Philosophy Test Questions
Pluralism
Methodology of philosophy
Culturology
Philosophy
Philosophical type of worldview
Worldview is a complex, synthetic, integral formation of social and individual consciousness. The proportional presence of various components - knowledge, convictions, beliefs, moods, aspirations, hopes, values, norms, ideals, etc. is essential for its characteristics. There are four main components in the structure of the worldview:
Cognitive component. It is based on generalized knowledge - everyday, professional, scientific, etc. It presents a concrete scientific and universal picture of the world, systematizing and generalizing the results of individual and social cognition, styles of thinking of a particular community, people or era.
Value-normative component. Includes values, ideals, beliefs, beliefs, norms, directive actions, etc. One of the main purposes of the worldview is not only for a person to rely on some kind of social knowledge, but also so that he can be guided by certain social regulators. Value is the property of an object or phenomenon to satisfy the needs and desires of people. The human value system includes ideas about good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, goals and meaning of life. For example: life is the main value of a person, security of a person is also a great value, etc. A person's value attitude to the world and to himself is formed into a certain hierarchy of values, at the top of which are located a kind of absolute values, fixed in certain social ideals. The consequence of a stable, repeated assessment by a person of his relations with other people are social norms: moral, religious, legal, etc., regulating the daily life of both an individual and the whole society. In them, to a greater extent than in values, there is an imperative, binding moment, a requirement to act in a certain way. Norms are the means that bring together what is valuable for a person with his practical behavior.
Emotional-volitional component. In order for knowledge, values \u200b\u200band norms to be realized in practical deeds and actions, their emotional and volitional development, transformation into personal views, beliefs, beliefs, as well as the development of a certain psychological attitude for the readiness to act is necessary. The formation of this attitude is carried out in the emotional-volitional component of the worldview component.
Practical component. A worldview is not just a generalization of knowledge, values, beliefs, attitudes, but a real readiness of a person for a certain type of behavior in specific circumstances. Without a practical component, the worldview would be extremely abstract, abstract. Even if this worldview orients a person not towards participation in life, not towards an effective, but towards a contemplative position, it still projects, stimulates a certain type of behavior. Based on the foregoing, it is possible to define a worldview as a set of views, assessments, norms and attitudes that determine a person's attitude to the world and act as guidelines and regulators of his behavior.
PhilosopherMain worksIntroduced conceptsThe subject and tasks of philosophyThe doctrine of being and natureTheory of knowledgeThe theory of man and societyThe doctrine of GodPythagoras Not preserved, the compilation of his works "The Sacred Word" is known. Philosophical concepts do not circulate. as part of the doctrine of GodDivision of ideas into knowable and unknowable (supersensible) The doctrine of the dual nature of manFive proofs of the existence of God HolbachDisposal of ChristianityDefined matterDid not considerThe doctrine of the materiality of the worldPrimitive materialistic approachIs independently not consideredAtheismVl. for the idea of \u200b\u200bthe unity of the Church Theosophy, Theurgy and Theocracy Freud Psychology the unconscious Psychoanalysis, the unconscious, super-I The subject is not highlighted Mainly based on the psychology of the unconscious The method of free associations Did not consider It did not consider it myself, his follower E. Fromm was a supporter of atheism without social change2. Pluralism
philosophical pluralism culture engineering
Pluralism (from Latin pluralis - plural) is a philosophical position, according to which there are many different forms of knowledge and cognitive methodologies (epistemological pluralism) or forms of being (ontological pluralism) that are equal, independent and irreducible to each other. Pluralism takes an opposing position to monism.
The term "pluralism" was introduced at the beginning of the 18th century. Christian Wolf, a follower of Leibniz to describe the teachings opposed to the theory of Leibniz's monads, primarily various varieties of dualism.
At the end of the 19th-20th centuries, pluralism spread and developed both in androcentric philosophical concepts that absolutize the uniqueness of personal experience (personalism, existentialism), and in epistemology (the pragmatism of William James, the philosophy of science of Karl Popper and, especially, the theoretical pluralism of his follower Paul Feyerabend ).
