Filosofija. Sociologija

Title

2025-08-07T10:51:37+03:00

2025-08-07T10:56:45+03:00

Danger in the Eye of the Beholder

2025-08-07T13:25:50+03:00

This article is an overview of the current issue of Filosofija. Sociologija. The article is subdivided into three chapters – Legality and Morality, Intelligence and Sensibility, Communication and Technology – and Chronicle. All papers in this issue engage in reflection of various practical (political, moral, legal, etc.) concerns. They are grouped into chapters based on their thematic similarity, but the similarities reflected in the chapter-division are not the only connection between the concerns addressed in them. The overview offers another way of surveying, or linking, the articles. They present intelligence as dynamic and in a mutual relation with the practical field. It could serve as a reminder that the division of philosophy into theoretical and practical is classificatory rather than ontological. This could, in turn, serve as a guide against the imposition of abstract alien structures to the system of life as well as toward thinking that is not impoverished by its alienation from the living.

Leadership in Stoic Philosophy: Virtues and Communication

2025-08-07T12:51:10+03:00

In the context of Stoic philosophical ethics, this article examines the theory of leadership traits and behaviour, leadership virtues, communication, and life practices. The Stoic philosophical tradition, which originated in ancient antiquity, is gaining popularity and relevance in today’s world of technological change, competition and insecurity. An analysis of the scientific literature reveals that leadership is widely addressed within various disciplines, reflecting its growing role in economics, business, politics, education, the media, and other areas of society. The article demonstrates that although the Stoics did not use the terms ‘leadership’ or ‘communication,’ their philosophy can be related to the theory of personal leadership by providing a broad and comprehensive presentation of the individual’s moral system, practices of self-restraint and self-development in life, behavioural patterns and communication principles. The analysis reveals that the theories of self-regulation, self-direction, intrinsic motivation and other qualities of a leader, as defined by contemporary leadership researchers, have their origins in Stoic philosophy.

Ethical Attitude of the Individual Towards Climate Change: Reflections on Certain Philosophical Aspects

2025-08-07T13:55:23+03:00

As the planet’s climate continues to warm, the issue of climate change becomes increasingly urgent, prompting experts from various fields to approach it from diverse perspectives. Climatologists investigate long-term climatic changes and their causes, economists evaluate the potential impacts on economies, while sociologists explore how societal values, culture, and individual beliefs shape attitudes toward climate change and its environmental implications. Philosophers, in turn, address epistemological, ontological and ethical questions related to this global challenge. Notably, it was Western scientists who first sounded the alarm about the dangers of climate change. This article proposes two main theses: (1) an ethical reorientation of the individual is essential for addressing climate change effectively; and (2) dialogical communication and ecological intimacy offer transformative frameworks for fostering a deeper ethical commitment to environmental sustainability. To test these theses, the study employs a hermeneutic methodology that analyses the philosophical insights of Algis Mickūnas, a Lithuanian émigré philosopher, and Thomas Kasulis, an American philosopher of Lithuanian descent. Their reflections are situated within the context of exile, which provides unique perspectives on ethical orientation toward the environment. The results reveal that Mickūnas’s concept of dialogical communication and Kasulis’s notion of ecological intimacy illuminate meaningful dimensions of an individual’s ethical orientation toward their lived environment. These philosophical insights suggest a path forward for fostering a deeper ethical engagement with the challenges posed by climate change.

Modern Understanding of the Concept of ‘State Ideology’: Philosophical and Legal Reflection

2025-08-07T12:47:53+03:00

The article substantiates the concept of ‘state ideology’ from the philosophical and legal methodological standpoint, which is interpreted as a spiritual and value phenomenon. The authors formulate the hypothesis that state ideology is not exclusively a political phenomenon, but rather a result of the spiritual development of the Ukrainian people. In a general sense, the state ideology should embody the national idea and national interests of Ukrainians at the current stage of national state-building. State ideology is a worldview, value, political and legal strategy for building a country that does not ‘belong’ to any political party, but at the same time, every subject in state and nation-building can contribute to its enrichment. It aims to combine the process of active state and national development in a single systemic model, where the state plays a leading role, while civil society institutions are active co-creators of the national project. Our study uses a complex of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction), and philosophical and legal (philosophical and legal reflection, axiological method, etc.) methods.

