Issue editors: Kamelia Zhabilova and Nikolay Mihaylov
CONTENTS & Abstracts & Keywords
Ivan Cerovac – Epistemic Value of Public deliberation in a Democratic Decision-making Process
Abstract: This paper discusses the epistemic value of public deliberation in a democratic decision-making process. I first discuss David Estlund's standard account of epistemic democracy – in order to be legitimate, a decision must be a result of both fair and epistemically reliable procedure, i.e., of procedure that in most cases leads us to (procedure-independent) correct outcomes. This approach is characterized by the idea that democratic deliberation only has instrumental epistemic value, i.e., serves as a good means to achieve desired ends – a high correctness probability of the outcomes. I defend this approach from three objections put forward by Fabienne Peter, who claims that Estlund's position is not a practicable conception of democratic legitimacy, that it makes unnecessary demands and that it is normatively misleading. Finally, I argue against pure epistemic proceduralism, an alternative approach that tends to reject consequentialist epistemology in favor of proceduralist epistemology. By doing so, it has lost a way to evaluate the epistemic value of (deliberative) democratic procedures, and is thus vulnerable to the problem of various (reasonable) people holding different epistemic practices and disagreeing on which practice should be the one that is epistemically valuable and that produces legitimate decisions.
Keywords: epistemic democracy, legitimacy, proceduralism, instrumentalism, deliberation, hybrid epistemology.
Elena Petrova – Ethics of Care: A Theoretical Approach and Projection
Abstract: The article aims to analyze Carol Gilligan's approach to the research on, and the essence and projection of, the ethics of care. Gilligan's approach is presented as an analogical continuation of Karen Horny's research on women. The projection of the ethics of care is tied to the creation of new feminist, political and philosophical ethics that seeks to change the moral basis of public space.
Кеуwords: feminist discourse, essence of ethics of care, theoretical method, projection, maternal thinking, ethics of solidarity, private and public space.
Nikolay Mihaylov – Ethics and Ecology: Problems of Interdisciplinarity
Abstract: The article explores the different approaches to defining environmental ethics. The author examines the emergence and historical development of ecological ideas in ethics and their impact on ethics. The article focuses on anthropocentrism as a basic ethical principle and attempts to address it in the construction of a new type of moral philosophy. Important works by Bulgarian and foreign authors on the subject are reviewed and compared. The author examines the place of environmental ethics in the structure of ethical philosophy.
Keywords: ethics, environment, anthropocentrism, ecology, values, sustainability.
Abstract: This paper discusses the epistemic value of public deliberation in a democratic decision-making process. I first discuss David Estlund's standard account of epistemic democracy – in order to be legitimate, a decision must be a result of both fair and epistemically reliable procedure, i.e., of procedure that in most cases leads us to (procedure-independent) correct outcomes. This approach is characterized by the idea that democratic deliberation only has instrumental epistemic value, i.e., serves as a good means to achieve desired ends – a high correctness probability of the outcomes. I defend this approach from three objections put forward by Fabienne Peter, who claims that Estlund's position is not a practicable conception of democratic legitimacy, that it makes unnecessary demands and that it is normatively misleading. Finally, I argue against pure epistemic proceduralism, an alternative approach that tends to reject consequentialist epistemology in favor of proceduralist epistemology. By doing so, it has lost a way to evaluate the epistemic value of (deliberative) democratic procedures, and is thus vulnerable to the problem of various (reasonable) people holding different epistemic practices and disagreeing on which practice should be the one that is epistemically valuable and that produces legitimate decisions.
Keywords: epistemic democracy, legitimacy, proceduralism, instrumentalism, deliberation, hybrid epistemology.
Elena Petrova – Ethics of Care: A Theoretical Approach and Projection
Abstract: The article aims to analyze Carol Gilligan's approach to the research on, and the essence and projection of, the ethics of care. Gilligan's approach is presented as an analogical continuation of Karen Horny's research on women. The projection of the ethics of care is tied to the creation of new feminist, political and philosophical ethics that seeks to change the moral basis of public space.