Epistemological pluralism as a methodological approach in science, emphasizing the subjectivity of knowledge and the primacy of will in the process of cognition (James), the historical (Popper) and social (Feyerabend) conditioning of knowledge, criticizes the classical scientific methodology and is one of the premises of a number of anti-scientist trends.
Methodology of philosophy
.Methodology (from the Greek. Methodos - the way of research, theory and logos), a system of principles and methods of organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the teaching about this system; methodology of science - the doctrine of the principles of construction, forms and methods of scientific. knowledge.
.Agnosticism - the philosophical idea of \u200b\u200bthe complete or partial unknowability of the world
.Anthropology - a section of philosophy dedicated to the study of man
.Anthropomorphism - the transfer of human traits to objects of the outside world
.Anthropocentrism is a philosophical idea according to which a person should be the main subject of study as the central link of the universe (cf. theocentrism)
.Verification - an empirical test of judgments for their truth
.Virtual - possible, which under certain conditions can turn into real
.All-unity is the philosophical principle of the unity of any set, when each element of this set is part of the whole, but at the same time does not merge with it completely, while maintaining its independence
.Epistemology - a section of philosophy devoted to the study of problems of cognition
.Deduction is a method of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from a general rule for a particular case (cf. induction)
.Dialectics - a philosophical teaching about the universal relationship and the eternal change of things
.Dualism - the simultaneous presence of something two, usually opposite qualities or properties
.Idealism is a philosophical concept, according to which there really and eternally there is a certain incorporeal (supersensible) principle that generates (creates) the material world (cf. materialism)
.Induction is a method of reasoning in which, by generalizing several special cases, one general rule (cf. deduction)
.Intuition - the ability to directly comprehend the truth without evidence and justification
.Conceptualism is one of the solutions of the medieval controversy about Universals, according to which the latter exist after things as concepts of the mind (the same as moderate nominalism)
.Materialism is a philosophical concept according to which the physical (material) world really and eternally exists, and all spiritual phenomena are the result of the activity of human consciousness, which represents the highest stage of the evolution of the physical world (cf. idealism)
.Metaphysics - the doctrine of the supernatural, supersensible (or about the higher world, which is outside our physical world, or about the universal laws of the latter)
.Naturalism is a philosophical idea that recognizes nature as the primary reality and the main object of cognition, and also seeks to explain everything only by natural (natural) reasons
.Ontology is a section of philosophy devoted to the study (comprehension) of Being
.Rationalism is a philosophical position, according to which the world is arranged rationally and therefore it may well be cognized by rational means, as well as the idea of \u200b\u200bthe priority of the latter over sensory experience in the matter of cognition
.Sensualism is a philosophical idea according to which the senses provide us with more accurate information about the world around us than the mind
.Subjectivism is a philosophical idea according to which a person sees the world only on the scale of his own perception
.Heuristics is a philosophical method in which, instead of assimilating ready-made answers, a person must find the truth by thinking himself
.Existentialism is a trend in the philosophy of the twentieth century, which considers the main subject of study (comprehension) not to the objective world, but to individual human existence
.Empiricism is a philosophical idea, according to which the main source of knowledge should be sensory experience
Structuralism is a trend in modern (mainly continental) philosophical thought and an intellectual movement, which is characterized by the desire to reveal the models that underlie social and cultural phenomena. Structural linguistics, the most influential of the 20th century, serves as a methodological model for structuralism. direction in the science of language. The linguist tries to describe explicitly the hidden oppositions, structures and rules that make linguistic utterances possible, while the structuralist views clothing, literature, etiquette, myth, gestures as numerous "languages" in which representatives of a particular culture communicate; he tries to highlight hidden system oppositions, which in each case determine the structure of specific actions or objects.
Most widespread and influential in areas such as linguistics, cultural anthropology, and literary studies, structuralism has found expression in other areas, for example, in mathematics (the Bourbaki group). The central figures of the movement are the linguist R. Jacobson (1896-1982), the anthropologist C. Levi-Strauss (born 1908) and the literary critic R. Barth (1915-1980), but other names are also associated with him, including the researcher of child psychology J. Piaget (1896-1980), a specialist in intellectual history M. Foucault (1926-1984) and psychoanalyst J. Lacan (1901-1981). The success of the movement contributed to the development of semiotics (the science of signs), that is, the analysis of various phenomena in terms of sign systems. As an intellectual movement that transcends linguistics, structuralism was particularly influential in France in the 1960s.
