DEMOCRACY AS A CRITERION FOR ASSESSING ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

This article examines the influence of the electoral system on the functioning of democracy. On the example of the majoritarian and proportional electoral system, the adequacy of the criteria for democratic criteria is analysed.

THE INSTITUTIONAL MEASURING OF DEMOCRACY

The authors analysed the essence of the institutional approach in scientific researches and the peculiarities of its types using in the analysis of political phenomena and processes. Characterised types of the institutional approach are used to analyse democracy with the distinction of institutional and organisational, institutional and legal and institutional and cultural dimensions.

LOGIC OF RELATIVITY

The problem of the truth of statements is considered. This study had the goal to develop a logical theory that would allow considering the context (the paradigm) from which would depend on the truth of the statement. For the development of such a theory, called the logic of relativity, the following methods of research are used as abstraction, analysis (traditional), synthesis, deduction, formalisation, axiomatisation, logical method. In order to develop the logic of relativity, it is expedient to use the achievements in the area of situational logic. Under the situation, it is proposed to understand two circumstances (time and space) and a condition that creates a context (paradigm) statement. Specifies the modal values that these three parameters can acquire and examines different types of situations. In order to write statements in the logic of relativity, a form of the statement of statements is proposed in the language of extended symbolic logic. For the theory of the logic of relativity, a set of four axioms is proposed and a series of laws. In particular, it is indicated that the values of the assertions in the logic of relativity are the following five estimates: truth, relative truth, relative is absurd, unclear, uncertain. Some theorems of the logic of relativity are proposed. A number of examples of texts in the natural language are given to interpret the statements of the logic of relativity. It is indicated that the proposed apparatus of the logic of relativity should be regarded as a kind of modal logic. The difference in the logic of relativity from situational logic is that it considers the factor of movement (motion) of statements in time, space and environment conditions, which was not considered by situational logic. The logic of relativity should be used wherever it is necessary to take into account the possibility of moving allegations regarding time, space and environment of conditions. One of the most important conclusions of the study is that in the logic to the standard values of truth (true, probably true, false, uncertain), it is expedient to add another value: relatively true (and accordingly: relatively false).

RATIONAL AND IRRATIONAL IN MODERN DEMOCRACY

The author gave reasons for the basis of theoretical analysis of modern democracy as a meeting of rational and irrational aspects. The author argues for the separation of institutionalisation component of democracy that grants rationality to the structures and processes of democratic systems. Irrational in democracy refers to the phenomenon of cultural order: political will, faith and trust. Results show an interdependency between rational and irrational in specific political phenomena and events of today.

TRUTH, REALISM, RELATIVISM: INTERCONNECTION AND RECIPROCAL DEFINABILITY

In the contemporary English-language philosophy the problems of truth, realism, and relativism appear actual and interconnected; this evidences reciprocal complementarity and definability between metaphysics, epistemology and methodologies of philosophical investigations. In the article relevant views of prominent today philosophers – Paul Boghossian, Crispin Wright, JC Beall – are comparatively analyzed. In the considered articles the ordinary view on dispute of inclinations is analyzed in competition with other possible interpretations. For example, one person likes stewed rhubarb, another – doesn’t. This is a case of true disagreement: each person maintains the position that another denies. Such disagreement Wright calls the dispute of inclinations; ordinary view on dispute of inclinations involves: really incompatible attitudes (contradiction), the faultlessness of each side, rational maintaining of the view in spite of obvious unresolved disagreement (sustainability). According to Boghossian the attitude of relativism involves tree components: metaphysical – denying of “absolute” facts of a certain type (from some specific investigative domain) in favor of relative; recommendational – permission to accept only appropriate relative propositions; limiting – about meanings which allow unexpected parameters that relativize. Beall advocates “Polarity View” and fruitfully applies it to analyze the ordinary view. Modeling of the former involves: concepts of truthmakers, positive and negative polarity, atomic facts, situational semantics. The formal modeling and philosophical explanation coincide. Each of the authors defends realism and correspondence understanding of truth (in particular truth as relation of proposition’s correspondence to a fact); and also opposes relativism. At the same time, relativism turns out to be an inevitable (at least implicitly inherent to all three authors) tendency, which testifies to at least the contextual (Boghossian) relativity of non-cognitive concepts or competencies (Wright); functional fixation of facts in their application (Beall).

