Výsledkem rozboru lexikálního pole vražda a jemu příbuzných pojmů je zjištění, že tento pojem už ve svém významu obsahuje negativní hodnocení, na rozdíl od okolních pojmů. Avšak současná etika lokalizuje hodnotovost tohoto pojmu do slova špatný a soustředí se na jeho opak, slovo dobrý, jehož čistě etický význam se snaží izolovat. Plodnější však je chápat slovo vražda analogicky k jeho užití v justičním procesu soudem, kde z něj, ve formě rozsudku, dokonce plynou performativní a právní důsledky.An analysis of the lexical (...) field murder and its neighbouring concepts shows that this concept itself contains a negative value, as opposed to the other notions. But contemporary ethics tries to localize this negativity into the predicate wrong and concentrates on its opposite, good, whose purely ethical meaning it purports to isolate. But perhaps it is more useful to view the word murder analogically to its use in the judicial process, where performative and legal consequences follow. (shrink)

Článek reaguje na monografii Homo Natura: Nietzsche, Philosophical Anthropology and Biopolitics (2020) současné akademičky Vanessy Lemmové zabývající se Nietzschovým úkolem „přesadit člověka zpět do přírody“, tzn. chápat jej jako bytost veskrze imanentní přírodě. Reakce směřuje především na jednu z hlavních tezí knihy, podle níž tato Nietzschova snaha otevírá možnost nového, postantropocentrického pohledu na člověka a jeho vztahu k přírodě – pohledu, v jehož centru zájmu již nestojí člověk, nýbrž život sám, resp. kontinuum života, jež se ztělesňuje v lidském druhu a (...) jehož je lidský druh rovnocennou součástí po boku ostatních organismů. Nietzschova myšlenka o homo natura podle Lemmové předznamenává myšlení současného posthumanismu vyznačujícího se právě snahou vytvořit takový pohled na člověka a jeho vztah k přírodě, který bybyl vhodným teoretickým rámcem pro sebepojetí člověka v epoše antropocénu. Článek tuto tezi doplňuje o Heideggerovu interpretaci Nietzschovy myšlenky nadčlověka podanou v sérii přednášek Co znamená myslet?, v níž je nadčlověk chápán jako ekologický ideál lidstva schopného zodpovědně převzít moc plynoucí z technického přetváření země. Cílem článku je ukázat, že, v souladu s interpretacemi Lemmové a Heideggera, u Nietzscheho lze nalézt způsob, jak by se lidstvo mohlo produktivně vyrovnat s realitou antropocénu, a to skrze přechod od „posledního člověka“ k „nadčlověku“, kde přechod k „nadčlověku“ je chápán jako idea nastolení nového vztahu mezi lidmi a přírodou, resp. mezi lidmi a zemí. (shrink)

Na základě vlivné Augustinovy analýzy chápal středověk lež jako vždycky špatnou, zatímco pozdější renesanční a barokní autoři Grotius a Milton tvrdili, že v některých případech je lhát správné. Předkládaná kompromisní pozice tvrdí, že lež je vždycky špatná, protože je to vědomé pronesení nepravdy za účelem oklamat, ale ne vždy, když pronášíme vědomou nepravdu, tak lžeme.

Zaionc, M., λ-Definability on free algebras, Annals of Pure and Applied Logic 51 279-300. A λ-language over a simple type structure is considered. There is a natural isomorphism which identifies free algebras with nonempty second-order types. If A is a free algebra determined by the signature SA = [α1,...,αn], then by a type τA we mean τ1,...,τn→0 where τi=0αi→0. It can be seen that closed terms of the type τA reflex constructions in the algebra A. Therefore any term of the (...) type n→τA defines some n-ary mapping in algebra A. The problem is to characterize λ-definable mappings in any free algebra. It is proved that the set of λ-definable operations is the minimal set that contains constant functions and projections and is closed under composition and limited recursion. This result is a generalization of the result of Schwichtenberg and Statman which characterize the λ-definable functions over the natural number type →, i.e algebra [1, 0], as well as of the result of Zaionc for λ-definable word operations over type n→, i.e algebra [1,...,1,0], and of the results about λ-definable tree operations , i.e in algebra [2, 0]. Some of the examples in Section 5 are based on a publication of Zaionc. (shrink)

This book presents Tocqueville’s vision of the European continent, exploring his ideas of liberty, virtue, religion, patriotism, civic participation and democracy. Although Tocqueville is often revered as a classic writer on the subject of American democracy, this book focuses on the multifaceted importance of his ideas within a European context.

