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On the background of three related books, the article deals with the concept of humans rights as well as the key conceptual controversies concerning the latter. Three main aspects of human rights are underlined: philosophical, juridical and political ones. The relevance of the concepts of a person, human dignity and an autonomous subject appears clearly in the author's considerations. Further, postulating the universality of human rights unveils the vice of the liberal conception of human rights. Considered is also the tension between the idea of human rights, their institutional background and warranties in international context, where they are often purposebuilt and power-politically instrumentalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution deals with defining the phenomenon of culture and its concept from the perspectives of philosophy as well as special sciences. With regard to the philosophical approach to culture and the tension between particularism and universalism it focuses on culture/human nature relationship and the role these concepts play in social cognition. Due to contemporary global conflicts and the abandonment of the idea of progress the concept of culture becomes central and highly relevant as a mediator in the resolution of conflicts, especially those, in which the acknowledgment and respect are the problems at issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with cognitive strategies in social cognition considering its two radical patterns, i.e. naturalism and interpretivism. The author's view is that it is necessary to differentiate between so called "interpretive philosophy" (G. Abel) and interpretivism as a methodological program in social sciences. A special attention is paid to those ways of naturalization of social knowledge applying the modernized evolutionary Darwinian perspective. Analyzed is especially the so called "epidemiological approach" of D. Sperber who promotes ontological reductionism which does not need to be necessarily accompanied by the theoretical one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with three phenomena (namely those of evil, power and violence) as approached by three prominent thinkers: social psychologist Ph. Zimbardo, philosopher H. Arendt and culture critic and philosopher S. Žižek. The elucidation of the relationships between the phenomena at issue bears empirical as well as politicalethical character, bringing to the foreground similarities and differences between the three thinkers. In conclusion, the stress is put on the need for abstract ethical and social- political considerations to take into account the empirical researches in social psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with J. Habermas" communication theory which is a synthesis of the Anglo-Saxon linguistic philosophy (Austin, Searle, Grice) and the continental phi-losophical tradition (Weber, Kohlberg, Apel). The stress is put on the re-articulation of Weberian motifs (rationality, rationalization) and the so called validity claim of the intelligibility of speech, truth, correctness and authenticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the concept of rule and its role in understanding and defining social facts. On the background of the main objections against Winch's conception of rule as the necessary and sufficient means for identifying a social phenomenon (M. Hollis, J. Bohmann. M. Gilbert) it questions the analogy between the linguistic activity, the Wittgensteinian conception of meaning and conceiving of agency as a meaningful social activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the background of the status of social sciences and the fragmentarization of social knowledge the paper explains interpretivism as an explanatory method characteristic of social sciences. While describing the nature of interpretivism it underlines the inspiring contribution of analytical philosophy of language: the communication theory of meaning, Davidsonian and Quinean reflections on interpretation. The author argues, that the interpretive approach to social facts together with the concept of action embody a potential, which could be effective in overcoming the epistemological and methodological splitting in social knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the historical and systematic aspects of psychologism. The historical aspect is examined on the background of the rise of psychology as an independent science. The systematic-analytical aspect, on the other hand, is seen as connected with normativity and the empirical contingency of facts. These issues are analyzed with regard to the so called Psychologismusstreit in German post-Kantian philosophy. The comeback of psychology is rendered as related to the project of naturalized epistemology. The paper also points out to the challenges, which philosophy faces due to the claims of cognitivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the nature of the social fact in social knowledge on the back- ground of the differences between sciences and social sciences. The approach applied is historical (É. Durkheim, M. Weber, M. Mauss, J. Searle), as well as one based on differentiating between Humean conception of fact and the conceptions, in which facts are seen as determining the truth values of our propositions. Underlined are the intentionality and structure of social facts in terms of Searle's construction of the social as well as the weakness of his conception. In conclusion it is asserted that the construction of facts in social sciences is impossible without psychological vocabulary and concepts, whose contents are conceived - contrary to Searle's internalism - in terms of externalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the relationship between human nature and culture. Philosophical anthropology is explored to expound on the topic. Ideas of poststructuralism, themes of postmodernism, and typology are discussed. Technological innovations leading to the redefinition of the concepts of corporeality and human nature are also tackled.

The article explores philosopher Nelson Goodman's understanding of irrealism as well as the role of constructions in producing the plurality of worlds. The author defines the term "strong constructivism" and describes some properties of the constructs as it relates to information and its processing. Finally, she questions some weak versions of constructivism, particularly when used as expressions of exaggerated reflexivity.

This article examines claims made by sociologist P. Sýkora, regarding socio-biology as a measure of social sciences and humanities. The author explains reasons for which Sykora fails to provide serious and justified evidence for an acceptance of socio-biology as methodological paradigm for social knowledge. He misunderstood differences between so-called brute facts and social or institutional facts.