Labor Philosophy Research Articles

A New Labor Philosophy in the AI Era - Beyond the End of Work and Labor Utopia -

A New Labor Philosophy in the AI Era - Beyond the End of Work and Labor Utopia -

Development as Labour and Labour as Development: Korczak’s Philosophy of Labour Against the Background of Interwar Childhoods

In this article, I consider two Korczakian conceptions complementary to each other of children’s labour as a means of building their agency and autonomy. The first is the concept of labour as development. While the second is development as labour. I analyse testimonies from Korczak’s institutions, including notes gleaned from children’s accounts Wspomnienia z maleńkości dzieci Naszego Domu w Pruszkowie [Recollections from the Children of Our Home in Pruszków], children’s texts (Mały Przegląd [Little Review]) and programme and literary texts by Janusz Korczak/Henryk Goldszmit and Maria (Maryna) Falska, who collaborated with him. In the anthropological perspective of new childhood studies I ponder the radicalism of Korczak’s projects involving child labour in light of the time, their perspective on child labour, and childhood itself. In what sense did they have modern origins? And in what sense did they transcend modernity – along with its concepts of childhood and child development?

L'ennui ouvrier dans la pensée de Simone Weil. Cohérence du matériel et du spirituel

This paper focuses on one aspect of Weil's philosophy of labor, which has not been studied until now: the problem of boredom. In a 1938 article, she defines boredom as the main source of suffering for factory-workers. But shouldn't boredom rather occur during leisure-time, when one has nothing to do? In fact, factory work can lead to boredom, despite its frenetic rhythm and the deep concentration it implies. According Weil, boredom in factory has two main causes: monotony, and the fact that, while working, the workers lose the control over their own time. This correlation of boredom with certain conditions of work is nowadays still relevant, and it concerns modern life not only in the working sphere. It implies a critical approach to the conditions of production in the capitalist era. But it also helps to describe the paradoxical state in which, while being active, one suffers from weariness. At last, it shows the relevance of an exploration of the various aspects of modern alienation through the problematic of time. The interest in the problem of boredom therefore allows to explore two complementary sides of Weil's thought: materialism and religious inspiration.

Homo irretitus & homo faber: человек трудящийся в зоне риска

The development of labour in its classical sense over the centuries was accom­panied by philosophical reflection, which took shape in the 19th century into the “philosophy of labour” as a direction of interdisciplinary thought, based on the postulates of the relevant culture and ethics of labour, which evolve and come into conflict with the emerging philosophy of life, experiencing a concep­tual crisis in the crisis of European culture. In the article, we turn to current la­bour paradigm and its foundations in the era of mass automation and digitaliza­tion of human activities. Our focus is on the emerging anthropological type – a new subject of employment in the digital age – “homo irretitus / a person in the network”, which opposes not only the classical model “homo faber / a person creating the world with the help of tools”, but also a representative of the “crea­tive class”, non-material labour worker. The analysis showed that, insisting on the need to free from labour, theorists of the digital economy do not answer the questions of what will replace labour in its meaningful position in life, and what activity will replace labour.

The traditional theory application in recognition of ownership to virtual assets

The significant advances of the Internet have made cyberspace develop similarly to physical space. Although the architecture of cyberspace has an automated function, there still exists a need for state management in some cases, especially with the advent and increasing popularity of virtual asset classes. Virtual assets have the characteristics of a regular asset class, such as competition, persistence, and interconnectedness. Treating virtual items the same way as real-world assets would be logical, which This means that virtual assets can also be considered for ownership. However, traditional theories face many difficulties when applied to the virtual world in solving the problem of recording ownership of virtual assets. The article analyzes the content of popular approaches used as the basis for claiming ownership of virtual assets, including John Locke's labor value theory, Hegel's personality theory, and Bentham's pragmatism. At the same time, the article also points out the limitations and unconvincing results of applying these traditional theories to recording ownership of virtual assets. The virtual world is not the natural world for the mere application of John Locke's labor philosophy. Applying Hegel's personality theory leads to other complex operations, including identifying virtual assets. Recognizing ownership of virtual assets does not necessarily create optimal value for Bentham's pragmatist society. Therefore, recognizing ownership rights for virtual assets needs further research on the rationale.