Кеуwords: feminist discourse, essence of ethics of care, theoretical method, projection, maternal thinking, ethics of solidarity, private and public space.
Nikolay Mihaylov – Ethics and Ecology: Problems of Interdisciplinarity
Abstract: The article explores the different approaches to defining environmental ethics. The author examines the emergence and historical development of ecological ideas in ethics and their impact on ethics. The article focuses on anthropocentrism as a basic ethical principle and attempts to address it in the construction of a new type of moral philosophy. Important works by Bulgarian and foreign authors on the subject are reviewed and compared. The author examines the place of environmental ethics in the structure of ethical philosophy.
Keywords: ethics, environment, anthropocentrism, ecology, values, sustainability.
Martin Heidegger – Two Texts on „Overcoming Aesthetics“
Abstract: The article explores Heidegger`s attempt to overcome aesthetics.
Keywords: aesthetics, beauty, metaphysics, the essence of art, technique, truth, pre-reflection.
Krasimir Delchev – Heidegger's Intended „Overcoming of Aesthetics“ and Certain Objections to It
Abstract: The article explores Heidegger`s attempt to overcome aesthetics.
Keywords: aesthetics, beauty, metaphysics, the essence of art, technique, truth, pre-reflection.
Nikolay Uzunov – The Interrelation between Poetry and Philosophy. (Martin Heidegger. The „Hölderlin“ Case)
Abstract: The article analyzes the relation between poetry and philosophy in the context of Heidegger's works. The author presents and analyzes the arguments by which Heidegger interprets the poetry of Friedrich Hцlderlin and the concept of truth in Western philosophy.
Keywords: poetry, Greek philosophy, Hцlderlin, truth, human being.
Abstract: The article explores Heidegger`s attempt to overcome aesthetics.
Keywords: aesthetics, beauty, metaphysics, the essence of art, technique, truth, pre-reflection.
Krasimir Delchev – Heidegger's Intended „Overcoming of Aesthetics“ and Certain Objections to It
Abstract: The article explores Heidegger`s attempt to overcome aesthetics.
Keywords: aesthetics, beauty, metaphysics, the essence of art, technique, truth, pre-reflection.
Nikolay Uzunov – The Interrelation between Poetry and Philosophy. (Martin Heidegger. The „Hölderlin“ Case)
Abstract: The article analyzes the relation between poetry and philosophy in the context of Heidegger's works. The author presents and analyzes the arguments by which Heidegger interprets the poetry of Friedrich Hцlderlin and the concept of truth in Western philosophy.
Keywords: poetry, Greek philosophy, Hцlderlin, truth, human being.
Galin Penev – Is Dualistic Christianity Possible?
Abstract. The article claims that there is a large gap separating dualistic religion from Christianity, and a „dualistic Christianity“ is not possible. The main cause of this is a misunderstanding in the historical reconstruction of Bogomilism. The paper clarifies this and explains the theological origin of this confusion.
Keywords. Christianity, dualistic religion, adoration, evil.
Anani Stoynev – Concerning a „Contribution“
Abstract: The article may be regarded as a continuation and a concretization of the general principles expounded in my previous article „On the Possible Approaches to Studying Bogomilism“, published in Philosophical Alternatives, issue 5, 2015, and occasioned by Erika Lazarova's book The Bogomil-Cathar Philosophy as a Lived Ethics, Avangard Print, 2013. The author analyzes concepts such as „Bogomil-Cathar philosophy“ and reveals their groundlessness, as well as that of the phrase „lived ethics“, which is a metaphor, not a scientific concept. The article proves the need to work with sources, not metaphors used as sources. The groundlessness of the concept/term „dualist Christianity“ is revealed: Christianity is monistic, and monism cannot possibly be a dualism.
Keywords: Christianity, heresy, metaphor, concept, Gnosticism, Bogomilism, „dualist Christianity“
Erika Lazarova – A „Calumny Aria“
Abstract: The article reveals the scientific incompetence and complete lack of elementary scholarly ethics in A. Stoynev's quasi-review. It is demonstrated how a superficial reading and lack of familiarity with classical and contemporary scientific sources leads to miscomprehension of the theses regarding dualist Christianity, the genetic link between Bogomilism and Catharism, the pan-ethical and pan-European character of Bogomilism, the immaterial church of dualist heretics, etc. Stoynev's views on Christianity are hopelessly outdated; moreover, he is evidently not familiar with the genuine meaning of the concept of „heresy“, which means CHOICE, not „falling away from the true faith“.
