This paper has three main goals. Firstly – to draw attention to the phenomenon of the democratic paradigm in the study of modern state systems (especially monarchical ones), characterise it and outline its sources. Also - to question the basis of this phenomenon (by pointing out, among other things, the durability of monarchical systems and the phenomenon of partial ‘re-monarchization’ – real or apparent – of certain contemporary republican systems on the examples of: Montenegro, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and (...) Poland). Secondly, to present the negative consequences of the functioning of the democratic paradigm, also (paradoxically) those affecting the political practice of republics. Thirdly, to propose a way to reduce these negative consequences by changing the optics adopted in comparative studies about monarchies and republics. This change is based on the restoration, in comparative analyses of contemporary state systems (including monarchical ones), of the concepts of ‘mixed system’ and ‘monarchical principle’, which are still used in research on the history of the state and law, and should be disseminated in research on contemporary political systems and constitutional law. An explanation of the terms ‘mixed system’ and ‘monarchical principle’ as I use them here will follow in the final part of the paper. (shrink)

The thesis of the paper holds that some future developments of argumentation theory may be inspired by the rich logico-methodological legacy of the Lvov–Warsaw School (LWS), the Polish research movement that was most active from 1895 to 1939. As a selection of ideas of the LWS which exploit both formal and pragmatic aspects of the force of argument, we present: Ajdukiewicz’s account of reasoning and inference, Bocheński’s analyses of superstitions or dogmas, and Frydman’s constructive approach to legal interpretation. This paper (...) does not aim at exhaustive elaboration of any of these topics or their usefulness in current discussions within argumentation theory. Rather, we intend to indicate chosen directions of a potentially fruitful research program for the emerging Polish School of Argumentation which would consist in application of methods and conceptions elaborated by the LWS to selected open problems of contemporary research on argumentation. (shrink)

Despite increasing interest in studying arguments from deontic authority of the general form “(1) $$\delta$$ δ is a deontic authority in institution $$\varOmega$$ Ω ; (2) according to $$\delta$$ δ, I should do $$\alpha$$ α, C: therefore, (3) I should do $$\alpha$$ α ”, the state of the art models are not capable of grasping their complexity. The existing sets of critical questions assigned to this argumentation scheme seem to conflate two problems: whether a person is subject to an authority (...) of an institution in the first place and whether the command issued within the context of a particular institution is eventually binding. For this reason, we introduce (1) a set of Basic Critical Questions to scrutinize the former issue, and (2) a set of more detailed questions related to specific features, also referred to as “parameters”, of institutional environments (Intra-Institutional Critical Questions). We identify major elements of institutional environments in which authoritative utterances are made and the crucial parameters of arguments from deontic authority. The selected evidence from the decisions of the Polish Supreme Administrative Court helps us show how these parameters may be used to reconstruct subtypes of this argument scheme, with their associated sets of critical questions. In specific institutional contexts, such detailed schemes are capable of grasping the complexity of appeals to deontic authority and thus should be used rather than general schemes. The reconstruction of argumentation schemes with critical questions shows how particular arguments may successfully be attacked. (shrink)

Vision is inseparably connected to perceptual awareness which can be seen as the culmination of sensory processing. Studies on conscious vision reveal that object recognition is just one of the means through which our representation of the world is built. We propose an operationalization of subjective experience in the context of deep neural networks (DNNs) that could encourage a more thorough comparison of human and artificial vision.

Krynicki, M. and M. Mostowski, Decidability problems in languages with Henkin quantifiers, Annals of Pure and Applied Logic 58 149–172.We consider the language L with all Henkin quantifiers Hn defined as follows: Hnx1…xny1…yn φ iff f1…fnx1. ..xn φ, ...,fn). We show that the theory of equality in L is undecidable. The proof of this result goes by interpretation of the word problem for semigroups.Henkin quantifiers are strictly related to the function quantifiers Fn defined as follows: Fnx1…xny1…yn φ iff fx1…xn φ,...,f). (...) In contrast with the first result we show that the theory of equality with all quantifiers Fn is decidable.We also consider decidability problems for other theories in languages L and L. (shrink)

