Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina, 2017 (vol. 19), issue 1
Articles
The Text Mining of Ethics and Information Technology
Andrej Gogora
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):3-8 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.3-8 
The aim of contribution is to provide computational analysis of the journal Ethics and Information Technology by means of application of digital text mining and statistical tools on the journal's data extracted from 17 volumes. The procedure consists of data set building, application of various digital tools and interpretation of outputs. The analysis is conducted in order to acquire the basic topic structure of articles, to identify most frequently used terms, collocations and their occurrences with respect to the year of publishing, and to expose basic statistical author's data. The purpose of contribution is to present statistical overview of the...
Modern Technology's Effort to Master Time as a Challenge for Ethics
Branko Klun
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):9-13 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.9-13
Modern technology has been striving to free humans from their subjection to space and time since its very beginnings. Overcoming spatial distances, intrinsically linked to the phenomenon of globalisation, and the parallel process of gaining mastery over time by new means of production and communication, has promised to bring man closer to a fulfilled life. However, instead of giving us more time for an authentic existence, the acceleration of time in modernity (as analysed by sociologist Hartmut Rosa) has led to a chronic lack of time and poses a general question of a good life and ethics. In this article, I intend to refer to Heidegger's view on the...
Do the Virtual Communities Match the Real Ones? (Communitarian Perspective)
Jarmila Jurova
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):14-18 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.14-18
The paper traces the concept of 'responsive' (real) community as defined by communitarians. Responsive community is defined as a morally valued way of life characterized by a shared set of values. This concept of community embodies the idea that human beings are fundamentally related to each other through social bonds and value consensus that enable stable relationships among the members. However, a new kind of community - the virtual/online community - has appeared due to the modernization and information technology development in society. Individuals interacting online are often loosely linked by specialized instrumental ties and the boundaries of...
Ontological Consequences of the Ethics of Technology
Peter Kondrla, Primoz Repar
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):19-24 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.19-24
Development of new technologies is accompanied by a necessary ethical reflection of them. This ethical reflection, for the sake of the legitimization of its own discourse, defines the relations between the fundamental ontological categories such as human, culture, nature, technology and product. Ontological interpretation of these relations is bound to the specific model of rationality. This study compares two types of rationality for the interpretation of the relations between the concepts of man, nature, and the culture of technological developments and formulates the ontological consequences of both approaches. The first approach is the theory of...
Kierkegaard's Ethics as an Answer to Human Alienation in Technocratic Society
Roman Kralik, Susanne Jakobsen Tinley
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):25-29 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.25-29
Kierkegaard is well-known for his noting tendencies of the present age which point in the direction of alienation. Tracking the course of Danish society's moral trajectory Kierkegaard considers recent developments in the direction of the outward, the superficiality of a mindset that craves entertainment and the latest fad. This hunger for entertainment, epitomized by the technical marvels of Tivoli, leaves man on the outside, a spectator unable to make important decisions. Whereas Kierkegaard's emphasis on the individual encountered in the critique of 'the crowd' can, and has been seen as an indirect critique of democracy (echoing Plato's objections)...
Environmental Issues and Reflection of their Perception in Internet Media
Dasa Novacikova
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):30-34 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.30-34
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which the media are devoted to global environmental problems and to how they measure them. The initial categorization of the published texts in reputable online media with national coverage (that also has its printed counterpart), specifies how and where the most important environmental issues are reflected in online media, more specifically in SME and Pravda. We believe that only marginal space is dedicated to the important environmental issues. The basis of the content analysis is to document the frequency and the thematic focus of the contributions dedicated to environmental topics. Within...
Hans Jonas' Ethics of Technology: Risks of Technological Society
Ciprian Turcan
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):35-38 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.35-38
Until the mid-20th century can be observed romantically (almost utopian) minded optimism, that accompanied technological progress. Technical innovations have been evaluated mainly in terms of their positive contribution, especially in the economic sphere. In the second half of this century, the technological optimism gradually faded and was replaced by skepticism and negativism. Hans Jonas is among the first philosophers who managed to discern and appreciate the high-risk potential of technological power. Jonas formulated an ethical theory that might be able to adequately respond to the perils of a technological society. This paper focuses on Jonas'...
Reading Auden as a Resource for Existential Reflection in a Society with Technocratic and Hedonistic Tendencies
Martina Pavlikova
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):39-43 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.39-43
The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of a remarkable writer, Wystan Hugh Auden (1907 - 1973), who was strongly influenced by the philosophy and thinking of the Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, especially by his works Either - Or, The Concept of Anxiety, Works of Love and The Sickness Unto Death. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, purity and religion, and its unique variety in tone, form and content. It is enormously rich in allusions, poetic tone and intellectual power. The content of his poems ranges from philosophical meditations, the concept of being,...
