article provides an account of the unlikely revival of the medieval Just War Theory, due in large part to the efforts of Michael Walzer. Its purpose is to address the question: What is a just war theorist? By exploring contrasts between scholarly activity and forms of international activism, the paper argues that just war theorists appear to be just war criminals, both on the count of aiding and abetting aggression and on the count of inciting troops to commit (...) war crimes. (shrink)

This paper aims to show issues raised by lacanian psychoanalyses concerning the reasons of the phenomenon of aggressiveness, mainly due to the frequency of this phenomenon in education. In this paper, it was intended to highlight the philosophical dimension of the problem, since we are using basically the dissertative method. Lacan takes Hegelian and Marxist legacy to develop the thesis of aggressiveness as realization of a dynamic introduced from the gaze and that has its modus operandi in the movements of (...) alienation and non-alienation. The aggressiveness illustrated, for example, by the injuries suffered by teachers shows itself as a tentative to cause the fall of the Other, this fall is considered as the object a of which its appearance is regulated by the Oedipus Complex. Namely, both the way how the parental authority figures are inscribed in the significant chains that compose the individual and how this inscription shapes the existential possibilities of interaction with the opposite sex would be the key to foresee the extent the individual makes use of aggressiveness. In this way, the Oedipus complex, reinvested by the event of puberty would be responsible for the displacement of the libido one time to the ´Other´ and other time to the own subject. The Other, in the theoretical development of Lacan that follows the decade of 1960, comprehends the identifier choices and also what escapes from any identification. The Other, as a teacher, has the role of positioning itself to generate intuitively one process of identification and has the delicate function of sustain the dialectic that emerges in the moment where the Other falls, moment which usually comes after the identification and that happens with a joy capable of unveiling the object a. Although the role of education is not to maintain an auscultation to this object, the education can influence its nonexclusion and make this object be contoured with the advent of singularities. In this moment, the explicitness of the rules which education constitutes itself as well as the empathy from the educator can be a fundamental instrument in education like the subject to be taught. From the text, we can conclude that: we need to put the aggressiveness in our speech as via of achievement of the non-alienation process conjugated with the possibility to support the desire. (shrink)

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that toensuring the country’s security in the conditions of military aggression, it is necessary to use the mechanisms of protection of territories and population, support of economic entities, international legal levers of influence on the aggressor country. Basic research focuses on assessment the resource potential of enterprises during martial law, the analysis of migration flows in the middle of the country and abroad, the volume of food exports, marketing and (...) logistics system. The research results have been implemented in the different decision-making models during martial law, information and economic security management, formation of personnel potential and assets of enterprises, food, energy and environmental security management, use of budgetary levers and financial instruments. The results of the study can be used in the developing of directions, programs and strategies for the post-war recovery of Ukraine’s economy and the attraction of foreign investments in the regions, decision-making at the level of ministries and agencies that regulate security management processes. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in the educational process and conducting scientific research on the problems of ensuring the country’s security. (shrink)

David Rodin denies that defensive wars against unjust aggression can be justified if the unjust aggression limits itself, for example, to the annexation of territory, the robbery of resources or the restriction of political freedom, but would endanger the lives, bodily integrity or freedom from slavery of the citizens only if the unjustly attacked state actually resisted the aggression. I will argue that Rodin's position is not correct. First, Rodin's comments on the necessity condition and its relation (...) to an alleged "duty to retreat" misinterpret the law, and a correct interpretation of the law is not only compatible with, but implies a permission to resist the "bloodless invader," and this is also the correct view from the perspective of morality. Second, Rodin's remarks on the proportionality of self-defense against conditional threats focus on physical or material harm but implausibly ignore the severity of the violations of autonomy and of the socio-legal or moral order that such conditional threats involve. Third, I will address Rodin's claim that defensive wars against "political aggression" are disproportionate because they risk the lives of those defended in an attempt to secure lesser interests. I will argue that this take on proportionality misses the point in an important respect, namely by confusing wide and narrow proportionality, and makes unwarranted assumptions about the alleged irrationality or impermissibility of incurring or imposing lethal risks to safeguard less vital interests. Next, I will also show that while Rodin talks of a "myth of national self-defense" and of the necessity of moving beyond traditional just war theory and international law, it is actually his interpretation of just war theory and international law that weaves myths. Finally, I will argue that Rodin's views on national self-defense on the one hand, and "war as law enforcement" on the other, are incoherent. (shrink)

