European University Institute, Florence

Abstract: Leviathan by Andrey Zvyagintsev is a  movie that depicts the world in a  state of nature, with no prospects for creating a Hobbesian social contract. Set in the Russian peripheries, the film depicts a respected and caring family man who is gradually deprived of everything because of lack of political order with enforceable law and justice. The movie is a depiction of a contemporary “failed state”, equalized with the state of nature, where there is no legitimate power and violence remains the only tool to achieve goals both in private and public spheres. Religion consists of empty rituals that serve corrupt officials to maintain power. This world cannot last without innocent victims, scapegoats of the society, one of whom is the protagonist of the movie. This paper offers a legal and philosophical inquiry into the film, as it draws especially on the theory of the social contract proposed by Hobbes. It depicts a Russian town as a symbol of the state of nature as envisioned by Hobbes and describes the reasons why the social contract has not been made. According to Hobbes’s theory, in the state of nature concepts like justice and injustice do not convey any meaning; therefore, this paper investigates other: theological and anthropological concepts, to explore the meaning of Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan.

Keywords:  Leviathan, Hobbes, Legendre, Agamben, crisis, ritual, religion, law

Language: English

Published: Number 1(26)/2021, s. 62-75.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2021.1.62

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Liczba ściągnięć: 546

University of Oxford

English abstract: Against Beata Polanowksa-Sygulska (BP-S), I insist on the incompatibility between the pluralism of comprehensive world-views and belief in the monist, universalist tenets of the principal world religions, noting that God the Father and God the Son were both monists. I argue that my position is entailed by Isaiah Berlin’s rejection of the unique truth of any one comprehensive outlook, and that both Berlin and BP-S confuse toleration with acceptance. I reject the charges that my position is monistic, and that I give insufficient attention to conflict within individual values, which can in any case be treated as conflict between values.

Keywords: God, monism, pluralism, religion, Isaiah Berlin

Language: English

Published: Number 3(24)/2020, pp. 130-132.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2020.3.130

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Number of downloads: 525

University of Oxford

English abstract: Henry Hardy responds to various minor points in Beata Polanowska-Sygulska’s review of his book In Search of Isaiah Berlin, and argues that she provides no good reason to resist his claim that Isaiah Berlin’s value pluralism is inconsistent with mainstream forms of religious belief.

Keywords: value pluralism, religion, Isaiah Berlin

Language: English

Published: Number 2(20)/2012, pp. 100-103.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2019.2.100

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Number of downloads: 707

University of Gdańsk

English abstract: The author of the article by analyzing and interpreting Constant’s texts performs detailed reconstruction of the idea of freedom included in these texts. The author shows a close connection between Constant’s idea of freedom and of ideas developed by the French thinker and politician in his work on religion. Known classifications (made by Constant) between the individual and political freedom and between freedom of the ancient and modern thereby obtain specific philosophical justification.

Keywords: Benjamin Constant, freedom, religion, freedom of the ancient and modern, individual and political freedom

Language: Polish

Published: Number 2(11)/2015, pp. 69-85.

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Number of downloads: 474