Καιρός (Kairos)
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Item The concept of intentionality in Paul Grice and Edmund Husserl(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Ivanova, MariaThe text explores a possible meeting between intention in Grice’s theory of communicative meaning and intentionality in Husserl’s phenomenology. Such a meeting can be thought of after the particular “return” of the subject in ordinary language philosophy. With its appearance, the subject overturns referential semantic models, problematizes strict realism, and breaks the ideal unambiguity of language in use. Meaning begins to be measured through intention - in the formation of sense and in the mutuality of conversation. Phenomenological intention, however, is a condition for the constitution of the world. The world is not something already found; it is a transcendental result of the intentional activity of the subject. This sheds light on both concepts as acts of achieving meaning - one linguistic and one ontological. From this perspective, the figure of the Other is especially important. In phenomenology, intersubjectivity is a condition for the world to gain the status of a shared world, while in language theory, the communicative act becomes empty without mutual orientation toward intentions and their recognition. In both cases, meaning arises not in isolation, but in contact. In conclusion, although intention in Grice and intentionality in Husserl belong to different methodological fields and traditions, they meet in the idea of active directedness as a constitutive principle of meaning. Through it, the acting subject appears as a bridge between the phenomenology of lived experience and the philosophy of language, and as the place where world and meaning are generated.Item The еpigenetic code of mental illness: from gene to phenomenon(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Georgieva, MariaThe present text examines the relationship between epigenetics and psychiatry, aiming to outline key points that show that mental illnesses can be explained through analysis of external environmental factors. Epigenetics deals precisely with this – it shows that without a change in DNA, it is possible to observe changes in gene expression, thus giving us the opportunity to trace how certain processes influenced by the environment are related to mental illnesses. If medicine focuses on the biological basis of human, then epigenetics draws attention to how a change in the environment can influence epigenetic processes, unlocked under certain conditions. I will focus on the phenomenological foundations of human, which has the potential to help trace the way in which subjective experience is a biological imprint, having a relation to the meaningful construction of subjective experiences. In this way we will trace ideas that will show that mental illness is not isolated – it can also be explained through analysis of experiences in the context of the environment.Item Microfascism of suffering(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Panayotov, StanimirWhat does it mean to suffer socially due to ideology? Can we understand the social and ideological suffering associated with contemporary forms of fascism? This text aims to answer these questions in the following ways. First, I introduce and question the current circulation of concepts of “fascism” in order to diagnose whether “fascism” is an operationally and reflectively adequate concept reflecting ideology. Second, I consider the so-called “ideological suffering” (Deyan Deyanov) and “suffering by society” (Svetlana Sabeva) as socioanalytic tools for thinking and investigating potentially fascist forms of ideological suffering. Third, to support the socioanalytic analysis of ideological suffering and the understanding of fascism-as-suffering, I turn retroactively to the concepts of “micropolitics” and “microfascism” (Félix Guattari), arguing that they lead to a substantial explanation of many everyday manifestations of “fascism.” My main thesis is that the ideological suffering of phenomena that we today think of as extremist is, in essence, microfascist practices of social suffering. Fascism as an “extremity”, however, cannot socioanalytically explain this suffering, but rather the socioanalysis of microfascism can do so.Item Reformation of the image: religious utopia and aesthetics in 17th century art(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Valkanov, DessislavThe article is a philosophical reflection on European art of the 16th–17th centuries in the context of a broader, recurring pattern in the development of human utopias. Its object of analysis is the failure of the utopia of faith in the last great movement within Christianity: the protestant Reformation. The great surge of enthusiasm for returning to the Word and moral renewal was followed by disappointment, disintegration, and a loss of spiritual force. The efforts to realize the religious ideal exposed hidden metaphysical constraints. Human weakness transformed the promise of infinite divine grace, accessible through a new type of worship, preaching, and action, into a torrent of words, disputes, and conflicts, without the expected transformation of life. This collapse is reflected in art, which gradually withdrew from the divine into the sphere of the material, individual experience, and everyday life, marked by the absence of the great ideas of faith and spirit.Item Tracing the memory (part two)(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Asparuhov, Valentin; Pendzhekova-Hristeva, RusalenaDrawing on the philosophical discourse on memory, time, and heritage, the present study explores how archives illuminate the structures and dynamics of individual and collective representations of social interactions, cultural conflicts, and identity transformations. Building on this theoretical perspective, the analysis shifts its focus to the