The activities of the Estonian Naturalists’ Society in 2011

The activities of the Estonian Naturalists’ Society are describe

Poliitilised emotsioonid „tõejärgsetes“ ühiskondades

Artikkel uurib 21. sajandi populismiga seotud, aga mitte sellega piirduvat uut tüüpi poliitilist kujutlusvõimet; uut tüüpi poliitilise afektiivsuse moodustumist ja selle emotsionaalset ökonoomiat. Nähtust, mida mõnikord kutsutakse „tõejärgse“ ühiskonna kujunemiseks, võib poliitilise tähenduseloome analüüsi seisukohalt näha kui nihet viisis, kuidas avalikkuses kujunevad ja organiseeruvad poliitilised seisukohad ja meeleolud, kuidas seda protsessi õhutatakse, juhitakse, orkestreeritakse ja parteipoliitikas ära kasutatakse ning kuidas see muudab demokraatlike ühiskondade poliitilist kultuuri ja inimeste suhtumist poliitikasse. Tänapäevane digimeedia võimaldab virtuaalsete ja reaalsete kollektiivide moodustamist, millest saavad kollektiivsete emotsioonide „lubavused“ (affordances). Lisaks sellele on leitud uusi viise traditsioonilise meediaga manipuleerimiseks ja sinna „päästikute“ istutamiseks, mis samuti poliitiliste emotsioonide lubavusteks kujunevad. Selle tagajärjel kujuneb 21. sajandi demokraatlikes ühiskondades välja uut tüüpi poliitilise kujutlusvõime vorm, mis angažeerib ja seadistab poliitilise afektiivsuse moodustumist ja korraldab selle emotsionaalset ökonoomiat senisest erinevalt. Tõnu Viik claims that the political era that we sometimes call "post-truth" phase of democracy is best described as a change in the (discursive) rules of contemporary democratic practices. New ways of making politics started to involve both archaic and new forms of collective affectivity. Collective affectivity refers to communally shared, or social, emotions. Collectively shared emotions are intersubjective feelings that are validated and brought to existence by either an imaginative or real presence of other subjects. Quite often common moods are experienced as joint states of mind that unite the subjects who feel the same way within a group with its specific communal identity. The paper attempts a phenomenological description and explanation of shared emotions, as they are in play of the post-truth politics. Even if a particular populist agenda fails to solve a particular problem it addresses, it still brings about a communal feeling that currently prevailing ways of policy-making are not dealing with the problems in the way "we" desire. What "we" desire is a non-alienated, authentic way of politics that proceeds from the heart of the Volksgeist, that is carried out by uncorrupted and unstained father-figures, and would produce a uniform agreement and a warm sense of belonging to a Leviathan-like "body politic.

Narratiivsuse roll Hegeli filosoofilises süsteemis: üks täiendus "dialektilise" meetodi mittemetafüüsilise tõlgendamise juurde

Artikkel lähtub Hegeli filosoofilise süsteemi mittemetafüüsilisest tõlgendusest ja keskendub ühele aspektile Hegeli dialektilise meetodi juures, mille iseloomustamiseks oleks autori arvates kõige adekvaatsem kasutada narratiivi mõistet. Artikli tees on kokkuvõtlikult järgmine: Hegeli arvates ei ole filosoofiline tõde väljendatav ühe lause või propositsiooniga, vaid (1) see nõuab tervet väidete jada, kusjuures (2) mõistete määratlused selles väidete jadas peavad suutma teiseneda --- nii nagu kirjandusliku jutustuse käigus võivad teiseneda tegelaste iseloom ja arusaamine asjadest (eriti ilmne on see Bildungsroman'ile omase narratiivi puhul). Lisaks neile kahele omadusele on narratiivile iseloomulik talle omaste struktuurielementide (algus, keskpaik ja lõpp) abil loodud (3) terviklikkus, mis võimaldab tal anda edasi sellist mõtet, mis ei sisaldu üheski narratiivi moodustavas lauses üksikult võetuna.  Need kolm omadust võimaldavad Hegeli "dialektilisele" meetodile narratiiviteooria vahenditega uut valgust heita ja spekulatiivse tõe loomust paremini mõista. The paper discusses the nature of Hegel's dialectical method and criticizes its wide-spread interpretation according to the thesis-antithesis-synthesis formula.  It is argued that there is no evidence of triadic structures in Hegel's works.  Rather, the elements (usually defined as "moments", "formations" (Gestalten) or "determinations" (Bestimmungen)) that make up the body of Hegel's texts, are organized as "series" (Reihen) that form circles, in which, as Hegel maintains, the last element leads us back to the first.  If synthesis means creating something new by using the initial elements then it is problematic whether anything becomes synthesized in Hegel texts.  The paper argues against interpreting the every third element of the series (the moment of Becoming being the most obvious candidate in the Science of Logic) or the end-points of the series (such as the final moment of absolute knowledge in the Phenomenology of Spirit) as synthetic unities.  Instead, the paper proposes that Hegel's speculative method uses the form of narrative for creating a vessel that is able to express the "speculative truth" which is "fluid" (flüssig) and which requires a "plastic" (plastische) form of presentation.  Narrative can accomplish what a singular proposition and a deductive system cannot, because (1) it consists of a series of claims (2) that is able to express the movement of what is said in each claim, and (3) because its ending creates a point at which the story as a whole obtains a meaning that is not expressed in any particular sentence constituting the story

