scholarly journals Time of Purpose And Realm of Actions: Theologicalpolitical Subject on Kant’s Philosophy of History

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-70
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reason ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Philosophy Of History ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Pure Consciousness ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

The article examines the clashes in Immanuel Kant’s texts that created the political-historical subject of modernity — the agent who serves as both the creator and interpreter of history. The main difficulty here is the heterogeneity in principle of the subject, which must combine ethical autonomy with the pursuit of goals that are unattainable within the boundaries of autonomous being. The author proposes that in Kant’s thought reflection is elicited by the very temporality of human existence within history and entrained by the paradox of action, which on the one hand is aimless and on the other is striving toward an unattainable goal. Within this temporality, the meaning of the subject’s personal will depends upon the relation of their goals to the presumed goals of human history. Special emphasis is placed on the problem of a specific motive, desire or interest of the mind, which connects the order of nature with the order of freedom. It is Kant’s discovery of this motive, the “subjective basis of human action,” that gives rise to his interpretation of religion. The article maintains that this is as close as Kant comes to a political philosophy. Kant connects the meaning of historicity with the boundary conditions for human action. Describing “religion” as a subjective need of reason, Kant creates a transcendental pattern of being in history. Capturing the ultimate goal of being gives rise to a supersensible motive for action. A person who fulfills the law is affected by experiencing such a promise, which cannot be reduced to a pure consciousness of the law, but expands the limits of practical reason. This gap creates the specific temporality of religion as transcendental history. Its field is limited by the initial revelation of reason, and therefore a messianic demand becomes possible within it. The author maintains that the conditional heterogeneity of Kant’s thinking about human beings is not the result of a compromise or a remnant of metaphysics. It corresponds to the heterogeneity of the subject of historical action, the temporality of which is created by holding different orders of being in a truly impossible relation.

scholarly journals The Idea of the Posthuman: A Comparative Analysis of Transhumanism and Posthumanism

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 132-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Kriman
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Vitruvian Man ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

The article discusses the modern philosophical concepts of transhumanism and posthumanism. The central issue of these concepts is “What is the posthuman?” The 21st century is marked by a contradictory understanding of the role and status of the human. On the one hand, there comes the realization of human hegemony over the whole world around: in the 20th century mankind not only began to conquer outer space, invented nuclear weapons, made many amazing discoveries but also shifted its attention to itself or rather to the modification of itself. Transhumanist projects aim to strengthen human influence by transforming human beings into other, more powerful and viable forms of being. Such projects continues the project of human “deification.” On the other hand, acknowledging the onset of the new geological epoch of the Anthropocene, there comes the rejection of classical interpretations of the human. The categories of historicity, sociality and subjectivity are no longer so anthropocentric. In the opinion of the posthumanists, the project of the Vitruvian man has proven to be untenable in the present-day environment and is increasingly criticized. The reflection on the phenomenon of the human and his future refers to the concepts that explore not only human but also non-human. Very often we can find a synonymous understanding of transhumanism and posthumanism. Although these movements work with the same modern constructs and concepts but interpret them in a fundamentally different way. The discourse of transhumanism refers to the Cartesian opposition of the body and the mind. Despite the sacralization of technology and the desire to purify the posthuman from such seemingly permanent attributes of the living as aging and death, transhumanism in many ways continues the ideas of the Enlightenment. For posthumanists, the subject is nomadic and a kind of assembly of human, animal, digital, chimerical. Thus, in posthumanism the main maxim of humanism about the human as the highest value is rejected – the human ceases to be “the measure of all things.”

Democracy and Political Culture

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross McKibbin
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social System ◽  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

This book is an examination of Britain as a democratic society; what it means to describe it as such; and how we can attempt such an examination. The book does this via a number of ‘case-studies’ which approach the subject in different ways: J.M. Keynes and his analysis of British social structures; the political career of Harold Nicolson and his understanding of democratic politics; the novels of A.J. Cronin, especially The Citadel, and what they tell us about the definition of democracy in the interwar years. The book also investigates the evolution of the British party political system until the present day and attempts to suggest why it has become so apparently unstable. There are also two chapters on sport as representative of the British social system as a whole as well as the ways in which the British influenced the sporting systems of other countries. The book has a marked comparative theme, including one chapter which compares British and Australian political cultures and which shows British democracy in a somewhat different light from the one usually shone on it. The concluding chapter brings together the overall argument.

