Latest Monographs

Stewart, J.
Cambridge, 2023

Nihilism – the belief that life is meaningless – is frequently associated with twentieth-century movements such as existentialism, postmodernism and Dadaism, and thought to result from the shocking experiences of the two World Wars and the Holocaust. In his rich and expansive new book, Jon Stewart shows that nihilism's beginnings in fact go back much further to the first half of the nineteenth century. He argues that the true origin of modern nihilism was the rapid development of Enlightenment science, which established a secular worldview. This radically diminished the importance of human beings so that, in the vastness of space and time, individuals now seemed completely insignificant within the universe. The author's panoramic exploration of how nihilism developed – not only in philosophy, but also in religion, poetry and literature – shows what an urgent topic it was for thinkers of all kinds, and how it has continued powerfully to shape intellectual debates ever since. The publication is an output of the project APVV-20-0137 Philosophical anthropology in the context of contemporary crises of symbolic structures.

Šajda, P.
Title in English: Man in Structures of Society and Culture. Inspirations by František Novosád's Thinking
Bratislava, 2023

The collective volume deals with topical issues from the areas of philosophical anthropology, social philosophy, and philosophy of culture. The authors do not approach these areas as disjunct sets, rather they acknowledge that the areas often intersect, and their mutual dialogue contributes to productive philosophical problem-solving. An important presupposition for a complex response to the fundamental anthropological question What is man? is a consideration of man’s social and cultural rootedness. Social and cultural structures, in which man finds himself and forms his identity, thus represent a crucial object of scrutiny. The problem of man and humanity emerges in different forms with the authors approaching it both in a descriptive and a normative way. The description of the dynamics of man’s self-formation makes it possible to ask the question, which of them lead to a strengthening of the coordination between individuals and groups, to the actualization of their potential and to an implementation of the principle of humanity as equality and respect. The reflection on man’s place in the world and on relevant forms of humanity requires, however, also the analysis of...

Smolková, E.
Title in English: Quality of Life from a Philosophical Perspective
Bratislava, 2023

The issue of quality of life is a complex interdisciplinary problem, but its philosophical level is crucial for its solution. The aim of this publication is to identify the diversity of philosophical approaches, starting points and attitudes from which the proposed methods of influencing the quality of life factors are derived and to clarify how the issue is currently approached, what themes resonate within it and how they are addressed. The book offers a historical outline of the issue, presents traditional approaches, highlights the importance of the classical notion of human well-being "eudaimonia", analyses the historical-philosophical notion of the good life and compares it with the current concept of a full life. It reflects the contemporary philosophical views of those authors who deal with the issue of the quality of life, analyses what, and to what extent, has contributed most significantly to the improvement of people's lives against the background of the concepts of justice, equality and human dignity. In the context of the issue, the author deals primarily with the question of human rights, specifically social rights, as basic prerequisites for the progressive...

Horyna, B.
Leiden - Boston, 2023

This book is a philosophical-historical examination of the influence of the knowledge of China imparted by the Jesuits on the thinking of the German Enlightenment in the 18th century. It is not primarily concerned with a comprehensive reconstruction of the philosophy of the thinkers discussed, but rather with the political and intellectual contextualisation of a line of thought that recognised the practical philosophy and state organisation of China as different from that of Europe, while equal to it and in some respects superior to it. This challenged the claim of theology that Christian revelation alone provided access to truth. The volume analyses the opposition to this line of thought, especially on the part of Protestant orthodoxy. It argues that in the German Enlightenment of the 18th century, the possibility emerged to conceive philosophy on the basis of reason as a phenomenon not limited to Europe but as a path followed under different conditions in China.

Sedová, T.
Title in English: Human Rghts: Between Theory and Practice
Bratislava, 2023

The monograph thematizes the issue of human rights with regard to the possibilities and limits of philosophical analysis. Against the background of the explanation of the differences between the philosophical-moral, political and legal approach, the question of the justification of the idea of human rights, its universality, and various approaches (from anthropological, internalist, externalist justification) is emphasized, while the question of the relativity of human rights is also thematized. Criticism of the idea of human rights and its current forms is also examined (Alain de Benoist, Roger Scruton). In particular, the idea of human dignity as the basis of human rights from a historical and systematic perspective is critically analyzed and its limitations are pointed out, while Kant's idea of the practical freedom of autonomy is critically reflected. Against the background of relevant domestic and foreign literature, the relationship between individual and collective rights is also assessed and the inadequacy of the liberal and neoliberal preference of the individual's political and civil rights over social rights is analyzed. In this context, the experience of limiting...

Sťahel, R., Dědečková, E.
Leiden, 2023

It is extremely difficult to seek new paths in the twilight of our former idols, ideals and visions of a happy and successful life. The authors of the book invite the reader to embark on this journey in a free-spirited manner and to look at the challenges posed by the new climate regime from different perspectives. Whether one accepts the concept of the Anthropocene as a starting point, or rather as an opportunity for constructive criticism, readers will be fully engaged by thinking through historical-philosophical, scientific, political, social, as well as educational problems.

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