Materialism dialectic și istoric în comunismul românesc (I)

The article (to be published in 2 parts) analyzes the expression and evolution of Marxist philosophy in communist Romania, as seen in the evolution of the official handbooks and courses of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Its first part looks at the original Marxian foundations (Marx and Engels’ views on metaphilosophy and their actual philosophical practice), the Soviet mediations (the institutional and conceptual reconfigurations of Soviet Marxist philosophy until the death of Stalin) and the initial local configuration, as seen in the first two editions of the handbooks, published in the early 50’s and early 60’s respectively. The second part of the article will follow this evolution further, up to 1989, and will conclude by developing a series of observations on the uses and abuses of Marxist philosophy in communist Romania.

Disturbances in the Ether

<p>We criticise the current philosophical practice of invoking causation as a solution to various problems in various fields of philosophy. Our specific concern is that many of these solutions to problems rely on the intuition that causation is "the cement of the universe". We question whether several different analyses of causation which are supposed to substantiate this intuition (or at least are treated as if they substantiate this intuition) in fact substantiate this intuition. We begin by establishing a basic desideratum for such an analysis of causation - that causal dependence ought to track physical dependence in this universe. We investigate in turn a Lewis-style counterfactual analysis of causation, the transference analysis developed by Aronson, Fair and Heathcote, and the process analyses developed by Salmon and Dowe. Rather to our surprise, none of the analyses fulfil our basic desideratum. Although this is not in itself conclusive grounds for scepticism about causation, our results speak against casually invoking analyses of causation in order to solve particular varieties of philosophical problems.</p>

Disturbances in the Ether

<p>We criticise the current philosophical practice of invoking causation as a solution to various problems in various fields of philosophy. Our specific concern is that many of these solutions to problems rely on the intuition that causation is "the cement of the universe". We question whether several different analyses of causation which are supposed to substantiate this intuition (or at least are treated as if they substantiate this intuition) in fact substantiate this intuition. We begin by establishing a basic desideratum for such an analysis of causation - that causal dependence ought to track physical dependence in this universe. We investigate in turn a Lewis-style counterfactual analysis of causation, the transference analysis developed by Aronson, Fair and Heathcote, and the process analyses developed by Salmon and Dowe. Rather to our surprise, none of the analyses fulfil our basic desideratum. Although this is not in itself conclusive grounds for scepticism about causation, our results speak against casually invoking analyses of causation in order to solve particular varieties of philosophical problems.</p>

The Dialogical Form of Philosophical Practice: Structuring the Discursive Flow in Socratic Dialogue

"Based on the transcript of a fragment from a philosophical practice session carried by Oscar Brenifier, I flesh out several aspects of this dialogical form of philosophical practice. First, it is a form of interaction grounded in the interlocutors’ interaffection. Second, the main mechanism of carrying through the dialogic interaction is the practitioner’s repeating the other’s words, writing them down, and then questioning them, thus extracting them from the other’s discursive flow and making them shared objects for an intersubjective gaze. Third, this form of dialogue is asymmetrical: while the other is providing the “content”, the practitioner is responsible for explicating it. Keywords: Socratic Dialogue; Philosophical Practice; Dis-cursive Flow; Discourse Analysis; Intersubjectiv-ity "

Ways of life as modes of presentation

Books and journal articles have become the dominant modes of presentation in contemporary philosophy. This historically contingent paradigm prioritises textual expression and assumes a distinction between philosophical practice and its presented product. Using Socrates and Diogenes as exemplars, we challenge the presumed supremacy of the text and defend the importance of ways of life as modes of practiced presentation. We argue that text cannot capture the embodied activity of philosophy without remainder, and is therefore limited and incomplete. In particular, we contend that (1) a static text is essentially alienated from our practices of philosophising, (2) words cannot unambiguously represent lives, and (3) practiced presentation enriches our understanding beyond words alone. After discussing some pedagogical implications, we conclude with a plea for a pluralistic approach that recognises lives as legitimate and valuable modes of philosophical presentation.

Philosophical Practice as a Way to Address the Students’ Existential Problems during the Pandemic

This article is devoted to the study of the academic and existential problems of students during the pandemic. The authors conducted sociological surveys among first- and second-year students of a higher educational institution, where they analyze students’ attitudes towards distance learning and identify the most pressing existential problems of students. The authors concluded that during the quarantine period, learning has lost its semantic basis. The reason for this is the inability of the education system to respond to the challenges of the new educational format, as it develops in accordance with the modern technology, as modern pedagogy develops, as a rational system of objective knowledge, and as it does not take into account the internal, value-based meanings of education itself. The authors see a solution to this problem in shifting the emphasis from transferring knowledge to helping students find personal meanings that coincide with the objectives of philosophical practice. The authors give examples of how the techniques of philosophical practice could unlock students’ potential in understanding and solving existential problems.

