There are various notions of capital, but in this article movement of capital is being analysed from the perspective of international investment law – a country has an asset, which it cannot exploit or do so efficiently and there is a foreigner who possesses financing, technology or know-how, which allows to develop such asset. Lithuania is a net importer of capital, thus this article analyses on what might be the asset that Lithuanian government is interested in developing through foreign investment (...) and why Lithuania does not develop such asset through other means, i.e. borrowing. As China is one the biggest capital exporters and becomes one of the biggest outward investors, this article also analyses driving factors behind such increase of outward investment from China – the Going Out policy and various instruments used by China to encourage such policy. Finally, the article analyses the possible underlying reasons Chinese company CAMCE has in Kaunas free economic zone and what such interest means under international investment law. (shrink)

The paper discusses Niccolò Machiavelli’s conception of virtue and republican politics from the point of view of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Machiavelli’s emphasis on civic virtue and the support of republican politics bear similarity to Aristotle’s conception of politics. Against two competing interpretations of Machiavelli’s legacy , this paper argues that while Machiavelli moves away from the classical conception of aretē / virtus, he also, at the same time, shares with an Aristotelian practical philosophy the concept of the republican common good. (...) Machiavelli’s modified conception of classical virtus and his republican rhetoric allows us to interpret his position as proto-nationalist. Finally, this paper argues that Machiavelli’s cynical advice and observations can be partly explained by the gap between the Renaissance education of studia humanitatis and the ruthlessness of Realpolitik. Keywords: Machiavelli, Aristotle, republican politics, virtú, virtue ethics, common good, studia humanitatis. (shrink)

The terror attacks of September 11, 2001, facilitated a transformation in federal Governance in the United States of America (hereinafter – the USA). The events of that day showed that the counter-terrorism system of the USA was ineffective. Law enforcement agencies failed to prevent terrorist attacks and thus changes were necessary. The most significant transformations were the following: dozens of new laws were passed; the bureaucracy of the US Government was reorganized; a war was launched to eliminate a sanctuary that (...) had existed for half a decade in Afghanistan; the wall that had existed between domestic law enforcement and foreign intelligence was torn down; the rules by which US domestic agencies could collect information, tap phones, and tap email were changed; the efforts of the USA to secure its borders were totally transformed; transportation security was dramatically enhanced. All measures adopted during that first year after the terrorist attacks were implemented very quickly and without careful consideration of the costs and benefits. However, for the USA the year right after September 11 was not a period for thinking twice. It was the year of relentless offensive action against the threats that the USA faced. President Bush announced that the USA will follow a pre-emptive strategy of going after terrorists and the regimes that support them before they attack, not waiting to be attacked. Aforesaid changes greatly affected conditions of human rights in the USA. This article examines the effect on human rights by the new US counter-terrorism measures. (shrink)

This compelling and distinctive volume advances Aristotelianism by bringing its traditional virtue ethics to bear upon characteristically modern issues, such as the politics of economic power and egalitarian dispute. This volume bridges the gap between Aristotle's philosophy and the multitude of contemporary Aristotelian theories that have been formulated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Part I draws on Aristotle's texts and Thomas Aquinas' Aristotelianism to examine the Aristotelian tradition of virtues, with a chapter by Alasdair MacIntyre contextualising the different readings (...) of Aristotle's philosophy. Part II offers a critical engagement with MacIntyrean Aristotelianism, while Part III demonstrates the ongoing influence of Aristotelianism in contemporary theoretical debates on governance and politics. Extensive in its historical scope, this is a valuable collection relating the tradition of virtue to modernity, which will be of interest to all working in virtue ethics and contemporary Aristotelian politics. (shrink)

