Ideas and Ideals

The number three refers to an important factor in the construction of the semiotics of Ch. S. Peirce. The number three is a kind of leitmotif of the theory.The whole construction of knowledge rests on primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary, secondary and tertiary are reduced to the three sides of Gottlob Frege’s triangle and appear in a different terminology as representative, object and in­terpretant. These ternary coordinates of thought are its space and embody, in the words of Yu. S. Stepanova, three-dimensional measurement of language.According to Ch. S. Pierce, these coordinates have a teleological meaning. The very concept of Ch. S. Pierce appears as the sum of three trichotomies, which allows twenty-seven combinations of signs, of which seventeen combina­tions are prohibited. Only ten combinations are allowed. The idea of trinity in­volves 310 sign complexes. Some of them are forbidden from the standpoint oflogic. Thus, the index cannot serve as an argument. In the article, this is shown by the seating of subjects at a round table. The subject opposite appears to be on the right, but is actually opposite.

The universality of the trinity appears as a reasoned code of semiotic con­struction. The triadic nature of the concept serves as the basis for constructing the laws of semiosis. Primary is iconic, secondary is indexical, and tertiary is sym­bolic. Questions of trinity arise as implementation of the narrative, when the first is the beginning, the second is the end, and the third is the middle. The concept of three as the middle goes back to ancient art. The paper proposes an individual measurement of the middle as the third element. The counting tradition of the Indo-European peoples and the number of signs of the formula “faith, hope, love” are taken as the basis. The rearrangement of the elements of the formula, when the third in a row − love − occupies the middle second position, goes back to the earliest uses of this formula. This is the original approach to proving the middleness of the third in the tradition of the Indo-European peoples.

The article deals with the genre features of L.I. Gaidai “The Diamond Arm”. It is noted that in this fi lm, in addition to a satirical denunciation of various shortcomings of Soviet reality, L.I. Gaidai gives a parody on numerous foreign and domestic fi lms, primarily fi lms about James Bond, foreign parodies of Bond and other spies, detective and crime comedies and individual comedy roles. The connection in the fi lm of numerous echoes with parodied prototypes required the director to turn to a special genre – the mockumentary fi lm, which began to actively develop in those years in Western cinema. Perhaps Gaidai’s “The Diamond Arm” turned out to be the fi rst domestic example of this genre. It is based on the technique of bricolage, which is expressed in a special combination of many borrowed plot situations and actors’ characters. The result is a believable story with easily recognizable intrigues and plot moves, made in the manner of realistic fi lming, without exact quoting of material borrowed from other fi lms, but with a recognizable reliance on it. Thanks to the layering of parodied plot details embedded in everyday situations that were widespread in the Soviet reality of those years, the director creates a story that is outwardly simple and understandable to the general public, unfolding in the frame. Thus, Gaidai managed to form a script, consisting entirely of parodied borrowings. The director offers not only to laugh at the so-called ‘individual shortcomings’, but also draws attention to conceptual criticism of the vulnerable aspects of the Soviet mass consciousness of the 1960s – over the main value priorities of the many-sided domestic bourgeoisie, focused on the life for ‘personal benefi t’. Accordingly, he criticizes precisely this ideal of false self-assertion, both by direct satirical denunciations of the negative aspects of Soviet reality, and by parodying models of acquisitiveness and personal comfort borrowed from the West, to which Soviet seekers of an easy life were committed.

The article deals with the problem of falsifi cation of works of art (forgery) and attitudes towards falsifi ed works: falsifi cation as a cultural phenomenon; the meaning of falsifi cation in different types of art; falsifi cation through the eyes of an art connoisseur, philosopher, forger; falsifi cation as an aesthetic and ethical phenomenon; the signifi cance of falsifi cation for modern aesthetic theory and for the art market. The relevance of the topic is justifi ed by a large number of falsifi cations both in the modern art market and in the artistic fi eld. The article defi nes falsifi cation; reveals the problem of distinguishing a fake from legal ‘secondary works’. Particular attention is paid to the lack of clear criteria for identifying falsifi cation: as a rule, this is the intention to bring a secondary work to the market or to the artistic sphere.

The different meaning of falsifi cation in different types of art is associated not only with different opportunities to be the subject of investment, but also with the specifi cs of the types of art. In accordance with the theory of N. Goodman, for ‘autographic’ (‘visual’) types of art, the history of creation of a single unique copy has exceptional value; for ‘allographic’ ones such as cinema and literature, each reproduction is original (but works of these arts are not the subject of investment). T. Kulka, a prominent representative of modern aesthetics, explains why the “correct” aesthetic perception of an original or a fake without a hint from the outside is impossible and always requires knowledge of the context. This is a very important point for understanding the attitude towards falsifi cation: it is not built into the history of art and therefore cannot claim the same reverent attitude towards itself that the originals deserve.

