This simulating book gathers five lectures that ask questions of the broadest general intellectual interest: What is religion? Do other peoples have the same emotional states as we do? Why do humans make use of body imagery? In Circumstantial Deliveries, Rodney Needham shows that the comparative study of societies may furnish the answers. Circumstantial Deliveries challenges the methodology and substance of many conventional ideas about human nature and calls for more radical and comparative analyses. For instance, the author discredits the (...) notion that to primitive peoples the colors red, white, and black symbolize blood, semen, and feces, respectively, arguing that an extensive comparative study of primitive societies discovered no such relationship. These essays sound a common theme: "If a deeper appreciation of the value of life can be had from reading Crime and Punishment, or if a more acute assessment of the springs of action can be acquired from Hamlet, then in principle it should be conceded that like benefits may be derived from a sympathetic observation of other men engaged in their daily affairs.". (shrink)

This book suggests a bold comparative approach to broad cultural differences between Africa and Melanesia. Its theme is personhood, understood in terms of what anthropologists call embodiment. These concepts are applied to questions ranging from the meanings of spirit possession, to the logics of witchcraft and kinship relations, the use of rituals in healing, and even the impact of capitalism. Questioning common assumptions about the huge differences among these discrete areas, the contributions document surprising continuities.

The inquiry into the moral status of artificial intelligence (AI) is leading to prolific theoretical discussions. A new entity that does not share the material substrate of human beings begins to show signs of a number of properties that are nuclear to the understanding of moral agency. It makes us wonder whether the properties we associate with moral status need to be revised or whether the new artificial entities deserve to enter within the circle of moral consideration. This raises the (...) foreboding that we are at the gates of an anthropological crisis: the properties bound to moral agency have been exclusively possessed in the past by human beings and have shaped the very definition of being human. In this article, I will argue that AI does not lead us to an anthropological crisis and that, if we adhere to the history and philosophy of technology, we will notice that the debate on the moral status of AI uncritically starts from an anthropology of properties and loses sight of the relational dimension of technology. First, I will articulate three criteria for analyzing different anthropological views in philosophy of technology. Second, I will propose six anthropological models: traditional, industrial, phenomenological, postphenomenological, symmetrical, and cyborg. Third, I will show how the emergence of AI breaks with the dynamics of increased relationality in the history and philosophy of technology. I will argue that this aspect is central to debates about the moral status of AI, since it sheds light on an aspect of moral consideration that has been obscured. Finally, I will reject entirely relational approaches to moral status and propose two hybrid possibilities for rethinking it. (shrink)

_Purpose._ The main purpose of the article is to study the anthropological and socio-philosophical dimensions of human existence in the context of hostilities by highlighting the aspects of transformation of anthropological legal values of human existence during the war. _Theoretical basis._ The methodological tools are presented in the interaction of axiological, synergetic, socio-legal and comparative methods. The survey method is used to obtain quantitative data on the self-assessment of Ukrainian citizens in relation to the war, changes in their (...) internal intentions as a result of the crisis of social reality. _Originality._ Military actions can act both as a catalyst for the formation of new anthropological legal values, in accordance with the specifics of martial law and the need to adapt legal systems to the challenges arising in wartime, and as a destructor of certain value attributes of society. _Conclusions._ The nature of paradigmatic changes in wartime is represented by the metamorphosis of anthropological legal values, which manifests itself in profound changes in the philosophical understanding of man, the transformation of legal principles and the revision of moral norms in society. Reflections on the legal paradox appear in attempts to balance the need to keep within the law with the requirement to ensure security and defence in the first place. The article highlights the following aspects of changes: revision of the concept of individual rights and freedoms by recognising that individual rights may be subject to restrictions for the sake of the common good or national security; new legal values arise which are related to the protection of human rights in war conditions. (shrink)

Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View essentially reflects the last lectures Kant gave for his annual course in anthropology, which he taught from 1772 until his retirement in 1796. The lectures were published in 1798, with the largest first printing of any of Kant's works. Intended for a broad audience, they reveal not only Kant's unique contribution to the newly emerging discipline of anthropology, but also his desire to offer students a practical view of the world and of humanity's (...) place in it. With its focus on what the human being 'as a free-acting being makes of himself or can and should make of himself,' the Anthropology also offers readers an application of some central elements of Kant's philosophy. This volume offers a new annotated translation of the text by Robert B. Louden, together with an introduction by Manfred Kuehn that explores the context and themes of the lectures. (shrink)

The ability to look at one's face in the mirror and the ability to find one's self in the mirror are two quite different things. The former is a natural capacity that humans share with other animals; the latter is an acquired skill that only humans can master. The craft of mirror-gazing,despite its relevance to daily life is barely understood. An Anthropological Guide to the Art and Philosophy of Mirror Gazing provides a metaphysical manual to understand it. The book (...) is written from a cross-disciplinary and object-based perspective. The role of the mirror as a technology of self-objectification is explored through various case studies of cultures such as the Buryats of Eastern Mongolia. By using various anthropological examples, Koukouti and Malafouris survey and reflect on the structures and experiences of consciousness that underpin the specular image and the different meanings of the self. By combining metaphor, comparison and estrangement - where what was thought of as natural is seen as deliberately caused and altered - this book weaves together ethnographic description and philosophical analysis with empirical examples and experimental studies that allow the reader to think about the world and their subjectivity a bit differently. (shrink)