Structuralism is often criticized for its anti-historical orientation - the priority of the synchronic over the diachronic - and for its anti-humanist focus on impersonal and unconscious systems that act through the person rather than at his behest. These aspects of the structuralist method, whether they are desirable or undesirable components of the structuralist worldview, are essential to the success of the method. In fact, the most impressive criticism of structuralism came not from defenders of historicism and attention to the subject, but from the so-called "poststructuralists" (for example, Jacques Derrida), who found in those systems to which structuralism oriented them, paradoxical and contradictory phenomena that make impossible completion of consistent structuralistic grammars and systematizations.
Culturology
National and ethnocultural stereotypes
· Ethnic (ethnocultural) stereotypes represent a certain generalized image of an ethnic or confessional neighbor, simplifying and generalizing this image.
· Ethnocultural stereotypes demonstrate a wide distribution and repetition, as well as a high degree of resistance to change.
· Ethnocultural stereotype acts as a significant component of knowledge about external reality, as a universal cognitive classifier. This most important component of the folk picture of the world is represented both in language and in folklore and folk beliefs.
· National and ethnocultural stereotypes act as significant components of knowledge about external reality, as a universal cognitive classifier. This most important component of the folk picture of the world is represented both in language and in folklore and folk beliefs.
· Ethnic stereotypes play a special role in the structure of folklore text and oral tradition.
· The stability of national stereotypes is due precisely to their historical, international, domestic political situation and other factors.
· Stereotypes allow a person to form an idea of \u200b\u200bthe world as a whole, to go beyond his narrow social, geographic and political environment.
· national character is a set of character traits inherent in a particular nation. Domestic researcher S.M. Harutyunyan defined national character as a set of character traits, traditions, habits of a particular nation, formed under the influence of cultural and historical development of this country. Those. the concepts of national "character" and national "stereotype" are in many ways almost identical, since because they are formed under the influence of the cultural and historical environment of a particular nation. The only difference is that national character is a generic concept that includes a stereotype as a component of a single whole.
· A stereotype includes a standard that is reality and a norm existing at the linguistic level. As stereotypes can act as characteristics of another people, and everything that concerns the ideas of one nation about the culture of another nation as a whole.
Cognitive and value paradigms in culture
Cognitiveness (lat. Cognitio, "cognition, study, awareness") is a term used in several, quite different contexts from each other, denoting the ability to mentally perceive and process external information.
In modern special literature, cognitive is most often associated with rational (in the broad sense of the word) and denotes either the corresponding object of research (i.e., the rational part of consciousness, spirit, psyche), or the corresponding approach to the study of consciousness (i.e., applied by cognitive formal, structural, functional and other "rational" methods of cognition). The word "cognitivism" is used as a name and at the same time as a characteristic (usually negative) of those concepts that exaggerate the role and place of the "cognitive" (in fact, rational) component of the spirit, and those approaches within which the "cognitive" (rational-scientific) methods of studying consciousness. Understood in this way, cognitivism is opposed by various forms of irrationalism, anti-scientism, organicism, and postmodernism.
· The cognitive paradigm turns out to be the key to solving those issues, the research of which previously, without any reference to the analysis of cognitive processes, remained fruitless.
· From the very beginning of its inception, cognitive science began to establish contacts between several disciplines at the same time. Involving specialists in different fields of knowledge to solve its problems, cognitive science in a specific way began to combine, on the one hand, the old traditional fundamental sciences - for example, linguistics, psychology and philosophy, on the other - to connect to itself new and in parallel developing sciences and theories ...
· The notion that there is cognitive in culture has influenced all factors in cultural research.
· Hence follows a special understanding of culture - as a depository of human cognitive categories, through which only the process of cognition is realized, consisting in the comprehension and mental organization of reality.