Paradoxe polonais : si l'apprentissage de l'anglais fait partie de la formation professionnelle, le français est plutôt le résultat d'un choix motivé et volontaire, signe qualificatif de distinction. Les Polonais sont de plus en plus conscients de la valeur de la notion de « francophonie », à ne pas confondre ave le « caractère français »Somewhat paradoxically, learning English is seen in Poland as a standard requirement of vocational training, while learning French is seen as a matter of personal choice (...) and motivation and a marker of social distinction. Yet Poles are growing increasingly aware of the value of the notion of "francophonie" - not to be confused with the "caractère français". (shrink)

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection finds application far outside biology, for which it was originally invented. Its consequences for science proved far-going, influencing practically every field from thermodynamics to the humanities. While acting on biological systems, the Darwinian mechanism is a source of progress and the local-scale abandonment of the universe’s general tendency towards chaos. However, observations of changes taking place in selection-exposed organisms show that evolutionary success requires some essential limitations. The application of this (...) reasoning to social evolution may appear thought-provoking: stable evolution requires not only intense selection but also a conservative approach to ideas. (shrink)

In his life and work, Leszek Kołakowski traversed many paths, some more and some less well-known. The main focus here is on Kołakowski’s involvement in what one may call an anthropological variant of philosophy of culture. Anthropological philosophy of culture bases on the following assumptions:1. Human conduct is determined by culture. There is neither humanity without culture nor culture without humans.2. Human conduct is by nature referential, in other words, the factual alone is not enough for humans who tend to (...) reach beyond it in their search for the most elemental and ultimate truths.3. Culture is a dynamic phenomenon and a challenge on the path to self-awareness.4. Axiological sensitivity.5. The culture philosopher is immersed in the culture he studies and, by revealing that which it conceals, is a source of reflection on this culture. All these assumptions lie at the core of the philosophy of Leszek Kołakowski. (shrink)

Die Beiträge dieses Bandes aus verschiedenen Disziplinen, Philosophie, Literaturgeschichte und Kunstgeschichte schließen sich zum Bild einer Epoche zusammen, die einen Höhepunkt des deutschen Geisteslebens darstellt. Dabei treten bestimmte Züge heraus, welche die Genese dieser Kultur in relativ eng umgrenzten Kommunikationszentren zeigen: Königsberg - Düsseldorf - Jena - Weimar - freilich mit Ausstrahlung auf das übrige Deutschland. So etwa: die Stilisierung der Geselligkeit über den literarischen Dialog bis zur philosophischen Interpersonalitätslehre Fichtes und einer dem entsprechenden Dialektik des Dialogs; einer Staats- und (...) Gesellschaftsauffassung, die zwar noch in der klassischen Naturrechtslehre der Aufklärung gründete, aber den Rechtsbegriff so in sich zu gliedern wußte, daß er Implikationen verbindlich auch für das politische Handeln hergeben konnte und so aus dem Rechtsbegriff erstmals die Umsetzung des Völkerfriedens politisch fordern konnte. Es zeigt sich hier ein Grundmodell, das aller pragmatisch ausmachbaren Verallgemeinerungsfähigkeit überlegen ist, da die sittliche Person auch schon im Recht eine individuelle Aufforderung erhält, soll politisches Handeln von der öffentlichen Meinung anerkannt werden. Schließlich tritt eine neue Religiosität auf, die ein Naturverständnis einbezog, das ästhetischer Herkunft war, und die vielleicht deswegen ihren überzeugendsten Ausdruck in der Malerei fand. In allen diesen Bereichen aber werden Natur und Kunst im Lichte der neuentdeckten Freiheit des autonomen Individuums wiederbelebt. (shrink)

In 1536 the English Parliament under pressure from Henry VIII and the Lord Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell, gave its consent for the dissolution of the lesser monasteries and abbeys in the king’s realm, and three years later with the sanction of MPs some of the greater religious houses also suffered the same fate. The principal aim of this paper is to assess the importance of this political decision with a view to examining the progress being made in the field of education (...) in England in the middle of the sixteenth century resultant upon this dissolution. The evaluation of the merits and demerits originating from the suppression of the English monasteries is made in terms of both primary and academic education. The answers to these key questions are preceded by a short analysis of the reputation monasteries and abbeys had acquired by that time. Also on a selective basis, some opinions have been presented here to provide an overall picture of the standing of the monks and nuns and their concomitant activities, as perceived through the eyes of English society; the eminent scholars and humanists in particular. Subsequently, before assessing the consequences resulting from the dissolution of the religious houses in England, some consideration is given to the reasoning and rationale which lay behind both Henry VIII and his Lord Chancellor’s political decisions. (shrink)

