1/2026 VARIA
EDITORIAL
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263611
1–2026 is a non-monothematic Dialogue and Universalism issue. It is another implementation of a relatively recent change in Dialogue and Universalism’s publishing policy—in addition to monothematic issues, we have begun publishing Varia issues. The journal has thus become hybrid in a special sense. Monothematic issues are not treated as special issues, that is, as exceptional deviations from publishing principles, but as a constantly present component of the journal’s offerings.
The version of hybridity adopted in Dialogue and Universalism has nothing in common with the hybridity widely implemented in academic journals, which is guided by the principle of economic profit—the publisher, being the economic beneficiary, derives profits either from readers (“closed” publications) or from authors (open access publications). These hybrid practices transform academic publications into commodities.
From its inception, Dialogue and Universalism has for many years pursued a previously unusual publishing policy: publishing only monothematic issues, with the vast majority of such projects designed and implemented by the editorial team, primarily the then long-time editor-in-chief, Professor Janusz Kuczyński. However, over the past decade or so, the editorial team has frequently invited scholars from outside its ranks to serve as guest editors of monothematic projects. These external editors—thanks to their expertise and invaluable work—continuously enrich the journal’s content and contribute to its identity. Their participation makes the journal increasingly open, and its content richer and more diverse.
The change at Dialogue and Universalism in question is nothing new; on the contrary, it represents a partial return to standards founding academic journals. It is worth noting, however, that while philosophical journals around the world have increasingly begun to publish special, monothematic issues, previously almost entirely absent, Dialogue and Universalism, on the contrary, is moving from a policy of entirely monothematic issues to a hybrid model.
It is worth noting that the Varia issues have value at the metaphilosophical level. They reveal, issue by issue, albeit in a limited way and indirectly, the most common fields of philosophical exploration today, and the current relationship of philosophy to the philosophical tradition, on the one hand, and to the human world on the other. Overall, such issues contribute to the elucidation of the essence of contemporary philosophy. This is particularly significant today, because the identity of philosophy is not currently defined by philosophical schools—these are dissolving, de facto disappearing, and the labels still in use, such as “analytic philosophy” or “phenomenology,” have little in common with the original programs of these philosophical schools. The problem of philosophy’s identity is complicated by the constant shifting of the demarcation line between it and what merely claims to be philosophy, mainly by free intellectual considerations. Philosophy is also entangled in the problem of interdisciplinarity. A cautious generalization of various interpretations of interdisciplinarity in philosophy claims that it consists in grounding philosophical considerations in non-philosophical experience and knowledge, which is often drawn from the humanities and sciences. In other words, philosophy is not an autonomous domain and draws its source material from outside it. It is not simply linked horizontally with other fields of knowledge.
Issue 1–2026 is clearly thematically diversified and the authors operate in diverse cultures. Their texts demonstrate that cultural location determines, to some extent, the choice of philosophical objects of reflection (related to their particular lifeworld) and styles of philosophizing, which, by separating themselves from the canons of philosophical schools, seek their own understandings of philosophy. However, among this diversity, these texts reveal one deep essence of philosophy, inherent in various philosophies and present despite the lack of clearly defined uniform principles of philosophizing. They are a small but important testament to the fact that philosophy with one essence and various realizations is a grand, indelible universalist project. It flows from the nature of the human mind, which strives to grasp things in their depth and wholeness and thus achieve an authentic understanding of the world.
Małgorzata Czarnocka
Dialogue and Universalism Editor-in-Chief
ABSTRACT
Michael H. Mitias
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE QUESTION OF AESTHETIC JUDGMENT
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263612
What is the basis of the aesthetic judgment? Is aesthetic beauty in the eye of the beholder, the artwork, or in both? The thesis I shall elucidate and defend is composed of six propositions: (1) the artist is the source of the artwork, (2)the stuff of the artistic dimension the artist creates is human values in their modes of existence as schemas and in their mode of existence as human meaning, (3) the creation of the artistic dimension is a creation if a human depth, which is a depth of realized values, (4) this depth unfolds in the aesthetic experience as a world of human meaning, (5) the unfolding of this depth is a disclosure of the truth of the meaning of a dimension of human or natural existence, and (6) the judgment of aesthetic beauty is an articulation of the human depth the perceiver apprehends in the activity of aesthetic perception; this depth is also the basis of the evaluation of the artwork and the measure of its value in comparison with other works. The premise underlying this line of reasoning is that grounding aesthetic judgment is, in effect, grounding the aesthetic experience, primarily because the object we judge comes to life as a world of human meaning within the experience. Ironically, the artist is one with the object, that is, the world of meaning that unfolds in the aesthetic experience. The aesthetic judgment is an articulation of the aesthetic beauty that comes to life in the aesthetic experience.
