Even now German society is painfully aware of its past. For German historians and cultural scientists, the problem of overcoming the past is an important topic for discussion. The purpose of this research article is to explore the genesis of the phenomenon of overcoming the past in post-war Germany. To investigate the phenomenon and the development of the concept, the article analyzes the approaches of German historians to the study of this problem from the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany to this day. The research is based on the principles of memory studies to reflect on the problem of guilt and collective responsibility of the Germans for the Nazi era. In 1949–1990 the German society acknowledged Nazi crimes and established memorials. Political disputes on the reassessment of national socialism attracted public attention and transformed memory politics in the country. The author also applies a comparative historical method to determine how this went in two German states, Germany and the GDR. The results of the study show that after the unification of Germany, the concept of overcoming the past has changed and the problem of overcoming the past has got a new dimension in German scientific discourse. As the study has shown, at present not only overcoming the period of National Socialism but also rethinking the SED regime is a significant problem of public historical consciousness and the culture of memory in Germany. This double problem is widely discussed in the media and is finding its way into the collective consciousness and identity of the German people. The article describes and analyzes the specificities of the process of transformation. Scientific discussion of the differences between the understanding of the concept of overcoming the past and its practical applications described in the paper is another finding of the study.
The article is devoted to the analysis of the process of the mediatization of Orthodoxy. The mediatization of Orthodoxy is a new and relevant process that requires a revision of methodology and research tools in the humanities, namely in religious studies. Despite the ongoing revision of methodology and change of research focus, the mediatization of Orthodoxy remains a little-studied phenomenon with new trends emerging and the volume of research material is constantly increasing. Whilst more works on the topic are being published, as yet, they have not been systematized and clustered. This study is devoted to filling that gap. The aim of the article is to systematize Russian and foreign studies of the niche of mediatized Orthodoxy, which has formed over the past three decades. The study solves several problems: 1) to identify relevant works and define the current academic thought on theoretical conceptualization of the mediatization of religion; 2) to propose the author’s classification of thematic areas of research on the mediatization of Russian Orthodoxy, substantiate the potential and limitations of such classification; 3) to identify main directions of the interpretation of the process of the mediatization based on the description of the dynamics of the process; 4) specify commonalities and differences in the description of the stages and substantial components of the mediatization of Orthodoxy from the perspective of the existing approaches; 5) to investigate the research field of the mediatization of Orthodoxy using examples of mediatized Orthodox practices. The material used for the study was theoretical and empirical research, by both domestic and foreign authors, devoted to the mediatization of Orthodoxy and were created over the past fifteen years, starting with the appearance of the first work on the topic of digital Orthodoxy in 2009. The research methods included secondary analysis which resulted in the author’s classification of approaches to the interpretation of the mediatization of Orthodoxy; thematic and conceptual analysis, which enabled an attempt to give original theoretical and conceptual understanding of the process of mediatization of Orthodoxy, and to substantiate the identified stages of this process and its components. The author concludes that an independent Orthodox media niche formed fifteen years ago which now sees a quantitative and qualitative increase in the number of publications devoted to the mediatization of Orthodoxy. Research of the phenomenon comprises macro and micro levels: theoretical conceptualization of the process and local mediatization of communicative practices of dioceses, catechists and preachers, respectively. Including research into the study of mediatization of Orthodoxy and the new media, and the study of the mediatization of Orthodox conservatism. The dramatic development of the theory of mediatization of religion demonstrates the inconsistency of the dominant concept of secularization and requires further research.
The study of the phenomenon of the Louvre Abu Dhabi (the Middle East Louvre Museum) from the historical and cultural points of view is relevant in several aspects. Firstly, the very fact of the creation of this museum is of interest. It operates as a kind of «successor» and «interpreter» of the Western tradition, which determines its Kulturträger activity. The history of the acquisition of the Mesopotamian collection by the Louvre Abu Dhabi serves as a case study. Secondly, based on this material it is possible to trace the main characteristics of modern identity-building strategies and the build-up of «soft power». Moreover, it allows to reveal how alternative cultural-centric versions of social development are elaborated. This alternative reconsiders the thesis of the dominance of the «center» not in favor of the West. The analysis of the original way of presenting the «Western» cultural content within the framework of the «nonwestern» cultural code allows us to raise the question of the probable relapse at a symbolic level of cultural imperialism. It has its reflections in the specifics of the organization of the museum space and the features of the exposition of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The analysis allows to predict more clearly the possible cultural consequences of the museum’s creation. Thirdly, an attempt to model the museum’s cultural practices through appeal to the concepts of «mythology» and «myth» developed by Roland Barthes is of a theoretical value. The modeling comprises culturological interpretation of the museum’s activities through the prism of Roland Barthes’ Mythologies. It allows us to raise the questions regarding the possibilities and boundaries. E.g., whether traditional cultural symbols could be used as elements of «soft power». Furthermore, it becomes possible to describe the limited nature of «soft power» as a means of symbolic authority.
It was in 1792 that Kant published the first Book of his most important single work on the philosophy of religion—Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone. But it was his very interesting treatment of the biblical material in the second Book that involved the philosopher in his one serious conflict with official authority. Greene and Hudson give a good account of this conflict and its effect on the work as a whole in the introduction to their translation of Religion in the Harper Torchbook Series (1960).
Kisor Kumar Chakrabarti, Society for Indian Philosophy and Religion
One approaching a thing from a distance may perceive it as existent, then as a substance, then as a tree and, finally, as a fig tree. Thus, the same fig tree can be the object of all these different perceptions. This shows, Udayana argues, that difference in cognitive states does not necessarily prove that their objects are different. This argument is in response to the Buddhist claim that since perceptual cognitive states and non-perceptual cognitive states are different, their respective objects are also different; unique particulars (svalakSaNa) that alone are real, are grasped in perception; general features (saamaanyalakSaNa) that are not real are grasped in non-perceptual cognitive states. The Buddhist objects: when the same thing appears to be the object of different cognitive states, only that cognitive state which leads to useful result is reliable. Udayana replies: More than one cognitive state in the above situation may lead to useful result; it is not justified to accept only one of them as reliable and reject the others. The Buddhist objects again: perceptual awareness is direct but non-perceptual awareness is indirect: hence their objects are different. Udayana replies: The same thing may be perceived when there is sensory connection with it and then inferred from an invariably connected sign when there is no sensory connection. Thus, the same thing may be the object of both direct and indirect cognitive states depending on different causal conditions.