The ideas about the world and man on the worldview maps of the Ukrainian world and the "russkii mir" are mutually exclusive. This is actually the reason for one of the Kremlin's stated goals of this war: the "denazification" of Ukrainians, which actually means the destruction of our identity in all cultural and intellectual discourses. In the system of identities of a person, religious, church and confessional identity are connected with civil identity, because a believer of a particular denomination realizes (...) himself at the same time as a citizen of a particular country; and historical, discursive-basic for the "memory of the family" and understanding of one's own origins, place in modernity and socio-civilizational perspectives. A whole spectrum of confessions is simultaneously present in both Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, these confessions often have a common origin due to a long historical period during which the territory of Ukraine, due to previous occupation by Muscovy, existed as part of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union (an imperial clone of Muscovy in the last century). For thirty years, the confessional development of independent Ukraine took place independently or at a distance. Muscovy's war of aggression against Ukraine raised the question of the commonality/incompatibility of those confessions whose representatives were on different sides of the front. In the article, we will find out whether the doctrinal discourses of these confessions are connected with the worldview maps of the "russkii mir" and the Ukrainian world? How do they answer fundamental metaphysical questions about the meaning of life and the price of human death, about the possibility of destroying part of the actualized world in light of the expediency of modern war and the specific frontline situation, where Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims, pagans, Protestants, supported by their religious preachers, are on different sides? The author compares the two included positions of the subject regarding reality: 1) real (typical for Ukrainians, in which the subject is included in the event, perceives reality as an ontological given, with which, in interaction with others who are also in this event and share the same (adequate reality) worldview parameters and self-define as a conscious responsible actor, including God (for believers), co-creates the future taking into account the past and the jointly formulated proper; 2) simulacrum, inherent in the bearers of the "russkii mir", in which their worldview model is recognized as exemplary, while reality is refuted, destroyed, and becomes material for the embodiment of the "correct picture of the world" imposed by the Kremlin. Accordingly, being on the battlefield from different sides (Ukrainians defending their world and actualized life, and Russians who want to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians), representatives of the same religions cannot actually profess the same God, for the same Lord cannot be the Creator and the Destroyer, the author of the real world and the Liar who imposes his lies on the world. (shrink)

Human behavior, both at the individual and societal levels, is based on the theory of beauty. Behind every voluntary human action lies a conception of beauty in its broadest sense and a passion for attaining it. This article explores beauty in relation to humans in light of the anthropological foundations proposed by Mulla Sadra. The methodology adopted in this study is descriptive-analytical. The essence of a human being consists of the body and the immaterial soul. By "human beauty", we (...) mean everything that is harmonious and compatible with the self. Every human being loves their self primarily and inherently, and loves the perfections of their self secondarily and consequently. The human soul is immaterial in both its imaginal and intellectual capacities. Considering this and the fact that the beauty of everything is determined by its existential rank, the human being is a reflection of the beauty of all worlds. Based on the immateriality of the soul, the soul has the power to create beautiful mental images. Mental images are inherently perceived, while external objects are perceived consequentially. Given that the true agent is the soul, fine arts first manifest in the mind and then are realized in external objects. True human happiness is only achieved by attaining absolute beauty, which is the elevation of all the soul’s faculties to their highest levels, leading to the ultimate pleasure corresponding to them. Furthermore, the attainment of absolute beauty by humans depends on the immortality of the soul and its survival after the decay of the body. The realization of absolute beauty for prepared souls is proven through the argument of mercy and the argument of nature, and its context is the afterlife. The pleasures of the afterlife qualitatively differ from worldly pleasures to the extent that a human cannot accurately conceive of the pleasures of the afterlife unless their intellect is freed from the limitations imposed by the natural world. (shrink)

The article attempts to identify the philosophical-anthropological prerequisites for the emergence of formalism in domestic culture. Through artistic examples, it illustrates the transformation of human self-consciousness under the influence of this movement, analyzes its philosophical and worldview content, and identifies and characterizes the differences between formalism and related literary movements of the early last century. The subject of the study is the philosophical-anthropological content of Russian formalism – the set of hidden notions about man that underlie formalist theory. (...) Specifically, it analyzes: the anthropological prerequisites for the emergence of formalism as a response to the crisis of traditional self-consciousness in the modern era; the technique of "defamiliarization" as a strategy for combating the automation of perception, reflecting the transformation of human consciousness under the influence of industrialization and urbanization; the rejection of authorial intention as a symptom of the decentering of the subject in early 20th-century culture. The subject is limited to the framework of domestic culture of the Silver Age (1910–1920s) and does not extend to the methodology of formalism as such. The methodological foundation consists of historical-literary analysis of primary texts by formalists, a philosophical-anthropological approach to uncover hidden anthropology of "defamiliarization," and comparative-historical and contextual methods within an interdisciplinary approach to the culture of the Silver Age. The novelty of this work lies in the comprehensive examination of Russian formalism as a phenomenon reflecting the deep transformations of human self-consciousness in the modern era, rather than merely as a methodological direction in literary studies. Unlike traditional studies focused on the analysis of formal techniques and theoretical concepts, this work is the first in domestic science to synthesize historical-literary analysis with a philosophical-anthropological approach. It reconstructs the hidden anthropological program of formalism. The article demonstrates how the proclaimed rejection of content and authorial intention conceals a radical rethinking of the nature of human perception in the context of industrial society. A particular novelty lies in the interpretation of the technique of "defamiliarization" as an anthropological strategy for resisting the automation of consciousness caused by urbanization, mechanization, and the destruction of traditional values. (shrink)

This article addresses a possible comparison of the anthropological proposals of Emmanuel Mounier and Edith Stein. The comparison arises from the perception of some significant harmonies. There is, first of all, a common cultural background, especially the post-war period of the First World War, that is, the 1920s and 1930s. This is the reason for a historical analysis presented in the first part of the work. In addition, both authors have as a reference the Christian matrix, which is clearly (...) visible in the anthropology they elaborate. The research aims to show the different paths that the authors took regarding the philosophical elaboration on the subject of anthropology. On the one hand, we have a philosopher engaged in current problems, visible in the articles about the journal Ésprit, founded by Mounier himself. On the other, the philosopher Stein, typically academic, who produced an elaboration that manifests a great knowledge of human interiority. In the conclusion of the work, in addition to the differences, the fact that in both authors we can see the biographical traits that guide the analysis is highlighted. (shrink)

