Pilotta, Joseph John

Two pervading factors in any life-world that are discussed, but never explicated are time and concrete action. No doubt, social theory (as well as every other theory) accepts time in the form of change, but the issue is as follows: There is a presumption that time is some sort of continuum in which things take place one after the other. The sciences take this for granted as a basis for their explanations of causal sequence, and even historians take this sequence for granted as a condition for dating historical events. The authors do not discard this theoretical construct, but rather, they point out that social life – specifically in the modern world (which is, by now, global) – involves time as multiple “horizons of possibilities.” Furthermore, the way these horizons comprise “time reflexes in time” is unavoidable in the multiple layers of social activities and plans, including economic, technical, educational, value systems, and in the selectivity of what will be counted as relevant facts and their interpretations. Indeed, such time reflexes disclose what a given society can and cannot do; that is, they determine what that society’s limits are. This aspect of such limits is a continuous self-explication of social life, and time reflexes are coextensive with both social theory and method. The authors go on to illustrate the ways in which the practical world is constituted by concrete kinesthetic activity in practices such as the formation of implements, the building of edifices, and the engagement in other common “intercorporeal” activities, which become differentiated and mutual. Such activities precede abstract theoretical constructs and reveal what individuals and groups “can do.” The theoretical/methodological aspect of this level of analysis reveals that we know the others via direct perception not as physiological entities, but as makers of the entire oriented architectonic of any life-world. At this level, there is a primary understanding of “the others,” which is given in direct awareness of what “they can do” and what “we cannot do,” and which we also understand as something that “we could also do.” It is within this domain that one finds universal praxis.

Joe Pilotta and Jill Adair McCaughan give us analysis about the problems with which marketing is facing in 21st century: advertising is viewed as manipulation form, impact and influence level of marketing are low as never. Authors briefly discuss about the existing theories of marketing and why existing theories do not reflect the real situation at present. Book highlights and reveals the importance to change model and logical approach of marketing from consumer orientation to customer orientation. It’s important to underline that customer needs identification should not be linked with past trends or rating. In order to achieve the maximum and overall benefit it is important to include customer in the process of analyzes. Such measures should help to realize the customer needs and also goods or services perspectives in markets. The book authors clarify the possibility to transform perception about Marketing Mix Modeling and analyze the need to adapt existing marketing models to the changing environment and media. In this book, authors try to demonstrate academic credentials as well as writing for the professor and professional of marketing, advertising, and brand.

On the occasion of scholar and teacher, Algis Mickunas’ 80th birthday, I wish to recognize his particular essay, “The Global Intellectual and Self Worth,” by expanding on his insights. I have chosen to expand this article by selecting another teacher and his student, Confucius and Yan Hui. The examined situation of the grief suff ered by Confucius upon the death of Yan Hui provides context to the meaning of life as self-worth and life worth living.

This book is a condensation of critical essays in contemporary culture within the context of European phenomenology, employing its own self-critiques in order to demonstrate the methodological and experiential dimensions of the logic of culture. These essays are neither a part of foundationalism or foundation-less. Rather the experience of the spacetime movement-logic of permanence/flux, stasis/flux, and the permutation of enhancement/reclamation and of permanence/flux and permanent/permanence—are critical for opening cultural studies to civilization and cosmological (world) investigations. The contemporary world of globalization, with boundaries becoming rather insignificant and the intermixing of global expression, requires broader and more-encompassing observations. This book will be of interest in the social sciences and in comparative studies in the humanities, for programs in cultural studies, and in courses emphasizing cultural systems such as philosophical anthropology.

The book is an interdisciplinary investigation of the themes of the most influential sociologist in Europe today, Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998). The dominant themes are, as the title suggests, society, environment and the world, which were developed in his works, 70 books, and over 400 articles. The topics addressed are law, economy, politics, art, ecology and mass media. It is the intention of the authors to introduce Luhmann to new audiences without utilizing the highly abstract language of Luhmann writings, which were influenced by Talcott Parsons, Max Weber, Fritz von Forester and Edmund Husserl.

The purpose of this work consists of the following areas: first, to explicate the methods and main theories in the study of comparative civilizations; second, articulate the field of problems in comparative studies, with a special emphasis on the basic assumptions inherent in civilizations; third, to develop the problems of interpretation, indicating the ways that textual traditions disappear completely , or appear in the folds of other historical texts; fourth, to disclose the way the „logic of significance“ transgresses the limits of Western interpretation of space and time, and comprise the possibility for inter-cultural studies. The authors grounded the text in three disciplines: philosophy, sociology, and communication.