Ideas and Ideals

The author considers problematical character of the relations of Christianity with different cultures as one of the bright features of European civilization. Attempts to understand it were made throughout the whole history of Christianity. It is necessary to examine continuous penetration of the most diverse cultures from other continents into Europe which faced the existential conflict with this religion. At the same time the author analyzes the problematic relations of Christianity with the European mental and cultural compositions. They naturally contradicted Christianity which had been created outside the continent. This conflict can be easily observed during the period of early Christianity when Christianity was more represented by a set of ideas, than by a sum of artifacts. Besides, Christianity was formed not due to the evolution of certain initial paradigm knowledge but as a result of synthesis of the elements of almost all known at that time cultures. The author considers the history of interaction between Christianity and the European cultural streams, and he also reviews some forms and methods of that opposition. Church played a special role in that opposition and Christianization can be presented as the movement of the Church to a greater extent, than a religion. At the same time Christianization is the information conquering of new space. Also the role of this religion in the preservation of the European information unity should be highlighted as well as its role in the struggle against cultural interventions from the outside.

In this article the problem of reflecting historical dynamics of a society in modern humanitarian knowledge is discussed. The author shows, that in the modern humanitarian knowledge the tendencies to imitation the cognitive activities are widely presented that is reflected in the reduction of real conceptual and logical complexity of theoretical descriptions of social phenomena. This reduction is generated, among other things, by actual ignoring the principle of historicism in characterizing the studied objects. First of all, with such an approach the qualitative variability of social phenomena is ignored. To reveal the qualitative variability of social phenomena is possible on the basis of special reflection of their historical dynamics. The paper proposes a method to overcome such imitative trends in the consistent implementation of sociocultural cognition on the basis of the principle of historicism. According to this principle any phenomenon should be described theoretically in the whole process of its own internal development. Any social object at every moment of its existence is the result of its own genesis. That is why the consistent categorical description of dynamics of its development as a quality formation through internally irreducible to one another stages would really implement the cognitive principles, declared in the sociocultural approach. The proposed solution is constructed on the basis of socio-philosophical reflection of the historical cognition characteristics of a society as a dynamic system.

The main thesis of the article is that the concept of economic reality cannot be interpreted from the point of view of such a category as “matter”, although in the Marxist tradition this is exactly the case. This was associated with characteristic intention of Marx to direct transfer of the scientific picture of the world created by the earlier scientific forms of natural science into the area of economic and general social knowledge. However, as it is shown in the article, the scientific picture of the economic world is represented by the forms of culture that are fundamentally different from natural phenomena. For example, according to F.A. Hayek it is linked to the concept of "subjectivity", according to K. Popper's – with the “Third world”.

At the round table the problem was discussed of using mathematical methods in the analysis of historical process, or methods of historical macrosociology. On the one hand, it is obvious that in the history different societies have certain regularity, which can be examined by statistical methods. This applies to demographic waves as well as to certain economic realities, etc. For instance, we can point to the Kondratieff’s waves. If we take it for granted, it appears that it is possible to speak about the corresponding laws. However two problems appear straight away – the quality of data on which to rely, and the ratio of the peculiarities of the history of some particular societies and the general laws which characterize any society. Economists, the most advanced in application of mathematics, are building system models, while historians are just approaching to this. There is inductive approach to these issues as well, when historians use statistics to analyze certain specific processes. Also such issues were discussed such as the transformation of professional history into applied political science, which is certainly counterproductive from the point of view of science as such, and the problem of the access to the archives. In addition, it was indicated that there is a deep connection between historical research and such complex discipline as adaptology. Participants also discussed the problems of interpretation of historical data and the status of social sciences in general.

The article describes foundations of Post-Operaism in particular and ontology of abundance in general in their connection with the problem of precarity. The critique of the debatable theoretical aspects of the congruous ontological constructions and especially anti-capitalist socio-political projects based on them is represented. Much attention is paid to the question of nomadism – the idea of nomadism was transferred from the context of the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari to the soil of contemporary autonomous Marxism and it has become an important aspect of the post-operaist theory (precarious homeless multitude), from the point of which nomadism is perceived as emancipatory. But we can’t help noting its resemblance to the late-capitalist ideology of mobility.

