Transcendental Ground of Intrinsic Worth in Russian Literature

The essay is a phenomenological study of Russian literature as a point of critique of two lifeworlds: the traditional Russian Feudalism with its “decadent” aristocracy, and the modern Western Enlightenment with its values, specifically the “subjective” construction of val-uations of all environment and human activities. Russian writers, from Turgenev all the way to Gogol found themselves between those two worlds and sought an answer which of them answers the existential question of human self-worth as an “eidetic” criterion of all values and life worlds, given in direct awareness. Self-worth does not belong to the world of categories, but is apparent in active commitments, such as being truthful, honorable, other and self respect‒dimensions absent among modern values.The essay is a phenomenological study of Russian literature as a point of critique of two lifeworlds: the traditional Russian Feudalism with its “decadent” aristocracy, and the modern Western Enlightenment with its values, specifically the “subjective” construction of val-uations of all environment and human activities. Russian writers, from Turgenev all the way to Gogol found themselves between those two worlds and sought an answer which of them answers the existential question of human self-worth as an “eidetic” criterion of all values and life worlds, given in direct awareness. Self-worth does not belong to the world of categories, but is apparent in active commitments, such as being truthful, honorable, other and self respect‒dimensions absent among modern values.El ensayo es un estudio fenomenológico de la literatura rusa como un punto de crítica de dos mundos: el Feudalismo ruso tradicional con su aristocracia "decadente" y la Ilustración occidental moderna con sus valores —concretamente, la construcción "subjetiva" de evaluaciones de todo tipo de ambiente y actividades humanas. Los escritores rusos, desde Turgenev hasta Gogol, se encontraron entre esos dos mundos y buscaron una respuesta que respondiera a la cuestión existencial de la auto-estima humana como un criterio "eidético" de todos los valores y mundos de la vida, dado en conciencia directa. La autoestima no pertenece al mundo de las categorías, sino que se manifiesta en los compromisos activos, tales como ser veraz, ser honorable, respeto propio y ajeno —dimensiones ausentes entre los valores modernos

Modern West: two life worlds

The fall of the Soviet Union and the political, cultural and economic shift of Lithuania toward western European world requires complex analyses of the philosophical context in which such a shift could take place. The context is modern western civilization, consisting of two life worlds, established under the names of Political and Scientific Enlightenments. One major task of the text consists of a disclosure of the founding principles of these two life worlds to note both, their common ground and their seemingly irreconcilable divergence. In the text it is argued that the Soviet grand experiment is founded on a specific interpretation of Scientific Enlightenment that led to the invention of a theory called “Dialectical Materialism” and its consequent reduction of all events to “material explanation”. The text also contains strict analyses of the Marxian, Soviet paradigm, called “Dialectical Materialism” and shows the impossibility to maintain such a paradigm without contradictions. If the contradictions are to be avoided, then this paradigm must allow Political Enlightenment as the ground without which the Soviet experiment is doomed to failure. Finally the text shows that Lithuanian proclamation of independence from Soviet Union opens the principles of Political Enlightenment and “joins” Western Europe as a site where autonomous and equal citizens become the basis of any government. Indeed, the text points to an issue which is unresolved: the materialism of the “free market” that demands “freedom” but abolishes equality and thus creates a fundamental tension in current Lithuania between the fundamental and inseparable aspects: freedom and equality

Social value and individual worth

The text centers on the issue of individual identity, its relationship to other individuals, its social value and ultimately the „self worth“ as a criterion for evaluating all values and diverse societies. Nonetheless the problem of individual self identity is multi-layered and requires an investigation of diverse factors, such as the nature of cultural determinants, the specific social structure which might supress any kind of individual presence, or a social structure that promotes individual identity. Social structures and cultural factors lead to the question of civilizational contexts wherein such structures and factors find their limits. To reach such limits, the text offers methodological procedures that allow a disclosure of the „essential“ aspects of societies and cultures, their inherence in civilizational logics, and the way that the latter provide qualitative differences for interpreting the meaning of identity. At the methodological level, the text offers arguments for the primacy of qualitative understanding over the modern Western quantitative procedures and their limitations. Finally, the question is addressed and articulated as to the civilizational conditions that permit individual identity to unfold, and the way such unfolding might take diverse routes either in one‘s own native land or in diaspora. The latter is quite significant for the Baltic nations, and specifically for Lithuania which is losing significant numbers of citizens to immigration

Lithuania and globalization

The text is designed to explicate the logic of globalization at various levels, in distinction from other forms of presumed building of global systems. The argument is presented to show that the latter is a building of autocratic empire on the basis of some national or theocratic basis. This type of global reach is not designed to involve the populations, whether they are local-national or subjected to the edicts of such autocratic/theocratic domination. Modern Western globalization is based on a unique ontology – nature is a composite of material parts – and on mathematical metaphysics – all material events can be constructed in accordance with calculations and thus transformed to serve human needs everywhere. In this sense, this globalization is regarded as a progress for human benefit. In contemporary epoch, there is a confrontation between the autocratic/theocratic structures and the modern Western globalization. Lithuania being in the “middle” between them, is in a position to offer an alternative culture which is both ecologically sound and ethically responsible. Thus the preservation of Lithuanian culture is significant for the preservation of all life

