Type is called dialectic. philosophical outlook according to which the world is in the process of change and development. An alternative to the dialectical worldview is metaphysics. It should be borne in mind that the term "dialectic" in philosophy denotes not only a type of philosophical worldview, but also a method of critical discussion, during which opposing ideas and opinions are compared and tested for validity ("Socrates' dialectics").
Metaphysics is a type of philosophical worldview in which the constancy of the world is absolutized and its development is denied. It is important to emphasize that the concept of metaphysics has historically acquired the significance of philosophy in general.
No less significant for philosophy are other questions: what is the source of human knowledge, behavior, and so on. Empiricism and rationalism, hedonism, eudemonism and many other types of philosophical outlook were formed in response to them.
Answering the question about the source of human knowledge, some philosophers believed that all their diversity comes, ultimately, from experience, while others believed that from the mind. This is how empiricism and rationalism developed as types of philosophical worldview, stating that the source of human knowledge is experience in the first case, and reason in the second. The philosophical worldview, which considers the desire for pleasure to be the source of human behavior and morality, is called hedonism, and the desire for happiness is called eudemonism.
At the same time, the pluralism of philosophical opinions does not imply the pluralism of philosophical truth. Philosophical truth, as well as the truth of specific sciences and everyday life, is always established in the process of correlating knowledge (consciousness) with the facts and laws of science, the historical experience of mankind, etc. In other words, truth cannot be finite, truth itself is a process. At the same time, its important feature is the fusion with the method of argumentation ( method ) and the philosophical arguments themselves. Testing the latter for validity, a person reveals the truth of philosophical knowledge for himself. This means that if philosophical positions (truths and arguments supporting them) are assimilated by someone uncritically, in other words, they are simply accepted on faith, then they cease to be philosophical, turn, for example, into mythological and religious (Vedism, Confucianism, in many respects, Marxism are examples of philosophical and social doctrines, which, having become dogmas, turned into peculiar forms of religions).
Philosophical positions are always expressed in a special language. Although the philosophical worldview uses words that are familiar to everyone - "movement", "world", "man", "truth", "quality", etc., their understanding differs from the ordinary and specifically scientific. Philosophical concepts are statements ( categories ) about the most general connections and relations of a person with the world. In human culture, they play the role of tools for resolving disputes between philosophers and non-philosophers, they act as conditions for mutual understanding of scientists of different specialties, steps in the development of human knowledge. Understanding the language of philosophy is a necessary condition for familiarization with the problems of philosophical knowledge and consciousness.
Philosophy, as activity, is argumentation. Arguing philosophically, we demonstrate the ability to substantiate some truth or refute its denial. In order to learn philosophical reasoning, one must master the art of asking questions. Language, concepts, symbols and their meaning, the discussion itself are all integral parts of the communication process. In many ways, the success or failure of philosophical argumentation depends precisely on the forms and methods of communication.
Philosophy as knowledge (but not information ! Why?), consciousness and activity influence the course of human history through the individual and social institutions. Today, philosophy itself is a specific social institution. As such, it has an infrastructure - books, journals, conferences, research and educational organizations. Their purpose is to serve the interests of all mankind and individual peoples. The study of philosophy in Belarus has a long tradition. Knowledge of the problems of national philosophy is an important condition for a person's involvement in the culture of his fatherland.
Concluding the consideration of the specifics of philosophy as knowledge, consciousness, activity and institution in general view, it is important to pay attention to the following. In every historical epoch, philosophy has played its own special and unique role in the life of society. The properties of philosophy as knowledge, consciousness, and activity were not unchanged either. Modern philosophy is no exception. If in the past many philosophers sought to create an integral system of philosophical knowledge, then in the 20th century such systems were practically not created (“A philosophical system can be either comprehensive or consistent.” Bertrand Russell). Another modern feature of philosophy is the ever-increasing specialization of philosophical knowledge, their division into various disciplines.
As part of modern philosophical knowledge, for example, such philosophical disciplines as:
Ontology - the doctrine of being (existing),
Gnoseology (epistemology) - the doctrine of knowledge,
Logic is the doctrine of right thinking,
Anthropology is the study of man
Argumentology is the study of reasoning
Axiology - the doctrine of values,
Methodology is the study of methods.
The most important key to understanding the essence and role of modern philosophy is the knowledge of its attitude to life. Modern philosophical consciousness is made up of discussions of positivism, existentialism, Marxism, neo-Thomism, postpositivism, hermeneutics, postmodernism and other teachings. It is important to note that the influence of philosophical teachings is determined not by the number of adherents, but by the ability to provide convincing answers to the latest questions of our time. Philosophy is alive, developing, connected with practice.
Modern philosophy is the ideological and methodological core of the culture of the 20th century, including the natural, social and human sciences. The assimilation of modern physics and economics, political science and design requires knowledge of their philosophical ( contextual, conceptual, informational, semantic…) subtext. Knowledge of this subtext is a condition for familiarization with the values of modern philosophical culture. Today, it is easiest to distinguish a person who has a modern education from one who does not have one by the level of his philosophical culture.
What does the requirement to be a philosophically educated (cultured) person mean in practice? It seems to us that this means learning the place and purpose of philosophy in the past and present, correctly understanding the role of language in science and life, the meaning of one’s own being, the ability to express thoughts in a form accessible to criticism, knowing the place of philosophy in science and religion, striving to achieve understanding with other people, to have an idea of the role played in life by social structures and institutions, to consider all of the above as relative truth, and much more…
Modern philosophical culture involves not only understanding the principles of the worldview, mastering the content of certain philosophical teachings, but also the ability to pronounce them out loud, build a career and life in accordance with them.
Mythological worldview Religious worldview philosophy.
philosophical outlook. theoretical consideration and logical analysis. The philosophical worldview inherited from mythology and religion their ideological character, the whole set of questions about the origin of the world, its structure, the place of man in the world, etc., but unlike mythology and religion, which are characterized by a sensory-figurative attitude to reality and contain artistic and cult elements this type of worldview (philosophy), is a logically ordered system of knowledge, characterized by the desire to theoretically substantiate their positions and principles.
3. What is the specificity of the philosophical reflection of the world?
With all the variety of approaches to understanding the subject of philosophy, one can single out the general that is characteristic of philosophical knowledge in general. Philosophy as an integral phenomenon of world culture is a doctrine of the general principles of being. The main subject areas of philosophical research are nature, man, and society. At present, the trend of anthropologization of philosophy is intensifying, i.e., a person is declared the subject of philosophy. In this regard, it is necessary to note the so-called basic question of philosophy - the question of the relationship of a person to the world. Simplifying the essence of the matter, in this matter it is necessary to highlight the following problems:
- the problem of the relationship between the material and the ideal. When solving it, philosophers were divided into materialists, who recognize the primacy of matter and the secondary nature of spirit, consciousness, and idealists, who consider the idea, or spirit, to be the basis of the world. Objective idealists believe that the world exists independently of human consciousness, while subjective idealists represent the world as a complex of sensations;
- the problem of the cognizability of the world. There were three directions in its solution. Proponents of the first argue that the world is knowable - Gnosticism. The second doubt the possibility of obtaining true knowledge - skepticism. And the third trend is agnosticism. His followers deny the possibility of knowing the world;
- the problem of development and change of the world. Its solution gave rise to two directions in philosophy: dialectics - the doctrine of the universal connection and development of the phenomena of the world; metaphysics - a way of thinking that considers things and phenomena as unchanging and independent of each other;
- the problem of the essence of man, his place and role in nature and society.