The Role of CSR in the Energy Sector: Ethical and Philosophical Perspectives

2025-08-07T12:47:40+03:00

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the energy sector presents unique ethical and philosophical dilemmas due to the industry’s monopolistic nature, environmental impact and tendency to corruption. This paper explores CSR within the energy sector through philosophical and sociological aspects. Drawing on theories from Kant, Rawls, Foucault and Nietzsche, the paper analyses how CSR is used as a genuine tool for ethical business and to maintain power and competitive advantage. The findings suggest that when implemented authentically, CSR can enhance corporate accountability, but its effectiveness might be weakened by organisations and political structures prioritising profit over responsibility. Strengthening ethical governance, control and transparency mechanisms are crucial for ensuring that CSR initiatives are genuine pathways towards energy sustainability.

The ‘New’ Logic in Dewey’s Pragmatism and its Echo in Contemporary Logic

2025-08-07T12:47:28+03:00

The logical theory of John Dewey, a representative of classical pragmatism, is an important part of his philosophy but has not been paid full attention by scholars. The paper explores three major aspects of Dewey’s logical thought with the attempts to present the theoretical claims of his doctrine of logic. On this basis, the paper analyses the internal connection between Dewey’s logical theory and his philosophical thought, as well as some notional resonances and echoes the former has caused in the context of contemporary logic. The investigation not only enriches our understanding of the connotations of Dewey’s philosophy and even the pragmatic philosophy, but also helps us to further deepen the understanding of the research of contemporary logic.

The Impact of Social Media on Individual Happiness and Anxiety from the Perspective of Existential Philosophy: Mediating Effects of Psychological Needs

2025-08-07T12:47:16+03:00

Social media is closely related to people’s daily lives and studies, subtly influencing their psychology. To explore the effects of social media on individual happiness and anxiety, this paper employs an existential philosophy analytical framework to transcend the limitations of positivism by deconstructing the ‘freedom-responsibility paradox’ and ‘authenticity-alienation tension’ inherent in social media use. The results reveal three key findings: (1) Social media use significantly enhances individual happiness; (2) Social media use reduces anxiety levels; (3) Basic psychological needs mediate the relationship between social media use and individual happiness. The results of this study have an important reference value for individuals to use social media rationally and to recognise the positive and negative effects of social media on individual happiness and anxiety.

Artificial Intelligence will not Replace Humans but Could Destroy Them

2025-08-07T12:51:09+03:00

In the current race to develop general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI), there is a growing trend to overlook safety and ethical considerations. As general-purpose AI evolves, especially if it advances into a new species, will it compete with and eventually replace humans? This article argues that AI is merely a small technical domain within the broader human automation technology system and therefore cannot replace humans. However, due to its inherent limitation of possessing instrumental rationality but lacking value rationality, AI may be misused in ways that could destroy humanity. The article concludes by pointing out that technical research and application, including AI, if overly focused on instrumental rationality while neglecting value rationality, will ultimately serve as fuel for yet another human disaster.

Civil Procedure as a Way of Thinking

2025-08-07T12:51:41+03:00

The article explores the critical role of the judicial mindset in applying Lithuania’s Civil Procedure Code (CPC). It addresses why, nearly 30 years after the CPC’s adoption, specific procedural innovations from Western legal traditions remain underutilised. A key factor is that judges’ perspectives on procedural law have not fully evolved, with some still influenced by Soviet-era civil procedure paradigms. The article also outlines strategies to accelerate shifts in judicial thinking for more effective implementation of the CPC.

