Filozofia is an academic journal publishing original articles in a wide range of areas including metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, history of philosophy, social and political philosophy, and related disciplines, such as logic, methodology and ethics. Filozofia is double-blind peer-reviewed journal and is open to all authors, independently of their methodology and/or theoretical background. Filozofia is published 6 times per year: in February (no. 1), April (no. 2), May (no. 3), September (no. 4), October (no. 5), and December (no. 6).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Úvod k monotematickému bloku: Filozofické skúmania na Slovensku a v Čechách, určené rokom 1989 ako spoločne utváraným a zdieľaným osudom
Miscellaneous (Scientific events, Critical notes, …)
Copyright (c) 2026 Ondrej Marchevský https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Freedom and Commitment: Does Kant Hold a Subjectivist Theory of Freedom?
According to a Subjectivist theory of X, reference to belief in the existence of X enters essentially into a full account of what the existence of X consists in. A Subjectivist theory doesn’t claim that X is a ‘merely subjective’ phenomenon; it’s a theory of what the existence of X consists in as a matter of objective fact. A Commitment theory of X is a theory of X that holds that we are inescapably committed to believing in the existence of X. It may also be a Subjectivist theory of X and hold that our commitment to belief in the existence of X is part of what makes it the case that X exists. This paper aims to specify the character of Subjectivist and Commitment theories, before suggesting that Kant may be said to have held a Subjectivist and indeed Commitment theory of freedom.
Copyright (c) 2026 Galen Strawson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Různorodé modernity a rozpadající se současnost: Rozhovor Milana Kreuzziegera s Jóhannem Pállem Árnasonem
Interview with Jóhann Páll Árnason.
Copyright (c) 2026 Milan Kreuzzieger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
In Memoriam Jürgen Habermas (1929 – 2026)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dominik Kulcsár https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
John Ryder: On Common Interests: A Political Philosophy
Copyright (c) 2026 Michal Cibák https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Správa z konferencie Filozofické pokolenia: ich formovanie, vplyv a odkaz v slovenskom a českom prostredí 20. storočia
Copyright (c) 2026 Dmytro Tomakh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Introduction to the Monothematic Block: Heidegger, Daoism, and Intercultural Thinking Today
Copyright (c) 2026 Kurt C.M. Mertel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
An Ethic of Empathy: Articulating the Normative Grounds of Dialogic Interpretation
Contrary to concerns that grounding ethics in empathy fails to account for normative ideals like autonomy, respect, and universal equality, a viable path towards an empathetic ethic advancing those values is presented. In the first step, the normative entailments of dialogic interpretation are articulated and correlated with Kantian ideals to define the goalposts. Avoiding metaphysical or transcendental groundings, we then sketch the profile of a hermeneutic phenomenology revealing basic and morally impactful phenomena as normative sources. Finally, the conception of a dialogic self can be shown to entail the cognitive potential to rightly respond to such phenomena. Empathetic capabilities entail a set of normative ideals expressing the rich value-orientations of a culturally sensitive yet universalistic concept of moral agency.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hans-Herbert Kögler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
80 Years of the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences as an Integral Part of Filozofia’s History
Copyright (c) 2026 Jon Stewart https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
K nevhodnosti dělení analytické a kontinentální filozofie: odpověď Dragounovi
This paper responds to the criticism raised by Ivo Dragoun against my earlier article on the division of philosophy into analytic and Continental. In the original paper, I argued that this division is problematic for factual, methodological, and power-related reasons. Dragoun attempts to challenge all three lines of argument. In this reply, I systematically reconstruct and critically assess his objections. I argue that the semantic defense of the notion of “Continental philosophy” remains unsatisfactory, that the methodological justification of the division faces persistent difficulties, and that the power dimension of the classification cannot be easily neutralized. I conclude that Dragoun’s critique does not undermine the original arguments and that the thesis concerning the inadvisability of the analytic–Continental division remains defensible.
