VIKMB17 Nature and Culture

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2009
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Marek Timko, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Ing. Zdeněk Kadlec, Dr.
Division of Information and Library Studies – Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Iva Dušová
Timetable
Fri 8:20–9:55 J22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The main objectives of the course are the following:
The subject gives a philosophical reflexion of the essence of ecological crisis and shows it as a conflict of natural and cultural evolution. It tries to reinstall the value of nature. In searching solutions of the global ecological crisis it attempts to draw conclusions from the new ontological view of the world, outlined by the conception of evolutionary ontology. At the same time it appreciates the function of culture as a system including the role of politics as well as economy.
Outcome of evolutionary ontological reflection should be awareness of terrestrial nature uniqueness and anti-nature culture orientation as well as demands on transformation of current strategies for cultural development.
Syllabus
  • I.Evolutionary ontology as diagnostic and starting point from the global ecological crisis. The Concept of evolution, crisis and ecological catastrophe. The fundamental categories of evolutionary ontology.
  • II.The human, nature and culture. The problem of human phylogenesis and onthogenesis. Two ontical order of reality – two types of information. The concept of entropy. Mutual relation information and entropy. Non-genetic transmission of information in animal – the concept of proto-culture;
  • III.Uniqueness terrestrial nature. The concept of nature in antiquity, middle ages, modern times and present. Gaia as symbiotic planet. The open disipative structures and non-linear thermodynamics; IV.Biodiversity of life. The agressive adaptive strategy biological species and human. The sixth global enxtinction biological species like result expansion of culture;
  • V.Interpretation of culture from wiev point of cultural anthropology, cultural ecology, culturology and evolutionary ontology. Culture as anti-natural system with internal information. The evolution of material and intellectual culture. The language as phenomenon of culture;
  • VI.The threaten culture in information (postindustrial) society. Psycho-social and ecological aspects of human labour in course of evolution of culture;
  • VII.The concepts technique and technology. Ecological aspects of technique. Abiotic and biotic technique. Technical „genotype“ and technical „phenotype“. The evolutionary phase of technique. Stabile and mobile technical subsystem. The possibility and danger technique and contemporary technologies in information (postindustrial) society;
  • VIII.Ecological education and ecological ethics. From evolutionary ontology to environmental ethics and non-anthropocentric axiology. The philosophical problems of vlaues;
  • IX.Ecological politics and „eco-economics“. The possibility and limits natural capitalism.
Literature
  • ŠMAJS, Josef. Filosofie psaná kurzívou : rozhlasové ekologické eseje. 1. vyd. Brno: Doplněk, 2003, 113 s. ISBN 8072391526. info
  • ŠMAJS, Josef. Ohrožená kultura. Od evoluční ontologie k ekologické politice. (The Threatened Culture. From the Evolution Ontology to the Environmental Policy). Brno: Zvláštní vydání ... (Č. Kocar), 1995, 106 pp. ISBN 80-85436-38-8. info
  • ŠMAJS, Josef. Kultura proti přírodě. Vyd. 2., rozš. České Budějovice: Dobromysl, 1996, 63 s. info
  • ŠMAJS, Josef. Základy systematické filosofie (The Basics of Systematic Philosophy). 1st ed. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2005, 255 pp. Masarykova univerzita, 1. ISBN 80-210-3871-3. info
Teaching methods
Lectures and class discusions.
Assessment methods
essay (5 400 signs), attendance (min. 75%)
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2008, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2009, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2009/VIKMB17