To what question is the Badiouan notion of the subject an answer? On the dialectical elaboration of the concept in his early work

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-120
Author(s):  
Jan-Jasper Persijn
Keyword(s):  
Direct Consequence ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Academic World ◽  
Systematic Account ◽  
Political Field ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
Work Up

Alain Badiou’s elaboration of a subject faithful to an event is commonly known today in the academic world and beyond. However, his first systematic account of the subject ( Théorie du Sujet) was already published in 1982 and did not mention the ‘event’ at all. Therefore, this article aims at tracing back both the structural and the historical conditions that directed Badiou’s elaboration of the subject in the early work up until the publication of L’Être et l’Événément in 1988. On the one hand, it investigates to what extent the (early) Badiouan subject can be considered an exceptional product of the formalist project of the Cahiers pour l’Analyse as instigated by psychoanalytical discourse (Lacan) and a certain Marxist discourse (Althusser) insofar as both were centered upon a theory of the subject. On the other hand, this article examines the radical political implications of this subject insofar as Badiou has directed his philosophical aims towards the political field as a direct consequence of the events of May ’68.

scholarly journals Christ has Broken the Barrier Between Nations (Eph. 2:11-22): Challenge to Nigerian Christians As Peace Initiators

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Ikechukwu Ezeogamba ◽  
Francis Chuks Madukasi
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
Library Research ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

The fundamental difference between the Jews and Gentiles is circumcision. This fact introduced a serious barrier between them. This is to the extent that they could not mingle or relate cordially. Thus, their relationship was like the one that exists between lepers and the healthy. Hence, Gentiles were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants of the fatherhood. Christ is the unifying force between the circumcised and the uncircumcised. With his blood, he absolved the Gentiles of all that used to distance them and made the circumcised to know that he is the end of the Law (Rom 10:4). Thus, through his blood he destroyed the hostility that used to be between them. Vv 19-22 expresses the value of this newly founded unity in Christ. Despite the above, there is still divisions in the Church today, hence, absence of peace in Christendom. This article therefore answers why it is so. It aims at showing that rivalry that exists among believers, exposes their insincerity and hypocrisy. It argues that if all Christians understand the mind of Christ in destroying the barrier that existed between nations (Gentiles and Jews), then the whole Christendom would have remained peaceful and truly under one head. Unless this happens, there will be no end to sectarianism, tribalism, and nepotism among Christian believers in Nigeria. The outcome of this article will be significant to all Christians. The method will be exegetical analysis of Ephesians 2:11-22 and Library research.

scholarly journals Role of Statues in the Artistic Commemoration of African Political Leaders: Analysis of 20 Selected National Statues in African Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-77
Author(s):  
Kamau Wango
Keyword(s):  
Public Art ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Visual Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Artistic commemoration of leaders and other iconic personalities has been in existence for centuries. Statues in particular have been used as a fitting avenue for the commemoration of political leaders and other luminaries in many fields. The premise upon which statues are made is that the subjects featured initiated and attained, in their lifetimes, concrete achievements that significantly impacted upon the lives of their fellow human beings. Other criteria for commemoration include proven integrity, dedication and selflessness in the service of the country and citizens. Statues as an integral part of public art have often generated substantial controversy on various fronts in many countries. Some of these gravitate around issues such as disputed likeness, queries about the fundamental achievements cited of the subject, at times open protests on the actions, character and integrity of the subject as well as the location of the statues. Other areas of contention include the implication of the presence of statues upon the political psyche of the country and their long-time impact on history, the youth and posterity. This paper examines the extent to which African countries have embraced this mode of artistic rendition to commemorate African political leaders in a way that is commensurate to their achievements. It is outside the scope of this paper to delve into the intricate web of back-and-forth arguments about the ‘concreteness’ of the legacies of the featured leaders who are mainly founding political figures of the respective countries. The paper, however, analyses the artistic essence of the selected statues in terms of their visual impact and whether they are indeed useful in articulating the legacies of the subjects and further, whether they ultimately bear ‘enduring visual value’ that spurs conversation and insight into these legacies. Statues must, at the very least, spur debate and conversation into the legacy of the featured subject. It becomes a form of constant interrogation as history itself takes its course; controversy is not necessarily a negative occurrence since it forms part of this discourse. The concept of immortalization, which is what initiators of statues often hope for is much harder to achieve and difficult to define. The paper examines 20 statues of African political leaders in different African Countries.

