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Limits of power. Ethics, power and corruption.
Fišera, Vladimír ; Sokol, Jan (advisor) ; Skovajsa, Marek (referee) ; Frič, Pavol (referee)
The problem of Czech society today is foremost the part of corruption that can be labeled as systemic, large scale or political corruption; and its causes, demonstrations, and therefore also possible solutions differ significantly from those for individual bribery. The public still holds very distorted opinions about the causes and therefore also possible solutions of large scale corruption. The most significant is the idea of political corruption as a personal ethical failure of an individual. The solution to this is their replacement. However, past experiences prove that political corruption is a systemic problem and replacement of individuals does not bring a substantial change. To understand how large scale political corruption functions, it is important to know the point of view of politicians who are its direct participants or encounter it. It is established that a significant motivational factor for corruption is an effort of politicians to keep their power and prestige, and with it the need of raising funds for re- election. Key words: corruption, political corruption, systemic corruption, power, status, prestige
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A study of Emanuel Rádl's works in biology and his Consolation from Philosophy
Hermann, Tomáš ; Michálek, Jiří (advisor) ; Janko, Jan (referee) ; Sokol, Jan (referee)
Faculý ď Sclence oÍthe Charles Universitylin Prague Mgr.TomášHermann Consolation from Life A studyofEmanuelRádl'sworksinbiology and his Consolation from Philosophy Summary of PhD thesis 2008 The subject of this thesis is the scientific and philosophicď work of Emanuel Ráll (1873- t942), Cze,h biologist, philosopher,and publicly active intellectual, with focus on the first period of his work, datedbeforethe WWI, andthe last phaseof his work, culminating in his last boolg Consolationfrom Philosophy. The main aim ofthe thesis is a historical analysis and account;it is a contributionboth to the history ofbiology andbiological though! andto the history of philosophy in the Czech lands in the fint half of the 20úcennrry. Emanuel Rrídl'sintellectualbiographycan ďso be seenas an introspectivestudyofthe intellectuallife of the Czech society during some of its inportant and as yet insufficiently sfudiedpďods. The presentthesiswas written as a partof a broadly conceived researchproject,otherresults of which include: 1. The orderingandinventoryof recentlyďscovered partsof Rríď's worlg which have been made available to researchen as an archive unit under the name of Collection and DocumentationFund of EmanuelRódl. 2. A publication of an unabridgedCzech translďon of Rírll's TheHistory of Modern Biological Theodes,Volume...
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Archaic, Traditional Law and Modern Commercial Law: A Study of Their Comparisons
Ledvinka, Tomáš ; Sokol, Jan (advisor) ; Kandert, Josef (referee) ; Brezina, Peter (referee)
The old anthropological question of the comparison between an archaic or traditional commercial law on one hand and a modern commercial law on the other is revisited using a conceptualization of an empirical study of legal comparisons performed within the real decision-making processes at work in the current Czech justice system. Commercial law is represented by a single legal institution - the law of reciprocity (comitas gentium) - which regulates the cooperation between various legal authorities and legal systems potentially entangled in cross-border commercial disputes. The reader is first introduced to the context and evidence-dependency of any legal comparison ranging from the representation of law and feud in Yemen at an asylum trial, to the legal systems regulating exchange contracts in Afghanistan involving cross-border disputes. The idea of comparing legal systems as two autonomous social units is abandoned in favor of the study of the comparative practices of a small population of Czech legal authorities, which furnishes readers with plenty of questions about the social organization of legal cognition. The dissertation refrains from drawing final conclusions using legal comparisons, instead it focuses on the limitations and barriers of marshalling evidence (symbolic representations) of...
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Evolution as a Way to God in the Work of Teilhard de Chardin
Jirousová, Františka ; Karfíková, Lenka (advisor) ; Sokol, Jan (referee) ; Macek, Petr (referee)
This dissertation deals with the notion of centration in the work of Teilhard de Chardin, the notion being examined with regard to two related aims: 1) to illustrate the logical structure of Teilhard's Christian theory of evolution, and 2) to explain the relation between centration carried out by created beings and centration assigned to God as the focal point of evolution. In other words: to explore the connection between fundamental freedom attributed by Teilhard to created beings and culminating in human beings according to him, and God's freedom demonstrating itself in controlling the universe and directing it to a goal being the fullness of being (pleroma). The first part presents Teilhard's life and the contexts of his work. The second part explains the main notions of Teilhard's theory and metaphysics, such as "consciousness", "spirit", "energy", "centro-complexity", and "matter", and relates them to the notion of centration. Centration is presented here as an activity of the consciousness consisting in the unifying formation of multitude by its interconnection with different types of relations around one centre. In such unification, the main law of evolution manifests itself - the Law of Differentiating Unity. This means that parts unified in such way start differentiating again. What is...
