Building the Collective Imagination in the Bestsellers of the Western World

This study constitutes the first ever sociological investigation of the contents of western bestsellers, published and examined between 1998 and 2017. The research project analysed the contents, action and values, as well as the pathways pursued in order to construct social identity and create the stories and characters portrayed. It emerged that the cultural industry aimed at producing works with a high level of readability capable of facilitating their diffusion among people of the lower-middle, higher-middle and higher classes of society. Some advance the hypothesis that, in the face of economic crises and slowdowns in the global economy, there has been an increase in the need for literary fiction, for escape and identification with problems, such as the loss of employment, the impoverishment of families and emotional instability, common to the so-called fluid society.

Trans-humanism’s and Post-humanism’s Dialectics between Truth and Post-truth

The aim of this paper is to invite the reader to reflect on the essence of truth and post-truth in two approaches present in humanities and social sciences: trans-humanism and post-humanism. The notions of truth and post-truth, just like those of trans- and post-humanism, do not have a single defining interpretation. This implies disputes about what truth is and what is the role of man as an being, capable of creative activity, and thus of creating other entities and concepts describing them. However, the problem still remains the doubt as to what extent the ability of creative action allows man to know the truth (alternatively, to establish it), and to what extent it leads us astray. Post-truth emerges as a proposition in the face of the impossibility of reaching a consensus on the former. It is similar in the case of trans- and post-humanism, as concepts offering improved, because more up-to-date, approaches to the exploration of the human being himself, the motives of his actions, and his progress. The issues are presented by means of a critical analysis of selected scientific discourses, including definitions and research approaches that are gaining popularity in academia of the so-called Western cultural circle.

It’s Not at What You Look that Matters, It’s What You See

One of the important themes in the literature on truth is its connection to meaning, or more generally, to language. As Einstein once stated, reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. Therefore, truth, as an element inextricably connected to the subjectively perceived reality of each individual, is dependent on the form of communication and the skills used in conversation. The following essay does not focus on the issue in the study of truth itself but instead portrays and deeply analyses each step of a study of a conversation between a surgeon and a patient drawing upon concepts of communication theory and neuroplasticity. Indeed, it shows at each step and juncture of the ongoing conversation, both how the truth may be misconceived and how slight changes in communication techniques contribute to the transmission of truth in the sense of an unimpeded flow of information.

The Ethics of the Syrian Migration Crisis

The Syrian migration crisis is one of the biggest social crises of the modern era. This is evidenced by the geographical spread of the consequences, the number of refugees in each of the host countries and other bare statistics. In the context of this crisis, the governments of the host countries are making efforts to solve many problems related to the political status of refugees, their psychological adaptation to new surroundings, economic challenges for the host countries, along with issues connected with the integration and socialization of migrants. However, not many of us think about the ethical side of the migration process. Moreover, sometimes such aspects as the violation of human rights, confrontation between the ethical principles of Islam and the secular culture of Europe, and confrontation between Christian and Islamic values are simply ignored. Nevertheless, all these “inconvenient” topics are breeding grounds for concentrating misunderstandings and developing zero tolerance towards migrants, and which have an impact on the overall outcome. The migration crisis is not a temporary “inconvenience,” not a desperate measure, it is a process of transformation of European society. We consider this process as a social evolution that can be in the best interest of all participants. However, this process is impossible without reaching a compromise on ethical issues. This article is devoted to examining the ethical dilemma of the migration crisis and finding ways of solving it.

Emotive Sources of Post-truth

The first part of this paper briefly presents the phenomenon of post-truth, which is then confronted with emotivism, a position of 20th-century ethics or metaethics that ascribes an emotive and evocative meaning to ethical judgements, rather than a descriptive one. The second part shows briefly the theories of two main representatives of this view, namely A.J. Ayer and Charles Stevenson. The third part focuses on the objections to emotivism, primarily presented by Alasdair MacIntyre. Finally, the influence of emotivism on post-truth is discussed.

The Forgery of Deepfake and the “Advent” of Artificial Intelligence

The concept of politics changes its semantic value according to the historical period and the cultural changes affecting the social fabric. In classical literature, there was no distinction between politics and society or politics and ethics, since the first indicated the collective space in which cultural, social, economic relations of human life developed that were differentiated from other living forms. To date, with the advent of digitalization and artificial intelligence, we have a concrete assessment of how politics has acquired a new perspective and is changing to adapt to new technologies and its uses: on the one hand, we are experiencing the propagation of debate, confrontation, and information accessible at any time. On the other hand, it has become an instrument for the annihilation of rivals and subjugation of those who consider any data received from the Internet as truthful, exploiting the media and digital technologies, until it pervades the social structure, making even nonsense seem credible. The purpose of this contribution, therefore, is to outline theoretically the contours and contemporary phenomena that relate, through a dialogical relationship, with the use of deepfake techniques and artificial intelligence technology, the concepts of politics – in its dimension of the relationship of collective power – and of social communication.

Instrumentalization as a Sin of Untruth

The reconstructions, analyses and discussions concerning various broadly understood instrumentalized objects available in the subject literature allow one to distinguish and identify at least two interrelated forms of instrumentalization – a weak and a strong form. The former consists of using a particular object for fulfilling an aim in its unspecific functions. Thus, it can be treated as opposite to the phenomenon of functional fixation. The essence of the latter is a change in the position of the instrumentalized object, both in the ontological and axiological order – one which is a degrading change. It is this form of instrumentalization which allows the possibility of its reinterpretation in the categories of a sin of untruth. Such reinterpretation makes use of the multitude of forms of truth and their interrelationships, as well as of the distinction between a “great and small truth.” Thus, the heuristic value of the rhetoric of sin used here enables one to emphasise some important factual aspects. Firstly, referring to many possible dimensions in which instrumentalization can be subjected to evaluation, sin will be treated here metaphorically (due to taking into account all dimensions together) and literally (in order to highlight in consequence its moral, conscious and intended character). Secondly, this rhetoric can reflect the complex structure of instrumentalization, expressed in the categories of a sin committed “in thought, word, deed and omission,” of a light or heavy nature, with violation carried out on the nature of the instrumentalized object as its extreme form. Thirdly, rhetoric allows one to understand the perpetrator of instrumentalization’s activation of disguising, justifying or even absolving his activities. Fourthly, this results in seeking out the psychological mechanism of “being led into temptation.” Its complex character can be clearly seen in many cases, especially in the case of political instrumentalization of religion, where, on the one hand, the profanation of religion takes place, while on the other, the legitimisation, ennoblement or even sacralisation of politics occurs.

Truth in Science and Medicine: The Hope and Hype of Stem Cell Therapies

The article examines the practice of cell therapies, often named as stem cell therapies. For the general public this is recognized as promising treatment for many diseases, offering hope for many people to restore health to themselves or their loved ones. However, despite the enormous potential that this type of treatment holds, it has its limitations. The tension between hope, science, truth and deception can come to the fore especially when someone is fighting for their life. Moral and ethical issues play a key role in such cases, serving as guideposts obscured, however, by information noise.

Oddałbym ci moje serce – od numeru paszportu do autokreacji. Kulturowo uwarunkowane wzorce męskości i gry z konwencją w cyklu I would give you my heart

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