Norway is perceived as a country with a clear international identity. The aim of the article is to investigate the sports diplomacy of Norway and to examine its influence on the international brand of this country. The author will define the term “sports diplomacy” and attempt to outline the strategy of Norway’s public diplomacy; an analysis of the methods used in Norwegian sports diplomacy will follow. The main hypothesis of this paper is that sports diplomacy only plays a subsidiary role (...) in Norwegian nation branding. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to show how sport can matter in international relations. Sport can be a subject or a tool of international relations. It can be used by states or geopolitical blocks to display their alleged superiority or any other desired characteristic. Governments may desire athletic victories, which are meant to imply, for example, the power of the state and its political and economic system. Participation in sport can also be used for political reasons on an (...) international scale; a number of political objectives can be achieved by states by participating in sports events. Not only is sport affected by a country’s policies, but on certain occasions sports events can influence states. (shrink)

Building on our diverse research traditions in the study of reasoning, language and communication, the Polish School of Argumentation integrates various disciplines and institutions across Poland in which scholars are dedicated to understanding the phenomenon of the force of argument. Our primary goal is to craft a methodological programme and establish organisational infrastructure: this is the first key step in facilitating and fostering our research movement, which joins people with a common research focus, complementary skills and an enthusiasm to work (...) together. This statement—the Manifesto—lays the foundations for the research programme of the Polish School of Argumentation. (shrink)

Summary The aim of this paper is to analyse the chronology and itinerary of the march of the Macedonian army during the last days (September 18–October 1) of the Gaugamela campaign in 331 BC in the light of literary sources, cuneiform data, topographic and archaeological data, and GIS capabilities. The overall aim of this analysis is to contribute to the topographical enigma of the identification of Gaugamela as either (in the vicinity of) Tell Gomel or Karamleis/qaraqosh. The cuneiform data allows (...) us to establish the most important dates of the final course of the Gaugamela campaign: the Tigris crossing on September 18, a lunar eclipse on the evening of September 20, and the battle on October 1. Furthermore, a critical analysis of Arrian and Curtius suggests that the Macedonians spent only six days on the march and four days in the camp. Given the estimated average rate of the march of the Macedonian army, it is possible to reject certain routes between the Tigris crossing and Gaugamela and consider others as more or less likely. It is concluded that the Macedonians crossed the Tigris in the vicinity of modern Basorin and not Abu Dhahir or Abu Wajnam, as is widely assumed. Furthermore, it is also demonstrated that the difference between Tell Gomel and Karamleis/qaraqosh, regarding their distance from Arbela, is much less striking than is frequently assumed, and as such does not speak against any of the widely held identifications of Gaugamela. (shrink)

Raport powstał z inicjatywy Fundacji Pomocy Matematykom i Informatykom Niesprawnym Ruchowo w ramach projektu „Centrum Edukacji i Aktywizacji Zawodowej Osób Niepełnosprawnych - Oddziały Bydgoszcz i Łódź". Stanowi on rezultat badań zjawiska niepełnosprawności i kategorii społecznej, jaką stanowią osoby niepełnosprawne, oraz funkcjonowania ponad 30 agencji zatrudnienia wyspecjalizowanych we wsparciu osób niepełnosprawnych na rynku pracy. Pierwszy rozdział ekspertyzy dotyczy sposobów definiowania zjawiska niepełnosprawności, w drugim zaś - podjęto zagadnienie budowania potencjału niepublicznych służb zatrudnienia osób niepełnosprawnych. Trzeci rozdział raportu zawiera informacje dotyczące przyjętej (...) metodologii badań, a czwarty prezentuje wyniki analiz zebranego materiału empirycznego w odniesieniu do oferty agencji zatrudnienia i jej klientów. Tematem piątego rozdziału pracy jest kondycja agencji zatrudnienia osób niepełnosprawnych, prowadzonych przez organizacje pozarządowe. Motyw przewodni kolejnego rozdziału to otoczenie zewnętrzne agencji zatrudnienia. Ostatnia cześć raportu dotyczy rekomendacji wspomagających rozwiązywanie dylematów rozwojowych, przed którymi stoją agencje zatrudnienia. ** This report was made on the initiative of the Foundation Supporting Disabled Mathematicians and IT professionals in the project "Centre for Education and Vocational Activation of Persons with Disabilities - Branches Bydgoszcz and Lodz." It is the result of research on disability phenomenon and people with disabilities social category. It contains information about operations of more than 30 employment agencies specialized in helping people with disabilities into the labor market. First chapter of expertise relates to methods for defining the prevalence of disability and in the second - it was the issue of capacity building for non-disabled employment services. Third chapter of the report provides information on the methodology of research, and the fourth presents the results of an empirical analysis of the collected material in relation to the offer of employment agencies and their clients. Theme of the fifth chapter of the work is the condition of the disabled employment agency run by NGOs. Theme of the next chapter is the external environment of employment agencies. Last part of the report focuses on solving a recommendation supporting development dilemmas faced by agencies employment. -/- . (shrink)