Mounting behavior (often called “mount psychology”) is commonly viewed as a one-sided act of superiority. However, in Load Minimization Theory (LMT), it is better understood as a dynamic relational interaction between the giver and the receiver, mediated by subjective interpretation and re-tagging processes. -/- This paper proposes mathematical models for both the receiver’s mental load S(t) and the giver’s mental load M(t) , emphasizing the importance of smoothness and gentle re-tagging(ℛ _gentle). Simulation results suggest that responding with warm, flat affirmation (...) can dampen aggressive energy and create an An-soku Field — a shared space of reduced relational friction. -/- We also observe two major response patterns from the giver after gentle neutralization: an aggressive type and a flustered type. These findings highlight the potential of LMT not only for understanding human relational friction but also for fostering gentler, more peaceful interactions in daily life. -/- . (shrink)

Mohist thought has long been marginalized and misunderstood due to its seemingly irreconcilable integration of rational logic, religious language, and utilitarian ethics. This paper is the first to systematically introduce and apply an original philosophical methodology—​Benchmark-Based Perspectivism to conduct a thorough re-evaluation and rehabilitation of Mohism. This theory proposes that the prerequisite for cognizing any system is to identify its intrinsic benchmark unit (an indescribable logical origin), quantitative differential (the impetus for systemic motion), and relations (the manner of unidirectional information (...) flow), and to observe how the system thereby maintains dynamic equilibrium​​. ​​This framework enables a groundbreaking reinterpretation of Mohist philosophy: "Tian Z (the Will of Heaven)" is interpreted not as a personal divine decree, but as the intrinsic regulatory law and ultimate benchmark of a cosmic system tending towards balance. "Jian Ai (Impartial Care)" and "Fei Gong (Non-Aggression)" are revealed to be the core relational laws for maintaining systemic equilibrium, which mandate the necessary circulation and prohibition of information (benefit/利). The implicit structure of Mohist theory is shown to constitute a minimal yet necessary model of dynamic balance, perfectly fulfilling the formal requirements of Benchmark-Based Perspectivism. Consequently ,the Mohists'" sacrifice" is rehabilitated: it represents a highly rational act of system maintenance, wherein systemic agents implement negative feedback through self-sacrifice (local regulation) to ensure the stable perpetuation of the global system—a profound "benevolence of existence" (存在之仁). This study successfully resolves the internal tensions within Mohist thought ，reconstructing it from a collection of contradictions into a profound and coherent system of philosophy, thereby providing a powerful vindication of its status within both Chinese and global intellectual history. （These articles are just records of places I’ve passed by. Don’t take them too seriously, my friend — they may be full of mistakes. Trust yourself. If you want to find my recent location, please check the pinned post or updates on my homepage.）. (shrink)

The scope of libertarian law is normally limited to the application of the non-aggression principle (NAP), nothing more and nothing less. However, judging when the NAP has been violated requires not only a conception of praxeological notions such as aggression, but also interpretive understanding of what synthetic events count as the relevant praxeological types. Interpretive understanding—or verstehen—can be extremely heterogeneous between agents. The particular verständnis taken by a judge has considerable moral and political implications. Since selecting a verständnis (...) is pre-requisite to applying the NAP, the NAP itself cannot tell us which one we ought morally to choose. Therefore the application of the NAP calls on moral and political considerations outside of the NAP itself. Since some of these are more consistent with an endorsement of the NAP than others, libertarianism is not a “thin” commitment to the NAP alone, but a “thick” commitment to the NAP and other supporting moral and political considerations. (shrink)

Stoic analysis of the characters of Yoda and the Emperor reveals the opposing logics of the Force. Yoda initially appears to be a jester, but shares with the Stoic wise man the virtues of timely action, patience, commitment, seriousness, calmness, peacefulness, caution, benevolence, joyful mirth, passivity, and wisdom. The logic of the Dark Side is: Anger leads to hatred. Hatred leads to aggressive mastery of others, which is true power, which is irresistibly desirable. The Emperor uses terror and cruelty to (...) oppress others. Instead of wisely pursuing Stoic self-control, the arrogant Emperor serves his vices and dies suffering. (shrink)