Keywords: Artwork, aesthetic judgment, aesthetic object, values, meaning, aesthetic experience.
Affiliation: a retired professor of philosophy at Millsaps College.
E-mail: hmitias@gmail.com
Kylychbek Kurbanbaev, Abdibali Maripov, Azhymamat Boronbaev, Azamat Nurbaev, Mamyraly Eshbaev
ART AS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CREATIVITY AND ITS ROLE IN THE COGNITION OF THE WORLD
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263613
This study explores the essence of art as both a social and cognitive phenomenon in contemporary society, with particular attention to regional characteristics in Kyrgyzstan. The research combined theoretical analysis of philosophical, sociological, and cultural concepts of art with empirical methods, including surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. The study was conducted in higher education institutions in Osh and involved 110 participants, including students and academic staff. The results demonstrate that art has evolved beyond a purely aesthetic category into a socially active and cognitively meaningful mechanism capable of influencing social consciousness. The findings confirm the unique nature of artistic cognition, which integrates emotional, subjective, and rational dimensions of reality. In the Kyrgyz context, art functions as an integrative cultural phenomenon and a mediator of identity. Empirical data show a high level of awareness of art’s social and cognitive roles among participants. The research highlights the polyfunctional significance of art and its importance for education, cultural development, and civic awareness.
Keywords: Identity, worldview, culture, perception, society, transformation.
Affiliation:
Kylychbek Kurbanbaev — Department of Philosophy and Political Science, Osh State University (OSU). 723500, 331 Lenin Ave., Osh, Kyrgyz Republic.
Corresponding author. E-mail: kylychbekkurbanbaev9@gmail.com
Abdibali Maripov — Osh State University in Kyr- gyzstan (Department of Drawing, Sketching and Labor).
E-mail: a.maripov@outlook.com
Azhymamat Boronbaev — Osh State University (Department of Methodology, Theory, and Choral Conducting of Music Education).
E-mail: a-boronbaev@hotmail.com
Azamat Nurbaev — Department of Performance on Folk Musical Instruments and Singing.
E-mail: a_nurbaev@outlook.com
Mamyraly Eshbaev — Department of Drawing, Sketching and Labor at Osh State University.
E-mail: meshbaev@hotmail.com
Hadi Naseri, Hossein Saberi Varzaneh, Ali Fathi Gerkhlou
ARISTOTLE AND THE CONCEPT OF COMMONALITY IN AXIOMS
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263614
Aristotle’s principles of non-contradiction, excluded middle, and Equals serve as axioms common to all sciences. However, Aristotle contends that these axioms must remain specific to each science’s subject to maintain its autonomy. This paper examines the tension between the axioms’ universal applicability and their subject-specific relevance, analyzing Aristotle’s use of analogy in Posterior Analytics (henceforth APo) and focal unity in Metaphysics. By reinterpreting the relationship between these explanatory frameworks, the paper argues that focal unity provides a more coherent understanding of axiom commonality. This approach integrates Aristotle’s broader metaphysical commitments while addressing limitations in prior interpretations. The findings challenge traditional readings of Aristotle’s theory of axioms and offer a nuanced perspective on the foundations of scientific demonstration.
Keywords: Aristotle, axioms, commonality, focal unity, analogical unity.
Affiliation:
Hadi Naseri — Hi-Elina Adaptive Language Learning System.
Email: hadi.naseri@ut.ac.ir
Hossein Saberi Varzaneh — Tehran University.
Email: h_saberi_v@ut.ac.ir
Ali Fathi Gerkhlou — Tehran University.
Email: ali.fathi@ut.ac.ir
Ángel Gómez Navarro
THE EPISTEMIC RATIONALITY OF RESEARCH GROUPS
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263615
This article reflects on the epistemic rationality of research groups (RG) insofar as they develop socio-cognitive skills that are indispensable in the process of constructing and reconstructing knowledge in the sciences and humanities through criticism, interpretation, and epistemic thinking. It analyzes the assumption of paradigms and models which are basis of cognition and through which groups manifest their vocation for intersubjectively validated truth, which are constituted as explanatory and comprehensive theories in science and the humanities with the aim of solving problems, predicting, and transforming the natural and social reality that impacts and challenges us.
Keywords: Epistemic rationality, research groups, socio-cognitive abilities, epistemology, criticism.
Affiliation: — Sacred Heart Women’s University (UNIFÉ) in Lima.