Julius Kaljuvee, Ivan Reinwald, and Estonian pioneering ideas on meteorite impacts and cosmic neocatastrophism in the early 20th century

The article comprehensively presents little known Estonian contribution to the recognition of first meteorite impact structures in Europe, related to works of Julius Kaljuvee (Kalkun; 1869–1940) and Ivan Reinwald (Reinwaldt; 1878–1941). As an active educator specialized in geoscience, Kaljuvee was the first to hypothesize in 1922 that Kaali lake cirque in Saaremaa Island, Estonia, was created by meteorite impact. Thanks to mining engineer Reinwald, this assumption was accepted since 1928 due to the exhaustive field and borehole works of the latter (also as a result of exploration by several German scholars, including renowned Alfred Wegener). The impact origin of Kaali structure was proved finally in 1937 by finding of meteoritic iron splinters (as the first European site). Reinwald was not only outstanding investigator of meteorite cratering process, but also successful propagator of the Estonian discoveries in Anglophone mainstream science in 1930s. In addition, in his 1933 book, Kaljuvee first highlighted an impact explanation of enigmatic Ries structure in Bavaria, as well as probable magmatic activation in distant regions due to “the impulse of a giant meteorite”. He also outlined ideas of the inevitable periodic cosmic collisions in geological past (“rare event” theory nowadays), and resulting biotic crises. In a general conceptual context, the ideas of Kaljuvee were in noteworthy direct or indirect link with concepts of the great French naturalists – Laplace, Cuvier and Élie de Beaumont. However, some other Kaljuvee’s notions, albeit recurrent also later in geoscientific literature, are queer at the present time (e.g., the large-body impact as a driving force of continental drift and change the Earth axis, resulting in the Pleistocene glaciation). Thus, the Kaljuvee thought-provocative but premature dissertation is rather a record of distinguishing erudite activity, but not a real neocatastrophic landmark in geosciences history. Nevertheless, several concepts of Kaljuvee were revived as the key elements in the current geological paradigm

Annual report of the Estonian Naturalists' Society (2010)

Annual report of the Estonian Naturalists' Society (2010

Falling in love with robots: a phenomenological study of experiencing technological alterities

Is it possible for human beings to establish romantic relationships with robots? What kind of otherness, or alterity, will be construed in the process of falling in love with a robot? Can a robotic companion mean more than being a tool for house-work, a caretaker, an aid of self-gratification, or a sex-doll? Phenomenological analysis of love experience suggests that romantic feelings necessarily include experiencing the alterity of the partner as an affective subjectivity that freely, willingly, and passionately commits to its partner. The romantic commitment is expected to stem from the sentient inner selves of the lovers, which is one of the features that robots are lacking. Thus the artificial alterity might disengage our romantic aspirations, and, as argued by many, will make them morally inferior to intraspecies love affairs. The current analysis will restrain from ethical considerations, however, and will focus on whether robots can in principle elicit human feelings of love