The transformational pace of modern education, healthcare, business management systems, etc., requires new approaches for prompt and reliable personality assessment. Phenotypology is one of such theories and it claims of the discovered interconnections of a person’s psychological and psychophysical characteristics on the basis of individual features of his/her phenotype. The article aim is to present some validation results for the Phenotypology hypotheses as a possible tool for personality assessment. In order to verify connections between phenotypic treats and individual behavior, we (...) conducted the study when respondents were differentiated according to some anthropometric (facial) peculiarities and characterological features. The results were quantified and analyzed using the mathematical-statistical linear regression. The research output contains the rationale for the conclusion that there are no statistically significant correlations between some phenotypic body features and such individual psychological characteristics as aggressiveness, impetuosity, pedantry, passivity, etc. In particular, the validity of using of appropriate phenotypologic representations to predict the examined character traits was studied. The obtained results disproved the possibility to use directly the phenotypic approach for reliable characterological profiling. Though, the study outcome is tentative due to some limitations on generality. It is necessary to continue verification of the Phenotypology hypotheses with a broader experimental sample with the inclusion of various ethnic and racial groups’ representatives. However, until then, based on actual findings, the practical application of the Phenotypology statements is doubtful, at least for the purposes of character diagnosis and personality assessment. (shrink)

There have been several recent attempts to think about psychological kinds as homologies. Nevertheless, there are serious epistemic challenges for individuating homologous psychological kinds, or cognitive homologies. Some of these challenges are revealed when we look at competing claims of cognitive homology. This paper considers two competing homology claims that compare human anger with putative aggression systems of nonhuman animals. The competition between these hypotheses has been difficult to resolve in part because of what I call the boundary problem: (...) boundaries between instances of psychological kinds (e.g., anger and fear) cannot be directly observed. Thus, there are distinctive difficulties for individuating psychological kinds across lineages. I draw four conclusions from this case study: First, recent evidence from the neuroscience of fear suggests that one of the proposed homologies involves a straightforward conflation of anger and fear. Second, this conflation arises because of the boundary problem. Third, there is an implicit constraint on the operational criteria that is easy to overlook in the psychological case. In this case, ignoring the constraint is part of the problem. Fourth, this is a clear case in which knowledge of homology cannot be accumulated piecemeal. Identifying homologs of human anger requires identifying homologs of fear. (shrink)

Background: Individuals with psychopathic traits demonstrate an attenuated emotional response to aversive stimuli. However, recent evidence suggests heterogeneity in emotional reactivity among individuals with psychopathic or callous-unemotional (CU) traits, the emotional detachment dimension of psychopathy. We hypothesize that primary variants of psychopathy will respond with blunted affect to negatively valenced stimuli, whereas individuals marked with histories of childhood trauma/maltreatment exposure, known as secondary variants, will display heightened emotional reactivity. To test this hypothesis, the present study examined fear-potentiated startle between psychopathy (...) variants while viewing aversive, pleasant, and neutral scenes. Method: 238 incarcerated adolescent (M age = 16.8, SD = 1.11 years) boys completed a picture-startle paradigm and self-report questionnaires assessing CU traits, antisocial-aggressive behavior, and maltreatment. Results: Latent profile analyses identified four classes; primary variants (high CU traits, high aggression, low maltreatment; n = 46), secondary variants (high CU traits, high aggression, high maltreatment; n = 42), and two nonpsychopathic groups differentiated on maltreatment experience (n = 148). Findings from an ANOVA comparing identified groups on startle amplitude difference scores (i.e., aversive-neutral) suggested a main effect for group, F(3,196)=8.91, p<.001, η2 = .12. Primary variants of juvenile psychopathy displayed reduced startle potentiation to aversive images (threat and victim scenes), whereas secondary variants distinguished by high levels of childhood maltreatment did not. Conclusions: Findings add to a rapidly growing body of literature supporting the possibility of multiple developmental pathways to psychopathy (i.e., equifinality), and extend it by finding support for divergent potential biomarkers between primary and secondary psychopathy variants. (shrink)