_Purpose._ The paper’s main purpose is to establish the nature of the historical past’s reality and its presence in being. _Theoretical basis._ The author considers historical time as a factor in the identities of individuals and society. The past has a dual ontological status: it is absent as a presence in the literal sense, yet it is embedded in the structure of modernity and influences the future. To substantiate and elucidate the impact of this position on historical cognition, the author (...) employs the methodologies of R. Descartes, E. Husserl, M. Heidegger, F. Ankersmit, and other thinkers. _Originality._ The author has developed a fluid-discrete model of historical time, linking it with the experiences gained by both individuals and society. This historical experience serves as the anthropological foundation of the subject’s identity and a guide for reconstructing the past. _Conclusions._ As a historical category, time is only partially connected with time as a subject of discussion in physics and philosophy. All three of these disciplines regard cause-and-effect relationships as fundamental characteristics of time; however, physics and philosophy study them in general terms, while historical science is concerned with their specific implementations. But history also encompasses experience – both that of the participants in the historical process and that of historians or readers of historical texts. This experience becomes one of the reasons behind their actions, as well as the lens through which past events are interpreted. Experience, in both senses, can be false and distorted, raising questions of interpretation; yet, even in such cases, it impacts future actions and thus serves as their cause. Even more importantly, historical experience provides a means of identity. An individual’s own experience allows for self-awareness (I am I), while historical experience facilitates identification with society. Although there is no direct connection to the past, it has not disappeared; it cannot inherently vanish. It does not exist because it has evaporated, nor because it lingers in some unreachable dimension, but due to its transformation into modernity. These transformations can be either fluid or discrete, making historical time fluid-discrete at both individual and social levels. Essentially, the terms "past", "present", and "future" merely serve as distinctions between "now", "not yet", and "too late". In both individual and collective histories, even a minor event can trigger significant resonance, leading to fundamental changes in the future ("butterfly effect"). While it is certainly impossible to ascertain which past events shaped the present, this does not preclude us from constructing a "hierarchy of butterflies" for historical investigation. Thus, reconstructing the historical past becomes a means of self-knowledge, forming its primary anthropological significance. (shrink)

_Purpose._ In this article, the author aims to provide a philosophic-anthropological study on the prospects of space exploration by clarifying several related questions: Why should mankind explore extraterrestrial space? Where are the key consensus points, the achievement of which will be the determining prerequisites for mankind to go beyond the current boundaries of inhabited space and establish ourselves in the outer world? How could anthropology help today in preparing for space exploration? _Theoretical basis._ The author has taken into account (...) a number of recent studies that focus on the social-anthropological aspects of the current stage of space exploration and development. Of particular interest are those specific social techniques and descriptive methods that anthropologists propose to incorporate into contemporary space exploration. These include: thick description method, double exposure method, participant observation method, and special practices of "dwelling", "placing", mapping, outlining, visualizing, etc. _Originality._ From a philosophic-anthropological perspective, the author focuses on understanding the current counterpoints on the path of space exploration, in particular, analyzing the contradictions between technocratic, pragmatic-political, and humanistic approaches to space expansion. Possible prospects for consensus between different worldview positions on the place and role of man in the process of space colonization are formulated. The anthropological discourse is expanded in terms of studying the possible impact of space development for human identity, existential status, and ethical guidelines of the human civilization. _Conclusions._ The near-Earth space has already become an object of influence of human technologies. But so far men themselves in near-Earth space are rare, rather exceptional phenomena. Man, at this stage of space industry development, is mostly just an operator of space equipment. The constant presence of people (with their social, cultural, political, psychological and all other "human" attitudes) will probably contribute to the gradual transformation of this space into an "anthroposphere". (shrink)

Метою статті є філософсько-антропологічне обґрунтування сучасної езотеріології як академічної дисципліни, що розкриває духовно-онтологічну природу людини в контексті постсекулярної культури Метамодерну. Завданням дослідження є виявлення антропологічного потенціалу езотеріології, як можливості формування нової гуманістичної перспективи філософської антропології. Теоретичний базис дослідження – праці представників академічної традиції "західного езотеризму" (A. Faivre, W. Hanegraaff, E. Asprem, J. Strube, K. von Stuckrad, J. Assmann), а також українських дослідників в просторі антропології духовності (І. Карівець, Р. Халіков, Ю. Семчук, Л. Солонко, М. і K. Родигіни, Ю. Шабанова та (...) ін.). Аналізується антропологічний потенціал езотеризму як чинник формування "нової духовності" – індивідуально орієнтованого, позаконфесійного типу духовного досвіду, який забезпечує людині можливість цілісного самопізнання в умовах соціальної, моральної та воєнної кризи. Визначено основні площини антропологічного виміру езотеріології: екзистенційна, морально-ціннісна, комунікативна, соціокультурна та психоантропологічна, а також виявлено ключові функції: смислотворча, компенсаторна, інтеграційна, резилієнтна. Виявлено продуктивні модуси антропологічного виміру езотеріології, такі як процесуальність, мультиструктуральність, інтерсуб’єктність, духовна само-трансформація та етична відповідальність езотеричного суб’єкту, як потенційні можливості розширення філософсько-антропологічної перспективи. Наукова новизна полягає у перенесенні центру езотеріологічного дослідження з вивчення доктрин на аналіз людини як суб’єкта духовної самотрансформації. Вперше запропоновано розгляд антропологічної езотеріології як інтегративної науки, що поєднує академічну рефлексію з духовно-практичним досвідом. Висновки. У висновках доведено, що сучасна езотеріологія формує нову модель духовної антропології, яка розширює межі класичної філософської антропології, інтегруючи безпосередній духовний досвід у наукове розуміння людини. Концепт "нової духовності" як відбиття антропологічних тенденцій Метамодерна, визначає сучасний гуманітарний поворот до внутрішньо-особистісного переживання сенсу та відновлення цілісності людини в умовах глобальної невизначеності та соціальних криз. (shrink)

