Reznik Yu.M. What Does it Mean to be a Philosopher in Russia

Abstract: The subject of research is the state of contemporary philosophical thought and philosophical community development problems affecting thecontemporary society of philosophers. The basis for the analysis  is the texts written by authors included in the book "Who Creates Philosophy in Russia" (Volume 3). The book was published in 2015 and it is a reference book that consists of two sections, introduction and conclusion. The first section ("Philosophical Discussions") containts the editor's interviews with leading philosophers of today's Russia. The second section ("Philosophical Manifests") sets out the theoretical credo of known researchers. The research method used by the author is the text analysis aimed at identifying the ideological and theoretical positions and professional and ethical preferences of the authors from this book who participate in the formation of the theoretical space in contemporary Russian philosophy. The author has also used the methods of classification and systematization of information about the authors. The main conclusions of the study are: 1) the definition of the mission of philosophers as a vocation and requirements  to think universal beyond the totality of existence, to think themselves in freedom and to think of themselves (their own existence); 2) substantiation of the nature of philosophizing as a specific activity thinkers with such specific features as contemplation, asking for peace, creative imagination, freedom of thinking, open communication, etc.; 3) typological characteristics of the authors of the book in terms of genre or style they have used in their philosophizing (academic, independent and opposition-minded philosophers); 4) assessment of future Russian philosophy and identification of "problem areas" in the development of the domestic philosophical society including stylistic differences of participants in the philosophical discourse, nonproductive conflicts, etc.

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