... "Social engineering" problems and prospects
· Social engineering (SI) is a method of unauthorized access to information or information storage systems without the use of technical means. The method is based on exploiting the weaknesses of the human factor and is considered very destructive.
· Social engineering is a term used by crackers and hackers to denote unauthorized access to information in a different way from software hacking. The goal is to trick people into obtaining system passwords or other information that will help compromise the security of the system.
· Social engineering as a field of scientific and practical activity is becoming more widespread in Russia. First of all, interest in socio-engineering issues is due to the need for scientific support and understanding of the radical changes taking place in society, the needs of a wide range of leaders, entrepreneurs, practitioners in making scientifically grounded management decisions.
Creativity is the driving force of culture
· N.L. Berdyaev wrote: "Creativity is always an increase, addition, creation of a new one that has not been in the world." Every person is a creative creature. The psyche as an activity to develop something new is always creativity.
· Widespread is the understanding of creativity as a human activity that transforms the natural and social world in accordance with the goals and needs of man and mankind on the basis of the objective laws of reality. Apparently, "based on the objective laws of reality" will be an optional feature; firstly, it is contained in an indication of the transformation of nature, and, secondly, its inclusion leaves behind creativity what takes place in religious, mythological constructions, in a number of areas of art, at the everyday level of consciousness.
· The criterion for creative activity is a level transition: the need for new knowledge develops at the highest level of creative activity, and the means for satisfying this need - on the lowest level... They are included in the process taking place at the highest level, which leads to the emergence of new knowledge. He concludes that a creative product requires the inclusion of intuition and cannot be derived from logical inferences.
· Creativity is based on the global irrational motivation of human alienation from the world. It is directed by the tendency to overcome and functions as a "positive feedback": a creative product only spurs the process, turning it into a pursuit of the horizon.
· The main reason for cultural and historical development should be sought not in abstract goals divorced from reality, but in material production on earth, which is the result of creative activity.
The problem of regularity in culture
· General sociological - associated with the fact that culture is a social, and not a natural phenomenon. Moreover, culture is a part of society that has its own, different from the whole society, laws.
· general formational - link culture with a certain form of social life, which gives it its specificity as a form of society, determined by the content of social life.
· specific-formational - patterns are determined by the laws of action of a specific socio-economic formation - slaveholding, feudal, capitalist, etc.
· civilizational - associated with the operation of the law of social division of labor.
· patterns of development of certain spheres of culture (material, spiritual) and types of culture (economic, political, philosophical, religious, etc.).
The uniqueness of cultures and the cultural unity of mankind
· Protecting the cultural diversity of the world is one of the most important aspects of the concept of culture.
· The protection of cultural diversity is an ethical imperative and is inseparable from respect for the dignity of the human person.
· The spread of the doctrine of multiculturalism has coincided with an upsurge in self-identification movements that require recognition of the cultural uniqueness of social subgroups.
· By and large, each of the cultures (and especially the great ones) is unique in its own way.
Culture and global problems of our time
Global problems represent the totality of humanity, on the solution of which social progress and the preservation of civilization depend. These problems are characterized by dynamism, arise as an objective factor in the development of society and for their solution require the united efforts of all mankind. Global problems are interconnected, cover all aspects of human life and concern all countries of the world without exception.
· the demographic problem and the regulation of rapid population growth are increasingly important for humanity. Demographic processes are studied by demography - the science of population, the laws of its reproduction and development in socio-historical condition.
· preventing thermonuclear war and ensuring peace for all peoples, preventing the proliferation of nuclear technologies unauthorized by the world community, radioactive contamination of the environment.
· food problem - the roots of this problem lie not in the lack of food as such and not in the limitedness of modern natural resources, but in their unfair redistribution and exploitation both within individual countries and on a global scale.
· AIDS, drug addiction and bad habits are increasingly spreading in society. AIDS is called the plague of the 20th century, it can also be called the scourge of the 20th century. Drug addiction is spreading even faster in Russia.
· foul language - when a person utters obscene words, he destroys his own personality, its moral structure. An ordinary person does not notice this, considers foul language a harmless phenomenon, but as soon as he takes the path of cultural, and even more - spiritual development, he realizes all its perniciousness and inadmissibility.
