Topic of the issue: ETHICS, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIAL PRACTICES
Issue editor: Nikolay Mihailov
CONTENTS& Abstracts & Keywords
Abstract: Òhe text is focused on the interpretation of Aristotle's conception of the human being as a citizen, as a political creature, and his view on happiness as the goal of humans. The article discusses Machiavelli's and Weber's ideas – emblematic for modernity – about the relation between ethics and politics, and the theoretical reflection of this relation in the context of contemporary society as a risk society and in the globalized world. The article aims to distinguish, based on comparative analysis, between Aristotle's understanding of ethics and politics as two sides of the same coin, i.e., as aspects of the life of people in a community. The article discusses the importance of Aristotle's view of humans as beings that are political because they are ethical and ethical because they are political.
Keywords: Aristotle; ethics; politics; morals; zoon politikon; human community; happiness; responsibility; risk society; globalization; Max Weber; Niccolò Machiavelli; Zygmunt Bauman; Ulrich Beck
Irakli Taboridze – The Importance of Samuel Pufendorf's Notion of Entia Moralia in Natural Law Philosophy (A Historical Review)
Abstract: The aim of the article is to investigate the idea of moral entities (entia moralia), one of the two main original intellectual concepts contributed to natural law philosophy by the famous German thinker of the 17th century Samuel Pufendorf. The article clarifies the relevance of the idea in an interdisciplinary perspective, emphasizing the historical discourse of the philosophy of law. The article gives a precise classification and explanation of the forms of entia moralia, such as person, status, quality and quantity, distinguishing them from entia physica, and demonstrates the significance of this distinction for the philosophy of natural law. Hopefully, the discussion will deepen our knowledge on some essential questions of early modern natural law philosophy and explore the traces Samuel Pufendorf left in this field; it will also increase interest in contemporary research on the moral issues involved in new classical natural law theory.
Keywords: natural law; moral entities (entia moralia); physical entities (entia physica); natural state; apetitus socialitas; moral person; moral qualities; moral quantities; authority; Pufendorf; Grotius; Hobbes
Nikolay Mihaylov – PR Ethics as Professional Ethics
Abstract: The article analyzes the content of the concepts of professional ethics and professional morals in terms of PR as a profession. The author examines different aspects of the activity of PR specialists in relation to the moral assessment of their work. The author attempts to show how professional morality impacts on the practice and functions of professional communicators.
Keywords: professional ethics; public relations; public communication; profession; ethics.
Anna Mantarova – The Refugee Crisis: National Projections of a Global Problem
Abstract: The article analyzes the situation created by the presence of asylum-seekers in Bulgaria in the context of the global refugee crisis. The first part of the article examines the global dimensions of the refugee problem – the size and dynamics of the refugee flows, the main countries of origin and recipient countries. The second part presents the situation in Bulgaria from 2011 to 2017 in terms of quantitative parameters of the refugee flow and the socio-demographic profile of the asylum seekers. The subjective perceptions and assessments of the Bulgarian population about the refugee crisis are presented. The differences in opinions and attitudes in the country as a whole and near locations of refugee camps are outlined. The third part examines the problems generated by the presence of asylum seekers in the country in terms of the objective reality and the subjective perceptions and assessments. The analysis is based on statistical data provided by SAR and the results of two empirical sociological surveys conducted in December 2017, including a nationally representative survey and a survey in two areas where refugee camps are located. Information drawn from interviews with refugees is also used.
Keywords: refugee; forced migration; refugee flows; public opinion.
Donna Pickard, Galina Koleva, Mariana Draganova, Albena Nakova, Emilia Chengelova – Urban Agriculture as a Research Field: A Theoretical and Methodological Framework
Abstract: This article elaborates a comprehensive theoretical model for studying urban agriculture as a strategy for improving the quality of life of urban communities. The presented theoretical framework and methodology enable comprehensively addressing and studying the multi-faceted phenomenon of urban agriculture. The authors attempt to problematize the still unfilled gap in the theory of urban agriculture. In accounting for the complexity of urban agriculture as a socio-economic and cultural phenomenon, the proposed theoretical frame includes the grounding and interlinking of basic concepts such as: urban agriculture, quality of life, sustainable development, community and urban community. With a view to greater efficiency in the study of this diverse research field, the article grounds the need to apply an interdisciplinary approach that covers the sociological, economic and ecological effects of urban agriculture practices. This is complemented by an innovative integrated socio-spatial approach that enables the use of spatial and territorial data for sociological and economic analysis.