The main purpose of this article is to tackle the problem of living together – as dignified human beings – in a certain territory in the field of social philosophy, on the theoretical grounding ensured by some remarkable exponents of the Austrian School − and by means of the praxeologic method. Because political tools diminish the human nature not only of those who use them, but also of those who undergo their effects, people can live a life worthy of a (...) human being only as members of some autarchic or self-governing communities. As a spontaneous order, every autarchic community is inherently democratic, inasmuch as it makes possible free involvement, peaceful coordination, free expression and the free reproduction of ideas. The members of autarchic communities are moral individuals who avoid aggression, practice self-control, seek a dynamical efficiency and establish a democratic public discourse. (shrink)

Abstract This paper argues that indirect insult is a culturally evolved mechanism within honor-based societies that enables conflict signaling, hierarchy maintenance, and reputational regulation without provoking open aggression. Through a comparative analysis of ancient Roman rhetorical practices and contemporary Southern United States speech patterns—such as backhanded compliments like “bless your heart”—the study demonstrates how polite or surface-friendly language can convey agonistic intent while preserving social decorum. Situating these communicative strategies within their respective cultural contexts, the paper shows how indirect (...) insult functions as a tool of status containment, social boundary calibration, and honor preservation. Ultimately, it proposes a framework for understanding how “honor-preserving” language evolves to balance respect and dominance within reputation-sensitive societies. -/- ⸻ -/- Introduction -/- Human languages often encode conflict in subtle forms. What appears polite on the surface may function as a powerful tool for preserving honor while simultaneously marking social hierarchy or criticism. This juxtaposition between form and function appears both in ancient rhetorical traditions such as those of Rome and in modern regional dialects like those of the American South. This paper probes why indirect insult matters, how it operates, and what it reveals about the underlying social economies of honor. (shrink)

The article deals with issues related to the genocide of the Ukrainian people as a determining factor in Russian imperial policy at all historical stages of existence. The authors examine historical examples of preserving national identity and use the latest scientific researches on this topic. Attention is drawn to the consistency and insidiousness of the use of methods and forms of influence in the introduction of imperial narratives aimed against the Ukrainian identity and the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people (...) to have their own state. The authors have concluded that as long as the current Russian political leadership is poised to stay in power, it is impossible to expect any democratic changes in this country. The mentality of war professed by both the Russian authorities and Russian society is in opposition to the existing basic European values and democratic freedoms. Existential threats as the main component of a full-scale aggression against the Ukrainian people deny the very fact of democratic changes and respect for basic European values and freedoms in our country. This has a dramatic impact on the existing international legal order and significantly affects the political situation in the world. The disintegration of Russia into separate independent states, which will deprive it of its imperial status and reduce its aggressive potential, is crucial for improving the political situation in the world and ensuring Ukraine's own strategic security. In this way, the entire civilized world will be spared the permanent threat of a new war, which will have a positive impact on creating the necessary conditions for Ukraine's political and economic rise in the context of building a sovereign European state. Ukraine is considered not only in terms of the necessary support and assistance from the perspective of the legal and moral foundations of human civilization but also as a likely candidate for an active role in the post-war political configuration of Europe. This conviction, as stated in the article, is based on the significant achievements made by the Ukrainian people in recent years in the context of meeting European standards of life and work in the demonstrated success in protecting national interests, the very idea of the existence of an independent Ukraine. (shrink)

