/ 1968
pdf

THE USE OF THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS IN PHILOSOPHY AND FILM

/in /by

In this article the role of thought experiments in philosophy will be considered as well as the possibility to show these experiments on movie screens. Thought experiments as mental models can create a fertile connection between philosophy and film, mind and sight, concept and image. First, a short typology of thought experiments which are suitable for filmic interpretation will be given, especially those experiments which are dealing with the problems of annulling the difference between reality and fiction, problems of personal identity and ethical paradoxes. Some of these thought experiments will be illustrated on the example of three movies (Vertigo, The Matrix, and No Country for Old Men). Hitchcock’s Vertigo shows how one person who plays the role of another person can gradually lose sight of the difference between him/her and the taken personality – this identification has tragic consequences for the main characters in the movie. In their science-fiction trilogy, The Matrix, the Wachowski Brothers explore the possibility that human consciousness is manipulated by some intelligent machines and make implicit use of a philosophical thought experiment as presented in Hilary Putnam’s work Reason, Truth and History (the case of “brains in a vat”). The Coen Brothers are thematizing an ethical paradox in No Country for Old Men: Is it possible for a killer to act in accordance with categorical principles? If this is true, should we endorse such behavior? The end of the article briefly discusses a potential heuristic and didactic relevance of the filmic interpretation of thought experiments for philosophy.

/ 1968
pdf

FILM AS PHILOSOPHY

/in /by

In this paper the author examines the view according to which film is a medium of philosophy. One of the most pressing issues in this debate is whether film can provide original philosophical contribution, or whether it can only illustrate a given philosophical problem. The author claims that this question cannot be raised independently of the perspective of a viewer and his background knowledge.

/ 1968
pdf

EDITOR’S NOTE

/in /by
/ 1968
pdf

CHRONICLER AND SATIRIST, IVAN IVANOVIĆ

/in /by
/ 1968
pdf

EXPERTISE – THE ISSUE OF OCCUPATIONAL FOLKLORE IN SERBIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

/in /by

Understanding folklore in the light of Dundes’ definition and Jones’ observations regarding occupational folklore gave an impetus for analysing professional folklore in the domain of culture in Serbia. According to a leading paradigm in cultural policy theory, development of culture in its widest sense (as suggested in Tylor’s definition) depends on the development of culture in its narrow sense (institutions, organizations, differently connected individuals). This case study was based upon researches conducted in 2009 and 2013 in Serbian institutes for protection of cultural heritage. These researches provided data on human resources of these institutes. Expertise exams, as obligation for new employees, are analysed as a step in up-building of occupational folklore and idioculture. From the corpus of professional folklore two „myths“ are extracted and analysed as mirrors of the past and present situation in the field of protection of tangible cultural heritage: the „myth“ of (old) experts and the „myth“ of „bad“ institutes. These myths are seen as reflection of current position of the domain of culture in contemporary Serbia.

/ 1968
pdf

IMPACTS OF CULTURE AND WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

/in /by

There have been numerous economic crises in capitalism, both in the period of its rise and in all stages its development. Market economy is a risk per se, so that the risk is immanent to market economy and is in fact its middle name. The first responses to the global economic crisis mainly dealt with the failings of the liberal market, not with the state flaws and its role in market control. However, the market was not so liberal as it was debated during the birth of the crisis and certainly not the main cause of the crisis, since the state influence on the market reflects not only in regulations, but also in economic measures. Since market mechanisms also operate in culture, the concept of culture was relativized, the world of culture was identified with the consumer world, and the economic values gained importance in culture. As an expression of human creativity, culture has not taken a course in its development to change the world, but rather to profit – just as any other field of human activity. This paper studies the relationship between economic crisis and culture and their interdependence. Understanding of the relationship between economy and culture may assist in the fashioning of decisions that may be of influence in these areas.

/ 1968
pdf

PROTECTION, REVITALIZATION AND USE OF HERITAGE THROUGH CULTURAL ROUTE FORMATION SYSTEM

/in /by

“Cultural routes” are a term recently used in scientific literature to define cultural tourism offer based on a set of mutually connected tourist attractions and destinations. The way of travel within a cultural route usually consists of roads with significant scenic, cultural, historical, geological or natural values, and incorporates the sightseeing and interpretation of sites located within that route. Cultural routes can become tourist destinations because of their connections to renowned places, events and personalities. The formation of cultural routes as tourist products is considered to be a new way of protection, revitalization, use and presentation of cultural heritage. However, the concept of cultural routes as practiced in the world and in Europe is just beginning to be used in Serbia. This study presents the basic principles of forming cultural routes, gives an insight into existing initiatives and projects of cultural route development in Serbia, with a special focus to the national master plan “Roman Emperors’ Paths in Serbia” and its critical evaluation.

/ 1968
pdf

PARTICIPATIVE PRACTICES IN CONTEMPORARY SERBIAN ART

/in /by

Participative practices in art serve as an example of approximation and of different connection of art and culture, ie art and various social registers. These practices most directly recognize one of the key features of contemporary art – disapperance of the visible, tangible differences between artistic and non-artistic actions. Participative practices take on social patterns from various social and cultural registers, with an artistic purpose and the aim to critically correlate with the society, local environments, culture, in short, with the political aspects of life. This type of functioning inherent to participative practices was analyzed on the example of contemporary Serbian art, with a short historic overview to avantguard and neo-avantgarde art, as well as actual theoretical denotations (K. Bishop, B. Groy and N. Bourieau).

/ 1968
pdf

SYMBOLIC BOUNDARIES – THE ROLE OF CULTURAL FACTORS IN BUILDING, MAINTAINING AND CHANGING SOCIAL DIFFERENCES AND STRUGGLES

/in /by

The author uses the concept of symbolic boundaries to analyze cultural origins of social divisions. The analysis begins with consideration of Bourdieu’s idea of how cultural styles correlate with class formations, and is followed by a discussion regarding a strict division of culture into two poles – the popular and the elite culture. The main theories and typologies of taste are presented at the end of the paper, together with a discussion about taste-based social differences and the structuring of cultural features into stylistically coherent forms – lifestyles.

/ 1968
pdf

EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS OF THE STUDENTS IN SERBIA

/in /by

In this paper we present results of an empirical research study conducted in 2009 on a sample of 985 students from 30 vocational study groups, located in 28 cities in Serbia. The aim of the study was to establish a relationship between individual elements of the social background of students from the colleges for professional studies and their educational, professional and life aspirations. The research has shown that there is a high social differentiation in colleges for professional studies, and a clear indication of greater representation of students originating from the lower and middle social strata. In this sense, for this generation of young people, higher education levels should not only facilitate acquisition of knowledge necessary to perform complex tasks, but also provide a social function in relation to the generation of their parents (workers) and grandparents (farmers). Determination of the social background has served as a plea for the „discovery” of perspective and aspirations of students in regard to their future.