E-mail: agomez@unife.edu.pe
Motahare Sadat Hosseinan, Mohammad Jamali, Mona Jahangiri
EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL AND BOUNDARIES OF SCIENTIFIC THEORIES IN THE REALM OF RECORD KEEPING OF THE DEEDS
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263616
Several verses in the Qurʾāndescribe how human actions are recorded and later revealed, particularly in the “letter of deeds” presented on the Day of Judgment. These actions—individual, social, and collective—are not only documented but have enduring consequences. This paper explores possible mechanisms for recording such actions, both physically and metaphysically, and considers their limitations. The first part analyzes Qurʾānic verses and narrations to understand this concept spiritually and theologically. The second part offers a philosophical and scientific perspective, drawing from physics, biology, and the philosophy of mind to examine the soul-body relationship. Each action, whether physical or mental, leaves a lasting imprint due to the deep interconnection between body and soul. While materialistic views on information retention face challenges—such as entropy and quantum uncertainty—emerging insights suggest that consciousness may actively shape and preserve reality. This points to a deeper, transcendent system of accountability beyond physical processes.
Keywords: Witnessing actions, possibility, mind-body-relationship science and reli- gion, Avicenna-Bohm-Quantum Theory, mind-body interaction.
Affiliation:
Motahare Sadat Hosseinan — Center for Philosophy and Fundamental Sciences at Shiraz University, Iran.
Email: motaharesadat63@gmail.com
Mohammad Jamali — Shiraz University, Iran.
Email: byasinjamali@gmail.com
Mona Jahangiri — Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany.
Email: monajahangiri1@googlemail.com
Karshyga Mukush, Saira Shamakhay, Assem Sagatova, Serik Almukhanov, Garifolla Esim
PRAGMATIST ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT “THE GOOD” IN PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263617
The purpose of this study is to cover the semantic and functional aspects of the concept “the good” within the framework of the pragmatic philosophical approach, with a focus on its evolution and practical application in different contexts. The research methodology included the application of three key philosophical approaches: classical pragmatism, neopragmatism, and historical-philosophical analysis. The system of methods of analysis and systematisation of the material included conceptual, comparative, functional, and contextual analyses, combined in an interdisciplinary approach. The study shows that the good is not an abstract metaphysical essence but manifests itself in concrete effects and experiences. Neopragmatism proposes that the good should be viewed as the result of language games and social interaction, which allows analysing its dynamic aspects in diverse cultural and normative contexts. The study analysed three major theories of contemporary normative ethics: deontological ethics, consequentialist ethics, and virtue ethics. It was found that deontological ethics is based on rules governing actions, consequentialist ethics emphasises the consequences of actions, and virtue ethics emphasises the impact of actions on the moral character of the actor. The notion of anticipative systems proposed by Robert Rosen is also examined, which allowed viewing ethical systems as models that help evaluate past actions and predict future ones. The practical relevance of the findings lies in their application to various fields such as clinical ethics, linguistics, politics, and environmental ethics. This will enable the use of a pragmatic understanding of the good to address current problems and improve living conditions in different areas of human endeavour.
Keywords: Value, morality, assessment of ethical values, neopragmatism, axiological ideas.
Affiliation:
Karshyga Mukush — Department of Philosophy, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2 Satpayev Str., Astana 010008, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: mukushkarshyga@gmail.com
Saira Shamakhay — Department of Philosophy, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2 Satpayev Str., Astana 010008, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: s.shamakhay@outlook.com
Assem Sagatova — Department of Philosophy and Theory of Culture, Karaganda E.A. Buketov University, 28 University Str., Karaganda 100024, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: as.sagatova@outlook.com
Serik Almukhanov — Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Toraighyrov University, 64 Lomov Str., Pavlodar 140008, Republic of Kazakhstan.Email: s-almukhanov@hotmail.com Garifolla Esim – Department of Philosophy, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2 Satpayev Str., Astana 010008, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: g-esim@hotmail.com
Yerbol Kumiskhojayev, Saniya Edelbay, Kuralay Ashekeyeva, Zhakipbek Altayev, Asset Kuranbek
PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS OF THE PHENOMENON OF POWER
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263618
The aim of this study is to analyze philosophical aspects of power, its historical evolution, and its transformation in the context of globalization and digitalization. A qualitative methodology was employed, drawing on classical and contemporary philosophical theories, including the works of Plato, Aristotle, Niccolò Machiavelli, Michel Foucault, and Steven Lukes, alongside an analysis of socio-political changes influencing power relations. The study establishes that power functions as a dynamic and multi-layered phenomenon encompassing ontological, social, and political dimensions. Historically viewed as a means of ensuring justice and stability, power has evolved into a relational and structural mechanism permeating all spheres of life. The research identifies individual, institutional, and global levels of power and analyzes their interactions in shaping modern governance. Particular attention is given to the transformation of power under the influence of digital technologies, where control over information and algorithms emerges as a dominant mechanism. Traditional hierarchical models are being replaced by network-based structures that enable more flexible yet concealed forms of control. The study high-lights the role of knowledge, persuasion, and discourse in the exercise of power, noting a shift from coercion to informational and psychological influence. Ethical considerations are also addressed, emphasizing legitimacy and the role of human rights in contemporary governance. The findings confirm that power is no longer confined to state or institutional structures but extends into transnational and digital domains, presenting new challenges such as the regulation of digital platforms, data ethics, and mechanisms of global governance.