On the basis of analysis of the normogenesis concepts the author proposes the formulation of the foundations for the integrative approach to the issue of the nature of normativity. The possibility of such approach is viewed in the reference to the anthropological sense of normogenesis.A human as a special kind of being, as the basis of his being constituted the dynamic equilibrium of the individual-collective ability to live within a certain socio-cultural model of evolution. A variety of shapes and characteristics of the normativity phenomenon can be explained by means of bringing together to the relatively stable unity of the ontological foundations: substantial, cultural and historical, and discursive. The resulting theoretical model allows to link different concepts of normogenesis and obtain heuristically and prognostically a significant idea of the establishment of norms.

In the article on the material of reconstruction of Z. Bauman’s book "The Relevance of the Holocaust" and the analysis of other studies the understanding of complex sciences, which are based on interdisciplinary research and focused in terms of practical applications in engineering and technology in the broadest sense, is introduced. First, the criteria of distinguishing between legal and illegal modernization of philosophical and scientific works are discussed. Special features of interdisciplinary research are characterized in every detail: partial implementation of methodological strategies and ideals of science, balancing and configuration of monodisciplinary discourses, which are included into interdisciplinary research, epistemic knowledge requirements obtained in these studies.

The duality of a man's relationship to Deity as the "I" and "we" turns into a dual character of any social cohesion, that is both free and repressive at the same time. The concept of genetic connection between "we" and "I" is a perfect reflection of the ideal foundation of empirically given communities. It is an abstract unity, "we", which has elevated beyond "I", and submitted itself to its tyrannical "must" provoking an uprising of "I". Manifestations of obligation are empathy, legitimation, sacralization. The conflict of “I” and “we” values inherent to the very basis of the ideal society is different for specific communities. Social empiricism has different understandings of genetical connection between "I" and "we." It has always been a cyclical conflict of "I" and "we" as an alternation of anarchy and despotism. In today's society it has acquired the form of the conflict between capitalism and socialism, but has retained its sacred source – Understanding of God (Bogoponimanie). The idea of coordination and non-hierarchical position of "we" and "I" is the concept of the ideal society, which depends on the right Understanding of God (Bogoponimaniye). The evolution of Understanding of God (Bogoponimaniye) changes the ratio of transcendence and immanence of the sacred Divine image; however, its antinomy will never be overcome and it is given objectively in the collective consciousness. Therefore, the absolute ideal theosis of a man coexists with the optimization ideal "service to the people" which includes the requirements of social subordination and discipline. Disclosure of the God’s immanence to a man softens the brutality of the legal and moral norms. Their arbitrary softening leads to chaos and social disasters. The ideal society is formed with the help of a unity of principles: service to the people, solidarity, and freedom. Service to the people is antinomic: a man is obliged to promote the growth of the Good and prevent the world from the Evil. These requirements are mutually exclusive. The first one requires following the Grace of God, and the second one - following the "law." Service to the people needs both strengthening the "law" and its weakening. Saving the world from the Evil is uppermost coercion of freedom in human actions. The reference to antinomianism of the optimization ideal turns into the assumption, that anthropological perfection as the growth of the Good frees a man from the objective social order.

Widely discussed global systemic crisis is redoubled by the lack of the ideas that can generate a new paradigm in the science, philosophy and intellectual culture in general. Philosophy is able to become the beginning of the intellectual culture output from the recession. This requires the fulfillment of the conditions: a new way of the problematizations, the inclusion of new philosophical problems into interdisciplinary discussion; identification of a number of the humanity ideas with poorly reflected philosophical intuitions and their coordination with problems. Philosophy mission in the XXI century is to establish some synthesis. In the broad sense this is an association of a human, nature and society in some system while prescribing their consistent attachment to the self-development of the Universe. In the narrow sense this is a synthesis of philosophy, physics and mathematics, where the prerogative of philosophy is the organization of interdisciplinary researches and projects. Another actual for philosopher’s task turns out the work at the basis of scientific social theory which is capable to analyze social processes including simulation tools on the computer; to serve as a basis for selecting some development strategies. For philosophers it is important to perceive intellectual culture in general as the main area of their activity when science is a part of this culture.