ACCESSING SOCIAL THEORY THROUGH CIVILIZATION

The scientific modern Western pronouncement that everything has to be treated with objective impartiality requires the positing of our own culture as one among others, having no value claim to be privileged in its various pronouncements. The claim to scientific objectivity is an aspect of Western modern culture and belongs only to its interpretive context. Hence, the very claim to Western scientific superiority as having methods to access all phenomena objectively is a culture bound position that cannot be universal. After all, “objectively speaking” other cultures, as equal, have very different understandings that do not include such tandems as “objectivity” or for that matter “subjectivity.” Culturally objectively speaking, we cannot deny them their different reading of cultural, and indeed all other, phenomena. To say that the others are wrong would be tantamount to saying that we have a criterion of the “right culture” which belongs only to our culture. But in this sense, one abolishes the treatment of other cultures as given objectively and equivalently. We then would posit our scientific culture as universal and require that all others interpret themselves in terms of our own requirements. If social theory is part of modern western culture, then it is limited by that culture and cannot claim universality.Keywords: civilizational awareness, common daily world, life world, transitional awareness.Socialinė teorija civilizacijos požiūriuAlgis MickūnasSantraukaModerni mokslinė Vakarų nuostata, kad viskas turi būti traktuojama objektyviai ir nešališkai, reikalauja mūsų pačių kultūrą priimti kaip vieną iš daugelio, nesuteikiant privilegijuoto statuso jokioms jos formoms. Mokslinio objektyvumo reikalavimas yra šiuolaikinės Vakarų kultūros bruožas ir priklauso tik jos interpretaciniam kontekstui. Taigi, pati Vakarų mokslo pretenzija į metodų, leidžiančių pažinti visus reiškinius objektyviai, monopolį yra kultūriškai sąlygota ir negali būti universali. Kitoms kultūroms, kaip lygioms, būdingos visai kitokios nuostatos, kuriose nerasime Vakarams įprasto „objektyvumo“ ir „subjektyvumo“ tandemo. Kultūriškai objektyviai kalbant, mes negalime paneigti kitokio jų kultūrinių ir kitokių fenomenų supratimo. Sakyti, kad kiti klysta, yra tas pat, kas teigti, jog turime teisingos kultūros kriterijų, kuris priklauso tik mūsų kultūrai. Taip būtų neigiamas kitų kultūrų traktavimas kaip objektyviai duotų ir lygiaverčių. Taip mes laikytume savo mokslinę kultūrą universalia ir reikalautume visas kultūras interpretuoti pagal mūsų kultūros standartus. Jei socialinė teorija yra modernios Vakarų kultūros dalis, ji turi išlikti toje kultūroje ir negali pretenduoti į universalumą.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: civilizacinis supratimas, kasdienis pasaulis, gyvenamasis pasaulis, pereinamasis supratimas

Civilizations cultures lifeworlds

The purpose of this work consists of the following areas: first, to explicate the methods and main theories in the study of comparative civilizations; second, articulate the field of problems in comparative studies, with a special emphasis on the basic assumptions inherent in civilizations; third, to develop the problems of interpretation, indicating the ways that textual traditions disappear completely , or appear in the folds of other historical texts; fourth, to disclose the way the „logic of significance“ transgresses the limits of Western interpretation of space and time, and comprise the possibility for inter-cultural studies. The authors grounded the text in three disciplines: philosophy, sociology, and communication

Society, environment and world: themes of Niklas Luhmann

The book is an interdisciplinary investigation of the themes of the most influential sociologist in Europe today, Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998). The dominant themes are, as the title suggests, society, environment and the world, which were developed in his works, 70 books, and over 400 articles. The topics addressed are law, economy, politics, art, ecology and mass media. It is the intention of the authors to introduce Luhmann to new audiences without utilizing the highly abstract language of Luhmann writings, which were influenced by Talcott Parsons, Max Weber, Fritz von Forester and Edmund Husserl

Individo tapatumas: tarp tradicijos ir inovacijų

Monografijoje, parengtoje vykdant Nacionalinės mokslo programos „Valstybė ir tauta: paveldas ir tapatumas“ mokslinių tyrimų projektą „Socialinis ir kultūrinis individo tapatumas: tarp tradicijos ir inovacijos“, kalbama apie individo kultūrinį tapatumą, socialinio ir tautinio tapatumo prielaidas ir destrukcijas, žmogaus tapatumo ontologiją bei individo tapatumo interpretacijas postmoderniajame mąstyme. Kolektyvinė monografija bus naudinga tiek moksliniams darbuotojams, tiek dėstytojams, studentams ir politikams, visiems, besidomintiems socialinio, kultūrinio ir tautinio tapatumo problemomis; kiekvienam, kuris yra neabejingas savo protėvių žemei, Tėvynei, kurioje gyvename, pasiruošusiam dirbti piliečių dvasinės brandos ir tautinio tapatumo stiprinimo labui