Based on the question about the anthropological in the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein, this paper orders the forms of anthropological and ethnological readings that have been done to the philosophy that he developed after his return to Cambridge in 1929; drawing their limits and possibilities from the form of wittgensteinian writings.Given that, since the end of the 20th century until today the studies on the matter have increased, we will elucidate the differences that these readings have when presentinga (...) “wittgensteinian anthropology”; especially, from the epistemic differences between a descriptive reading and a theoretical reading. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:694 BOOK REVIEWS Exercises in the Work of HUvB," Antonio Sicari writes on "Theology and Holiness," and Georges Chantraine writes on the relationship of "Exegesis and Contemplation." Missing from Henrici's account of Balthasar's philosophical presup· positions, as well as from the other contributions, are further sugges· tions for exploring possible relationships with some of the current con· cerns in North America like the hermeneutical debates or those surrounding other (...) methodological issues. Much work is still needed in this area, especially a more thorough encounter between the position of Balthasar and those of Karl Rahner, Bernard Lonergan, and Paul Ricoeur, to name but a few of the dominant figures in North American theological circles. Schindler's volume is highly to be praised as an invaluable introduction to the work of one of the giants of our century. Let us hope that more such studies will be forthcoming. Concordia University Montreal, Quebec CHRISTOPHE PoTWOROWSKI The Anthropological Character of Theology: Conditioning Theological Understanding. By DAVID A. PAILIN. New York: Cambridge Uni· versity Press, 1990. Pp. 300. $54.95 (cloth). That the discipline of theology is an activity of human beings whereby even in the most pronounced theologies of revelation the " creaturely form" of theology is acknowledged is not a matter of dispute. What is debated is the extent to which this Barthian rendering of the anthropological moment of theology " conditions " our theological understanding. It is in the interests of sorting this out that David Pailin, Reader in the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Manchester in England, devotes this volume. The result is a rather systematic study in which the author explores the various angles where one can register theology's human dimension-from basic theistic claims to doctrinal formulations-while simultaneously justifying the integrity of theological inquiry in philosophical perspective. Indeed, throughout, it is the hand of a philosopher of religion that is at work, synthesizing and categorizing the contemporary theological landscape and carving out the true subject matter of theology, namely, that which is "ontologically, valuatively and rationally ultimate" (p. 4). The book is best read with an eye to each of these poles. On the one hand, the ostensible project is to examine, evaluate, and clearly affirm the human character of the theological enterprise. Simply BOOK REVIEWS 695 acknowledging the theological identification of human being, ergo the theologian, as a creature addressed by the divine word is inadequate. Even if this should require the practitioner to engage in a " laborious movement from one partial human insight to another" (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, I, 1, p. 14), it does not give due recognition to the formative influence exercised by the theologian's fallible and culturally specific situation in life. These include language, conceptual perspective, metaphysical commitments, social location, and religious experience. On the other hand, Pailin is mindful that attention to theology's anthropological character and his methodological accentuation of it is in danger of yielding to the reductionist charge that religion is a complex of human projection and anthropomorphic description. In response Pailin consistently argues the case for the justifiability of religious belief, theistic claims, and theological predication. In this respect his work is not only descriptive of what theologians are doing but it attempts a revisionary intervention in the realms of philosophical and systematic theology. Classical theistic renditions of the divine attributes are subjected to critical scrutiny, e.g., divine impassibility and its relationship to divine love, and traditional interpretations of Christian doctrines are relativized by their cultural context, e.g., Anselm's theory of atonement. His own constructive subtext betrays a clear preference for neo-classical process theology and its conceptualization of God's relationship to the world and history. The key issue that governs Pailin's view of the integrity and limits of theological understanding revolves around the relationship between formal and material predication. What we mean by God and what we say about God are inextricably bound up with our speculative efforts to understand the nature of ultimate reality. The theologian and the metaphysician are in pursuit of similar quests with the proviso that the farmer's judgments are ensconced within a religious perspective. This does not exempt theological judgments from being rationally... (shrink)

Alfred Gell puts forward a new anthropological theory of visual art, seen as a form of instrumental action: the making of things as a means of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. He shows how art objects embody complex intentionalities and mediate social agency, and he explores the psychology of patterns and perceptions, art and personhood, the control of knowledge, and the interpretation of meaning, drawing upon a diversity of artistic traditions--European, Indian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian. Art and (...) Agency was completed just before Alfred Gell's death at the age of 51 in January 1997. It embodies the intellectual bravura, lively wit, vigour, and erudition for which he was admired, and will stand as an enduring testament to one of the most gifted anthropologists of his generation. (shrink)

Author thinks that Kant's critique of metaphysics is motivated by creative need in execution of the possibility of a holistic world-view. By directing thought to the sphere of theoretically appropriate, Kant gives metaphysics anthropological sense which strengthens his motivation. Anthropologist metaphysics gives motivation to creativity of philosophical thinking by opening volition to connect ontological and axiological in philosophical subject: it gives completeness to worldview. But scientific conscience has not overcome non-critical fantasies that scientific intellect can cognize the last truths (...) about the world without any intensional implicatures of anthropological origin yet. Anthropological method of critical thinking makes scientific intellect holistic and reflexive without censoring religious nature of humankind. (shrink)