The article exposes the motivation underlying the review in question: the conscious intention to discredit a colleague.
Keywords: scientific incompetence, lack of ethics in science, subjectivism, self-admiration, haughtiness.
Abstract. The article claims that there is a large gap separating dualistic religion from Christianity, and a „dualistic Christianity“ is not possible. The main cause of this is a misunderstanding in the historical reconstruction of Bogomilism. The paper clarifies this and explains the theological origin of this confusion.
Keywords. Christianity, dualistic religion, adoration, evil.
Anani Stoynev – Concerning a „Contribution“
Abstract: The article may be regarded as a continuation and a concretization of the general principles expounded in my previous article „On the Possible Approaches to Studying Bogomilism“, published in Philosophical Alternatives, issue 5, 2015, and occasioned by Erika Lazarova's book The Bogomil-Cathar Philosophy as a Lived Ethics, Avangard Print, 2013. The author analyzes concepts such as „Bogomil-Cathar philosophy“ and reveals their groundlessness, as well as that of the phrase „lived ethics“, which is a metaphor, not a scientific concept. The article proves the need to work with sources, not metaphors used as sources. The groundlessness of the concept/term „dualist Christianity“ is revealed: Christianity is monistic, and monism cannot possibly be a dualism.
Keywords: Christianity, heresy, metaphor, concept, Gnosticism, Bogomilism, „dualist Christianity“
Erika Lazarova – A „Calumny Aria“
Abstract: The article reveals the scientific incompetence and complete lack of elementary scholarly ethics in A. Stoynev's quasi-review. It is demonstrated how a superficial reading and lack of familiarity with classical and contemporary scientific sources leads to miscomprehension of the theses regarding dualist Christianity, the genetic link between Bogomilism and Catharism, the pan-ethical and pan-European character of Bogomilism, the immaterial church of dualist heretics, etc. Stoynev's views on Christianity are hopelessly outdated; moreover, he is evidently not familiar with the genuine meaning of the concept of „heresy“, which means CHOICE, not „falling away from the true faith“.
The article exposes the motivation underlying the review in question: the conscious intention to discredit a colleague.
Keywords: scientific incompetence, lack of ethics in science, subjectivism, self-admiration, haughtiness.
Hristo Gagov – Is There Reason Within the Universe? Intelligent Design: A Non-accredited Player on the Field of Theoretical Biology
Abstract: Some issues of the theory of Intelligent Design (ID) are discussed in detail. The possibilities and limits of empirical science in proving claims related to the origin of life and macroevolution are analyzed. A few examples of data interpretations supporting the theory of evolution are examined. The metaphysical nature of ID is clarified. Living organisms are compared to non-living thermodynamic systems. Finally, the article looks at some implications of the theory of evolution for social processes.
Keywords: intelligent design, origin of life, evolution, empirical science.
Lilia Gurova – Intelligent Design: What It Is and Is Not, and How Common Unprofessionalism Brings Shame upon Our Philosophy (and Science)
Abstract: This article is a response to the publication of Theodora Dimitrova's „On the Top Ten Scientific Problems of Biological and Chemical Evolution“ (Philosophical Alternatives 1/2016). In her paper, T. D. restates the arguments against the evolutionary explanations of the origins of life and species as summarized by Casey Luskin, a famous proponent of the intelligent design theory. T. D.'s article contains no critical discussion of these arguments nor refers to sources where such a discussion could be found. It is difficult to say whether these lacks are a result of mere ignorance or of an unscientific bias towards evolutionary theory. In any case, the publication of such an article in a respectable academic journal brings shame upon the journal and its associates. In support of the latter claim, this paper draws attention to those aspects of the intelligent design movement that show its unscientific and anti-intellectual nature.
