Bücher der Reihe Studies in Social Sciences, Philosophy and History of Ideas

The study compares the traditional Tajik social institution of mahalla - neighborhood - with the concept of civil society generated in Western culture. While mahalla is a typical Eastern concept, embracing the spirit of collectivism, in Western societies, individualism is highly valued. But there are also points that both societies have in common.

The book is a journal that presents narrations and factual accounts of events covering 144 days the author spent during the Third Scientific Expedition of the Polish Academy of Sciences to the Arctowski Station on King George Island (South Shetland Islands).

An encompassing and thorough study of Martin Heidegger's thought. It is not only a presentation but also a profound critique of the thinker's beliefs. In the context of Heidegger's cooperation with Nazism, the author reflects on the reasons behind his inability to confront the problem of evil and vulnerability to the threats of totalitarianism.

The book is a scientific monograph, based on a natural experiment on cognitive, emotional and social functioning during the year-long isolation of 21 winter hounds at the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station. The presented results are unique due to the longitudinal nature and high frequency of the research conducted.

The author of this book formulates a general thesis that in the academic culture, since the emergence of the first universities until this very day, two types of that culture have competed with each other, i.e., a corporate and templar one.

This book presents the diverse profiles of cultural normativity: from philosophical theses, which systematise various definitions of normativity, the characteristics of cultural normativity and its relationships with ethics, to analyses of selected examples of social practices.

The study critically discusses the thesis on the sociological vacuum formulated by Stefan Nowak. The author presents the sociological vacuum in the context of the debate on micro and macro levels. He studies the uses of the sociological vacuum in explaining such phenomena as the Solidarnosc social movement, civil society, social capital, democracy.

This book revisits psychology's appropriation of natural scientific methods. The author argues that, in order to overcome ongoing methodological debates in psychology, it is necessary to confront the problem of formalisation contained in the appropriation of methods of natural science.

This book examines Poland's public sector and welfare state. These are historically rooted in economic and social structures and amount to a form of public capital. There is an ongoing attempt to financialise and commodify this public capital. This includes areas such as health, education and pensions. Social opinions and contemporary politics are analysed.

The Polish movement of Solidarity contributed to the collapse of communism in 1989. What is left of Solidarity? How did it evolve, and contribute to the collapse of the old system and to the building of the new? These are the question the authors, leading specialist on the problems of social movements and social change address in this book.

The book argues that in contract societies prestige is no longer an important dimension of social stratification. Empirical research shows a disruption of occupational prestige distribution patterns and low consensus in prestige ratings in Poland. Yet, all social classes still recognise prestige as a valid framework of reference.

The book surveys changes in the occupational structure, income distribution, value systems, lifestyles and attitudes which have spurred the rise of the middle class in Poland after the political turn of 1989. The emergent middle class based on the intelligentsia, executives and owners is examined for locally distinct features and future prospects.

This book aims to provide empirical evidence regarding the consequences of changes in European societies, focussing on migration and phenomena of discrimination and xenophobia. It further presents comparative studies on marital homogamy, trust and legitimization, sleeplessness and - in a methodological part - a study of a mixed mode data approach.

The book is a collection of essays, weaving together psychoanalysis, political theory and art. Ranging from the discussion of Freud, Foucault, Zizek and Agamben, through revealing analyses of politics and memory in contemporary Poland, to a discussion of Foks, Kozlowski, and Opalka, the author attempts to develop a new style of humanistic thinking.

This book is a study of the life and work of Philip Rieff (1922-2006). It focuses on his contributions to social and cultural studies, to reactionary apocalyptics, psycho-theology, and to Jewish philosophy.

The book illustrates the applicability of the metaphor of the invisible hand in modern sociological theory and shows that sociologists have been part of a field mainly associated with economists/political philosophers. It describes the traditional and contemporary applicability of the sociological framing of the invisible hand for social sciences.

The way sociology frames the relation between formality and informality has changed. The book proposes a typology: the sociology of informally embedded formality, the sociology of formally embedded informality, the sociology of the interaction between formality/informality and the sociology of the emergence and transformation of formality/informality.

In the first part relations between legitimization, subjective well-being, voting patterns, and the role of social cohesion in determination of political culture are shown. The second part addresses problems of validity in the interview and non-response as well as those related to understanding of questions in multi-country surveys.

In this study the relationship between philosophy and literature is explored by means of an examination of ideas about language, the subject and ethics in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, Robert Musil and Oguz Atay.

What is the music of genocide? Can the experience of ultimate terror be expressed in music? How does music reflect on genocide? How do we perceive music after genocide? What is music and what is silence in a world marked by mass killings? Is post-genocidal silence really possible or appropriate?

In Archerian Studies focus on the critical realism paradigm, especially the notion of agency and the subject's reflexivity. This publication also considers methodological problems.

The authors of the book try to integrate the results of multidimensional research on problem of imagination, image, figurative thinking and symbol in a lot of traditions of European thought and contemporary philosophy and social practices.

The book presents the history of development of medical sociology in Poland and Europe from the 1950s to the late 1980s. It shows the evolution of studies on health and illness from the biomedical to sociological approach.

The book presents the principal functions of representative institutions, which are necessary in every political order: legitimising power, creating sovereignty but also setting its limits, and pursuing the common good and yet reflecting social diversity. Thus, democratic theorists should focus on making representative government more accountable.

The author of this book speaks out again in regard to the Enlightenment. His inspiration comes not only from new observations occasioned by own studies, but also from the recently read material as well as opinions and appraisals of the era articulated lately at academic conferences.