Abstract: The author of the present research article raises the issues that make us take another look at childhood and old age as the frames (development and completion) of human’s individual life. The author views phylogenic parallels to the child development and introduces the concept of human cultures, the latter being described in terms of peculiarities of life activities and views (consciousness) as well as the nature of socialization processes. Childhood is not only an independent culture of life but also the beginning of a difficult transition from one life to another (from the ‘pram’ to personality). Childhood provides the two methods of the world development – play and first social contacts with significant others. A child understands the adult world through play and thinks according to particular patterns. The meaning of a so-called childhood crisis so many people are talking about now is in the crisis of our adult life. Old age develops as a culture of life only if the society admits singularity of life of elderly people and creates special conditions for their life. The other condition is the efforts and work put forth by elderly people and old people towards developing their own concept of old age and putting that concept into life. The third condition for developing the concept of old age in culture (literature, music, science and etc.) is the creation of so called ‘semiotics of old age’. The author views different concepts of old age and analyzes a very important element of these concepts, institutionalization of the meaning of life in the culture of old age. The main research methods used by the author included comparative analysis, methodological problematization, cultural and historical reenactment and case analysis. General methodology included the philosophical interpretation based on humanitarian and cultural approaches. Based on the results of the analysis carried out, the author offered the definition of the term ‘culture of childhood and culture of old age’ and described the conditions of their formation, peculiarities and essence of each culture, issues related to these cultures and the main solutions of these issues. Generally speaking, the author offers a new philosophical concept of childhood and old age.

Keywords: Crisis, activity, society, prams, culture, childhood, old age, reality, personality, development.

Abstract: The author of the present research article disproves of Fedyor Dostoevsky’s appraisal of Pushkin’s series of poems ‘Imitations of Quran’ shared by Dostoevsky shared during his ‘speech devoted to Pushkin’ on June 8, 1880 when the writer interpreted the aforesaid series of poems as being written according to Russian populist religious traditions. Dostoevsky spoke of Pushkin as an ideologist of the empire, church, religious nation and Russian roots. From this point of view, his speech devoted to Pushkin was an ‘anti-Pushkin’ speech that actually disguised Pushkin’s system of values. The author of the present article proves that referring to Quran Pushkin pursued only creative goals. The only Pushkin’s goal was to create Russian poetry. Davydov uses the comparative analysis for studying Muhammad’s and Pushkin’s logics of reasoning and gives examples of Dostoevsky’s inadequate comments or appraisals. Muhammad used the concepts of ‘God’ and ‘people’ while Pushkin created poetic meanings in the sphere ‘between’ these two absolutes. For the first time in studies of Dostoevsky the researcher proves the failure of Dostoevsky’s point of view on Pushkin’s series of poems ‘Imitations of Quran’ based on the comparative analysis of personal values used by Pushkin and religious values of Quran. Therefore the conclusion about Dostoevsky’s misinterpretation of the meaning of ‘Imitations of Quran’ can be considered to have been proved. This allows to progress in our understanding of the speech devoted to Pushkin as an objectively anti-Pushkin speech.

Keywords: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Quran, poem, Imitations of Quran, comments, poetry, art, Allah, God, the purpose of poetry, poetry.

Abstract: The subject under research is the methods of achieving the national and cultural identity formation of Russian people through localizing mechanisms of such identity formation. In this regard, the purpose of the research is to find the main mechanism of the local formation (localization) of the national and cultural identity. Noteworthy that the process of the identity formation may also include bilingual, enthocreative, behavioral, axiological and spiritual forms of identification. The latter becomes closely intertwined with ethno-confessional, family, domestic and household, ceremonial, artistic and socio-cultural traditions of the Russians which symbolizes the confluence of the global and regional elements. In his research the author of the article uses system, structural and conceptual cultural research analysis. Methodologically the research is based on the idea of the multi-culturalism and cultural dialogue introduced by M. Bakhtin. The scientific novelty is in discovery of the forms of national and cultural identity formation, in particular, bilingual, ethno-creative, behavioral, axiological, spiritual and local identity formation and description of their mechanisms. Combined altogether, they are a trigger for the linguistic, ethno-creative, behavioral, axiological and spiritual commonality integrated in an original local form of identity formation that is also conditioned by the spirits, mentality and attitudes of national groups.

Keywords: Mechanisms of identity formation, localization of identity formation processes, Russian national traditions, diasporas, national identity, civil identity, local identity, regional identity, ethnocultural environment, spiritual commonality of the Russians.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the history of Sufism and Hesychasm that are interpreted by the author of the article as esoteric teachings. First of all, the author offers his definition of what the term ‘esoteric teaching’ means to him. According to the author, an important prerequisite for esotericism being formed is a personality of a man who discovers the true reality in accordance with his own dreams and supreme values. The researcher explains the difference between religious and esoteric concepts and ways of salvation and describes a very important esoteric teaching which views God as the true reality. Another esoteric teaching is mysticism when a person seeking salvation tries to contact or to meet God. Development of these esoteric teachings has the three basic stages: the stage of creation when the main ideas are being formulated and realized by followers, the stage of popularization when some kind of a sacral technology is being created, and, finally, the stage of confluence with the initial ‘mother’ religion (Islam or Orthodoxy). Carrying out his historical research, the author of the article applies the methodology of the cultural and historical re-enactment which includes, among other research methods, the method of problematization and the method of comparative analysis. The results of the historical research allow to describe special features of the development of esoteric opinions, to understand the difference between esotericism and religion, to show the role of personality in the development of early esotericism and to describe the three basic stages in the development of esoteric opinions as well as to show that esoteric opinions are still related to their mother religions and therefore both esoteric and religious teachings change as a result of their development.