4. How do scientific and philosophical pictures of the world relate?
The scientific picture of the world develops, on the one hand, as a result of intrascientific cognitive processes, and, on the other hand, as a result of the influence of the dominant values of the era and culture. Philosophical foundations should be indicated as another factor influencing the formation of a scientific picture of the world. Philosophical understanding of the process of scientific knowledge (formation of scientific theories) is important for several reasons. One of these reasons indicates that the objects of fundamental theoretical schemes cannot always (and initially almost never) be mastered either in everyday experience or in production. And here the philosophical understanding of such objects allows us to better imagine the prospects of the chosen direction of scientific research. Another reason for the inevitability of using philosophical foundations in the formation of a scientific picture of the world is the need to have a mechanism on the basis of which the synthesis of scientific ideas will be possible. After all, when forming a general scientific picture of the world, there is no simple summation of special pictures of the world. In this process, in addition to the combination of knowledge, there is also an active interaction between special paintings. The third reason for using philosophical foundations in the course of forming a scientific picture of the world is that they set the heuristic potential for the development of knowledge of the theory. Used in the process of cognition philosophical ideas and the principles can be applied to substantiate the results obtained.
Historical types of philosophy
1. Main ideas and problems of ancient philosophy?
The problem of being and non-being, matter and its forms. Ideas were put forward about the fundamental opposition of form and "matter", about the main elements, the elements of the cosmos; identity and opposition of being and non-being; structure of being; the fluidity of being and its inconsistency. the main problem here – How did the cosmos come about? What is its structure? (Thales, Anaximenes, Zeno, Anaximander, Democritus);
The problem of man, his knowledge, his relationship with other people. What is the essence of human morality, are there moral norms that do not depend on circumstances? What is politics and the state in relation to a person? How do rational and irrational correlate in human consciousness? Is there an absolute truth and is it achievable by the human mind? These questions were given different, often opposite, answers. (Socrates, Epicurus ...);
The problem of will and freedom of man. Ideas were put forward of the insignificance of man before the forces of nature and social cataclysms and, at the same time, his power and strength of his spirit in the pursuit of freedom, noble thought, knowledge, in which they saw the happiness of man (Aurelius, Epicurus ...);
- The problem of the relationship between man and God, the divine will. The ideas of a constructive cosmos and being, the structure of the matter of the soul, society were put forward as interdependent.
The problem of the synthesis of the sensual and the supersensible; the problem of finding a rational method of cognition of the world of ideas and the world of things. (Plato, Aristotle and their followers...).
2. What is the specificity of medieval European philosophy?
A feature of medieval philosophy is the fusion of theology and ancient philosophical thought. Theoretical thinking of the Middle Ages at its core theocentric. God, and not the cosmos, is presented as the root cause, the creator of all things, and his will as a power that reigns supreme over the world. Philosophy and religion are so intertwined here that Thomas Aquinas described philosophy as nothing more than "the servant of theology." The sources of medieval European philosophy were predominantly idealistic or idealistically interpreted philosophical views of antiquity, especially the teachings of Plato and Aristotle.
3. What problems does the philosophy of the New Age deal with?
The philosophy of modern times covers the period of the 15th-11th centuries. This is the time of formation and formation natural sciences emerging from philosophy. Physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, mechanics are becoming independent sciences. The line outlined in the Renaissance is being further developed. At the same time, new tasks and priorities in philosophy arise. The focus of the new philosophy is the theory of knowledge and the development of a method of knowledge common to all sciences. It is impossible to know God, nature, man, society, the philosophers of the New Age believe, without first having clarified the laws of the cognizing Mind. Unlike other sciences, philosophy must study precisely thinking, its laws and methods, with
which begins the construction of all sciences. F. Bacon, T. Hobbes, R. Descartes, J. Locke, G. Leibniz are dealing with this issue.
The philosophy of this period is characterized by a number of attitudes:
The promotion of science to the rank of the most important occupation of mankind. It is science (=reason) that is able to enrich humanity, save it from troubles and suffering, raise society to a new stage of development, and ensure social progress (F. Bacon).
Complete secularization of science. The synthesis of science with religion, faith with reason is impossible. No authorities are recognized, except for the authority of the mind itself (T. Hobbes).
The development of sciences and the final subjugation of nature by man is possible when the main method of thinking is formulated, the method of “pure reason”, capable of acting in all sciences (R. Descartes).
In the search for a new "super method", philosophers were divided into supporters of empiricism ("empirio" - experience) and rationalism ("rationo" - mind).
4. Main ideas and representatives of German classical philosophy?
German philosophy of the 19th century. - unique phenomenon world philosophy. The uniqueness of German philosophy is that for the essence of more than 100 years it has succeeded:
· deeply explore the problems that have tormented mankind for centuries, and come to conclusions that determined the entire future development of philosophy;
· to combine in itself almost all philosophical trends known at that time - from subjective idealism to vulgar materialism and irrationalism;
· discover dozens of names of outstanding philosophers who are included in the "golden fund" of world philosophy (Kant, Fichte, Hegel, Marx, Engels, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, etc.).
German classical philosophy was especially widespread at the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th centuries. It was based on the work of five of the most prominent German philosophers of that time:
Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804);
Johann Fichte (1762 - 1814);
Friedrich Schelling (1775 - 1854);
Georg Hegel (1770 - 1831);
· Ludwig Feuerbach (1804 - 1872).
5.Main ideas and representatives of the philosophy of irrationalism?
Irrationalism in its various forms is a philosophical worldview that postulates the impossibility of knowing reality. scientific methods. According to supporters of irrationalism, reality or its separate spheres (such as life, mental processes, history, etc.) cannot be derived from objective causes, that is, they are not subject to laws and regularities. All representations of this kind are guided by non-rational forms of human cognition, which are able to give a person subjective confidence in the essence and origin of being. But such experiences of confidence are often attributed only to the elite (for example, "geniuses of art", "Superman", etc.) and are considered inaccessible to the common man. Like "aristocratic spirit" often has social implications.
Supporters of irrationalism J. Boehme, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer believe that the basis of the observed rational world is an irrational principle.
The problem of being in the history of philosophy.
1. What is the philosophical meaning of the problem of being?
The meaning of life in philosophy means those values that a person realizes in his actions. In this understanding, all people have the meaning of life, but philosophers have always been interested in the highest the meaning of human existence. There are several fundamentally different concepts of the meaning of life:
· 1. The meaning of life was initially given to man from above and as the highest meaning is revealed in the pursuit of god-likeness.
· 2. The meaning of life is determined by the unchanging essence of man, i.e. the highest values of goodness, goodness, courage, etc., the realization of which is the highest purpose of man.
· 3. The meaning of life depends on the values that a person chooses in the given reality of his existence, it is the more significant, the closer these values are to the ideal of a person of this era.
· The problem of the meaning of life is connected with the question of how a person disposes of the gift of life, the only time given to him by the fact of birth.
2. Compare the interpretation of being in the philosophy of Parmenides and Heraclitus?
One of the first philosophers to point out the difference between sensory and rational cognition was Heraclitus(c. 540-480 BC). But Heraclitus is most remarkable in that he expressed a series of ideas that anticipated Hegel's dialectic. Heraclitus is famous for saying that that everything flows and everything changes. He emphasized the relative stability of things and argued that things themselves contain opposites, that everything in this world happens through struggle. Struggle is the cause of all emergence and destruction, disappearance. But he considers this struggle as harmony, and wisdom will consist in knowing all as one. However, the opinion, i.e. knowledge based on sensory experience does not lead to knowledge of everything as one. Many "do not understand how the hostile is in harmony with itself", "that war is generally accepted, that hostility is the usual order of things, and that everything arises through hostility." This "enmity" and "consent" is nothing but the unity and struggle of opposites. Thus, Heraclitus considers being as becoming, as a process of development, as a process of destruction and emergence at the same time. Being and non-being are one, one, because opposites exist in the same thing, being passes into non-being, and non-being into being. For being, understood as a process, the primary essence, the primary element can only be that which itself can be seen, perceived in this world as a process. It is clear that water or air are not very suitable for this role. And for Heraclitus, this primordial essence, the root cause is fire. Yes, and the cosmos itself, according to Heraclitus, has always been, is and will be an ever-living fire, steadily flaring up and gradually fading away.
However, Heraclitus is still very mythological and, in fact, broadcasts, and does not argue and prove. Actually, philosophy (and the first philosopher) could be called the teaching of Parmenides, for Parmenides already strives for reasoning and demonstrativeness of his philosophical positions.
