Annual of the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje

The Mysterious Hand of (In)Justice: the Thin Line between Crime and Punishment in the Novel “And There Were None” by Agatha Christie

2025-03-02T13:04:40+01:00

This paper aims to contribute to the exploration o f the productive relationships
between philosophy, law and literature, in the spirit o f the contemporary “Law and
Literature " movement. More specifically, it analyses the key leitmotifs o f the famous
mystery novel “And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie, revealing their potential to illustrate the complexity and the deep existential relevance of some o f the most
important questions tackled by the philosophy o f law as a discipline. The specific interconnectedness o f the ideas o f justice, guilt, crime, revenge and punishment, reflected by
the complicated structure o f the plot o f Christie's novel, is viewed as an opportunity' to
test and further refine our fundamental intuitions about the principles o f justice and
their practical application.

Passions and Reason: Contemporary Aspects of the Therapeutic Function of Stoic Ethics

2025-03-02T13:12:53+01:00

The nature of the relationship between passions and reason is an issue that plays a key role in the ancient ethical discussions. After Plato, stressing out the reasonable against the affective part of the soul becomes a dominant stream within these discussions. In the stoic philosophy, the relationship between reason and passions has specific nature. There are no rational and irrational parts in the soul; instead, passions are error of the rational part. Thus, according to the Stoics, the reason is the only and necessary capacity for virtuous behavior and only those who act reasonably are virtuous men. For them, only the reason can ensure “life in accordance with nature ” - the stoic ethical imperative.
The therapeutic role of stoic ethics, which consists of rational overcoming of passions, serves as an inspiration for contemporary ethics and psychotherapy. After the analysis of the basic implications of the connection between passions, reason and therapy in the stoic ethics, in this article we will analyze these implications in contemporary ethics and the possibility of the appropriate application of the stoic therapeutic precepts in contemporary context.

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO SOME ASPECTS OF THE ORIGIN OF EVIL “INCARNATE”

2025-03-02T13:30:55+01:00

The article offers a brief outline of some aspects of the origins of evil in several religious traditions, examining concepts of dualism and the opposition of good and evil, as both an explication of how or why evil emerged, and an attempt at exculpation of sin in human behaviour. Evil incarnate (in the form of outcast angels, demons, and the devil) is shown as originating in a celestial setting, a product of God, an impediment or an adversarial agent, an active, intentional malignant foe, a trickster and a tempter, and an enemy to God’s goodness. In order to tackle some variants of the concept of evil incarnate, examples from the Old Testament are shown, as well as from two Qumran Scrolls and the Ethiopie Book of Enoch (The Book of the Watchers). The beliefs in evil spirits lingering in the world, spreading chaos, desperation and calamity, and causing poor moral judgments in people are briefly examined as seen by some church fathers and dignitaries, reaching the stance that blaming evil incarnate (demons, devils) for wrong-doing seems ever-present, while doing nothing to truly exculpate human sinners.

Fundamentals of Early Linguistic Literacy of Preschool Children

2025-03-02T18:54:14+01:00

The process of linguistic literacy of children has crucial importance in relation to the overall learning and advancement. This is a complex and lengthy process, which in our context, in its most elementary form, takes a place within the first educational cycle. Contrary to traditional beliefs, nowadays modern linguistic concepts of early literacy are being built, which is increasingly treated as a holistic process of specific skills that form the basis of a language. The basic strategy of this concept is “learning everything” “through everything ” (in the meaning of individual language skills) by using different activities mixed with elements ofplay and informality. One of the basic principles of this concept is development (of cognitive, emotional and social components), progressiveness and individualization at the “input ”, through the process itself, by monitoring the progress and micro-methodic modeling adapted to the individual needs, and at the “output” when everyone reaches their maximum in their own development. These are serious and complex requirements and priorities adopted at the theoretical level, and they are occasionally implemented in the daily practice. This raises the issue about ways of educational compensation in the direction of modern strategies to become daily teaching routine.
Children in preschool age should be put in many situations in which they hear, write, read and speak. Early linguistic literacy has a global importance and it is an integral part of the overall development process, but also its foundation, since without developed language skills, the learning process is almost impossible. On the other hand, this process of acquiring linguistic competences is a process of continuous improvement, and not just a process of realization of certain primary objectives, programme anticipated.