Copyright (c) 2026 Karel Šebela https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Ondrej Marchevský a Lukáš Švaňa (eds.): Filozofické pokolenia: ich formovanie, vplyv a odkaz v slovenskom a českom prostredí 20. storočia a súčasnosti
Copyright (c) 2026 Andrea Miškocová https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Jaroslav Cepko – Andrej Kalaš – Vladislav Suvák: Philosophorum Megaricorum Fragmenta / Zlomky Megarikov
Copyright (c) 2026 Zuzana Zelinova https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Vnútorná kontinuita a premenlivé akcenty etickej reflexie Igora Kišša pred rokom 1989 a po ňom
The study examines the ethical thought of the Lutheran theologian Igor Kišš (1932 – 2018), focusing on the relationship between continuity and transformation in his work before and after 1989. It analyses how key normative categories developed across changing contexts. The interpretative framework is shaped by Kišš’ engagement with Luther’s doctrine of the two kingdoms and by his understanding of natural law (lex naturalis) as a principle of love, justice, and humanity. Through a diachronic analysis of selected texts, the study reconstructs the emergence of Kišš’ ethical position from historical and theological reflections to a systematic social-ethical conception. Particular attention is paid to freedom and responsibility, the anthropological grounding of ethics in the idea of imago Dei, and the translation of theological norms into publicly communicable language. The article argues that 1989 did not mark a normative break in Kišš’ thought but an expansion of its argumentative horizon culminating in humanized deontology.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ján Kalajtzidis https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Ondrej Marchevský – Vladislav Suvák – Sandra Zákutná (eds.): Život s filozofiou: zborník príspevkov k jubileu profesora Františka Mihinu
Copyright (c) 2026 Monika Homulková https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
„Súčasnosť nesúčasného“ a prelomový rok 1989
The study examines the concept of the “contemporaneity of the noncontemporaneous” in the context of Slovak and Czechoslovak history, with a special focus on the revolutionary year 1989. Building on Reinhart Koselleck’s theory of temporal layers and Ernst Bloch’s notion of Ungleichzeitigkeit, the article argues that Czech and Slovak history cannot be understood within a single homogeneous present, but only as an interplay of multiple temporalities. Using a constructivist methodology and Hayden White’s narrative theory, it analyses how center-periphery relations, generational experiences and different regimes of memory produce conflicting interpretations of the Velvet Revolution. The study shows that these divergent narratives are not marginal deviations, but the normal outcome of structurally nonsimultaneous historical experiences. In conclusion, it reflects on how such temporal plurality shapes values, political attitudes and the ongoing contestation of the meaning of 1989 in public memory.
contemporaneity of the noncontemporaneous
Copyright (c) 2026 Peter Kyslan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The Emergence of the Concept of Existence: Schelling and Kierkegaard
In philosophy, the term ὑποκείμενον literally means “underlying thing,” which in Latin is “subiectus,” but in fact it means something which can predicate other things but cannot be a predicate of others, which in German philosophy corresponds to Schelling’s “Unbedingtes.” Contrary to the opinion of many interpreters, there is a very close link between German idealism and twentieth-century existentialism. Kierkegaard attended Schelling’s lectures in Berlin in 1841 – 1842, where he became familiar with Schelling’s late philosophy in detail, and from this he developed his own concept of existentialism. The paper will show how, by transcending the notions of ὑποκείμενον and the subject, an existential philosophy emerges that will become a dominant feature of European culture in the twentieth century.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zoltán Gyenge https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Pojem úplne holého indivídua a parciálny esencializmus jednotlivín
In his works Pavel Tichý relied on the concept of the empirically bare individual, which was based on the denial of empirical omniscience. A critical discussion developed among his followers, in which various proposals were put forward: bare individuals do not exist; instead, they are a concept, a construct, or a property. In 1991, Robert Stalnaker, in his critique of anti-essentialism, came up with the concept of analytical essentialism. The identity of the individual and its cognition remained a neuralgic point. We propose the hypothesis that if we reject the assumption of analytical omniscience, a non-contradictory solution is to distinguish between completely bare individuals as bearers of identity on the one hand and space-time particulars on the other, which are rich in properties. Complete anti-essentialism applies to individuals, and partial essentialism with the application of supplementary conventions relating to their empirical identity applies to their counterparts – particulars.
Copyright (c) 2026 František Gahér https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Bergson, Heidegger, and the Temporality of Immortality
Many transhumanists hope near-future developments in various medical and engineering fields will eventually lead to the end of human mortality. There are numerous practical obstacles, moral conundrums, and conceptual issues here that must be addressed, but a more fundamental problem for visions of something approximating immortality concerns the enthusiasm for these visions itself. Even if it were possible to extend human lives indefinitely, are lives that last (potentially) forever really worth wanting? We consider some key arguments in what has come to be known as the “desirability of immortality” debate. The arguments of greatest interest are those focusing on the relationship between time and value. After briefly sketching them out, we contrast them with Henri Bergson’s account of time as duration. When one relies on Bergson, and related ideas in Martin Heidegger’s work, it becomes clear that the absence of death need not render an immortal life meaningless, as some philosophers believe.
