Abstract: The subject of the research is the socio-cultural phenomenon of lagom, which is considered through the prism of the ethical dimension and relates to the philosophy of everyday life. The author turns to the ancient Greek philosophical heritage, in which he finds the root basis of minimalism in ethics, built into the Socratic-sophistic paradigm. The study shows the relationship between the ancient Greek ethics of minimalism and eudaemonism, since they turn out to be the main aspects that can characterize the socio-cultural phenomenon of lagom from the standpoint of ethics. Lagom is most often described from the point of view of the aesthetic dimension, so the author, using its example, seeks to find out which aesthetic categories fall into the field of modern ethics of minimalism, designating such a phenomenon as an "aesthetic shift" in ethics. Such categories are: simplicity, space, moderation (measure, balance), functionality. It is they, according to the author, that form the basis for modern ethics and a new existential reality of human existence. The study uses the comparative method, which is used in the historical and philosophical context, and the hermeneutic approach to interpret the socio-cultural phenomenon of lagom. The novelty of the study is that the author for the first time introduces this socio-cultural phenomenon into the broad field of philosophical discourse in the field of ethical thought. The main conclusion of the study is that lagom is one of the phenomena of the ethics of minimalism, which can be defined as an externally existential model of human behavior and lifestyle. It includes a simplified approach to being with a characteristic desire to find balance and harmony (psycho-emotional pleasure) and achieve happiness as the ultimate goal of human existence.

Abstract: This article discusses the problem of the lost meaning of the philosophy, which emerged as a result of its “technematization” in modern world. The question of “What is philosophy?” is being raised again. The author refers to the two key representatives of philosophical thought of the ancient West and East: Socrates and Lao Tzu, using the comparative approach and considering the category of Tao in the contrast to the main categories of ancient Greek philosophy: being, truth, logos, and action. Reconstruction of the teachings of Socrates and Lao Tzu contributes to the disclosure of philosophy through the four crucial aspects: ontological, gnoseological, anthropological, and ethical. The explanation of these aspects or dimensions of the philosophy gives the key to its initial meaning. The author concludes on the borderline and specificity between “wisdom” and “discretion”, where the latter is the primary foundation of the existence of philosophy. The philosophy itself is viewed as a being and process of cognition, directed not only to the outwards, which is characteristic to the Western European tradition overall, but also to within, which is typical to the Eastern thought. The disclosure of the structure of philosophy indicated the need for coming back to its basic meaning through the ethical dominant, which was initially embedded in the concepts of “wisdom” and “love”. The author introduces a peculiar term of “Sophiphilia”, which corresponds to the level of “discretion” as a pre-philosophical field of existence.