Keywords: creationism, history of the intelligent design movement, scientific criticism of the intelligent design theory, reception of intelligent design in Bulgaria.
Abstract: Some issues of the theory of Intelligent Design (ID) are discussed in detail. The possibilities and limits of empirical science in proving claims related to the origin of life and macroevolution are analyzed. A few examples of data interpretations supporting the theory of evolution are examined. The metaphysical nature of ID is clarified. Living organisms are compared to non-living thermodynamic systems. Finally, the article looks at some implications of the theory of evolution for social processes.
Keywords: intelligent design, origin of life, evolution, empirical science.
Lilia Gurova – Intelligent Design: What It Is and Is Not, and How Common Unprofessionalism Brings Shame upon Our Philosophy (and Science)
Abstract: This article is a response to the publication of Theodora Dimitrova's „On the Top Ten Scientific Problems of Biological and Chemical Evolution“ (Philosophical Alternatives 1/2016). In her paper, T. D. restates the arguments against the evolutionary explanations of the origins of life and species as summarized by Casey Luskin, a famous proponent of the intelligent design theory. T. D.'s article contains no critical discussion of these arguments nor refers to sources where such a discussion could be found. It is difficult to say whether these lacks are a result of mere ignorance or of an unscientific bias towards evolutionary theory. In any case, the publication of such an article in a respectable academic journal brings shame upon the journal and its associates. In support of the latter claim, this paper draws attention to those aspects of the intelligent design movement that show its unscientific and anti-intellectual nature.
Keywords: creationism, history of the intelligent design movement, scientific criticism of the intelligent design theory, reception of intelligent design in Bulgaria.
Anguel S. Stefanov – What Was Einstein's „Biggest Mistake in Life“?
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide arguments for three claims. The first one refers to Einstein's philosophical commitment to constructive realism. The second claim concerns the variety of the assessments of his theoretical results and methodology. And the third states that, if Einstein ever made a mistake with respect to his theoretical expectations, it was not his introducing the cosmological constant – which he is said to have confessed as his mistake, but his ontological belief expressed in his famous saying „God does not play dice“.
Keywords: Einstein's „biggest mistake“, statistical description, cosmological constant, philosophical realism.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide arguments for three claims. The first one refers to Einstein's philosophical commitment to constructive realism. The second claim concerns the variety of the assessments of his theoretical results and methodology. And the third states that, if Einstein ever made a mistake with respect to his theoretical expectations, it was not his introducing the cosmological constant – which he is said to have confessed as his mistake, but his ontological belief expressed in his famous saying „God does not play dice“.
Keywords: Einstein's „biggest mistake“, statistical description, cosmological constant, philosophical realism.
Aleksandra Trifonova – Leonard Nelson's Reflections on the Ethical and Religious Worldview, Translated by Valentina Topuzova-Torbova
Summary: The proposed text is a lecture given by the famous representative of the neo-Kantian movement Leonard Nelson at a student conference in Aarau, Switzerland, in 1922. It was found in the archives of Tzeko Torbov's family, translated into Bulgarian in 1950 by Valentina Topuzova-Torbova.
The purpose of Leonard Nelson's talk was to point out the significance of Kant's autonomous ethics in the post-war world.
Keywords: Leonard Nelson, Valentina Topuzova-Torbova, Kant, neo-Kantianism, ethics, duty, worldview, fatalism.
Summary: The proposed text is a lecture given by the famous representative of the neo-Kantian movement Leonard Nelson at a student conference in Aarau, Switzerland, in 1922. It was found in the archives of Tzeko Torbov's family, translated into Bulgarian in 1950 by Valentina Topuzova-Torbova.
The purpose of Leonard Nelson's talk was to point out the significance of Kant's autonomous ethics in the post-war world.
Keywords: Leonard Nelson, Valentina Topuzova-Torbova, Kant, neo-Kantianism, ethics, duty, worldview, fatalism.
Tatyana Batuleva – Ethics and Development: A Bulgarian View
Vyara Nikolova – A Heuristic View on History
Vyara Nikolova – A Heuristic View on History