FCRP - Culture

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HUMANISM AND TRANSHUMANISM－SHAPING AN IMPOSSIBLE DIALOGUE?
("Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University of Bucharest., 2022) Borțun, Dumitru
The term "transhumanism" has emerged in connection with the development of artificial intelligence and, more recently, with the robotization of thinking and communication. It imprints a new concern with philosophical debates on new topics related to transhumanism. Extensive fields of socio-humanistic sciences and disciplines are involved in these debates: ethics, aesthetics, axiology, communication sciences, psychology, psychosociology, anthropology, linguistics etc. One can also perceive the possible concerns of philosophers with the new status that man could have in relation to future forms of technological improvements of the human body, as well as to the robots created for various interactions with humans. A possible dethronement of Man from the position of supreme value of the known universe, of center of all approaches to knowledge, evaluation and transformation of reality ─ the ancient status of man, i.e. "measure of all things" (Protagoras) is quite debatable. Is this a reasonable concern? Is there enough data to suggest the "end of humanism"? Our paper tackles these questions.
Rolul limbilor naturale în geneza identităţilor naţionale. Limba română ca resursă semiotică în construirea identităţii culturale
(Faculty of Letters, 2018) Borțun, Dumitru
Centenarul Marii Uniri poate fi o „resursă semiotică” (van Leeuwen) pentru identitatea naţională a românilor, dar aceasta presupune să răspundem la câteva întrebări: ce fel de identitate va trebui să întărească sau să restarteze ceremoniile comemorative? Sau ar fi mai profitabilă resetarea identităţii naţionale, acomodarea ei la noile condiţii istorice, denumite genetic „globalizare”? Pentru a răspunde la aceste întrebări, ar trebui să răspundem la altele: Este identitatea naţională imuabilă, anistorică, sau ea se re-defineşte de la o epocă istorică la alta? Centenarul trebuie să-i încurajeze pe români să rămână aşa cum sunt, sau ar trebui să-i îndemne să se schimbe, să-i încurajeze să accepte schimbarea şi să le indice lucrurile pe care să le schimbe, cu care nu pot avea succes în secolul XXI? În literatura de specialitate nu există o definiţie unică a identităţii naţionale, dar unii autori propun o clasificare a principalelor dimensiuni ale conceptului: convingerea subiectivă a unei persoane cu privire la naţiunea căreia aparţine formal, sau ar dori să aparţină; importanţa auto-identificării naţionale în raport cu alte elemente ale identităţii (etnie, limbă, religie etc.); emoţii şi sentimente cu privire la naţiune. După ce antropologii americani B. L. Whorf şi E. Sapir au lansat teoria determinării lingvistice a viziunilor despre lume (1921), tot mai mulţi cercetători au ajuns la concluzia că soarta oamenilor este puternic influenţată de limba lor maternă; aceasta le oferă categoriile mentale care le permit gândirea lumii şi înţelegerea locului lor în ea. Limba în care gândim şi visăm ne defineşte, în sensul că ne oferă o identitate; mai mult, ea ne deschide şi, totodată, ne limitează posibilităţile de cunoaştere şi autocunoaştere. Iată de ce şi limba română poate fi folosită ca resursă semiotică în reconstrucţia identităţii naţionale a românilor. În lucrare încercăm să arătăm ce ar trebui să facem pentru ca aniversarea Centenarului să aibă loc într-o notă decentă, responsabilă şi instructivă, să sancţioneze excesele etnocentriste, speculaţiile etnico-religioase, să încurajeze autocunoaşterea naţiunii române, să promoveze un patriotism civic, responsabil şi documentat, un „naţionalism în marginile adevărului”, cum cerea, la timpul său, Mihai Eminescu.
Characteristics of organizational culture and climate inknowledge-intensive organisations
(College of Communication and Public Relations, NUPSPA, 2014) Leovaridis, Cristina; Cismaru, Diana Maria
The article focuses on organizational culture and climate in knowledge-intensive organizations, aiming to identify the specific values and features of climate for each sector.The sample of organizations included organizations from five sectors: higher education, banking and financial, research and development, IT and marketing-advertising. The qualitative design of research included near 80 in-depth interviews with employees and managers. The results showed that climate was based on various characteristics: human relations and friendship in small marketing-advertising agencies and IT companies, competition in large advertising companies. In the research development sector, the climate was based on achieving goals in the private area of the sector ( in higher education as well), while in the public areat of the sector it was based on freedom and creativity. The climate in the banking sector was very different, being based on discipline and obeying rules. From the point of view of the organizational culture, all the interviewed employees of the advertising, IT and banking sector experienced, inside the company, the presence of certain forms of organizational culture. Only half of the interviewees from the higher education sector admit to the presence of an organizational culture in their institution while in the public funded research-development sector, employees reportedly did not experience visible manifestations of any type of organizational culture.
So Don't You Lock up Something / That You Wanted to See Fly. What Story for Asylum Psychiatry?
(2021) Tudorie, George
In a rather long piece which an exhibition catalog has called „catholic propaganda”(Busch & Maisak, 2013, p. 342), Guido Görres reflected on madness and art, using Kaulbach’s iconic 1835 drawing of asylum inmates (Das Narrenhaus) as pretext. Görres wrote of “this hospital of the human spirit (…), this charnel ground of the living, who like specters roam, wearing on their foreheads the faded and almost illegible traces of their former names.”1(1836, p. 9). Overdramatic prose, but unlikely to strike one as unprecedented. If anything, it has long been customary to exhibit a mix of fascination and revulsion when discussing the institutions which in the past two centuries at the same time sheltered and shattered those deemed mentally ill.
