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Ñîäåðæàíèå ñàéòà =>> Ðîññèéñêîå ãóìàíèñòè÷åñêîå îáùåñòâî =>> «Çäðàâûé ñìûñë» =>> 2009, ¹ 4 (53) |
ÇÄÐÀÂÛÉ ÑÌÛÑË Îñåíü 2009 ¹ 4 (53)
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS
ZDRAVYJ SMYSL, Autumn 2009 ¹ 4 (53)
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS
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IN MEMORIAM |
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| 2 | In Memoriam of a Great Person. Academician Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg, Russia's outstanding scientist and public figure, Nobel Prize laureate, passed away on the 8th of November, 2009, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 93. The nation has lost a personality who made a ponderous and unique contribution to its science, security and dignity. He was sensitive to natural science development logics and scientific inquiry strategies; he insisted on drawing a borderline between science and pseudoscience. Being himself a scientific materialist and Atheist, he was one of the first to raise his voice for freedom of conscience while Russia plunged into clericalism. This was an important and sobering fact of our social life. Vitaly Ginzburg was a member of the Russian Humanist Society. He was also among the initiators and Fund Trustees of the “Humaneness” Center for Freethought and Humanism Studies. He put his signature under the “2000 Humanist Manifesto, a Call For a New Planetary Humanism”. |
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OPEN LETTER |
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| 4 | Basic Research and the Future of Russia. An open letter to the President and Prime Minister, signed by emigrant Russian scientists. “We see it as our duty to draw your attention to the catastrophic condition of the nation's fundamental science. The situation continues to deteriorate, and the scale and intensity of this process are underestimated. In terms of science funding, Russia is in a drastic contrast to industrialized countries. Scientific brain drain happening on a large scale has been Russia's major problem”… |
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Academician Garri Abelev, RHS Vice-President. A Step Important but Hardly Sufficient. “The key reason for
the degradation of science in Russia and for the en masse emigration of Russian scientists is the bureaucratic approach to funds allocation and control. It's not even about
excessive corruption. |
| 7 | Dmitry Bayuk. Self-evacuation of Russian Science… “First, the 'large-scale academic brain drain' is not a problem; rather, it is a complex phenomenon resulting from multiple causes. Second, one can hardly imagine a more effective rescue strategy for Russian science than its self-evacuation, which became possible after the demise of Leonid Brezhnev”… |
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RUSSIAN SCIENCE |
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| 8 | Ivan Sterligov. Russian R&D: a Evolution Over Three Years. “The steady growth of funding [of Russia's science] is not yet translated into productivity improvement, as measured in the number of patents and publications in academic journals. These numbers remain unchanged year after year, while technology/technological servic es export proceeds continue to increase.” |
| 10 | Yury Yefremov, Zakhar Oskotsky. The Progress of Science – or a National Disaster. “Both Government authorities and big business give lip service to the importance of scientific progress and innovation. No attempt is being taken, however, to depart from the commodity-based economy model. Given our demographic situation, this is a recipe for disaster. We strongly believe that scientific and technology progress is the only way for Russia to resolve its domestic problems and be protected from the threats of the 21st century”. |
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RELIGION,SOCIETY, AND THE STATE |
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| 16 | Sergei Mozgovoi. Ideology Inculcated Under the Guise of Religious Culture. (Interviewed by Web-based publications 'Portai-Credo.ru' and 'The Epoch Times'). The Head of State has announced that schools will teach the basics of “traditional” religions: Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. Besides, chaplains will be introduced into the armed forces. This decision is viewed by many as unconstitutional, as it proposes to artificially segregate the various ethnic communities of Russia based on the prevailing religion. This amounts to infringement upon the fundamental rights and the freedom of conscience, and goes against the principles of secular state, which might pose a threat to Russia's integrity as a country. |
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THE RELEVANCE OF HUMANISM |
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Valery Kuvakin. Time for Self-determination: Statements on Humanism. |
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THE PEDAGOGY OF HUMANISM |
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Nikolai Nikandrov, President, Russian Education Academy. For Zdravy Smysl. The Russian Education Academy has developed Secular Ethics
curricula for students of school |
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Erast Kozlov. Secular Ethics at Moscow Schools as a workable alternative to the “Basics of Religious
Culture” classes. |
| 27 | Moral Education: the Voice of Moscow Schools' Directors. “The Secondary School Moral Education1 program includes a number of features that protect a child's right to free moral development and enrichment. First of all, it exposes students to moral values shared by all humanity, and does not include any controversial religious or nationalistic content…” (Yu. Rossikhin) |
