Topic of the issue: THE VALUES. CLASSICS AND CONTEMPORALITY (https://doi.org/10.58945/HINH3048)
Issue editor: Sylvia Borissova
CONTENTS & Abstracts & Keywords & Authors in the issue
ETHOS AND VALUE
Ethos in the Development of History
https://doi.org/10.58945/RWYB2917
Abstract: If we are to differentiate humankind from other creatures, we tend to gravitate towards the concepts of logos and language, of language and speech, and of reason and thought. In this text, I put forth the idea that the role and importance of ethos and values, of goodness and virtues in man, are mediated by thinking and logos. I argue that these qualities are fundamental and strictly distinguishing features of man, as well as degrees of consciousness. They explain the sources and beginnings of humanity and civilization in general. The foundations thus laid become generative in terms of a new ethical paradigm that emphasizes values and ethos as a factor in the development of history. It should be noted that the ethical paradigm does not replace logos with ethos; rather, it presents them in a synchronicity that embodies the true, overall essence of man, and hence of the history of civilizations and peoples. Furthermore, the ethical paradigm has the capacity to grasp and hold the spirit of the present.
Keywords: ethos; logos; values; man; ethical paradigm; history
Miroslava Hristoskova (Assistant Professor, PhD at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Michel Foucault’s Concept of Critique
https://doi.org/10.58945/GVNQ4647
Abstract: This paper examines Foucault’s concept of critique and points out the importance of critical attitude in his ontology of the present. Kant’s question of the Enlightenment is put in a new perspective: philosophical thought is oriented at defining the present and actual field of experience. Philosophy becomes an activity of diagnosing the present (ontology of actuality and ourselves) opposed to a search of universal structures of truth (analytics of truth). Foucault observes a relationship between Enlightenment and critique: a certain kind of attitude, a philosophical ethos that consists of critique of our historical existence. This critical attitude is understood as a philosophical ethos (critical work of thought over itself) and as a practice of freedom (a perspective of transforming oneself and creating new modalities of subjectivity).
Keywords: critique; ethos; Enlightenment; ontology of the present
Sylvia Borissova (Associate Professor at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Values and Personality: Stages of Development in the Context of a Process Axiology
https://doi.org/ 10.58945/SAEN2853
Abstract: Taking as a starting point the problematization of the debate on values and the understanding of the stages of personality development over the past two centuries, the article aims to dynamize the findings in the context of the formation of values and the integration of personality, by proposing a process-axiological grid for the analysis of values and their role in personality development.
Keywords: values, integrity; personality development; process axiology; psychology; psychotherapy; personality-oriented pedagogy; pedagogy of creativity
Оgnyan Uzunov, Milena Coloma (Master of Philosophy for Secondary Schools – Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Ruse Metropolis; Master of Philosophy for Secondary Schools – Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”), teacher at 51th High School “Elisaveta Bagryana”)
Old and New Testament Values: Practical Application in the Contemporary World. A Philosophy Lesson for 9th-Grade Students
https://doi.org/10.58945/XTOS3031
Abstract: This text outlines an interactive philosophy teaching model conducted among 9th-grade students of 51th Secondary School “Elisaveta Bagryana” – Sofia. The teaching is based on a topic set in the curriculum and concerns the exploration of values in the Old and New Testaments. The model examines the values of Old Testament justice and Christian love in the context of their relationship to society and the individual. It emphasizes the practical nature of both types of values and derives their relevance to specific life situations. The teaching aims to develop the skills of analysis, synthesis, argumentation, discussion, conclusion-drawing, and generalization. The stages of learning follow the sequence: from knowledge of biblical values to skills for defining them in practice, focusing on their competent application in life. The model demonstrates an approach to make learning more challenging and encourage critical thinking in an enjoyable manner. It cultivates a value model rooted in understanding and respecting differences.
Keywords: educational model; values; Old Testament; New Testament; justice; love; personality; society
ANTHROPOLOGY OF VALUE
Possibilities for the Integration of the Philosophy of Values in the Context of Psychotherapy
https://doi.org/10.58945/BXAA9441
Abstract: The present article considers the possibility of turning the active work with the processes of value formation into a key element in psychotherapy. It is based on observations of processes of value formation spontaneously occurring during psychotherapies with patients that cannot be explained by the theoretical framework of the psychodynamic method being used. These processes can be described in the following manner: 1) the detachment of the patient from his current situation and its recognition as contrary to his values and the will to change resulting from that; 2) the gradual realisation of what is most important in the life of the patient as a value around which he builds up his existential center which gives direction of his strivings and of the changes he undertakes an opens up future possibilities for his development. The values formed as a result of this process are personal as opposed to the generally accepted moral values of a given society or culture. In the article it is argued that the described processes can be understood from the perspective of the philosophy of values. It arrives at the conclusion that a psychotherapeutic method which actively engages these processes and grounded on the philosophy of values would be distinct from the already available methods even from those that already work with values or are founded on philosophy. For the formulation of such a method of work are necessary future analysis and research.
