Not so long ago the definition of religion as "a reflection of reality in illusory-fantasy images, ideas, concepts" was perceived as one of the most important arguments of scientific atheism in its anti-religious struggle in the national religious studies. The closeness to the notion of "fantasy" and "fanaticism" made this argument seem irresistible in the fight against religion, as any believer could fall under the murderous characterization of the category of "religious bigotry" it is in some way irreparably backward in (...) comparison to a person with a developed scientific worldview. (shrink)

One of the important problems of the modern nation-building and state-building in Ukraine is the insufficient inclusion of the creative potential of the Ukrainian national spirit in it, which, in turn, is caused by its weak orientation to self-knowledge by the means of philosophical and religious reflection. Considering that the main characteristic of the human spirit is its active-creative character, that is, its focus on both self-creation and self-perfection, and on the transformation of the surrounding reality, it is advisable to (...) consider how the Christian idea of ​​creationism models the world-view and outlook of the Ukrainian national spirit. His decision largely depends on the incorporation of the collective will and mind of the Ukrainian into building a democratic state on the principles of truth, humanism, justice and good. (shrink)

In the life of the Ukrainian people, women have always played an important role that went far beyond their motherly function - to give birth to children for the biological change of their generations. The Ukrainian woman in the full sense of the word acted as the guardian of her people, having a direct relation to the national self-identification of Ukrainians, because as a tutor of their children, they instilled in their souls positive psychological qualities for the community. Given the (...) expressive religiosity and national character of the Ukrainian woman, one can speak of her soteriological function in the life of the Ukrainian nation, because, thanks to her religion and her native church, the Ukrainian people were able, despite the difficult trials of fate, to preserve themselves as a full-fledged ethnic group capable of creating social levels. being. But, of course, it is not religion itself that saves someone from any troubles, but people as subjects of religiosity, who properly do the will of God toward themselves and their loved ones. (shrink)

A study of the creative heritage of Ivan Ogienko provides a solid basis for concluding: Ukrainian Orthodoxy, in its dialectical interrelations with the peculiarities of the Ukrainian national mentality, exists quite realistically. A deep awareness of the reality of the existence of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy phenomenon has given him his whole conscious life to fight for the renewal of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, for its autocephaly, and for proving that Ukrainian Orthodoxy is significantly different from Russian Orthodoxy. Therefore, it is (...) not possible to confuse not only on cult grounds, but also on ideological and existential characteristics side by side, co-existing for two centuries in the territory of Ukraine, two Orthodox Churches - the Russian and Ukrainian. (shrink)

It is known that Ivan Ogienko in his numerous scientific and theological works paid much attention to the problems of cultural development, to clarify its significance in the life of society. However, he did not leave the deep theoretical developments devoted to culturological issues. This does not mean at all that he was not interested in the theory of culture as a branch of knowledge, engaged in the scientific and philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of culture. However, there is no (...) reason to say that he tried to reach the level of comprehension of universal laws of development of world culture, as was done by his contemporaries and predecessors - M. Ya. Danilevsky, K. Leontiev, M. Berdyayev, A. Spengler, A. Toynbee and others. There is also no reason to prove that I.Ogienko directly addressed the works of these and other prominent philosophers, historians and sociologists of culture, although it is likely that his acquaintance with their ideas is indirect. But despite this, it seems advisable to translate I. Ogienko's argument about culture into a cultural-conceptual analysis plane. (shrink)

Ivan Ogienko, also known as Metropolitan Hilarion, devoted much attention to the role and place of religion in the national life of Ukrainians and their ethnic identity in their scholarly and theological works. Without exaggeration it can be argued that the problem of national unity of the Ukrainian people is one of the key principles of all historiosophical considerations of the famous scholar and theologian. If the purpose of the spiritual life of a Ukrainian, according to his views, is to (...) serve God, then the purpose of state or terrestrial life is the dedicated service to his people. The purpose of heaven and the purpose of the earthly paths, intersecting in the life of a certain group of people through the lives of its individual representatives, give rise to a unique alliance of spiritual unity, the name of which is "people" or "nation." Religion in the process of transforming the anarchist crowd into a spiritually integrated and orderly national integrity serves as the transformer of the imperfect nature of the human soul into perfect. (shrink)

"In the sweat of your face you will eat bread" - this well-known biblical imperative from the Book of Genesis is best suited to the general characteristics of the life path of the famous Ukrainian scholar and theologian Ivan Ivanovich Ogienko, also known as Metropolitan Ilarion. All his long enough life, from early childhood to his death, he worked for the benefit of his native Ukrainian people, expressing his hard work one of the most significant of his existential traits. Maybe (...) that's why Christianity came to the liking of the ancient ancestors of Ukrainians, who called for individualization through the hard work they never frightened, because they found in it not only livelihood but also the joy of unlucky fate. In the image of his widowed and hard-working mother, Ivan Ogienko saw the fate of the entire enslaved Ukraine and, from an early age, firmly believed that only a conscientious work for the good of his people could earn the right to God's reward. "Serve the people, then serve God!" became the main life principle of I. Ogienko, the amazing hard work of which requires a separate and meticulous scientific research. (shrink)

Yoga is believed to have beneficial effects on cognition, attenuation of emotional intensity and stress reduction. Previous studies were mainly performed on eastern experienced practitioners or unhealthy subjects undergoing concomitant conventional therapies. Further investigation is needed on the effects of yoga per se, as well as its possible preventive benefits on healthy subjects. We investigated the effects of yoga on memory and psychophysiological parameters related to stress, comparing yoga practice and conventional physical exercises in healthy men . Memory tests, salivary (...) cortisol levels and stress, anxiety, and depression inventories were assessed before and after 6 months of practice. Yoga practitioners showed improvement of the memory performance, as well as improvements in psychophysiological parameters. The present results suggest that regular yoga practice can improve aspects of cognition and quality of life for healthy individuals. An indirect influence of emotional state on cognitive improvement promoted by yoga practice can be proposed. (shrink)

Recent work by Wan and McLean has shown that all quantum measurements may be reduced to local position measurements. Using an array of particle detectors as the measuring apparatus we show how a model employing superselection rules and unitary evolution leads to a single detector triggering in each act of measurement. We also present an explicit model of particle detection as a unitary ionization process producing a single ion in the detector, subsequent amplification of which to the visible can be (...) described adequately in classical terms. (shrink)

Popper Proposed the criterion of falsifiability as a solution to the problem of demarcation i.e. of distinguishing science from pseudo-science and not, as many of his contemporaries in the Vienna Circle mistook it to be, a solution to the quite different problem with which they themselves were preoccupied, viz. of providing a criterion of meaning to distinguish the meaningful from the meaningless. While the positivists were concerned to damn metaphysics and exalt science, by identifying the empirically verifiable with the meaningful, (...) Popper was concerned to separate science from scientism, to damn astrology and to extol astronomy. In other words his preoccupation belongs not to the philosophy of language but to the philosophy of science. (shrink)

This paper reports and analyzes the perceptions of researchers involved in the EU project LowInputBreed on the ethical challenges facing low input livestock production and how these challenges relate to the ambitions of the research project. The study is based on observations of two workshops; one at the beginning of the project and one at the end. The focus is on identifying common themes across the four species groups involved. The main findings of the study are that from a biological (...) perspective a variety of ways to better meet the needs of low input production exist. However, these solutions share some of the problems regarding animal welfare that also characterizes intensive production systems. The question thus becomes whether these solutions will meet the consumer concerns that lies behind the choice of paying a premium for local, low input products or whether the quality of these products will disappear in the eyes of the consumers. (shrink)