Educators in Search of the Fine Line between Use and Misuse of New Technologies
Dana Hanesova, Andrea Nelson, Ken Badley
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):44-48 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.44-48
The currently youngest generation of learners has been massively influenced by ubiquitous technology. Due to their developmental cognitive and moral immaturity, decisions about the intensity of their use of ICT lies on the shoulders of their educators who have grown up in a different, pre-globalized world. These adults are often not aware of their insufficiently substantiated approach to their use of ICT in teaching. To become sufficiently informed requires considering various viewpoints, ranging on a continuum from techno-sceptic to techno-utopian. Responsible decisions about the ethical use of ICT can be reached only after considering the issues...
Position of Natural Sciences in the Education of Reformed Higher Schools in the Hungarian Kingdom in Early Modern Age (on Example of Reformed Collegium in Sarospatak)
Annamaria Konyova
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):49-53 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.49-53
The Reformation, being one of the most significant streams of thought in the early modern age, was closely associated with considerable changes exhibited in various facets of life, also in the education. Transformation of schools to Protestant ones had a significant effect on the curriculum to some extent also in the use of innovative methods in education. The aim of this study is to show an important attribute of Reformed education, which started in early modern ages in the areas of Upper Hungary and manifested itself by strengthening the status of natural sciences in curriculum. The article focuses on a number of related problems. In the first place,...
Intentional Abuse of Social Networks with the Goal of Promoting Ideas of Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Xenophobia
Daniel Slivka, Janusz Mierzwa
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):54-58 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.54-58
This scientific study points out a relatively common negative occurrence in the Slovak society as well as in Europe in general. Various parties, associations and movements, most notably on the extreme right side of the spectrum, use virtual social networks to promote their ideals and to reach their goals in the society. Social networks often contain hidden and manipulative forms of promoting ideas of anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia.
Ethics and Natural Science through Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutics
Janez Vodicar
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):59-63 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.59-63
Paul Ricoeur's well-known perspective on philosophical hermeneutics could also be applied in the understanding of natural sciences. This should resemble dialectic between explanation and understanding, which would enable the kind of objectivity that is claimed in all areas of science. Therefore, science could be viewed as an epistemological activity focused on modeling and confirmation of theory, as well as a theoretical practice that operates alongside other technological, ethical, and political practices. From epistemological perspective we will look for a role of hermeneutics in natural science. Explanation and understanding connect natural science...
Ethics and Science: Challenges and Possibilities
Dalimir Hajko
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):64-68 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.64-68
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the relationship of ethics and science is the issue of whether or not it is justifiable to manage human related research (for example, the question of whether we should have a moratorium on research that constitutes dangers to human being and/or humanity) socio-ethically. The author asks the question if such management is principally possible. Scientism and socio-ethical nihilism have increased their influence which manifests itself, among other things, in attempts to seclude 'a unique ethics of science' based on objective postulates of knowledge alone, separated from social praxis as well as from ethical values of...
A Neuroetholical Study of Human Behavior in the Context of Meditation in Religions
Hubert Jurjewicz
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):69-74 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.69-74
A neuroethological examination of the behavior and the cognition of nonhuman and human beings shows a connection between biological specializations to social behavior. It shows that ancestral organs and manners are usually regulated differently, duplicated, and repurposed so that an animal can act in a particular way. A neuroethological approach shows that highly specialized mechanisms have changed over time to translate immediate parallel circuits and social contexts that have changed over time. According to this approach, highly specialized mechanisms have changed to enable translation of perceived nonsocial and social signals into partially interconnected...
Problematic Aspects of Technology Education in Slovakia
Alena Haskova, Silvia Mandulakova, Dirk Van Merode
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):75-80 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.75-80
In current technology-based societies, understanding fundamental scientific concepts and theories and the ability to structure and solve scientific problems are more important than ever before. Understanding of science and technology is central to young people's readiness for their life in the current society. Moreover, each society, not only the technology-based one, needs creative technicians and engineers. That is why technology education has long been an integral part of (school) education although various societies and countries carry out this type of education in different ways. The paper presents the results of various researches and studies...
Ethical Aspects of Communication in the Academic Environment
Helena Grecmanova, Miroslav Dopita, Eva Urbanovska
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):81-85 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.81-85
The changes in the academic environment are related to the changes in the organisational culture and subsequently also in communication at universities. Transformation of universities from temples of knowledge into organisations producing qualified workforce and research findings applicable in practice is very important in this process. Changes in the relations and communication among academic staff as well as between the management of universities and their employees are connected with this process too. The presented paper focuses on these relations and communication among academics and between academics and the management of universities in detail....
The Semantic Fields of Selected Ethical Terms in the Written and Web Subcorpus of the Slovak National Corpus
Marek Debnar
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):86-90 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.86-90
The paper investigates the issue of semantic field of selected ethical terminology (e.g. morality, conscience, moral action, etc.) in the Slovak National Corpus (SNC). The examination covers two different subcorpuses (written and web) containing a collection of about thousand text units. The basic framework of written subcorpus consists of scientific articles from the field of humanities, religion and art. The web subcorpus was generated from website www.salon.eu.sk offering essays and feuilletons published by the European and world press, with special focus on Central European countries. Firstly, the paper describes the way of designing and building...
