Philosophical Alternatives 2/2026

Nikifor Avramov (Senior Assistant Professor at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Inquiry on the Role of Participation in the Ontology of Values (In Light of Relational Ontology and the Issue of Reflexivity)
https://doi.org/10.58945/QZOK5720
Abstract: The text is an inquiry into the conceptualization of the characteristically human participation in reality in light of the ontology of values. I recognize three aspects in the sphere of value: the process of generation of values, the application of values (the evaluation), and the fact of values (as subjective capacities, potentialities), which I approach as related to forms of human participation. I present a possible justification for the thinking of participation as an inherent given in the ontology of values through analysing the aspects of the sphere of values as dynamic. The inquiry aims to present a general and fundamental understanding as much as possible – such that expresses basic ontological facts and in which otherwise different, even contradictory thought paradigms could recognize themselves.
Keywords: values; participation; liminality; axiology; relational ontology

Sylvia Borissova (Associate Professor at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
The Form of Value and the Value of Form
https://doi.org/10.58945/SPTG2433
Abstract: The article examines the problem of distinguishing – and the need for distinguishing – between inner and outer form. For this purpose, a consistent analysis of the concepts of the artistic avant-garde will be conducted – primarily in Wassily Kandinsky (On the Spiritual in Art, 1911) and Pierre Reverdy (The Image, 1916); of Gustav Shpet’s concept of the inner form of the word and the inner poetic form (The Inner Form of the Word: Etudes and Variations on a Humboldtian Theme, 1927) and of Vladimir Bibikhin’s concept of The Inner Form of the Word (2008). In this way, the conditions under which the distinction of the inner form is a deeply valuable act, both in the creative process and art, and in life, will be systematized and typologized. From this, the inverse relationship will be deduced – that of value with form, of value as a special and at the same time emblematic type of expressive form.
Keywords: inner form; outer form; value; expression; creativity; art

Antonia Nacheva (Doctor at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”)
Ethical, Axiological, and Aesthetic Dimensions in the Оeuvre of Abhinavagupta (11th-Century Kashmir)
https://doi.org/10.58945/BDBY3853
Abstract: In the works of Abhinavagupta (c. 10th–11th century), an Indian philosopher, aesthetician, and mystic of the Kashmiri Shaivism tradition, the themes of values and ethics are present, albeit not in the manner typically encountered in Western ethical thought. For him, these concerns are more implicitly embedded within his philosophical and aesthetic system rather than explicitly formulated as codified moral rules. For the purposes of this study, selected sections of his work Tantrāloka – a philosophical-tantric treatise – are examined. In this text, Abhinavagupta presents a comprehensive metaphysical cosmology that is ethically grounded and outlines a path toward liberation. The values emphasized in this work include the attainment of inner freedom (svatantrya), the responsible exercise of knowledge and power, and the ethics of self-realization – that is, moral conduct directed toward the recognition of one’s own divine nature. The second focal text of this study is Abhinavabhāratī, a commentary on Bharata’s 2nd-century treatise on theatre, the Nāṭyaśāstra. Here, Abhinavagupta addresses aesthetic values and the ethics of art. Through the experience of rasa – an aesthetic emotion historically equated with bliss – the spectator undergoes purification, reflecting the ethical dimension of artistic experience. Art thus fulfills both an educative and liberating function, elevating the spirit and fostering inner harmony. Emotional empathy (bhāva), when properly expressed, results in ethical purification (catharsis), a concept analogous to Aristotle’s, yet grounded in a spiritual framework. Abhinavagupta does not conceive of ethics as a prescriptive list of virtues or rules; rather, he frames it as a process of internal transformation. Within this framework, the highest values comprise self- awareness, freedom, devotion to the absolute, and aesthetic sensibility understood as a spiritual path.
Keywords: Abhinavagupta; values; Tantrāloka; Abhinavabhāratī; rasa

Hristo Pisarov (Аssistant Professor at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Irony in the Middle Ages. An Attempt to Convey Irony Through the Means of Medieval Miniature and in Particular the Manasses Chronicle
https://doi.org/10.58945/KKNL1959
Abstract: The article presents a brief study on the medieval understanding of irony, giving examples from high and low culture in the use of irony, then focuses on satire in the visual arts during the Middle Ages and focuses on the forms of expression – grotesque, parody and their difference with irony. Based on a phraseological study on irony by Daniela Konstantinova, this distinction is achieved. After that, it turns to the 51st miniature on folio 145 of the Manasses Chronicle (Vatican copy) to reveal the presence of irony (with the heuristic potential of virtualist transcendentalism), which, upon a thorough study of medieval miniatures, may prove to be a Bulgarian contribution to medieval aesthetics.
Keywords: irony; ironic effect; medieval image; miniature; virtualist transcendentalism