In September 2018, the ArgDiaP association, along with colleagues from Germany and the UK, organised one of the longest and most interdisciplinary series of events ever dedicated to argumentation - Warsaw Argumentation Week, WAW 2018. The eleven-day ‘week’ featured a five day graduate school on computational and linguistic perspectives on argumentation (3rd SSA school); five workshops: on systems and algorithms for formal argumentation (2nd SAFA), argumentation in relation to society (1st ArgSoc), philosophical approaches to argumentation (1st ArgPhil), legal argumentation (2ndMET-ARG) (...) and argumentation in rhetoric (1st MET-RhET); and two conferences: on computational models of argumentation (7th COMMA conference) and on argumentation and corpus linguistics (16th ArgDiaP conference). WAW hosted twelve tutorials and eight invited talks as well as welcoming over 130 participants. All the conferences and workshops publish pre- or post-proceedings in the top journals and book series in the field. (shrink)

Many countries employ systemic methods of protecting consumers from unfair business practices. One such practice is the use of abusive clauses in business-to-consumer (B2C) contracts, which unfairly impose additional obligations on the consumer or deprive them of their due rights. This article presents an information system that utilizes artificial intelligence methods to automate contract analysis and to detect abusive clauses. The goal of the system is to support the entire administrative process, from contract acquisition, through text extraction and the recommendation (...) of potentially abusive clauses, to the generation of official administrative documents that can be sent to court or to the owners of firms. This article focuses on on the components that use machine learning methods. The first is an intelligent crawler that is responsible for automatically detecting contract templates on websites and retrieving them into the system. The second is a document analysis module that implements a clause recommendation algorithm. The algorithm employs transformer-based language models and information retrieval methods to identify abusive passages in text. Our solution achieved first place in a competition on the automatic analysis of B2C contracts organized by the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), and has since been implemented as an official tool to support the contract analysis process in Poland. (shrink)

Despite their ethical intentions, ethically minded consumers rarely purchase ethical products (Auger and Devinney: 2007, Journal of Business Ethics76, 361–383). This intentions–behaviour gap is important to researchers and industry, yet poorly understood (Belk et al.: 2005, Consumption, Markets and Culture8(3), 275–289). In order to push the understanding of ethical consumption forward, we draw on what is known about the intention–behaviour gap from the social psychology and consumer behaviour literatures and apply these insights to ethical consumerism. We bring together three separate (...) insights – implementation intentions (Gollwitzer: 1999, American Psychologist54(7), 493–503), actual behavioural control (ABC) (Ajzen and Madden: 1986, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology22, 453–474; Sheeran et al.: 2003, Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 393–410) and situational context (SC) (Belk: 1975, Journal of Consumer Research2, 157–164) – to construct an integrated, holistic conceptual model of the intention–behaviour gap of ethically minded consumers. This holistic conceptual model addresses significant limitations within the ethical consumerism literature, and moves the understanding of ethical consumer behaviour forward. Further, the operationalisation of this model offers insight and strategic direction for marketing managers attempting to bridge the intention–behaviour gap of the ethically minded consumer. (shrink)

This paper argues that intuition plays a role in the diagnosis of schizophrenia and presents its phenomenological rationale. A discussion of self-assessment questionnaires and empirical studies in the clinical setting provides evidence that despite the prevalence of operational diagnosis, the intuitive judgment of schizophrenia continues to take place. Two related notions of intuitive diagnosis are presented: Minkowski’s diagnostic by penetration and Rümke’s praecox feeling. Further on, the paper explores and clarifies the phenomenology behind the praecox feeling. First, it is argued, (...) intuitive diagnosis is neither a feeling nor an experience, but a typification operating at an implicit level. Second, it is not simply subjective as spatially it takes place in the in-between of the clinical interaction. Finally, it is not just momentary, but temporally extended, and, hence, partly reflective. The paper suggests that intuitive diagnosis requires critical testing on the side of the psychiatrist to either confirm or falsify it through reflective operations. In conclusion, the merits and shortcomings of intuitive vs. operational diagnosis are presented. (shrink)

