Editor-in-Chief's column
Reference:
Gurevich, P. S.
Language as a treasure of ideology
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 7-11.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66105
Abstract:
Language is a social phenomenon sui generis. The article shows that language as a whole is not differentiated
ideologically and therefore is capable of expressing social consciousness in full scope. The problem of the
interrelation between language and ideology is not confined only to the ideological relatedness of the linguistic
sign. It also embraces a wide circle of problems associated with the choice of a language of communication, the
attitude of society to different foreign languages, their evaluation, linguistic contexts. Linguistic purism is also ideologically
conditioned. But the problem raised in the article presupposes first of all analysis of the very phenomenon
of ideology. It appears now fully armed with theoretical earnestness, appealing to Marxism, psychoanalysis, postmodernism,
synergetics.
The article uses the method of text interpretation and standard methods of scientific research, including the method of
comparative analysis, partially – methodological attitudes of hermeneutic and post-structuralist approaches to the study
of texts.
The novelty of the approach in the article is conditioned by modern interpretation of ideology, which was analyzed by
K. Marx in his time. Now philosophy offers very deep thoughts about this phenomenon in works of such authors as
Paul Ricoeur, Jean Baudrillard, Jurgen Habermas, Slavoj Žižek and other philosophers. The author turns to the work of
the French philosopher O. Reboul to characterize various functions of ideology. The specificity of the article is that the
author’s approach permits to analyze language from the perspective of power and love of power, to specify forms of
ideological discourse.
Keywords:
language, ideology, mythology, function, speech, text, deideologization, meta-language, truth, meaning.
Man and mankind
Reference:
Koptseva, N. P., Kistova, A. V.
Construction of Ethnocultural and National Identity as a Philosophical Problem
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 12-19.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66106
Abstract:
In their article Koptseva and Kistova have touched upon the following topics and issues: Russian ethnocultural
and national identities, mechanisms of construction of national identity, basic approaches to social construction of
ethnic and national identity including concepts offered by Franz Boas, Ernest Gellner, Wilhelm Muhlman, Sergey Shirokogorov,
Lev Gumilev and other philosophers, importance of the ethnographic approach and ‘interpretative hermeneutics’
of Wilhelm Dilthey for philosophical construction of Russian national identity, mechanisms of transformation
of ethnocultural identity into national identity, representative cultural texts containing codes, signs and symbols that
may initiative the processes of formation of Russian national identity when being perceived by a recipient, analysis
of categories and concepts, ethnographic approach, Wilhelm Dilthey’s ‘interpretative hermeneutics’, integrative
methodological strategy, Peter Berger’s and Thomas Luckmann’s theory of social construction and concepts of the
symbolic production of ethnicity offered by Fredrik Barth, V. S. Malakhov and V. A. Tishkov. The authors have analyzed
and classified the basic approaches to social construction of ethnocultural and national identity and offer their own
integrative methodological strategy that combines the ethnographic approach and Wilhelm Dilthey’s ‘interpretative
hermeneutics’. The authors have also described some mechanisms of construction of Russian national identity by the
means of transformation of ethnocultural identity and proven the role of representative cultural texts in the process
of formation of Russian national identity.
Keywords:
philosophy, ethnocultural identity, general national identity, social construction, ethnographic approach, ‘interpretative hermeneutics’, Wilhelm Dilthey, mechanisms of social construction, cultural texts, methodological strategy.
Philosophy of knowledge
Reference:
Gusev, D. A.
Skepticism as a Philosophical Realism
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 20-28.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66107
Abstract:
The present article is devoted to skepticism as the kind and style of philosophical thinking in comparison to
naive realism as the natural attitude of mind and scientific realism as a belief that theoretical thinking lying in the
basis of science may understand the true reality. As a philosophical realism skepticism is the third and highest level
of realism (as a discourse) after native realism and scientific realism. Skepticism is the most consistent type and style
of philosophical reflection. The research is based on the following: the principle of the unity of etymological, logical
and historical approaches, the consistency principle and some hermeneutic methods (in particular, interpretation and understanding), the method of historical and philosophical reconstruction that includes the methods of the primary
research (analysis of sources) and secondary research (analysis of general literary sources on the matter) and the
method of synthesis. Skepticism is a philosophical realism and a certain type of a discourse. The skeptical ‘picture of
the world’ is mobile and flexible and, as a consequence, skeptical philosophical statements usually do not lead to any
particular results, at the same time they may accept any point of view and therefore they are alien to the provisions
that are assumed in the last analysis. Skepticism is a search for truth but not denial of an opportunity to achieve this
truth as skeptical philosophy is often interpreted. As a philosophical realism, skepticism can be defined as a self-doubting
doubt which, being a rather non-traditional philosophical solution, represents an always searching and never
satisfied philosophical thinking.