Keywords: Social structures, legitimacy, freedom, ethical principles, institutional frameworks, decision-making, governance systems.
Affiliation:
Yerbol Kumiskhojayev — Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040, 71 Al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: kumiskhojayevyerbol@gmail.com
Saniya Edelbay — Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040, 71 Al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: s-edelbay@outlook.com
Kuralay Ashekeyeva — Department of Political Science and Political Technologies, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040, 71 Al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: k_ashekeyeva@hotmail.com
Zhakipbek Altayev — Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040, 71 Al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: zaltayev@outlook.com
Asset Kuranbek — Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040, 71 Al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: a-kuranbek@hotmail.com
Yuliia Meliakova, Inna Kovalenko, Ksenia Nesterenko
TRIBALIST MODEL OF SOLIDARITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO COLLECTIVE FORMS OF SOCIAL
https://doi.org/10.5840/du20263619
The article provides a methodological analysis of tribalism as an actual format of relations between individual subjects, between the subject and the government, the subject and society, and the subject and history. Today, the tribalist model of social unity is becoming functional, based on the agent status of individuals and the conventional nature of their interaction. In their priority, tribal communities change the ontology of the individual and the social, providing new forms of solidarity among agents. Metamodern tribalism acts as a psychological mechanism of collective behavior based on sensuality, hedonism, attraction, and passions, as well as an actual form of extra-social solidarity based on ritual. It allows us to address the issues of identity, subjectivity, desocialization, apoliticality, and loss of individual immanence with the help of micrologic that meets the conditions of the neoliberal political space. The phenomenon of tribalism reveals and demonstrates current trends of desacralization, localization, niche strategy, nonlinearity, and micropolitics in the anthropological environment.
Keywords: Tribalism, immanence, sacredness, metaphysical damage, subjectivity.
Affiliation:
Yuliia Meliakova — Department of Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, 77 Hryhoriia Skovorody Street, office 76, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Email: melyak770828@gmail.com
Inna Kovalenko — Philosophy Department of Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, 77 Hryhoriia Skovorody Street, office 76, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Email: kinna087@gmail.com
Ksenia Nesterenko — Foreign languages Department, Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Kharkiv (77 Hryhoriia Skovorody Street, office 76, 61024), Ukraine.
Email: ksn.nesterenko@gmail.com
Charley E. Mejame
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE. FREEDOM, VIOLENCE, AND RACISM
https://doi.org/10.5840/du202636110
If there is a topic that continues to draw forth debate today as much in philosophy as in other human and social sciences, it is incontrovertibly violence. Philosophy, human and social sciences have toiled to address the problem of violence to date, but the problem still go unanswered. The omnipresence of violence in political history—whether it is wars, revolutions—seem to reduce to nothingness the utopia of non-violence. In contemporary French thought, Albert Camus rejects violence by resorting to the absurd and revolt. Maurice Merleau-Ponty calls for action, Claude Lévi-Strauss raises the problem of violence faced with human diversity. Gilles Deleuze thinks the ultimate dimension of being as difference. Michel Foucault attaches himself to intolerable confine- ment. Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida analyze the transition from metaphysics to ethics. Vladimir Jankélévitch examines the question of forgiveness(pardon), the unforgivable and the imprescriptible. Several fundamental questions are at the heart of these disciplines. Should the specificity of human violence be considered? Is the idea of human nature relevant when it comes to thinking about violence? Can we ever think of eradicating violence, as the Enlightenment philosophy hoped, or should we accept the idea of an intrinsic ambivalence of human beings who, subject to contradictory impulses are never totally good, totally bad? The inquiry focuses on Sartre’s attempt to address the moral issue of violence via freedom, political violence and the violence of racism bedeviling the modern world.
Keywords: Freedom, negritude, racism, reification, subjectivity, violence.
Affiliation: — Michigan Technological University, Michigan.
