Ideas and Ideals

This article evaluates the limitations of an exclusively rational approach to comprehending reality, emphasizing that true understanding often extends far beyond logic and rests on irrational, absurd, random, and unpredictable elements. From the standpoint of the rational–irrational dichotomy, the paper offers a brief overview of key cultural-historical periods and the contemporary situation. Based on essential cultural-historical modes of human activity and psychological consulting practice, the author proposes a concept of fi ve levels of consciousness (egocentric, gentile, social, cosmic, theurgical) and fi ve levels of the unconscious (animalistic, ancestral, collective, personalistic, higher), along with their corresponding developmental tasks (adaptive, reproductive, functional, existential, awakening). This framework is intended to illustrate the subtle interplay between the rational and the irrational. The concept can be used to diagnose and differentiate dynamic interrelations between these polarities, serving as a guiding vector for formulating strategies and tactics of development or problem-solving at individual, social, and global levels. The dialectic of the rational and the irrational is exemplifi ed through a comparison of Eastern and Western cultures. The author puts forward the hypothesis of an anthropo-socio-historical principle of complementary opposites, through which the Western tendency to incorporate irrational aspects of Eastern cultures and the Eastern tendency to adopt elements of Western culture are analyzed. The article concludes that a shift from one polarity to another – whether within the psyche of an individual, a society, or an entire civilization – leads to a dead end. Instead, the author proposes a strategy of integrating opposites as a way out of the developmental impasse. The paper highlights that historically, only a few individuals have embodied examples of true wholeness, and argues that achieving such wholeness has now become a necessary imperative from an anthropo-socio-historical perspective in order to overcome the global crisis. The solution lies in a synthetic position that unites the experiences of both poles. With regard to the inner world of the individual, this implies the development of all available capacities – rational and irrational – philosophical, scientifi c, artistic, and religious worldviews and perceptions.

The article examines the contribution to the formation of modern philosophy in India of the Bengali thinker Aurobindo Ghosh (1872–1950), whom representatives of the current generation of Indian philosophers evaluate in different ways: not only as the country’s fi rst modern philosopher, but also as an “apostle of nationalism” and an extremist, and Western ones say about him as a mystic. All these assessments have their reasons. The author of the article traced these foundations in the facts of Aurobindo’s biography, and in the statements of Aurobindo himself in his two books “The Ideal of Human Unity” and “The Human Cycle”, as well as in his unpublished article “The New Nationalism” and notes to his biographies. All of it are included in his Collected works in 36-volumes, the last volumes of which are being prepared for publication now. The materials studied make it possible to reconstruct the portrait of the thinker who, having started with a passion for Western ideas and values, returned to the spiritual values of Indian culture on a new theoretical level. Based on his own synthesis of the achievements of Western and Indian thought, he redefi ned the meaning of human life in a global perspective. The arguments for this meaning became the consideration of world history, in which different forms of communities were formed: family, tribe, class, city-state, nation, empire, etc. The meaning seen by Aurobindo excludes extremism as a form of violence; it presupposes trust in the Divine Absolute, which, according to Ghosh, is worshipped in all regions of the world. The Absolute, called Nature in the books reviewed, has its own plan for humanity as a whole. This plan is beyond rational understanding, but it must be boon to humanity. Aurobindo’s contribution to the transition of Indian philosophy to the modern philosophical discourse (the introduction of new concepts: evolution, reason, nation, nationalism, etc., and new methodological tools – in particular, historico-comparative and hypothetico-inductive methods, open truth) confi rm his high status as the fi rst modern philosopher of India.The article examines the contribution to the formation of modern philosophy in India of the Bengali thinker Aurobindo Ghosh (1872–1950), whom representatives of the current generation of Indian philosophers evaluate in different ways: not only as the country’s fi rst modern philosopher, but also as an “apostle of nationalism” and an extremist, and Western ones say about him as a mystic. All these assessments have their reasons. The author of the article traced these foundations in the facts of Aurobindo’s biography, and in the statements of Aurobindo himself in his two books “The Ideal of Human Unity” and “The Human Cycle”, as well as in his unpublished article “The New Nationalism” and notes to his biographies. All of it are included in his Collected works in 36-volumes, the last volumes of which are being prepared for publication now. The materials studied make it possible to reconstruct the portrait of the thinker who, having started with a passion for Western ideas and values, returned to the spiritual values of Indian culture on a new theoretical level. Based on his own synthesis of the achievements of Western and Indian thought, he redefi ned the meaning of human life in a global perspective. The arguments for this meaning became the consideration of world history, in which different forms of communities were formed: family, tribe, class, city-state, nation, empire, etc. The meaning seen by Aurobindo excludes extremism as a form of violence; it presupposes trust in the Divine Absolute, which, according to Ghosh, is worshipped in all regions of the world. The Absolute, called Nature in the books reviewed, has its own plan for humanity as a whole. This plan is beyond rational understanding, but it must be boon to humanity. Aurobindo’s contribution to the transition of Indian philosophy to the modern philosophical discourse (the introduction of new concepts: evolution, reason, nation, nationalism, etc., and new methodological tools – in particular, historico-comparative and hypothetico-inductive methods, open truth) confi rm his high status as the fi rst modern philosopher of India.