Keywords: Sufism, Hesychasm, esoteric, religion, God, reality, personality, esotery scientist, teaching, knowledge.

Abstract: Latest Ukrainian events that have led to the disagreements between Russia and the West regarding evaluation of these events return us to the eternal problem about relations between Russia and the West as the two civilizations. Their relations have been developing in a form of a dialogue but there have been periods when the dialogue has been ceased. This is what happened during the First World War which 100th anniversary the world is going to celebrate in 2014. However, the First World War was not the last evidence of a growing conflict between Russia and the West. The Second World War was the next act of this tragedy. Reflecting on the two world wars of the 20th century, the author touches upon one of the most nettlesome questions in history – the misunderstanding that happens between different civilizations and the flare-up of which we are witnessing today. The author of the article makes an attempt not only to understand the damage caused by the clash of civilizations to the culture but also the way culture proves oneself in time of war. In this regard, the author focuses on the mentality of nations entering into a conflict. War is usually studied by historians or, to be more specific, military historians. Very few researchers study the psychological factor of war. However, the author of the present article makes an assumption that the clash of civilization does not only involve the conflict of military capacities but also the conflict of national mentalities. According to the author, by studying the mentality factor as a significant cultural feature in the history of wars, just as the present article does, we can create a new approach to war, the dialogue between civilizations and functions performed by culture in extreme situations.

Keywords: war, civilization, dialogue, mentality, culture, barbarism, statehood, empire, Byzantine tradition, messianism.

Abstract: The researcher analyzes the concepts of creative work in Martin Heidegger’s and Pavel Florensky’s works. S. Smirnov shows that these two philosophers had rather close views on ontology. Martin Heidegger understood the process of art creation as the idea of a man withdrawing himself from what was ontologically hidden to the light of being. Creative work was associated with ontology and the loss of roots and contact with ontology could turn art into the process of simple form creation and techno into a plain posture. A man himself becomes a living bearer of a particular form of a world, a ‘sign’ and an ‘indicator’ of such a world of creation. Florensky based his idea of man’s creative work or ‘non-organic physicality’ on his concept of ‘organ projection’. Both philosophers viewed creative work as a concept referring to such concepts as organ projection, Techne and human existence and therefore intertwined art with ontology. The researcher carries out the ontological analysis of the basic concepts in Martin Heidegger’s and Pavel Florensky’s works and describes the idea of creative work based on ontological grounds of the aforesaid concepts based on such terms as Techne, posture, the hidden, the non-hidden, creative work, organ projection and energy body. The researcher also offers a description of the genesis of a piece of work that is beyond the scope of esthetics or art studies. The problem of creative work is posed as an ontological problem or a problem of non-classical anthropology when a man himself becomes the organ of being and forms his own energy body and becomes a creative work himself leaving his trace in tools, texts and artifacts. Therefore, based on classical works, the author offers a non-classical vision of the genesis of creative work.

Keywords: Creative work, hidden, non-hidden, Techne, technology, energy body, personality, human, anthropology, poetic anthropology.

Abstract: Acoustic experiments during performance of musical compositions are one of the innovatory features of modern musical art. Such experiments are typical for creative work of may composers of the second half of the 20th century including John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis , George Crumb, John Adams, Rodion Shchedrin, Alfred Schnittke, Nikolai Korndorf, Vladimir Martynov, Sofia Gubaidulina and others. A significant number of similar compositions were also created by a brilliant representative of postmodernism and a German innovative composer Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008). Kagel’s legacy consists of a great number of compositions which creation involved acoustic experiments. There are a number of parameters that ensure the significance of such experiments and show their important role in the evolution of music writing in general. These parameters include using items that are not usually used in musical art as musical instruments, singular arrangement of instruments and items on stage and in the audience hall and displacement of acoustic items when a composition is performed in a form of a play. By using a comprehensive analysis, the author of the present article analyzes a number of Kagel’s works that are based on acoustic experiments. The results of the analysis allow to draw a number of conclusions about the practical importance of Kagel’s experiments. In the majority of Kagel’s compositions acoustic experiments are not a sign of the epatage that was so fashionable in the 20th century but an expression of the composer’s attitude to inventions and his desire for innovations of the old ‘classical’ forms of music writing. Kagel managed not to get lost in the abundance of experimental tendencies and not to cross the line between a musical composition (when the sound bears certain information) and epatage or conglomerate of different techniques and styles of music writing combined in one piece of music as many composers of the post-modernistic generation did. This is what made Kagel an original leader of postmodernism in music.

Keywords: Acoustics, Kagel, post-modernism, experiment, musical art, instrumental theatre, happening, synthesis of arts, musical space, musical sound.