Copyright (c) 2026 S. E. Oskam, Adam Buben https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Poznámky k zameraniu výskumu dejín filozofie na Slovensku do (a po) roku 1989
The leitmotif of the paper is the issue of the direction of the research on history of philosophy in Slovakia up to and after 1989. The paper critiques both methodological dogmatism as well as interpretative schematism, which presents the history of philosophy in Slovakia only through the prism of “the battle between materialism and idealism,” or later “the battle” of Marxist philosophy and so-called philosophical revisionism, where materialism and mainstream Marxism are always presented as the more progressive and scientific. In relation to this, the paper also analyzes the methodological issue of so-called “receptiveness” of philosophy in Slovakia from the 17th century until the end of the 20th. The conclusion of the article outlines the importance of democratic changes in Slovakia after 1989 while emphasizing the area of research on the history of Slovak philosophy, its contemporary evaluation and interpretation (philosophical pluralism, interpretative pluralism, etc.).
Copyright (c) 2026 Rudolf Dupkala https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Milan Zigo, rok 1989 a filozofická tvorba medzi stálym a neistým
This article aims to highlight the distinctive place of Milan Zigo’s work within the Slovak philosophical landscape. More precisely his legacy presented in the journal Filozofia before and after events of the year 1989. These journal contributions are the textual basis for the reflection of the motif of the constant and, at the same time, what could be perceived as uncertain in his legacy. The constant and the uncertain are grasped on several levels of meaning. As dangerous in the sense of the need to face ideological circumstances, but also in the sense of the awareness that there are members of the philosophical community who try to avoid this vulgarization. Stability is understood as that which M. Zigo, as a philosopher, did not give up on. The work details the oscillation between these positions in Zigo’s critical reflection on the philosophical legacy of I. Hrušovský.
200 rokov Maďarskej akadémie vied: Kontakty maďarskej a slovenskej vedy v dejinách a súčasnosti akadémie
Copyright (c) 2025 Laura Kladeková https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Lea David: A Victim‘s Shoe, a Broken Watch, and Marbles: Desire Objects and Human Rights
A book review of Lea David's A Victim‘s Shoe, a Broken Watch, and Marbles: Desire Objects and Human Rights. New York: Columbia University Press 2025, 328pp.
Copyright (c) 2025 Tatiana Sedová https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Marxisticko-leninská etika a etika sociálnych dôsledkov: komparatívna analýza
The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which the ethics of social consequences – as developed by Vasil Gluchman – can be considered as a continuation of certain secular tendencies present in Marxist-Leninist ethics and philosophy before 1989. The article focuses on comparing the philosophical and ethical elements of both concepts, particularly in the areas of normative foundations, the social dimension of morality, and approaches to humanism. The ethics of social consequences emerged after 1989 in a secular and postideological space and is characterized by consistent normativity and an emphasis on the social consequences of human action. In this paper, I claim that despite significant differences in aims and ideological grounding, certain thematic and methodological parallels can be identified between these two concepts, revealing structurally comparable features within secular ethical thinking in Slovakia.
Copyright (c) 2026 Lukáš Švaňa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
A Dialectic of Tension: Anthropology, Action, and Freedom in Luigi Pareyson
This paper explores Pareyson’s constant drive toward an ontological dimension, despite the presence of a “dialectic of tension” that shifts heterogeneously throughout his entire work. To support this thesis, we first demonstrate how his philosophy, while rooted in Gentile’s actualism, functions as a critique of Hegelianism, aligning itself with the tradition of Italian personalism and the legacy of European existentialism. Within Pareyson’s ontological personalism, the person’s intimate existential bond with truth is not restricted to a theoretical framework based on a “dialectic of necessity”; rather, it is characterized by a participatory relationship with being. By showing that the foundation of his philosophy of action lies in the specific phenomenological structure of “initiative,” we argue that this dialectic of tension culminates in an ontology of freedom: a concept that, until the very end, preserves its ethical and anthropological essence alongside its purely speculative value.
Copyright (c) 2026 Emanuele Curcio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Between the Historical Region and the Central Europe of Novelists and Philosophers
Following Jóhann Páll Árnason’s occasional distinction between the imaginative Central Europe of novelists and philosophers and the historical region of East-Central Europe, this article uses the example of this region to discuss the relationship between public debates (including essays and novels) about the past and professional historical discourse. It explains the irreducibility of the diverse polycentric perspectives of Central Europe and the risks of its originally Westerncentric construction in the 19th century, as manifested in the present day.