Parmenides(born c. 540 BC) lived and taught in the city of Elea and was one of the leading philosophers of the Eleatic school. Like his predecessors, he raises the question of a single being and a multitude of existing things, but surpasses them all in that he already raises the question of the relationship between being and thinking, and, for him, the only reliable source of knowledge of the truth is the mind. Parmenides makes a sharp distinction and opposition of rational knowledge to sensory knowledge. But the mind, according to Parmenides, is not immune from mistakes and runs the risk, going the wrong way, not reaching the truth. One of the first mistakes, according to Parmenides, is the assumption, following Heraclitus, of the presence of opposites in things themselves and thereby the assumption of the existence of non-existence. Parmenides explicitly states that non-existence does not exist. One can only think what is, i.e. being, and one can neither think nor speak about non-existent (non-being). Only that which is conceivable and expressible in words is recognized as existing. Thinking (reason) begins to act as a criterion of existence and, moreover, is identical with it.
3. Substantiate the connection between the worldview of the New Age and the problem of being.
It is possible to identify several the main components of the worldview of the New Age.
The feeling that there is a true existence of something that is the basis of life and activity of people is lost. Hence the isolation in the subjective, relying only on oneself. Activities no longer focused on supreme good, Truth and Beauty. It turns into either externally useful (achieving immediate selfish interests associated with material existence), or externally entertaining (artificial filling of free time with fun, turning all art into a way of entertainment, not spiritual development).
Man, his consciousness, his needs, his life began to be perceived as the only undoubted and genuine being. Such a worldview was reproduced in his philosophy by the founder of the rationalistic culture of the West, R. Descartes. he wrote that one can doubt whether the objective world exists, God, nature, other people, even my own body - but one cannot doubt that I think, and therefore I exist.
The weakening of the idea of the existence of the majestic existence of the Absolute, God, etc. accompanied by a reassessment of time: no one thinks about eternity anymore. The time of human existence is divided into "mutually exclusive points - moments: here and now, there and then" (P. Florensky) A point is an instant, like a time interval. Unable to contain the fullness of a person’s thoughts and feelings associated with the experience of eternity: its capacity is limited to a set of momentary needs of the “I”, which perceives itself as something exclusive and absolute. A person ceases to seek the high meanings of life: he reduces all life's meaningful questions to the satisfaction of his earthly human needs. The vain thirst to arrange life "here" and "now", to get enough of it before death, behind which is emptiness and decay - such is one of the ideological principles of the New Age.
4. Explain the expression: "In modern times, being has become subjective."
New time - began to transform the ancient idea of objective being: being became subjective. In the twentieth century this process deepened and now even the Absolute - God began to depend on the a priori inner attitude of man in search of the unconditional. And yet, modern times have not abandoned the ancient tradition of seeking support for human existence. The human mind took the place of God. The emptiness and inconvenience of the world without God as a support was camouflaged by faith in the power of the mind. And although it was not about the Mind, the Logos, but about the finite mind, which has a human dimension, but not a universal-cosmic one (as was the case with Parmenides); the attempt to find support in the mind had clearly ancient roots. The 20th century was marked by a crusade against reason, which meant a break with ancient tradition. “Our apprenticeship with the Greeks is over: the Greeks are not classics,” said Ortega y Gasse at the beginning of the century, “they are simply archaic - archaic and, of course, always beautiful. This is what makes them especially interesting to us. They stop being our teachers and become our friends. Let's start talking to them, let's start disagreeing with them on the most basic things. What is this "most important thing"? Firstly, the Greek understanding of being as something essential, unchanging, motionless, substantial. The rejection of any kind of substantiality has become the norm of philosophizing in the twentieth century. Secondly, the recognition of reason as the pillar of human existence; reason was denied credit of trust on the part of man and society of the twentieth century.
5. Expand the relationship of the worldview of the twentieth century. and philosophical solution of the problem of being.
Essence and forms of knowledge.
1. What is the structure of the cognitive process?
The need for knowledge is one of the essential characteristics of a person. The entire history of mankind can be represented as an accelerating process of development, expansion, and refinement of knowledge - from technologies for processing stone tools and making fire to methods for obtaining and using information in a computer network. The current stage in the development of society is usually seen as a transition from an industrial society (based on the production of goods) to a post-industrial society, or information society (based on the production and distribution of knowledge). In the information society, the value of knowledge and ways to obtain it is constantly increasing: every day thousands of new books and computer sites appear in the world, and the share of digitized information amounts to terabytes. In such conditions, the problems of cognition are becoming increasingly important. The most general questions of knowledge are developed by a branch of philosophy called epistemology (from the Greek gnosis - knowledge + logos - teaching), or the theory of knowledge. Often, knowledge requires a person to be convinced that he is right and have special courage: many scientists went to prison and to the stake for their ideas. Thus, knowledge is social nature: it is conditioned by the internal needs of society, goals, values, beliefs of people.
Since knowledge is an activity, it has common features with other activities - work, learning, play, communication, etc. Therefore, in cognition, one can single out elements characteristic of any type of activity - need, motive, goal, means, result.
cognitive need is one of the most important human needs in the structure and is expressed in curiosity, the desire for understanding, spiritual quest, etc. The desire for the unknown, attempts to explain the incomprehensible - a necessary element of human life.
2. In what forms is the process of cognition carried out?
rational cognition- a more complex, human way of reflecting reality through thinking(the process of purposeful, mediated and generalized reflection in the human mind of the essential properties and relations of reality). Thinking can be represented by three main levels , which correspond to general history its development: sensory-perceptual; presentation layer; verbal-logical level (the level of conceptual thinking). It is characterized by: - reliance on results sensory reflection, mediation by feelings; - abstractness and generalization of emerging images; - reproduction of objects at the level of entities, internal regular connections and relationships. The main forms of rational knowledge include: concepts, judgments, conclusions, laws, hypotheses, theories.
concept- a logical image that reproduces the essential properties and relationships of things. Any cycle of comprehension of reality begins and ends with it. The emergence of a concept is always a leap from the individual to the universal, from the concrete to the abstract, from the phenomenon to the essence.
Judgment- this is a thought that connects several concepts and thereby reflects the relationship between various things and their properties. With the help of judgments, the definitions of science, all its affirmations and denials, are built.
inference represents a conclusion from several interconnected judgments of a new judgment, a new affirmation or negation, a new definition of science. With the help of concepts, judgments and conclusions, hypotheses are put forward and substantiated, laws are formulated, integral theories are built - the most developed and deep logical images of reality.
Mental work is not reduced to the mechanical assimilation of methods of activity. A person masters not a set of concepts, judgments and conclusions, but principles, a structure for their processing. How intelligence(mental ability) and thinking (mental activity) are not isolated forms. There is a constant interplay between them. But sensory and rational cognition as forms do not exhaust the process of cognition. Cognition is carried out with the help of intuition , the nature of which and its cognitive possibilities should be considered in more detail.
Intuition- (from Latin intuitio - I look closely) is defined as the ability to comprehend the truth by its discretion without substantiation with the help of evidence. It is also defined as flair, insight, direct knowledge based on previous experience and theoretical scientific knowledge. In irrational philosophy, intuition is a mystical comprehension of “truth” without the help of scientific experience and logical conclusions. Describing intuition, it can be noted that:
1) intuition is a special form of leap from ignorance to knowledge;
2) intuition is the fruit of the interweaving of logical and psychological mechanisms of thinking.
The researchers also note signs of intuition: suddenness of the jump; incomplete awareness of the process; direct nature of the emergence of knowledge. Allocate also forms of intuition: sensual and intellectual. Intuitive thinking follows conscious thinking in terms of problematics, but often ahead of it in terms of problem solving. Another feature of it is that it arises as a result of intense and emotionally rich search thoughts. It is always emotionally colored. It is always simple and concise and never represents a whole theory, but only provides some key element.
It should also be said that the separation of sensual and rational cognition in cognition, as well as intuition, does not mean at all that the process of cognition proceeds in such a sequence. In real cognition, everything coexists simultaneously, the forms of cognition in a real cognitive act are inseparable.