Philosophical and historical subjects are of great importance in the legacy of German classic philosophy representatives (Immanuel Kant, Johann Fichte, Friedrich Schelling and Georg Hegel). But Shelling and Hegel give it more prominence. Schelling researches this topic in his work “System of transcendental idealism”, its practical side, which is also designated by the term “philosophy of history”. Hegel discovers it in an independent fundamental work “Philosophy of history”. It should be noticed that anthropological factor in philosophy studies in the (...) history of classical German idealism, obviously, should be understood widely enough, not as one-sided. The understanding of it is presented in the notions of “man”, “subject”, “individual”, “person”, and even “spirit” and others. In this context, the actualization of Hegelian idea of relation between freedom and necessity becomes prolific in the analysis of modern processes and problems of Ukrainian civil society formation and development. Indeed, in our democratic society there are conditions for conscious and freely realization of citizens’ specific goals and objectives with the knowledge of their historical necessity. The problems of civil society formation and development need to contribute another look at Hegel’s understanding of nature of relationship between personality’s conscious activity and the results of it, its consequences, that falls within the definition of necessity. Hegel considers freedom in the social sphere through its objectification in external reality in the form of various social relations. It should be also emphasized that freedom, according to Hegel, is the main content of the will, the will advanced and intelligent (which only can be free). State and civil society have different functions. The state represents the absolute rationality, reasonableness, it acts, subjecting its efforts to conscious aims, while civil society is the realm of human inclination to self-performance. In the state freedom is a reasonable freedom of people organized by state, but in civil society freedom is an interaction and relationship of free, independent individuals. However, in all his writings Hegel emphasizes that freedom does not deny, but foresees necessity. Thinker turns from abstract arguments about freedom to development of world history. The world history is a progress in the sense of freedom – progress that we need to know in its necessity. This understanding of history is usually increased by the general philosophical idea of thinker. The point is that in every age people are so free, as the absolute idea has embodied the principle of freedom in history, and as people realize their freedom. According to Hegel, the basis of slavery is that human being do not realize itself freely, and the Spirit helps to make this step in the manifestation of necessity that develops consciousness. Although history with its variety of events has many contradictions, Hegel stresses that here philosophy is only a flare of idea that is reflected in world history. His is interestes primarily to show knowledge of these ideas’ progress, namely, the idea of freedom. Thus, progress of freedom is the progress in consciousness of freedom. No less interesting chapter in Hegel’s history of philosophy is doctrine of means by which freedom carries itself in the world. Freedom itself is internal, but means are external, they always catch the eye and can be traced in history. Reviewing each historical phase convinces us that the actions of people arise from their needs, preferences, interests and abilities, which play a decisive role. Of course, you can find common goals for a certain group of society or people – desire of good, noble love of country, – but these virtues do not play such a decisive role in relation to the world or to ensure what happens in it.Certainly, it is a mistake to argue that no one is guided by these virtues in their activities, but compared to the mass of mankind that number will be meager. This view was confirmed in Hegel’s work “Lectures on the Philosophy of History”. Philosopher argues that passion, selfish goals, satisfaction of selfishness have the greatest power; their strength is that they do not recognize any borders that law and morality seek to establish for them. The problem gets formulated in the question of combining freedom and necessity, dialectical transition of one to another. In this case the necessity arises and transforms human freedom. People act freely and history is a result of this activity, somewhat independent of this, unconscious, which is a (historical) necessity. So actually necessity in its converted form (as freedom) is the subject of history. Not in individual sense of subject, but in general (general and historical). Keywords: history of philosophy, history, subject, object, person, activity, freedom, necessity, nature. (shrink)

A more dynamic approach to Catholic social thought that encourages a prophetic discernment can critically challenge the official narrative presented in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, which is widely popular in Africa. This article develops this argument by revisiting three key problems that CST encounters in the African reality: poverty, violence, and justice. Significantly, the postcolonial discourse of “anthropological poverty” serves as both a justification for and a critique of the Compendium. This article highlights how (...) a prophetic discernment’s dynamic approach, through the lens of anthropological poverty, enriches or critiques official Catholic social teaching’s views on the problems of poverty, violence, and justice. The discussion that follows in the article establishes how a less hierarchical approach to contemporary social questions is both necessary and attainable, while showing that this approach is, in part, taking place in Africa. (shrink)

The phenomenological ideas of the French philosopher J.-P. Sartre are analyzed. The specifi city of phenomenological origins and basic concepts inthinker’s philosophy are revealed. Phenomenology is presented as original anthropological dimension, which reveals the essential attributes of man, his consciousness and existence. Being of person acts as a “being-for-itself” that focuses on the internal activity of the subject. Consciousness is highlighted as a specifi c mode of human being, the basis of “life world” and creative of existence. Key words: (...) phenomenology, consciousness, intentionality, the phenomenon, “being-foritself”, nothingness. (shrink)

The philosophical symbolism of H. Skovoroda’s works lies in wisdom, congenial work, seeing the big in the small, unveiling mysteries through the symbolic world. Skovoroda states that to be a human-being is to be a philosopher. The aim of philosophy is to reawaken the main mottos of the Age of Enlightenment (honor, dignity, freedom, justice, solidarity, morality). Creating open society in Ukraine on the basis of these mottos is the aim of the modern national state-building. The aim of the article (...) is to ascertain the influence and meaning of the philosophical and anthropological problems in the works of H. S. Skovoroda for building open society in the modern Ukraine. Methodology of the study is complex and based on the social-philosophical and historic-philosophical analysis of anthropological problems in the works by H. S. Skovoroda and its significance for finding personal freedom and building open society. The leading methodological tools are fundamental research basics of the scientific analysis – principles of objectivity, systematicity, integrity, unity of the historic and the logical, determinism, development, and interrelation. Methodology of social and symbolic representations, ethnic representations, and structural functionalism has been used. Results. As Ukraine is experiencing complex social and political processes, the philosophical works by H. S. Skovoroda acquires special importance: formation and preservation of the Ukrainian national identity, national values, morality, and culture. The society needs politically-minded citizens with clear ideas about the prospects of the state development. Researching works of Skovoroda, one can trace the development of the human spirit: an internally-devastated person devoid of life reference points is gradually adapting to the life in society, overcomes the discrepancies between the singular and the whole finding a compromise in the relations with the world around them. The fates of the people and the nation, language and the state were the key problems which H. S. Skovoroda thoroughly and passionately analyzed through the perspective of universal human values. Conclusions. The modern Ukrainian society needs people in harmony with themselves and the world who work on improving themselves and the society. Such people should be able to overcome both their own internal contradictions and the conflicts in society and the world. Putting significant hope on the human-being as the creator of the new morality, H. Skovoroda believed in the possibility of building solid foundations of the state. An internally rich person and citizen is going to contribute to harmony of the nature, the world, human relations focusing on the issues of good and love as integral attributes of the human existence. The writer considered such personalities to be able to carry peace and unity to the unstable reality full of life challenges and to oppose the alienation, absurdity, and insignificance of the human existence. (shrink)