A–te–wo–jo – Genitive of a Mycenaean Personal Name

2025-03-02T19:01:37+01:00

The form a-te-wo-jo occurs once on the Pylos tablet Sa 797. Although there aren't other forms, neither in nominative, nor in any other case, to be compared with a- te-wo-jo, still the analysis of the intermediate context of the particular tablet and the analysis of the Sa series in general, allows us to conclude that this is a personal name in genitive, ending in -oio. Although, because of the polysemantic value of the Mycenaean syllabograms different interpretations are possible, still the comparison with other personal names in Mycenaean and in Post-Mycenaean Greek, allows us to interpret the personal name *a-te-wo as a hypocoristic of a compound personal name composed of άνθέω, “bloom, flourish, be brilliant, shine ”, as first element and οίνος, “wine ”, as second element.

The Speech Act of Thanking in Cicero’s Correspondence

2025-03-02T19:12:49+01:00

The research subject of this paper is the speech act of thanking in Cicero’s correspondence. The analysis of realization patterns of this speech act indicates evident differences in the expressions that used to do this act in the letters to different addresses. In the letters that are the product of a personal private and familial interaction, thanks is expressed with the expressions gratum [mihi est], mihi gratissimum est, me pergratum fecisti and te amo/amamus. However, in the letters that are the product of a private epistolary interaction, but at a lower level of intimacy between the correspondents, the thanking is usually done with the performative expression gratias (maximas) tibi ago. The expressions of gratitude in the chosen corpus also differ in other aspects: in the letters that are the product of a distanced epistolary interaction the speech act of thanking is always elaborated in greater detail and is almost always followed by an expression that indicates the strength of the correspondents ’ friendship or the virtues that the addressee has as a person. In several cases in this type of letters the act of thanking itself incorporates the parenthesis ut debeo, which suggests that with this speech act the author is attempting to meet the aspect of a socially desirable behaviour. One of the strategies of expressing gratitude in the letters that are the product of private epistolary interaction is the “refusal ” to say thanks. This strategy derives from the perception that the act of expressing gratitude is a formality, which is superfluous in friendships that have developed ad summam benevolentiam.

Intelligence versus Rationality

2025-03-02T19:20:45+01:00

The last two decades cognitive psychologists have emphasized that rationality should be distinguished from intelligence, based on empirical evidence that even highly intelligent people lack the specific knowledge and strategies needed to think rationally. Many studies have demonstrated people ’s tendencies to display rational thinking errors in the domains of decision-making, probabilistic reasoning, causal reasoning, knowledge of risks, logic, practical numeracy, scientific thinking. Moreover, when rational thinking is correlated with intelligence, the correlation is usually quite modest and it is concluded that high-IQ people are only slightly more likely to spontaneously adopt disjunctive reasoning in situations that do not explicitly demand it. The paper mainly presents the perspective of Keith Stanovich regarding the intelligence versus rationality debate, showing how rationality is a more encompassing construct than intelligence. One of his key points is that IQ tests do not measure all cognitive faculties, they fail to assess individual differences in rational thought and it is necessary to introduce the concept of the rationality quotient (RQ) that refers to abilities to form rational beliefs and to take rational action. In this respect, Stanovich and his collaborators recently developed a prototype rational thinking test CART (Comprehensive Assessment of Rational Thinking). The structure and the psychometric characteristics of the test are described in the paper.

The Role of Gender Identity and Sex in Self–objectification

2025-03-02T19:27:13+01:00

The overall aim of this study was to explore the relationships among self-ob- jectification and gender identity in young women and men. Two self-objectification aspects (body surveillance and body shame), exercise activity and time spent in “beautifying” were investigated in relation to sex, gender identity. A sample of340 ethnic Macedonians (50% male) at average age of M=25.21 years (SD=5.60) participated in the study by providing background information (including self-assessed time spent in physical activity and beautifying) and fulfilling two subscales of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley & Hyde, 1996) and Femininity/Masculinity trait index scale (Barak & Stern, 1986). The three hypotheses were tested by using two-way AN OVA and correlation coefficients and all of them were partially confirmed. The author concludes that women tend to self-objectify themselves more than men and that this tendency is in interaction with the extent to which one identifies her/himself with the gender role. In addition, results suggest that self-objectification is connected to different health-related behaviour of women and men.

