Ex Occidente Lux. From Phenomenology of Myth to Geopolitics and Ontology and Vice Versa in the Late Works of Janko Janeff

Janko Janeff’s book Southeast Europe and the German Spirit (1938) is analyzed through the lens of a fundamental Thracian-Dionysian- Orphic myth, i.e. the birth of being or of light from non-being/nothing/ darkness. It is shown how its geopolitical and ontological/theological consequences are to be drawn accordingly to that purely phenomenological premise concerning the supposed Indo-European Renaissance on the Old Continent as per the views expressed by the author.

John Stuart Mill‘s Liberal Reformism and the New Concept of Freedom, Property and Government

The article is devoted to a key moment in the history of British liberalism when, under the influence of the Industrial Revolution, the need arose for a revision of classical liberal teaching. On the border between classical and social liberalism stands the figure of the British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill who attempted to update the basic tenets of liberal ideology. Taking into account the socio-economic reality of his time, he set out to revise the foundations of liberal ideology, rethinking in modern times the problems of freedom, property and governance by expanding their perimeter in favour of the masses. This article also details Stuart Mill’s concept of individualism and collectivism in the context of freedom and the right to self-determination.

Language: Experience on a Borderline Phenomenon

This article is focused on language’s nature and its role as a condition of understanding. In this context, the basic question remains whether language represents reality or, on the contrary, constitutes it. In order to answer this question, the study examines the border as a phenomenon. If we consider the border as nothing more than a limit, then the world within the boundaries of language appears to be something constructed only by language. If we presume that the border is a field of communication between reality and the subject, then the understanding should include elements of subjectivity, as well as reality itself. This could be the main statement of dialectical symbolism.

Translation and interpretation in Abhidharmakośa

Rosemberg (1991) has made a critical review of a long-standing discussion between Eastern philologists and Buddhist philosophers. The discussion is centered around the translation of the doctrine on the one hand, and its philosophical systematization on the other hand. When scientific-philological translation prevails, the literal meaning of Buddhist terminology is declared to be its basis. The young scholar, who had specialized in Japan, studied Buddhism from Japanese and Chinese sources and collected lexicographic material from non-Hindu sources. After comparing them, he encountered inaccuracies in the translation. In an attempt to overcome them, he preferred the point of view of the philosophy of Buddhism. The conclusion that he has drawn in the preface of this edition is that the study should begin with a systematization of antiquity.

The Debate Between Toncho Zhechev and Iskra Panova – the End of the Discussions with a Privileged Point of View in the History of Bulgarian Philosophy

The article draws attention to situations within certain local traditions and experiences, such as the debates about the leading position of certain theories in the history of Bulgarian philosophy.

Meaning of Education in Contemporary Phenomenological Ontology – Eugen Fink and Emmanuel Levinas

This article discusses the problem of education according to E. Fink and E. Levinas. In Fink’s opinion, education should acquaint young people with basic phenomena of human being, and introduce them to the problems of the being as a whole, immortality, culture and history. The basic method that should be used in education is the game method. According to Levinas, education should acquaint young people with The Other, with its uniqueness and originality. Respect and preservation of otherness is the basic principle in his philosophy. Moral education can only be realized as religious education, and communication with The Other can be achieved though prayer. Religious education is what can introduce a person to the history and culture of the world.

The Ethical – A Priori Metaphysics Versus Pragmatism

This paper examines the constant aspiration of special sciences to appropriate abstract categorical concepts in order to break and mould them, so that they become suitable for their theories and analyses of the subject they study. Such pragmatism cannot be ignored as it inevitably accompanies the encounter with any knowledge. But to what extent does it develop such knowledge?!

Constitutional Reform, Change of the System and Choices Maximizing Social Utility Function

The paper provides a critical analysis of J. Buchanan’s project of constitutional political economy. It is considered in order to make sense of the present-day political and social crisis in Bulgaria. This innovative project for liberalism proposes a more adequate version of the contractual theory through constitutional rules that determine the rational construction of the state and the common life of the people. They choose to obey these rules, guided by the idea of maximizing the social function of benefit. In the search of a path to social change in Bulgaria, we can learn from the conservative elements in the conception of Buchanan and his followers.

Women in the Islamic world – politico-eligious and socio-legal status

The article aims to outline a prototype of the woman in the Islamic world by clarifying her status, the main restrictions imposed on her, and some of the differences that exist on the issue between different Islamic schools.

Nikolai Berdyaev – from Will to Culture Towards Will to Live

Nikolai Berdyaev was a philosopher who treated the “objectivity of creative work” with disparagement. This article focuses on his attitude to culture as a “mediocre”, “intermediary” affair, and as something unworthy of particular attention respectively. Berdyaev describes the Russian people as always discontented with culture exactly because of its “mediocrity”. The author points out the duality between lived reality and culture as inalienably inherent to Russian spirituality informing great creative works, which, however, are not culture, insofar as they are aiming at the religious transformation of life.