3. What are the approaches to the problem of the cognizability of the world
Agnosticism (I. Kant) - It is impossible to know the world
Empiricism (F. Bacon) - Experience plays a decisive role
Rationalism (R. Descartes) - Thinking operations play a decisive role
Sensationalism (J. Locke) - sensations and perceptions play a decisive role
Most - The world is cognizable and knowledge is the unity of the sensual and rational (two levels)
4. How the problem of the relationship between faith and reason in cognition was solved in philosophy?
The Middle Ages was at the beginning of the path leading to understanding the relationship and interconnection of the two existential spheres. It proposed its own model of their relationship, more precisely, a series of models based on common premises, but leading to different conclusions. The main premise concerned the understanding of the meaning and purpose of human existence. Created in the image and likeness of God, man must strive to ensure that his soul becomes a temple in which God constantly dwells. Earthly life with its affairs and concerns, no matter how important and necessary they may seem to him, should not occupy a central place in a person’s life, should not absorb all his attention. To be human means to live not only in the "horizontal" plane (among things and people), but above all in the "vertical" dimension, constantly striving towards God, remembering him both in joy and in sorrows, continuously feeling his presence. For a Christian, God is life; he is the source of life, the giver of life; falling away from God, according to Christian views, makes the soul dead and insensible. But if the soul is spiritually dead ("mortified by sin"), a person loses touch with Being, a living feeling of being, his life becomes joyless and meaningless. Therefore, the goal of man is communion with God and knowledge of God. All other moments of human existence, including the knowledge of the world, must be subordinated to the tasks of knowledge of God, the salvation of the soul. This is the initial thesis of Christian philosophy, shared by all (regardless of their affiliation to one direction or another) thinkers of the Western European Middle Ages.
Disagreements arose when discussing the question of whether rational knowledge contributes to the advancement of a Christian along the path of knowledge of God, or, on the contrary, only distracts him from the search for saving truth. V western middle ages we can find two opposite answers to this question.
Rationalism by Rene Descartes
The problems of the methodology of cognition, i.e., epistemology in modern times can be presented in the form of a broad philosophical discourse. Let's start by exploring the concept of rationalism.
Rationalism (from Latin ratioreason) is a philosophical methodology of cognition and a worldview concept that recognizes (as opposed to empiricism) that the construction of complete knowledge should be based on the activity of the mind and the methodology of the rational. The most prominent rationalist in the history of philosophy is considered to be the French philosopher, mathematician
Rene Descartes(1596–1650).
The worldview of Descartes organically combined the genius of the great natural scientist and the deepest philosopher. The Origin of Philosophy (1644) is his most voluminous work, which is a set of general philosophical, methodological and concrete scientific principles of Cartesianism.
So, how would it be possible today to interpret Descartes’ position for you without obvious damage to the value of the thinker’s views… to this question. But is this really so, and is he not deceived even in this?! After all, the same person can imagine a similar picture in a dream, and it will in no way be inferior to reality in its clarity. And if such a conversation occurs in a dream, then the answer will be similar. But doesn’t this mean that it’s impossible to say exactly what reality is and whether what is happening to you at the moment is such? And if such a statement raises certain doubts, then the reality surrounding us cannot be considered true either - it can also be imagined, as well as during sleep, that is, here we are having quite understandable conversations in the spirit of classical idealism - "Platonism".
Francis Bacon's empiricism
Much closer to modern views on the methodology of science is the concept of Bacon's empiricism. Name Francis Bacon(1561-1626) - from among those in the history of mankind who do not belong undividedly to any one branch of knowledge, culture or politics, just as they do not belong to one era or one country. He himself, as if foreseeing his posthumous glory, wrote about himself like this: “As for my name and memory of me, I will bequeath them to merciful human rumor, foreign peoples and future ages.”
Empiricism (from Latin empirio feelings, sensory experience) is a philosophical methodology of cognition and a worldview concept based on the activity of the senses and the methodology of experimental assimilation of beings in the construction of complete knowledge.
In the autumn of 1620, Bacon published his main philosophical work, The New Organon of Sciences (a preliminary version was published in 1612), containing the doctrine of method as the basis of philosophy and all scientific knowledge. The criterion for the success of sciences is the practical results to which they lead, the scientist believed: “Fruits and practical inventions are, as it were, guarantors and witnesses of the truth of philosophy”. True knowledge can only be given by facts that are empirically obtained, practically verified, and, most importantly, applied for the benefit of a person. Such knowledge gives a person great opportunities, strengthening him. Hence the great Baconian: Knowledge is power, but only knowledge that is true.
Therefore Bacon gives distinction between two types of experience: fruitful and luminous. The first, the fruitful ones, are those experiences that bring immediate benefit to a person; the second, luminiferous - those whose purpose is to know the deep connections of nature, the laws of phenomena, the properties of things. Bacon considered the second type of experiments more valuable, since without their results it is impossible to carry out fruitful experiments.
The unreliability of the knowledge we receive is due, Bacon believes, to a dubious form of proof, which is based on a rational, syllogistic form of substantiating ideas, consisting of judgments and concepts. However, concepts, as a rule, are formed insufficiently substantiated. In his critique of the theory of logic of antiquity, Bacon proceeds from the fact that the general concepts used in deductive proof are the result of empirical knowledge made extremely hastily. For his part, recognizing the importance of general concepts that form the foundation of knowledge, Bacon believed that the main thing is the ability to correctly form these concepts, since hastily formed, by chance, they will not be a solid foundation for further theoretical constructions.
The main step in the reform of science proposed by Bacon can be considered the improvement of methods of generalization, i.e. creation them new concept of induction. Bacon's experimental-inductive method consisted in the gradual formation of new concepts through the interpretation of facts and natural phenomena. Only by means of such a method, according to Bacon, is it possible to discover new truths, and not to mark time. Without rejecting deduction, Bacon defined the difference and features of these two methods of cognition as follows: Two paths exist and can exist for the discovery of truth. One soars from sensations and particulars to the most general axioms and, proceeding from these foundations and their unshakable truth, discusses and discovers the middle axioms. This is the way they use it today. The other path, on the other hand, derives axioms from sensations and particulars, ascending continually and gradually, until at last it arrives at the most general axioms. This is the true path, but not tested "
2. What are the levels of knowledge and their elements?
The empirical level of scientific knowledge is characterized by a direct study of real-life, sensually perceived objects. At this level, the process of accumulating information about the objects and phenomena under study is carried out by conducting observations, performing various measurements, and delivering experiments. Here, the primary systematization of the actual data obtained in the form of tables, diagrams, graphs, etc. is also carried out. In addition, already at the second level of scientific knowledge - as a result of generalization scientific facts- it is possible to formulate some empirical regularities.
The theoretical level of scientific research is carried out at the rational (logical) level of knowledge. At this level, the scientist operates only with theoretical (ideal, iconic) objects. Also at this level, the most profound essential aspects, connections, patterns inherent in the studied objects and phenomena are revealed. The theoretical level is a higher level in scientific knowledge.
The specificity of philosophy and pre-philosophical forms of worldview.
1. What historical types of worldview preceded philosophy. Can you describe them?
Mythological worldview represents the historically first type of worldview or a way of shaping worldview ideas and arises at the stage of formation of human society. This worldview is characteristic of the primitive communal system and early class society. Religious worldview- this is a way of mastering reality through its doubling into natural, earthly, this-worldly and supernatural, heavenly, other-worldly. The separation of mental labor from physical, on the one hand, mythology and the accumulation of empirical knowledge, on the other hand, as well as the desire of man to comprehend his own essence, contributed to the emergence of a common holistic view of the world and man's place in it - philosophy.
2. Why philosophy is supreme historical type worldview?
A qualitatively new type is philosophical outlook. It differs from mythology and religion focus on rational explanation peace. The most general ideas about nature, society, man become the subject theoretical consideration and logical analysis. The philosophical worldview inherited from mythology and religion their worldview character, the whole set of questions about the origin of the world, its structure, the place of man in the world, etc., but unlike mythology and religion, which are characterized by feelings
The main food of philosophy: what is the first thing: the idea of what matter, that chi confirms our knowledge about the world to the world itself?