Development of Vocabulary in Boys and Girls from Early and Middle Childhood

2025-03-02T19:38:00+01:00

This paper examines the differences in the development of vocabulary in boys and girls from early and middle childhood. The lexical development is one of the most significant aspects of language development. Important quantitative and qualitative changes in the lexical domain occur early in life, especially during the preschool years. The number of words in the vocabulary is increasing with age and words are becoming more complex. Research on the differences between boys and girls usually indicate that girls are more successful in this regard.
The total number of respondents in this research is 222. In this sample, 110 are boys and 112 are girls. Respondents are divided into three age groups i.e. 3-4 years, 5- 6 years and 7-9 years. In each group, there are 74 respondents. The average age of the groups is 3.3 for the first, 5.3 for the second and 7.9 for the third age group. All respondents are Macedonians, Orthodox Christians, and the Macedonian language is the first language learned by the time of the survey.
The results confirm the first two hypotheses according to which older respondents and girls have more developed vocabulary compared to the younger respondents and boys. There was no significant interaction effect of age and gender. The findings are further discussed in the context of the available theoretical and empirical findings, followed by conclusions.

Work Values and Anticipatory Psychological Contract Among Final Year University Students

2025-03-04T18:16:47+01:00

This article examines the prediction of anticipatory psychological contract components on the basis of work values among final year university students, as potential job applicants (i.e. psychological contract). Taking into consideration the goals young people tend to realize through work, on the one hand and the nature of different types of psychological contract, on the other, it was postulated that social work values will have the strongest contribution in explaining the variance in beliefs about relational employee contributions and beliefs about relational employer inducements. The strongest predictor of beliefs about transactional employee contributions and beliefs about transactional employer inducements was assumed to be utilitarian work values.
The sample consisted of 312 participants, students of final year of studies in the field of natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and technical studies at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University. Applied hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis showed that social work values were significant predictors of beliefs about relational employee contributions and beliefs about relational employer inducements, whereas utilitarian work values significantly predicted beliefs about transactional mutual obligations with the future employer. It was found that significant part of the variance in beliefs about relational and transactional employer inducement was explained by the other groups of work values.
The results are discussed and their practical implications are highlighted.

The Role of Family in the Prevention of Violence During Sports Manifestation

2025-03-04T18:23:47+01:00

In the globalization era, the era of technological development and advancement, in the era of expansion of information and the information boom, certain segments of society and phenomena, not only did not join their progressive discourse, by contrast, they suffered recourse and on behalf of them, others that can be freely included in the category of social deviations, did not lose breath with the modern times and have been established on the surface of the society. The family, as a significant factor, suffered a series of transformations in recent decades, but it can still be considered as an institution that is the first bastion in preventing violence. Violent behaviour, especially in recent decades, is increasing. Therefore, one of the key issues that arises in scientific elite’s discussions is how it can be prevented properly and truly. Among all types of violence that are part of our everyday lives, violence at sports events predominates. Studies show that the family as an institution, is an important factor in the prevention of violence at sports events.

Private Security Sector in Quest for Legitimacy and Public Trust

2025-03-04T18:32:17+01:00

The purpose of this chapter is to question the degree and the nature of legitimacy held by the private security sector, and how this can affect the role private actors play in the field of policing and in the governance of security. We draw mainly on the existing academic literature on private policing, as well as our own qualitative research conducted in Macedonia. If private security personnel have less legitimacy (and force) than their public counterpart (state police), one should keep in mind two nuances: first, there is a tendency toward shrinking of the gap between the two sectors; and second, as private security officers and companies are likely to become increasingly involved in traditional police functions, their lack of legitimacy and legal powers could significantly impede their actions in the future. However, at this point the legitimacy shortcomings of private security in Macedonia do not represent a visible problem, considering that the private security actors are usually given specific legal powers and they do not rely on legitimacy as much as the police do in order to do their job.

National Security System of the Republic of China

2025-03-04T19:31:37+01:00

The national security system in the Republic of China is in large scale determined by the specifics of the organization of the Chinese state, which is based on the historical development, and, also, from the need to build a new national security system, which will be in function to respond, respectively, to deal with the potential security threats toward the country. Analogically, the question is raised “ Whether the existing national security system is a rational assumption for achieving the goals of the national security policy?”, as well as the question “Whether China has adequate capacities for dealing with the security challenges?”; these issues are broadly set in the security agenda of the People ’s Republic of China and the necessary significance is constantly given in order to multiply the efforts for ensuring the peace and security of the country.

