This article provides the original perspective on esotericism. Two author distinguishes between the two polar directions of esotericism – "transcendental" and "latent" ; as well as introduces the two postulates characteristic to the first direction that in previous research received the name of "classical". The article discusses what binds esotericism and philosophy, religion, and art; outlines the common aspects of these fields of knowledge and life activity are indicated ; examines the cases of interaction, and what caused the decline of (...) interest in esoteric teachings. The research consists of two parts. The first part explores the three cases that reveal a close link between esoteric, philosophical, scientific and literary thought, as well as the fact that esoteric ideas and concepts often enrich philosophy, science and art. The second part discusses the key reasons for the slump in esotericism: new cultural challenges that to which there is yet no esoteric answer, interception of esoteric discourse in a number of directions of contemporary art and philosophy. However, this pause is temporary, since esoteric path is one of the ways to prevail in personality culture; it can be assumed that esotericists will soon eliminate the existing gap. On the example of current interest in vampires, the author discusses certain peculiarities of the phenomenon of mysticism, which indicate that the phenomenon of vampirism is real, perhaps related to the forms of communication widely used in modern life. (shrink)

This article examines the evolution of Russian methodological thought, namely, a philosophical school known as the Moscow Methodological Circle. The paper analyzes the transition from the study of thought during the first stage, to the institutionalization of thought during the second. In the first stage, thought was viewed primarily from a semiotic and historical standpoint, whereas the aim in the second stage was to construct a theory of activity. Here, thought was treated as a type of activity and termed “methodological (...) thinking”, and the source of knowledge about thought was the creative work of the methodologists, rather than the study of thought. The paper analyzes the specifics of methodological thinking and the new methodological practice. Methodological thinking is examined as a supreme ontology where the aim is to reform unfulfilled forms of thinking. A number of principles of the methodological approach are formulated: the methodologists’ creative work as the frame of reference, assimilation of intellectual technologies, and a distinction between particular and general methodology. Within the framework of the new methodological practice, several independent directions of methodology come together, marking a crisis in methodological thought. Approaches to resolving the crisis are reviewed: the new demands of the times that need to be addressed by the methodology, the need for different variations of the “supreme ontology”, a sustainable culture of methodological thinking, and a better understanding of the history of methodology. (shrink)

The article examines the debate between, on the one hand, the proponents of the position that European reason and logic are universal and therefore the dialogue between West and East will always be unequal and, on the other hand, the advocates of a pluralistic approach, who defend the equality of parties in the dialogue as well as the independence of cultures and ways of thinking in different regions of the world. The author expands the agenda of the debate, appealing to (...) the authors of the book Dialogue of Cultures in a Globalizing World. In addition, the author clarifies the concept of globalization, used by many participants in the discussion, and also formulates his own understanding of philosophy. The author considers philosophy, firstly, as a way of deconstructing reality that has ceased to respond to the challenges of time, secondly, as a process of the creation of schemes defining new reality and objects and, thirdly, as personal and professional methods for solving these problems. The article also discusses the condition of the comprehension of procedural phenomena. Thus, there is a methodological approach that makes possible, according to Kant, to grasp the essence of complex systemic phenomena. Therefore, the author examines a case in which C.G. Jung talks about one of his own child experiences. The author argues that the conditions of the comprehension of processuality are, on the one hand, the formation of a special integrity that is personality and, on the other hand, its actions, which make it possible to assemble the discrete states identified by the researcher into a single process. The personality is considered as the subject who, starting from ancient culture, aims for independent behavior, partially overcomes social and cultural dependence, begins to build his own world and himself in this world. (shrink)

The article discusses the problems of the understanding of the future. The author suggests to consider this problem in accordance with the analysis of its discourse and types. He distinguishes the following kinds of temporal discourse: event time; contains the past; present; future; future reconstruction created on the basis of reconstructions of past and present; present actions in accordance with the images of future, finally, practices aimed at the implementation of the future as the plan or project. Based on the (...) analysis of several cases and general considerations the author introduces his classification of the types of the future discourse. Firstly, it is “uncertain future" (“future as a thing in itself") as the most relevant type for modernity. Secondly, it is “objectively subjective future" that could be considered both as religious vision of the future and as the rational concept allowing a person to participate in the future constructing. Thirdly, it is “local technological future" that is considered on the example of the analysis of the US and the USSR nuclear project. The current understanding of the future is analysed as an attempt to predict and to build the same future for everybody. The author argues that this attempt doesn't seem to be feasible. Implementing different ideas and projects of the future and acting spontaneously without any particular image of the future, one cannot create the same future for everyone. Probably, it is necessary to accept the fact that there're a number of images of the future and each of them is narrow. Somehow, they all are involved in the formation of the future, although we do not know how exactly. It is better to assume that any of them, even inadequate and destructive are involved in the formation and flow of social processes. That's why it is so important to analyze them in order to understand their action and place in the structure of life. (shrink)