The following paper discusses John of St. Thomas’ study of the way in which a habit (moral or epistemic virtue or vice) is a cause of an action it prompts. I begin with contrasting the question of causality of habits with the general question of the causal relevance of dispositions (2). I argue that habits constitute a very peculiar kind of dispositions marked by the connection with the properties of being difficult and being easy, and there are some special reasons (...) to admit the irreducibility of dispositions of this kind. I argue also that there is a special sort of causal connection between a habit and an action it actually prompts. Then I present an analysis of four theses of John of St. Thomas on the causality of habits, which, I think, constitute the most mature and reliable study of the causality of habits in the scholastic tradition: (i) Habits are efficient causes of actions they prompt (3.1). (ii) Virtues do determine the very natures of actions they prompt (3.2); (iii) Virtues do not have a proper counterpart among the characteristics of actions they prompt (3.3); (iv) The formal object of causality of virtue is a masterpiece performance of an action (3.4). In my analyses of John’s arguments for these theses I make three claims: not all powers are “in state of readiness for action”; habits are powers of powers or dispositions of powers; the general concept of a strategy is the key to grasp the properties of being difficult and being easy, and habits should be analysed as a kind of strategies. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This paper gives a survey of known results related to computational devices recognising monadic generalised quantifiers infinite models. Some of these results are simple reinterpretations of descriptive-feasible correspondence theorems from finite-model theory. Additionally a new result characterizing monadic quantifiers recognized by push down automata is proven.

In this Editorial note, Guest Editors introduce the theme of the Special Issue of the journal Philosophies, titled Contemporary Natural Philosophy and Philosophies.

The aim of the present investigation is to sketch a new approach to analysing normativity. First I locate the problem of normativity in the landscape of contemporary philosophy and focus on the dispute between naturalism and antinaturalism. Then I discuss the so-called top-down approach to studying normativity, to which I oppose the bottom-up approach inspired by contemporary philosophy of science. I see the integration of these approaches as enabling investigations of normative phenomena that do not reduce them to just one (...) type of normativity. (shrink)

The article aims to show how the acceptance of non-monotonic logic enables arguments to be held between science and religion in a way that does not exclude either of these two spheres. The starting point of the analyses is the idea of the 13th century Danish philosopher, Boethius of Dacia, who states that it is both acceptable that: a natural scientist negates that the world had a beginning, and a Christian theologian asserts that the world had a beginning, because each (...) of them is basing their statements on the principles of their respective discipline: the first on the principles of nature, and the latter on knowledge supplemented by divine revelation. What is more, analogically: a metaphysician, when limited to his principles, cannot settle the issue, as he takes into account supranatural beings and their powers, but cannot know what God or another powerful supranatural would have decided in a such a case. The paper shows that Boethius’s approach: violates the rule of monotonicity, cannot be finally interpreted in terms of classical logic and assumes certain non-monotonic logic as its inference framework. Other presented examples of arguments between religious beliefs and the statements of natural science are resolved in the same way. Thus, it is shown how non-monotonic thinking allows us to seriously treat both scientific and religious inference as compatible. (shrink)

In the paper I discuss Geach’s rejection of volitions (inner acts of the will) both in the exegesis of Aquinas and in systematic action theory – a rejection followed by some analytical commentators of Aquinas (like Davies and Kenny). I claim that Geach’s interpretation of Aquinas’s action theory in terms of tendencies (treating the will as a special kind of tendency) enables – pace Geach – a sound defense of volitionism both in the exegesis of Aquinas and in the action (...) theory. In other words, I offer arguments in favour of volitions (inner acts of the will) starting from some insights to be found in Geach, and I response to some standard objections against volitionism. Moreover, I try to sketch a framework (based on an ontology of tendencies suggested by Geach) suitable to discuss some other volitionist claims. I proceed in four steps: first I introduce the definition of a volition or inner act of the will that may be ascribed to various camps in the volitionism debate; then I discuss three main arguments of Geach against volitionism – the argument from trying, the argument from voluntary omissions, and the argument from natural theology. I pay special attention to the issue of the timing of volitions. (shrink)