The phenomenon of resemblance between the meaning and content of the intellectual search by Modern Eastern thinkers and Pyotr Tchaadaev’s social-philosophical thought is considered in the article. Based on a juxtaposition of his works and Modern Indian thinkers, the author substantiates the methodological value of Tchaadaev’s heritage for Oriental studies. The thinking paradigm had been created in Lettres Philosophique and other texts by Tchaadaev; it was founded in different cultural areas of the East in the beginning of Modernization and the meeting of traditional societies with the West and, therefore, it could serve as the model of juxtaposition. Tchaadaev’s Paradigm originates from the thinking features in the space of society that involves interaction with the West: religiosity, correlation and understanding of the Other in dialogue, a critical attitude towards society’s condition. The fi rst principle to indicate the paradigm is the strict adherence to principles of truth in verifying all ideas and judgments. The base of Tchaadaev’s philosophical approach is the principle of universality (catholicity) of the spiritual and social world; and because of this, the national (the Own – country, tradition, people, culture) is considered as one special part of a universal whole – humanity, and the question of foundational differences between distinct societies is raised. The foundational questions include the spiritual and cultural traditions of peoples in their development in history that help explain the present condition and features of the Own and to predict its future. The method of posing the problem is a correlation of the Own with the Other, ‘our’ with the ‘universal’, in an East – West context. ‘Tchaadaev’s questions’ are asked and certain themes are raised to discover the critical cognition of the Own in the process of correlation. There are two levels of philosophizing in the paradigm. The fi rst is religious, to ground the religious-philosophical foundation of thinking based on native tradition. The second level is social philosophizing based on understanding and interpretation of the Own, such as tradition, history, people, and their development in time and modern condition. The image of the Own is created in self-cognition with clearly outlined advantages and disadvantages, values and ideas, a role and a place in world history, and the perspectives of the future are defi ned.

The presented article was conceived as a comparative overview of the cultural practices of two signifi cant civilizations for the ancient world: ancient Chinese and ancient Greek. Many researchers contrasted them in various studies as Western and Eastern, alphabetic and hieroglyphic, analytical and holistic. For the comparison I chose the ideas of the two traditions about the cosmos and man from the point of view of several aspects: the refl ection of the archetype of opposites in mythology and natural philosophy, the doctrine of the primary elements, the relationship of the elements with the planets, as well as the manifestation of all these ideas in the healing and musical practices of both cultures. The purpose of the work was to search for similarities and differences in the ideas of the two traditions according to the specifi ed parameters. The article uses sources in Russian and Chinese, as well as works of famous researchers. The paper shows that in both cultures, ancient scientists, when studying the world, relied on the archetype of opposites, but did it in different ways: the Greeks described the world as a struggle of opposites, while the Chinese sought for balance. Identifying the primary elements of the universe has also become a common desire, however the application of this knowledge in two cultures was not manifested in the same way. In China, the wu xing system became a universal principle for classifying all things, while in the Greek tradition the connection between the elements and the phenomena of the surrounding world is not so clear, and in some types of practices (music) it can only be traced indirectly. The paper also shows the similarity of the two traditions in the matter of the desire to identify the correspondence between the elements and planets, elements/planets and phenomena of the human body, as well as musical notes. However, there are not only similarities, but also differences in the musical and medical practices of the two cultures, stemming from the difference in the original ideas about the planets and primary elements.The presented article was conceived as a comparative overview of the cultural practices of two signifi cant civilizations for the ancient world: ancient Chinese and ancient Greek. Many researchers contrasted them in various studies as Western and Eastern, alphabetic and hieroglyphic, analytical and holistic. For the comparison I chose the ideas of the two traditions about the cosmos and man from the point of view of several aspects: the refl ection of the archetype of opposites in mythology and natural philosophy, the doctrine of the primary elements, the relationship of the elements with the planets, as well as the manifestation of all these ideas in the healing and musical practices of both cultures. The purpose of the work was to search for similarities and differences in the ideas of the two traditions according to the specifi ed parameters. The article uses sources in Russian and Chinese, as well as works of famous researchers. The paper shows that in both cultures, ancient scientists, when studying the world, relied on the archetype of opposites, but did it in different ways: the Greeks described the world as a struggle of opposites, while the Chinese sought for balance. Identifying the primary elements of the universe has also become a common desire, however the application of this knowledge in two cultures was not manifested in the same way. In China, the wu xing system became a universal principle for classifying all things, while in the Greek tradition the connection between the elements and the phenomena of the surrounding world is not so clear, and in some types of practices (music) it can only be traced indirectly. The paper also shows the similarity of the two traditions in the matter of the desire to identify the correspondence between the elements and planets, elements/planets and phenomena of the human body, as well as musical notes. However, there are not only similarities, but also differences in the musical and medical practices of the two cultures, stemming from the difference in the original ideas about the planets and primary elements.

