Selbstpräsenz auf Tonband (András Ferenc Kovács: Öninterjú)

This paper investigates an early poem of a contemporary Hungarian (Transylvanian) poet András Kovács Ferenc. The poem outlines a poetic framework for the gesture of self-address, turned into a situation where the lyrical voice is interrupted by recording technology. The reading offered here tries to connect the lyrical proposition with the philosophical problem of self-presence. It further discusses political references in the poem that relate to the revolutionary events that took place in Romania in 1989.

Reconstructing the Memory of the Wounded Social Body: A Philosophical-Theological Reflection from the Search for Missing Persons in Mexico

This essay analyzes the phenomenon of clandestine graves of missing persons in Mexico as a social, political, and philosophical problem, where theological clues are established. With the contributions of decolonial thought this reflection seeks to think the absence and, within it, to think the emergence of an alternative world promoted by the just people of history with the resistances they create to live the present with dignity and hope.

Names at the Tip of the Nose

The problem of naming is not just any philosophical problem but rather central to classical ontology. The latter depends on the notion of names (onomata) as latching onto things (pragmata) in their essential being. As such, the name has traditionally been tied to the concept of truth as adequatio or correspondence between knowledge and being, intellect and thing, or proposition and reality. The author proposes to cast a side-glance at this massive philosophical problem, approaching it from the singular point of view of smells and their striking relationship to language.

Helfen, weil es glücklich macht?

The author turns to the question of the significance of motivation for action. She explains how, from the perspective of Christian ethics, this basic moral philosophical problem is further exacerbated by a thought of God that is aimed at practical action. Since Christian faith can motivate to social action, but not justify morality, the question of the religious motives of helping and the experiences associated with them becomes virulent in the present context. If Christianity wants to develop a motivating force for solidarity in post-secular societies, Christian ethics cannot avoid critically reflecting on Christian motives in terms of structures that promote asymmetries and dependencies. At the same time, it must extrapolate alternative religious interpretations of helping that can develop plausibility potential in society and become morally effective.

The world of animals in The Tragic Menagerie by L. D. Zinovieva-Annibal

The article reveals the images of animals in the cycle of stories The Tragic Menagerie (1907) by the writer of the Silver Age L. D. Zinovieva-Annibal (1866–1907) and their role in molding the character of the heroine. These images perform several functions. They establish the environmental discourse of the narrative, shape the moral and philosophical problem range, facilitate the religious self-identification of the main character.