Conatus, the Will to Persist: An Introduction

The papers collected in this issue address a variety of aspects of the concept of conatus ranging from the explorations of its roots in early ancient Greek thought to its application on modern theories of democratic education. The conatus is a special relation between the parts of a monad and their subparts and the subparts of the subparts to infinity, which ensures that each part and subpart is a part of this monad and not of any other. As a fundamental trait of monadic existence, the conatus is manifested in a multiplicity of facets that sustain the persistence of any real existence. It is thus obvious that there is still a vast field of such manifestations of conatus that awaits philosophical exploration, especially in the realms of Social Ontology and of the Philosophy of Nature.

The Trinity: Prototype of Real Existence or Danger to Political Wellbeing? Tanner, Volf, and Yannaras in Conversation

Kathryn Tanner maintains that political theologies based on the Trinity are not only unsound, but potentially dangerous. Her primary concern is that the Trinity, by definition, cannot serve as a “model” for human socio-political organization. Miroslav Volf, while sharing Tanner’s sense that Trinitarian political theologies are fraught, nevertheless, maintains that the Trinity can serve as a “vision” for human socio-political relations, albeit not as a “program”. This article brings Tanner and Volf into conversation with Eastern Orthodox philosopher-theologian Christos Yannaras, whose Trinitarian political theology regards the Trinity as the “prototype” or “archetype” of a mode of existence in which humans can participate by transcending their natures, with the aim of realizing truth. This article argues that Yannaras offers a novel way of conceptualizing Trinitarian political theology which escapes Tanner and Volf’s criticisms, on the one hand, and offers Social Trinitarianism a fresh and fertile perspective that could advance its discourse.

Persona in spe. Anthropological and Theodical Aspects of Hope

I intend to reflect on three phenomena that are revealed in the personal experience of hope: (1) hope distinguishes a person from the natural context, but it does so through nature, i.e., based on desires rooted in human nature; (2) hope is not only inscribed in the existential situation of human being, but also expresses the very meaning of human transcendence: the person transcends themself, because they live the hope of fulfillment in the transcendent reality; hope is a foretaste of a higher, more perfect life; (3) hope is a person’s deeply experienced expectation of love, that is, of someone who loves. The above phenomena require a justification, which is the answer to the question “what is the reason for experiencing hope?”. Carrying out analyses on the basis of the modernized metaphysics of the person, I refer primarily to the concept of personal acts, to the concept of religiosity as an essential property of the person and to elements of the concept of love. The conclusions of these analyses indicate the necessity of accepting the real existence of the object of human hope, since personal life essentially goes beyond contingency, towards wholeness in the form of union with Someone who loves.

The origin, definition and nature of the transconscious in the spirituality of Father Stăniloae

In his important work, Orthodox Spirituality, Father Dumitru Stăniloae considers that, besides the real existence of the subconscious, there exists in man another reality as well, comprising the superior divine energies found in the human heart and which he defined by using the modern notion of transconscious or supraconscious.Contribution: The present study emphasises on the origin, definitions and content of this concept in the work of Father Stăniloae and its great importance in defining a way to know God and his salvation works, from the perspective of an anchorite and Christian mystic, engaged in the existential tension of communion with God.

Towards the autopoiesis of imagination

Already in the romantic it has been assumed, that there is an existential interrelation between nature, human being and mind. According to this idea, there is a narrow interrelation of creation between literature, science, dream and reality, which should be expressed in a progressive universal poetry. Gestalt theory and the concept of autopoiesis, developed by Maturana and Varela, could be regarded as a scientific enhancement of this approach and are united in that sense. By analyses of dreams, it becomes evident, that neurobiological and mental processes are determined by the same principles of self-constitution and gestalt production. They are attending in equal measures to homeostatic conditions. The interaction of living systems with their environment as well as their evolution base on recursive reorganisation. Following this principle, imagination, speech and self-reflection are developed. The observer comes to existence by his own distinctions. Phenomenal appearance and real existence, poetry and scientific findings are results of the autopoietic organisation of living, of which we form a part.

Hamzah Fanshuri tentang Konsep Wujud

The purpose of this research is to explain about Sufism formulated by Sheikh Hamzah Fanshuri. He is quite famous in the 16th century AD Although the concept of Sufism Hamzah Fansuri already very old, but until now, this teaching is still studied in Aceh and in several other regions in Indonesia. Among the concepts of Hamzah Fansuri's Sufism that are still studied by many people is about the concept of existence. In the opinion of Sheikh Hamzah Fansuri, the essence of existence is one, namely the existence of God. Apart from the existence of God everything is not a real existence, but a reflection of the real existence. While this form is a relationship beamong matter, nature, asthma and af'al Allah. Regarding the existence of human beings, Sheikh Hamzah Fansuri explained that human beings are the lowest form, even so, they still have the opportunity to rise to a higher dignity.

The Metaphysics of Powers in Kant and Hegel

This chapter explores the metaphysics of powers as articulated in the modern German idealist tradition, running from the Leibniz-Wolffians, through Kant’s “transcendental” idealism, to Hegel’s “absolute” idealism. These various forms of idealism are shown to share a common understanding of the nature of powers in general, as metaphysically distinct from what is merely ideal, and as possessing real existence over and above any mental ideas or representations—not least so as to serve as both the cause of, and the support for, the real existence of ideas themselves. Beyond these broad points of convergence on the ontology of powers as such, the chapter also traces out developments in the accounts of powers given in the various branches of metaphysica specialis (cosmology, psychology, theology). More generally, the chapter aims to revisit the question of the precise significance of the idealisms in this tradition upon the metaphysics of powers in particular.

VALUES SUPPORTING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT PRACTICES

This article analyses how fundamental values underpin educational practices that have emerged in the development of society and create the preconditions for the sustainability of inclusive education. Through the analysis of the scholarly literature, the expression of inclusive values in the application of approaches to integrated, individualised inclusive education and Universal Design for Learning is analysed. It has been established that the effectiveness of inclusive education is substantiated in practices which are based on real existing inclusive values: equity, equality, communality and respect for diversity. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that the sustainability of inclusive education coincides with the real existence of inclusive values in practice, equally applying to all students.

The potential of the educational environment of the military educational organization of higher education in the development of the intelligence of the future officer

During the developing of the officer’s intelligence as a subjective personal education that characterizes his personality, it is not enough to identify the means and methods of such development, it is necessary to reveal the laws of his real existence and functioning of the components, to establish how this development is embedded in pedagogical activity and what conditions affect the change in its dynamics. It is possible by assessing the educational environment’s potential of the military educational organization of higher education in the development of the intelligence of the future officer, by identifying the objective and subjective conditions of this environment and understanding the opportunities for teachers.