For the first time the term "basic question of philosophy" was used Friedrich Engels.
The fundamental question of philosophy- this is a question about the relationship between two philosophical categories, a question about the relationship between two opposites, aspects of being.
A graphic representation of the main question of philosophy is as follows:
Here are three pairs of opposites that essentially mean the same thing:
- matter and consciousness
- material and ideal
- objective and subjective
objective- this is everything that does not depend on the will and desire of the subject.
subjective- everything that depends on the will and desire of the subject.
Opposites(in this context) are sides of the same object or system that mutually presuppose and mutually exclude each other.
Being exists in several forms:
1. Being of the first nature.
This is the whole natural world that exists in deep space, and also existed in near space and on Earth before the appearance of man.
2. Being of the second nature.
The natural world of the Earth and the space of near space, formed after the appearance of man on Earth.
3. The existence of man in the world of things.
This is a bodily existence, the body - on the one hand, and on the other - the consciousness of a person, reflecting the surrounding reality.
4. social life.
This is the existence of society at a given stage of its development, a given level of development of culture.
culture- a system of suprabiological forms of action.
5. Individualized spiritual being.
This is the consciousness of man in a given social being. This being creates ideas.
Being objectified spiritual being.
This being consists in objectification, objectification of ideas. The objectification of ideas is expressed in manuscripts, CDs, HDDs, Flash Memory and other specific material devices that objectify ideas.
The fundamental question of philosophy
“The great fundamental question of all philosophy, especially the latest one,” emphasized F. Engels, “is the question of the relation of thinking to being.” Its most important content is the alternative: "...what is primary: spirit or nature..." 2 On the whole, the semantic field of this nodal philosophical problem is formed by various attitudes of a person as a being endowed with consciousness to the objective, real world, the principles of practical, cognitive-theoretical, artistic and other ways of mastering the world. One of them, and a very important one, is the principle of the knowability of the world.
Depending on how the philosophers understood this ratio, what they took as the initial, determining one, they made up two opposite directions. The position according to which the world is explained on the basis of spirit, consciousness, has received the name of idealism: in a number of moments it has something in common with religion. Philosophers, who took nature, matter, objective reality, which exists independently of human consciousness, as the basis of their worldview, adjoined various schools of materialism, which in many respects are related in their attitudes to science. The existence of these radically opposite directions is determined not only by theoretical reasons, but also by the circumstances of the socio-economic, political, spiritual development of society, in turn exerting an undeniable influence on it.
It is not easy for students of philosophy, and sometimes even for those who work professionally in this field, to understand why and in what sense the question of the relationship between the material and the spiritual is fundamental for philosophy, and whether this is really the case. Philosophy has existed for more than two and a half thousand years, and for a long time this question, either directly or indirectly, as a rule, was not raised by philosophers. It took centuries of philosophical development to realize the ideological significance of the polarity "material - spiritual". It clearly emerged and took a fundamental place in the period of active formation of philosophical thought proper (XVII-XVIII centuries), its active dissociation from religion, on the one hand, and from specific sciences, on the other. But even after this, philosophers do not always formulate the relationship between being and consciousness as fundamental. It is no secret that the majority of philosophers did not consider in the past and do not consider now the solution of this particular issue as their most important task. Foreground in various teachings problems of ways to achieve true knowledge, the nature of moral duty, freedom, human happiness, practice, etc. were brought up. Let us cite, for example, the point of view of the French philosopher of the 20th century Albert Camus, who considers the most burning problem of the meaning of human life: “To decide whether life is worth labor to be lived, or it is not worth it, is to answer the basic question of philosophy.
But can it be considered as a basic question that is not formulated at all by most philosophers? Perhaps it is introduced post factum (retroactively) in order to classify philosophical trends and positions? In a word, a special place in the philosophy of the question of the relation of the spiritual to the material is not obvious, it needs to be explained, theoretically substantiated.
At least one thing is clear: the question of the relationship between consciousness and being is not on a par with numerous specific philosophical questions, but is of a different nature. Perhaps this is not so much a question as a semantic orientation, orientation of philosophical thought. It is important to understand that the polarity “material - spiritual”, “objective - subjective” is included in all philosophical reflections, constitutes a certain “nerve” of any specific philosophical question, regardless of whether philosophers are aware of this. Moreover, this polarity does not always take the form of a question. Being translated into this form, it grows into a whole multitude of questions interconnected and covering the entire field of philosophical thought.
The confrontation and at the same time the complex interaction of being and consciousness, material and spiritual grows out of all human practice, culture, permeates them. Significant only in pairs, in their polar correlation, these concepts somehow cover the entire field of worldview, are universal in relation to it, and form its ultimate general basis. Philosophical understanding of the initial and most general prerequisites of human existence, as K. Marx explained, should proceed from the presence of the world, primarily nature, on the one hand, and people, on the other. Everything else appears as a derivative, as a result of the practical and spiritual assimilation by people of primary (natural) and secondary (social) forms of being and the interaction of people with each other on this basis.
Three main types can be distinguished from the variety of “world-man” relations: cognitive, practical and value relations.
At one time, I. Kant formulated three questions that, in his opinion, are of fundamental importance for philosophy in its highest “worldwide civil” meaning: what can I know? What should I do? What can I hope for? one
These three questions just reflect the three indicated types of human relations to the world. Let us first of all turn to the first of them.
2. Marxism, existentialism, positive and other directives about the subject.
Philosophical worldview and its key problems: the world and man, being and consciousness. positive directions
We have already determined the starting point, the time of the birth of philosophy. Since that time, two and a half millennia have passed, during which views on the content and tasks of philosophy have developed. Initially, philosophy acted as a synthesis of all knowledge. Later, in the process of separating the particular sciences, the sphere of philosophical knowledge gradually narrowed, although at the same time its main content, its, so to speak, core was preserved. What has always remained in the center of attention of philosophers? First, nature; Secondly, public life; thirdly, (and this is the main thing), a person. These three central points - the natural and social world, as well as man in their relationship - have been and remain the main subjects of philosophical reflection. Philosophy is a theoretically developed worldview, a system of the most general theoretical views on the world, on the place of man in it, understanding various forms his relationship to the world. Two main features characterize the philosophical outlook - its consistency, firstly, and, secondly, the theoretical, logically substantiated nature of the system of philosophical views. To this it should be added that at the center of philosophy is a person, which, on the one hand, determines the formation of a picture of the world and the study of its impact on a person, and on the other hand, consideration of a person in his relation to the world, determining his place, his purpose in the world and society. The relationship between man and the world pervades all philosophy, starting with the question of what is our knowledge? Is truth given by things, objects, or is it a product of the subject's arbitrariness? What is value? Does it "sit" in things, or do we ascribe value to it? It follows from this that the question of the relationship between matter and consciousness, i.e. in essence, the relationship between the world and man is the "pivotal", basic question of philosophy. Not a single philosophical doctrine can bypass this issue, and all other problems are considered through the prism of the relationship between matter and consciousness. Different solutions to this issue, which F. Engels characterized as the great fundamental question of all, especially modern philosophy, determines the watershed between the main directions of philosophy. The main question itself has two sides. The first - what is primary, matter or consciousness; the second is how our thoughts about the world relate to this world itself, i.e. do we know the world? Various Solutions The first side of the main question is determined by the division of philosophers into materialists, based on science and practice, and idealists, whose views are in common with religious ones. In turn, solving the second side of the main question, philosophers are divided into those who stand on the point of view of the cognizability of the world, and agnostics, who deny the possibility of cognizing reality. If we go further, then, in turn, the attitude of a person to the world is threefold - cognitive, practical, value. Each of them solves its own question - what can I know?; what should I do?; what can I hope for? As we noted above, the question that philosophy initially solved was the question of what the world is, what we know about it, because without this it is impossible to solve the question of the relationship of man to the world. But knowledge of the world was not only a matter of philosophy. The peculiarity of philosophy is that it initially acted as universal theoretical knowledge, as knowledge of the universal, universal principles of being. This is what delimited and delimits philosophy from specific sciences. Along with this, philosophy, as noted above, is called upon to resolve issues related to the cognizability of the world: not only whether the world is cognizable, but also what are the means of verifying the truth of our knowledge, etc. But to philosophize also means to solve the problems of value, practical reason, as Kant would say, first of all, the problems of morality, and among them the most important question that was first posed by Socrates: "What is good?" The essence of philosophizing, therefore, is not simply and not only in acquiring knowledge about the world as a whole, but also in educating a person, indicating to him higher goals in accordance with the hierarchy of moral values, teaching him the ability to subordinate his actions to these higher moral goals. . Without this, human life itself loses its meaning, and a person ceases to be a person. This is all the more true if one considers that man is the highest value, that he and his happiness are the highest goal. Defining ways to achieve this goal is one of the central tasks of philosophy. Developing further the understanding of philosophy, extending the principles of materialism to the understanding of history. K. Marx revealed the fact that philosophy is also a form of historical knowledge, revealed the connection between philosophy and practice, established that the relationship of man to nature is mediated by social life, work, and practice. As a result, philosophy appeared not only as a generalized view of nature, but also as a generalized view of society and its subsystems. The field of activity of philosophy is determined by the fact that, as we have already noted above, it is the quintessence of culture. Therefore, the content of philosophical science was a rather complex system. The complexity and versatility of philosophical knowledge was already shown by Hegel. The task of a holistic understanding of both natural and social reality from a philosophical standpoint through the opposition of man and the world remains the most important today, especially in connection with fundamental changes in all spheres of our life and the need to comprehend these changes.