empirical case of Mini Maritsa Iztok. The study's hypotheses are grounded in archival data and a selection of illustrative examples with indicative value. The research is structured around two main focal points: 1) the characteristics of the archival heritage of Mini Maritsa Iztok and its significance as a primary source base for reconstructing institutional, economic, and social processes; and 2) the possibilities for a philosophical interpretation of institutional memory, with particular emphasis on its contemporary manifestations and meanings as reflected in language.Item Practicological dimensions of persistence, renewal, legitimation: contradictions of the present (“Maritsa-Iztok”)(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Mineva, MartinaThe text proposes a continuation of a practicological reading of transformation processes in the “Maritsa-Iztok” region in early 2026, focusing on an empirical verification of the hypothesis of the “move potential” of language games and practices. The analysis, which takes (Mineva, 2025) as its background, unfolds through a specific synthetic approach inspired by Sacks ("protection against induction"), Lyotard (agonistics of discourse), and Wittgenstein (the concept of language games), but leading to an interpretation that extends beyond their conceptual frameworks and focuses on the field of practical logic. It traces the clash between the legitimized carbon routine – viewed as a series of categorical explanations immune to induction – and emerging inductive practices of renewal. The empirical cases that fall within this theoretical framework are as follows: the conflict surrounding the plans for the construction of an incinerator in Galabovo, analyzed as a clash of legitimation regimes between administrative logic and civic activism; the transformation of community centers (chitalishta) into robotics hubs, viewed as a shift in the rules of the language game and the deparalyzing of the biographical horizon; and the strategic speech and ritual moves in the village of Beli briag, through which the community legitimizes its existence as a category despite the physical erasure of the settlement by the coal mine. The examined cases show how the future of the region can be understood as taking shape through a transition from passive belonging and self-marginalization to becoming an active subject.Item Entanglements and transformations on the axis of dependence and independence in the Maritsa coal region(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Kapusheva, ElitsaThe question of energy independence is central to the public debate surrounding the planned closure of Bulgaria’s coal-powered energy industry. However, (in)dependence manifests itself at different levels in the personal retellings of workers and dwellers from the Maritsa East region. This contribution examines images and narratives of dependence and independence against the backdrop of the initiated shutdown of the coal industry. Furthermore, it explores how the emerging “dependence-independence” axis interacts with the drive for decarbonisation, the dream of a just transition, and the ways in which shifting energopower shapes life in a coal region in transition.Item Human resources management systemic deficiencies and propaganda. The miners of “Marbas”, Dimitrovgrad(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Kisikova, MariaThis study examines the management of the human factor in an industrial enterprise during the communist era – the state-owned “Marishki Basin” mines in Dimitrovgrad. The research is based on archival materials from the enterprise, held at the State Archives in Haskovo. The focus is on the process of selecting and recruiting workers, which was supported by the establishment of a number of services providing adequate living conditions and social services to the miners. Difficulties in delivering the promised social benefits and privileges led to constant employee turnover at the enterprise. The analysis examines the problems with personnel management as a consequence of the systemic shortcomings of the planned economy during the communist era. These shortcomings are insurmountable but manageable through the use of propaganda tools. The work of the propaganda organization at Marbas cannot stop worker turnover or ensure the optimal level and scope of social welfare, but it can conceal the problems and present an idealized picture of miners’ lives as reality. The case presented here is an example of the implementation of the communist state’s personnel policy in an industrial context, with the data interpreted within the conceptual framework defined by the specific characteristics of the historical period (communism) and the characteristics of the location (Dimitrovgrad).Item Between inertia, stagnation, and transition. A multidisciplinary analysis of key social and environmental challenges and structural barriers in the “Maritsa East” complex(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Kolev, IvanThis paper presents a multidisciplinary analysis of energy transformation, focusing on the structural dependence on coal in the Maritsa Iztok complex. Moving beyond narrow technical paradigms, the framework integrates key concepts from the social sciences and Science and Technology Studies, including “carbon lock-in” (Unruh, 2000), the “risk society” and “organized irresponsibility” (Beck, 1995, 2013), power dynamics in sustainability transitions (Avelino, 2017), the temporality of energy transitions (Sovacool, 2016), the energy justice framework (Jenkins et al., 2016), and the concept of technical democracy (Callon et al., 2009). Drawing on this theoretical synthesis, the paper argues that energy systems are deeply embedded within complex socio-political structures. Carbon lock-in is conceptualized as a co-evolutionary process that reinforces fossil fuel dependence, while institutional frameworks contribute to the diffusion of