This paper develops the concept of the Controllable Domain within Load Minimization Theory (LMT) as a central framework for understanding how individuals can expand their capacity for intentional agency. While biological and automatic processes—such as amygdala reactivity, hormonal fluctuations, and emotionally tagged memories—shape the initial conditions of human response, these processes do not fully determine subsequent meaning-making or behavioral choice. We argue that the space between reaction and choice—what we term the Controllable Domain—can be intentionally expanded through metacognition, respectful re-tagging (...) (ℛ), and physiological self-regulation. -/- Drawing on affective neuroscience, we show that the interaction between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex provides the neurobiological substrate for this domain. When prefrontal regulatory processes are engaged, individuals gain access to cognitive reappraisal and re-tagging, which in turn support ventral vagal activation and the maintenance of core stability. In contrast, when amygdala-driven reactivity overrides prefrontal regulation, the Controllable Domain narrows, increasing the likelihood of defensive load offloading and relational friction. -/- Within LMT, the width of the Controllable Domain is formally related to the dynamics of uncertainty (U), boundary friction (F), and re-tagging (ℛ). A wider Controllable Domain corresponds to higher core stability and a greater capacity for Overflow—the spontaneous emergence of constructive, value-aligned action from a low-load state. We further articulate how this framework reframes sex differences in aggressive tendencies not as determinants of behavior, but as parameters that shape initial conditions, while the capacity to expand the Controllable Domain remains available across individuals. -/- By positioning the Controllable Domain as a theoretically grounded and practically actionable concept, this paper contributes to a unified understanding of metacognition, core stability, and rational agency within LMT, offering a foundation for future theoretical development and applied interventions. -/- . (shrink)

The aggressive intrusion of science, technology and technology into the space of children as the least protected social group requires their protection from aggressive anthropologically-oriented practices. However, regularly conducted theoretical discussions of this problem do not lead to the solution of the problem of the ecology of childhood, since only one of the possible forms of understanding reality has been fixed within the framework of the international humanitarian and scientific community. We are talking about conceptual reasoning thinking, which is based (...) on classification concepts and provides for a pluralism of opinions, the multitude of which does not lead to unambiguous scientific humanitarian knowledge for everyone. The created conditions do not contribute to the emergence of an interdisciplinary research methodology, the formation of which is associated with the need for a fundamentally different way of thinking – thinking in comparative terms, which, unlike the natural sciences, is absent today in humanitarian knowledge. Whereas the new thinking proposed in this article, consisting in the ability to identify the different and distinguish the identical (one) within the natural range of comparative concepts, on the contrary, is a tool for integrating knowledge, therefore, in my opinion, it should be introduced into the sphere of traditional school education. In this connection, the main academic subjects will be reorganized around each of the comparative concepts and constructed in a certain order. As a result, students – schoolchildren or students - will learn to see the same content behind different physical or social phenomena, so the problem of memorizing large volumes of educational material disappears. The new approach will accelerate the process of formation of an interdisciplinary methodology of socio-cultural analysis, will contribute to the implementation of a comprehensive state policy, will give a new impetus to socio-cultural and anthropo-pedagogical practice. (shrink)

The high prevalence of aggression, anxiety and stress symptoms among team members in the organisation, while acquisition of task is alarming causation of adjustment disorder influences on team embeddedness, is the subject of this study. The ontogenesis of psychosocial adjustment disorder in any employees is not palingenetic, this is exact reproduction of psychosocial factors (PSF) which develops at workplace The most important strategy for productivity improvement is based on the fact that human productivity, both positive and negative, is determined (...) by the attitudes of all those who work in the enterprise and gap surfaced between teamwork and competence development particularly with regard to managing individualism within organisation and specifically individualistic approach, organisational justice, productivity management and psychosocial support. We strongly feel that there is a need to reexamine organisational team credentials and possible strong influences on individual’s psychosocial adjustment disorders. Findings suggest psychosocial adjustment factors are significantly correlated with psychosocial disorders (PSDs). (shrink)

Metaphilosophy is often understood as an inquiry into the nature, goals, and methods of philosophy and is sometimes construed as an epistemology of philosophy. Moral questions concerning philosophical practice, however, are no less important and constitute a distinctive field that may be called 'moral philosophy of philosophy' or 'moral metaphilosophy'. This article maps the field by identifying, addressing, and classifying various forms of moral transgressions in, against, and through philosophy. Hermeneutical rational injustices include the devaluation, discrediting, misrepresentation, and non-objective critique (...) within philosophical discourse. Violations within academic philosophical practice encompass such phenomena as intellectual theft; gatekeeping; academic cliques; scholarly neglect; discrimination and favoritism; prestige bias, excellence bias, and other forms of bias oriented toward perceived institutional, professional, evaluative, or symbolic "topness"; unfair peer review; problematic evaluation criteria and rankings; abuses of power; unjust distributions of resources; and the inversion of virtues into vices. External injustices and transgressions concern the public discrediting of philosophy, violence against philosophers, the problematic relation between philosophy and politics, and the impact of extra-academic vices on philosophy. Bringing these issues to light, thereby underscoring the importance of moral metaphilosophy, can help protect philosophers from various forms of harm inflicted by themselves, colleagues, institutions, and other actors across academic and non-academic contexts, thereby rendering philosophical practice fairer and more worthwhile. (shrink)