This compelling and distinctive volume advances Aristotelianism by bringing its traditional virtue ethics to bear upon characteristically modern issues, such as the politics of economic power and egalitarian dispute. Clearly divided into three parts and featuring a contribution from Alasdair MacIntyre, this volume bridges the gap between Aristotle's philosophy and the multitude of contemporary Aristotelian theories that have been formulated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Part I draws on Aristotle's texts and Thomas Aquinas' Aristotelianism to examine the Aristotelian tradition (...) of virtues, with a chapter by Alasdair MacIntyre contextualising the different readings of Aristotle's philosophy. Part II offers a critical engagement with MacIntyrean Aristotelianism, assessing MacIntyre's development of Aristotelian themes and revealing their conflict with modernity. Firmly establishing the relevance of Aristotle's thought today, Part III demonstrates the ongoing influence of Aristotelianism in contemporary theoretical debates on governance and politics. Extensive in its historical scope, this is a valuable collection relating the tradition of virtue to modernity, which will be of interest to all working in virtue ethics and contemporary Aristotelian politics. (shrink)

Critics have maintained that John Rawls’s theory of justice is unrealistic and undemocratic. Andrius Gališanka’s incisive intellectual biography argues that in misunderstanding the origins and development of Rawls’s argument, previous narratives fail to explain the novelty of his philosophical approach and so misunderstand his political vision.

_ Source: _Volume 9, Issue 3, pp 444 - 464 Are genealogies of our beliefs relevant to the truth of these beliefs? Drawing on Bernard Williams’s _Truth and Truthfulness_, I argue that genealogies, or historical narratives showing how a set of beliefs came about, can be either critical or vindicatory of these beliefs. They can be critical by denaturalizing beliefs, showing their continued inability to solve explanatory problems, revealing the origins of these beliefs in assumptions that we no longer accept, (...) and exposing unwelcome practical applications of these beliefs. Genealogies can be vindicatory by showing that the framework of beliefs has the ability to innovate itself and has led to acceptable practical applications of the beliefs in question. However, if contingency creates the space for genealogies in philosophical arguments, it also limits their effectiveness. In most cases, genealogies do not offer conclusive arguments for or against the beliefs they narrate. They either point out a contradiction that needs to be resolved, or show that the framework of beliefs has been successful so far, with no guarantees for such success in the future. (shrink)

John Rawls's A Theory of Justice has reshaped liberal political theory, but what fruitful arguments does it generate today, fifty years after its publication? To show Theory's productive contempora...

Making the Social World is John Searle's latest statement on social ontology. His argument is clarified and expanded, but, despite various objections, it remains largely unchanged. In this review, I want to present Searle's new book in light of these objections, explain why he has rejected the more important among them, and ask whether his reasons for doing so are defensible. I first present arguments that Searle's naturalism - his broader philosophical project - does not have a definite shape in (...) the social realm. I argue that this view is largely right because Searle allows for two seemingly inconsistent approaches: historical narratives and generalized explanations. I then introduce objections from historicists, who argue that Searle's theory is not in fact compatible with historical explanations. I explain why Searle rejects these objections, and suggest that his reasons for doing so cannot be defended against examples of conceptual incongruity. On the whole, I argue that Searle's naturalism starts from stronger assumptions than argument allows. (shrink)

Dans cet article, nous voulons montrer qu'il y a une tradition ancienne des homélies De statuis de Jean Chrysostome avec 24 homélies au lieu des 21 ou 22 communément acceptées. C'est par une lecture attentive des catalogues et par une vérification dans les manuscrits que nous sommes arrivé à cette conclusion.

Interest in Aristotelianism and in virtue ethics has been growing for half a century but as yet the strengths of the study of Aristotelian ethics in politics have not been matched in economics. This ground-breaking text fills that gap. Challenging the premises of neoclassical economic theory, the contributors take issue with neoclassicism’s foundational separation of values from facts, with its treatment of preferences as given, and with its consequent refusal to reason about final ends. Contributions critically engage with aspects of (...) corporate capitalism, managerial power and neoliberal economic policy, and reflect on the recent financial crisis from the point of view of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Containing a new chapter by Alasdair MacIntyre, and deploying his arguments and conceptual scheme throughout, the book critically analyses the theoretical presuppositions and institutional reality of modern capitalism. (shrink)