responsibility for environmental risks. Ultimately, the analysis emphasizes that the energy transition represents a structural conflict between institutional inertia, entrenched networks of influence, and increasingly urgent societal demands for environmental justice and accountability.Item Consequences of coal mining and burning on the health and longevity of people in Bulgaria(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Nikolaeva, Vesela; Gavrailov, GavrailThe paper presents an example of citizen science in the creation of a mathematical model showing the consequences for the health and lives of people in the so-called "coal regions". The model uses public data and can be applied universally to any area suspected of being affected by factors that increase disease and mortality, whether it is coal, waste burning, mining pollution or other industrial activities. In this particular case, the focus is on municipalities in coal regions, which are in the process of restructuring their economic model through a "just transition". A theoretical framework is presented that interprets this type of policy from the perspective of national priorities and commitments of Bulgaria's EU membership. A methodology for collecting, processing and classifying data on the health status of the population is presented. A critical analysis has been made of the defects in the provision of such data by the competent state authorities to civil activists and researchers.Item Energy transition through industrial policy(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Sabev, DimitarThe European Union's energy transition should be understood not merely as an environmental objective set apart from the economy, but as a complex industrial policy. Key motives for the EU's energy transition include promoting economic growth, introducing non-tariff trade barriers (such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), and enhancing geopolitical competition. While ‘green’ policies act as instruments for technological renewal, they may also intensify inequality between the EU's center and periphery, with poorer and coal-dependent Eastern European countries facing the greatest burden of the energy transition. In managing the energy transition, Bulgaria must implement an active industrial policy for its coal regions, particularly the Maritsa East complex. Rather Καιρός, бр. 8/2026 245 than a disorderly phase-out or unjustified support for the coal sector, the state should promote the development of a new industrial ecosystem in its place. Ultimately, the energy transition demands targeted state intervention to transform declining ‘Malthusian’ sectors into innovative ‘Schumpeterian’ economic activities.Item Climate disinformation. Narratives, agents, scale, and challenges to information integrity(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Panchev, HristoClimate disinformation is not a new phenomenon, but with the rise of digital platforms, its scale is now seriously undermining efforts to address the climate crisis and implement decarbonisation solutions. Energy modernisation in Bulgaria is lagging behind, and entire regions are losing the opportunity for a just transition, blocked by misleading narratives and widespread information with compromised integrity. This paper examines the key aspects and trends of the growing global problem of climate disinformation. Without claiming to be exhaustive, it outlines the main narratives, inductively synthesized through systematic analysis of public discourse, professional practice, and available literature. The analysis examines the role of corporate, political, and state actors in the spread of climate disinformation and attempts to map the scale of the phenomenon - one that has grown from a communicational and social issue into a matter of national security and an element of the hybrid war waged against the community to which Bulgaria belongs. The paper argues that effective countermeasures require simultaneous efforts at the regulatory, educational, and civic levels.Item Climagogy and the “Dorothy” case: the aesthetics of the Emerald City and resistant climatic realism(Plovdiv University Press, 2026-08-02) Stavru, StoyanThe article explores the possibility of substantiating the concept of “climagogy” as a form of guidance and orientation for existing environmental policies within the context of a dynamically evolving relationship to the future of planet Earth. It analyzes specific ecological strategies implemented in the transformation of Sir Bani Yas Island near Abu Dhabi (architectural eschatology) and in the creation of the Dubai Miracle Garden (aesthetic ecology). The study demonstrates why, in the United Arab Emirates, architecture is conceived as part of an emotional economy of admiration, in which each attracted visitor and each photograph shared on social media functions as an act of legitimizing political authority. The central part of the research is devoted to the “literary” example of Dorothy from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, whose adventures can be the subject of a "climatic reading". The “Dorothy case” initiated by a sudden cyclone, provides an opportunity to examine the implications of adopting a stance of resistant climatic realism, in which the desire to return home is not an aesthetic gesture of reverence but an act of authentic care. Dorothy’s wish to return to Kansas, despite the magnificent and by definition green, Emerald City, is interpreted not as nostalgia but as an expression of attachment to a specific climatic environment. The main thesis of the article is that such attachment should be placed at the heart of climate policies.Item Silence at last(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) X.V.Item How does the language of social media form a common being?