General characteristics of existentialism
The philosophy of M. Heidegger occupies a special place in the philosophy of the twentieth century. "Heidegger leaves no one indifferent. Acquaintance with his texts gives rise to a very variegated picture of reactions - from enthusiastic reverence and a desire to imitate to indignant rejection and categorical repulsion."
Heidegger's ideas most seriously influenced the development of philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century, the entire body of humanitarian knowledge as a whole. He managed to feel the "pulse of time" of the 20th century, which outlined the central problems of philosophy - the problems of the Spirit and spirituality, passed through the prism of the problems of being, culture, civilization, thinking, truth, creativity, personality. But his philosophy cannot be understood without getting acquainted with the conceptual apparatus of E. Husserl.
As an epigraph to the philosophy of Heidegger, as to no other, can serve the words of Faust regarding the first phrase of the "Gospel of John": "in the beginning was the word", translated by B. Pasternak.
"In the beginning was the Word?" From the first lines of the Riddle. Did I get the hint? After all, I do not put the word so high, To think that it is the basis of everything. "In the beginning there was a thought." Here is the translation. He conveys this verse more closely. I will think, however, in order not to immediately ruin the work with the first phrase. Could thought breathe life into creation? "In the beginning there was the Force." That's the point! But after a little hesitation, I reject this interpretation. I was again, as I see, bewildered: "In the beginning was the Deed" - the verse says.
Heidegger can be considered a classic of existential philosophy and philosophical hermeneutics, he made a serious contribution to the teaching of phenomenology, even philosophical mysticism - on this basis, four stages of his work can be distinguished. And yet, above all, Heidegger is an existentialist: he continues to sing of Man and His Being even when he breaks with existentialism. The Being of Man is the Business of Life for Heidegger. Considering all the contradictions that took place between Heidegger and his contemporary existentialists, it can be argued that Heidegger is an existentialist in spirit. Following the representatives of the "philosophy of life", especially S. Kierkegaard, he develops the idea of the fundamental inaccessibility for thought, enclosed in a traditional conceptual framework, of the true being of a person - existence, and therefore refuses the traditional categorical apparatus of philosophy, which has been taking shape since the beginning of the 17th century, since the time of F. Bacon and R. Descartes.
The subject of philosophy and its functions
Philosophy - general theory the world and the person in it. Philosophy and worldview are organically linked with each other. Worldview is a system of views on the objective world and a person's place in it. Philosophy plays a special role in shaping the worldview.
The worldview has a certain structure: knowledge (ordinary and scientific), beliefs, faith, principles. It performs the function of human cognition of the world around. It incorporates the experience of man's knowledge of the world around him, while philosophy is focused on revealing the general principles of the structure of the world and its most important characteristics. It does not seek to answer all cognitive questions, but solves only the most general, ideological questions. With the help of philosophy, the worldview achieves orderliness, generalization and theoreticalness. Philosophy determines the nature and general orientation of the worldview. For example: in the Renaissance, the main focus of philosophy was to understand the place of man as the center of the universe. In addition, worldview and philosophy solve human problems in various aspects. So the worldview includes a variety of information about a person, and philosophy solves problems in a general form.
Philosophy originated about 2500 years ago in the countries of the East: India, Greece, Rome. It acquired its most developed forms in Dr. Greece. Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Philosophy tried to absorb all knowledge, because individual sciences were not able to give a complete picture of the world. The question of what is the world is the main question of philosophy. Its solution indicates the main approaches to understanding other philosophical problems, so philosophy was divided into 2 main areas: philosophical materialism (Democritus), and philosophical idealism (Plato). Philosophy sought to understand not only the world outside of man, but also man himself. Philosophy is characterized by the desire for the maximum generalization of the results of knowledge. It studies not the world as a whole, but the world as a whole.
Philosophy is organically woven into the fabric of society and has a great impact on society. It is influenced by the political and social system, state, religion. On the other hand, philosophy itself influences the historical process with its advanced ideas. Therefore, it has the following functions:
1. it performs an ideological function, i.e. helps to form a holistic picture of the world.
2. methodological, search function. In this sense, it formulates the rules of knowledge for all particular sciences.
3. function of social criticism. It criticizes the existing order of things in society.
4. constructive function. It means the ability to answer the question of what should be in the future. Vision and anticipation of the future.
5. ideological function. The participation of philosophy in the development of ideology as a system of views and ideals.
6. function of reflection or generalization of culture. Philosophy is the core of the spiritual culture of society. She formulates the most significant ideals of her time.
7. intelligent function. It contributes to the development of a person's ability to theoretical thinking, through it a cognitive image is transmitted.