The institutional design outlined in the previous chapters can converge towards Isocracy only if people become again protagonists of their own lives. A real “anthropological mutation” is needed. This revolves around the reintroduction of those “hot passions” that capitalism tends to “freeze” and therefore “empty”. There are four main differences between the behaviour of homo oeconomicus and that of a passionate human being. Firstly, passions emerge through non-intentional acts, a loss of control by the subject. Secondly, any action nurtured (...) by passions may worsen the subject’s well-being. Thirdly, passions exclude reciprocity: there is no indirect or future do ut des mechanism in the transactions motivated by passions because any action originated and nurtured by passions places its own raison d’être in itself. Finally, passions are not directly dependent on monetary rewards, because they do not vary (within a relevant interval) if the latter change. If people are passionate, no mechanism of domination and alienation can erase the world of life for the benefit of a political authority or the expansion of markets. It follows that revitalising hot passions is the main subjective condition that can be used as a means to widen the sphere of society within capitalism and to head towards an isocratic society. Passionate behaviours—both those “ethically virtuous”, and all the others—upset the status quo. There are no right or wrong passions, and it is possible that the wild, unbridled, uncontrollable passions regulate themselves endogenously, without the intervention of a tamer. The task of the (economic and political) isocratic institutional set-up is not that of regulating passions, but only that of avoiding that the subjects who advocate certain passions can gain a permanent advantage over other subjects. (shrink)

The article examines the evolution of the anthropological approach, the original idea of which belongs to I. Kant. Kant formulated the key dilemma of anthropology: studying humans as natural beings subject to the laws of natural science and as free individuals acting within the horizon of humanitarian knowledge. The author argues that for a long time this contradiction hindered the development of anthropology as a cohesive discipline. The resolution of Kant's task was facilitated by two factors: the emergence of (...) "mediators" (semiotics, history, axiology, psychology) that connect natural and personal interpretations, and the crisis of modern European culture, which brought to the forefront the search for new forms of individual existence. The anthropological approach would not have materialized if, by the beginning of the 20th century, philosophy and humanitarian practices (especially literature) had not reflected (represented) the human being in its natural manifestations and conscious (voluntary) actions. St. Augustine in "Confessions" already discusses these two sides of human existence: some actions are performed effortlessly, while others, despite one's desire, encounter resistance from the individual. Special attention is given to the methodology of anthropological research. Through the analysis of the life and creativity of A.S. Pushkin (the reconstruction of the poet's spiritual upheaval), the author demonstrates that the anthropological approach requires the construction of the image of the "individual person," a dialogical strategy, and objectification based on the humanitarian methodologies of W. Dilthey and M. Bakhtin. The second case—studying the phenomenon of qigong—reveals the specificity of anthropological thinking through the analysis of semiotic schemes and the concept of "pyramids of realities." The author argues that the understanding of a person in qigong is formed not so much scientifically as through schemes (channels, qi energy) that transform the corporeality and personality of the practitioner. In conclusion, the author affirms the pluralism of anthropological concepts, proposing their own sociocultural and semiotic model, where the understanding of a person emerges at the intersection of research and constructivist strategies. (shrink)

In this collection of essays, Clifford Geertz explores the nature of his anthropological work in relation to a broader public, serving as the foremost spokesperson of his generation of scholars, those who came of age after World War II. ...

The author addresses the problem of eschatological and alarmist sentiments characteristic of contemporary philosophical and scientific thought. The purpose of the work is not to completely overcome the pessimistic mindset regarding the possible extinction of humanity, but to soften it through an analysis of the anthropological evolution of the Earth and modeling probable scenarios for the future. The methodological foundation of the research is epistemological optics, which views development as a change of wholes ("worlds"), where each new form self-organizes (...) according to its own principles, while the laws of the preceding level transition into a state of "alterity" and prerequisites. In the historical excursion, the author traces the transformation of the logic of development from natural scientific determinism to artificial-natural, arising with the emergence of humanity and culture. Special attention is given to the semiotic nature of behavior, the role of schemes and signs (for example, archaic concepts of the soul) in the formation of social practices and worldviews. Examining antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, the author notes the tension between determinism (divine or natural) and the freedom of the individual, which led to the formation of two opposing attitudes: submission to the laws of nature and the desire to transform it. The culmination of the article is the development of four scenarios for the future: the "sad" scenario (the inability of humanity to change, leading to extinction), the "desirable" scenario (a conscious rejection of the illusions of power in favor of a healthy life in harmony with oneself, as well as the protection of humanity and culture), the "cosmic" scenario (humanity's venture into space, options for Russian cosmism and transhumanism), and the "author's" scenario (partially the second, desirable scenario, partially a modern version of stoicism). In the last scenario, the author, acknowledging the hypothetical nature of any predictions and the inevitability of changing representations of the world, calls for focusing on solving urgent earthly problems and self-improvement, drawing a parallel with archaic practices of symbolic overcoming of fear. The article concludes with a suggestion not to rush, highlighting the need for a reflexive attitude towards recipes for salvation. (shrink)

It is shown that scientific and technical rationalism and technical activity gained universal character, under act of which spirituality is transformed and humanism values are devalued. In the context of technogenic civilization the prospects of European civilization and place of man are considered in realization of its senseimportant aims. The variants of civilization advancement and role of technique-knowing are analysed in constructing of humanism paradigm of survival of humanity. The anthropological measuring of science and technique, which can serve as (...) imperatives of technological activity of man, are exposed. Keywords: philosophy, science, technique, technique-knowing, tehnogenic civilization. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Semiotica Jahrgang: 2016 Heft: 210 Seiten: 1-34.