The article discusses the book by A. Yurchak, in which he offers a scientific explanation of the causes and process of the completion of socialist culture and the death of the USSR. The author analyzes the central concept used in this explanation — “authoritative discourse”, showing that the latter is interpreted in two ways: within the framework of the semiotic approach outlined by John Austin, and the “dispositive” approach developed by Michel Foucault. Based on the analysis of the case from (...) the book, the author offers his own reconstruction and concepts (“schemas”, “life world”, “sociality”) that can complement Yurchak’s research. A comparison of the latter’s explanation and the explanation of sociologist Leonid Ionin, carried out during the period of perestroika and reforms, made it possible to clarify Yurchak’s approach and methodology. (shrink)

The author discusses the concept of an ideal object. The statement of O.I. Genisaretsky is quoted and problematized, stating that the obligatory feature that has been preserved for the object and the terms "object" and "ideal object" is, apparently, its representability or visibility. The author shows that ideal objects began to be created during the formation of ancient philosophy and thinking. Faced with contradictions, ancient thinkers dealt with this situation in different ways. If Protogoras recognized the right of the reasoners (...) to receive contradictions and, accordingly, to consider the world contradictory, then Parmenides considered the world consistent, arguing that the criterion for the correctness (truth) of knowledge is not a reasoning person, but this world, existence, which still needs to be reached with the help of correct thought. It was within the framework of the implementation of the Parmenides program that ideal objects began to be created, which, as the author shows, performed three main functions: they allowed us to think consistently, to know the world and its phenomena, to comprehend and interpret empirical phenomena (facts) in a different way. Based on the case of Plato's "Feast", the semiotic schemes on the basis of which Plato creates ideal objects are analyzed. It is argued that it is impossible to build ideal objects, bypassing schemes, since their inventors (creators) are people. By solving problems, they synthesize meanings belonging to different areas of consciousness. The analysis of Galileo's "Conversations" allowed the author to suggest that the construction of ideal objects is due to the historical type of philosophical or scientific thinking. The author considers it necessary, before claiming to create a modern doctrine of ideal objects, to analyze the main typical cases of the construction of these objects in philosophy and science, and such an analysis can make significant adjustments to the understanding of the nature and features of this concept. Nevertheless, he suggests, it is already clear that the construction of ideal objects is an important link in philosophical, scientific and a number of other types of thinking. (shrink)

The article discusses the dispute between constructivists and realists, which is claimed to be losing its relevance. The author tries to show that the presuppositions of the dispute relate to the ancient culture, where the ideal objects first appeared and where the question of their relation to the real world was first raised. In the history of philosophy these relations were comprehended differently, and as a result two opposing views were developed - realism and constructivism. The author argues that in (...) order to get away from the ineffectiveness ofthe opposition between these views one needs to turn to the methodological analysis of the real cognitive activity. In the process of discussing how this turn could be possible the author introducesthe notions of ideal object, objectification, diagram, thereality of object ontology, the cycle of the development a new phenomenon along with two kinds of phenomena - the natural phenomena (in the sense ofthe first nature) and the social phenomena.In the final part of the article the author offers a conceptualization of the Internet as a hand-made and mental creation of man, on the one hand, and as a natural phenomenon on the other. It is argued that the Internet exists not only as a newly created «socio-technical body» of man. In the situation ofthe present crisis it also allows us to maintain and reproduce the social and political life. As a result, it is claimed that the reality of the Internet could be considered both constructive and existential.The author concludes that if we understand the processes of construction and of natural existence not merely as two oppositions associated with one phenomenon, but as two complementary aspects of real human activities, the dispute between constructivists and realists becomes meaningless in the cognitive as well as in the practical perspective. (shrink)