The ethical problem of the existence of falsifi cation is shown on the example of E. Hebborn’s “The Art Forger’s Handbook”, which explains how to shift responsibility for establishing the status of a work to art critics, using the peculiarities of their professional psychology.

In general, the article recognizes the important role of falsifi cation in the modern art market: the fi rst unsuccessful acquisition of a novice collector becomes a kind of act of initiation and strength testing.

The article considers the role of the Russian language in the formation and promotion of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values of the nation. The object of the study is the linguocultural potential of the Russian language. The subject of the study is the building of value links between language and the elements that form the model of worldview pentabasis: ‘man’, ‘family’, ‘society’, ‘state’, ‘country’. The study reveals that for a person, language acts as an instructor, giving instructions on how to choose the verbal code of communication that will be most appropriate in specifi c circumstances of communication. For the family, the native language is a guide to culture, providing a link between generations through family traditions, folklore and stories of world literature. For society, the Russian language acts as an indicator of its state, because it quickly reacts to changes and easily adapts to the new reality. For the state, the Russian language is an instrument of ‘soft’ power, contributing to strengthening the unity of the multinational Russian people and enhancing Russia’s cultural presence in the world. For the country, the native language is an effective means of civic and patriotic education for young people. The analysis of sources on the topic of the study allows us to conclude that in the context of modern globalization processes, the Russian language and the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation are subject to negative infl uence. Among the negative factors affecting the development of Russian languages are the following: the targeted penetration of English into all spheres of activity, a decline in the general level of language profi ciency, and following the global language trends. To neutralize the infl uence of negative factors on the language, an effective language policy is being developed. It is aimed at supporting the growth of interest in the native language and culture, as well as at preserving, protecting and revitalizing the languages of smallnumbered peoples of Russia. For example, the Russian-language platforms for online learning are spreading, a new trend – linguistic (language) ecology – is developing, and scientifi c centers for the preservation and revival of Russian languages are now operating.

The creativity of VVRozanov is a special kind of theory (speculation), allowing one to see things as potencies. The thinker perceives the phenomena and processes of the material and spiritual plane in the context of this speculation. Istria defines the internal and external relationship of these processes as a set of external and internal changes. External changes are defined by the concept of uncertainty, and internal definitions of a certain potency. Rozanov considers the interaction of these potencies simultaneously statically and dynamically. Statically, it presupposes the existence of regularities and the victory of order over chaos. Dynamically manifested as the primacy of randomness in life, since all potencies can not be realized. The interaction of these two forms of change creates life in all its complexity, Rozanov's theory helps us comprehend, therefore, at different periods of the thinker's creativity, both static and dynamic aspects of potentiality that create the history of the world as a sounding word and as a silence. This avoids subjective and one-sided interpretations of the thinker's philosophical heritage. The author uses the method of reconstruction in the work, which makes it possible to show that the philosophical heritage of Rozanov is a semantic field formed around the concept of "potentiality." The scientific novelty of the study lies in the possibility of isolating  broad contexts of Rozanov's work and considering its various aspects as a complete metaphysical and dialectical theory, that helps to integrate different aspects and sides of Rozanov’s creativity  and  makes it more understandable.  

The article is an attempt to reconstruct Paul Claudel's views on the tasks of art and the role of a poet. We find a connection between his thoughts and the philosophy of Thomism, and consider the problem of the world order, presented in his work "Poetic Art" (1907) and we show its connection with the question of the aims of poetry. The article explains the meaning of the specific Claudelian term co-naissance, simultaneously translated as "cognition" and "shared birth", "coexistence". This notion is important for understanding Claudel's model of the universe. The basic theoretical intuition that underlies his cosmism is clearly formulated in the mentioned text and developed both in Claudel's literary work and in his articles "Religion and Poetry", "Poetry is Art", "Art and Faith" and others. The notion of the reciprocal relationship of all that exists implies a view of the world as a harmonious divine creation in which man and the artist are directly involved. The duty of the artist is close to that of the Christian and the saint, but it also includes very special tasks. Poetry can even be considered as a priority type of creativity, but Claudel's interest in other arts, in particular painting. The genuine artist and, more specific, the poet are charged with both the knowledge of divine truths and the instruction of the public. In this connection, the conclusions also include an analysis of the question of the artist's moral responsibility, to which Claudel provides an answer that assumes the primacy of ethics over aesthetics. In the historical and cultural context, this answer itself may hardly seem original, unlike the way of justifying it — that was revealed by the author of the article.

