Browse by:



Displaying: 1-20 of 21 documents


1. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Siyu Chen

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
This study offers a close reading of China’s Van Goghs, a documentary that tells the personal story of Zhao Xiaoyong, a painter-worker making his living by replicating masterpieces in a Chinese art village. Taking the cinematic representation of Zhao’s pilgrimage as a starting point, this study explores how the meaning of authenticity is negotiated through the interplay between aesthetic value and market value in the global flow of cultural products. Through a cross-disciplinary exchange between film, tourism, urban studies and creative labor studies, this study investigates the on-screen portrayal of places, people and power relations as a means to investigate the spatial, social and political implications of Zhao’s journey. Situating the protagonist’s quest for authenticity in Shenzhen’s transition from a labor-intensive economy to a knowledge-based economy, this study sheds light on the intersection between identity, mobility, and creativity at the time of capitalization, urbanization and globalization.

2. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Carlo Alvaro Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Kant’s argument against suicide is widely dismissed by scholars and often avoided by teachers because it is deemed inconsistent with Kant’s moral philosophy. This paper attempts to show a way to make sense of Kant’s injunction against suicide that is consistent with his moral system. One of the strategies adopted in order to accomplish my goal is a de-secularization of Kant’s ethics. I argue that all actions of self-killing (or suicide) are morally impermissible because they are inconsistent with God’s established nature and order. It is argued that the existence of God as the locus of moral value and duty in Kant’s moral system, and not belief in God, can explain the consistency of Kant’s injunction against suicide. A synergistic view is offered, which rests on three arguments: First, suicide goes against God’s authority. Second, suicide is inconsistent with our self-perpetuating nature. Third, suicide goes against the rational will.

3. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Janez Strehovec Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Contemporary post-aesthetic art implies an expanded concept of the work of art that also includes political functions. Beuys’s concept of social sculpture and Marcuse’s idea of society as a work of art can be complemented by Abreu’s project of a musical orchestra as a social ideal (the Venezuelan example of the music and education project El Sistema) and the Neue Slowenische Kunst transnational state formed from the core of art. These concepts are close to the views of Hakim Bey (Temporary Autonomous Zone), with D’Annunzio also touching upon them with his State of Fiume (1919–1920), for which he wrote the constitution and defined music as its central governing principle. Although the art state is a utopian project, art can serve a variety of emancipatory functions even in the dystopian present to intervene in and change the political. In this article, we also discuss the case of art activism in Slovenia, where culture (with many engaged artists) has become a central part of civil society oriented towards social change. Art activism contributes to an expanded concept of the political, which includes new subjects and new forms of antagonisms. Likewise, such repurposing of art emphasises its role in research.

4. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Seungbae Park

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
I defend cultural relativism against the following objections: (i) The analogy between motion and morality is flawed. (ii) Cultural relativism has greater potential to be harmful to our daily lives than is cultural absolutism. (iii) We made moral progress when we moved from slavery to equality. (iv) There are some moral principles that are accepted by all cultures around the world. (v) Moral argumentation is impossible within the framework of cultural relativism. (vi) We construct arguments for and against cultures.

5. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Guanyu Guo

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
This paper investigates Hegel’s idea of life, which is on the one hand significant to the research of the dynamic structure of Hegelian absolute idea and on the other hand provides a relevant philosophical foundation for our current exploration of life. In this paper, the research on the idea of life is mainly based on Hegel’s Science of Logic and is divided into two parts, namely an argumentative reconstruction of the moments of the life-idea and an interpretation of its role in the inner-logical process of the idea itself. Through the study of these two dimensions, this paper shows that the complex logical structure of the life-idea is, as claimed by Hegel, in its forming activity, in its negative unity, the only one unified process and plays four relevant roles in the inner-logical construction of the idea itself, namely in the core concept of Hegel.

6. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Massimo Leone Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
The article focuses on past epidemics and previous confinements, looking for the art of journeying through immobility. It rekindles the plague that ravaged the city of Turin in the 1630s, as well as Xavier de Maistre who, confined in the military citadel in 1790, wrote the Voyage autour de ma chambre, perhaps the first example of modern ‘anodeporics’, a neologism to designate immobility travelogues. The essay then explores other pandemics and subsequent attempts at imitating De Maistre. First, it concentrates on Wilkie Collins, the author of the 1852 short story “A Terribly Strange Bed”, who remained stranded with his father William, the painter, at the frontier of the Kingdom of Piedmont because of the cholera that broke out there in 1836. Second, it bears on Almeida Garrett, who resisted the siege of typhus-struck Oporto in 1832-3 and, ten years later, penned another classic of ‘anodeporics’, Viagens na minha terra, also inspired by De Maistre. After consideration, from the perspective of semiotics, of what is needed to “journeying throughout immobility”, the essay ends with a study of the most famous anodeporic tale in world literature, also containing ironic quotes by De Maistre: Jorge Luis Borges’ El Aleph, named after a fictional device for mystical travel confined in a basement of 1940s Buenos Aires. The conclusion of this semiotic exploration through pandemics, lockdowns, and immobility travelogues is simple: in case of forced immobility, the practice of exploring space through time can be replaced by the alternative practice of exploring time through space.

7. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
I Gede Mugi Raharja

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Bali island has become a world tourist destination since the colonial period. Bali even almost made to be a "living museum" through Baliseering program by the Dutch Colonial Government in the 1930s, with the pretext of protecting Balinese culture. The proscenium stage was introduced for the Balinese architectural performance venue. At the Colonial Tourism Exhibition in Paris in 1931, the Dutch Colonial Government introduced a unique Balinese architecture. The Balinese ethnographic museum was also built by combining the architectural concepts of Pura and Puri in Bali. After Indonesia's independence in 1945, tourism activities are continued by the Balinese Regional Government. To protect the values of traditional architecture in the midst of the tourism development in the global era, the Balinese Regional Government made special regulations related to ethics and the preservation of traditional Balinese architecture. This article discusses the ethics and responsibilities of architects or interior designers in preserving local geniuses of traditional Balinese architecture in the global era. Primarily, the study focuses on the aesthetic qualities of local genius and creativity, combined with construction technology, to capture local characters and avoid cultural homogenization.

8. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Vilija Grincevičiene, Orcid-ID Vaida Asakavičiūtė, Živilė Sederevičiūtė-Pačiauskienė Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
The European Union policy is geared towards fostering the diversity of cultural expression in its member states. Globalisation, cosmopolitanism and increasing mobility of the population have been destroying the fundamental values of nation-based states. The preservation of the ethnicity of the nation is becoming an increasing challenge. In Lithuania, where ethnicity has deep roots, many prominent representatives of the Lithuanian national revival, cultural figures, philosophers and pedagogues have emphasised the importance of national culture and the development of national identity in the educational space in order to preserve the foundations of the state and its future sovereignty. This is, therefore, becoming an important educational challenge. In 2009, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania adopted the “Strategy for the Development of Ethnic Culture in Educational Institutions”, which was specified in the action program in 2012. However, the modelling of civic education, especially the practical implementation process, faces challenges in the area of education, one of which is the lack of proper attention from participants in education and media. The empirical research reveals that the interest of Lithuanian youth in the history of the national and ethnic culture remains low. This shows that when implementing reforms in the country’s education system, it is appropriate to impart fundamental provisions of citizenship and nationality to the young generation in a consistent and attractive manner. The aim of the article is to present the expression of citizenship and nationality in the educational space of Lithuania and to provide guidelines for improvement of civic education based on research.

9. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Svilana Lyubymova Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
The starting-point and the goal of every human being is pursuit of happiness. Though varying individually, understanding of happiness is rather unified in the world. The purpose of this paper is to outline principal aspects of a stereotypic “American dream” in the frame of modernity. Since Jefferson outlined a well-being through “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”, the model of welfare, that was expressively named by Adams “American Dream”, has changed to obsession with heavy materialist acquisition and perpetual search for carnal pleasures, eternal youth and beauty. Perceived nowadays as a stereotypic pattern of happiness, “American Dream” comprises material comfort, consumer self-indulgence, conformity, and standardized beauty as well. The shift in significance of obtaining happiness occurred in prosperous “Jazz Age”, when American nation threw into extravagancy and indulgence of intense pleasures, attractively depicted in Hollywood films. Much criticized in mass media “American Dream” remains the utmost formula of happiness, as it embodies the ideal of prosperity, success, and an upward social mobility, achieved through a hard work.

10. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Sebastianus Menggo, Orcid-ID Sabina Ndiung, Orcid-ID Pius Pandor Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
Semiotic construction has an enormous influence on the latest studies in promoting intercultural communication. Understanding all symbols of traditional rites and fostering mutual respect, compassion, sympathy and empathy for other cultures is understood as a new angle. Moreover, semiotic construction is a contact tool for cultural qualities. This research aims to explore and reveal the multicultural values that are contained in the tiba meka rite. The analysis examines 50 custom spokespersons over the period of February to December 2019 and uses interviews, stationery collection, field notes and audio-visual recordings. Three research results concerning the tiba meka rite were found. First, semiotic meanings used in tiba meka rites are semiotic expressions that invite national or international outsiders, government guests, religious leaders and community leaders. Second, the philosophy relates to the theory, personality and morality of economics behind semiotic spoken words. This philosophy is influenced by the following main philosophies: pragmatism and indoctrism. Third, the tiba meka rite's multicultural values include respect, gender, politics, solidarity, faith, tolerance, political, social, economic, authority and familiarity, and these values promote intercultural communication. The six steps used by the Manggarai people to welcome outsiders include these concepts.

11. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
I Wayan Mudra, I Ketut Muka P., I Wayan Suardana, Anak Agung Gede Rai Remawa

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
The advantage ceramic of Balinese Kamasan ornament, it has a very strong Balinese identity. Therefore, the this ceramic creation was a novel creation by ceramic artists in Indonesia. Purpose this study to explain the process creation, types of products, and the meaning of ceramic craft creation the Balinese Kamasan puppet. The determination data sources by purposive sampling. Data collection methods by observation, interview, and documentation techniques. The results of creation process consisted of several stages with a fairly long process, from the design to the final combustion process, which iscombusting the puppet ornaments on the ceramics surface at a temperature 10000C. The types of ceramic products produced, namely sangku (holy water container) and jars in several variations. Each ornament presents a snippet of a puppet story which is useful as a reflection of human life. The meaning shown from this creation was creativity, preservation, economy, and the national identity. The study finding was the ceramic creation process required a long time and high accuracy with painting techniques. The conclusion was this creation process requires patience and thoroughness and is part of the preservation of Balinese culture.

12. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 2
Dragoş Grusea

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
According to the transcendental Aesthetic of the Critique of pure reason there are two properties of time that cannot be intellectualised: passage and infinitude. This study tries to show that these essential properties of time come to light in Kant’s Critique of Judgement. The contemplation of beauty will be understood as a non-succesive time and the wonder which we experience in seeing the sublime will be understood through Kant’s concept of infinite moment. These two aesthetic concepts of time will be integrated in Kant’s broader view of time as developed in the first Critique.

13. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Chao Wang

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "Comparative Literature, Variation Theory, and a New Construction of World Literature(s)" Wang Chao discusses Shunqing Cao's "variation theory" as a framework in the discipline of comparative literature and its applicability for a new construction of world literature(s). Wang argues that Goethe's concept of world literature can be expanded and developed for a new construction of the idea of world literature(s). Wang's principal argument is that comparative literature in today's heterogeneity and cross-cultural variabilities can be revived with the notions of variation and its connecting aspect of world literature. Both variation theory and perspectives of the concept of "new world literature" are based in recent insights in comparative literature, on variations of literary exchange, on interpretation in cross-civilization literary circulation, translation, and production. Wang proposes that these views broaden and adjust the boundary of comparability, thus injecting much-needed vitality into comparative literature and world literature research.

14. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Peina Zhuang

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "On Variations of Classical Chinese Literary Theory for a Framework of Global Literary History" Peina Zhuang discusses texts of classical Chinese literary theory as a reservoir for philosophical reflections on literary art. The aesthetics of Chinese literature originate in Confucianism and Taoism and hence represent an important background for any discussion of ancient, modern, or contemporary Chinese literature and literary history. Zhuang analyzes texts of classical Chinese literary theory within such a framework of a literary history and aims at furthering Chinese literature to become an integral part of world literatures. Further, Zhuang argues that "history" and "literary history" present a different picture of works on classical Chinese literary theory owing to the variation caused in representing their literary and aesthetic features. Zhuang also posits that the translation of Chinese literary texts to Western languages, while relevant and important, is not enough to advance Chinese literature from a peripheral status to a status of recognition hence the importance of scholarship with regard to literary history specifically.

15. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Yina Cao

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "Cross-cultural Communication and Cultural Variation" Yina Cao discusses the concept of "cultural variation" (Cao Shunqing) as an extension of the discipline of comparative literature. She argues that the concept of cultural variation explains many problems in the field of cross-cultural communication while it can also provide a unique research perspective for the phenomenon of cultural integration. By summarizing and sorting out the problems which need to be solved in "cultural variation" and the core cases of cultural variation (e.g., "journey to the West"), Cao discusses the phenomenon of aphasia in the process of cultural foreignization, cultural transmission, and cultural variation and attempts to imagine a new approach in scholarship in order to explore new theoretical tools for the future of the discipline of comparative literature with the use of Cao's variation theory.

16. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Shunqing Cao, Orcid-ID Xin Chen

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "Formations of World Literature(s) and Shaw's The Man of Destiny in Chinese and Japanese Translation" Shunqing Cao and Xin Chen expand Franco Moretti's dictum that "world literature is not an object, it's a problem" to elaborate that the concept of world literature(s) is in some sense a problematic one, which is itself under a process of problematization. Cao and Chen discuss how variation and heterogeneity contribute to a more in-depth understanding of formations of world literature(s). Taking the Bernar Shaw's The Man of Destiny they discuss the writer's presence in world literature from a bi-lateral perspective: Shaw's work in the English-speaking West and Shaw in Asia. For the former, Shaw stands in a specific place in recent postcolonial Irish Studies and thus raise problems for their research paradigm. For the latter, Cao and Chen present an analytical comparison between a Chinese and a Japanese translation of The Man of Destiny. Cao and Chen argue that by such a bilateral approach we may recognize the importance of heterogeneity so as to obtain further reflections on present discussions of world literature(s).

17. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Yi Li, Qian Xiaoyu

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "The Xueheng School (学衡派), Babbitt's New Humanism, and the May Fourth Movement (五四新文学运动)" Li Yi discusses modern Chinese literary history. On the one hand, it is known that scholars have been discussing key figures of the May Fourth Movement by positioning the Xueheng School to the opposite side of the former. Hence in scholarship and criticism the location of the Xueheng School as a restoration group of feudalism resulted in understanding the School as hindering the development of modern culture. However, since the 1990s the Xueheng School inspired interest in the concept of restoring ancient Chinese thought. Some scholars even repeat the ideas of the Xueheng School and regard the efforts of Xueheng scholars as overall and profound cultural pursuits which would diminish some of the extreme ideas of the May Fourth Movement. Li argues that neither of the two views on the Xueheng School are accurate and discusses the Xueheng School's achievements in view of Irving Babbitt's idea of "New Humanism."

18. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Weidong Zhou

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "Cultural Variation and Cultural Creation in Chinese Biographical Writing and Carnegie's Work" Weidong Zhou discusses the impact on Chinese biographical writing via biographies written in Chinese and translated from English about Andrew Carnegie's life and work. The interpretation of Carnegie's philanthropy includes Chinese traditional cultural concepts such as "righteousness," "cause and effect," and "self-cultivation" which constitute the unique understanding of "philanthropy" in modern Chinese literature. From a "moral model" to "successful person" the overall images following Carnegie can reflect the processes of acceptance of Western "individualism." Zhu argues that Carnegie's example was shaped as a "Youth Idol" in the May Fourth Movement from which the unique route of modernization in Chinese literature and culture can be traced.

19. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Yiping Wang Orcid-ID

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "World Literature, Industrialization, and the Two Faces of Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction" Yiping Wang discusses contemporary Chinese science fiction against the backdrop of the influence of world literature and the development of industrialization in China. Wang argues that two sides represented respectively by Liu Cixin and Han Song constitute the feature of contemporary Chinese science fiction. The side characterized by the works of Liu Cixin is the close connection with world science fiction and the positive attitude and consistency with technological innovation and industrialization in China while the other side has Han Song as its representative, whose works, with similarities to high literature of world canons and the mainstream Chinese literature, reflect on the development of technology and industrialization focusing on individuals and disasters in the shadow of modernization. These two sides join together in the illustration of the basic image of science fiction in contemporary Chinese literature. By absorbing the essence of world literature and echoing the concerns of the nation, contemporary Chinese science fiction surmounts the hierarchy of literary genres and make its way into the active center of world literature

20. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 18 > Issue: 1
Miaomiao Wang

abstract | view |  rights & permissions | cited by
In "Worlding World Literatures and Coetzee's Disgrace" Miaomiao Wang explores the concept of world literature(s) as world-making activity, which gains in elliptical refraction, translation, and mode of reading. With the example of J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, Wang illustrates cultural variations between the original English text and the Chinese translation of Disgrace through cultural filtering and literary misreading. Further, Wang analyzes images of "otherness" in Coetzee's text with regard to East Asia, especially in China, through the assimilation of the cultural rules of national literature and its literary discourse thus making it part of world literature. Wang argues that cultural variation and the images of otherness can be attributed global importance as an emerging world literary canon and its aesthetic ideology.