Objective, or what? Remarks on the ambiguity of the concept of objectivity of values

The aim of this article is to problematize the question of what is the ontic objectivity of values. Using the descriptive method and the analytical methods, the author of the text juxtaposes various meanings of the word ‘objective’ that could be assigned to values understood as attributes of specific objects. Often one and the same thing or a trait may be described as either objective or subjective (e.g., pleasure which as a psychic feeling is subjective in nature but at the same time exists effectively and independently from will), resulting in unnecessary paradoxes. Selected cases are analyzed within the text, which concludes in a proposal to organize the concept of objectivity of value.

To explain evil. Philosophical interpretation of Philip Zimbardo's Prison Experiment

The main problem of this paper is the issue of the evil and attempts at explaining this phenomenon. It is an analysis and reinterpretation of the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo. The leading argumentation is composed of Hannah Arendt's thesis of the banality of evil and philosophy of Immanuel Kant and Paul Ricoeur. Facing the radical experiment's conclusions, questions about human free will, motives and responsibility was raised. Therefore, the main thesis of this paper is an objection against the radical postulate of social psychologists about a profound influence a situation has on our moral decisions. The conclusion leads us to assumption of the incomprehensible character of evil and a strong need to expand our ability of self-reliant thinking allowing us to make a morally right choices and to counteract evil.

Deconsumption – the path to liberation from consumerism

A man – the consumer in the world of consumption has one task to accomplish: to consume. However, they can wake up from the lethargy of consumptionism by reflecting on his consumptionist attitudes and thus free themselves from being subject to the rules of the world of consumption. Deconsumption comes to the rescue – an attitude that compells you to think about your own actions. In order for deconsumption to be introduced to the deconsumer, it is presented as a consumerist trend, because it is in contradiction to it as a liberating attitude from the world of consumption. Deconsumption requires the consumer to think and think for themselves. By reflecting on their own needs and behaviour, the consumer can gradually free themselves from the power of objects.

Places, moments, objects and people (part II)

In the text I analyze the flea market in Świdnica (Poland): items from different places and times present there. I argue that the meeting of these objects is at the same time indirectly the meeting of these different places and moments in one moment and place. I wonder how is this possible? I refer to three concepts: the global cultural ecumen, the palimpsest and the postulate of treating local and global as closely related. I come to the conclusion that these concepts should be supplemented with ontic properties of place, space, moments and time. Continuity is one of the most important here. The continuity of space and time is a necessary condition for the ecumenical character of culture, the close relationship between local and global, and the palimpsest character of the present day.

Searching for a metaphor of the Anthropocene. Reinterpretation of the Oedipus myth

Anthropocene – the epoch of man, a slogan that evokes awareness of the impending ecological catastrophe. Man’s attitude to nature has nowadays become a major problem and its solution or not will determine the further existence of the human species. As humanity, we believe to possess inexhaustible scientific and technical might and potential to run the Earth. Yet today an urgent need has arisen to reverse our present activities designed primarily to boost frenetic economic growth. Prompt action is needed to protect the Earth’s climate. Our mentality needs to be changed. However, the looming ecological threat has not yet evoked large enough concern among men, otherwise so highly expert in many fields nor overcome our inertness and denialism. Hence the need for a metaphor that would inspire change of knowledge and values to help counteract the climate crisis more efficiently. I believe that the story and myth of Oedipus as told by Sophocles is a sufficiently well-known and a motivating one and applicable to the Anthropocene. Reinterpreting the myth, I refer to Paul Ricoeur’s expressed need to grasp and understand the essence of the tragic. I follow C. Levi-Strauss’s thinking in his exploration of mankind’s universal principles of thinking and experience in the myth. I share Michel Foucalt's contention regarding the excess of Oedipus’s power and knowledge. I reverse the attention from events in Thebes to these in Kolonos. The path of Oedipus’ life illustrates the transformation he had undergone having gained new knowledge needed to regain power and to overcome the sense of being a victim of his own actions. I also suggest that the taboo of patricide and incest be not perceived as a proscription but as an advice and also a way of degrading and transforming the “Ego” into “Eco”, that is egocentrism into ecocentrism. In Kolonos, the spiritual strength and the extra knowledge gained by Oedipus ensured protection and security to Athenians. The proposed metaphor of the “Anthropocene” could help to revivify the “sense of tragedy” leading consequently to metanoia, a change of people’s minds, new strength and inspiration to act.

“Where is my revolution” – the world in the eyes and works of Maria Sadowska

Reviewed is a selection of works composed by woman artist composer and songstress Maria Sadowska. These include songs from the “Women's Day” record and from a film of the same title, as well as “Revolution” from the “Table of Contents” album. Due to the method of interpretation I use, the criticism is feminist. I selected precisely these said works for study mainly because the artist has been largely inspired by mothers of feminist thought, such as Susan Sontag, Barbara Kruger and Simone de Beauvoir. The topics touched upon by the artist definitely fall within the interests of feminist criticism. And I hope that taking up the subject of feminism in this context is a timely response to current public interest.

Robert A. Johnson’s concept of romantic love

The topic of love has been discussed in philosophy since the ancient times, and, as in other areas of philosophical deliberations, a common perspective on the matter has not yet been reached. Observing Western society, American Jungian analyst Robert A. Johnson reached a conclusion that ideas about love, which function in this society, are full of inner contradictions. The aim of this article is to present Johnson’s concept of romantic love, which fills in certain gaps in existing theories and offers a broadening of perspective on the problem of love. The article presents the analyst’s opinion regarding the genesis of the Western idea of romantic love, which goes back further than Romanticism. The causes of the mixed attitudes towards love in the West are also discussed. Finally, the article presents Johnson’s suggestion on solving this issue, based on Jungian analytical psychology.

The twilight of determinism and categorical openness of determination in the context of expounding the issue of freedom

While the classical form of determinism seems to be in regress as the thesis of physical indeterminism has now been justified, the deterministic model of scientific description of phenomena has not been devalued in science methodologies. However, the present disciplinary forms of determinisms do not represent an unambiguous, uniform, universal, absolute and directly determining pattern, appropriately typical for the classical concept of determinism. In the context of deliberations on the issue of freedom, that fact prompts thinking on the scope of contemporary deterministic elucidations as well as queries whether contemporary compatibilist explanations are still valid with regard to incoherent determinisms. Examining the category of determination will help, among others, to assess the adequacy of Nicolai Hartmann’s philosophy against the background of the on-going dispute over freedom. The thesis of determinative pluralism, rooted in the ontology of the real being, points to the axiological context as indispensable for explaining the problem of freedom, as it is going beyond its often narrowed framework.

Democratization - the moral ideal of cultural policy. A philosophical revision of the Social Critique of the Power of Judgment of P. Bourdieu

Democratization has become the unknowingly accepted moral ideal of cultural policy. It is more or less consciously based on Pierre Bourdieu’s postulate to abolish the Kantian distinction between pure and barbaric taste. A closer analysis of theoretical assumptions and cultural practice shows that the ideal expressed and applied in this form is internally contradictory, and it certainly cannot be universally applied in all areas of culture. The correct articulation of the ideal of democratization cannot be based on negating the Kantian aesthetics, but, on the contrary, requires its rehabilitation in the direction that was set, among others, by Herbert Marcuse. The article presents non-dogmatic arguments for maintaining the elitist nature of the activities of legitimate institutions of artistic culture. If democratization is to constitute a real (i.e. consistent with its concept) moral ideal, then the autonomy of high culture works in its favor.