Keywords:
naive realism, scientific realism, philosophical realism, skepticism, doubt, theoretical thinking, paradigm, philosophical thinking, truth, isostheneia.
Tradition and innovation
Reference:
Fetisova, E. E.
Neo-Acmeism in the Post-Soviet Discourse: its Philosophy, History, Esthetics and Meaning for Culture
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 29-40.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66108
Abstract:
The research subject of the present article is neo-acmeism as an under-studied philosophical and cultural paradigm
of the 20th century, its history and ‘semantic poetics’ as its philosophical ‘core’. Neo-acmeism contains the mental
code of Russian culture which within the framework of one literary movement unites poets that may seem absolutely
different. In her article Fetisova also views the ‘synchronous reminiscential chronotope’ that creates the ‘polyphonic
monologue’ in mythology. The article is first of all based on the procedure of moving along the hermeneutic circle when
the whole is studied through analyzing its components and vice versa; the structural-semiotic, comparative methods and
the method of historical reconstruction are also being used. Fetisova traces back the history of the creation, development
and existence of ne-acmeism in the post-Soviet discourse and the 20th century in general. When developing the
research methodology, the author takes into account the contradictory nature of the development and functioning of
neo-acmeism in the history. At the modern stage of the development of humanities, literary texts are often analyzed by
using philosophical categories and concepts. Philosophical and philological hermeneutics have formed the space for an
interpretative discourse of a poetic text. The present article only demonstrates how efficient this synthesis is. The given
article is focused on the universal phenomenon of neo-acmeism or so called Russian Renaissance as a philosophical and
cultural paradigm. In this regard, the author believes that we can talk not about the acmeism tradition in contemporary
poetry but a continuous development of the ‘semantic poetics’ of acmeism and neo-acmeism in creative writings of a
number of modern poets. On the one hand, there is neo-acmeism as a poetic movement that could have influenced the
future poetry only as a tradition. On the other hand, in today’s Russian reality poetics of neo-acmeism is not a tradition
but a continuous development of the functional component of the literary process based on the principles offered by
Gumilev and Mandelstam.
Keywords:
philosophy, neo-acmeism, anthropocentrism, subjectivism, Russian renaissance, ‘semantic poetics’, philosophical discourse, cultural paradigm, institutionalization of society, ‘Akhmatova myth’.
Connection of times
Reference:
Sorokina, T. M.
Preconditions of Formation of Modern Cities in Western Europe: Brief Review of City Planning Concepts Since Renaissance
Till the 20th Century
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 41-49.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66109
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the main city planning concepts since the Renaissance till the 20th century (on the
example of works of such architects and public officials as Andrea Palladio, Leon Battista Alberti, Vincenzo Scamozzi,
Domenico Fontana, Carlo Maderna, Claude Nicolas Ledoux, François Mansard, Baron Haussmann, etc.) which had an
impact on the formation of modern cities of Western Europe such as Rome, Paris and London. In order to understand
the preconditions of formation of modern cities of Western Europe it is necessary to address to the history of the urban
development theory and to highlight the most important and significant phenomena of theoretical thinking, not
only in the chronological way, but also according to the logic of development of urban planning ideas, many of which
have emerged at the dawn of the formation of urban civilization and confirmed the ability for many centuries to come
again and again, each time regenerating at a new higher level. The importance of urban studies is defined as the
fundamental theoretical issues of academic science and tasks set by the scientific-applied analysis of modern social
and cultural processes and practices. Under the conditions of contemporary culture distinguished by the diversity, it is
growing especially important to find the ways and principles of building of the cultural space at all numerous levels. A contemporary city planner again faces the problem of creation of comfortable living conditions for citizens and preservation
of their historical heritage.
