University of Hradec Králové Journals
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Baz, Avner: When Words Are Called For A Defense of Ordinary Language Philosophy,
Get PDFBazův projekt je výzvou pro současnou epistemologii. Ve svém vzkříšení filozofické metody J. L. Austina a pozdního Wittgensteina se snaží podat alternativu k dnešnímu přístupu založenému na intuicích filozofů. Tradiční argumenty proti filozofii běžného jazyka jsou ukázány jako nedostatečné: stojí na nepochopení toho, co pro autory poloviny dvacátého století znamená „použití“ slova a „význam“ slova. Při aplikaci na dnešní epistemologické příklady a dilemata se tato ukazují jako špatně sestavená, dokonce i ve své nejmírnější, kontextualistické verzi. Zároveň se však Bazův přístup svou radikálností dostává do prekérního vztahu k empiristické tradici
Traumatické vzpomínky a jednání
Get PDFČlánek zkoumá status paměti jako determinanty přítomného lidského jednání na specifickém příkladu posttraumatické stresové poruchy. Snažím se ukázat, že vztah mezi prožitkem zpřítomněným pamětí a jednáním není kauzální a logický, nýbrž že ve světle prožitého traumatu (zprávy o něm) dává přítomné jednání smysl. Struktura této provázanosti je spíše narativní či hermeneutická
From Foster Care to Enslavement: What Future for Africa’s Social Security System?
Get PDFFoster care, an age-old tradition of social security in Africa has unfortunately been abused, bastardised and turned into an evil practice of enslavement with consequences for families, communities and countries. In different parts of the continent, this socio-cultural practice has been criticised by human rights groups; non-governmental organisations, competent government departments and religious groups and structures have been set up to educate parents and society about the evils associated with it. In spite of this, the practice has continued in different forms. This paper probes into the motivations for and evolution of this cultural practice. The practice was well intentioned in Africa’s past and resulted in the emergence of some elite or important personalities through fosterage. Unfortunately, this beneficial socio-cultural practice is now more or less an economic enterprise benefitting a network of government officials and other dubious individuals who pass for good Samaritans or pretend to fight it. From the look of things, the future of the practice spells greater enslavement if effective measures are not taken by relevant stakeholders to curb the excesses. The methodology in this study includes personal observation and discussion, discussion with children of foster parents, foster parents, and workers of NGOs dealing with such cases, church leaders, community leaders, newspaper reports and written texts
New Community, Old Tradition: The Intore Warrior as a Symbol of the New Man. Rwanda’s Itorero-Policy of Societal Recreation
Get PDFIn Rwanda, the state-driven program, Itorero ry’Igihugu, revives an old military institution, Itorero, of the pre-colonial kingdom’s Tutsi elite warriors, Intore [the chosen ones]. By building a new national community of “chosen people” through civic education and cultural adjustment trainings (promoting ‘Rwandan values’) the program aims at countering the impact of experienced collective violence and inner division to ensure the success of the national development plan, Vision 2020. Introduced as an endogenous instrument for post-genocide national rehabilitation, Itorero is currently the most far-reaching governmental program, and the first one aimed at profound societal transformation through a new interpretation of an old tradition. Its approach challenges globalized norms of peacebuilding and raises questions concerning debates on ‘divided communities’ and ‘national reconciliation. Drawing on field research as well as on the historical genesis and local meanings of the tradition, the paper provides insights into the program’s image of man and into its own logic of social reconstruction beyond the normative views of peacebuilding.
The Competing Interests of Local Political Actors in the Making of Local Government in Ghana
Get PDFThere have been enormous institutional reforms in the Ghanaian local public administration with the stated aim of the active participation of local actors in the development of decision-making. Yet the institution-building discourse and practice do not often emphasize the role of local political actors in the institution-building and development processes. Indeed, the roles played by these local political actors, viz. assembly members, who shape and negotiate the institutional reform processes have not been properly explained and our understanding on how they influence the task of the local administration remains limited. This paper analyzes the roles played by these actors and the extent to which they shape the local public administration and its institution-building processes. Empirical data from two local government structures in Ghana show how these local political actors, straddling between the twilight of their private-political interests and the local administrative structures, exert pressure, lobby but also contest bureaucrats who perform the everyday tasks of their local governments. This complex interaction of actors and their interests makes the tasks of the local public administration difficult and the very idea of institutional change remains increasingly problematic.
Rortyho nespoutaná slova
Get PDFV této kritické studii bych se chtěl zamyslet nad knihou Stefanie Dach Nespoutaná slova. Richard Rorty, post-analytická filosofie a jazykový idealismus (ZČU v Plzni, 2013). V první, deskriptivní části studie shrnu obsah knihy, druhá část mé studie pak bude zaměřena více kriticky. Nakonec bude následovat několik úvah o smyslu debaty mezi jazykovým realismem a idealismem
Sacralising Cyberspace: Online Religious Activism in Ethiopia
Get PDFIn the modern technological era, social media has become one of the imperative ways to exchange ideas, converse, disseminate information and advocate for diverse socio-political causes. Accordingly, social media serves as a platform for expressing religious views, practicing religion in a virtual space with a cybercommunity of believers, communicating religious differences, advocating for a religious cause, and as a forum of religious learning and teaching. The ubiquitous nature and growing use of social media pose a challenge to the geographic appeal of religion. Growing cyber spirituality is becoming visible in the global south where the technological advancement is in its formative stage. Paradoxically, despite the very poor profile of cyber technology, coupled with repressive political regimes, there is a growing religious cyber activism in contemporary Africa. There is a discernible gap of empirical studies on the appropriation of social media for religious purpose, their use by religious clerics, lay believers and religious activists. By exclusively focusing on the case of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, one of the oldest oriental orthodox churches, this paper sheds some light on how the modern social media is serving as an alternative platform for religious communities including the old conservative religious establishments