Remote Controlled Individuals? The Future of Neuralink: Ethical Perspectives on the Human-Computer Interactions
(SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, 2022) Cernat, Manuela; Borțun, Dumitru; Matei, Corina Sorana
In an experiment presented to the public, a monkey with a Neuralink inserted in its brain is able interact directly with the computer. The Neuralink experiment opens the door to an extremely complex debate with questions ranging from ontology to epistemology. We explore the political economy of these cutting-edge technologies. What we aim to investigate are ethical questions, namely: is it ethical to install such a device in someone's brain and connect it to a computer? And who controls the computer, since it is plausible to assume that the communication could be bidirectional? We argue that this is in fact the key question we, as social scientists, IT specialists, and computer science specialists, have to ask and attempt to find answers to. Oftentimes, scientific discoveries could lead to disasters and in the era of "surveillance capitalism" we could easily imagine a scenario where companies are competing to gain access to our consciousness, and where our decisions are being marketed and sold to the higher bidder. Scientific discoveries do not occur in a purely rational society and questions of power, access, and control are vital for a future where technology and society are not at odds.
Closing the gap between museums and schools
(Sciendo, 2022-12-12) Zbuchea, Alexandra; Ivan, Loredana; Timofte, Mona Silvia; Iordan, Iulia
Museums’ roles are diversifying considering their dynamic relationships with the present-day economy, society, and communities. Nevertheless, education is the main constant marketing museums’ complex activities. An important part of the educational mission of museums is designed with and for teachers and their students. Nevertheless, these partnerships are complex and they need more understanding for designing more effective educational programs. Having this in mind, the present study analyzes the way primary-school teachers in Bucharest, Romania, interact with museums and how they use their collections as educational resources in class. The qualitative investigation implemented shows that there is a high potential for partnership and teachers need more guidance and cooperation opportunities coming from museum educators and curators.
Social Networking Websites Usage and Life Satisfaction: A Study of Materialist Values Shared by Facebook Users
(2015) Frunzaru, Valeriu; Boțan, Mădălina
This paper attempts to analyze how materialist values mediate the relationship between time spent onsocial networking websites (SNW) and overall life satisfaction. Admittedly, younger generations spend moretime on SNW compared to older generations, therefore we can anticipate that younger people are more af-fected by materialism and, consequently, less satisfied with their lives. The conceptual model proposed herewas tested on a convenience sample of 390 Romanian adults. Using structural equation modeling, our find-ings validate the hypothesis that younger people spend more time on SNW; the SNW usage makes themmore materialistic and, as a result, less satisfied with life. These findings raise ethical questions regarding the impact of SNW on overall life satisfaction. For ex-ample, Facebook, the most popular SNW in Romania, is a virtual social sphere where people become “friends”,give or receive “likes”, are “fans” of something or somebody, etc. Therefore, we argue that Facebook is asymbolical locus for quantitative manifestations of something intimate and private, like feelings or appreci-ations. Such materialist approach to friendship and relationships has a significant negative impact on lifesatisfaction.
Materialistic Values, Shopping, and Life Satisfaction in Romania
(Editura Academiei Române, 2015) Frunzaru, Valeriu; Popa, Elena Monica
"Numerous studies have shown that generally materialists are less happy than those lower in materialism. Several studies confirm that people who experience a lower level of life satisfaction are more interested in shopping; therefore materialism determines directly and indirectly (mediated by life satisfaction) the desire of going shopping. There are only few studies that deal with this topic within Romanian consumers. The conceptual model proposed here was tested on a convenience sample of 390 Romanians. Using structural equation modelling, our findings confirm the hypothetical model only partially. Materialism leads to life dissatisfaction and shopping, but life dissatisfaction does not increase shopping. To the contrary, there is a positive relationship between life satisfaction and the desire for shopping. One possible explanation is that Romanians perceive materialism as a positive attitude. Anyway, nuances should be considered regarding the role of money and possession in bringing life satisfaction."
Materialism and Life Satisfaction. A Sociological and Christian Comparative Approach
(2017) Frunzaru, Valeriu; Frunzaru, Elena Monica
"This paper discusses the similarities and differences between sociological and Christian approaches (focused on the Bible and the Church Fathers’ teachings) regarding the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. The theoretical analysis gives reasons that advocate the view that there are resemblances between the two perspectives regarding materialism (greed or avarice in theological language) features and the impact of these values on life satisfaction. Both approaches argue for a less materialistic way of life in order to become generally happier. Nevertheless, if science gives research-based proofs to this relationship, Christianity states that worship of God, and not material goods, is the only way to get true happiness. Finally, the paper attempts to give some possible explanations for these similarities between sociology and Christianity. First, similarly to the Christian religion, some sociologists (i.e. Marx, Veblen, and Beaudrillard) criticise materialism and consumption society. Second, the scale construction can rely on popular notions of materialism, thus some items can have religious backgrounds. Eventually, the Bible and the Church Fathers’ special concern with the human nature lead to some thoughts about man that have been confirmed by researchers."

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