Keywords:
city planning concepts, philosophy of architecture, Andrea Palladio, Leon Battista Alberti, Vincenzo Scamozzi, Domenico Fontana, Carlo Maderna, Claude Nicolas Ledoux, François Mansard, Baron Haussmann.
Philosophy of science
Reference:
Voznyakevich, E. E.
The Problem of the Disciplinary Unity of the History of Science
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 50-55.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66110
Abstract:
The subject research of the present article is the balance between science studies, historical methodology of
science and philosophy of the history of science when studying the genesis of scientific knowledge. Offering different approaches
to the development of the research targets, each of these disciplines sets its own methodological framework
for both researches and validation criteria and therefore several models of the development of scientific knowledge with
different groups of factors are being implemented. Nevertheless, in order to perform pragmatic functions such as the creation
and substantiation of scientific policy, it is necessary to develop a more comprehensive model. Conceptual analysis
of the main approaches to the history of science allows to discover whether the interaction between these disciplines is
actually possible and what conditions for such interaction are. It is concluded that the condition for the disciplinary unity
of the history of science is the expansion of the definition of science as an activity aimed at production of knowledge in
a particular socio-cultural community. While philosophical methods allow to define specific features of the process of
knowledge production, methodology sets validation criteria and science studies oriented at socio-cultural group of factors
define the key mechanisms of the development of such knowledge production.
Keywords:
history of science, scientific picture of the world, science about science, historical methodology of science, production of scientific knowledge, knowledge evaluation criteria, efficiency of scientific knowledge, procedures for knowledge validation, disciplinary unity.
Political philosophy
Reference:
Mochkin, A. N.
Friedrich Nietzsche about Time and Eternity
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 56-66.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66111
Abstract:
In his article Mochkin analyzes Friedrich Nietzsche’s attempt to create the theory of the ‘eternal return’. This
‘positive’ philosophy (in Nietzsche’s interpretation) was opposed to the liberal and socialistic theories of social development
or so called ‘theories of the future’ or ‘progressive development’ that dominated in the XIX century. Being a sort of
anti utopia and a conservative traditional response to the challenges of those times, the concept of eternal return was
taken by the philosopher as a ‘gift’ and ‘prophecy’ and became the central topic of late Nietzsche’s philosophy. This is an
esoteric concept that can’t be verified or demonstrated. The concept of eternal return has the two levels: the ontological
(cosmological or physicalized) level that was described by the philosopher only in his draft papers and the social-political
or existential level that was presented in his books ‘Thus spoke Zarathustra’ (1883) and ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ (1886).
As a ‘mental experiment’ the concept of eternal return is opposed to the moral and ethic values of the European civilization.
The concept of eternal return re-interprets and re-phrases Kant’s categorical imperative into an existential law of
the future society of ‘Great policy’, the theory of ‘superman’, ‘reassessment of values’, ‘nihilism’ and ‘will to power’. The
theory of eternal return was popular during the crisis of the conservative revolution in Germany in the 20th – 30th of the
XX century and had an influence on the society and the artistic elite of those times.
Keywords:
philosophy, power, will, eternity, nihilism, reappraisal of values, superman, development, progress, conservatism, liberalism.
Characteristics of society
Reference:
Tsvetkova, Yu. D.
The Influence of Charles Dickens on the Development of the Social Thought Regarding Social Reformation in Great
Britain of the Second Half of XIX Century
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 67-73.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66112
Abstract:
In her article Tsvetkova analyzes the influence of the most popular English-speaking author and a major prose
writer of the XIX century Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) on the shaping of public opinion regarding social reformation processes.