scholarly journals Nemzetközi kitekintés az első szakképzési törvény korszakáról

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
István Lükő
Keyword(s):  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Training Centre ◽  
25Th Anniversary ◽  
International Dimension ◽  
Political Events ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One

A cikk a szakképzési törvény megjelenésének 25. évfordulója alkalmából rendezett „25 éves a szakképzési törvény - Korszakos változások - új irányok” című konferencia előadása alapján készült, amelyet a szerző vezette Az első szakképzési törvény gazdasági- társadalmi környezete nemzetközi kitekintésbe című Panel keretében tartott.Ez a negyedszázados esemény a társadalmi-gazdasági szinten zajló rendszerváltás fontos része volt a másik két oktatási alrendszer törvényi szabályozásával együtt.Az írás ezt a korszakot, illetve a törvényhez kapcsolódó gazdasági-társadalmi környezetet mutatja be nemzetközi kontextusban.A téma elvi-elméleti felvezetéseként a szerző áttekinti a különböző szempontok és léptékek szerinti szakképzési modelleket, amelyek a világban fellelhetők. The government formed after the political events in 1989 considered the comprehensive transformation of the educational system, primarily by legal regulation, as one of their main tasks. After years of preparation, the three acts on education were passed in 1993, including the Act on VET. Several documents, e.g. the National Qualification Registry, are connected to this law; in this article I have undertaken to examine these connections and to make comparisons to other countries. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the law taking effect, on May 5th 2018 the Hungarian Association for Pedagogy and the Teacher Training Centre of the BME organized a monumental conference titled The Law on VET becomes 25 years old – Epochal changes – new directions in Budapest at the BME. After the plenary sessions, five panels were held – I was the moderator of the one titled: The socio-economic environment of the first VET act in an international dimension, and I held a short lecture here with a similar title. 

scholarly journals On the Possibilities of Researching the Marriage Policies of the Rurikids: The Case of Mstislav Fyodor Vladimirovich Monomakhovich

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 91-110
Author(s):  
Dariusz Dąbrowski
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Source Material ◽  
The Other ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
The Political ◽  
Know How ◽  
Cultural Sphere ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One

The main goal of the article is to present the possibilities and methods of research on the Rurikid’s matrimonial policy in the Middle Ages on the example of a selected group of princes. As the subject of studies were chosen Mstislav Vladimirovich and his children. In total, 12 matrimonial relationships were included. The analysis of the source material revealed very unfavorable phenomena from the perspective of the topic under study. The Rus’ primary sources gave information on the conclusion of just four marriages out of twelve. The next four matrimonial arrangement inform foreign sources (Scandinavian and Norman). It should be emphasized particularly strongly that – save for two exceptions of Scandinavian provenance – the sources convey no information whatsoever as regards the political aims behind this or that marriage agreement. It appears, then, that the chroniclers of the period and cultural sphere in question did not regard details concerning marriages (such as their circumstances or the reasons behind them) as “information notable enough to be worth preserving”. Truth be told, even the very fact of the marriage did not always belong to this category. Due to the state of preservation of primary sources the basic question arises as to whether it is possible to study the Rurikids’ matrimonial policy? In spite of the mercilessly sparse source material, it is by all means possible to conduct feasible research on the Rurikids’ marriage policy. One must know how to do it right, however. Thus, such studies must on the one hand be rooted in a deep knowledge of the relevant sources (not only of Rus’ provenance) as well as the ability to subject them to astute analysis; on the other hand, they must adhere to the specially developed methodology, presented in the first part of the article.