(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) Dafcheva, MariaThe question of how the language of social media forms a common being has turned out to be especially interesting in contemporary times. In the present article, I will focus on it. Social media gives us the opportunity for constant and continuous communication in real time, provides us with access to all types of information, and is an inseparable part of people’s lives. This happens through the mediation of language. We use language every day, but we do not think about how it forms and, at the same time, determines our being. Our idea of the world is directly reflected in the meaning that we put into words and the way in which we communicate. Language is conditioned by the rules that we follow, even if we do not always realize it. In this sense, the text is positioned on the boundary between philosophy of language, ontology, and epistemology.Item Tracing the мemory: “Mini Maritsa-Iztok” in the Archives of the State Security Service(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) Asparuhov, Valentin; Pendzhekova-Hristeva, RusalenaThe article examines archival documents of the State Security Service (DS) related to the “Mini Maritsa-Iztok” industrial complex during the 1960s and 1970s. Through an analysis of materials from literni (code-name) files, it traces how agent–operative and counterintelligence activities influenced organizational–managerial and technical–engineering decisions and challenges within this strategic energy sector. The study presents specific examples illustrating the mechanisms of surveillance, control, and institutional intervention exercised by the DS.Item The archives of the Bulgarian News Agency – history, status and prospects(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) Sevova, DesislavaIn the report proposed by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) on the topic "The Archives of BTA – History, Status and Prospects" the following topics and issues are presented and developed: Institutional origin, content, and organization of the BTA archives and functioning of the archives in the e-environment. In order to acquaint you with the establishment of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency in 1898, as a special service for the delivery of telegraph messages for events abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Denominations (MIA), the different periods of the Agency's functioning, the first bulletins issued, the first director, and so on, to the present day are reflected. The status, structure, and functions of the Bulgarian News Agency today, with the relevant normative and sub-normative acts on the basis of which it carries out its activities, are also noted. With regard to the organization of work with the archives in BTA, a general characteristic of the individual archival arrays, types of archives, their content and features is made. For the first time in the history of BTA, a specialized structure, the Archives and Reference Directorate, was established, which covers the activities of storage, preservation, reporting and registration, access, use and digitization of archival documents from all arrays in the Agency. In order to preserve, access, use and promote archival documents, BTA has joined the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the implementation of the investment Digitization of Museum Collections, Libraries and Archives, providing for a phased digitization of the various archival arrays with a deadline up to 2026.Item In search of energy citizens or how field research took place in "Maritsa-East"(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) Gavrailov, GavrailThe article describes some methodological features in the preparation and conduct of a field study in the Maritsa-East complex area in the winter of 2024. The emphasis is on the opportunities for structuring successful research strategies through the mobilization of social capital in local media networks, environmental and civic activists, and municipal and regional symbols. An analysis is made of the use of a research alibi by introducing semiotic sabotage in the preparation and conduct of interviews. The mass perception of the energy citizen is summarized, and the process of democratization of energy production is analyzed in the context of the green transition in the coal region.Item Anthropological approach towards transformations at the Maritsa coal region in Bulgaria(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) Mancheva, SvetoslavaThe aim of the text is to outline a picture of life under the conditions of transformations in the Maritsa coal region of Bulgaria. The lifeworld of local people is shaped by prolonged states of crisis caused by various uses of the environment, which lead to social, cultural, and ecological insecurity. Observations reveal dynamics in how such conditions are managed, reflected in the livelihood strategies of families and communities in the region. The study focuses on human stories, practices, and environmental knowledge in the context of the Green Deal.Item Life and social transformations in the context of the green transition(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-12-15) Kisikova, MariaThis study is an attempt to examine issues related to the challenges posed by climate change and the current policies that address them. These challenges provoke public unrest related to the social dimensions of transformation (loss of financial income, security, and social status). This text is based on field ethnological research conducted in several localities in the southeastern coal region. The case presented shows a life trajectory marked by a sense of constant change (uncertainty) in the context of ongoing social and industrial transformation. Through it, I will attempt to reveal the possibilities of the ethnological approach in the study of current issues related to the coal transition and the Green deal, the understanding and interpretation of life choices in the context of macro-processes and policies.