Abstract

The author attempts to specify the meaning of the central ontological and metaphysical concepts 'social existence', 'social reality' and 'life world'. He looks into such issues as 'How does social existence arise?', 'What legitimates social reality?', 'How are general intersubjective senses of such reality formed?' and eventually 'Who is responsible for social existence (and probably existence in general)?' From a retrospective journey into the history and theoretical explications the author endeavors to look for the empiristic content of these concepts, which opens up in cultural and linguistic space of West European tradition. The only subject responsible for the existent universe is the man who is also responsible for existence. Notably, this responsibility is not of abstract nature, it is not the responsibility for some obscure existence, it is rather specific organization of one's own life space which gives rise to 'healthy' existence. According to the author, such responsibility remains however a wishful project for Ukrainian reality