The State and the Rule of Law

1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Andrzej Zoll
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Political System ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The One ◽  
Real Chance

The changes brought about in Poland and elsewhere in Europe by the fall of Communism have given rise to hopes for the establishment of a political system differing from the one which had been the fate of these countries. In place of totalitarianism, a new political system is to be created based on the democratic principles of a state under the rule of law. The transformation from totalitarianism to democracy is a process which has not yet been completed in Poland and still requires many efforts to be made before this goal may be achieved. One may also enumerate various pitfalls jeopardising this process even now. The dangers cannot be avoided if their sources and nature are not identified. Attempts to pervert the law and the political system may only be counteracted by legal means if the system based on the abuse of the law has not yet succeeded in establishing itself. Resistance by means of the law only has any real chance of success provided it is directed against attempts to set up a totalitarian system. Once the powers which are hostile to the state bound by the rule of law take over the institutions of the state, such resistance is doomed to failure.

The Life of Law and the Law of Life

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Naas
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Law ◽  
Written Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter analyzes a large swath of Plato’s Statesman (287b–311c) in order to ask, with “Plato’s Pharmacy” in the background, about the Stranger’s claim that law—and especially written law, since writing is the essence of law—is at once inferior to rule without law and yet, in a world without divine rulers, absolutely necessary for human governance. This chapter returns to many of the insights from Chapter 2 on the myth of the two ages, since what that myth demonstrated was the desirability and yet impossibility of an age in which a truly divine being rules over human beings and the concomitant necessity of trying to imitate that age through laws. Once again, we see that what is at issue in the relationship between the two ages, as well as in the relationship between a regime without law and a regime with it, are two different valences or valuations of life—the values of pure life, fecundity, spontaneity, and memory, on the one hand, and the values of death in life, forgetting in memory, and sterility in fecundity, on the other.

Law in Doctrine and Life According to Martin Luther

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Risto Saarinen ◽  
Derek R. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Golden Rule ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
God's Will ◽  
Rabbinic Judaism ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One

The law both is and functions in Martin Luther’s theology. To the extent that it simply is, the law is wholly good, just, and pure. It reveals God’s benevolent providence for creation by instantiating structures of human relationships, natural processes, and social arrangements within which human life and all of creation can flourish. Luther regards the essential character of the law in a way reminiscent of the haggadah tradition of Rabbinic Judaism, where the law is a narrative which reveals features of the lawgiver. Under the conditions of sin, however, the law can be experienced as wrath by humans who cannot fulfill what it requires, and who suffer as a result of their own transgression of the Word of God or as a result of the transgressions of others. It functions thus as a curb against wickedness and as a means of exposing sin to be sin. Its continued presence in the life of the believer is necessary, as Luther clarified in his various debates with Johann Agricola and the so-called “Antinomians.” When the law is understood only in its antinomy with the gospel, the life-affirming elements of the law are occluded, even as the gospel’s life-redeeming elements are thereby rendered clear. While numerous fine distinctions can be found in Luther’s theology of the law, it maintains a basic unity-in-diversity. God wills singly in dealing with human beings as his creatures. Therefore “civil law,” the Decalogue, and other manifestations of the law are facets of the one will of God for the flourishing of creation. Recent Pauline scholarship has criticized Luther for eisegesis on Paul’s view of the law; Luther needed to see his contemporary Roman partisans as Paul’s legalistic Jewish opponents, they say, and so he read Romans as a critique of 16th-century “works righteousness.” This view ignores the fact that Luther (and Augustine) viewed the post-conversion Paul as “continent” in doing the works of the law, neither weak-willed nor perfectly virtuous. Law is necessary for doctrine, but it is also important for the “Christian life” because it helps the believer to understand the reciprocity that underlies interpersonal relationships, seen especially in the “golden rule” that functions as the epitome of the Christian life. The radical receptivity (i.e., passivity) that characterizes the life of faith in believers enables the experience of God’s will, understood as law or command, in a constructive and beneficial way. While Christian life should employ a “faith approach” rather than a “law approach,” genuine faith in God does, in fact, reveal the true meaning of the law. This might be called the “second use of the gospel” in that God’s command (Gebot), viewed in light of the gospel, becomes a source of guidance for the Christian life, the ten commandments, the double love command, and the Sermon on the Mount chief among them.

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