· terrorism - especially if terrorists have lethal means or weapons capable of destroying a huge number of innocent people. Terrorism is a phenomenon, a form of crime directed directly against a person, threatening his life and due to this striving to achieve its goals. Terrorism is absolutely unacceptable from the point of view of humanism, and from the point of view of law it is the gravest crime.
· catastrophic pollution of the environment and decline in biodiversity.
· Ozone holes.
The culture of the twentieth century is the culture of revolutions, the inevitable companion of which was denial, and in most cases, acting in its extreme forms associated with destruction. It is culture that helps in many ways at least to solve some of these global problems.
List of used literature
1. Berdyaev N. A. About the appointment of a person. M, 2001.S. 50-60.
2. Karmin A.S., Novikova E.S. Culturology. SPb., 2006.
A. V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. Psychology. Dictionary. M., 1990
Merkulov I.P. Cognitive Science // New Philosophical Encyclopedia in Four Volumes. T.2. M., 2001.S. 26.
Pavlovskaya A.V. Ethnic stereotypes in the light of intercultural communication. // Bulletin of Moscow State University. Linguistics and intercultural communication. 1998, no. 1.
. "Sociological Dictionary". Minsk, 1991.
Filippova M.M. Paradoxes and stereotypes of intercultural communication between representatives of different cultures. Moscow State University Bulletin. 2002, no. 3.
The approach of the Third Millennium unwittingly sets one to think about the prospects for the development of the humanities, change their social and cultural status, and identify priority areas and trends.
Of course, “we are not given to predict how our Word will respond,” therefore any forecast has only approximate contours, indistinct outlines, preserving the right to disappointment in a too optimistic foresight of the future or confirmation of those premonitions that came true as prophecies. In any case, the futurological temptation has always reflected the desire of man to penetrate into the future, to measure his efforts, to highlight the secrets of the century, to know the consequences of scientific discoveries, to determine alternative ways of development of society, culture and man.
Without pretending to be complete in describing the trends, I would like to note those that have an impact on culture and stimulate an appeal to the scientific substantiation of cultural studies.
First, there is a "condensation" of the information field in which a person lives. This is an unprecedented growth of information in history, which, like a "snowball", is growing in different forms: book, magazine, newspaper production; electronic media; mass media and literally "falls" on a person. This process requires a new technology for teaching, using and mastering knowledge.
Secondly, the former boundaries between sciences are changing, they are becoming more and more "transparent", the process of scientific, social and cultural integration is intensifying. This tendency leads to the combination and penetration of the humanities into each other, to the mastery of related professions.
Thirdly, a new socio-cultural stratification of humanity arises, when the previous estate, class, party division is lost, but national and ethnic community, belonging to different subcultures, religious beliefs, and corporate interests gain importance. This stimulates the creation of new sources of social tension and risk zones, the so-called “hot spots”.
Culture takes on a new role in ensuring national security. It is designed to develop the principles of mutual understanding and solidarity, harmony and tolerance, preventing aggression and violence.
Fourth, the development of cultural contacts, the easing of visa regimes, the expansion of the circle of communication between people, gradually removes the division of cultures and peoples into "friends and foes", increases interest in learning other forms of cultural life.
This contributes to the revival of traditional cultures, the maintenance of their identity as a national heritage, an object of public reverence and pride.
Each ethnos is “concerned” with the search for its roots, the identification of the national “face” and cultural image, its place in the world community.
Fifth, the attitude towards culture as the basis of social and personal identity is changing. It is cultural achievements and monuments that symbolize involvement in historical traditions, form a person's self-consciousness. This stimulates the mastery of numerous languages \u200b\u200bof culture, the disclosure of their semantic and value values. Increasing the role of inculturation as a means of familiarizing with culture, acquiring cultural competence as an indicator of the level of intellectual and emotional development of a person determines the strategy of educating the younger generation.
Culture acquires the significance of a factor of consolidation, cohesion of society, overcoming the tendencies of isolationism, the development of national self-awareness and a sense of involvement in the historical process.