Šio straipsnio tikslas – aptarti geriausios santvarkos problemą Aristotelio politinėje teorijoje, atsižvelgiant į Nikomacho etikoje pateiktą žmogiško klestėjimo sampratą. Joje Aristotelis teigia, kad monarchija yra geriausia santvarka (1160a35–36). Šis teiginys pakartojamas ir Politikoje (1288a15–18). Straipsnyje aiškinama, kodėl šie Aristotelio teiginiai prieštarauja Politikoje aptartoms teleologinėms polio, piliečio ir gero piliečio vs. gero žmogaus dorybių sampratoms. Atsižvelgiant į Aristotelio filosofinį valstybės apibrėžimą, jog ji yra „lygių asmenų susivienijimas dėl geriausio įmanomo gyvenimo“, ir teiginį, kad „geriausia yra laimė, o tai susideda iš tobulumo, (...) tobulo jos aktualizavimo ir panaudojimo“, be to, jo argumentus apie gero žmogaus ir gero piliečio santykį, straipsnyje teigiama, kad geriausia politinė santvarka yra politėja, o ne monarchija. Tačiau tokios interpretacijos nepakanka, jei norime išgelbėti Aristotelį nuo jo nenuoseklumo ir filosofiškai abejotinų teiginių apie „prigimtinę nelygybę“. Siūloma radikalesnė Aristotelio interpretacija, atmetanti šio filosofo ontologinę skirtį tarp oikos ir polio. Teigiama, kad Aristotelio socialinių santykių šeimoje-ūkyje (oikos) vertikalumas yra filosofiškai nepagrįstas ir prieštarauja revoliuciniams šio filosofo normatyvinės teleologijos aspektams ir jos radikalioms implikacijoms. (shrink)

Publikuojame tekstą viešos paskaitos, kurią Mykolo Romerio universiteto profesorius Andrius Bielskis, Aristotelio ir kritinės teorijos studijų centro direktorius, Lietuvos nacionalinės Martyno Mažvydo bibliotekos kvietimu perskaitė 2023 m. balandžio 20 d. Paskaita, skaityta autoriaus 50 metų jubiliejaus proga, – reikšmingas Profesoriaus intelektualinės autobiografijos fragmentas, brėžiantis dar vieną akademinio maršruto variantą.Autorius dėkoja visiems, kas dalyvavo, klausėsi, skaitė ir komentavo jo mintis, ypač šeimos nariams – Severijai ir Nickui, atvykusiems iš Londono, Jolantai ir Samueliui Andriui, broliui Putinui, taip pat ir Nacionalinei Martyno (...) Mažvydo bibliotekai už jos svetingumą. (shrink)

Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 56, Issue 2, Page 265-280, April 2022.

While claiming that liberalism is the dominant political theory and practice of modernity, this book provides two alternative post modern theoretical approaches to the political. Concentrating on Nietzsche's and Foucault's work, it offers a novel interpretation of their genealogical projects. It argues that genealogy can be applied to analyze different forms of cultural kitsch vis-à-vis the dominant political institutions of consumer capitalism. The problem with consumer capitalism is not so much that it exploits individuals, but that it fosters cheap human (...) existence saturated with the artefacts of kitsch. Contrasting genealogy with hermeneutic philosophy, it calls for a renewal of hermeneutics within the Thomistic tradition. (shrink)

The goal of the paper is to present a Simplified Offensive Language (SOL) Taxonomy, its application and testing in the Second Annotation Campaign conducted between March-May 2023 on four languages: English, Czech, Lithuanian, and Polish to be verified and located in LLOD. Making reference to the previous Offensive Language taxonomic models proposed mostly by the same COST Action Nexus Linguarum WG 4.1.1 team, the number and variety of the categories underwent the definitional revision, and the present typology was tested in (...) the annotation on the publicly available offensive language datasets of each of the four languages. The results of the annotation are presented and as they are contained within the accepted statistical values on the inter-annotator agreement in the SOL categories and their aspects, we propose this taxonomy as a core ontology which represents the encoding of the supported offensive languages and justify its use on new data in terms of a more universal Linguistic Linked Open Data (LLOD) schema. (shrink)