Firefly. Aesthetics of transition

This essay starts with the assumption that philosophical practice is defined as an exercise of linguistic clarification. Whether in oral or written form, philosophy stems from the need to explicate and objectify the logós, formulating concepts. In the particular case of artistic practice, on the other hand, the signifier is more visible than the signified and the impermanence of objectivity is more clearly shown. In art, language is thus open to multiplicity and inexpressibility and the word is no longer logically or syntactically objectified. The truth which develops within art is not universal but the embodiment of an engaging and embryonic form. Art is the place where truth is in motion, a form of resistance, an all-embracing, unifying experience intimately close to world- changing practices.

some ethical implications of practicing philosophy with children and adults

This paper acts as an introduction to a dossier centered on the ethical implications of Practicing Philosophy with Children and Adults. It identifies ethical themes in the P4C movement over three generations of theorists and practitioners, and argues that, historically and materially, the transition to a “new” hermeneutics of childhood that has occurred within the P4C movement may be said to have emerged as a response to the ever-increasing pressure of neoliberalism and a weaponized capitalism to construct public policies in education on an over-regulated, prescribed, state-monitored, model. Could a new relationship to childhood provide the ethical and political agenda that our times require for doing philosophy with children with integrity? Could a radical listening and openness to childhood—which has been an intrinsic confessional characteristic of P4C pedagogy from the beginning--sustain the movement through these dark times? Finally, the paper presents a set of articles written in response to these questions: What, if any, should the ethical commitments of the P4C facilitator be? Is political/ideological neutrality required of the P4C facilitator? Is political neutrality possible? What constitutes indoctrination in educational settings? Are children more vulnerable to indoctrination than adults, and if so, what are the implications of that fact for the practice of P4C? What are the uses of P4C in the dramatically polarized ideological landscape we currently inhabit? What, if any, are the ethical responsibilities of a teacher engaging in philosophical practice? Are the philosophical practitioner’s ethical responsibilities similar or different when the subjects are children or adults? Does every methodology have a “hidden curriculum”? If so, what is the hidden curriculum of P4C? What distinguishes dialogical from monological practice? May one have the appearance of the other? Is the “Socratic method” (Elenchus) as we conceive it dialogical? What, if any, are the uses of irony in philosophical practice? Should Socrates (or any other philosopher) be considered a model for P4C practitioners?

Philosophical Practice in the Light of the “War of the Sexes”

Prema Nietzscheovu mišljenju, temeljni je problem između muškarca i žene duboko ukorijenjen u negiranju antagonizma među njima. Muškarac vjeruje da njihov odnos mora biti vječna neprijateljska napetost i neizbježna nepravda. Nietzsche tvrdi da mora postojati rangirajući poredak u kojem je skaliranje vezano za aktivnosti uzimanja, nakupljanja i postajanja boljim zadobivajući moć i nadilazeći uža tumačenja. Ovo rangiranje ne dopušta istovjetnost i ravnopravnost, što su znakovi plitkoće instinkta i gubitka identiteta. Nietzsche podržava različitost i slavi drugotnost. Uspijevanje pojedinca nikada ne može biti ometano pojmom jednakih odnosa. Nietzsche je uvjeren da su ljudi drugačiji i zagovara agon (borba moći) kao model kulturnih i političkih odnosa. Budući da se jednakost ljudskih bića mora sastojati od jednakog iznosa istog svojstva, Nietzsche tu jednakost vidi kao predstavljenu u općoj volji za moć. Nadalje, rodna je razlika također društveno konstruiran način bivanja. To je kreacija muške slike o tome kako bi svijet trebao izgledati. Ako se uključi u terapijski pristup, ova nam perspektiva može baciti novo svjetlo na moguće intervencijske metode u psihoterapiji i filoterapiji podjednako. Spol i spolni odnosi mogu biti izlučeni kao ključan problem koji prevladava u jezgri motivacije za traženje profesionalne terapijske pomoći (psihoterapija), bez obzira na to koji se terapijski pristup u takvoj praksi koristi. Tema je to koja nije dovoljno vukla iz Nietzscheove tradicije. Cilj je rada ponuditi argumente za to da se Nietzscheova perspektiva na »rat spolova« postavi kao produktivan kontekst za psihoterapijsku intervenciju i filozofijsko savjetovanje.