Issue 6 (December 2025) of the academic journal Filozofia has just been published on the journal’s website!
Filozofia is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal, open to all authors regardless of methodology or philosophical orientation.
The editor-in-chief of the journal is Jon Stewart (Filozofický ústav SAV).
Editor’s choice: A research paper entitled “The Right Use of Reason in the Moral Theories of Aristotle and Habermas” (in English), authored by Vilhjálmur Árnason (University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland).
This study examines the Aristotelian distinction between technical and moral reason, as well as between production and interaction, which permeates Habermas’s thought. It argues that whereas Habermas’s moral theory places primary emphasis on the decontextualized justification of moral norms, Aristotle’s approach is grounded in contextualized judgment. The study suggests that Aristotle’s theory of practical wisdom could be instructive for discourse ethics. Habermas, however, has not been receptive to this possibility, largely because he has adopted a neo-Aristotelian interpretation in which practical wisdom is subordinated to traditional norms—an interpretation that neglects the role of reason in moral deliberation. Moreover, the contemporary ethos is saturated with universal moral demands that are presumed to guide moral judgment. The study further contends that elements within Habermas’s theory of moral and social development can fulfill a function comparable to teleology in Aristotle’s philosophy. Finally, it maintains that one way to strengthen discourse ethics through the incorporation of practical wisdom is to draw out the implications of the shared emphasis, in both Habermas and Aristotle, on the human capacity for speech and reasoning.
Vilhjálmur Árnason is an Icelandic philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Iceland. His work is situated primarily in moral and political philosophy, with a particular focus on discourse ethics, democratic theory, and applied ethics. He is widely known for his critical engagement with the thought of Jürgen Habermas and for developing a contextualized approach to moral reasoning. Árnason has made significant contributions to bioethics, especially in the areas of informed consent, research ethics, and public deliberation in health care. His scholarship consistently emphasizes the role of practical judgment, communication, and institutional contexts in ethical decision-making. He has been an active participant in international philosophical and ethical advisory bodies and research projects. Through his work, Árnason has helped bridge normative moral theory and real-world ethical practice.
Contents:
- Vilhjálmur ÁRNASON (University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland) – “The Right Use of Reason in the Moral Theories of Aristotle and Habermas” (in English).
- Tatiana SEDOVÁ (Filozofický ústav SAV, Bratislava) – “K autonómii a ľudským právam: je autonómia nevyhnutná?” (in Slovak).
- Martin FOLTIN (Filozofický ústav SAV, Bratislava) – “Problém autonómie subjektu v Nussbaumovej teórii spôsobilostí” (in Slovak).
- František GAHÉR (Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) – “Neofregeovská reinterpretácia Traktátu a pojem holého indivídua” (in Slovak).
- Filip TVRDÝ (Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) – “Dispoziční predikáty a lingvistická relativita” (in Czech).
- Mark J. BOONE (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China) – “Desire as a Way of Knowing What Is Good in the Ethics of J. S. Mill (and Some Other Philosophers)” (in English).
- Yufei ZHAO (Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA) – “Kant on the Political Obligation of Philosophers: Reading the Secret Article in Toward Perpetual Peace” (in English).
- Anna MRAVCOVÁ (Filozofický ústav SAV, Bratislava) – “Metapopulistická demokracia ako filozofia interregna” (Review study in Slovak).
- Marek PICHA (Masarykova univerzita, Brno) – “Spor o definici argumentace” (Discussion in Czech).
- Tatiana SEDOVÁ (Filozofický ústav SAV, Bratislava) – “Lea DAVID: A Victim’s Shoe, a Broken Watch, and Marbles: Desire Objects and Human Rights” (Book Review in English).
- Laura KLADEKOVÁ – “200 rokov Maďarskej akadémie vied” (in Slovak).
The journal Filozofia promotes the idea of open science. All articles published in the journal are therefore available to readers free of charge.
The current issue can be found here: https://filozofia.sav.sk/en/current/issue