Еmanuela Hristova (PhD student at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
The German Value Tradition in the Works of the Grimm Brothers
https://doi.org/10.58945/JEYP7158
Abstract: The subject of this article is a systematic synopsis of the values conveyed by the collected and published fairy tales and legends of the Brothers Grimm, in their multidimensional role in preserving authentic Old German culture, establishing national identity, and their significance from a pedagogical point of view in the formation of the emerging personality. Special focus is placed on the symbolism of fairy-tale images and the place of the element of time. Representatives of the Heidelberg School of Romanticism, the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm developed linguistic and folkloric research and embraced the historicism that dominated philosophical circles at the time as their mission. Like Herder and Schleiermacher, the Grimm brothers explored the connection between national consciousness and history, turning it into a consolidating force for the German national spirit. Knowledge of history is knowledge of man. And, as Nietzsche says, historical events reveal the life cycle of history. Historical facts invariably bear testimonio to the values of the era. The work of the Brothers Grimm is also part of the hermeneutics of art. The historical paradigm that prevailed in the 19th century placed man as the main driver of change – he is immersed in a historical world, he subjectivizes himself in it, simultaneously bearing the imprint of the world, but also transforming it.
Keywords: fairy tales; legends; Brothers Grimm; values; Old German authentic culture; symbolism; self-awareness

Martin Petrushev (PhD Student at Institute of Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Logic of Insight: Dostoevsky the Prophet through Peirce’s Abduction
https://doi.org/10.58945/XIQD9526
Abstract: This article examines Dostoevsky’s role as a “prophet-sign” through the lens of semiotics and Peirce’s theory of abduction. Drawing on Ivan Mladenov’s development of the concept of the effete mind, it explores how intuition and latent memory inform Dostoevsky’s foresight. His prophetic vision is understood as a cognitive process rooted in cultural experience. Through abductive reasoning, Dostoevsky reveals emerging patterns that remain relevant to philosophical and literary discourse today.
Keywords: abduction; abductive prophecy; effete mind; semiotics; Dostoevsky; Peirce

Galina Yotova (PhD student at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Measuring Reality: Perspective Conventions
https://doi.org/10.58945/BVJE9122
Abstract: The article examines the relationship between the 15th century perspective inventions, substantiated by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446), and the working method of the contemporary Bulgarian artist Ventseslav Kostov (1944–2006), whose work is poorly known and studied by art historians and curators. The text updates ideas related to perspective as a “symbolic form” and their projection in contemporary art, the reflection on reality and new realism, and how through the synthetic approach of visual art an answer can be found to the question of why the working method of the Bulgarian artist Ventseslav Kostov remains a lonely example without followers.
Keywords: perspective; Filippo Brunelleschi; Ventseslav Kostov; symbolic form; contemporary art, visual arts; reality; new realism

Juliana Hicheva (PhD student at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Contemporary Drawing at the Threshold of the Visible and the Invisible: Interdisciplinary Pathways beyond Postmodernism
https://doi.org/10.58945/RZWB7860
Abstract: The article explores contemporary drawing as a space between the visible and the invisible, where the artistic gesture intertwines with scientific observation. Inspired by the ideas of Paul Valéry, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Gaston Bachelard, it examines the relationship between the body, the imagination, and the act of drawing. Through the creative explorations of Iglika Hristova and her experiments with the microscopic world, it offers a new perspective on drawing—not as a reproduction of reality but as a participation in a process in which the image already exists and awaits its revelation. In this context, the article considers the delicate dialogue between the eye, the hand, and the matter that simultaneously hides and reveals itself, positioning drawing in the intermediate zone between science and art, between imagination and observation.
Keywords: imagination; contemporary drawing; Paul Valéry; microscopic image; science and art