Identification of Funding Sources of Islamic State

2025-03-04T19:38:04+01:00

The purpose of this paper will be focused on investigating the nature of the financing, which is different depending on the type of terrorist organization, where on one hand there are traditional, hierarchically structured terrorist organizations and on the other hand decentralized, networked organizations with an independent financial support, self-management and care of their finances.
The Islamic State developed financial independence and acquired economic autonomy which differs significantly from other global terrorist organizations. Given the rapid development of the terrorist organisation the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), there is a need to understand those funding requirements. ISIL financing is a constantly changing picture and a very difficult and complicated area to address given the operational situation on the ground.
The Islamic State represents a new form of terrorist organisation where funding is central and critical to its activities. This paper identifies ISIL ’s primary sources of revenue, which is mainly derivedfrom illicit proceeds from its occupation of territory.
The evaluation of the Islamic State finances through traditional approaches towards “countering terrorist finance ” leads to serious misconceptions. The Islamic State is fundamentally different because of the large territory it controls and the unique opportunities that offers for generating income.

The Role of Communication in Ethnic–Political Conflicts

2025-03-04T19:46:41+01:00

This paper analyses the communication role within the framework of ethnic- political conflicts. Therefore, the paper analyses if and what is the communication process influence in understanding of ethnic-political conflicts, as well as its influence in their resolution. Traditional conflict resolution usually seeks to produce acceptable political agreements, as instruments of conflict solving. Still, new patterns of communication between rivals (e.g. micro-level of communication) draw attention to some new issues and influences. Most of these new influences are devoted to changing relationships rather than producing agreements. Actually, this is an approach to conflict resolution that requires long-term communicative contact, in order to achieve more stable and cooperative relationships. Starting from this point of view, this paper focuses on ethnic- political conflict characteristics (including their theoretical aspects, causes, consequences and efforts to solve them), as well as on the communication significance in their understanding and resolution. Therefore, the paper analyses the micro and macro level of communication influence, related to this issue.

Legal Aspects of Humanitarian Intervention

2025-03-04T19:55:58+01:00

There is a question raised of whether the forced humanitarian intervention is to be justified in contrast to clear contradiction in the classical law of interstate relations. The classic approach puts emphasis on the principle of sovereignty, even in case when the state becomes enforcer of human rights abuses against its own citizens, or when the state decays with a civil war, crisis or civil unrest. In this paper the author explores the security debate over the implementation of il/legal intervention driven by the imperative of responsibility to protect. The author argues that humanitarian intervention despite ambiguities and controversies about its application, has slowly led to the concept of responsibility to protect vulnerable populations. This approach is based on the priority of human security in relation to the national security and the importance of protection of civilians as persistent disagreement between state sovereignty and intervention. After the end of the Cold War, the international community has found assets and willingness to do something about the colapsed and the failed states. Until that time, if humanitarian interventions were rare and were considered illegal, suddenly the United Nations started organizing and sponsoring a number of peacekeeping operations. It is a matter of transition from traditional peacekeeping to more ambitious peacemaking operations. Hence, the issue of balance between the existing consent for peacekeeping operations on one hand and the readiness to use force against those who break the peace agreements and oppose humanitarian missions on the other hand, was raised. There are divided views of the protagonists and the opponents of intervention and humanitarian missions. The views are divided by the political dilemma of desire for something to be done, despite the risk of mission failure. Analysis of the politics behind humanitarian interventions must take into account the public opinion and the politics of the Security Council of the UN. Legality asside, a significant problem still remains in the implementation of humanitarian operations, particularly in terms of funding the UN, despite the general view that there is optimism in the international community for humanitarian peacekeeping activities.

Interpersonal Communication and Helping Syndrome in the Helping Profession

2025-03-04T21:47:06+01:00

It has been proved that the people of every age are capable to learn specific communication skills, which improve the interpersonal relationships and increase the success in the vocation. The skills required for communication with other people represent a combination of good interpersonal skills (ability to cooperate with the others) and intrapersonal skills (ability to manage the personal attitudes and emotions). Use of effective interpersonal communication strategies by caregivers in both personal and professional settings, may reduce stress, promote wellness, and therefore, improve overall quality of life.
The interpersonal communication is immediate, direct communication between two or more persons, face to face, or with the mediation of some impersonal medium. We can determine it as an interaction in which a person presents some contents (information, messages) to another person in order to influence his/her behaviour or to participate in the creation of situations that will contribute to the changing of the personal attitudes and beliefs, that is, to help the adoption of certain facts and generalizations.