The article discusses the concept of the humanitarian-anthropological turn formulated by the famous Russian philosopher Alexander Pavlovich Ogurtsov. He analyzes Dilthey's views, showing that he is not only the initiator of humanitarian discourse, but, in fact, is developing a new direction of philosophy alternative to the natural science approach. The author analyzes the situation that necessitated the development of this direction, as well as the concepts of "life", "history", "understanding", "expression" and "experience", which Dilthey puts at the basis of his (...) philosophical system. He shows that the essential feature of these concepts is a double modality. On the one hand, history (respectively, life, understanding, expression, experience) is “singular”, that is, it changes not according to some law, but due to random circumstances, on the other hand, life changes quite lawfully, under the influence of the mechanisms of culture, language, economics, relationships between people, technology. Dilthey's interest in a holistic analysis of life is explained. The author shows that within the framework of humanitarian and anthropological study, the integrity of life is determined by a number of factors: the problem that the researcher solves, the narratives and texts available to him, the methodology of humanitarian knowledge. In other humanitarian studies, these factors will change, and therefore the integrity of life will also change. It turns out that the integrity of life, over which Dilthey struggled, is not independent of the researcher, his personality and life, it is constituted in the very process of humanitarian knowledge, partly as a singular, partly natural phenomenon. (shrink)

The article proposes to consider the phenomena of life and death within the framework of philosophical and scientific discourse. The author does not aim to explain the origin of life, he seeks to conceive of life and death on the basis of the methodology developed by him and the research conducted. The main way of understanding these phenomena is the hypothesis about the nature of the mechanism of life, as well as cultural–historical and semiotic analysis of the evolution of life. (...) In evolution, the author distinguishes three main stages: the formation of life, biological evolution and the evolution of social life. An important role in the latter is assigned, on the one hand, to the use of signs denoting not observable realities, but necessary for the management of the "primary team", on the other hand, technology. The technique performed two main functions: it expanded the capabilities of hominids in terms of creating the right environment and confirmed the use of signs, since it created a reality corresponding to their meanings. In social life, as well as in biological, two spheres need to be distinguished in the vital organization: one belongs to individuals, and the other, actually social, encompassing, without which the first cannot exist and function. Having asked the provisions indicated here, the author characterizes what death is and considers the cognitive dissonance that occurs when we try to rationally think about these phenomena. (shrink)

The article examines the history of the development of the ideas of semiotics, from the works of St. Augustine to the present. The author shares the semiotic approach, which, judging by the literature, was formulated by Augustine, and semiotics as a scientific discipline, and in two versions, as an analogue of mathematics and natural science. The characteristic of the semiotic approach presented by Augustine in the scheme is given, which, the author shows, can be extended to various humanitarian objects. Based (...) on the semiotic approach and classifications of signs, various variants of semiotics as a science were created in the XIX and XX centuries. The difference of scientific semiotics is explained: semiotics solved different problems and tasks, semiotically comprehended different subject areas, proceeded from a different understanding of science. Nevertheless, in all variants of semiotics, relations between the components of the sign were established. The semiotics reform project proposed by G.P. Shchedrovitsky is considered, and what came of it. Based on the analysis of two cases, the author outlines another version of semiotics, which he calls "expressionism". Although the methodology proposed by him allows analyzing and comprehending a fairly wide range of expressions and works of art, the author suggests not to consider it universal. (shrink)

The article discusses the crisis situation in sociology, and in connection with this, ideas are outlined aimed at constructing a methodological concept of sociality. It is noted that the crisis in sociology takes place due to the transition of sociologists to interdisciplinary research. It seems that such an interdisciplinary turn is unsafe for sociology as a scientific discipline, primarily in terms of understanding the subject and the integrity of the reality being studied. Analyzing the crisis in sociology, the author considers (...) himself as methodologist and culturologist, setting the task to implement cultural, historical and phenomenological approaches in the social sciences. In this regard, the methodological, cultural, historical and phenomenological features of the study are characterized. They are compared with sociological ones. The sociological approach is distinguished by four characteristics: 1) assessment of sociality as well as an indication of the type of social action aimed at changing or optimizing sociality, 2) description of the mass behavior of people and the social order that determines this behavior, 3) attitude toward the study of sociality and a description of “social nature”, 4) consideration of sociality only within the framework of the modern culture (this approach is contrasted with the cultural-historical interpretation of sociality). The author agrees with these characteristics, although believes that they need to be problematized. He considers the current understandings of justice and social nature and concludes that sociality is not equal to itself, it is rather a historically determined phenomenon. In conclusion, the author outlines the stages of research and the construction of a methodological concept of sociality. The author believes since the problematization and case studies have already been carried out, the next step is the cultural and historical reconstruction of the main types of sociality (mainly, the European types). (shrink)

