In Search of the ‘Spirit of Capitalism’: About Normative Mechanisms Responsible for the Organisation of Social Behaviours

The starting point for my reflections was a thesis presented by Max Weber more than one hundred years ago. According to this thesis, a Protestant ethos was an important factor responsible for the spectacular economic growth of Northern Europe. In his own reflections, the German scholar paid attention mainly to both Protestant asceticism, which concentrated the energy of believers on the work they did, as well as on theology, especially Calvinism, which provided explanations for hard work and the accumulation of capital. It seems, however, that in his reconstruction of the Protestant ethos, Weber described universal mechanisms which are responsible for social mobilization in general. The problem is that instead of trying to analyze them, he ultimately concentrated on their cultural manifestations. The main aim of my paper is an identification of these mechanisms. They discipline individuals, or more correctly, they discipline the patterns of playing these social roles, which are functionally significant for initiating and sustaining the mobilization process. In other words, when there is a need in a society to achieve specific goals, including economic ones, it should develop social norms which will be able to bolster the engagement of its members and focus their energy on specific aspects of their life. Moreover, there is a need to prepare non‑normative mechanisms, which increase the probability that members of the society will adhere to these social norms. The reflections in this regard seem to be important mainly for developing states. On the one hand, they should prepare mechanisms which allow them to develop their economies. On the other hand, the members of these states must face many costs associated with their implementation and this problem should also be a part of the discussion.The “Annales. Ethics in Economic Life” is affiliated and co-financed by the Faculty of Economics and Sociology of the University of Lodz

W poszukiwaniu skarbów świata arabskiego

Recenzja książki, Marek M. Dziekan „Złote Stolice Arabów” Wydawnictwo „Czytelnik”, Warszawa 201

Call for papers nr 7/2015 O przygodności religii w świecie postsekularnym.

CfP dla numeru 7/201

Atrofija profesionalne uloge među nastavnicima iz grada srednje veličine u Poljskoj. Analiza fenomena i njegove odrednice.

The subject matter of this paper is the phenomenon of atrophy of the professional role among teachers. The term ‘atrophy’ must be understood as the gradual disappearance of duties binding upon the individual that regulate his/her professional role. In the case of schools, this phenomenon results in the noticeable decrease in teachers’ professional commitment, which makes it difficult or even impossible for these institutions to fulfil their educational and other goals. Sources of the atrophy of the professional role should be sought not only in the individual, his/her mindsets or attitude to work, but also in the environment in which he/she functions. The weakening of intermediary structures seems to play an important role in this process. These are cognitive scripts that potentially increase the likelihood that the individual will be inclined to comply with the duties of which his/her professional role consists. These structures are formed as a result of factors such as the impact of the mechanisms of social control on the individual. For the purpose of verifying this assumption, a survey was conducted among teachers (N=131) from three primary schools from Middletown in Poland. The analysis of data acquired from this survey shows that the atrophy of the professional role may be influenced by the weakening of these structures that are responsible for the formation of the sense of the purpose of work being performed and the creation of the normative distance. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Standardowy; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Tema je ovoga rada atrofija profesionalne uloge među nastavnicima. Termin „atrofija“ mora se shvatiti kao postupno nestajanje dužnosti koje su za pojedinca obvezujuće i koje reguliraju njegovu ili njezinu profesionalnu ulogu. Kada se radi o školama, taj fenomen ima za rezultat primjetno smanjenje profesionalnih obveza nastavnika, što predstavlja prepreku obrazovnim institucijama u postizanju obrazovnih i drugih ciljeva. Izvori atrofije profesionalne uloge ne bi se trebali tražiti samo u nastavnicima, njihovu načinu razmišljanja ili njihovim stavovima prema poslu, nego i u okruženju u kojemu rade. Čini se da slabljenje intermedijarnih struktura ima važnu ulogu u tom procesu. Intermedijarne strukture kognitivni su scenariji koji mogu povećati vjerojatnost da će pojedinac biti sklon izvršavanju obveza od kojih se sastoji njegova profesionalna uloga. Ti scenariji nastaju kao rezultat čimbenika kao što je utjecaj mehanizama društvene kontrole na pojedinca. Kako bi se ta pretpostavka potvrdila, provedeno je istraživanje među nastavnicima (T=131) triju osnovnih škola iz grada srednje veličine u Poljskoj. Analiza podataka dobivenih ovim istraživanjem pokazuje da na atrofiju profesionalne uloge može utjecati slabljenje struktura koje su odgovorne za razvoj osjećaja svrhe u poslu koji pojedinac obavlja i nastanak normativne distance

PONOWOCZESNA „UCIACZKA OD WOLNOŚCI”? ANALIZA FUNDAMENTALIZMU RELIGIJNEGO JAKO WSPÓŁCZESNEJ UTOPII.