Writing Measurable Goals in Individual Education Plan

2025-03-04T20:34:29+01:00

Since every child is unique, there is no pattern or standard format for writing measurable goals in individual education plan (IEP). Even two or more children with similar difficulties or even in the same condition (for example, autism or ADHD), will learn, develop and progress differently, and therefore, they cannot share a common IEP.
It is very important for the individual plan to be in compliance with the curriculums and organization in the school, as well as to be clearly written and easily applicable. There shouldn’t be many goals, and set goals should express the expected positive achievements, not the things that the student is not able to achieve. Also, it is very important to put a focus on short-term and specific goals, and not to globalize with setting common goals.
In this study we are going to present IEP for a student in the IV grade, put stress on assessment of current level of functional performance, discover their strengths and weaknesses, pay attention to writing measurable goals and indicate the procedures for measuring development regarding the annual goals.

Recognition of Body Parts in Persons with Intellectual Disability

2025-03-04T21:20:00+01:00

The experience and the knowledge of our body is the first layer through which we experience ourselves and we become aware of the world in which we exist. Because of that, the purpose of the research is to examine the basic gnostic functions of the persons with intellectual disabilities regarding the knowledge of parts of their bodies. For that purpose, a research was conducted on a sample of 43 examinees with an intellectual disability (ID). The scale for assessment of knowledge of body parts by Stevanovic, Bojanin and Dajin (1992) was used. The research hypotheses showed a better understanding of the body parts by the male examinees, the examinees from rural settings and the examinees on a younger age. The persons with multiple disabilities have a smaller knowledge of the body parts in comparison to the group with ID. In general, the results show weaker knowledge of the body parts in the examinees with intellectual disabilities which are not in accordance with their chronological age.

Family resources and Support to Families of Children with Intellectual Disability

2025-03-04T21:28:34+01:00

Families with a member with intellectual disability, especially when it comes to severe intellectual disability, which is usually accompanied by additional disorders, need continuous help and support.
The survey aims to show which are the resources available to the family and from whom the families of children with intellectual disabilities are most supported.
Within this research, data from 60 parents of children with intellectual disability from the four day centres from Ohrid and Kumanovo were obtained using the Family Support Scale and the Family Resources Scale.
With the help of AN OVA and the t-test for the significance of differences, it was found that the respondents have the biggest support from their partner. Day centres are an important resource that plays an essential role in the lives of children with special educational needs and their families. Data from the survey showed that to the parents most important is the time they spend with their children and the least time remains for rest, relaxation and fun. Corresponding with the expected, there is a correlation between resources and family support, that is, how much support increases, the resources increase. The age of the child is the only variable affecting family support and the resources depends on the level of the parent ’s education.
Families of children with special educational needs need more psychological support and counseling, social and educational support, support in the realization of rights in the field of social and health care, as well as greater support from the local community.

Maternity Leave in the Republic of Macedonia (Opinions of the Youth)

2025-03-04T21:38:49+01:00

Maternity leave is always a topical issue. In the public, there are often analyses for increasing the duration, equal opportunities for its use, its effect on the overall care of the child, payment/unsettled compensation of the salary etc.
Maternity live practice in different countries shows great dispersion on this issue. From a maternity leave of several weeks to a childcare leave that may last for several years. Also, the issue of the use of maternity leave by fathers is increasingly more frequent.
This paper presents an analysis of the legal framework of maternity leave in the Republic of Macedonia and the current situation regarding its utilization. At the same time, a comparative analysis has been made with other countries in Europe and beyond.
For the needs of this paper, a quantitative analysis was also conducted to examine the attitudes of young people in the Republic of Macedonia related to the issue of maternity leave.

The Influence of the Catholic Church on the Family in Italy

2025-03-04T21:46:30+01:00

The moral discipline of family and its relations have a central role in the discourse of the Catholic Church in Italy. The very idea of the family, marriage and its status, divorce, abortion and forms of family planning, as well as relations between men and women are critical for the morality of the Catholic family. Italy is perceived as a traditionally Catholic country, however, in the past few decades, it was not immune to the impact of social processes, such as globalization, individualism and materialism, which led to a decline in the number of followers, reduced spirituality, family crisis and change of the concept of unity.
This paper analyses the role of the Catholic Church in the Italian society in the past and the present, focusing on major debates on forms of families, marriage, divorce and abortion. It gives an overview of the influence of the Church as an institution on the family in the contemporary society and examines ways the Catholic Church has shaped and defined the Italian family over the time.