Contributed articles presented at the national seminar entitled "Ethical Issues in Anthropological Research", organized by Department of Anthropology, West Bengal State University during 19-20 January 2012.

Anthropologische Medizin (AM) i. S. Viktor von Weizsäckers sieht grundlegende Selbsterfahrungen des Menschen (Leiblichkeit, Zeitlichkeit u. a.) für den Umgang von Arzt und Krankem als zentral. Sie ist offen für die leiblich-seelische Betroffenheit, für die mögliche Stellvertretung des Physischen und Psychischen und sieht den Kranken als Subjekt und Objekt, das sich selbst zugleich Subjekt und Objekt ist. „Umgangslehre“ kennzeichnet AM als Handlungswissenschaft, die der „Doppelstruktur sachlicher und personaler Entsprechung von Mensch in Not und Mensch als Helfer bzw. Krankheit und Medizin“ (...) folgt. Sie unterscheidet Krankheit und Kranksein sowie klinische und (natur-)wissenschaftliche Objektivität. Lebensweltliche und psychosoziale Faktoren beeinflussen das Kranksein. Als Umgangslehre setzt anthropologisch-klinische Wissenschaft „an die Stelle der Objektivitätslehre der Erkenntnis eine personalistische […] Erkenntnislehre“, die auch ihre methodischen, handlungslogischen Sach- und Wertbegründungen reflektiert. Brücken zwischen AM und dem gegenwärtigen Ethikdiskurs werden skizziert. (shrink)

Husserl has often stood accused of Eurocentrism given his disquieting coupling of philosophy as universal science with Europe. And yet, however much this accusation has clouded the appeal of transcendental phenomenology, the nature of this charge remains obscure: whether Husserl’s chauvinism is merely a personal opinion punctuating his writing or is instead closely connected to the methods of phenomenology has been left unexplored. This paper offers itself as a corrective, looking to get a clearer picture of how precisely Eurocentrism afflicts (...) transcendental phenomenology. The overarching aim of doing so is to chart the possibilities for the development of a non-Eurocentric, decolonial phenomenological thinking which exploits the enduring appeal of Husserl’s commitment to presuppositionlessness. The first part of the paper considers the relationship between the phenomenological reduction and eidetic variation, showing that, by Husserl’s own lights, phenomenological science seeks to expel all forms of prejudice. Part two, however, shows that the entrance of Eurocentrism into phenomenology is not simply accidental, in two distinct senses. The first, which takes off from Merleau-Ponty’s (implicit) critique of Husserl, argues that Husserl in his late work is insufficiently attentive to the empirical dimension: Eurocentrism thus stems from the overly transcendental emphases of this project and its inability to engage with concrete human diversity. The second draws on Derrida’s (explicit) critique of Husserl, arguing that it is precisely the admission of concrete historico-cultural facts into phenomenology that compromises the universal by identifying it with the particularities of Europe. I thus show that Eurocentrism does indeed insinuate itself in Husserl’s methods—_not_, however, in a manner that renders transcendental phenomenology irredeemable. Given the opposition between these two insightful criticisms, however, I argue that the challenge for a decolonial vision of phenomenology is formidable. (shrink)

This article aims at showing the need for a sound ethical and anthropological foundation of economics and business, and argues the importance of a correct understanding of human values and human nature for the sake of economics and of businesses themselves. It is suggested that the ethical-anthropological side of economics and business can be grasped by taking Aristotle’s virtue ethics and Amartya Sen’s capability approach (CA) as major reference points. We hold that an “Aristotelian economics of virtues”, connected (...) with the CA’s notion of human richness, can promote the shift to the concept of personhood, and can lead to a more “humanized” business, by fostering human flourishing, the enhancement of human capabilities, and the pursuit of a more humane development for each and every person. (shrink)

Мета. Метою статті є соціально-філософський та філософсько-антропологічний аналіз трансформацій людської діяльності в умовах глобальної нестабільності, технологічних і ціннісних змін сучасності. Дослідження спрямоване на з’ясування того, яким чином нормативні системи (конституції, міжнародне право) та публічні дискурси формують горизонти можливого людського діяння і визначають належні способи діяльності в сучасному світі. Теоретичний базис. Теоретичною основою роботи є синтез філософсько-антропологічних, соціально-філософських, соціологічних та економічних концепцій. У дослідженні застосовано системний підхід, принцип діалектичного сходження від абстрактного до конкретного, а також компаративний аналіз форм громадянської активності й (...) національних моделей конституційних приписів провідних держав. Розглянуто еволюцію розуміння людської діяльності: від критики плинної модерності та владних механізмів через проблематизацію ірраціональності до її інструменталізації в концепціях емоційного інтелекту та креативної економіки. Наукова новизна. Оригінальність дослідження полягає у розкритті філософсько-антропологічного виміру нормативних і економічних дискурсів, які зазвичай аналізуються переважно в інституційному ключі. Запропоновано критичний аналіз розриву між декларованими цінностями та реальною практикою діяльності, а також показано, як публічні дискурси та наративи еліт формують нормативну модель "успішної" людини, маскуючи структурні обмеження свободи дії. Висновки. Обґрунтовано, що відповідь на питання "як діяти сьогодні" не може бути зведена до технократичних або адаптивних стратегій. Вона потребує поєднання критичної рефлексії, гуманістичних цінностей, соціальної відповідальності та здатності людини діяти одночасно в особистому, інституційному й глобальному вимірах. (shrink)

Against transmission -- For attention -- Education in the minor key -- Anthropology, art and the university.