W poniższym artykule podjęto próbę analizy fundamentalizmu religijnego jako zjawiska typowego dla ponowoczesności. Głównym celem rozważań jest znalezienie odpowiedzi na dwa pytania: 1) jakie są powody tego, że ludzie we współczesnym świecie sięgają po wyjaśnienia wytwarzane przez ruchy fundamentalistyczne?, 2) dokąd wiedzie droga, którą wybrali – czy jest to „ucieczka od wolności”? Oba pytania stają się istotne z punktu widzenia ustroju demokratycznego, dla którego właściwy jest dialog. W przypadku fundamentalizmu, nie tylko zresztą religijnego, mamy natomiast do czynienia z murem milczenia. Z punktu widzenia takiej interpretacji tradycji wszelkiego rodzaju rozmowa i szukanie kompromisu stają się bezowocne. W opinii fundamentalistów nie można poddawać pod dyskusję tego, co jest prawdziwe, uniwersalne i absolutne. Ustrój demokratyczny opiera się na umowie społecznej, ma charakter ludzki i historyczny. Wizja proponowana przez fundamentalistów odwołuje się do porządku transcendentalnego, boskiego i ponadhistorycznego. Próba dialogu z tradycją, podejmowana przez zwolenników humanizmu i demokracji, wydaje się z ich perspektywy bluźnierstwem i grzechem. Pychą jest bowiem porównywanie słowa bożego, zawartego w świętych pismach, ze słowem ludzkim, wpisanym w różnego rodzaju akty legislacyjne

Kościół katolicki a quasi-monopolistyczna struktura rynku religijnego. Zastosowanie podejścia ekonomicznego do rozważań nad efektywnością instytucji religijnych

In this paper, the author focused on the analysis of religious phenomena by the usage of economic approach. This approach was established by American researchers, especially economists and sociologists, who were inspired by the rational choice theory. The author’s reflections concentrated on the situation of European catholic societies, especially Poland. The market structure specific for them isn’t fully open and pluralistic. The Catholic Church has a dominant and quasi-monopolistic position. This quasi-monopolistic structure is ineffective. In consequence, we can observe there the decline in church commitment and church attendance

Religijne odniesienia w propagandzie wojennej. Analiza zjawiska

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Archaeological research as a benefit for the local community : southern Jordan in the preliminary socioarchaeological study

Starting an archaeological research is not only the beginning of gathering new scientific data for academic analysis. The role of a scientist is not only to build the ‘tower of knowledge,’ but also to make it beneficial to people. Therefore, archaeological projects should also vastly contribute to the promotion of the heritage of the region and its modern value and to the development of tourism, education and local community activities. Understanding the local community and its view on the historical heritage, as well as on archaeological research seems to be a very important aspect of this type of activity. It will not only allow to identify potential risks and create a plan of regular research, excavations, as well as future maintenance. As a benefit of the sociological study, the future revitalization of the area will occur. This outcome may be an important extension of theoretical and practical principles of global heritage protection and may become a standard solution based on the belief that cultural heritage can be a factor of local community development and prosperity

The Crisis of Religious Institutions and Its Impact on Religiosity. The Case of Poland

Warto, by wśród pytań towarzyszących dzisiejszym dyskusjom podejmowanym na gruncie socjologii religii znalazły się te wprost nawiązujące do obserwowanego współcześnie kryzysu instytucji religijnych i jego wpływie na religijność. Z punktu widzenia teorii sekularyzacji ów kryzys pozostaje jednym z symptomów postępującego zeświecczenia i wynika z przeobrażeń strukturalnych zachodzących w społeczeństwie. Z kolei teorie ekonomiczne zakładają, że spowodowany jest niedopasowaniem „oferty” instytucji religijnych do potrzeb wiernych. W niniejszym artykule przyjąłem stanowisko pośrednie. Uznałem, że przeobrażenia strukturalne obniżają zdolność instytucji religijnych do organizacji życia religijnego, zwiększając tym samym niezadowolenie wiernych z ich funkcjonowania. To z kolei nie pozostaje bez wpływu na ich religijność. Główną konsekwencją tego kryzysu staje się bowiem spadek ich uczestnictwa w praktykach religijnych. By zweryfikować te przypuszczenia, oparłem się na danych dotyczących katolików z Polski, pochodzących z dwóch sondaży zrealizowanych w latach 1999 i 2008 w ramach Europejskiego Badania Wartości. Wyniki analizy statystycznej wydają się potwierdzać przyjęte założenia.It would be valuable on the basis of sociology religion to concentrate on the crisis of religious institutions and its impact on religiosity in the contemporary sociological discussions. According to theories of secularization, the crisis is a symptom of a broader process of secularization and it is related to the structural changes. In turn, the economic theories assume the crisis as a consequence of some non-effectiveness of religious institutions to the needs of the believers. Both approaches seem to provide interesting solutions to the problem. Here, I took a midway position I found that the structural changes decrease the ability of religious institutions to organize religious life of its members and, in result, the members are less and less satisfied with them. In addition, this process has its own impact on their religiosity. The main consequence of the crisis is the decline in church attendance. In order to verify the assumptions I used the data on Polish Catholics from two surveys carried out in 1999 and 2008 as the part of the European Values Servey. The outcomes of the statistical analysis seem to confirm the above assumptions