ETHICS IN PROGRESS
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Value of an Encounter from an Ethical Perspective
Get PDFThis article investigates the relationship between the possibilities of actualizing our encounters and the openness of human space. It describes various types of encounters and shows the correlations between the perception of difference and the inclination to contravene certain encounters. The effects of encounters based on antagonistic, complementary, dialectic, and synergistic thinking are explored in a way that helps to better understand the aims and consequences of encounters actualized in diverse frameworks of dialogue. Further, the impact of paradigms of reasoning on how the value of meetings is understood is described. The results of the modern perception of relationships in the subject-object scheme and in the ecosystem paradigm are presented. The latter allows for recognition that encounters can facilitate creative activity by expanding human space
Rekonstruktion der biographischen Genese einer Bewährungsfigur – Ein Beitrag zu einem sozialisationstheoretischen Begriff der Bewährung
Get PDFZiel des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, exemplarisch die biographische Genese einer Bewährungsfigur zu rekonstruieren und auf diesem Wege zur weiteren Differenzierung dieses sozialisationstheoretischen Begriffs beizutragen. Bewährungsfiguren erweisen sich in der exemplarischen Interviewanalyse als lebensgeschichtlich erste Selbstkonturierungen, die im Verlauf des Lebens eine sukzessive Sättigung, modifizierende Ausgestaltung und eine mehr oder weniger gelungene, komplexitätserhöhende Transferierung auf neue Felder der Bewährung erfahren. Neben der Selbstvergewisserung, ist die zweite wesentliche Funktion von Bewährungsfiguren die Grundlegung der Selbstcharismatisierung, des Vertrauens in die eigenen Fähigkeiten und Problemlösungsvorschläge (Ja, das kann ich, das bin ich
Humans as “Part and Parcel of Nature”: Thoreau’s Contribution to Environmental Ethics
Get PDFHenry David Thoreau (1817-1862) develops an understanding of human beings as “part and parcel of nature” that includes the idea that we are physically, spiritually, and attitudinally (more or less) connected to the world around us. The image he offers is one in which life spent too much in civilization, where work and social expectations determine the quality of one’s daily life and personal character, lead to lives of boredom, conformity, and misplaced priorities. Time spent in more natural environments is the antidote. Such experiences have the potential to jar us out of the conformist and—to his mind—personally stunting existence into which most fall. Growth and liberation come from experiencing the “More” of which both nature and we are a part. Thoreau calls us to reevaluate our values and priorities by being in a right relationship with nature, which does not require that we accept all of his particular ontological commitments. The argument that emerges for greater protection of the environment is admittedly quite human-centered. However, Thoreau’s insight that we are part and parcel of nature is important because, as Aldo Leopold later argues, we can only progress beyond a prudential approach to nature when we see ourselves as part of the larger whole. The world looks different when it is our home and community as opposed to being mere material to be used or a stage on which our lives unfold
Norma podstawowa w Czystej Teorii Prawa Hansa Kelsena
Get PDFThe aim of following paper is to indicate that the notion of Grundnorm, described by Hans Kelsen in second edition of his Pure Theory of Law (Kelsen, 1960), is in fact a necessity in every construction of normative order – understood as a coercive design. I attempt to prove this point by explaining how Kelsen as the founder of legal normativism is making a clear distinction between effectiveness and validity of basic norm, in context of existing legal order. This leads to me to a conclusion, that as long as we presuppose law as methodologically autonomous concecpt, the Grundnorm must be regarded as its integral conditio sine qua non
Ku redefinicji ludobójstwa: realia lokalne
Get PDFLooking at local circumstances such as a neighborhood compels a reformulation of genocide. Their exposure of the incremental escalation of assault makes clear that intention, though a necessary condition of genocide, isn’t always a sufficient one, eroding the orthodox definition of genocide itself which too evolves. Locality also takes into account witnesses’ conviction that, though the commission of radical crimes is indefensible and demands prosecution, a post-genocide order can accommodate a human synthesis as well as a post-traumatic coexistence of peoples
Hans Jonas and Vasily Grossman: Reflections on the Human Condition after Auschwitz
