Vladimir A. Lefebvre

Is There Any Fundamental Connection Between Man and the Universe

A human being appears for us in two aspects, whose connection is unknown to us: as a physical process and as an object with a mental domain. In this note, we discuss a problem if the mental domain is subordinate to physical laws.

Ideology, Morality, and Political Organization

When analyzing Soviet ideology one does not find any advocacy of evil. On the contrary, Soviet ideology is imbued with the declaration of good. One is called upon to be honest, humane, and truthful, to love the Motherland, to be a good family man, to love children. Numerous posters demanding high morals are hung everywhere in schools and universities. The declaration of good is the foundation for the entire Soviet upbringing and educational process.

Streams of Consciousness and Difference Equations

We have just far assumed that the subject’s cognitive-imitational system is capable of solving equations and even systems of equations. How does it do this? What calculations does it actually perform? In this section we will consider a hypothetical mechanism for such computations: we will assume that they consist essentially of a series of mental iterations which can be represented using difference equations and systems of difference equations. In other words, the mental process in question is represented as a dynamic system. This type of representation was introduced by Lefebvre, Baranov, and Lepsky (1969). The authors consider a dynamic procedure for generating subjective values which allows them to regard a process of evolution of a subjective payoff-matrix (including the matrix for the prisoner’s dilemma) in the context of game theory. More recently, the evolutionary approach to games (see Leinfellner, 1998) and to the individual’s mental domain (see, for example, Hegselmann, Mueller & Troitzsch, 1991; Danielson, 1998) has become an important factor in the development of social and psychological modeling.

Ethical Typology in the Novel Crime and Punishment by Fedor Dostoevsky

This novel is important for us because it is structured around the collision of two ethical systems. The author brings these systems into contact in two ways. First, the two ethical systems collide in the soul of one person. Second, different characters representing the different ethical systems confront one another in the plot.

A Boolean Model of Bipolar Choice

This model is based on the assumption that the world, for the subject, consists of three epochs: the present, the past, and the future. Each epoch has its own moral character, either positive or negative. The present is able to influence the subject directly at the moment of choice. A positive present epoch inclines the subject to perform good actions, while a negative present inclines him toward evil ones.

The Three-Faced Janus: An Initial Metaphor for the Model of the Subject

These words of an eminent psychologist and psychiatrist have great significance for us, especially the concluding phrase. Why is it so difficult to turn the metaphor of two-phased Janus into a real model of the subject? We will show later that the reasons lie in the metaphor’s incompleteness. It must be expanded to include a third face, turned toward the present.

Feelings and Sacrifices

There is a widespread belief that the willingness to sacrifice indicates altruism. In reality, altruism may itself be considered as a form of sacrifice. Examples of sacrificial thought show that only rarely are sacrifices made purely for the good of another person. Usually sacrifice is made in the name of an idea or for self-affirmation. Its meaning is almost always only symbolic. Sacrifice does not bring profit, but rather loss. Nevertheless, the readiness to sacrifice has always been regarded as one of the supreme qualities of human beings.

Formal Connections Between Modules of Inner Structures and Individuals

The ‘primitive’ individuals who are able to maximize an image of themselves have the following structure:

The Problem of Substantiating Initial Axioms

{S_1} = {a^{{a^a}^{*{b_*}}b}},