The study examines the cultural and socio-political features of the ancient Indian civilization that led to the emergence of chaturanga (the original version of chess) in India during the Gupta Empire. The methodological basis of the research is the explication of the studied issues through comparative historical analysis. Since chess, being a cultural phenomenon, refl ects socio-cultural and socio-political realities at all stages of its development, therefore, their appearance should be due to similar reasons. What distinguishes chaturanga from other ancient games (latrunkuli, petteyi, senet) is that it was attended by not two, but four competitors, which refl ects the political fragmentation of India, which, throughout almost the entire history, has been a number of independent states. In addition, in ancient board games, the chips were the same, and only in chaturanga was there a variety of shapes. The presence in the original version of chess of various pieces with different possibilities, as well as the absence of a rule for turning a pawn into any piece, is a demonstration of the Indian caste system, which is characterized by the absence of social elevators. Chaturanga also refl ected the religious realities of that era. In particular, a number of Buddhist concepts have been embodied on the chessboard. The principle of the infi nity of worlds is refl ected in the infi nite number of possible chess games, the concept of samsara is conveyed by the return of captured (killed) pieces to the board. The chessboard itself was called ashtapada in India and meant a numerical magical symbol used in Buddhism, and the clockwise turn is a reference to the wheel of dharma. The most striking projection of Buddhism on the chess space is the use of dice in chaturanga to determine the turn of the move, embodying the principle of karma on the chessboard. The obvious shortcomings of chaturanga, in particular, the element of randomness in casting lots, could not be corrected by Indian thinkers and chess players, since after the collapse of the Gupta Empire, scientifi c and philosophical thought in India was stagnating.

The object of the study is the food culture of France and Japan. The subject of the study is gastronomic literature. The empirical materials of the article are culinary books, religious and philosophical works, writings of chefs and literary critics. In the focus of the study philosophical treatises of the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Dōgen, Neo-Confucian philosopher Hayashi Razan, the literary works of Pierre David, François Pierre de la Varenne, Grimod de La Reynière, J.A. Brillat-Savarin, dedicated to cooking, food rituals and cultural features of the national kitchens of France and Japan. Particular attention is paid to the description and analysis of the fi rst culinary books and treatises. The basis of the research methodology is interdisciplinary sociocultural analysis, an axiological approach related to the study of culture as a set of values, methods of cultural interpretation and linguistic commentary. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing interest of researchers of various spheres of humanitarian knowledge regarding the problems of food, the cultural characteristics of national kitchens. The novelty of the study is due to the fact that the gastronomic literature of France and Japan in the cultural aspect is not examined enough. The authors conclude that gastronomic literature is a refl ection of the formation and development of food culture, explicates certain value-norming attitudes, stereotypes and images, which refl ect the features of the national mentality and worldview.

This article is primarily devoted to the philosophy of history: the unique features of the traditional Chinese categorical vision of historical reality are demonstrated using the specifi c example of the fates of two great historical fi gures of Ancient China. The central point here is the categorical understanding of the effectiveness of certain existential strategies that determine human activity as a decisive factor in the historical process.