Get PDFThe article endeavours to compare the reflections on the Shoah of two of the most celebrated intellectuals of Jewish origin of the 20th century, namely the German philosopher Hans Jonas (1903-1993) and the Soviet writer Vasily Grossman (1905-1964). Both Jonas’ essay on The Concept of God after Auschwitz (1987) and Grossman’s novels and reports, such as The Hell of Treblinka (1944), Life and Fate (1980), and The Sistine Madonna (1989), are characterised by a thorough enquiry into the ambivalence of the human condition, that tries to shed some light on the disturbing abyss of Auschwitz and the Shoah. Although neither Jonas nor Grossman considered themselves as religious believers, thanks to the Shoah they recollected their Jewish roots and developed peculiar and innovative thoughts on the meaning and vulnerability of life, human freedom, immortality, and God. The article endeavours to highlight the main similarities and differences between these two authors, who tackled the issue of thinking after Auschwitz
The Culture of Memory: The Approach of Reyes Mate
Get PDFThe aim of the article is to present Reyes Mate’s project for a culture of memory. Western culture/tradition tends to erase and blur the traces of crimes (even genocides) in order to achieve/restore peace; however, at the same time, this leads to ignoring the victim’s suffering and, in consequence, helps the wrongdoer. Following Reyes Mate, we argue that a memory of past injustices must constitute an integral part of the present and is the only means to prevent the hermeneutic death of victims. Any project for justice must put victims at the center of reflection. Memory is the beginning of the process that leads to reconciliation, for it makes it possible to redress both the victim and society. Moreover, it enables us to reclaim both the victim and wrongdoer as members of society. A culture of memory would also be a response to the failure of knowledge. Cases of extreme violence elude and transcend cognition; they are not only unthought but also unthinkable. Therefore, memory is a consequence not of discovering but of revealing the past: it follows from the fact that unthought exists and the unthinkable happened, which proves that our knowledge is limited and that we are able [and eager] to “invisibilize” victims’ suffering and depriving injustices of meaning. This is why memory should be the starting point for reflection on a new philosophical program against lassitude and oblivion, as well as on idealistic/anti-realistic and Enlightenment ideas. Memory reveals hidden aspects/dimensions of our reality and becomes at the same time an epistemic imperative and fundamental philosophical category
Geschichtsbewusstsein und Zeitzeugnis. Nietzsches Genealogie als Anregung zum philosophischen Dialog mit Kindern
Get PDFThe paper confronts the reader with Nietzchean critical approach to history, truth, life, and education. Far away from progressive-euphoric ideologies of 19th, the authors consider the following questions: How children live historical occurences when being tought in classrooms (for example in Italy, Japan, etc.), how can we strengthen their ability for reflected relations to history as well as for interconnecting between past, present, and future life? Psychological, pedagogical, and philosophical considerations meet intercultural contexts
Overconsumption, Procreation, and Morality
Get PDFThomas Young (2001) argues that overconsumption and procreation are morally equivalent, and thus that anyone who disapproves of overconsumption must arrive at the same normative judgment concerning procreation (or procreation beyond a certain threshold). Young presents an analogical argument in support of his claim, and defends it against four varieties of objections intended to show that the analogy is weak or faulty. I argue that Young’s defense of his argument fails, and that though a stronger case can be made for his claim of moral equivalence between procreation and overconsumption, a full defense of the claim would unfortunately require a moral theory that we presently do not have (namely, Derek Parfit’s Theory X, the theory of beneficence that would tell us how many people there should be). This is unfortunate because in the absence of successful rational grounds for such a claim concerning the moral value (or disvalue) of procreation relative to resource consumption, we are likely to overlook or misjudge the moral and other costs of population growth
Historic Gardens as Places of Conflicting Values
Get PDFThe aim of the article is to present historical gardens as phenomena inevitably pervaded by an ongoing clash of values. The conflict stems from the twofold character of gardens where art (or in broader terms: culture) and nature are combined, which results in a tension between the tendency to remain static and durable that human culture seeks, and the changeability and dynamics that are inherent in nature. This conflict can be characterized by referring to a theory proposed by Austrian art historian Alois Riegl, one of the founders of modern monument restoration theory who identified three types of values associated with monuments: historical value, age value, and present-day values. What is more, one can assume that gardens can be treated as particular tokens of landscape. Thus, the conflict of values within a garden may be seen as a more limited example of the same clash going on at the more general level oflandscape. The argument is illustrated by a short case study of the recent debate over the restoration of the historic Krasinski Garden in Warsaw, Poland