The Break with Freud and the Discovery of the Collective Unconscious -/- Carl Gustav Jung began his intellectual life as Freud's most gifted collaborator and chosen heir. Their eventual rupture — dramatic, painful, and philosophically consequential — turned on precisely the question of the nature and scope of the unconscious. For Freud, the unconscious was fundamentally personal: it consisted of repressed material, above all sexual and aggressive wishes, derived from the individual's biography. For Jung, this was only half the story (...) — and the lesser half. Beneath the personal unconscious, he became convinced, lay a deeper stratum that was not personal at all: a collective unconscious, shared by all human beings, containing structures and contents that had never been in individual consciousness because they preceded all individual experience. This was not a conclusion Jung reached comfortably or quickly. It emerged from years of clinical work, from his painstaking analysis of dreams and fantasies in psychotic patients, and above all from his extraordinary inner journey — the period of confrontation with his own unconscious documented in The Red Book — in which he encountered figures, images, and narratives that bore unmistakable resemblance to mythological material from cultures he had never studied. The same symbols appeared again and again across different patients, different cultures, different historical periods. This could not be explained by individual learning or transmission. It pointed to something structural in the psyche itself. -/- Archetypes: The Structural Patterns of the Collective Unconscious -/- The theory of archetypes is Jung's most original and philosophically ambitious contribution. Archetypes are not contents but forms — not specific images but the structural predispositions that determine what kinds of images the psyche tends to produce under what circumstances. Jung compared the archetype to the crystal lattice: the lattice determines the form the crystal will take, but it does not itself have a fixed form until it crystallizes in the specific mother liquor of a particular individual's life. Archetypes are the invisible skeleton of psychic experience; they are not perceived directly but through their manifestations. The major archetypes that Jung identified and explored include: the Self (das Selbst) — the central organizing principle of the psyche, the archetype of wholeness and the ultimate goal of psychological development; the Shadow — the repository of all that the ego has rejected or refused to develop, the 'dark twin' that follows every individual like an invisible companion; the Anima and Animus — the contra-sexual elements of the psyche, the inner feminine in men and inner masculine in women, which mediate the relationship between consciousness and the deeper layers of the unconscious; the Great Mother — the archetype of nurture, containment, and engulfment; the Wise Old Man and the Wise Old Woman — figures of wisdom, guidance, and transpersonal knowledge; the Trickster — the amoral, shape-shifting figure who disrupts order and facilitates transformation; the Puer Aeternus — the eternal youth, the archetype of possibility and renewal; and the Hero — the figure of ego-development, of the struggle against inertia and unconsciousness. These are not merely interesting metaphors. Jung believed they were genuine psychological realities — objective structures of the psyche that exert real influence on thought, feeling, behavior, and experience. When the Shadow is not consciously integrated, it is projected onto others, who are then experienced as wholly evil or dangerous. When the Anima is not recognized, a man is possessed by it, driven by unconscious moods and irrational entanglements. When the Self is experienced in a dream or vision, it produces a sense of numinous wholeness that cannot be reduced to anything else. The archetypes are, in this sense, the experiential face of the collective unconscious — the way its structures announce themselves to individual consciousness. -/- The Numinosum: Where Psychology Meets Religion -/- One of the most distinctive and controversial aspects of Jung's thought is his sustained engagement with religion, myth, and the sacred. Drawing on Rudolf Otto's concept of the numinosum — the awe-inspiring, tremendum et fascinans quality of genuine religious experience — Jung argued that the archetypes have an inherently numinous character. When they are encountered in dreams, visions, or waking fantasies, they produce an experience of something overwhelming, something that both terrifies and fascinates, something that feels profoundly other even while being encountered within. Jung was careful to distinguish his approach from metaphysical claims about the existence of God. He insisted he was speaking empirically, as a psychologist, about the psychological reality of the experience of the numinous — not about its theological status. But this distinction, however carefully maintained, could not prevent the recognition that his psychology was in deep conversation with the history of religion and mysticism. The archetypes of the Self, the Great Mother, the Divine Child — these are the psychological correlates of the figures that humanity has worshipped across millennia. The gods, for Jung, are not superstitions to be explained away but projections of real psychic structures onto the outer world. -/- The Process and its Stages -/- Individuation — Jung's term for the process of psychological development and integration — is perhaps the most philosophically rich concept in his entire system. It refers to the lifelong process by which an individual becomes, more and more completely, what they most deeply are: not the persona (the social mask), not the ego (the conscious self-image), but the Self — the total personality, including both its conscious and unconscious dimensions. Individuation is not a programme to be executed or a summit to be conquered; it is a process to be undergone, a way of living that involves the continuous confrontation with, and integration of, the psyche's shadow and depths. The process of individuation typically unfolds in recognizable stages, though these are never mechanically fixed. In the first half of life, the task is largely one of differentiation and adaptation: developing a coherent ego, establishing a viable persona, finding a place in the social world. The unconscious at this stage is largely experienced as threatening, as the potential for regression, for loss of control, for the eruption of instinctual energies that threaten the social adaptation so painfully achieved. In the second half of life — often precipitated by a crisis, a confrontation with mortality, a failure of the persona's adequacy — the task shifts. Now the unconscious is no longer primarily an enemy but a partner: the rich, dangerous, inexhaustible source from which the second half of life must draw its meaning. (shrink)