Wonderful Knowledge. Aquinas on the Immutability and Eternity of God’s Knowledge The general concept of knowledge is a kind of concept closely akin to transcententals: its use is not restricted to a certain kind of being, and it does not itself designate a kind of entity. Such concepts may be applied to God not as metaphors: when we grasp (through the analysis of cases of finite knowledge) some general traits of knowledge as such, we can show that God has knowledge, (...) and his knowledge, as opposed to ours, is infinitely perfect. We have no insight into this realization of knowledge as opposed to ours, but as far as we know what general traits of knowledge are, it is important to know that God has infinitely perfect knowledge. To grasp the general traits of knowledge, I focus on the topic of mutability and immutability of knowledge analyzed systematically by Aquinas, and thus on the topic of identity criteria specific for knowledge in general: the question of when knowledge that p and knowledge that q are (in a certain knower) one and the same knowledge; the criteria of identity of knowledge vary according to natures of knowers. I think that the problem of the criteria of identity of knowledge is rather neglected in omniscience-immutability discussions. I analyze Aquinas’ arguments for the thesis that human knowledge is mutable, and God’s knowledge is absolutely immutable (they concern the role of tense). The analysis sheds light on some general traits of knowledge: it is always something formulated by the knower which manifests some truth to him, and in general the way it is formulated corresponds to (i) the way it manifests some truth, (ii) its identity criteria, (iii) the way it is propositional, (iv) the way it is related to tense, and finally (v) the nature of the knower. Focusing on the criteria of the identity of knowledge shows that God’s knowledge is absolutely immutable, and that time and change in its objects are nevertheless undoubtedly real. Keywords: God’s knowledge, knowledge, criteria of identity of knowledge, immutability; tense; transcendentals; omniscience-immutability arguments. (shrink)

In his Berlin Lectures of the 1820s, the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) used spatial logic diagrams for philosophy of language. These logic diagrams were applied to many areas of semantics and pragmatics, such as theories of concept formation, concept development, translation theory, clarification of conceptual disputes, etc. In this paper we first introduce the basic principles of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of language and his diagrammatic method. Since Schopenhauer often gives little information about how the individual diagrams are to be understood, (...) we then make the attempt to reconstruct, specify and further develop one diagram type for the field of conceptual analysis. (shrink)

This article discusses a rare instance of the highest national courts explicitly addressing traffic signs in their judgments or decisions. It critically examines the standpoint expressed by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court, according to which the basic traffic sign categories in Poland—obligatory, prohibitory, informative and warning—are not separable [e.g. prima facie non-normative signs can also be normative ]. These courts formulated this idea when addressing the legal question concerning the applicability of legal provision penalizing failure to comply (...) with a traffic sign to parking a car without paying a fee in an area marked by an informative sign that indicates the need to charge a fee for parking. The article analyses and criticizes the relevant standpoint of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court. It shows how many negative consequences can result from frivolous treatment and neglect of traffic signs. It also reconstructs some possible practical recommendations concerning not only traffic signs but also visualizations of legal rules in general. (shrink)

According to Bocheński’s description of the history of formal logic, there clearly is some objective development, though far from being cumulative or linear. The history of logic throughout the world consists of three relatively short pinnacles preceded by also short periods of awakening and followed by periods of extensive commentary running into long periods of standstill and decadence, when nearly all achievements are consigned to oblivion.

This study examined individual differences in spatial abilities of architecture students. Students at different educational levels were assessed on spatial ability tests that varied in their domain-specificity to architecture, with the hypothesis that larger differences between beginner and advanced students will emerge on more domain-specific tests. We also investigated gender differences in test performance and controlled for general reasoning ability across analyses. In a cross sectional study, master students (N= 91) outperformed beginners (N= 502) on two novel tests involving perspective (...) taking and object composition, as well as on a standardized visualization of cross-sections test, but not on a standardized mental rotations test. Longitudinally (N= 117), spatial performance improved after the first bachelor year on visualization of cross-sections, object composition and mental rotation. Although both genders showed higher spatial test performance with increased experience, male students outperformed females across tests and levels of education. The results overall confirmed improvements in spatial performance during architecture studies, with partial support for the domain-specificity hypothesis. A gender gap among advanced students calls for further examining architecture-specific spatial thinking. (shrink)

Based on our comparison of political orientation and research interests of social psychologists in capitalist Western countries versus post-Communist Eastern European countries, we suggest that Duarte and colleagues' claim of liberal bias in the field seems American-centric. We propose an alternative account of political biases which focuses on the academic tendency to explain attitudes of lower status groups.