Necromancy as the Threat to Civilisation Development

2025-08-07T12:51:40+03:00

This article views ‘necromancy’ as the phenomenon that gradually deprives people of their evolutionarily acquired qualities, i.e. sensuality, will, emotions and reason. Using the method of historical retrospective analysis for the technical activities of previous eras, the authors state that mechanisation, dating back to the Renaissance, leads to the transformation of the human into a creature dependent on machines. Pursuant to the method of interpreting a number of notions and concepts of the philosophy of technology and social philosophy (‘necromancer’, ‘simulacrum’, etc.), it is shown that in modern society necromancy leads to the imposition of technical thinking on the rest of humanity, the transformation of states into automated weapons factories, and the total spread of death. Based on the application of the development and interconnection principles, it was proven that the necromatic tendencies of technology are significantly strengthened as the might and the centralisation of power grow. This connection is most evident in modern wars, where technology plays a crucial role. People need to recognise the now greatly exaggerated place of technology in the structure of social activities. The preservation of human freedom and dignity, the achievements of civilisation on the basis of establishing ‘eternal peace’ (Immanuel Kant) depends on the level of responsibility of scientists, politicians and ordinary people for their future.

A Suspended Individual: The Close-up as Deterritorialisation and Political Device of Control

2025-08-07T12:51:38+03:00

This paper examines the interplay between affectivity, individuality and territory through the lens of Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy of the image. To such end, this article employs a philosophical and conceptual analysis grounded in Gilles Deleuze’s cinema theory. The method is qualitative and interpretive, focusing on conceptual elaboration, theoretical synthesis and philosophical critique, rather than empirical research. The article finds that the close-up suspends individuation and expresses the pure affect by deterritorialising the subject. However, in contemporary media, this potential is reterritorialised through political messaging that uses close-up imagery to fix affect within ideological frameworks. Instead of expressing affect, political figures represent and capture it, neutralising its disruptive force.

System Over Lebenswelt in Communicative Action: Inner Mechanisms of the Institutionalisation of Advertising

2025-08-07T12:51:37+03:00

Drawing from Habermas’ distinction between the system and life-world, the article explores and analyses how advertising operates within both domains, influencing not only the institutional structure but also everyday social interactions, thus providing the framework for the institutionalisation of advertising as a social actor and force in contemporary society. Using Super Bowl commercials to explain the way that they reflect and shape dominant cultural values, and based on George Ritzer’s McDonaldisation, Shoshana Zuboff’s surveillance capitalism, Manuel Castells’ social capital and power dynamics, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of symbolic capital and habitus, the article examines how advertising has evolved beyond its commercial role to become a central institution that shapes behaviours, identities and cultural norms. It highlights the role of advertising in reinforcing social power and cultural capital, which can be identified by the data driven personalisation, narrative control and standardisation that brands use to leverage their power through their commercial narratives. It also addresses critiques of the institutionalisation of advertising which provides an understanding on how advertising functions as a powerful institution that reflects and shapes social realities in the digital and mass consumption era.

Nomadism, Movement and Migration from Philosophical, Sociological and Communicative Perspectives

2025-08-07T12:51:36+03:00

This article provides an overview of the scientific conference titled ‘Nomadism, Movement and Migration from Philosophical, Sociological and Communicative Perspectives’, which was held at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. The conference covered various themes, including deportations and escapes, the language of migrants, the logic of capitalism, digital nomads in the global village, pilgrimage and egregores, the historical journey through time, the examination of differences between Western and Eastern civilisations in 21st-century transculturalism, unbalanced identity and nomadism, the values of ethnic minorities in Europe, the reality and simulacra of sustainable fashion, communities of street art seekers, home and homelessness in the context of Heidegger’s philosophy, the ontology and metaphysics of the modern nomad, and much more. The article reflects the conference’s proceedings and highlights the key ideas presented by the speakers.