The Uppsala School in philosophy and the Vienna Circle are prima facie similar currents in contemporary philosophy. Both reject metaphysics, claim that reality is a spatio­‑temporal realm and adhere to noncognitivism in terms of values. However, justifications of these assumptions are quite different. In the following article we reconstruct main theses of both mentioned currents and then we indicate their impact on one of the major jurisprudential movements, namely Scandinavian Legal Realism. We focus on Alf Ross’ legal philosophy, as it (...) was an attempt to accommodate both: the philosophy of the Uppsala School and of the Vienna Circle. We trace those two sources of inspiration in Ross’ theory of legal validity and of legal concepts. (shrink)

This article focuses on the production of children’s literature in New Zealand. It problematizes the current practices of releasing and distributing children’s literature, and explores these practices as technologies of control through processes of censorship and classification set by government agencies such as the Office for Film and Literature. Decisions about what is and what is not acceptable for children’s development, it is argued, are not neutral and are instead driven by a neoliberal image of the ‘happy’ uncomplicated child. The (...) article takes the example of the state-funded and distributed My Feelings series as a widely accessible text that is embedded in neoliberal ideology. As this series is distributed to all New Zealand early childhood centres and kindergartens, this article explores understandings of how politics of government influence children’s literature. The work of Václav Havel and Michel Foucault are drawn upon to demonstrate the mechanisms of ideologically driven forms of governmental power that directly impact on the constitution of certain types of childhoods. An example from a contrasting historical and political discourse in the form of communist Czechoslovakia suggests unexpected synergies between neoliberal and socialist ideological frameworks. This analysis further problematizes notions of power in the distribution of children’s literature, and illustrates the influence that political agendas have on the production of idealized political childhood subjectivities. (shrink)

We formulate a cosmogonic indifference principle in cosmology in terms of a dynamical system theory. While the choice between generic and fine tuned initial condition for our Universe has a rather philosophical character, there is a very generic set of initial conditions which give rise to the concordance inflectional ΛCDM model which becomes in good agreement with astronomical observations.

It is shown here that Suarez (Found. Phys. 38:583, 2008) wrongly presents the assumptions behind the Leggett’s inequalities, and their modified form used by Groeblacher et al. (Nature 446:871, 2007) for an experimental falsification of a certain class of non-local hidden variable models.

All separable states satisfy all Bell-type inequalities, which involve as their assumption only existence of local realistic (local hidden variable) models of the correlations of spatially separated systems, observed by two or more observers making independent decisions on what to measure (free will). The recent observation by Loubenets, that some separable states do not satisfy the original Bell inequality (1964) has no consequences whatsoever for the studies of the relation of separability with local realism. The original Bell inequality was derived (...) using an additional assumption that the local results for a certain pair of local settings reveal perfect Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) correlations. Therefore violation of this inequality by some quantum predictions implies that either (i) the predictions do not allow a local realistic model, or (ii) the predictions do not have the required EPR correlations, or finally both (i) and (ii). (shrink)

Following the well known inverted spectrum argument by John Locke we examine the necessity of the first person experience in creating scientific knowledge, in particular, in physics. It is found that Locke’s argument is irrelevant for creating objective knowledge as the necessary things we need to do physics are: ability to perform measurements in terms of comparing certain quantities, ability to create theoretical ideas (in dependence inter alia on cultural principles, changing in the course of history), and the brain structure (...) enabling the former two. (shrink)

The current cosmological observations of distant supernovae type Ia suggest the existence of dark energy component with negative pressure. The most obvious candidate for this dark energy is the cosmological constant which raises several theoretical difficulties. The problem of dark energy, due to our Universe is accelerating at present in principle is open. We argue that this problem will dominate the cosmology in XXI century. From the philosophical point of view it is interesting to provide evidence and comments for the (...) key issues related to the dark energy models just at the moment before scientific revolution. (shrink)

We consider the problem of possible topology for our Universe. It is shown that due to algebraic topology we can strictly define the shape of physical space whereas observations of anisotropy of microwave background radiation gives us an answer to the question whether our Universe is finite or not?