Email: cemejame@mtu.edu
Dev Arastu Panchaiya
NIETZSCHE’S GENEALOGY AND ITS ECONOMIC EXTENSIONS
https://doi.org/10.5840/du202636111
This paper explores the profound structural parallels across Friedrich Nietzsche’s genealogical framework of master-slave morality and the power dynamics constitutive of modern capitalism and its economic formations. It contends that Nietzsche’s philosophical framework provides a trenchant analytical lens for understanding the substructures of capitalist models. The paper delineates how the assertion of agency and the drive for capital accumulation, emblematic of master morality, are analogous to the fundamental imperatives of market economies, while the critical ressentiment and emancipatory praxis of slave morality are systematically subordinated to serve the mechanisms of unearned capital extraction, thereby perpetuating entrenched structural inequalities. Through a critical engagement with key economic and philosophical frameworks; this analysis elucidates formative influence of Nietzsche’s moral principles on economic structures and behaviours, understood as a dialectic of axiology and capital. The paper further proposes that Nietzsche’s figure of the Übermensch offers a philosophical reorientation towards stakeholder capitalism — an economic order that reconciles the creative will of master morality with the social conscience of the slave. This synthesized advances a novel perspective on the intersection of philosophy and economics, contributing to a deeper understanding of both disciplines.
Keywords: Nietzschean genealogy, Critical Theory, capitalism, applied philosophy, economic theory.
E-mail: devarastu.math1729@yahoo.com
Guldariga Simukanova, Altay Taizhanov, Dzhamilya Nurmanbetova
PHILOSOPHY, WORLDVIEW, AND DISTINCTIVE CULTURE OF NOMADIC CIVILISATIONS OF CENTRAL ASIA
https://doi.org/10.5840/du202636112
The purpose of the study is to provide a philosophical understanding of Central Asian nomadic thinking as an independent civilisational model through the analysis of the categorical foundations of perceptions of space, time, movement, and stability, reflected in symbolic forms and textual representations. Comparative philosophical, historical-anthropological, and textual approaches form the methodological basis of the study. As a result, the integrity of nomadic thinking is substantiated as a philosophical system grounded in the concepts of movement, rhythm, open space, and collective memory, which shape a specific ontology and structure of world perception. The internal foundations of nomadic civilisation are revealed, in which time is perceived through the cyclical nature of natural and ritual processes. Space is conceptualised as a sacred landscape, while sound functions as a key form of cognition and knowledge storage. It is established that nomadic society-maintained stability through symbolic regulators, oral tradition, and tribal organisation, without reliance on fixed institutions or territoriality. The comparison of external and internal representations substantiates nomadism as an alternative form of civilisational existence characterised by internal logic and coherence.
Keywords: Interpretation, space, time, cyclicity, stability, open horizon.
Affiliation:
Guldariga Simukanova — Department of Philosophy, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2 Satpayev Str., 010008 Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: g.simukanova@outlook.com
Altay Taizhanov — Department of Social and Humanitarian Disciplines, West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov Medical University, 68 Maresyev Str., 030019 Aktobe, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: taizhanovaltay@gmail.com
Dzhamilya Nurmanbetova — Department of Philosophy, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, 2 Satpayev Str., 010008 Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: d-nurmanbetova@hotmail.com
Jacek Gurczyński
THE ROLE OF THE HUMAN IN DIGITAL THERAPY
https://doi.org/10.5840/du202636113
This article examines some implications of integrating digital technologies—including affective computing, AI-based chatbots, and teletherapy systems—into the domain of emotional and mental health care. Drawing on a critical and transdisciplinary methodology, the text explores how digital systems reshape the nature of care, emotional subjectivity, and human presence. It argues that while digital tools can extend access to psychological support, they risk reducing emotions to quantifiable data and replacing relational depth with algorithmic simulation. Through analyses of technologies such as Woebot, Wysa, and Replika, the article shows how affective computing operates within broader economies of data and control, potentially enacting new forms of affective governance. The paper contends that true emotional care cannot be replicated by machines, as it depends on empathy, vulnerability, and contextual responsiveness—qualities rooted in human relationships. The author proposes an ethical framework for emotional technologies grounded in emotional sovereignty, data transparency, and human networks of care. The goal is not to humanize machines, but to design technologies that sustain human connection and preserve the affective and ethical foundations of care in the digital age.
Keywords: Affective computing; digital therapy; emotional technologies; empathy; philosophy of technology; psychoanalysis; emotional sovereignty; human networks of care; digital ethics; mental health.
Affiliation: Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin.
Email: jacek.gurczynski@gmail.com