Pandémia & demokracia. Budúcnosť demokracie v postcovidovej dobe

E-book

Eva Žiaková (ed.)

Proceedings of the Scientific Conference with International Participation within the VEGA Project No. 1/0282/12 Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Meaning of Life and Its Components in Socially Significant Groups of Adolescents in Terms of Its Formation and Possible Intervention.

The introductory word is a very good opportunity for us to jointly evaluate what we have managed to achieve in addressing our common scientific research task focused on the study of the meaning of life in socially at-risk groups of adolescents. First and foremost, we asked ourselves what we have discovered about the meaning of life so far, that is, what we know about it.

The second question we asked was: what surprised us about the results we have obtained so far. The third question was about what we want to do to resolve the discrepancy between what we have discovered and what we want to achieve.

The final question in evaluating the solution of the scientific research task was: what do we (not) know about the meaning of life of adolescents and want to know in the future, or what should we focus on to develop the most effective logotherapeutic and sociotherapeutic methods for social workers working with socially at-risk groups of adolescents.

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E-book

Margita Mesárošová

Giftedness and creativity represent closely interconnected phenomena that attract attention in various contexts from the perspectives of different scientific disciplines. Psychologists have long been engaged in understanding giftedness and creativity, as well as in developing them through scientific methods, in order to provide valuable insights to educators, parents, students, and even policymakers, with the aim of fostering the potential of gifted and creative individuals.

This textbook offers information about the essence of giftedness and creativity, about model approaches used for their identification, development, and support, with an emphasis on psychological aspects. In addition to theoretical knowledge, the text also includes various types of exercises—self-discovery activities, activities focused on development, case study solutions, as well as questions and tasks for problem-solving.

The textbook is intended for psychology students and anyone interested in the issues of giftedness and creativity.

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E-book

Štefan Jusko

The goal of the monograph is to highlight the significant problem of interpreting the Socratic question, as its approach represents a method of interpreting the history of philosophy, specifically in our case, the interpretation of Socrates and Plato. The Socratic question can be grasped in diametrically different ways, as shown by Patočka and Nietzsche, among others. The former aligns with Socrates and innovatively updates his question for the present. The latter is ambivalent towards Socrates but ultimately labels him a decadent.

In the first part of the monograph, Patočka's characterization of human existence is presented, which he formulates as unified and morally firm. Patočka interprets the Socratic question as care for the soul, for its well-being, without deriving the concept of good from something positively defined but from the whole world, which can only be defined negatively due to its constant openness. This sphere of negativity is for Patočka something immensely positive because transcendence lifts humans from relative goods to the overall meaning, making them morally capable in the true sense. The good, i.e., the requirement for a surge, for a turn of humans from the world of things to the whole world, is for him a program that Socrates first formulated through his knowing ignorance.

The second part of the work is dedicated to Nietzsche's concept based on the non-unified nature of human existence, which is not derived from the whole world or overall meaning but from situational meaning. Nietzsche strives to prove that in every situation, human existence is exposed to two opposing perspectives, between which it is impossible to decide which is correct. He concludes that both perspectives are equally valid and mutually conditioned, meaning that the opposite of good, what threatens meaning, is a beneficial condition for situational meaning. He labels this level as immoral, as a sphere where human existence creates meaning outside the thinking of good and evil in opposition.

The conclusion of the work is open because, as it turns out, we do not have a common denominator that could decide on the correctness of one or the other concept. Precisely in this lies the fact that the Socratic question remains a serious philosophical problem even today.

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E-journal

Juraj Schenk et al.

The scientific journal Sociálne a politické analýzy (Social and Political Analyses) serves as an interactive electronic platform for communication and the presentation (publication) of experts and their work in the fields of basic and applied research and analyses within sociological, psychological, political, and methodological contexts. It is a medium focused on intensively supporting research activities and analyses within an interdisciplinary framework, facilitating the exchange of experiences, fostering collaboration, and revitalizing the production of scientific work in this area.

The publication section of the journal offers space for works such as:

- Original sociological, psychological, and political studies and analyses in any areas of social life

- Methodological studies

- Research reports

- Studies from qualification theses Research and analysis projects

- Reviews

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