Cover of Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology
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1. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Aldo Marroni The Aesthetic Crisis of Society
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The evaluation of subjectivity and the birth of aesthetics represent the presuppositions of the modern idea of civilization, intended as an endless progress ofsociety. In the contemporary world, the degeneration of subjectivity into narcissism and aesthetics into intimism has destroyed the productive relationship between individual sentiments and society, leading to the phenomenon of neo-cynical decivilization.
2. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Evan Osborne Art as a Capital Asset
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A framework for thinking about the social role of art is developed. Using economic ideas, art is depicted as a capital asset – something that provides insight tosociety over some period of time. The idea of thinking about art as an asset enables a concrete distinction between high and low art, as well as the possibility that art can “race to the bottom,” with low art displacing high art, with the concomitant deleterious consequences.
3. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Mario Perniola Knowledge, Power and Politic-Cultural Civilization
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What kind of relationship has modernity established between knowledge and power? What forms does such a relationship take in contemporary society? Theattempt here is to enter into the merits of its new formulations, focusing attention on the degradation to which power and knowledge have been subjected. The essay also indicates a solution that does not consist in a return to the past or escape into the future, but in the possibility of viewing the present as an opportunity for cultural emancipation.
4. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Geoffrey Skoll The Art of Living Together: How Artistic Work Makes the Moral Bonds of a Community
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A neighborhood in a US city seems to present a possibly unique exception to empirical generalizations and explanations of urban decline and occasional rehabilitation. Resisting decline, gentrification, and outside interests and actors, the neighborhood generated a subculture created by working class artists. As a valuable occasion for revising urban social theory, this essay draws on the work of Howard S. Becker, Pierre Bourdieu, Henri Lefebvre, Jacques Rancière, and Georg Simmel, among others. It relies on ethnographic method for its empirical findings.
5. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Paolo Bartoloni The Aesthetics of Renunciation, and the Irregularities of the 20th Century
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In the essay “Das Wort” (“Words”), Martin Heidegger wrote about “renunciation” (verzicht) in the context of the poetry of Stefan George. According toHeidegger the entrance into the possibility of Saying, with the capital “S” – as opposed to the chatter of every-day life – could be achieved in the instance of the poet’s deliberate acceptance of renunciation. Heidegger’s writings, including “Words,” have had an enormous influence in the second part of the 20th century on authors and thinkers alike. And yet this influence may have had a pernicious effect, at least in the opinion of some commentators. In the 2005 book L’adieu à la littérature, William Marx, for instance, claimed that the 20th century is the time of a literature sans style. If on the one hand literature achieved its autonomy, on the other it farewelled the cognitive purpose with regard to the world, which, some could argue, equates with a retreat from its civilizing purpose. This essay does two things: first it illustrates and contextualizes the notion of “renunciation” from philosophical as well as literary and cultural perspectives: second it discusses a set of authors who have experienced the category of “renunciation” in different ways and with different outcomes. I refer to Maurice Blanchot, Frances Ponge and Édouard Glissant.
6. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Montserrat Martínez García A Panoramic Overview of British Eighteenth-Century Aesthetics
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The aim of this paper is not to focus on a particular thematic issue of Aesthetics, offering an exhaustive approach of it, but to display a broader map allowingto capture the essence of this topic from an overall perspective. To achieve it, I have paid attention to a number of points that will help to place Aesthetics in historical terms in the context of 18th century Great Britain. In this vein, I have addressed certain pillars deemed crucial in understanding Aesthetics, such as the socio-historical background in which it emerged, the meaning of this field of study, its main theoreticians and its three most important aesthetic categories. Finally, I close the paper by drawing some brief conclusions.
7. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Pedro Sargento New Materialism and Neutralized Subjectivity. A Cultural Renewal?
