Newsletter on the Results of Scholarly Work in Sociology, Criminology, Philosophy and Political Science

The Medium is the Message and the Massage: No Kidding

Harvey W. Kushner — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Herbert Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the corner- stones of media theory. His The Gutenberg Galaxy and The Medium is the Massage foretold the consequences of technologies of the new millennium. He tells us that the way we view the world around us depends on the medium being employed. In other words, the form or method of communication shapes how we perceive and understand our surroundings. These viewings create explanations that often appear fool proof or even scientifically accurate. Unfortunately or fortunately as the case might be, they change with the advent of new mediums brought about by technological advance and innovation. We need to heed McLuhan’s astute advice that all media work us over completely. In other words, understand that as different media develop so too will our views of all the things that surround us. What we can take for granted is that change is inevitable and brought about more rapidly by the exponential growth of technology.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/QWER5678

Neoliberalism as Ideological Infrastructure of Modern Society: A Critical Perspective

Vadym Palahuta — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This article explores neoliberal ideology as the foundational force behind contemporary social development. Through the lens of political philosophy, social ontology, and media theory, the analysis traces how neoliberalism has transformed from an economic doctrine into a hegemonic ideological framework permeating political, cultural, and technological domains. Drawing upon the works of Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe, Antonio Gramsci, Thomas Piketty, and Jean Baudrillard, the paper examines how power is exercised not only through institutional and economic mechanisms but also through discursive, digital, and symbolic practices. The digital environment — dominated by global tech corporations such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Twitter — serves as a primary medium of control and consent generation. The paper argues that the virtualization of reality, enabled by digitalization and media hyperreality, significantly facilitates the internalization of neoliberal values among individuals. Social reality is increasingly shaped by simulation and spectacle, where ideological control is exerted through the production of affective and symbolic systems. Neoliberalism, therefore, functions as both a material and discursive regime, sustaining elite dominance through soft power and voluntary submission. The study contributes to understanding the ontological dimensions of ideology in the digital age and proposes a rethinking of hegemony, resistance, and the role of subjectivity in late capitalism.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/ZXCV1234

The Rebirth of Pre-Modern Man: A Journey Beyond the Orbit of the Modern Universe

Marco Andreacchio — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

The modern world is founded on the model of a “scientific” prison in which freedom is rad- ically redefined within a mechanistic framework purporting to save people from evil. From within that cage, we are incapable of seeing what is without it without severe distortions. In order to understand the nature of our modern condition, we must question its moral and epistemic roots by seeing them onto a plane of possibilities whereon modern man fac- es pre-modern man as fundamental “other” and partner in dialogue. By encountering the pre-modern as viable alternative to our modern or Machiavellian “ways and orders,” we begin seeing the world, not as a mechanistic shelter against divine authority, but as a poetic place where the divine reveals itself in terms of a secret, though unambiguous activity seated at the heart of all things human.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/PLMN3456

Hystericizing Capitalist Discourse on Artificial Intelligence

Giorgi Vachnadze — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

The paper explores the complex relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cap- italist ideology through Lacan’s fifth discourse: The Discourse of the Capitalist. It argues that AI confronts the subject as a master signifier (S1), shaping subjectivity, regulating desire, and reinforcing the capitalist symbolic order. Drawing on Lacan’s theory of the four discourses and the three registers of the Symbolic, Imaginary and the Real, the study lays out a theoretical cartography of alienation, jouissance, and ideology — perpetuated and intensified through the deployment of artificial systems. AI-driven “innovations” exploit the subject’s constitutive lack by positioning themselves as solutions to existential dissatisfaction, thereby embedding the capitalist imperative of consumption as the desire of the Other. The paper offers a hystericized discourse on AI as a psychoanalytic counter- measure; a mode of resistance that attempts to reveal the ruptures within the symbolic order opening the possibility for an ethical reevaluation of AI’s role in structuring the (algorithmic) unconscious.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/LKJH7654