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Vyacheslav Meider. Teaching Humanities Is the Foundation of Spiritual Safety. |
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LAW AND CULTURE |
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| 42 |
Marina Kuleshova. The European Landscape as a Cultural Legacy. |
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ESSAY |
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| 46 | Boris Rodoman. Sightseeing Tours Getting Clericalized in Russia. “It's too bad when secular tourism is turned by the operator into some kind of purely religious, confession-dominated pilgrimage. And this is exactly what is happening with domestic sightseeing tourism in Russia”. |
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RUSSIA'S LEGACY OF HUMANISM |
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| 50 | Maria Khasiyeva. Kosta Khetagurov – Poet, Enlightener, Humanist. Celebrating Khetagurov's 150th anniversary. “His worldview is … Humanism, with its ideas of benevolence, freedom and equality of all people. The pivotal idea of his work – the idea of freedom – was interpreted in a positive sense. He opposed the Anarchist and Nietzschean interpretation of freedom as the freedom of negation, immorality, revolt and destruction…” |
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LESSONS FOR TOMORROW |
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| 53 |
Yury Shapiro. Re-reading Shalamov: Extracts from Memoirs by the prominent Russian surgeon. “I downloaded The
Left Bank by Varlaarn Shalamov from a Web-based |
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HUMANIST GLOSSARY |
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| 56 | Alexander Kruglov. Statutory Ethics and Situation Ethics. In author's view, Statutory Ethics refers to the moral law, while Situation (Humanist) Ethics refers to a moral problem. He provides a step-by-step explanation of the difference between these two ethical attitudes. In addition, he analyzes the ethical philosophy of Joseph F. Fletcher, who invented the term 'Situation Ethics'. |
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
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| 61 | Thoughts about Religion and its Invasion, by Valentin Sokolov, retiree. “I am a non-militant Atheist. I just wish there were more anti-religion statements in public media. Not every publisher will print or post them. Why is the scientific community so tolerant to those outrageous attempts to push people intoto obscurantism?…” |
| 62 | Spiritual Does Not Mean Religious, by Ivan Balalayev, Honored Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation. “I am concerned about the policies of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). Why did they usurp the authority for the 'spiritual' development of the individual, and monopolize the word itself?! According to the Constitution, Russia is a secular state…” |
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FEEDBACK |
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| 63 | Vladimir Bogoyavlensky. Highly Topical. “My Humanist friends, it's our challenge now! We must spare no effort and raise our voice, again and again, in defense of secular culture and Humanism. We must be convincing enough to tip the scale towards common sense, which we see as a source of true spirituality of a civilized and humane person.” |
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BOOK REVIEW |
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| 64 | Vsevolod Lyashenko. My Acquaintance with Guru's Work. A jestful and witty rendering of The Universal Theory of Everything by the widely-read author M. Veller. |
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REPORTS |
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| 66 | When Will the Glass Be Filled Up? Elektron Dobruskin reflects on the importance of intellectual communication as a way for intelligentsia to self-organize in the face of contemporary challenges. He also reports on the initial experience with a Web–based 'electronic' seminar. “Internet userscan now maintain intellectual communication wherever they reside…” |
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HUMANIST SUMMER SCHOOLS |
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| 68 | Yekaterina Buiko, Anna Ivanova. The Secular and the Religious – Two Images of One Culture. The International Humanist Summer School at Buffalo. International Summer School classes organized by the Center for Inquiry Transnational (Amherst, N. Y.) and the State University of New York (SUNY) took place at Buffalo, N. Y., from July 15 through August 2, 2009. A group of MSU Philosophy Department students were attending the classes. |
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OUR AFFAIRS |
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| 70 | Fund for the Future – Continued. On Sept. 19, 2009, the “Humaneness” Center for Freethought and Humanism Studies (research and education institution) and the Russian Humanist Society celebrated the opening of the Home of Humanism, Scientific Education and Freedom of Conscience near Kolomna, Moscow region. |
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N. L. Delone. Imprisoned by Time. Geneticist's Notes. M.: RHS, 2009 (Editing in progress) G. L. Goldshtadt. Book Seven. Poetry and Lyrical Prose. M.: |
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| Administrative Department of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS): Tender Announcement… | |
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• Ïåðåâîä íà àíãë. – Àíäðåé Ñåì¸íîâ |
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