The aim of the current research is to investigate the feasibility of identifying offensive language in Lithuanian by utilising the Simplified Offensive Language Taxonomy (SOLT). The key principle behind this taxonomy is its ability to complement existing offensive language ontologies and tagset systems, with the ultimate goal of integrating it into publicly accessible Linguistic Linked Open Data (LLOD) resources. The dataset used in the current study is a publicly available corpus of user-generated comments collected from a Lithuanian portal (Amilevičius et (...) al. 2016). The study identified that offensive language predominantly focuses on collective derogatory language rather than individuals. The most common category of offensive language is related to physical and mental disabilities, followed by ideological offenses, xenophobic and sexist remarks, and less frequent categories like ageism, classism, homophobia, and religious discrimination. These results highlight the diverse range of offensive language online and underscore the need to combat discrimination and promote respectful discourse, particularly concerning marginalised groups. (shrink)

Ce livre veut explorer la pensée d’Aristote face au questionnement phénoménologique contemporain, mais il se veut aussi une critique de la phénoménologie contemporaine à partir de la contribution qu’Aristote pourrait apporter dans le domaine. «Aristote permet ainsi de s’en laisser moins conter par les contes de la phénoménologie ordinaire», dit l’auteure.

The secondary literature on Rawls is vast, but little of it is historical. Relying on the archival materials he left to Harvard after his death, we look at the historical contexts that informed Rawls's understanding of political philosophy and the changes in his thinking up to A Theory of Justice. We argue that Rawls's classic work reveals positivist aspirations that were altered and frayed by various encounters with postanalytic naturalism. So, we begin in the 1940s, showing the influence of other (...) positivist projects, such as those of Popper and Ducasse. Thereafter, we explore how Rawls's encounter with Wittgenstein and Quine in the 1950s and 1960s led him to introduce the post-analytic features evident in A Theory of Justice. Our historical narrative challenges commonplace folk-understandings that portray Rawls as either wholly committed to positivism or as its principal slayer. (shrink)

This article presents the review of the cases decided by the European Court of Human Rights against Lithuania during 2010. Authors provide the summary of relevant cases so that the potential reader is updated with the latest developments of human rights protection concerning Lithuania. Among other cases, this article reviews the case Cudak v. Lithuania decided by the Grand Chamber, which clarified the issues of restrictive principle of State immunity in employment disputes.

_Wittgenstein and Normative Inquiry_ examines the relevance of Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy for ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, and religion. It analyzes the intellectual contexts which shaped Wittgenstein's normative thought, traces his influences, and presents contemporary uses of his philosophy in normative fields.

Although Andrius Gališanka’s well-written book is interesting as a work of psychological and intellectual history based on archival research as well as speculation, and although it has considerable merits, it appears to overreach the limits of the author’s expertise. Since he has published a book on Wittgenstein and normative inquiry, and also an article on game theory in relation to Rawls, he seems well qualified to write chapters 2, 3, and 4, which I found informative and helpful. However, the (...) shortcomings of the last chapters of the book prevent the achievement of some of its main... (shrink)

In 1777–1778, astronomer Andrew Strzecki (Polish Andrzej Strzecki, Lithuanian Andrius Streckis, 1737–1797) from Vilnius went on a scientific journey to Western Europe, visiting Vienna, Paris, London, and some other cities. This article aims to investigate and describe the motives, chronology, itinerary, and outcomes of this journey, and to evaluate the importance of this event for the science history of Vilnius and Europe. The research is based on an analysis of original correspondence, with some of the letters mentioned in print (...) for the first time. The narrative method was applied to create a coherent storyline from the incomplete data found in various manuscripts and other sources. The research sheds light on previously obscure details of Early Modern European scientific communication, among them, the connections between astronomers of Vilnius and Vienna. The article also mentions the circumstances of the events, which were essential in the history of Vilnius University: the election of Marcin Poczobut Odlianicki (Lithuanian Martynas Odlianickis Počobutas, 1726–1810) as a member correspondent of the Paris Academy of Sciences and international recognition of the constellation he introduced, Taurus Poniatovii. The article confirms that the social and scientific ties of astronomers in Vilnius were much broader than what is usually described and included their close personal relationships with some of the first-rated scholars of the era, such as Rugerius Boskovich, Nevil Maskelyne, and Benjamin Franklin. (shrink)