Pyramid of Inferiority

Marina Illiusha — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This article introduces, for the first time, a heuristic model of inferiority, outlining its key parameters as the result of research conducted by PhD Oleg Maltsev. The study also examines Maltsev’s model of the human psyche, which serves as the foundation for understanding the structure of the pyramid of inferiority, explaining its components and the process of its for- mation. Key categories necessary for constructing a comprehensive schematic model of human inferiority are described, providing a systematic framework for analysis. Additionally, the article considers the height of the pyramid, reflecting the stages of personality development and the formation of the individual.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/ASDF4321

Globalizations: The Shape of Things to Come

Heikki Patomäki — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This article summarises key arguments from Globalizations: The Shape of Things to Come (2025), a collection of essays that examines the forces that are shaping world politics in the early 21st century. The book’s main concern is the determination and openness of global history, as well as the potential for collective learning and institutional transformation. The article highlights three major areas of analysis: the political economy of global developments and crises; the securitisation of international relations, with a focus on the war in Ukraine; and the prospects for more democratic global governance. Rather than offering predictions, the book is grounded in ontological realism and reflexive anticipation. From this perspective, it explores how interpretations, actions, and normative commitments also shape global futures. By synthesising insights across disciplinary boundaries, the article and book contribute to ongoing debates about the global political economy, security, and the political imagination necessary for creating a more sustainable, inclusive world system than the current one.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/MNOP6789

The Influence of Attributional Styles on Understanding the Concept of Health: a Phenomenological Approach

Dr. Leonid Gudkin — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

The article demonstrates that attribution theory originated from the work of Haider, who believed that individuals are motivated to view their social life as orderly and controlled. This means that they need to understand cause-and-effect relationships. In an attempt to explain why a person's assessment of their own risks can be wrong and why people can be unrealistically optimistic, Weinstein suggests that, in such cases, a mechanism of selective focus is triggered, whereby individuals ignore their own behaviour that increases risks and focus on behaviour that reduces risks or does not affect them.

The article emphasises that media campaigns to promote healthy behaviour and prevent unhealthy behaviour have become one of the main tools for public health pro- fessionals trying to improve the outcomes of their work. The article concludes that the main media messages of the campaign are often complemented by other approaches, such as distributing educational printed materials or creating a news stream on the campaign topic, particularly when budgets for buying airtime or media space are limited.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/GHJK8765

Social Form of Consciousness: Acquiring Social Status

Iryna Lopatiuk — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Society is commonly referred to as the primary social form, and this is because it is the most widespread and pervasive social institution. The key criterion for understanding is the benefit to society, and so we are dealing with two phenomena: profession and "social output" (or success), which essentially characterises social contribution.

In researching the structure and mechanisms of consciousness, the author concludes that the social form of consciousness is the result. Consciousness itself is a result, or a state of affairs.

The author is interested in the social form of consciousness as a practical foundation of social usefulness and effectiveness, rather than as an object of theorisation. This qual- itative characteristic of social activity is the presence and contribution of an individual to the common cause.

In society, there is a value placed on auxiliary elements that act as transformers in the conversion of reason into consciousness and vice versa. To put it another way, education, social stability and predictability, discipline and reliability are prized. This is especially true of the aspects of social philosophy that define a civilised, non-confrontational, law-abiding and far-sighted person.

Provided everything else is equal, the core value is social stability, which is based on achievements and results.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/TYUI9876

Civil Unrest Response

Dwight Wilson — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

The article examines the personal and family-level strategies necessary to survive conditions of civil unrest in the United States, illustrated by recent deployments of National Guard and Marine forces in Los Angeles. The author emphasizes practical individual preparedness. Key themes include the psychological impact of isolation, the importance of situational awareness, home readiness measures, community-level cooperation, and an understanding of local laws regarding self-defense. Drawing from personal experiences and real historical examples, the author provides actionable guidance for maintaining safety and security when official responses are delayed or limited.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61439/BVCD2345