REPUBLIC OF BELLES-LETTRES. A COMMENTARY TO UKRAINIAN TRANSLATION OF THE TERMS FROM DAVID HUME’S “OF ESSAY-WRITING”

The article is a commentary to philosophical terms of David Hume’s “Of Essay Writing”, that became necessary in working on its Ukrainian translation. “Of Essay Writing” is an essay on conversation that was published in English in 1742 in the first edition of “Essays, Moral and Political” by D. Hume. The commentary focuses on two concepts that are important for understanding the content and cultural and historical context of an essay. First, the concept of “Republic of Letters” is considered. This Renaissance metaphor was in active use in the XV-XVIII centuries and described the conversational community of European intellectuals, formed by correspondent networks. In the age of Enlightenment, an alternative to correspondence was conversation in the newly formed public sphere of communication, concentrated in salons, clubs and other common social spaces. In his essay, D. Hume contrasts the concept of "Republic of Letters" with the concept of “Empire of Conversation”, emphasizing the difference between the worlds of “learned” and “conversible”, where “learned” use correspondence and “conversible” participate in public conversation. Secondly, this commentary examines the concept of "Belles Lettres" - a term of Renaissance origin, the part of humanists educational project “bonnae litterae”, which revealed the role of “studia humanitatis” (humanities) in shaping the aesthetics of writing (including letter writing). David Hume associate "Belles Lettres" with the concept of “taste”, which is a central category of his empiricist aesthetics. According to Hume, the taste comes from specific experience, the components of which are the humanities. At the same time, “Belles Lettres” requires the experience of conversation, and essay-writing is a means, which D. Hume proposes to use to spread the achievements of the “Republic of Letters” in the community of the “Empire of Conversation”.

TAKING PHILOSOPHICAL GROUNDS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DEBATE SERIOUSLY

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important sphere in applied ethics. Different CSR theories have been presented during decades. Some of them are compatible with each other while some others are not. By focusing merely on the contents, it seems impossible to evaluate the different theories or to explain why different CSR theories and programs have been presented. However, this paper suggests that the variety of the debate comes from the (philosophical) grounds these theories are based. These grounds, as roots of CSR theories, can well explain, classify and evaluate different types of CSR theories. As a result of the philosophical classification and evaluation, it has been concluded that two types of CSR theories, pure and enlighten egoistic CSR, cannot be philosophically preferred. Instead, spiritual-egoistic CSR theories present better contents and programs in comparison with their rivals. Finally, as a suggestion for future investigations, it seems necessary for all CSR theories to both clarify and justify their grounds prior to presenting any other discussions.

THE PRINCIPLE OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE OF TWO SYSTEMS AND THE INTERPRETATION OF ITS THEORETICAL SOURCES IN RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE SOVIET UNION

The article presents the results of the author’s study of the interpretation of the theoretical sources of the principle of peaceful coexistence of two systems in Soviet studies of the second half of the 20th century, devoted to the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The author established a chronological framework for studying the principle of peaceful coexistence of two systems in Soviet historiography, and revealed Soviet historiographic markers of this principle in the corpuses of the works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin). The article also presents a historical description and analysis of the way Soviet historians of the party interpreted the principle of peaceful coexistence of two systems in the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The author identified the historical features of Soviet historians’ interpretation of the principle of peaceful coexistence of two systems in the works of Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), systematized approaches to the interpretation of the theoretical sources of the principle of peaceful coexistence of two systems that were formed in Soviet studies on the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, revealed their structural features, and also developed a model for their typology.

SOCIAL-ECONOMIC AND IDEOLOGICAL FOUNDATONS OF MORALS IN THE ETHICAL HERITAGE OF EUGENE FEDORENKO

In the article are considered the main moral-ethical research ukrainian soviet philosophy E. Fedorenko. Based on the conducted theoretical reconstruction of scientific-research activity scientist was defined the direction his scientific research, this: the study of ethical problems from the history ethical teachings to relevant questions current life, development of methodological problems history-ethical researches, research work and moral-ethical enlightenment. From the analysis of scientific heritage E. Fedorenko was determined the basis moments his scientific activity, first of all, this investigation of occurrence and originality the theoretical ethic, research in the field social-economic and ideological basics moral and installation its relationship with others forms the social consciousness. He tried to find his own, special for scientific justification moral and designing ethics of the future perfect the soviet human. However, main merit E. Fedorenko, like most soviet scientists, there was an attempt to show, what domestic soviet ethics the gradually departs from inherent in it the ideological form soviet marxism, from moralistic philosophy.

PURPOSES AND VALUES OF A CONTEMPORARY UNIVERSITY: CHALLENGES OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN THE CONTEXT OF ONLINE LEARNING

The paper presents the results of a study of the moral problems of online learning in higher education. Analysis of the trend of contemporary universities determined positive and negative influence on the participants of educational and scientific activities and society in general. The purpose of a contemporary university is to preserve, produce, and disseminate knowledge and educate independent, critical and responsible citizens. Academic freedom and academic integrity are defined as the core values of today's higher education. The presented results of the survey of students and teachers from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv on certain issues of academic integrity (2020-2021) revealed an asymmetry between the teachers and the students in the attitude to the violation of academic integrity. It was recorded that the level of awareness of ethics among the students is inadequate. Ways to address the moral issues of the educational process and online learning are associated with technical and institutional decisions on the implementation of academic integrity policies and raising the level of ethical awareness of all participants in the educational process, and expanding the role of the humanities. The author believes that philosophy and ethics can develop critical thinking and form a moral consciousness of students, a sense of personal responsibility for their actions.