According to Clifford Geertz, the purpose of anthropology is not to explain culture but to explicate it. That should cause us to rethink our relationship with machine learning. It is, we contend, perfectly possible that machine learning algorithms, which are unable to explain, and could even be unexplainable themselves, can still be of critical use in a process of explication. Thus, we report on an experiment with anthropological AI. From a dataset of 175K Facebook comments, we trained a neural (...) network to predict the emoji reaction associated with a comment and asked a group of human players to compete against the machine. We show that a) the machine can reach the same accuracy as the players, b) it fails in roughly the same ways as the players, and c) easily predictable emoji reactions tend to reflect unambiguous situations where interpretation is easy. We therefore repurpose the failures of the neural network to point us to deeper and more ambiguous situations where interpretation is hard and explication becomes both necessary and interesting. We use this experiment as a point of departure for discussing how experiences from anthropology, and in particular the tension between formalist ethnoscience and interpretive thick description, might contribute to debates about explainable AI. (shrink)

It is the contention of this paper that ethics of work ought to be anthropological, and artificial intelligence (AI) research and development, which is the focus of work today, should be anthropological, that is, human-centered. This paper discusses the philosophical and theological implications of the development of AI research on the intrinsic nature of work and the nature of the human person. AI research and the implications of its development and advancement, being a relatively new phenomenon, have not (...) been comprehensively interrogated in the social and ethical teachings of the Catholic Church. This paper, therefore, proposes a path for this interrogation by expounding a discourse which is believed to be epistemically helpful in the developing discourse of AI in the ethical and social teachings of the Church. The advancement in the research on AI is not only redefining the meaning of work, but, even more so, it is questioning the metaphysical notion of the human person and the theological notion of work as an intrinsic part in the selfhood and dignity of the human person. (shrink)

The purpose of the article is the analysis of the causes of the systemic crisis that hit modern civilization through the description of its main structures, identifying the relationship between its elements, assessments of their heuristic potential. This will open up opportunities for finding ways to resolve this crisis, new directions of civilizational development. Theoretical basis of the research are the systems analysis, socio-philosophical and philosophical-anthropological approaches as well as the analysis of scientific developments in the field of global (...) studies. Originality lies in the fact that this article is the first to show the connection between the main structural elements of human civilization as a system. Change in one of the parameters leads to a change in all the others, together with a change in civilization as a whole. Conclusions. The reason for the deep crisis that hit modern civilization is its imbalance as a system. The most important elements of this system are population size, resources and technology, and the core is consciousness in its individual and collective forms. The perception, processing, and use of information, which is a defining civilizational resource, as well as the stability of the entire system depend on the state of consciousness. Consciousness, based on old, obsolete principles and stereotypes, is unable to cope with the most acute challenges of time. New consciousness, since it is formed, will mark the transition to a new theoretical picture of the world and a model of human behavior, in which people will act, driven by proven knowledge, and not willfulness and prejudice. The idea of forming a productive information environment where the ideas of constructiveness and creative work will dominate rather than consumerism and destruction, as is the case at present, must become the categorical imperative of the new consciousness. (shrink)

Since at least the 1960s, science and technology studies scholars have distinguished between technological and social fixes. The author introduces a new concept for the STS theoretical tool kit—the cultural fix—and illustrates this concept using examples from her own research on pregnancy loss and neonatal intensive care, as well as that of anthropologists Katherine Newman and Sherry Ortner on downward mobility and unemployment in the United States. It is argued that the cultural fix represents a distinctive anthropological contribution to (...) the field. (shrink)

Through an ambitious and critical revision of Michel Foucault's investigation of ethics, James Faubion develops an original program of empirical inquiry into the ethical domain. From an anthropological perspective, Faubion argues that Foucault's specification of the analytical parameters of this domain is the most productive point of departure in conceptualizing its distinctive features. He further argues that Foucault's framework is in need of substantial revision to be of genuinely anthropological scope. In making this revision, Faubion illustrates his program (...) with two extended case studies: one of a Portuguese marquis and the other of a dual subject made up of the author and a millenarian prophetess. The result is a conceptual apparatus that is able to accommodate ethical pluralism and yield an account of the limits of ethical variation, providing a novel resolution of the problem of relativism that has haunted anthropological inquiry into ethics since its inception. (shrink)

This philosophical anthropology tries to explore the basic categories of man’s being in the worlds using a special quantum meta-ontology that is introduced in the book. Quantum understanding of space and time, consciousness, or empirical/nonempirical reality elicits new questions relating to philosophical concerns such as subjectivity, free will, mind, perception, experience, dialectic, or agency. The authors have developed an inspiring theoretical framework transcending the boundaries of particular disciplines, e.g. quantum philosophy, metaphysics of consciousness, philosophy of mind, phenomenology of space and (...) time, and ontological relativity. (shrink)

One of the persistently controversial issues in the discussion of Kant’s moral philosophy is his view of the relation between the metaphysics of morals and human nature.

This book explores how Wittgenstein's personal life provided more of a reference point for his philosophical work than has been previously thought. Focusing on two key phases in Wittgenstein's life during which he dramatically changed his philosophical orientation and reinvented both his intellectual methods and himself, the author presents and alternative understanding of Wittgenstein and his work. The book firstly addresses the period of his "anthropological turn" (1929-1932), in which Wittgenstein developed one of his central arguments concerning the role (...) of the body in the acquisition of language and the rules of social practice. The second key phase, commencing after the end of the Second World War, was one of introspection, during which Wittgenstein became intensely preoccupied by inner events, sensations, and his own personality. As his work evolved, the anthropological aspects became the primary focus of his work by the end of his life. Providing an accessible and novel insight into Wittgenstein's work and his interest in 'continental' philosophy, this translation will appeal to a wide audience. (shrink)

Anthropology and the other cognitive science (CS) subdisciplines currently maintain a troubled relationship. With a debate in topiCS we aim at exploring the prospects for improving this relationship, and our introduction is intended as a catalyst for this debate. In order to encourage a frank sharing of perspectives, our comments will be deliberately provocative. Several challenges for a successful rapprochement are identified, encompassing the diverging paths that CS and anthropology have taken in the past, the degree of compatibility between (1) (...) CS and (2) anthropology with regard to methodology and (3) research strategies, (4) the importance of anthropology for CS, and (5) the need for disciplinary diversity. Given this set of challenges, a reconciliation seems unlikely to follow on the heels of good intentions alone. (shrink)