4. Philosophy and science. culture
Philosophy throughout its development has been associated with science, although the very nature of this connection, or rather, the relationship between philosophy and science has changed over time. On the initial stage philosophy was the only science and included the entire body of knowledge. So it was in the philosophy of the ancient world and in the Middle Ages. In the future, the process of specialization and differentiation of scientific knowledge and their separation from philosophy unfolds. This process has been intensively going on since the 15th-16th centuries. and reaches the upper limit in the XVII-XVIII centuries. At this second stage, specifically scientific knowledge was predominantly empirical, experimental in nature, and theoretical generalizations were made by philosophy, moreover, in a purely speculative way. At the same time, positive results were often achieved, but a lot of nonsense was also piled up. Finally, in the third period, the beginning of which dates back to the 19th century, science partially adopts from philosophy the theoretical generalization of its results. Philosophy can now build a universal, philosophical picture of the world only together with science, on the basis of generalization of specific scientific knowledge. It is necessary to emphasize once again that the types of worldview, including the philosophical one, are diverse. The latter can be both scientific and non-scientific. The scientific philosophical outlook to a greater extent forms and represents the teachings of philosophical materialism, starting with the naive materialism of the ancients through the materialistic teachings of the 17th-18th centuries. to dialectical materialism. A significant acquisition of materialism at this stage of its development was dialectics, which, unlike metaphysics, considers the world and reflecting its thinking in interaction and development. Dialectics has already enriched materialism because materialism takes the world as it is, and the world develops, the tone is dialectical and therefore cannot be understood without dialectics. Philosophy and science are closely related. With the development of science, as a rule, there is a progress in philosophy: with each discovery in natural science that makes an epoch, as F. Engels noted, materialism must change its form. But one cannot see reverse currents from philosophy to science. It suffices to point to the ideas of atomism of Democritus, which left an indelible mark on the development of science. Philosophy and science are born within the framework of specific types of culture, mutually influence each other, while each solving its own problems and interacting in the course of their solution. Philosophy outlines ways to resolve contradictions at the intersections of sciences. It is also called upon to solve such a problem as understanding the most general foundations of culture in general and science in particular. Philosophy acts as a thinking tool; it develops principles, categories, methods of cognition, which are actively used in specific sciences. In philosophy, thus, the worldview and theoretical-cognitive foundations of science are worked out, its value aspects are substantiated. Is science useful or harmful? It is philosophy that helps to find the answer to this question and others like it today. Concluding, let us dwell on one more issue: philosophy and society. Philosophy is a product of its time, it is related to its problems and needs. In other words, the roots of the philosophy of any era should be seen not only in the views of philosophical predecessors, but also in the social climate of the era, in its connection with the interests of certain classes. Social interests undoubtedly influence the selection of material from the theoretical heritage, the philosophical orientation associated with social situations. But all this should not be exaggerated, much less absolutized, as was done in the recent past. Moreover, it would be unacceptable simplification to evaluate philosophical positions as true or false as a mirror reflection of class divisions. And, of course, nothing but harm was brought to us and our philosophy by the installation: whoever is not with us is against us, whoever is not with us does not own the truth. Such an approach to the partisanship, class character of philosophy, such a vulgar interpretation of it led to the self-isolation of our philosophy. Meanwhile, foreign philosophical thought was advancing and many of its "developments" could have enriched us. Today, a free exchange of thoughts and opinions is necessary as a condition for the normal development of philosophical thought. Scientific philosophy is obliged to stand on the point of view of unbiased research, and the philosopher must be not only an ideologue, but also a man of science. Philosophy is scientific insofar as it is associated with reality through concrete scientific knowledge. Philosophy is scientific not in the sense that it solves their problems for scientists, but in that it acts as a theoretical generalization of human history, as a scientific justification for the present and future activities of people. This is true for all spheres of life - for the analysis of cognitive problems, where the starting point is the study of the history of knowledge, the history of science; for the analysis of technology and technical activity - a generalization of the history of the development of technology. A similar approach is typical for philosophy and in the sphere of politics, morality, religion, etc. Philosophical analysis is thus built on the basis of a strictly scientific study of real historical connections. Today, studies of world-historical contradictions are of particular importance - man and nature, nature and society, society and personality, the solution of human, humanitarian problems in conjunction with the problems of the fate of civilization, with the resolution of a whole range of global problems. All this requires everyone to master philosophy, philosophical competence, ideological maturity and culture.
The Choice of a Definition of Philosophy by the Cultural Historian.
Looks natural, of course, the question "FROM WHAT?" Yes, from which we can (should, must, want, intend, etc.) choose the indicated definition.
Not so natural (less natural, or what?) Are the questions "For what?" (Really, is it necessary to do this?) and "What is the point?" (What is this choice as such?)
The essence of the choice is that SOMETHING specifically philosophical stands out FROM (separates FROM) EVERYTHING general cultural. And it stands out not for the purpose of separation, but for the purpose of linking the first with the second on the basis of the self-pressing meaning of this specific one. So it is with science, so it should be with philosophy. When we talk about science both as a mode of culture and as a value in itself, we (in the second case) do not belittle culture, but exalt it.
So, both for understanding ALL culture, and for understanding philosophy ITSELF - that's WHAT all this is for. (And to improve the process of humanitarization of higher education in Russia).
And one more thing: IN ORDER not to ignore the essential assets of historical and philosophical thought. After all, Hegel, for example, paid a lot of attention to the difference between the specifically philosophical and what is close to it. And, it seems, it was already noticed before him: "Philosophizing is not necessarily an occupation with philosophy."
It is worth recalling what has been said not only because literary criticism abuses the words “philosopher” (and Fedin is also “philosopher”), “philosophy” (and Samghin also has “philosophy”), “philosophical” (“in praise of the poet, we call his lyrics “philosophical "...), but also because the respected philosopher admits (and I agree with him!) the difficulty of separating the PHILOSOPHICAL (already - philosophical) from the PRE-PHILOSOPHICAL (yet - non-philosophical).
This is from Hegel and Tennemann to our day. And from them - "in the opposite direction"?
Already Aristotle made an attempt to separate the "physiologists" from the "theologians" (as obvious predecessors of the first), pointing to "between" them "situating" Pherekides the Cyp(os), who wrote "not about everything in the form of a myth".
Here are two general cultural components: to write "in the form of a myth" and to write "not in the form of a myth". And here are two general cultural positions in response to the question whether the cosmos has always existed, having no beginning in its being, or whether it happened. “Happened,” Plato immediately answers the question he formulated, knowing that before him this question had already been answered like this: “was, is and will be forever”, that is, “did not happen”. Plato in this case tends to answer by analogy (everything comes from something, without exception), although even pre-Platonic thought was armed with anti-analogistics (Anaximander!).
These opposite general cultural positions were then considered to be two specifically philosophical positions, two general worldview principles. Still later, they were generalized in terms of "philosophical monism" and "philosophical dualism."
Now about the question "FROM WHAT?" Let's try to typify the "material" for selection. Obviously, there is an "A"-choice, a "B"-choice, and so on.
A. Choice "from the list..." It is said that TI Oizerman gives a dozen definitions of philosophy, while AV Potemkin has three dozen of them. Yes, it is a matter of choice, but as a list of notations for philosophy, not as a list of its definitions.
B. The choice "from general ideas ..." There are not thirty or ten of them, but much less. Without exhausting them, we write:
(a) The "type of philosophizing" was expanded by GG Mayorov without taking into account Tenneman's statement. In the name of what? - For strict suggestion: "Patpistics is also a type of philosophizing." Without which? Without giving another (at least one) example of a "type of philosophizing"... A productive discussion is difficult (or even impossible).
(b) The "type of rationality" was expanded by Yu.A. Shichalin, obviously, not without taking into account Weber's opinions. In the name of what? - To remind you that, having separated from wisdom (sophia) as inherent only to the divine - wisdom (philosophy) as inherent to the human, Pythagoras laid the foundation for such a type of rationality as commentators, that is, he discovered (in this precisely) philosophy. Here a productive discussion is not difficult.
(c) "Reflection as such" Cornforth called the beginning of philosophy. Of course, reflection is also a thought about a thought. Of course, reflection is both self-criticism (of course, and criticism), and surprise at the thesis (not an image!), And philosophy - there is no without reflection! But the historians of philosophy do not typify reflection in a criteria-wise manner.
(d) "Stage of abstraction". It is easier to find it among psychologists and didacticists than among historians of philosophy. Banu is very close to this general definition in his concept of the historiology of philosophy. But this concept, unfortunately, is without criteria. And all historians who use the catchy formula "From mythos to lagos" are very far from this general definition. It would be good to show what kind of logos is that stage of abstraction, which can already be perceived as the last PHILOSOPHICAL STAGE. For 80 years of circulation of this formula, historians have not specified anything in this respect. Moreover:
All "gradualists" ("graduals"), resorting to "historical developments", do not refer to the remarkable work of F.G. Mishchenko on the experience of rationalism in ancient Greece, which, unfortunately, was left without continuation by the Kiev researcher. But in F.G. Mishchenko, it is not philosophy as something specific that rises up the steps, but culture in general as something general.
B. Choice at the time of "clearances in anguish..." Tearing is the replacement of the designation not with a definition, but with the slogan "Philosophy is not science".
The question arises: is methodology a science? Not always science, but science too. So philosophy is not always a science, but also a science, and it must be both a science and a non-science. ... So, "A", "B", "C" ... Perhaps there are both "G" and "D", etc. So there is no need to limit yourself. The previous paragraph defines the author's attitude both to the choice "from B" and to the choice "from A".
