Vol 21, No 3 (2017)

The article is devoted to the evolution of the concept of dignity in ethical and philosophical thought. On the basis of the etymology of the word, the author reveals the basic definition of dignity as a measure of the correspondence of a person’s behavior to his or her position in society and the approving reaction of the others to such behavior. This definition is corrected in the analysis of the views of Aristotle, the Stoics, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, J. Manetti, J. Pico della Mirandola, T. Hobbes, J.-J. Rousseau, I. Kant, and others. It is shown that in the course of historical development (under the influence of philosophy and religion) the hierarchical understanding of dignity was gradually replaced by the universalist one. Analyzing the notions of dignity as a theoretical foundation of the human rights system and disputes about dignity in contemporary bioethics, the author concludes that dignity is an important personal and social value, which potential in solving complex ethical dilemmas of present time, despite the frequent use of this word in public discourse, is not yet fully realized.

The article considers two ways of raising the question about the concept of moral choice, carried out by two famous critics of the classical intellectualism in ethics - S. Kierkegaard and F. Nietzsche. The work defines the main contexts for the understanding of moral choice: as associated with the ideas of the overcoming of the abstract nature of the subject of moral choice, as making the emphasis on per-sonality and as based on the idea of increasing self-affirmation of life in opposition to the values of denial of life (Ressentment). The philosophy of Kierkegaard illuminates the theme of moral choice from two points of view: as a phenomenon of the ethical stage of existence, and as characteristic of the religious stage. If the ethical stage defines the moral choice as associated with the choice of these or those moral values, the religious stage is raised from the choice between the Absolute and the items of temporary individual human existence. The position of Nietzsche in relation to understanding the nature of morality is associated with his separation of morality of masters and morality of slaves. If the latter is determined by the sense of Ressentiment, the first is understood through absence of the sense of Ressentiment, and the positing of values “from the” advanced will to power. Resentment is treated in the article in the sense, in which it is defined by Nietzsche in “Genealogy of morality” - as the sense of smoldering resentment at your own weakness and someone else’s strength. The article emphasizes the parallelism between the theme of personal moral/ religious choice in Kierkegaard and the theme of individual autoreflexion struggle with Ressentment as the basis of morality in the view of Nietzsche.

This article examines the phenomenon of moral Service, highlights the main value com-ponents of the concept of Service. The phenomenon is investigated mainly through the prism of social Service in the forms of charity and benevolence drawn from the history and from modern Russia. The enor-mous role of the state and state ideology that guides society with high moral standards is emphasized in the article. Social Service in the forms of charity and philanthropy has deep roots in Russian history, starting from the first Russian princes and the clergy. The mercy is always seen in the history of Russia as the highest value. In modern Russia the strong focus is also set on the acts of mercy. Multiple awards and state prizes have been given to citizens and organizations supporting orphanages, nursing homes, hospices and medical institutions located on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Service is regarded as a form of patriotism. The article highlights the importance of the personality of the teacher in moral and patriotic upbringing of the younger generation. The appeal to the themes of patriotism and Service is illustrated by the example of the Colloquiums of the Department of Ethics within the framework of the educational work in RUDN. In conclusion the author defines the basic moral values of people who devoted their lives to the high ideals of Service. According to the author, this is: patriotism, humanistic aspirations, open-mindedness, high moral ideals, highly developed sense of duty, honor and dignity, tender conscience, altruistic motives, hard work, professionalism, priority of spiritual values over material, self-sacrifice. Service is a feat in a long-term perspective.

The subject of the article is Russian electoral discourse. The historical-philosophical analysis and the value bases of this phenomenon are presented. The concept of discourse reflects not only the speech characteristics of a certain group of people, but also the specifics of the social structure. Thus, electoral discourse represents a socially conditioned organization of speech space associated with electoral processes. To understand the specifics of modern electoral discourse, its value bases are given special attention. The philosophical ideas of N. Berdyaev, I. Il’in, N. Karamzin, O. Klyuchevsky, G. Plekhanov and others are presented in the article. The article presents in detail the analysis of the formation of Russian political thought and the electoral tradition. The binary nature of Russian historical development is obvious: the way of life in Russia has been infinitely changed under the influence of Asian and European factors. Particular attention is paid to the post-Soviet period and the formation of a modern electoral system. The author identifies three main factors that influence the formation of the quality of domestic electoral discourse: the lack of competition, the emerging institution of property law, the adoption of political tradition. The nega-tive aspects of Russian electoral discourse are singled out. The study of this phenomenon will allow to define the mechanisms of management of social changes that can be used by different social groups to achieve certain goals of social development.

The article analyses design concept by Steve Jobs and his creative solutions. The study shows that Steve Jobs has followed range of values, such as simplicity and disregard for status demon-stration and superfluous decorations. He promotes these values among his target group and influence on people. Steve Jobs’ first priority were impeccable taste and aesthetics. He demonstrates disregard for the “false” values such as status demonstration or luxury segment products, at the same time he dislikes cheap and low-quality goods for the mass consumer. The designer understands beauty as truth, he considers beauty not as a subject-matter of the dispute, but as a truth that must be discovered. The feather of Steve Jobs is the ability to make decisions and take whole the responsibility. The article demonstrates that ethical values have contributed into the popularity of Apple products, designed by Steve Jobs. The article also describes the laws of simplicity, developed by American philosopher and designer John Maeda, who has been inspired by Apple products (especially iPod). The author has come to conclusion that the laws are based on ethical values, analyzing Maeda’s “The laws of simplicity”.

The article considers the problem of implementation of ethics as a taught subject into modern business education. Modern business schools reached a stable point of development during last decades and became less adaptive to the needs of modern business community. In this sense, business schools represent a longer educational tradition while education in corporate universities which emerged a half a cen-tury ago is grounded upon more innovative and experimental principles. Practical orientation and correlation with the functioning of a specific organization allows corporate universities to avoid several problems accumulated during the decades of business schools’ existence. However, the renunciation of some principles which are traditional for both public and private education can potentially lead to contradictory consequences including those in the sphere of ethics. The first part of the article is a brief historical overview of the development of economic education in the world. It is also shown on the example of the USA why some of features of business schools have developed like we know them today and what is their connection with the various stages of development of the world economy in the 20th century. The second part of the article aims to outline some nuances of the emergence and development of corporate universities, to show why their influence on the modern economic education increased and to point out the corresponding reasons to be ethically concerned. The article analyses some problems of modern business-schools and also considers corporate uni-versities as an alternative to traditional business education.

The paper carries out an ethical analysis of the political mechanisms of just restoration after war conflicts’ ending. The basis of analyses is the Just War Theory’s principles, and its result is the general parameters special, jus post bellum theory. Postwar justice hasn’t received detailed consideration from ancient and medieval philosophers, but in modern era beginning from Kant has drown many thinkers’ attention. In contemporary post war justice conception key research subject is the moral foundations of the compromise between all conflict parties in order to early violence’s cessation. However, despite growing interest in the issue, a whole range of related questions remains unresolved, e.g. who is responsible for postwar justice restoration? what kind of measures should include the process of return to the world? how to justify these actions in accordance with international law, in particular the UN Charter? Proposed in the article system of measures could be one option to these questions.

History of study of Dostoevsky in the twentieth century in China is characterized by insta-bility and difficulty. This article examines four historical stages of perception of the views and ideas of F.M. Dostoevsky (1821-1881) in China: acquaintance with the works of Dostoevsky; the promotion of the ideas of Dostoevsky; a decline in the popularity of studies on Dostoevsky; a new perspective on the study of his works and ideas.