Social reformation was one of the most acute issues for Victorian England, the country that surprised people of
those times with the social, political and economic development, ‘shadow sides’ and social contradictions that were concentrated
in Victorian England like nowhere else in the world. At the same time, despite the serious situation, Victorian
society did not seem to focus on the need to resolve the situation by the means of systemic social reforms instead of local actions and encouragement of self-help ideas. The terms ‘social welfare state’ and ‘class solidarity’ were associated with
radical attitudes and the revolution. Transformation of public opinion towards paternalism and refusal of the principle of
laissez-faire was in many ways encouraged by English literature and publicistic writing of that period. According to one
of the first Oxford professors in English literature George Gordon, the purpose of that literature was not only to enlighten
and educate but also ‘to save our souls and to heal the country’, in other words, to create an ideology which could replace
a religion. In her research Tsvetkova has used general scientific methods including the method of ascension from the
abstract to the concrete, method of idealization, method of formalization as well as methods of literary research such as
the biographic method, psychoanalytical method, formal method, structural method and cultural historical method. According
to Tsvetkova, Charles Dickens’ creative work was too politicized. Soviet researchers saw only one side of Dickens
as a ‘progressive writer’, defender of national democratic culture, a man of the people and a friend of ‘the diminished and
unfortunate’ while English critics on the contrary emphasized Dickens’ sympathy for the small bourgeoisie social groups.
Keywords:
English literature, social reforms, Charles Dickens, social utopia, public opinion, social responsibility, paternalism, individualism, laissez-faire, critical realism.
The dialogue of cultures
Reference:
Miklina, N. N.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Martin Heidegger: Co-Existence of Personalities, Nations and Cultures
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 74-84.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66113
Abstract:
The research subject is the co-existence of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Martin Heidegger in an integrated
world where, according to Martin Heidegger and Russian religious philosophers, time and being, space
and time, being and mind, being and human, all kinds of individualities are one of the kind even though each of
them has their own peculiarities. This co-existence fulfils the idea of the all-encompassing unity and contains the
mystery of the ‘world historical event’ that encompasses the past, the present and the future. The purpose of the
article is to discover similar and different features in lives, creative works and worldviews of a Russian composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 – 1908) and a German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976). The research
methods include the following: the comparative analytical method with the elements of the biographical method,
philosophical analysis of Martin Heidegger’s writings and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s compositions with the use of
explicit and implicit data of the metapoetical approach and the generalization method. The novelty of the research
is caused by the following: 1) the author summarizes Martin Heidegger’s views on ‘co-existence’ and performs
the comparative analysis of Rimsky-Korsakov and Heidegger; 2) the author describes similarities and differences
in attitudes of the Russian composer and German philosopher to their homeland, nature, their own work and
eternal problems of existence; 3) the author discovers the importance of the natural environment in formation of
Rimsky-Korsakov’s and Heidegger’s world views, creative methods and results of their life; 4) the author describes
similarities and differences in their traditional and poetic aspirations, attitudes to the idea of statehood, people
and God. The author shows that those attitudes and aspirations were influenced not only by natural, geographical
and individual features but also national, ethnic, social and historical factors as well peculiarities of their art style
and logic. Conclusions: the virtual dialogue between the artist and the philosopher is a free expression, interaction
and complementarity of their souls. According to the author, we are witnessing the true co-existence of the two
personalities, nations and cultures. This makes us think that the positive development of relations between Russia
and Germany is quite possible just like between other countries of the world.
Keywords:
composer, philosopher, co-existence, being, nature, mystery, homeland, myth, poetics, dialogue.
Religions and religious renaissance
Reference:
Balagushkin, Yu. E.
Edward Tiryakian’s Religious Metacultures
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 85-97.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66114
Abstract:
In his introductory article to the translation of the work written by an American sociologist and cultural
philosopher Edward Tiryakian ‘Three metacultures of modernity: Cristian, Gnostic, Chthonic’, Balagushkin provides
a general description of Tiryakian’s creative work (his woks are not that popular in our country) and describes the
basic terms and concepts in Tiryakian’s ‘Three metacultures of modernity’ - ‘society of modernity’ and ‘metaculture’.
Balagushkin also analyzes the role and the meaning of the phenomenon of culture in Edward Tiryakian’s researches,
definition of ‘metaculture’ and functional features of the religious metacultures – Christianity, Gnosticism
and Paganism. Based on Tiryakian, the dynamics and variety of cultures are viewed from the point of view of the
cultural-historical, functional and structural-analytical approaches and the search for philosophical and anthropological
aspects of works by the American philosopher. At the end of the article Balagushkin concludes that Edward Tiryakian’s concept presents an original religion-oriented version of philosophical anthropology where human is
the target and actor of changes in culture and society. Human nature is the immanent ground of the socio-cultural
dynamics in the historical perspective.