These are the arguments leading to the following result:
Philosophy as a modus of culture. The place of man in the world and among other people is the object of consideration of philosophy;
Philosophy as a worldview. Revealing the theoretical foundations of any worldview is the vocation of philosophy;
Philosophy as a form of social consciousness. The polarization of systems of general ideas, based on opposite general worldview principles, is the fate of philosophy after the appearance of the main question of philosophy until its disappearance in the future;
Philosophy as a science. (a) Accumulating the solution of scientific knowledge of many questions in relatively few categories, determines both the progression and continuity of scientific knowledge; (b) constantly returning to the old problem of the relationship between truth and error; (c) summarizing the achievements of specific branches of knowledge, constructs the most general methodology of general theoretical and special social cognition; (d) develops a special science of knowledge (the theory of knowledge) as such.
Thus, philosophy as a phenomenon in general is polyfunctional. It is also, obviously, the sum of various "types of philosophizing" (but, obviously, not all ...).
Lyakhovetsky L. A. (State Financial Academy)
Polishchuk V.I.
The history of philosophy as the history of culture.
The teaching of philosophy at a university in our country has always, at least in the last 60+ years, been in conflict with world philosophical culture in particular and with culture in general, because a set of schemes and dogmas did not develop thinking, but only served as a kind of pass to a diploma. True, one can call diamat and istmat with their basic and non-basic laws and categories a specific subculture. At present, the theoreticians of university teaching cannot go beyond the rigid framework of the template that has been formed over decades. Instead of Diamat, there appeared "Philosophy of Nature", or "Ontology of Being", or "Dialectics and Theory of Knowledge", instead of Historical Mathematics - "Social Philosophy". But all this is just external camouflage. Basically, the same themes remained, the same gradation, the same separation from genuine culture.
It seems obvious that the history of philosophy should be taught, including here, as constituent parts, the history of eti, aesthetics and religion. But if we take into account that in a non-humanitarian - especially in a technical - university, as a rule, no humanities disciplines are taught, and only very rich educational institutions can afford to have a department of culture, then it is more expedient to read the history of philosophy in the context of culture, combining the cultural and historical background with the analysis of certain philosophical teachings. Then the phrase that philosophy is the quintessence of culture will no longer be unfounded, and abstract and often difficult to understand philosophical categories will be filled with vivid figurative meaning.
In connection with the above, I would like to propose an approximate program of some topics of such a course at a technical university, calculated for 90-100 hours.
1. Philosophy and culture of the East (Ancient China and India)
Specific features of Chinese and Indian mythology. The relationship of philosophy, religion and science in the East. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Art of the Ancient East. East and West.
2. Ancient European philosophy
Ancient mythology, art and science. Antique history and politics. main philosophical schools. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle in the fate of European civilization.
3. Medieval European and Arab philosophies
Christianity and Islam: mythology, art, religion, politics. Patpistics and scholasticism in Europe. Mysticism in Christian culture and philosophy. Humanistic traditions of the Arab-Muslim culture and philosophy. Mutual influence of Muslim and Christian cultures.
Since we are talking about teaching philosophy in Russian universities, the largest volume, in comparison with other topics, should be occupied by the study of Russian philosophy in the context of Russian culture - Russian spirituality, the tragic fate of the Russian people in the context of its great literature and religious searches. Polishchuk V. I. (Nizhnevartovsk branch of the Tobolsk State Pedagogical Institute)
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The word "philosophy" comes from two Greek words - "phileo" - love and "sophia" - wisdom, so in general we get - love of wisdom.
Philosophical knowledge is often defined as scientific knowledge. However, there are a number of differences between philosophy and science that have led many thinkers to question the identification of science and philosophy.
Firstly, philosophy, like science, is the predominant human activity in the sphere of thinking. Philosophy does not specifically set itself the task of testing aesthetic feelings, as art does, or moral actions, as required by religion and morality. Although philosophy can talk about both art and religion, it is, first of all, reasoning, thinking about all these subjects.
There is no doubt that philosophy is close to science by the desire not only to affirm and accept some provisions on faith, but to first try to subject them to criticism and justification. Only if these propositions satisfy the requirements of criticism are they accepted as part of philosophical knowledge. This is the similarity between philosophy and science. Like science, philosophy is a kind of critical thinking that tries not to take anything on faith, but to subject everything to criticism and proof.
At the same time, there is an important difference between philosophical knowledge and scientific knowledge. All sciences are private areas of knowledge that explore only some part of the world. Unlike private sciences, philosophy tries to understand the world as a whole, in the unity of inorganic and organic processes, the life of the individual and society, and so on. Philosophy is the project of universal knowledge, universal science. That. Philosophy differs from the sciences in its subject of study: the sciences have parts of the world as their subject, while philosophy has the world as a whole.
Summing up, we can conclude that 1) philosophy is similar to scientific knowledge in terms of the method of cognition - just like private sciences, philosophy uses a critical method of cognition based on evidence and justification. 2) philosophy differs from private sciences in the subject of knowledge - unlike private sciences, philosophy tries to critically cognize the world as a whole, the most universal laws and principles.
It should be emphasized here that, until now, truly scientific knowledge has been built only within the framework of private, non-universal knowledge. Such knowledge is distinguished by high rigor and reliability, but at the same time it is private knowledge. As for the philosophical - universal - knowledge, so far, again, it has been possible to build only universal, but not too strict knowledge. It is very difficult to combine high rigor and universality in the final human mind. Usually knowledge is either strict and non-universal, or universal, but not too strict. That is why philosophy today cannot be called a true science, but rather a universal doctrine, or knowledge.
Philosophy may not differ from science in two cases: 1) when the level of development of scientific rigor is not yet high enough, and is approximately equal to the rigor of philosophical knowledge. Such a situation existed in antiquity, when all sciences were branches of philosophical knowledge, 2) when philosophy could catch up with science in terms of increased rigor. Perhaps this will happen in the future, and then philosophy will become a full-fledged synthetic science, but so far it is difficult to talk about this with certainty.
Even if philosophy today does not have a level of rigor sufficient for science, the existence of such universal knowledge is in any case something better than the complete absence of synthetic knowledge. The fact is that the creation of universal knowledge about the world, the synthesis of knowledge of particular sciences is the fundamental aspiration of the human mind. Knowledge is considered not quite true if it is broken into many unrelated fragments. Since the world is one, true knowledge about the world must also represent some kind of unity. Philosophy in no way rejects the particular knowledge of individual sciences, it should only synthesize these particular knowledge into some kind of integral knowledge. That. the synthesis of knowledge is the main method of philosophy. Particular sciences develop parts of this synthesis; philosophy is called upon to raise all these parts to some higher unity. But real synthesis is always a difficult task, which can never be reduced simply to the juxtaposition of separate parts of knowledge. Therefore, philosophy cannot simply be decomposed into the sum of all particular sciences, or philosophical knowledge can be replaced by this sum. Synthetic knowledge requires its own efforts, although dependent, but not entirely reducible to the cognitive efforts of individual sciences.
Philosophy is a special, scientific-theoretical type of worldview. The philosophical worldview differs from the religious and mythological in that it:
Based on knowledge (and not on faith or fiction);
Reflexively (there is a focus of thought on itself);
Logical (has internal unity and system);
Relies on clear concepts and categories.
Thus, philosophy is the highest level and type of worldview, characterized by rationality, consistency, logic and theoretical design.
Philosophy as a worldview has gone through three main stages of its evolution:
Cosmocentrism;
Theocentrism;
Anthropocentrism.
Cosmocentrism is a philosophical worldview, which is based on the explanation of the surrounding world, natural phenomena through the power, omnipotence, infinity of external forces - the Cosmos and according to which everything that exists depends on the Cosmos and cosmic cycles (this philosophy was characteristic of Ancient India, Ancient China, other countries of the East as well as Ancient Greece).
Theocentrism is a type of philosophical worldview, which is based on the explanation of everything that exists through the dominance of an inexplicable, supernatural force - God (was common in medieval Europe).
Anthropocentrism is a type of philosophical worldview, in the center of which is the problem of man (Europe of the Renaissance, modern and modern times, modern philosophical schools).
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