Copyright (c) 2026 Martin Profant https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Daoism, Heidegger, and AI: Reflections on Technology, Alienation, and the Case Hypnocracy
This article offers some comparative reflections on technology and the alienating potential of AI. These reflections are inspired by theoretical affinities between Daoism and Heidegger’s philosophy. In particular, I focus on the work Hypnocracy that recently sparked an international debate about the notion of authorship and the problematic relationship between AI-generated textual content and creative writing. The main thesis is that Daoism and Heidegger’s philosophy encourage a critical use of technology that rejects a reason dominated by sheer instrumental usefulness without rejecting technology as a whole. Ultimately, both philosophies favor the passage from the uncritical exploitation of technological affordances as mere means-to-ends to a deeper awareness characterized by an end-to-means, i.e., the equanimous releasement of purposive action expressing an ethics of relationality.
Copyright (c) 2026 Rudi Capra https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The Role of Observation in Practical Knowledge
G. E. M. Anscombe famously argues that our self-knowledge of intentional action (“practical knowledge”) is both non-observational and yet concerns happenings in objective reality. This combination seems to present a strong tension. Recently, Adrian Haddock offered a novel account of the role of observation in practical knowledge, claiming that such knowledge is a unity of self-knowledge (non-observational) and other-knowledge (observational), both of which are indispensable. Yet Haddock’s view faces several problems. This paper suggests that Sartre’s phenomenology resonates deeply with Haddock’s account and provides a rich resource for addressing his problems. Through Sartre’s discussions of self-consciousness, intentionality, and perception-action unity, we gain a deeper understanding of how observation functions within practical knowledge. This account shows that observation is not merely an aid (as Anscombe suggests) but a constitutive part of practical knowledge.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zhihan Li https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Object, System, and Culture: The Marburg Neo-Kantian Reception of Kant
This paper argues that the Neo-Kantian reception of Kant’s concept of the object – particularly within the Marburg School – culminates in Ernst Cassirer’s Philosophy of Symbolic Forms as the legitimate completion of the critical project. It traces this development by showing how Hermann Cohen’s focus on the infinitesimal (dx) as an isolated unit of thought, together with Paul Natorp’s shift towards relational synthesis (dx/dy) within a systematic framework, paved the way for Cassirer’s decisive expansion. For Cassirer, the object is constituted within dynamic systems of meaning that extend beyond the exact sciences to encompass the full spectrum of cultural forms, including myth, language, and art. Thus, the article demonstrates how Cassirer transforms Kant’s critique of reason into a critique of culture. This reconciles the interpretations of Marburg Neo-Kantianism put forth by Cohen and Natorp within this broader framework.
Copyright (c) 2026 Gustavo Esparza https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Heidegger, Nothingness, and Presence: Between Parmenides and Laozi
This contribution reconsiders standard accounts of Heidegger’s concept of being as presence by tracing other moments revealed in his thinking of nothingness, emptiness, and the clearing in the context of his European and East Asian sources. Heidegger’s interpretations of Parmenides, early Greek philosophy, and of being as presencing (Anwesenheit) appear to assert the primordiality of “the one” and a hypostatized, monistic “metaphysics of presence.” This paper sketches a pivotal alternative thread within Heidegger’s thinking, most evident in his interactions with East Asian discourses, by outlining how a distinctive interpretation of nothingness, emptiness, absence, darkness, hiddenness, and mystery emerged in his readings of Laozi and Zhuangzi and in his dialogue with a Japanese interlocutor. Heidegger’s East Asian sources informed a key thread and model of his thinking that refused to reduce constitutive absence, emptiness, and nothingness to givenness, positivity, and presence or the logic of affirmation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Eric S. Nelson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The Genealogy of Bakunin’s Theory of Revolt
This review study critically engages with Felipe Corrêa’s Freedom or Death: The Theory and Practice of Mikhail Bakunin. Although Corrêa works with the entirety of Bakunin’s corpus, he fails to adequately examine the double-negative aspect of revolt in Bakunin’s philosophical anthropology. My aim with this paper is to remedy this, vis-à-vis an exegesis of Bakunin’s appropriation of Hegel’s concept of negation, and its naturalized reemergence in a theory of revolt.