Keywords:
Edward Tiryakian, post-modern society, modernity, metaculture, Christianity, Gnosticism, paganism, unorthodox religious views, religious pluralism, human and culture.
Spiritual and moral search
Reference:
Akimov, O. Yu.
Intuitions of Reality in the Russian Philosophy (the Transcendent and the Immanent)
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 98-102.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66115
Abstract:
The article discusses the features of the interaction of the transcendent and the immanent in Russian philosophy.
This interaction determines the unique image of Russian philosophy. The structure of philosophical knowledge is due to
the particular forms of this interaction.
Keywords:
the transcendent, the immanent, reality, structure, Russian philosophy, religion, concepts, main features, branches of knowledge.
Philosophy and culture
Reference:
Kudaev, A. E.
Nikolay Berdyaev’s Philosophy of Culture in Terms of His Concept of Tragedy
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 103-115.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66116
Abstract:
In his article Kudaev examines one of the most important topics in Berdyaev’s creative heritage – philosophy of culture.
The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that this subject is viewed in terms of Berdyaev’s concept of tragedy
which was the ‘first phenomenon’ for the philosopher and allowed him to understand metaphysical grounds of being and
existence including being and existence of culture. This is the subject of the present research article. Kudaev demonstrates
that Berdyaev’s tragedy of culture was not only related to creativity in general and the tragedy of creativity in particular
but was also determined by those. Kudaev also analyzes the main internal contradictions between culture and the cult
that were viewed by Berdyaev as a source of culture and a reason of its religious tragedy at the same time as well as contradictions
between culture and life in general. The research is of integrated nature at the confluence of cultural studies,
philosophy, esthetics, religious studies and history which, in its turn, has determined a complex historical-philosophical and
philosophical-cultural methodology. The scientific novelty of the article is caused by the fact that the author reconstructs
the basic provisions of Berdyaev’s philosophy of culture exclusively from the point of view of Beryaev’s concept of tragedy.
Keywords:
culture, creativity, tragedy of creativity, tragedy of culture, fatal dialectics of culture, sources of culture, religious tragedy of culture, feeling unsatisfied with culture, culture and life, decline of culture.
Philosophy of law
Reference:
Shugurov, M. V.
Philosophical-Legal Concept of the Legitimacy of Law: Prospects for the Development
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 116-133.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66117
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the analysis of the role of philosophy of law in overcoming the contemporary crisis
of legitimacy. In this regard, it is important to discuss the legal idea of the legitimacy of law. The author’s analysis is
initially based on the need to turn the philosophical-legal concept of the legitimacy of law into a system. In his article
Shugurov proves that conceptualization of the phenomenon of the legitimacy of law can be a promising vector of
the development of modern philosophy of law. It is quite obvious that all legitimacy forms are important within the
framework of the legitimate social order but the legitimacy of law becomes especially important because it allows
the social order to have stable frames and at the same time clarifies social and individual meaning of existence. The
research methodology is based on a detailed analysis of different approaches to the phenomenon of the legitimacy
of law. Moreover, the author also analyzes the definition ‘legitimacy’ from the point of view of philosophy of law and
political philosophy using the comparative approach. In addition, Shugurov examines the legitimacy of law in terms
of transformations in law caused by globalization processes. The novelty of the article is caused by the author’s conclusion
that the target of modern philosophy of law is to create a system approach to the mechanisms of legitimacy
and overcome the gaps caused by globalization processes. Consequently, theories of philosophy of law have a certain
influence on the development of practical solutions. Shugurov also proves that the legitimacy of law is generally an
extralegal phenomenon described by both the systems of law and law institutions from the point of view of the common
sense and related legal provisions.
Keywords:
legitimacy, legality, power, law, social order, globalization, submission to law, crisis of legal awareness, legal order, legal values.
IN MEMORIAM
Reference:
Gurevich, P. S.
‘As if I Died and Were Dreaming’ (In Memory of Yan Veniaminovich Chesnov)
// Philosophy and Culture.
2015. ¹ 1.
P. 135-147.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=66118
Keywords:
Sizigii, germenevtika, Prostets, remeslo, peshchera Platona, antropotsenoz, tvorchestvo, narod, intelligentsiya