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Dynamics of Everyday Life in Dialogue with Emmanuel Lévinas
Jandová, Tereza ; Sokol, Jan (advisor) ; Bierhanzl, Jan (referee) ; Novotný, Karel (referee)
The main objective of this research is to look at the topic of everyday life from a dynamic perspective. The definition of everyday life that this thesis stands upon, i.e. the presence of a subject in the world with the other(s) outlines also two main sources of its dynamics: the world and the other. The essential aim of this thesis is to show that the different attitudes towards the world and the other in the works of Husserl and Lévinas consequently influence the understanding of the everyday life as such, as well as the requirements it imposes upon the subject. The chapter dedicated to Husserl presents his concept of the world as a horizon, the irreplaceable position of perception in our access to the world and the creation of the other within the subject itself. On the contrary, Lévinas stresses the separation of the subject and he understands the world and the other as inherently belonging to this never-ending process. The motive of dependence and responsibility of the subject for the other belongs to the most significant differences between the two philosophers. Whereas Husserl proposes us a subject in the world which he accesses via perception and in which he encounters the other, Lévinas shows us subject that is born to the pre-reflexive and intersubjective world from which he first has to...
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Crime and Punishment in the Eyes of Cesare Beccaria: An Analysis of an Enlightenment Penal Law Reform
Bojar, Tomáš ; Sokol, Jan (advisor) ; Wintr, Jan (referee) ; Tinková, Daniela (referee)
Crime and Punishment in the Eyes of Cesare Beccaria An Analysis of an Enlightenment Penal Law Reform The Ph.D. dissertation is centred around a relatively concise, but extremely influential book: Cesare Beccaria's treatise On Crimes and Punishments (Dei delitti e delle pene). This work, first published in 1764, sums up in a clear, yet intellectually penetrating way all the main Enlightenment principles of a complex penal law reform. In its time, the book was not only of great philosophical importance and it not only changed the way western societies perceived crime and punishment, but it also served as a concrete guideline for various penal law reformers. It is therefore by no means an overstatement to say that it caused a true paradigm shift in both legal and moral philosophy. The main aim of the thesis is to give a legal-philosophical account of Beccaria's thoughts on crime and punishment, to examine their historical as well as moral background and show the actual impact they had on the legislation of many different, mainly European states. The first chapters of the dissertation are focused on Beccaria's life, his intellectual background and his formative influences (particularly the French, English and Scottish Enlightenment, the social contract theory, utilitarianism, Montesquieu's thoughts on penal...
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Apoštol Pavel a filosofie: Studie k politické teologii a její recepci v soudobé filosofii
Hanyš, Milan ; Sokol, Jan (advisor) ; Skovajsa, Marek (referee) ; Barša, Pavel (referee)
The thesis offers an interpretation of Paul's political thought and political theology in the context of current philosophy. The first part presents a methodological basis of the work: the concept of political theology is conceived as a methodological tool that enables us to concentrate on interrelations and mutual effects of religion and politics and to expose implicit or explicit political meanings and implications of religious ideas. The second methodological subchapter deals with Max Weber's approach to "economic ethics of world religions": Weber concentrates on historical crossroads and switches which are a result of random chain of coincidences and factors forming a specific relation to values (Wertbeziehung) which enables us to understand further historical development. Paul's missionary activity and theology is seen as such historical crossroad with far- reaching social consequences. Another part elaborately deals with the most important and influential interpretations of Paul in current non-Christian philosophy: Jacob Taubes, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben. The attention is given not only to presentation of their interpretations but also to utilizations and interpretative gaps, which could be observed in the way these authors read and understand Paul. Though for different reasons, for all of them...
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The Theism of Charles Hartshorne
Macek, Petr ; Trojan, Jakub (advisor) ; Sokol, Jan (referee) ; Kohák, Erazim (referee)
The aim of the thesis is to introduce the American process philosopher Charles Hartshorne and his philosophical theism and to relate his approach and his thoughts to the debate about the relationship of theology and philosophy. After introducing the basics of the career and work of Alfred North Whitehead, the better known representative of process thought, and then the career and achievements of Hartshorne himself, I proceed to make a survey of the main aspects of his neoclassical philosophical concept of the God-world relation. Special attention is paid to one of Hartshorne's specifics - his defense and interpretation of the ontological argument for the existence of God. I then deal with Hartshorne's attempts to engage some classical theistic concepts, namely that of Thomas Aquinas, and of the luminaries of Protestant theology, Paul Tillich and Karl Barth, into a kind of dialogue. Then I introduce briefly "process theology" and some significant examples of applying Hartshorne's ideas in theology, Christology, and moral theory. I survey some polemical reactions to process thought and to Hartshorne by German Protestant theologians and I consider the possibility of a certain kinship between Hartshorne's view of the God-world relation and the theology of nonviolence. In the conclusion I survey the outcomes of...
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