The article discusses specific features of an interdisciplinary research and two strategies for introducing and constructing the objects of this research (an ontological and a constructivist strategy). The first strategy, which comes from Parmenides and Aristotle, is claimed to make a homogenous ontology a foundation ofthe process of the object construction. The second strategy, which comes from Plato, is based on the idea that the construction of an object is done by a thinking individual. Monodisciplinary research (as a part of (...) interdisciplinary research) is characterized by a construction of idealized objects which cannot fully meet the requirement of a certain type of science. This is why it is hard to say what kind of science these objects belong to. The second feature of interdisciplinary research has to do with the interrelatedness of monodisciplinary studies. Monodisciplinary studies create the starting conditions for each other. The author argues that if the distinction between the two strategies is accepted, then a thorough reconsideration of ultimate ontologies (such as "rhizome", "complicatedness", "self-developing systems") is called for. The last part of the article is devoted to an analysis of the epistemic criteria of knowledge it interdisciplinary studies, its truthfulness and effectiveness. (shrink)

This article discusses the conditions for delimitation of modernity and futureculture, as well as the concept of modernity. Vadim Belyaev claims that what the author refers to as futureculture, in fact does not go beyond the boundaries of modernity; these are rather the processes of promodernity and countermodernity. Vyacheslav Maracha polemicizes with Belyaev’s statements. Belyaev substantiates his critical rhetoric, gives characteristics to his interpretation of modernity, and claims that the author did not explain the thesis on the completion of modernity (...) and the establishment of futureculture. The author partially agrees with the criticism and provides additional arguments: characterizes the definition of modernity used by him; distinguishes between the new worldview, semantic reality of culture, and projects of modernity, realization of these projects and objective reality results from implementation of the projects of modernity and responses to new challenges of the time, as well as construction of the social institutions of modernity. The latter statement is illustrated on the example of the formation of state institution, the study by Martin van Creveld “The Rise and Fall of the State”. The conclusion is made that all plans and fundamental structures of modernity can no longer ensure normal flow of modern life, but rather generate problems and social destructions. Objectively, modernity has been reborn and is nearing completion. The author formulates certain ideas and meaning that reveal the formation of the future culture. (shrink)

The article analyzes the initial stages of the shaping of design. Like the situation when the shaping of science was preceded by the emergence of methodology, a similar process had been taking plac...

The review discusses the recently published second issue of the Philosophical Projective Dictionary. Having encountered difficulties in understanding the articles of the dictionary, I turn to the explanations of the motives of the dictionary’s authors and editors Epstein notes that the entries in the dictionary are not intended to generalize the already existing use of terms and concepts, but to kind of projecting and anticipating the meanings of concepts and texts that may be created in the future. Tulchinskii writes more (...) modest, asserting the performative nature of the concepts and ideas presented in the dictionary. I discuss these explanations of the compilers of the dictionary, problematizing and testing the strength of their arguments. In particular, I doubt that Epstein is right when speaking of the projection of terms and texts. From my point of view, Epstein uses the concept of projection in a very broad sense, which does not allow to accept his statement. In turn, citing a case from personal practice, I expresses my own version of introducing terms and constructing new concepts. Agreeing with Tulchinskii’s opinion that the articles in the dictionary and the dictionary itself are a unique vision of their authors, I raise the question of the existence of projective dictionary as a specific genre. I note that the dictionary’s entries that are devoted to already known concepts, offer an up-to-date modern interpretation of these concepts. To demonstrate that, I consider the concept of man in an article by Yulia Shichanina. At the end of the review, the importance of the work done by the authors of the dictionary is emphasized and an example of the use of two terms from the dictionary in my practice is given. (shrink)

The article discusses the meaning and content of the concept of nothingness introduced by S.S. Neretina in the book "The Earth Hums with a metaphor". Philosophy and Literature" (short story "Lermontov: the semantics of repetitions"). The author identifies five main characteristics in this view: nothing as freedom (where freedom is understood by Neretina "as peace, silence, silence, love and – as "I"); nothing as balancing on the verge of being and non-being; as an opportunity to express this reality in poetry, (...) while philosophy makes it impossible to think of anything"; nothing as a denial of everything, including life; finally, nothing is set as a reality opposed to culture. In this interpretation, nothing is a rather complex semantic formation, but generally understandable, if we keep in mind the task that Neretina solves: on the one hand, she finds out the relationship between literature and philosophy, on the other, she thinks through Lermontov's dramas. Neretina claims that Lermontov, like Goethe, was a special poet – poet-philosopher, he, as a thinking person, following such Russian thinkers and poets as, for example, Chaadaev and Pushkin, tried to understand why an honest, educated person "woe from wit", why he often ends up badly. The article discusses Lermontov's dual position as a poet and a latent thinker (philosopher), as well as the work of a modern writer who thinks through the existential problems of time in an artistic form. The author comes to the conclusion that the nothingness introduced by Neretina and attributed to Lermontov differs from the nothingness of St. Augustine, is given by the five listed characteristics, and represents a problem as an independent reality and whole. (shrink)