The subject of the article is modern Russian poetry based on military themes. This poetry was not previously considered as an artistic system. It began to develop extremely intensively in 2022 in connection with the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. Such poetry existed throughout the eight years of the war in the Donbas, but now it has manifested itself as an established thematic community, with signs of a current, and has attracted considerable public attention. At the end of 2022, the publishing house "Peter" released the anthology "Resurrected in the Third World", in which this community is presented comprehensively. The anthology brought together poets belonging to different generations, as well as in some cases adhering to different aesthetic principles. However, their lyrics, presented in the anthology, have ideological unity and reveal common stylistic features. Comparative-historical, as well as phenomenological and hermeneutic methods were used to identify these features. Their application allowed us to formulate a number of observations that appear as the results of the study. These observations are as follows.

Modern military lyrics have a number of features that distinguished the art of Russian Art Nouveau. First of all, it is logocentrism, the belief in the substantiality of the word and its ability to change (in the language of modernity – "transform") reality. Hence, it is a belief in the theurgic potential of poetry. This is eschatology and apocalypticism, specifically characteristic of the Russian consciousness and clearly manifested in the literature of the Silver Age. This is a fundamental religiosity combined with neo-mythologism. This is a pronounced idea of nationality, a sense of the Russian world as God's people, and in the extreme case, as a divine people. This is the actualization of the idea of life-building.

Two conclusions follow from the observations made. First: military poetry, including the lyrics of military commanders, today represents one semantic whole, in fact, a formed current. Second: the above-mentioned properties of military poetry allow us to believe that at present the postmodern crisis is being overcome by Russian literature, and it is restoring its modernist identity, which was undermined in the 1960s.

The article investigates the throne imagery in the Homeric hymn "To Demeter", "Inanna's Descent to the Underworld" and in several Judeo-Christian ascent apocalypses: in the First and Second "Books of Enoch", "The Ascension of Isaiah" and "The Apocalypse of Abraham". These texts are united by the theme of transition to another world, death-rebirth, initiation and related revelation of the secrets of another world. It is noteworthy that in all thematically related texts, a significant role in the development of the plot is played by scenes with a fundamentally static image: a solemnly seated Demeter, the throne of the underground goddess Ereshkigal or the throne of God. The article consecutively examines these three images, their variations and their role in the development of the plot. The first part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the role of seated Demeter in the text of the hymn. It is suggested that the significance of the image of the seated goddess in the text about the main myth of Eleusis resulted in its reflection in the ritual practice of the mysteries and, subsequently, in the representation of such practices in the Athenian drama, in the ritual of θρόνωσις and in a parody of it in Aristophanes' comedy "The Clouds", which is briefly discussed in the article. The second part of the research is devoted to the climactic scene of “The Descent of Inanna” in the throne room of Ereshkigal. Approaching the throne becomes the final stage of “anti-initiation”, the immersion of the goddess into the world of the dead and the loss of her earthly and heavenly powers, the logical outcome of which is the death of Inanna and the beginning of a new storyline: the salvation from the world of the dead. The final part of the paper deals with the divine throne acting as a milestone, both requiring and signifying the completion of protagonist’s initiation and rebirth, resulting in them becoming a member of the angelic heavenly host. The latter is shown as a prerequisite for the character’s ability to receive the divine revelation – that is, to reveal the essence of any apocalypse.

The present paper examines the extent to which the mystery practices of the Classical period may have influenced Plato's philosophical views. The many quotations from dialogues of different periods give a clear picture of the fact that Plato's conception of philosophy was shaped by the mysterial experience. The notion of the mysterial experience itself is of course in need of serious reconstruction. However, on the basis of literary and archaeological evidence it is accepted as a working hypothesis in the article that the mysterial experience can be understood as overcoming corporeality, but not in the sense of rejecting the body, but in the sense of overcoming those cognitive distortions which are due to corporeality. In a religious context, the mysterial experience may have provided the initiate with some information about posthumous existence, but for Plato this was only a starting point. By going further and applying often poetic and religious expressions to describe his cognitive experience Plato extends the realm of the mysterial experience to knowledge of the true world order. Particular attention is paid to the notion of philosophy as a kind of divine frenzy. Thus, Plato appears to us as a philosopher interested, among other things, in the inner world of man. Plato's interest in personal experience, the notion of the soul and the awareness of his own mortality betrays a tendency to penetrate into the deeper layers of consciousness, revealing a mystical Plato.