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In the increasingly notorious philosophy of new materialism, a serious attempt to redefine subjectivity in terms of its non-dualistic nature can be ascertained.The criticism on dualisms draws directly on a wider critique focusing the anthropocentric and correlationist models that shaped modernity and modern thought. In this paper, I consider new materialism’s non-dualism as a starting point from which a subsequent decline of subjectivity can be purported. This decline does not involve immediately, or at all, devaluation but, instead, it is interpreted as an instance of neutralization. The neutralized subject is an underlying phenomenon ofthe ontology and the epistemology that relates closer to new materialist philosophy. New materialism’s conceptual framework draws widely on Deleuze and Latour’s thought. On what subjectivity is concerned, the concepts of “becoming” and of the “virtual” are crucial in more recent theorizations aligned with new materialism, where a commitment to overcome the barriers imposed by a central and substantial subjectivity is present (for example in Rosi Braidotti’s or Karen Barad’s writings). At the same time, the theory of assemblages and the claim for the existence and observation of the agencies of (inanimate) matter provide a further element, along with a further set of concepts that, as I claim, reinforce the becoming-neutral of the subject. In this case, the works of Manuel de Landa or Jane Bennett are seminal. Finally, when this neutralization is taken as part of a realistic post-humanist conception, the possibility of a new cultural model and a new set of values arises. The edification of a new cultural model, although not entirely intentional or socially widespread, is made possible when the neutralization of subjectivity accompanies a withdrawal of a misleading representation of its centrality and substantiality without denying the properties of its particular embodiment.
8. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Lingling Peng, Yang Geng Cultural Semiosis in Artistic Chinese Calligraphy
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This paper explores iconicity in the metrical structure and the cultural value of Artistic Chinese calligraphy along the lines of Carles S.Peirce’s theory. It drawsattention to the fact that there is a simple categorical correspondence between the outer forms of Artistic Chinese Calligraphy and their subject-matter, presenting it a mixed form of representation, based on resemblances but also creating its own metaphysical meanings simultaneously.
9. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Janez Strehovec Algorithmic Culture and E-Literary Text Semiotics
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This paper aims to explore the notion of algorithmic culture in relation to new media and electronic literature. Such a culture considers human as being immersed in smart technology, which with its code and algorithms defines individual’s behaviour and decision-making, modes of socializing and participation, experiencing and perception. The following lines unveil the paradigm shift that involves semiotic crossings between human and machine languages. In order to do so, it addresses some crucial particularities of the emerging field of electronic literature.
10. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
A.A. Gede Rai Remawa, Imam Santosa, Biranul Anas Zaman Aesthetic and Space Concept of Visual Composition in Interior and Architecture of Bali Madya Dwelling
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Global era is an era of acculturation which may surface difficulties due to the tendency of becoming global chaos that may influence people’s thought. Everyonehas their own views and has made changes with their own worldview perception; hybrid and heterodox. Changes without wisdom will eliminate local elements.This phenomenon has influenced myriad forms of visual composition and architecture of Bali Madya dwelling. Balinese culture has gone through various changes since Rsi Markandeya in the 9th century, Empu Kuturan in the 10th century and Danghyang Nirartha in the 14th century. They changed many dwelling arrangements in architecture. Changes do not mean that one has to demolish the local indigenous elements but, instead, should attempt to develop various indigenous elements with the intention that the visual interior and architectural compositions have their own distinctive characters. In relation to that, aesthetic image and traditional space concept will be arranged in various kinds of acculturation in global visual forms. The dwelling space of Bali Madya concept was acculturated from the Bali Aga’s space concept during the era of Majapahit. This research is based on aesthetic and historical approach that stressed on the artistic aspects and design that are associated with aesthetic appeal. The analysis was done using observations of form and function including the meaning of space composition which was arranged to produce a proportionate composition with local images.
11. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 2
Joseph S. Fulda Value-Sensitive Design as an Ongoing Process of Market Discovery
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Value-sensitive design conceived as an a priori process is necessarily uncompleted, because the foresight needed to accommodate competing values in trueaccord with consumers’ (ever-evolving) wishes is simply unavailable ab initio. True value-sensitive design is, instead, an ongoing process of market discovery which is evolutionary in nature rather than a priori. We illustrate this generality with the landline telephone.
12. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Abdul Rashid Moten Social Justice, Islamic State and Muslim Countries
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A content analysis of the Qur’an shows that it lays utmost importance on the realization of justice and conversely the eradication of injustice in society. A historicalanalysis found that social justice was prevalent in Mecca under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad and was also practiced during the period of the first fourrightly guided caliphs (Khulafa-e-rashidun). Since then, the successive Muslim majority states have not taken the issue of social justice seriously. These states have failed in taking an active role in uplifting the ethical and moral standards of society. The documentary analysis of the existing 49 states in the Muslim world found majority of these states to have deviated from the real spirit of Islamic social justice falling within the category of “failed states.”
13. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Maszlee Malik The Role of Religion for an Alternative Sustainable Governance Theory
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In post-modern times, there has been much empirical evidence to indicate that religions and faiths play a pro-active role in the field of civil society but more importantly in the development of societies, which is a major factor in political and economic development of a country, as well as its governance. Accordingly, the contemporary reality of plurality demands a fresh look into the narratives of different civilisations, cultures and ideologies, rather than imposed meta-narratives of modernity. Hence, explorations of religion and faith to develop an alternative notion of “good governance” from “other’s” worldview are also necessary. Much could be learned from cultures, religions and faiths in the realm of governance studies from the phenomenological perspective. This paper is an attempt to explore how religion could play its functional role to create a sustainable governance concept based on values and ethics. It will look into the situation of religion at present, and how it fits into the framework of governance, and the arguments will be supported by examples and evidence of the viability of the relation between religion and governance.
14. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Suwan Kim Framing Arab Islam Axiology Published in Korean Newspapers
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Mutual interest and cooperation between Korea and several Arab countries is increasing. Each country’s perceptions of each other serve as critical factorsin the development of mutual success in business and trade fields. Their perceptions also affect diplomatic and cultural affairs in the public and private sectors. The news media serve as the public faces of these countries’ daily lives. The news media also serve as primary information sources that determine these countries’ national images. This study attempted to discover whether news coverage related to Arabs published by Korean newspapers contributed to the Korean public’s negative perceptions of Arab axiological images. The results revealed that the strongest news coverage published in Korean newspapers related Arabs with “war, terror, and dangerous region.” The majority of the articles published in both newspapers were negative. However, the results revealed that, in general, Korean respondents did not possess negative perceptions of Arabs and Arab culture. Korean respondents were well aware that Arab individuals are kind, affectionate, well-mannered, and easygoing. In fact, the results reinforced the notion that Koreans possessed positive perceptions of Arab individuals’ “devout Islamic religious lifestyles,” as well as Arab individuals’ efforts to “inherit and develop Islamic cultural traditions.”
15. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Mohd Faizal Musa Axiology of Pilgrimage: Malaysian Shi’ites Ziyarat in Iran and Iraq
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The religious rites of Shia remain a mystery to Malaysia’s Sunnite majority. One such rite is the ziyarat (visits to sacred sites). This essay highlights the ritualsconducted and performed by Malaysian Shi’ites during their seasonal pilgrimage to Iran and Iraq. Their rituals and behaviors during these pilgrimages to holy shrines in Iran and Iraq were documented from the standpoint of a cultural anthropologist. Rites from two sites, Mashad and Karbala, are presented in this study. Applying Herbert Blumer’s symbolic interactionism as a conceptual framework, and Charles Brooks’s methodology through social interaction and participant-observation, this essay aims to analyze and understand their rites, and the values and significance of these rites. By doing so, the axiological aspects of the rites were observed and clarified, thus enabling non Shi’ite Muslims to perceive greyest area of Shia rites, as performed by Shi’ites from Malaysia in their pilgrimage to Iran and Iraq.
16. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Haggag Ali Secularism: from Solidity to Liquidity
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In contemporary Western and Arab cultural critique, secularism as a worldview is believed to have experienced inherent transformations from solid rationalmaterialism (the emphasis on reason, science, progress, emancipation, industrialization, and nation building) to liquid non-rational materialism (the celebrationof the body, sex, global markets and consumption). This paper explores the arguments of both Zygmunt Bauman and Abdelwahab Elmessiri who advocate this thesis in the light of the major manifestations of these transformations.
17. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Aimillia Mohd Ramli Decolonizing the Study of English Literature in a Muslim−Malaysian Context: An Argument for a Spiritual−based Comparative Paradigm
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The study of English literature was first introduced to the British colonies and protectorates, including Malaysia, in order to consolidate the cultural superiorityof the English people amongst the colonized natives. Its continuation in the postcolonial period of the twenty-first century, either as a component of the Englishlanguage subject at Malaysian secondary schools or as a degree program at Malaysian universities, has mainly been justified by the liberal-humanistic belief that canonical works in English literature display universal values that should be cultivated in the minds of readers regardless of their nationality or religion. In the past few decades, confusion surrounding the exact nature of these values has resulted in the advent of materialistic philosophies of literary theory. In many Muslim countries, such as Malaysia, these theories have only served to increase reliance on Eurocentric readings of literature, ignoring resistance coming from Muslim readers who have their own Tawhidic spiritual outlook and values. This paper suggests the use of a paradigm that places a concern for spiritual matters at the core of comparative studies of English and Islamic literature, especially at Islamic educational institutions. This can benefit Muslims worldwide in the sense that it will present for them a more comprehensive role than literature alone can play in contributing to their spiritual development as well as generating appreciation for the universality of Islamic teachings.
18. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Patrick Laude Acceptance as a Door of Mercy: Riḍā in Islamic Spirituality
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There is no religion that does not start from the premise that “something is rotten in the Kingdom of Denmark,” to make use of Hamlet’s suggestive expression:mankind has lost its connection with the principle of its being and disharmony has ensued. This state of affairs, that religion claims to remedy, may be deemed toresult from a sense of radical “otherness” symbolized, in the Abrahamic traditions, by the loss of the blissful unity and proximity of terrestrial paradise. In this paper we propose to show that the Islamic concept of ridā, particularly as it has been conceptualized and practiced in Sufism, is none other than both the means and the end of this re-connection with God and human beings as acceptance of “otherness.” The Quranic idea of Divine ridwān provides both the transcendent model and the infinite counterpart of this human virtue of acceptance.
19. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani Politico-Religious Values in Malaysia: Comparing Asian Values and Islam Hadhari
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Malaysia has developed its own distinct value system that is accommodative to the country’s rich tapestry of different ethnicities and religions. It is no coincidence that previous Malaysian premiers have actively promoted such system. Leading the way is Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s fourth Prime Minister, who was a vocal advocate of “Asian values,” followed by his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who championed the idea of Islam Hadhari. These two sets of values are not entirely incompatible to each other but rather share some similarities. The concepts of “Asian values” and Islam Hadhari are premised on several fundamental tenets, which include: promoting Islamic values, championing the Malay agenda, protecting cultural values, and challenging Western cultural imperialism. Their origin can be traced from the aggressive attempt by the ruling power – the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) – Barisan Nasional (BN) to strengthen and consolidate the political supremacy of the alliance. Inevitably, both of these value systems have been subjected to many criticisms, predominantly under the pretext of misguided and ill-properly constructed values by the ruling regime to justify its autocratic rule. The very nature of such value systems has often triggered political debates in terms of defining Malaysia as a nation. The espoused agenda of Islamisation and possibly assimilation have stirred profound uneasiness among the country’s significantly large population of non-Muslims. The value system brought by “Asian values” and IslamHadhari can lead to one understanding of Mahathir’s and Abdullah’s leadership and administration in governing Islam and politics in Malaysia.
20. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology: Volume > 10 > Issue: 1
Maximiliano E. Korstanje Preemption and Terrorism. When the Future Governs
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The present paper explores not only the psychological effects of 11 September in the political fields, but also connects with the risk of pre-emption in USinternational affairs. What is important to discuss in this work is the role played by the media in portraying news, and a pejorative image of Islam. This ancient religion is presented as being backward and barbaric in many senses. Beyond having an encompassing understanding of the history of Islam, the media dissuades public opinion the preventive war is the only valid resource. The project of Enlightenment has been gone forever. It was replaced by modernity. As civilization West developed a technophile sentiment of superiority that fulfilled the gap given by secularization. It is hypothesized that 9/11 represents the encounter of two civilizations whose cultural values are at odds. This belief is oriented at creating a demonization of Islam. First and foremost, both religions, Islam and Christianity have coexisted in peace over centuries. Secondly, Arabs even supported Judaism in its attempts to achieve independence from Rome. This begs a striking question, to what groups these stereotypes are conducive? While demonization paves the ways to reduce the sentiment of culprit, preemption give a reason to act.