Keywords: values; processes; psychotherapy; philosophy of values
Elitsa Dimova (Assistant Professor, PhD at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
“Kronos” as Mind and “Aphrodite” as Soul in Ancient Anthropology. The Broken Soul in Modern Society
https://doi.org/10.58945/NTPV1190
Abstract: The purpose of this article is not to clarify the authenticity and various features of Pythagoreanism, but to trace whether it has an influence on different philosophical currents on how the human being is perceived as two incompatible alternatives – as a transitory form of the animal or as a divine creature. The fact is that there is no clear and consensual definition of what constitutes a person. The separation of soul and body in man as two separate entities belonging to different dimensions is also a concept inherited from antiquity. Matter as evil and soul as good has been a philosophical maxim since the time of Pythagoras. Thus, the human being remains outside the unity of nature as torn into two different entities. They relate to the being, matter and time differently. They express his different natures – the low and the high, the small and the large, matter and ether. The interpretation that soul and body are connected only indirectly and that this makes man imperfect is the root of an erroneous but established notion. In this sense, it is important to rethink from a modern perspective where human perfection lies, such as the right to choose and freedom.
Keywords: Aristotle; Pythagoras; Philolaus; Hippasus; Architus; Socrates; Plato; Plotinus; Pythagoreans; soul; man; mind; number
LAW AND VALUE
Herbert Hart’s Neo-positivism as an Attempt to Revise Modern Legal Theories
https://doi.org/10.58945/CRYN1966
Abstract: This article is devoted to the teachings of the British philosopher, positivist and legal theorist Herbert Hart. Central to the publication is the analysis of Hart’s neo-positivist concept as an attempt to revise the initial premises of legal knowledge. In this context, the question of the British positivist’s distinction between law and morality is examined, as manifested in his reflections on the nature of moral, natural and positive rights. Emphasis is also placed on that basic position in Hart’s theory, according to which empirical argumentation presupposes the existence of legal phenomena only within a system of rules. By virtue of this notion, the state is seen as a collection of officials charged with authority based on legal rules. That is why, in the doctrine of legal Neo-positivism, the basis of the state structure is not the power of a sovereign, as in the teaching of John Austin, but legal rules as a condition for the legitimacy of state coercion.
Keywords: Neo-positivism; moral and legal prescriptions; coercive equality; primary and secondary rules; state; sovereignty; independence; international law
Stoyan Stavru (Professor, DSc at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
The Judge: Between the Hedgehog’s Spikes and the “Breeding” Farms of Law
https://doi.org/10.58945/WVEJ2831
Abstract: The text explores the role of the judge in the process of adjudication and the pursuit of a just judicial decision in the dispute. By comparing the strategies of the fox and the hedgehog, the procedural roles of the judge and the lawyer are distinguished. An analysis of the model of the „virgin“ Judge Medusa and the effect of an overly good judge on the attainability of justice is presented.
Keywords: adjudication; artificial intelligence; justice; role of the judge
Zdravko Angelov (Assistant Professor, PhD at Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
The Concept of “Delinquent Child”
https://doi.org/10.58945/RALB2100
Abstract: This text problematizes the topic of the delinquent child, examined through the focus of sociology. Its relevance in Bulgaria is enhanced by the presence of two laws in the field of children’s policies, which both complement each other, but also mutually blame each other. The author makes a brief overview of the existing scientific literature on children and childhood issues; makes an attempt to determine the concept of “delinquent child” and justify its value as a bearer of rights in a sociological context.
Keywords: child; delinquency; delinquent child
THE VALUES OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Structural Challenges in Bulgaria to the Applicability of the Polarities of Democracy Theory
https://doi.org/10.58945/RTCN6582
Abstract: The article presents the results of a pilot empirical study focused on the applicability in contemporary Bulgaria of William Benet’s polarities of democracy theory at organizations level. The pilot study compares three typologically different organizations – secondary schools, non-profit organizations and companies in the digital services sector. The results of the approbation of the approach of leverage of polar democratic values reveal that today in our country there are huge shortages of democratic practices introduced at organizations level. At the same time, the participants in the study simultaneously express: 1) a desire for more democratization of internal organizational life and 2) skepticism about the effectiveness and efficiency of democratic approaches to the management of the organizations they belong to. The paper provides arguments in support of the thesis that the “leverage of democracy values” approach is extremely relevant to the democratic development of the studied organizations, but that Benet’s five pairs of democratic values are rather not recognized in the current Bulgarian socio-cultural context as relevant value poles, between which organizations oscillate constantly. The pilot survey comes to the conclusion that not so much the “conscious leverage of value poles”, but rather the empowerment of the members of the studied institutions, the competitive environment and the establishment of a system of mutual control and power balance are prerequisites for democratization of the typologically different organizations included in the research.
Keywords: democracy; organizations; school; civil society; reforms
NEW BOOKS
The Perspectives of Living Knowledge – A New Monograph Dedicated to the Problems of Philosophical and Civic Education
https://doi.org/10.58945/UGGU4484