ŽMOGIŠKOJI ERDVĖ: KULTŪRINĖ KRAŠTOVAIZDŽIŲ IR VIETOVIŲ FENOMENOLOGIJA

Straipsnyje fenomenologiniu metodu analizuojamas kraštovaizdžio ir kitų erdvinių struktūrų suvokimas. Erdvinė struktūra suprantama kaip erdvės sritis ar teritorija, turinti specifinę prasmę, kurią patiria stebintis subjektas. Aiškinant, kaip erdvinė struktūra įgauna prasmę, kuri ją apibrėžia kaip kraštovaizdį, namus ar šalį, remiamasi Husserlio prasmės konstitucijos teorija. Teigiama, kad, be subjekto pozicijos ir objektų suvokimų sekos, konkretaus erdvinio darinio prasmę lemiantis elementas yra tai, ką Husserlis vadino „suvokimo prasme“ (Auffassungssinn). Ji apibrėžia konkrečiam erdviškumui būdingą žiūrą. Kai tokia „suvokimo prasmė“ tampa intersubjektyviai galiojanti ir institucionalizuota, ji įgyja statusą kultūrinės formos, kuri funkcionuoja kaip visoms visuomenėms prasmę perteikiantis pasaulio interpretavimo automatas. Galiausiai tvirtinama, kad žmogiškųjų aplinkinių pasaulių (Umwelten) erdviškumas leidžia kurti ir palaikyti prasmes, kurios antraip išnyktų laiko tėkmėje.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: kraštovaizdžio suvokimas, erdvinės struktūros, fenomenologinis metodas, suvokimo prasmė, kultūrinė forma.Human Spatiality: A Cultural Phenomenology of Landscapes and PlacesTõnu Viik SummaryThe paper applies phenomenological method to the analysis of perception of landscapes and other spatialformations. A spatial formation is seen as a region of space, or a territory, with its specific meaning that is experienced by the subject who views it. Husserl’s theory of meaning-formation is used to clarify how spatial formations obtain meanings that define them as landscape, home, or country. It is suggestedthat besides the subject’s position and the series of perceptions of objects, the decisive element that determines the meaning of the specific spatial formation is what Husserl calls a “grasping sense” (Auffassungssinn).It defines the gaze specific to a particular spatiality. When the “grasping sense” becomes intersubjectively valid and institutionalized, it obtains the status of a cultural form which functions as a meaning-bestowing automaton for interpreting the world for entire societies. Finally it is argued that the spatiality specific to human Umwelten serves the purpose of creating and maintaining meanings that would otherwise disappear in the flux of time.Keywords: perception of landscapes, spatial formations, phenomenological method, grasping sense, cultural form

Understanding Meaning-Formation Processes in Everyday Life: An Approach to Cultural Phenomenology

The paper addresses a phenomenological explanation of the processes of meaning-formation that take place in everyday life. Whereas various social sciences have taken a structuralist standpoint and refer to cultural structures that inform and shape the way things are experienced, classical philosophical epistemology, in contrast, has put an emphasis on the individual mind as the active center of meaning-formation. The author argues for a cultural phenomenology that is capable of giving a philosophically satisfying epistemological account of individual experiences that are culturally structured. As a result, meaning-formation processes are viewed as reciprocal enactment of mind and world, creating the qualitative dimension of meaning of human being-in-the-world

Žmogaus teisės ir kultūrinis reliatyvizmas

Kuo pagrįstas teiginys apie žmogaus teisių visuotinumą? Šiame straipsnyje autorius pirmiausia aptaria tris teorijas, pagal kurias žmogaus teisės laikomos visuotinai galiojančiomis todėl, kad jos paremtos (1) žmonių minimaliais poreikiais, (2) jų pagrindiniu kūno tipu arba (3) jų pagrindiniu asmenybės tipu. Su šiomis teorijomis autorius didele dalimi sutinka, kaip ir su teiginiu, kad visuotinės žmogaus teisės realiai egzistuoja. Pavyzdžiui, visi žmonės turi teisę, kad su jais nebūtų žiauriai elgiamasi. Vis dėlto šis universalistinis teiginys nereiškia, kad aš tai žinau su kažkokiu ne iš šio pasaulio kilusiu (ne žmogaus lygio) tikrumu. Pastarasis teiginys jau būtų absoliutistinis, bet jis netapatintinas su priimtinu universalistiniu teiginiu, jog visi žmonės turi teisių. Taip argumentuodamas autorius reaguoja į kai kurias filosofo Richardo Rorty tezes. Žmogaus teisių visuotinio galiojimo neigimas kyla ne iš R. Rorty samprotavimų, bet iš kultūrinio reliatyvizmo doktrinos, kurios viena forma yra ekstremistinė kultūrinio reliatyvumo interpretacija. O kultūrinis reliatyvumas yra sunkiai ginčijamas antropologinis faktas, kurį patvirtinta daugybė empirinių stebėjimų. Tačiau iš to anaiptol neišplaukia kultūrinio reliatyvizmo doktrina, nei kraštutinė, nei mažiau radikali jos versija. Kultūrinis reliatyvizmas iš tiesų yra mitas. Visiems šiems teiginiams įrodyti autorius ir skiria antrąją savo straipsnio dalį

The activities of the Estonian Naturalists Society in 2012

The activities of the Estonian Naturalists Society in 201