ЗДРАВЫЙ СМЫСЛ Лето 2002 № 3 (24)

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS

ZDRAVYJ SMYSL, Summer 2002 № 3 (24)

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS

We Want to Wake Your Hopes up… With these words IgorBorzenko, Valerii Kuvakin and Anna Kudishina introduce their innovative textbook “The Basics of Contemporary Humanism”, which was designed and written for the students of Russian universities and pedagogical institutes.

THE GLOBAL REALITIES OF THE XXst CENTURY

Paul Kurtz analyses the Infomedia Revolution and the Prospects of the Planetary Humanism. He points out that Humanists have to aware the current informational situation and change their actions according its dynamics.

VOICE OF REASON

In Defense of Reason and Secular Education. The prominent Russian scholars and public figures signed a call to strength an opposition against growing clericalization of the state educational and scientific institutions including public schools and research centers.

Antidemocratic Tendencies in State-Church relations in Russia. Resolution, which was adopted at the join conference of Russian Humanist Society, Interregional Atheist Society, Moscow Atheist Society, Liberty of Conscience Institute, and Editorial Boards of “Zdravyj Smysl” (Common Sense), “ Scepsis” (Skepticism), and “Prosveschenie” (Enlightenment).

HUMANIST DICTIONARY

In his essay Shame and Intimate Alexander Kruglov traces how changes in the norms of social conduct and sex relations transform our understanding of these two notions.

AGAINST THE FALSE SCIENCE

Must one oppress the scientific dissent? No! We Have to Call Things As They Are. Edward Kruglyakov comments the Internet conference about his publications on the contemporary charlatanism in Russia.

REALITIES OF HUMANISM

The Formation of Liberty of Conscience Institute. The founders of this voluntary organization Sergey Bur'janov and Sergey Mozgovoy explain the program and objects of this new born human rights institution.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Vitalii Ginzburg in his paper Ones More about Science and Religion in the Contemporary World continues his critique of the attempts to fill the bridge between these two different spheres of human culture.

THE MEANCES OF THE MASS MISINFORMATION

How and why one of the leading weekly “Argumenty i Fakty” (Arguments and Facts) misleads the millions of its readers publishing the mystical – as if real – stories and astrological predictions, which never come true? Answering these questions scientist Pyotr Trevogin gives a number of examples of the deliberate misinformation. The author comes to the conclusion that we deal with the Weekly, Which Ignores both Arguments and Facts.

THE ADVENTURES OF HUMANIST IDEAS

Nikolay Zuzev in his Nietzsche and Humanism shows the importance of the philosophy of the great German thinker for the deepening of the Humanist worldview. Overcoming of his immorality and desperate nihilism we come close to the truth about the humankind.

Vladimir Lashov's paper on The Radical Humanism of Lev Shestov is devoted to investigation of the hidden humanist motivations of one of the last philosopher of the Silver Age in the history of Russian culture. Author discloses the Shestov's passion to destroy all “absolute” and “eternal” truths for the sake of liberation of the concrete and unique human being.

SKEPTICISM IN ACTION

Report of the Committee for the Struggle against False Science and Falsification of Scientific Data indicates that debunking of the quasi-scientific theories and claims brings the positive results. Today many of the influential periodicals refuse to publish the “sensational” news on miracle and revolutionary discoveries in science and technology without the preliminary expertise.

LITERARY PAGES

Vsevolod Lyashenko in his recollections It was a Wonderful Story! writes about his personal experience to resist the coup in Moscow in August 1991.

Evgenii Smetanin: John Lennons' “Imagine!”  – the Hymn of British Secular Humanists.

Georgii Chernikov Goodness from Trickery, a humoristic story.

Leonid Salyamon Verses (from the Note-book “The War”).

The Authors of the Issue