Labor Studies in Samara Philosophy

The article discusses the works of Samara researchers T.N. Sosnina and L.B. Chetyrova in the field of the philosophy of labor. The analysis is carried out in the context of the need to resolve the socio-epistemological situation of the “death of labor” and to rethink the content of the concept of labor. T.N. Sosnina opened this thematic field of research in Samara in the 1970s with the development of philosophical theory of the subject of labor. As a result, the proper activity of the subject of labor was explained, the subject of labor in the system of spiritual production was singled out, and the prospect of a broad interpretation of labor activity that would include spiritual and managerial components was outlined. Methodological potential of the theory of the subject of labor was further used in the framework of noosphere paradigm approach for the analysis of material production flows and life cycles of the formation of products of nature and society. Taking into account the activity of means and subjects of labor, T.N. Sosnina presented the picture of the world as a universal cooperation. L.B. Chetyrova, discussing historical and cultural panorama of conceptions of labor, interpreted labor as a spiritual and practical activity. Obvious diversity of spiritual culture of the society naturally determines plurality of labor interpretations. Of particular interest is the analysis of the labor concept from the position of linguoconceptology as well as from the prospect of the images of labor in the history of mythology, religion, philosophy, and other worldviews. The Samara philosophy has answered the intellectual challenge of the concept the “death of labor,” proposing pan-ergonism – a worldwiew asserting the totality of labor. This worldview ontologizes the concept of the “labor of the being” and continues the tradition of ergodicy, various versions of which were developed by thinkers of the Silver Age of Russian culture.

Visayan Philosophy of Labor: A Reflection from the Notion of Kahimtang and John Paul II’s Philosophy

This paper highlights John Paul II’s (JPII) Philosophy of Labor and points out the need to have a Visayan philosophy of labor. Moreover, this proposes to view and analyze the Visayan philosophy of labor within the context of the Visayan notion of kahimtang. The researchers believe that the word kahimtang can be viewed as a combination of three words ka, himu and butang, in which himu connotes a concept of work. Furthermore, within the compatibilist minds of the Visayan, himu (labor) plays a significant role to redirect one’s kahimtang. Work (labor), for the Visayan, is an essential expression of freedom which has a similar expression to JPII’s Philosophy of Labor.

The concept of labor in socio-philosophical discourse of the XIX – XX centuries

This article reviews labor as the socio-philosophical category. Despite certain episodes in history of the antique and medieval philosophical thought, the socio-philosophical understanding of labor as a special phenomenon that characterizes personal and collective life begins in the second half of the XVIII century and gains relevance by the XIX and XX centuries. From this stage up to the present day can be outlined the two main themes of social philosophy directly associated with the concept of labor: the theme of freedom and the theme of justice. Methodologically, both of them are cross-disciplinary from the perspective of editorial classification and categorization of philosophical knowledge: the topic of freedom is developed within the subject-conceptual framework of philosophical anthropology, while the topic of justice also belongs to the sphere of ethical thought. The scientific novelty consists in the analysis of labor through the prism of a philosophical reference to the concepts of freedom and justice. In the context of humanistic discourse, these categories are reflected in the philosophy of culture, political philosophy, philosophy of economics, and philosophy of law, which allows viewing the phenomenon of labor not only in social, but also in anthropological, political, legal, cultural and other contexts. Having examined the ontological questions of labor, the author concludes that the philosophy of labor aims to resolve such key questions as the concept of labor, its purpose for the individual and the society, cultural and ethical principles of labor, and correlation between the concepts labor and freedom.

Review on Antibiotic Resistance: Resistance Mechanisms, Methods of Detection and Its Controlling Strategies

There are two paramount queries in the philosophy of labor: when and how to deliver. The answer to these questions is extremely hard. Besides, the pregnant woman is very anxious about her chances of having a vaginal delivery or a cesarean birth..

The Accuracy of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Fetal Head Engagement

There are two paramount queries in the philosophy of labor: when and how to deliver. The answer to these questions is extremely hard. Besides, the pregnant woman is very anxious about her chances of having a vaginal delivery or a cesarean birth..

Labor Philosophy: In Search of Freedom and Meaning

The philosophy of work is the cross-disciplinary direction investigating various aspects of work. Among the most interesting philosophical problems of work it should be noted, for example, a problem of interrelation between work and freedom, a problem of sense of work, a problem of relationship between people within the labor process, a problem of the organization of work, at last, a problem of correlation between technics, technology and work. It is possible to tell with confidence that it is the eternal philosophical problems connected with work. Concrete formulations and the solution of these problems historically changed. In this work we light only the current state of some philosophical problems of work. This purpose defines also a circle of the tasks solved by us: first, to give definition to the concept "work", secondly, to designate a historical framework and to formulate the main problems in the field of work philosophy; thirdly, to give a short idea of the current state of statement and solution of some problems of philosophy of work.

Diagnoza obcości. Brzozowskiego krytyka Sienkiewicza jako spór o polską tożsamość

This essay discusses the Anti-Sienkiewicz campaign briefly. The affair happened in 1903 in the Warsaw weekly magazine “Glos”, but was written up in many Polish newspapers. Stanislaw Brzozowski (1878-1911), the beginning publicist, literary critic and novelist spoke against Sienkiewicz’s famous works. Sienkiewicz’s main novels have been criticised for their conservatism and lack of social progressiveness, although they display great narrative power and contain vivid characterisations in a style full of imagery. The lack of national independence created greater reverence towards national history in 19th century Polish literature. Sienkiewicz felt a close bond with the Polish nobility. Brzozowski tried to put his own philosophy of culture and his concept of the “philosophy of labour” into practice. He spoke as am exponent of Polish modernism and socialism.

