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This paper deals with the many-faced crisis in the Orthodox Church in Serbia, visible in almost all aspects of its contemporary existence. Among the examples are those that point to the existence of the crisis of criteria, the crisis of consistency, the crisis of the sacred, the crisis of indiscriminate interpretation of history and its heritage, the crisis of "feeling for others", and the crisis of the sense of "the spirit of the times" and "the spirit of place". The paper also features the possible reasons why the professional community, primarily in the field of sociology, psychology, and (art) history, did not adequately deal with the aforementioned issues, with the view that this endeavour requires deep elaboration, as well as courage and objectivity, including the willingness to interpret all sides of history, ancient and modern, regardless of whether it is (predominantly) "light" or "dark". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a sociological analysis of the development, possible range, and real effects of one of the latest disciplines to emerge - neuroethics as well as bioethics. The starting premise is that the humanities perspective to a medical and philosophical discipline contributes to the very research done by neuroethics itself. This premise is significant given that the study of the brain surpasses current epistemological frameworks, forcing the examination of whether we perhaps need a new “brain” epistemology. New research on the brain, consciousness, and artificial intelligence has presented the public at large with a myriad of benefits in medicine and illness prevention; however, at the same time, it has opened certain social and ethical questions. The projected possibilities in the development of brain medication and interventions have motivated certain scientists today to speak of neuroscience exclusively from the perspective of bioethics. In other words, the challenges to human survival are directly linked to artificially caused advancements in human consciousness, cognition, intelligence, and to an extent even morality, insofar as these characteristics and capacities depend on biochemical and molecular processes. Considering the potentially real societal consequences of such development of a single discipline, we thought it relevant to seek certain answers by analyzing dilemmas and particular medical cases, along with their effects, through the optics of social, humanities, and biomedical phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the significant analytical advantages, the author prefers social action as initial sociological concept in the relation to social phenomenon. Its basic elements are: actors, subjects and tools, needs and interests, values and norms, positions and roles. Actors set in motion and unify the rest of elements, guide to the magic triangle of sociology (movement, change, order), reaffirm actor paradigm to systemic paradigm. Subjects and tools materialize an action and its overestimate results in technological determinism or (by means of property as institutional appropriation of nature) in the (un)classed historical type of society. Needs and interests are the basis of person's motivation and starting point for depth analysis of sociability. The expansion of legitimate interests circle develops techniques of normative regulation. Values and norms guide to institutional-organizational, positions to vertical and roles to horizontal structure. Values give the meaning to the action as well as to human existence, they are orientations of motivate system of personality but also basic aspect of society. As abstractions, values are latent background of norms and they tell to us what to do, and norms how to do something. Norms are specified instructions for suitable behavior Without normative order, not to be possible the satisfying of needs and the conciliation of interests. Riches, power and prestige are components of social position, and legal status is the determination of rights and obligations of the position. Roles are normative expectation of behavior. Toward kinds of sanctions roles are classified. Roles but also other elements of social action are starting point for sociological analysis of legal norms and institutes. On the other side, the observation of legal component of social actions enriches, strengths and precises sociological analysis of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]