This book presents the current state of the art regarding the application of logical tools to the problems of theory and practice of lawmaking. It shows how contemporary logic may be useful in the analysis of legislation, legislative drafting and legal reasoning concerning different contexts of lawmaking. Elaborations of the process of lawmaking have variously emphasised its political, social or economic aspects. Yet despite strong interest in logical analyses of law, questions remains about the role of logical tools in lawmaking. (...) This volume attempts to bridge that gap, or at least to narrow it, drawing together some important research problems-and some possible solutions-as seen through the work of leading contemporary academics. The volume encompasses 20 chapters written by authors from 16 countries and it presents diversified views on the understanding of logic (from strict mathematical approaches to the informal, argumentative ones) and differentiated choices concerning the aspects of lawmaking taken into account. The book presents a broad set of perspectives, insights and results into the emerging field of research devoted to the logical analysis of the area of creation of law. How does logic inform lawmaking? Are legal systems consistent and complete? How can legal rules be represented by means of formal calculi and visualization techniques? Does the structure of statutes or of legal systems resemble the structure of deductive systems? What are the logical relations between the basic concepts of jurisprudence that constitute the system of law? How are theories of legal interpretation relevant to the process of legislation? How might the statutory text be analysed by means of contemporary computer programs? These and other questions, ranging from the theoretical to the immediately practical, are addressed in this definitive collection. (shrink)

Úvodní část kritické stati stručně představuje autorku a prezentuje strukturu a obsah knihy Rámce války: za které životy netruchlíme?. Zohledněn je širší kontext a zvláštní ohled je věnován představení dosavadní publikační činnosti Judith Butlerové. Cílem je poukázat na to, že tematické zaměření a hlavní ideová východiska knihy mají v celém díle autorky nepopiratelnou kontinuitu.Následující pasáže se zaměřují na zprostředkování vybraných myšlenek více do hloubky, s důrazem zejména na rozbor autorčiny pozice k fenoménu my a oni a vztahu já k druhému. (...) Kromě toho je pozornost věnována i konceptu rámování, v jehož osvojení tkví zvláštní význam pro porozumění hlavním autorčiným závěrům. Hlavní výhrady a polemika příležitostně prostupují celou prací, závěr poskytuje pouze shrnutí. The introductory part of the critical essay briefly introduces the author and presents the structure and content of the book Frames of War: When is Life Grievable?. Special regard is given to the broader context, particularly to referring to other works of Judith Butler that have already been published. The purpose is to point out the fact that the thematic interest and ideological basis of the book are deeply rooted and have undeniable continuity across Butler`s work. The following passages aim to present selected ideas in more detail, with a special focus on the analysis of the author's position to the Us and Them phenomenon or relation between Self and the Other. Besides this, attention is paid to the explanation of the concept called framing, in order to understand its particular importance for drawing key conclusions of the author. Major objections and reasons for disputation occasionally appear throughout the essay, the final part offers summary only. (shrink)

The paper concerns the question deals with the issue of the mode of existence of musical work. The text consists of two parts. The first, describes difficulties connected with treatment of compositions as purely intentional objects. The second, presents the proper existence mode of a piece of music.

The article is addressed to the issue of conscience in the thought of Hannah Arendt and to the question under what conditions conscience can become manifest in the public sphere. The article is divided into four parts. The first renders Arendt’s motivation to reconsider the concept of conscience, which results from an endeavour to come to terms with the nature of political crimes of the 20th century and the banality of evil. In the second part, two constitutive qualities of conscience (...) are presented. On the one hand, conscientious Self adopts a negative distance from moral rules held by wide society. On the other hand, it positively relies on self-interest, that is, on non-contradiction in relation to oneself. Both of these crucial qualities of conscience arise from the activity of thinking. The third part addresses the conflicting relation of individual conscience to the public sphere. In the final part, the author asks the question whether the concept of conscience can be politically justified and sets the conditions for a defence of freedom of conscience in the public space. (shrink)

The article is addressed to the issue of conscience in the thought of Hannah Arendt and to the question under what conditions conscience can become manifest in the public sphere. The article is divided into four parts. The first renders Arendt’s motivation to reconsider the concept of conscience, which results from an endeavour to come to terms with the nature of political crimes of the 20th century and the banality of evil. In the second part, two constitutive qualities of conscience (...) are presented. On the one hand, conscientious Self adopts a negative distance from moral rules held by wide society. On the other hand, it positively relies on self-interest, that is, on non-contradiction in relation to oneself. Both of these crucial qualities of conscience arise from the activity of thinking. The third part addresses the conflicting relation of individual conscience to the public sphere. In the final part, the author asks the question whether the concept of conscience can be politically justified and sets the conditions for a defence of freedom of conscience in the public space. (shrink)