RESEACH ON PEDAGOGY OF LABOUR BECOMING IN POLAND: BASIC NOTIONS ANALYSIS

Pedagogy of labour in Poland is a relatively independent pedagogical sub discipline well-grounded from the position of pedagogical theory and practice needs. It has a distinct theoretical and methodological basement, and its own categorical apparatus. The sub discipline is a scientific base for a pedagogical specialty of “pedagogy of labour”. The research and analysis of the tasks set by modern pedagogy of labour in Poland are extremely important for the educational space of Ukraine from the view of understanding the essence of labour and its concernment for each particular human being and the society in general under the conditions of the market-oriented economy, the influence of the research results on training a human being in a profession and formation of his/her professionally and socially significant qualities. Pedagogy of labour realizes interdisciplinary ties with psychology of labour, philosophy of labour, medicine of labour, anthropology, political and economic sciences. Today pedagogy of labour presents itself as a science, as a pedagogical discipline and a sphere of practical activities. Leading representatives of Polish pedagogy of labour, who have developed its methodological apparatus, are T. Nowacki, Z. Wiatrowski, S. Kwiatkowski, W. Furmanek. The article analyzes basic notions of pedagogy of labour as a pedagogical sub discipline. The Polish scientists consider labour, human being, education to be principal categories of pedagogy of labour. The cogency of terminology research is supported by the fact that the latter plays not only the communicative function, but also content and cognitive ones for the language of each scientific discipline is both the aim of the educational procedures and its instrument. The peculiarity of Polish scientists, researchers of pedagogy of labour, is, as the author mentions, the fact that they consider not economical but humanistic aspects of the professional work to be primary. The humanistic aspects include understanding of labour as an inalienable life value, attitude of a human being to labour, his/her readiness to labour and adaptation to the latter etc. The author also stresses on the importance of the Polish experience for the formation of the common field of scientific research, educational project activities under the conditions of Ukraine’s entering into the European space of communication.

Human Labor: Vocation to Share and Celebrate Divine Creativity

In the Christian religious tradition, a great deal of study is devoted to the notion of human work and its importance to the world as such. In presenting some general ideas on this topic based almost exclusively on Christian perspective, Rev. Dr. Karekatt has argued that religion throughout the ages has played a decisive role not only in the understanding of human being and his/her surroundings but also in providing them with means and methods of harnessing human labor. With the arrival of modern science and technology however, the Church was faced with immense challenges in order to redefine work ethics and provide the meaning of it that would fit the new and ever increasing development of labor philosophy within modern and secular worldview. This and other questions such as work in the Christian perspective, human being as creation in the image of God and ordained to live in society, and finally work or labor as a fundamental dimension of human existence have been discussed in the present article.

Kako braniti estetiku?

Milan Damnjanović (1924-1994) published his aesthetic opus in the context of (Yugoslav) Marxist "overcoming" (Aufhebung) of aesthetics and of aesthetics' self-criticism expressed as the "crisis of aesthetics". To oppose both of these critical positions and at the same time reform aesthetics' ability to treat all aesthetic phenomena, but still keep art in special focus, he introduced the problem of immediacy of experience of the world by a human being. In his article "The Problem of Immediacy and Mediation in Marx's Thought" (1970) Damnjanović wanted to demonstrate the primacy of aesthetic dimension in immediacy and immediate mediation/reflection which can support philosophy's legitimate claim to organize it as an open system, and aesthetics' solidity as a discipline of such system. To achieve this purpose, he introduced an intertwined argumentation which combines his reading of Marx's philosophy of labour from Paris Manuscripts and from Capital with Helmut Plessner's esthesiology and Paul Valery's esthésique. To revisit Damnjanović's defence of the Whole, of philosophical systematicity, and of aesthetics' autonomous position as a discipline is an opportunity to argue that he pointed into the right direction, be it in taking Plessner and Valéry for support, or, in taking fundamental philosophical problem of immediacy/mediation as a foundation stone of the status of aesthetics.

The State of Labor-Management Relations, 1958-1959

After explaining Sidney Hillman's contribution to labor philosophy and to improved labor-management relations, the author draws a vivid picture of the present state of labor-management relations. Hillman believed in the mutuality of interests between both sides, but there was no question of surrendering to Management. We are a long way from a universal achievement of the type of labor-management relations symbolysed by the Sidney Hillman's tradition. Union organization meets with resistance; all parties toughen their attitudes and restrict their meetings to those around the bargaining table. To bridge the gap and introduce more talks on basic issues between sides, a Labor-Management Assembly is proposed.