Drawing on the SAGE minutes and other documents, I consider the wider lessons for norms of scientific advising that can be learned from the UK’s initial response to coronavirus in the period January-March 2020, when an initial strategy that planned to avoid total suppression of transmission was abruptly replaced by an aggressive suppression strategy. I introduce a distinction between “normatively light advice”, in which no specific policy option is recommended, and “normatively heavy advice” that does make an explicit recommendation. I (...) argue that, although scientific advisers should avoid normatively heavy advice in normal times in order to facilitate democratic accountability, this norm can be permissibly overridden in situations of grave emergency. SAGE’s major mistake in early 2020 was not that of endorsing a particular strategy, nor that of being insufficiently precautionary, but that of relying too heavily on a specific set of “reasonable worst-case” planning assumptions. I formulate some proposals that assign a more circumscribed role to “worst-case” thinking in emergency planning. In an epilogue, I consider what the implications of my proposals would have been for the UK’s response to the “second wave” of late 2020. (shrink)

The institutional architecture of United States immigration enforcement underwent a fundamental and unprecedented restructuring between early 2025 and the beginning of 2026. This period, characterized by a rapid expansion of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workforce, was driven by a confluence of aggressive legislative funding, a reconfiguration of recruitment strategies, and a systemic prioritization of enforcement velocity over traditional vetting and training protocols. Central to this transformation was the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in July (...) 2025, which provided the fiscal engine for a 120% increase in agency manpower within a fiscal year. This report provides an exhaustive analysis of the demographic, ideological, and operational shifts within ICE, examining the claim that the majority of the current force is composed of new hires with predominantly White, male backgrounds and potential affiliations with far-right extremist organizations. -/- . (shrink)

In this paper I present a novel taxonomy of envy, according to which there are four kinds of envy: emulative, inert, aggressive and spiteful envy. An inquiry into the varieties of envy is valuable not only to understand it as a psychological phenomenon, but also to shed light on the nature of its alleged viciousness. The first section introduces the intuition that there is more than one kind of envy, together with the anecdotal and linguistic evidence that supports it. The (...) second section proposes and explains in detail a definition of envy tout court. The third section presents a recurring distinction between behavioral tendencies of envy, which has been explained in two distinct ways, one mostly proposed by psychologists, the other discernible in the philosophical tradition. The fourth section argues that these models of explanation track two variables, whose interplay is responsible for the existence of the four envies. The fifth section illustrates four paradigmatic cases, and provides a detailed analysis of the phenomenology, motivational structure, and typical behavioral outputs of each. The paper ends with a brief discussion of the implications of the taxonomy for moral education. (shrink)