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  Religious Strands in the Capitalist Spirit and in the Western Civilization: Max Weber

  The author analyzes Max Weber’s approach to religion as part of the German sociologist’s general theoretical task: the analysis of the distinctive features of Western Civilization. In this theoretical perspective the article examines Weber’s approach to the other world religions (in the studies on the economic ethics of world religions) and ... The author analyzes Max Weber’s approach to religion as part of the German sociologist’s general theoretical task: the analysis of the distinctive features of Western Civilization. In this theoretical perspective the article examines Weber’s approach to the other world religions (in the studies on the economic ethics of world religions) and specifically his comparisons between them and the formation and values of Western civilization. Weber involves religion in seeking the answer to his “network of questions” (R. Bendix); religion appears as the moral component influencing the “worldly” behaviour of individuals as members of a particular status group. The article presents Weber’s interpretation of the great religious systems, which was centred on the status groups of religious leaders; this approach is a challenge to the Marxian interpretation of religion as merely a reflection and product of economic relations in society. One other important element of Weber’s self-reflecting method is also stressed: the fact that he examined religions separately, not as part of an interconnected historical chain and in consecutive order, as Toynbee would later do. The article examines in a critical light the frequent overemphasizing in literature of the role Weber assigned to religion for the birth of the capitalist spirit. The interaction between material factors and interests, and spiritual ideas and incentives characterizes the essence of Weber’s approach to the analysis of social phenomena: the birth and specific features of capitalism and the particularities of Western Civilization.

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  Post-crisis or Back to the Future and Beyond

  The main goal of the article is to define the fundamental reasons due to which the world’s leading economy has fallen into the conditions of global crisis. The advantages of the philosophy of spiritual pragmatism are revealed in search of valuable foundations of the modern world. The article is considering the need of spiritual and valuable ... The main goal of the article is to define the fundamental reasons due to which the world’s leading economy has fallen into the conditions of global crisis. The advantages of the philosophy of spiritual pragmatism are revealed in search of valuable foundations of the modern world. The article is considering the need of spiritual and valuable reincarnation and the possibilities of economic alternatives and a better thinking along this line. The latter have been represented through the prism of holistic approach.

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  Demographic-economic Face of Svishtov at the Beginning of Bulgarian Renaissance

  The present paper attempts to outline the demographic and economic outlook of the town of Svishtov from ancient times to the beginning of the Bulgarian Revival. The data throwing light on these issues are relatively scarce and can be found in archaeological excavations in the vicinity of the town, in published historical documents, foreign ... The present paper attempts to outline the demographic and economic outlook of the town of Svishtov from ancient times to the beginning of the Bulgarian Revival. The data throwing light on these issues are relatively scarce and can be found in archaeological excavations in the vicinity of the town, in published historical documents, foreign travelogues and in researches on the town of Svishtov and the economic-historical development of Bulgarian lands. The study is a survey and aims to summarize and systematize the present information from historical sources and historical-geographical research on the problems posed. Thus the prerequisites for the increased role of the town during the Revival can be more fully and more precisely explained.