Keywords: urban agriculture; quality of life; sustainable development; community.
Abstract: The article analyzes the situation created by the presence of asylum-seekers in Bulgaria in the context of the global refugee crisis. The first part of the article examines the global dimensions of the refugee problem – the size and dynamics of the refugee flows, the main countries of origin and recipient countries. The second part presents the situation in Bulgaria from 2011 to 2017 in terms of quantitative parameters of the refugee flow and the socio-demographic profile of the asylum seekers. The subjective perceptions and assessments of the Bulgarian population about the refugee crisis are presented. The differences in opinions and attitudes in the country as a whole and near locations of refugee camps are outlined. The third part examines the problems generated by the presence of asylum seekers in the country in terms of the objective reality and the subjective perceptions and assessments. The analysis is based on statistical data provided by SAR and the results of two empirical sociological surveys conducted in December 2017, including a nationally representative survey and a survey in two areas where refugee camps are located. Information drawn from interviews with refugees is also used.
Keywords: refugee; forced migration; refugee flows; public opinion.
Donna Pickard, Galina Koleva, Mariana Draganova, Albena Nakova, Emilia Chengelova – Urban Agriculture as a Research Field: A Theoretical and Methodological Framework
Abstract: This article elaborates a comprehensive theoretical model for studying urban agriculture as a strategy for improving the quality of life of urban communities. The presented theoretical framework and methodology enable comprehensively addressing and studying the multi-faceted phenomenon of urban agriculture. The authors attempt to problematize the still unfilled gap in the theory of urban agriculture. In accounting for the complexity of urban agriculture as a socio-economic and cultural phenomenon, the proposed theoretical frame includes the grounding and interlinking of basic concepts such as: urban agriculture, quality of life, sustainable development, community and urban community. With a view to greater efficiency in the study of this diverse research field, the article grounds the need to apply an interdisciplinary approach that covers the sociological, economic and ecological effects of urban agriculture practices. This is complemented by an innovative integrated socio-spatial approach that enables the use of spatial and territorial data for sociological and economic analysis.
Keywords: urban agriculture; quality of life; sustainable development; community.
Iliya Todorov – Self-consciousness as Consciousness in Love. Infatuation and Adoration
Abstract: The article deals with a range of concepts, striving to reveal their semantic unity. In this connection, a kind of dialectical perspective is used to review their relation of definition. The concepts in question are those of self-consciousness, morality and love. The author clarifies the nature of amorous consciousness – in the sense of identity of love, conditioned as infatuation, and adoration. As a result, a new analytical perspective on certain specific forms of love is established, including love of God, love of the ideal (homeland), maternal or parental love.
Keywords: self-consciousness, morality, love, infatuation, adoration.
Samal H. R. Manee – Exploring Searle's Social Ontology
Abstract: In this short article, I will explore John Searle's social ontology project from the perspective of social epistemology. The outcome of my analysis is that language is decisive for the collective acquisition and production of knowledge. I agree with Searle regarding the exposure of language as a central constitutive component of social forms of knowledge, a component that plays a significant role in the development of social epistemology. In Searle's account, all institutional facts are linguistically created and maintained. I agree that language should play a central role in any social ontology, in social epistemology, as well as for our understanding of society. But when we bring in language and make it the central focus and foundation in explaining how society is created and functions, it becomes inevitable to bring in the diversity of views in theories of meaning and to analyze how these contribute to the creation and maintenance of society. Other questions also need to be addressed, including those related to the so-called “problem of group belief justification”, as it is not clear how it fits into Searle's project and how individual convictions become convictions of the community.
Keywords: language; society; belief; knowledge; social epistemology.
Abstract: The article deals with a range of concepts, striving to reveal their semantic unity. In this connection, a kind of dialectical perspective is used to review their relation of definition. The concepts in question are those of self-consciousness, morality and love. The author clarifies the nature of amorous consciousness – in the sense of identity of love, conditioned as infatuation, and adoration. As a result, a new analytical perspective on certain specific forms of love is established, including love of God, love of the ideal (homeland), maternal or parental love.