Abortion in the American Imagination: Before Life and Choice, 1880–1940 by Karen Weingarten (review)

ABORTION IN THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION: Before Life and Choice, 1880-1940. By Karen Weingarten. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. 2014.A solid work of American Studies scholarship should be truly interdisciplinary at same time it strives to challenge its audience to scrutinize a deeply ingrained ideology. Karen Weingarten's Abortion in American Imagination does this with verve. By drawing a trajectory from Anthony Comstock's attempts to regulate morality in late-nineteenth century, to popular fiction of early-twentieth century, to abortion's ties with economics and labor philosophy, Weingarten demonstrates that contemporary abortion discourse of and reveals that, despite crossing disciplines, issue has landed in nebulous realm of morality: [...] use of terms life and choice is caught in liberal American ideals of individuality, autonomy, and self-responsibility, which work to obscure abortion's entanglement in larger questions of race, eugenics, biopolitics, and, of course, gender (2-3). In order to disentangle rhetorical moves of contemporary abortion debate, we need to recognize that abortion discourse is bound up in a version of liberalism that, despite valuing the autonomous, self-reliant, individual citizen who singular rights must be protected above all (6), premises protection by state on only certain forms of life and only under certain conditions (7).To my mind, Weingarten's method of recognizing limitations of liberalism's relationship to reproductive rights is strongest feature of book. Throughout, she tracks instances of way abortion rhetoric is used to discipline women's bodies and how this alters and affects their participation in American life. Weingarten proves that white women were disciplined into viewing their bodies as national vessels for reproduction and believing that disrupting this process was against nation-state and their race (19). One solid piece of evidence to this effect is her reading of The Great Trunk Mystery from 1871, a dime novel that sensationalized story of a white girl found in a trunk on a Chicago train after she died from a botched abortion. The case, Weingarten argues, made explicit new collusion between those who explicitly care for biological needs and those who govern those bodies through forces of law (25), as well as exposing way antiabortion advocates used racial markers of usually foreign abortion doctors to emphasize threat to survival of white America. …

Trade Unions: A Legal Succor to the Deprived Masses or a Travesty of Social Compulsions?

Trade Union is an outcome of the factory system. It is based on labor philosophy - “united we stand, divided we fall.” Trade union means a combination formed for the purpose of regulating the relations Unions Act 1926, however includes a combination formed for the purpose of regulating the relations not only between workmen and employers but also between workmen and workmen or between employers and employers. Industrial revolution in India has changed the traditional outlook in the labor management relationship. With the introduction of the modern factory system, personal relationship between employer and employee disappeared has given rise to many social and economic evils which made it imperative on the part of the workers to devise an effective mean to contact employees and to bargain with them. Trade unions are unique organizations whose role is variously interpreted and understood by different interest groups in the society.

A philosophy of labour: comparing A. V. Lunačarskij and S. Brzozowski

At the end of 1907 within a couple of months Lunacarskij met both Gor’kij and Brzozowski in Italy and found many important points of contact with each. To compare Lunacarskij’s thought at that time with Brzozowski’s “philosophical program” of 1907 casts some new light on the great variety of interpretations that enlivened Easter European Marxism at the beginning of the twentieth century. On the one hand, it explains Lunacarskij’s “economism” as distinct both from Brzozowski’s extreme anthropologism and Gor’kij’s “cosmism”; on the other, it shows that Lunacarskij’s “philosophy of labour” promoted a violent attitude of conquest and humankind’s domination of nature. Although he criticized Brzozowski’s sympathies with German Idealism, Lunacarskij shared with him a deep appreciation of human creative power, which is evident in his peculiar form of collectivism as well.

Was Brzozowski a “constructionist”? A contemporary reading of Brzozowski’s “philosophy of labour”

Brzozowski’s ‘philosophy of labour’—to which he devoted a number of writings starting in 1902—presents problems of interpretation. A conceptual approach to his conception shows it to be a sometimes uneasy mix of realist and anti-realist notions. Brzozowski appears to have thought that labour is not first of all about the things it supposedly transforms, but rather about itself. I suggest that Brzozowski can be read in the spirit of Nelson Goodman’s nominalist constructionalism (“worldmaking”). On this account, labour in Brzozowski’s idiom turns out to be the constitution of forms of symbolizing sufficient unto themselves and the needs they satisfy. However, that Brzozowski was not entirely consistent in the views I impute to him—he forever sought for some ‘external’ measure of the rightness of labour/symbolizing—can be explained at least in part by his ‘humanism’, that is, his commitment to the task he assigns humankind, that of creating the one meaningful world attesting to virtually unrestricted human power.