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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ISSUE:

The date of the publication:
2017-10-16
The number of pages:
81
The issue:
6:4
Commentaries:
0
The Authors
Guilherme Kubiszeski, Alan Futerman, Walter Block, Chrisian Light, Bernardo Kastrup, Jesenko Tešan, Joan Davison, Nicolas Levi, Max Demtchenko, Hans Van Eyghen, Andrew Schumann,

6:4:

Existence and Predication in Free Logics

This paper presents a fundamental difference between negative semantics for
free logics and positive ones regarding the logical relations between existence
and predication. We conclude that this difference is the key to understand why
negative free logics are stronger, i.e., they prove more, than positive free
logics.

A Praxeological Approach to Intentional Action

The concept of Intentional Action is at the core of Praxeology, as developed by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises. Under this unique approach,
defined as the science of human action and designed to study the field of the deductive system starting from the desired one. From this axiom, the al features and implications of human action; such as value, scale of value, scarcity, abundance, profit, loss, uncertainty and causality, among others. This paper intends to present the praxeological perspective on intentional action and its epistemological implications; it also attempts to answer objections to this thesis.

Christianity, the Free Market, and Libertarianism

In recent centuries Christians of various denominations have endorsed many
different political philosophies that they see as being truly biblical in their
approach. Over this time there has been an increasing hostility, by some
Christians, towards free markets and political philosophies that hold human
liberty as the highest goal such as libertarianism and classical liberalism. This
criticism is unwarranted and misplaced as libertarianism and free markets are
not only compatible with Christianity, they are also the most biblically sound
of all economics systems and political philosophies endorsed by Christians
today. Therefore, this paper will argue that Christians of all denominations
should endorse free markets and libertarianism if they wish to create a world
that follows biblical principles and the teachings of Jesus.

The Quest to Solve Problems That Don’t Exist:
Thought Artifacts in Contemporary Ontology

The Author: Bernardo Kastrup,
Questions about the nature of reality and consciousness remain unresolved in
philosophy today, but not for lack of hypotheses. Ontologies as varied as
physicalism, microexperientialism and cosmopsychism enrich the
philosophical menu. Each of these ontologies faces a seemingly fundamental
problem: under physicalism, for instance, we have the ‘hard problem of
consciousness,’ whereas under microexperientialism we have the ‘subject
combination problem.’ I argue that these problems are thought artifacts, having
no grounding in empirical reality. In a manner akin to semantic paradoxes, they
exist only in the internal logico-conceptual structure of their respective
ontologies.

Kennan and the Neglected Variable in Post–Socialist Societies: The Loss of Honest Dialogue and the Need for Empathy

This paper analyzes the symbolism of George Kennan’s famous “X” article
relative to the challenges of contemporary post-socialist and post-conflict transitions. It unpacks recent developments in the field of contemporary political discourse, discussing the critical application of practices such as thinking with your heart, parrhesis, and pathos, as well as Kennan’s suggestion of the significance of uncertainty and reflection for global relations. The central question is: What would Kennan write in an X Article to the societies and states in transition? While various definitions of the term “parrhesis” exist, this paper employs both the definition suggested by Michel Foucault who understood it as “fearless speech” and Eric Voegelin who closely follows Plato’s meaning linking it with “heart”, i.e. vision of the spiritual, an existential (dis)order of representatives of a society.

Adaptation in South Korean Society of North Korean Elite Defectors

The Author: Nicolas Levi,
This paper aims to explain the adaptation of North Korean elite defectors
who fled from North Korea. Data used for the purpose of this article came
from surveys of North Korean defectors conducted in the late 2000’s.
Findings of the realized research indicate that the majority of senior
defectors are experiencing less psychological and material issues when
adjusting to society than regular North Korean defectors. The paper will
proceed in three steps: explaining the notion of defectors, outlining their
background, and focusing on their adaptation in South. Although defectors
as a whole has emerged as of the most research group as a minority in South
Korea, the so-called senior defectors have hardly been spotlighted. Basically
North Korean senior defectors are supposed to strengthen the anti-Kim
movement and legitimize the power of the South Korean government and
the image of South Korea abroad. What has to be enlightened upon is the
fact that North Korean senior defectors partially disagree with the
integration policy of South Korean authorities. A major research question
emerges: How are the experience of elite defectors localized in South
Korea? How do their specific identities impact their opinion within the
South Korean society? The aim of the article is also to categorize senior
defectors and to provide in a single document a list of senior North Korea
defectors based abroad. This kind of information is only available for
Korean speaking readers. I wanted to make it accessible to the Englishspeaking
community.

Hindu Spirituality: How to Grasp the Divine?

The interview of Andrew Schumann, the managing editor of Studia Humana, with Max Demtchenko

Max Demtchenko is an Associate Professor at the
Moscow State Linguistic University. He has authored:
Aspects of Hindu-Christian Dialogue in the Mid-
Twentieth Century (according to Jules Monchanin’s
and Henri Le Saux’ Experience), PhD thesis (Moscow,
2011) and The Path of Saccidānanda (Moscow, Ganga,
2008). He has also published the first Russian
translation of Swāmī Abhishiktānanda’s Guru and
Disciple (Moscow, Ganga, 2013). His current academic
interest is in the field of North Indian rural bhakti
movements with a special focus on Nānak-panths as
well as on Rāma-rasika traditions’ poetry and practices.

Book Review “Religion Explained? The Cognitive
Science of Religion after Twenty-Five Years”

The Author: Hans Van Eyghen,
I review the book “Religion Explained? The Cognitive Science of Religion after Twenty-Five Years.” I discuss all the papers in the book and highlight some recurrent issues.