Research & Expertise
Interdisciplinary Foundations of Contemporary Philosophy
Professor Denko Skalovski’s research is characterized by a rigorous synthesis of continental traditions and applied ethical frameworks. His work navigates the complex intersections of social critique, environmental responsibility, and identity politics, providing a comprehensive philosophical response to the challenges of the 21st century.
I. Ethics & Bioethics: The Principle of Responsibility
At the core of Professor Skalovski’s ethical inquiry is the Ethics of Responsibility, a field he has developed through a foundational engagement with the work of Hans Jonas. As Vice President of the Center for Integrative Bioethics, his research focuses on:
Macro-Ethics and Global Crisis: Analyzing the shift from individual morality to a collective responsibility for planetary survival, particularly in the face of biotechnological advancements and ecological degradation.
The Heuristic of Fear: Utilizing Jonasian frameworks to address contemporary "border situations"—including pandemics, climate change, and geopolitical conflicts—as catalysts for ethical awakening.
Integrative Bioethics: Defending a universalist moral optimism against the fragmenting forces of globalization, while engaging in critical dialogues with the ethics of Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas.
Selected Publications & Research Papers
Responsibility in the Time of Crisis (2023). Conatus – Journal of Philosophy. This paper analyzes the crisis of the "western" value system and calls for a new universalist moral optimism (macro ethics) against self-destructive nihilism.3 –(https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.33353)
Bioethics and Geopolitics – The War in Ukraine as Cause (2023). Pannoniana. An analysis of how the conflict in Ukraine shifts the bioethical focus toward geopolitics, food security, and biopolitics. –(https://hrcak.srce.hr/317892)
(Post) Civilization of Fear (2021). A critical interpretation of fear as a global ideology and political manipulation in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.5 –(http://periodica.fzf.ukim.edu.mk/godzb/GZ74(2021)/GZ74.52%20Skalovski%20eng.pdf)
Bioethics and its Opponents: Hans Jonas versus Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas. A comparison of fundamental ecology and discourse ethics within the Principle of Responsibility. –(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394429849_AFFILIATION_VIA_SPERM_BANK_Conference_Proceedings_Bioethics_-_Sign_of_a_New_Era_Faculty_of_Philosophy_Skopje_pp_39-53)
Etika i novinarstvo (Ethics and Journalism) (2012). Arhe. A review of moral standards and the crisis of modern media. –(https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=792029)
Etika na odgovornosta (Ethics of Responsibility) (2005). BIGOSS. A foundational monograph exploring the Jonasian imperative.
II. Critical Theory: The Frankfurt School Tradition
Professor Skalovski’s theoretical framework is deeply anchored in the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. His sustained postdoctoral research at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, conducted under the supervision of Professor Axel Honneth, informs his critique of modern society. Key research themes include:
Dialectics of the Concrete Totality: Drawing on the work of Karel Kosík, he explores the concepts of reification and the pathology of social life in the context of globalized capitalism.
Social Recognition and Critique: Applying Honneth’s theory of recognition to analyze the struggles for identity and justice in post-communist societies.1
Ideology and History: Chronicling the development of collective political and cultural identity in North Macedonia (1941–2018).
Selected Publications & Research Papers
Kosík's Dialectics of Concrete Totality (2015). Philosophy Study. A Marxistic critique of ethical universalism and globalization as totali(tari)zation. –(https://www.davidpublisher.com/index.php/Home/Article/index?id=19773.html)
The Politicization of History in North Macedonia (1941–2018) (2021). An analysis of methodological pluralism and the development of Macedonian collective political identity. –(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349887132_The_Politicization_of_History_in_North_Macedonia_1941-2018)
Contemporary Media: Development of Critical Thinking or Production of Necessary Illusions and Weapons (Conspectus). A critique of media in liberal democracies based on the work of Noam Chomsky and Paul Virilio. –(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394429849_AFFILIATION_VIA_SPERM_BANK_Conference_Proceedings_Bioethics_-_Sign_of_a_New_Era_Faculty_of_Philosophy_Skopje_pp_39-53)
III. Gender Studies & Culture: Aesthetics and Identity
As a founding member of the Institute of Gender Studies at UKIM (the first in the Balkans), Professor Skalovski pioneered the integration of gender analysis into broader philosophical discourse.
Philosophy of Gender and Culture: Examining the diachronic evolution of gender roles, multiculturalism, and the roots of social oppression.1
Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art: Building on his doctoral research into the Antipodes of Contemporary Philosophy of Music, he analyzes how art and culture articulate the "sublime" and the experience of human awe.2
Sociology of Sport: A unique specialization exploring the intersections of gender, physical culture, and social representation.
Selected Publications & Research Papers
East – West versus the West – the Rest (2019). An analysis of globalist processes and the obsolescence of traditional axiological divisions, including the gender aspect of bioethics.1 –(http://periodica.fzf.ukim.edu.mk/godzb/GZ72(2019)/GZ72.54.%20Skalovski,%20D.%20-%20East%20%E2%80%93%20West%20versus%20the%20West%20%E2%80%93%20the%20rest.pdf)
Etikata i rodot: priračnik (Ethics and Gender: A Handbook) (2012). Faculty of Philosophy. A co-authored manual on the ethical dimensions of gender.
Philosophy of Music and the Antipodes of Modernity. A study on aesthetics and the philosophical articulation of musical forms. –(https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5d39/678b615553b49aa125b7801473f903442a12.pdf)
Estetikata vo Makedonija (Aesthetics in Macedonia). A historical overview of aesthetic thought in the Macedonian context.
IV. Applied Philosophy: Evolution, Security, and Humanity
Professor Skalovski addresses the biological and structural dimensions of human existence through evolutionary ethics and urban security studies.12
Evolutionary Ethics and Anthropology: Investigating the dialectic between biological evolution and cultural intervention.10
Urban Security and Globalization: Researching the axiological and security challenges of defining the "urban" in the context of European security dialogues.13
Philosophical Anthropology: Re-evaluating the conditio humana through the lenses of Karl Jaspers and Erich Fromm to understand modern technological pathologies.3
Selected Publications & Research Papers
Theodosius Dobzhansky and the Evolution of Humanity: A Different Approach (2024). A dialectical interpretation of evolution, arguing that man is the main factor responsible for the survival of planetary biodiversity.10 –(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387678908_THEODOSIUS_DOBZHANSKY_AND_THE_EVOLUTION_OF_HUMANITY_A_DIFFERENT_APPROACH)
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the Phenomenon of Man (2023). A critical review of Chardin’s holistic systematicity and its relevance to natural and humanistic sciences. – Access via UKIM Journals
Border Situations as Unchanging Human Situations (via Karl Jaspers, Erich Fromm & Noam Chomsky) (2021). Pannoniana. Exploring the diagnoses of diseased tissue in (post)modern society. –(https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/402277)
Imati planetu ili biti čovečanstvo (To have the planet or to be humanity) (2020). Arhe. A critique of the capitalist value system through the lens of Erich Fromm. – Access via Arhe
Creating Urban Europe: Problems of Definition (Conspectus-thesis) (2019). Security Dialogues. Addressing the philosophical difficulties in defining urban security and European borders. –(http://institutecsr.iksi.ac.rs/415/1/Urban%20security%20databases.pdf)
Modern Philosophical Anthropology versus Genetic Engineering: Erich Fromm (2020). Philosophical Tribune. –(https://fdm.mk/filozofska-tribina-br-30/)