The Place of Cyrillo-Methodian Heritage in the Christianization of Kievan Rus
Martin Hetenyi
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):91-97 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.91-97
Constantine and Methodius laid important foundations for the diverse culture of Eastern Slavic peoples. In the spread of the ideals of this culture, Christianity played an important role. An official adoption of Christianity in A.D. 988 had several important features: development of art, craft, literature, sacral architecture, etc. It is thus understandable that in eastern Slavic countries, the cult of St. Constantine and Methodius began to grow immediately. However, there is a lack of information about the way the brothers' work affected Eastern Europe and the difficult journey it must have experienced. Both Slovak and Czech historiography provide...
A Concise History of the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia Following the Fall of the Communist Regime Historical and Social Excursus in the Years 1989 - 2002
Jaroslav Coranic
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):98-105 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.98-105
The purpose of this paper is to present a concise historical and wider societal development of the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia, or more precisely in Czechoslovakia, in the years 1989 - 2002. The Velvet revolution of 1989 triggered a collapse of the totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia, bringing positive changes for the Greek Catholic Church, too. 40 years of the Greek Catholic Church persecution in Slovakia had come to an end and the Church could finally seize the opportunity to fully rehabilitate and develop their activities in all spheres of life. In the years 1989 - 2002, the Church was led by the seventh Greek Catholic Bishop of Presov Mons....
Some Ethical Questions in Particle Physics
Hans Peter Beck, Ivan Melo, Thomas Naumann
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):106-111 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.106-111
Authors will discuss a few ethical questions in today's particle physics: high costs and purported dangers of Big Science projects, relevance of fundamental research for society and the way particle physicists fill their duty to communicate with the public. Examples will be given including the story of a possible mini-black hole creation at CERN and two outreach activities for high school students, International Particle Physics Masterclasses and Cascade competition.
Discoveries and Other Information in Physics and Astronomy of the Last Decade, which Have a Potential to Influence our View on the Universe
Emil Betak, Franc Cvelbar
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):112-116 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.112-116
In the last decade, natural sciences (sometimes called exact sciences) have nearly every week brought some discoveries or important news, which have consequences on our understanding of the world and the whole Universe, its past and future, and which may stimulate possible new philosophical look at the world and human beings in it. We have selected several such cases and will try to present them to colleagues working outside the natural sciences to serve as motives for their work: i) Water, the basic liquid for our life, seems to be much more abundant (though not in clear form without ingredients) on and inside the Earth and in the Universe than was...
Science in the Trap of Fraud and Corruption
Stefan Luby, Martina Lubyova, Ladislav E. Roth
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):117-120 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.117-120
The expression pathological science was introduced by I. Langmuir already in 1953. Since that time the investments into science and competition have been increasing and, consequently, the ground for scientific misconduct continues to expand. In this paper we discuss the scientific fraud in its multiple forms, such as falsification and fabrication of data, plagiarism, trading with papers and co-authorships, defrauding of funds, incorrect grant practices, etc. We identify the driving forces of misconduct as career pressure, anticipation of results, and working in the field where experiments are not precisely reproducible. The most visible fraud examples...
Deification of Technology and the Dignity of the Human Person
Pavel Hanes, Bram de Muynck
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):121-125 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.121-125
Technology empowers and enslaves at the same time. Given our proneness to misjudgment and abuse of power, the dangers of technological failure and catastrophe are well known and often discussed. Technological and legislative measures are effective up to a point, but they usually ignore the dignity of the human person that is inalienably related to personal identity, freedom and meaning. So, before we propose new ethical rules we need to make sure they respect the dignity of the human person. The following study chooses the three characteristics of the dignity of the human person as starting points for properly defined ethics. It aims to strengthen...
The Contribution of Teaching Logic to Ethical Decision Making
Dalibor Gonda, Petr Emanovsky
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):126-130 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.126-130
Everyone makes many important decisions in one's life and these decisions are the result of one's thinking. However, in many critical situations one cannot find a solution. The paper deals with the importance of teaching logic in mathematics for the human individual to be able to make ethically correct decisions. The mathematical formalism can simplify thinking and thus achieve the proper conclusion. Teaching logic can help humans learn the basic rules of logical reasoning. Mathematics is essentially a universal language of physics and technology but it can also be a language of communication in ethics. The unambiguity of mathematics could be used...
Using Two Stackers on One Rail in a Production System
Pavel Kopecek, Milan Pinte, Michal Sasiadek, Muhammad Latif
Communications - Scientific Letters of the University of Zilina 2017, 19(1):131-135 | DOI: 10.26552/com.C.2017.1.131-135
This paper deals with the possibilities for using two stackers for interoperation transport in a workshop with a technological layout of workplaces. Basic layouts of stacker production systems are discussed. Several strategies for selecting and ordering transport demands in systems with two stackers on one rail have been simulated and evaluated. FIFO strategies are the worst in various layouts of workplaces. On the other hand, the strategy of the choice of the proximate transport demand is simple and very successful. Good technological layout can enhance transport performance.