Keywords: self-consciousness, morality, love, infatuation, adoration.
Samal H. R. Manee – Exploring Searle's Social Ontology
Abstract: In this short article, I will explore John Searle's social ontology project from the perspective of social epistemology. The outcome of my analysis is that language is decisive for the collective acquisition and production of knowledge. I agree with Searle regarding the exposure of language as a central constitutive component of social forms of knowledge, a component that plays a significant role in the development of social epistemology. In Searle's account, all institutional facts are linguistically created and maintained. I agree that language should play a central role in any social ontology, in social epistemology, as well as for our understanding of society. But when we bring in language and make it the central focus and foundation in explaining how society is created and functions, it becomes inevitable to bring in the diversity of views in theories of meaning and to analyze how these contribute to the creation and maintenance of society. Other questions also need to be addressed, including those related to the so-called “problem of group belief justification”, as it is not clear how it fits into Searle's project and how individual convictions become convictions of the community.
Keywords: language; society; belief; knowledge; social epistemology.
Nina Dimitrova – The Idea of the Revival Remake and Peter Beron's Slavic Philsophy
Abstract: The article examines the presence of Peter Beron's ideas in different types of nationalism in the interwar years in Bulgaria, especially in the latter part of that period. The works of Peter Beron, a Bulgarian educator and author of numerous scientific works written in French and German, were used in the 1930s to support “revival attempts”. His encyclopedic legacy was interpreted in terms of National Romanticism and Slavic messianism, and seen as evidence of the affiliation of Bulgarians to Europe or as a specific national type of philosophizing.
Keywords: Peter Beron; Slavic philosophy; Interwar period in Bulgaria; Boris Yotsov; National Romanticism.
The Works of Mr. P. Beron Presented to the Scholarly French World
Benyo Tsonev – “Slawische Philosophie” by Dr. Peter Beron
Dr. Peter Beron's European Odyssey
Abstract: The article examines the presence of Peter Beron's ideas in different types of nationalism in the interwar years in Bulgaria, especially in the latter part of that period. The works of Peter Beron, a Bulgarian educator and author of numerous scientific works written in French and German, were used in the 1930s to support “revival attempts”. His encyclopedic legacy was interpreted in terms of National Romanticism and Slavic messianism, and seen as evidence of the affiliation of Bulgarians to Europe or as a specific national type of philosophizing.
Keywords: Peter Beron; Slavic philosophy; Interwar period in Bulgaria; Boris Yotsov; National Romanticism.
The Works of Mr. P. Beron Presented to the Scholarly French World
Benyo Tsonev – “Slawische Philosophie” by Dr. Peter Beron
Dr. Peter Beron's European Odyssey
Emilia Marinova – Expanding the Ethical Debate in Bulgarian Society
Abstract: The article presents the prestigious tradition of ISSK and BAS of conducting annual national conferences in ethics since 2004. The article presents information on thirteen scientific such conferences focused on the zones of moral sensitivity in our society and on the ethical risks arising in various social spheres. These forums have served as a means for uniting society, the state and the citizens around ethics debate and for widening the “boundaries of respect” in society. The article shows how these conferences create a unified national ethical space that consolidates Bulgarian ethical thinkers, enables interaction between the scientific and academic communities, and provokes interdisciplinary discussions.
Keywords: national conferences on ethics; social ethics debate; national ethics network; ethical risks.
Abstract: The article presents the prestigious tradition of ISSK and BAS of conducting annual national conferences in ethics since 2004. The article presents information on thirteen scientific such conferences focused on the zones of moral sensitivity in our society and on the ethical risks arising in various social spheres. These forums have served as a means for uniting society, the state and the citizens around ethics debate and for widening the “boundaries of respect” in society. The article shows how these conferences create a unified national ethical space that consolidates Bulgarian ethical thinkers, enables interaction between the scientific and academic communities, and provokes interdisciplinary discussions.
Keywords: national conferences on ethics; social ethics debate; national ethics network; ethical risks.
Ivan Stefanov – Does Aesthetical Consciousness Have Boundaries?
Anna Mantarova – Traditional Religious Worldviews and Values in the 21st Century
Anna Mantarova – Traditional Religious Worldviews and Values in the 21st Century