Silvia Petrova (Associate Professor at South-West University “Neofit Rilski”)
Truth, Values and Post-Truth: Media Culture in the Age of Disinformation
https://doi.org/10.58945/OMIF6795
Abstract: This text analyses the transformation of truth as a cognitive and ethical concept in the context of contemporary media culture. It traces the transition from the modern ideal of objectivity to a post-truth situation, where the validity of statements is increasingly determined by factors such as visibility, emotional impact, and the way publicity is disseminated online. Post-truth is thus not interpreted as an 'era of lies', but rather as a cultural symptom of a shift in regimes of authority, mediation and collective emotionality. Disinformation is considered a form of communication that undermines trust and results in the breakdown of shared criteria for truth. The aestheticisation of manipulation is also examined, including visual and narrative codes, memes and simulacra that normalise lies as a communication style. The text argues that algorithms de-ethicise knowledge by optimising content according to engagement rather than truthfulness. The text proposes an ethical perspective, suggesting that truth can be considered a responsibility to the Оther and an ethics of attention in conditions of information overload.
Keywords: truth; post-truth; disinformation; media; algorithmic public sphere; values; attention economy; digital platforms

Iva Kuyumdjieva (Senior Assistant Professor at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
The Art Museum: Cultural, Social and Economic Values
https://doi.org/10.58945/IPEA2334
Abstract: The study aims to identify political constructs and power functions of the art museum institution through a reconstruction of the receptions of the famous study „The Love of Art: European Art Museums and their Public” by P. Bourdieu and A. Darbel. The basis for constructing the analysis is the examination of transformations in the interpretations of the concept of cultural capital, formulated in this study. In the field of cultural policy, it is updated as a tool for criticizing inequalities. In the critical reflections of Bourdieu’s political aesthetics – as an approach for analyzing the dynamics of power relations related to the fields of cultural production. Based on the comparison between different approaches to understanding Bourdieu’s conceptual “heritage”, the contemporary role of the art museum as a multifunctional cultural and political project for an institution that transforms cultural, social and economic values is deduced. And as a power construct, as a key mediator that maintains the dynamics between power construction and autonomy in the field of art.
Keywords: art museum; cultural capital; cultural policy; cultural economy; political aesthetics; cultural inequalities

Kamelia Petkova (Associate Professor at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
The Festival as a Praxis of Values: Cultural Practices and Social Cohesion in Small Settlements
https://doi.org/10.58945/YPTK5504
Abstract: The present text examines local festivals as a form of cultural praxis through which values are embodied, transmitted, and renewed in small settlements in Bulgaria. The festival is interpreted not merely as an event, but as a dynamic cultural practice through which local communities create and experience shared meanings related to identity, solidarity, and resilience. The theoretical framework is based on Bourdieu’s concept of cultural habitus (Bourdieu 1977), Halbwachs’ theory of collective memory (Halbwachs 1992), and contemporary researchers of festivity as a form of poiesis and social mobilization. The festival is viewed as a space of interaction between local government representatives and the spontaneous energy of the community, where traditional and contemporary values intertwine. The empirical analysis draws on data from a nationally representative survey conducted by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences under the project “Local Festivals: A Resource of Local Communities for Coping with Crises”, funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund. The data show that festivals encourage interethnic communication, help overcome loneliness, strengthen local identity, and restore social rhythm after crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, they function as a mechanism for preserving cultural memory and intergenerational transmission of values.
Keywords: local festivals; cultural praxis; values; social cohesion; collective memory; small settlements

Dimitar Katsarski (Senior Assistant Professor at Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Fatherhood as a Value and Practice through the Lens of Parental Leave
https://doi.org/10.58945/YLMY3713
Abstract: The text addresses the subject of “fatherhood” by briefly tracing the evolution of the phenomenon – from the “father-owner” of the agricultural revolution to the “reflexive father”, a model largely representative of the Western world. The emphasis on fatherhood as a social construct rather than an inherently biological fact, combined with an outline of the historical context of dominant models, establishes the macro-framework within which the specific Bulgarian case is situated. Subsequently, the text focuses on empirical research, analysing data from a study conducted in Bulgaria between December 2024 and January 2025. This study was carried out within the project “Policies and Practices of Parental Leave in Bulgaria”, executed by IPHS–BAS and funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund. The data analysis reveals ambivalent positions among respondents regarding both their value orientations and their practices. This ambivalence is interpreted as the result of a clash between different models of fatherhood currently in a state of transition. Based on the identified value beliefs, perceptions, and practices within Bulgarian society, alongside shifts in labour market conditions, employer attitudes, and updates to the national legislative framework, the article concludes that a new trend in the organization of fatherhood has emerged.
Keywords: fatherhood; parental leave; reflexive father; social attitudes; social policies