2010. vol. 9. No. 3

The article is a translation into Russian of another piece of “Theory of Communicative Action” by J. Habermas. Habermas continues his critical examination of M. Weber’s theory of rationalization (see beginning in Vol. 8, № 3 and Vol. 9, № 1) by discerning in this third section the logic of Weberian analysis of modernization and showing that it is Weber’s initial point of analysis (institutionalization of subsystems of purposive-rational action in the forms of the capitalist enterprise and the modern governmental institution) that allows Weber to approach modernization as societal rationalization. Habermas argues that Weber’s analysis of modernization does not exhaust the explanatory potential of his own theory. If we call to mind the systematic construction that underlies the last (which Weber, according to Habermas, did not himself make), we will finally have to suggest that path of rationalization taken in Europe is just a particular historical form of rationalization which Weber, however, equates with rationalization of society as such.

In this article the subject and the methodical foundations of humanitarian geography are considered. The basic trends of humanitarian geography development are exposed. The concepts of geographical image and local myth are analyzed. The model of space representations in humanitarian geography is proposed. The perspectives of interaction between humanitarian geography and human sciences are investigated.

The paper discusses the attitude of the population of one of the key Russian regions towards the change of time zones and the transition to so called “Moscow time.” The author demonstrates the stability of the developed attitude over a period of almost 20 years.

Nowadays science ordinarily uses term “scientific community” in its self-accounts. It has become common knowledge that science is a collective enterprise. Meanwhile, the concept of scientific community appeared relatively recently, in mid-twentieth century, and was used mainly for describing and advocating mechanisms of self-government among scientists. This outlook is sociologically meager and leaves no room for proper understanding of the connection between being-scientist-in-the-community and scientific cognition. This paper explores scientific community as a community. Historical and theoretical reconstruction reveals the conception of community behind the idea of Respublica literaria, which preceded scientific community in the process of institutionalization of the European science. The main argument of this paper is that cognitive activity of an individual scientist makes sense only insofar as it is oriented towards scientific community as a super-individual reality. This fact was brought to light by Charles Saunders Peirce in his phenomenological analyses named afterwards “logical socialism.” The paper argues, however, that feeling of being part of an infinite scientific community can efficiently preclude scientists from critically rejecting and overcoming their false beliefs. A reconceptualization of community is necessary, which leads to exposing the illusion of scientific community and substituting logical socialism with literary communism.

The preface to the translation of “Politics” by C. Schmitt. Schmitt in 1933–36 aspired (though rather unsuccessfully) to become an ideological guru of the Nazi regime, that was only in the process of formation then. It allows to formulate the question about the guilt of the thinker, but doesn't prevent to find the theoretical contents in his works of this period. Criticism of parliamentary democracy and understanding the political as an opposition of enemies lead Schmitt to the concept of a tripartite political unity of people, state and movement. He sees the Nazi regime as a new kind of politics based not on struggle, but on mobilization of the people conducted by the Fuhrer. This design turned out to be not only politically vicious, but also theoretically defective, however its studying is an instructive experience.

This is a translation into Russian of a dictionary article published by Schmitt in Germany in 1936. Schmitt tried to develop a few important ideas of his “The Concept of the Political” and to adapt them to a theoretical understanding of the Nazi regime on the first stage of its formation. The Political as opposition of enemies which threatens the very existence of state as a technically neutral apparatus of governing is replaced, according to Schmitt, by the organization of a unity of “Volk"” guided by the party and the leader (Fuhrer).

In the paper a brief analysis of the Hans Freyer’s book “Machiavelli” is presented. Special attention is paid to the circumstances of the book's emergence: in 1938 historical philosophical texts remained in Nazi Germany one of the few channels of communication between intellectuals who was trying to formulate the critical political problems and perspectives of their country. Developing a theory of action that is a responsible political act, Freyer tries at the same time to answer the question, “Is there any opportunity to change the regime?”, and makes a unconsoling conclusions.

In his book Ch. Browning reconstructs the “final solution of the Jewish question” at Lublin district in 1942. Grounding his study on the materials from Federal Central Office for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes and Federal Archives set up in Koblenz, the author undertakes a socio-psychological analysis of the personalities and actions of the policemen from Reserve Police Battalion 101 of German Order Police.

The questions considered in this review of the recently published book “There Is No Such Thing as a Social Science” by Phil Hutchinson, Rupert Read, and Wes Sharrock, pertain to the philosophy of the methodology of social sciences: what research problems can sociology study? is it possible for sociology to study social world as an empirical world, and what consequences will this sociologists’ empirical attitude toward their subject have? The review explores how the authors of the book, with the help of Peter Winch’s philosophy of the social sciences, criticize the project of sociology as an empirical enterprise. Then their own project of sociology is critically examined.