In contrast to the radical hopelessness of Spengler’s fatalism, which leaves man with no chance of not only averting the sentence of fate, but even postponing its execution, traditional Chinese thought, which is more generous in this regard, insisted on the existence of strategies capable of freeing him (at least temporarily) from the snares of a seemingly predetermined fate. The proposed article examines one of such miraculous stratagems for overcoming/postponing the impending (according to the inexorably developing fi gure of fate) tragic ending. Such transcendence of the circumstances, evasion of one’s “karmic debt” require at fi rst glance an unbearable (after all, the verdict of fate has already been passed: “this is who you are - you can’t run away from yourself!”) overcoming of oneself. Nevertheless, the latter is achieved thanks to the effect of self-applicability, when it is directed at the negative: for example, “sadness” (you  忧), being directed at itself (“to be sad about one’s sadness” you qi you  忧其忧), is capable of abolishing the original sadness.

The analysis of the dialogue between the world’s philosophical cultures in recent years has been focused on the study of a special space “inter”, or “interspace”, which can be regarded as a metaphor of the “meeting place” of different cultures and approaches. Therefore, understanding the way this space is organized, its laws and principles is a precondition for the interaction of cultures and their mutual enrichment.

In particular, the concept of “interspace” is analysed by the Vienna school of intercultural philosophy (B. Saal, B. Boteva-Richter, N. Weidtmann). Such characteristics as openness (the inclusion into the philosophical knowledge any existing traditions of thought), anti-hierarchy (“Cognitive Modesty”) and dynamics have been revealed. The dynamics in the framework of philosophy manifests itself as philosophical talk in the forms of the fi rst-person monologue addressed to the audience, the dialogue in which the voice is given to more than one participant, as well as the polylogue – a special form of philosophical talk, which involves the cohabitation of multiple logics, rationalities, semantic positions, existences, and so on.

The nature of “interspace” is refl ected in the framework of the dialogues on consciousness between Tibetan Buddhism and Western science. The paper reviews a brief story of their interaction, including the conferences, hold be the “Mind and Life” Institute, the project “Fundamental Knowledge: Dialogues of Russian and Buddhist Scholars”, and the study of physiological aspects of Buddhist contemplative practices. A signifi cant point to overcome the challenges on the way to understand each other (for example, such as the problem of translation, intellectual colonialism, etc.) has become the articulation of the “hard problem” of consciousness, as well as the concept of “neurophenomenology” (F. Varela). The paper provides a case study: it examines the methodological approach of Russian scientists that combines fi rst- and third-person perspectives in the study of contemplative practices (including postmortem tukdam meditation), which they develop in laboratories located in Tantric monasteries in India. Based on this, it is suggested that an intercultural philosophy approach is promising for solving the “hard problem of consciousness”.

The article presents a translation of fragments of the text of a Spanish thinker of the XVI century, Michael Servetus (Spanish: Miguel Servet), “Reasoning in Defense of Astrology against a Certain Medic.” Despite the fact that this text touches on a small area of knowledge, which includes medicine and astrology, taken in their close interaction, it clearly demonstrates the characteristic feature of Servetus’ philosophical worldview. In the era in question, objective internal processes going on in the depths of the paradigm of thinking, like volcanoes erupt in various fields of knowledge. Servetus is one of those outstanding personalities whose activity activates this process by starting to cross the boundaries outlined by tradition and authorities, anticipating what will become the greatest value in the new paradigm – obtaining new knowledge. This small work is methodological in nature and clearly demonstrates an example of following the chosen personal method, without turning off the path, neglecting the possible consequences.

Servetus hopes to convince the reader that medicine needs additional facts that can be provided by knowledge of the laws of the movement of the heavenly bodies and their influence on human earthly affairs and the state of his health. Observation of astronomical phenomena contributes, in his opinion, to obtaining additional knowledge and experience useful in medical practice.

The system of the world order built by him unites the unconnected, violates the boundaries of subject areas, not only within science, but also between science and theology, which gives him the opportunity to talk about various facets of reality. He demonstrates the talent of a thinker, rare and relevant in all epochs – to see the whole and not to neglect knowledge that goes beyond the generally accepted framework, collecting a general picture of being at all possible and cognizable levels: visible and invisible; expressible and inexpressible; earthly and heavenly; spiritual and material; human and divine.