The enumeration of trends in social and cultural development can be continued. It is important to imagine a colossal shift in modern civilization, to determine the vector of changes.
Culture is at the epicenter of changes and the rate of modernization of society and the social effectiveness of reforms significantly depend on its level.
It should be noted that the nature of many debatable problems discussed at the state level emphasize the changing role of culture in society. The adoption of state symbols - the flag, coat of arms, anthem required a lot of arguments convincing in the decisions made. Preparing to celebrate the 300th anniversary St. Petersburg, anniversaries of cultural figures, a new attitude towards the culture of the Russian Diaspora, careful preservation of the historical centers of cities, care for the cultural heritage and the purity of the Russian language - all this testifies to changes in cultural policy.
At the same time, it should be noted that many things happen spontaneously. In addition, the inertia of people's consciousness, their inability to adapt to changes, the idealization of the culture of the past, and nostalgia for the previous way of life are revealed. This leads to the spread of pessimism, denial of novelty, retardation of modernization and reforms. An intensified search for one's own path, an indiscriminate denial of Western experience and one's own merits and achievements also indicates a low level of culture.
To this must be added the spread of vices, aggressiveness, crime, drug addiction, which have become a disaster and lead to the degradation of the nation's gene pool.
The stratification of people in terms of income has changed the possibilities of acquiring culture, increased the social distance between people. The social role of the intelligentsia in education has significantly decreased, many works of classical literature and art are not perceived, preferences are given to mass culture, sensations of the "yellow press".
There was a "simplification" of mass secondary education, a reduction in the subjects of the humanitarian cycle.
All this is well known, but it does not diminish the need to search for means and ways of solving acute social and cultural problems. The intellectual crisis of national self-consciousness, the growing indifference and "addiction" to tragedies and emerging problems are becoming especially dangerous. Social apathy can trigger destructive tendencies.
That is why the role of culture is so great in overcoming negative trends and creating an atmosphere of trust, understanding, responsibility, decency, professionalism, promoting social stability, personal involvement in reforms and increasing the level of well-being and mental health of a person.
The development of humanitarian culture is of particular importance in the modern world.
Countries and peoples are concerned about the problems of preserving cultural heritage, maintaining the uniqueness of original cultures, protecting them from the invasion of mass and unified products that supplant the classics, disregard for natural landscapes, pollution and vulgarization of the native language.
The lack of culture is of particular concern and concern, for it is becoming a global disaster, evidence of the loss of spiritual guidance and responsibility to the present and future.
It is found in many everyday phenomena: in the slovenliness of the external appearance of people, the neglect of the urban and rural environment, the spread of rudeness and vulgarity, passed off as the norms of communication, aggressiveness and hostility in relations between people.
You can “endlessly” continue listing the vices and violent conflicts that shock every person, leaving no one alone. Trying to find an explanation for these processes, they refer to the "objective" difficulties of modernizing Russia, the instability of the government and mistrust of reforms, the lack of spiritual leadership, economic priorities and economic pragmatism, and the loss of traditions. Undoubtedly, all this matters, because each factor makes its negative "contribution" to the state of society and culture. To this should be added nostalgia for the past and the constantly present “image of the enemy”, which allegedly fulfills the social order of the destruction of Russia.
The ongoing search for a common idea capable of uniting society, overcoming hostility and mistrust has not yet led to success.
There is no need to repeat like incantations the eternal questions repeatedly repeated in history: "what to do?" and "who is to blame?" Even they have lost their energy without having a call to action. Calling history requires an Answer. Perhaps it has not yet acquired sufficient clarity and is formulated only as a choice of a priority direction, as a scenario of behavior and attitude to reality.
To overcome psychological inertia and social apathy, it is necessary to raise spiritual forces that contribute to the humane recovery of society, change the spiritual atmosphere, encourage talents, and develop individuality.
As Academician D.S. Likhachev, XXI century is the century of humanitarian culture. At the same time, he gave humanitarian culture a wide, ideological meaning. The culture of a person of any profession is determined by his understanding of music, poetry, painting, architecture. Art, science, philosophy, religion, morality form the necessary contour of humanity, contributing to mercy, benevolence, tolerance in relations between people, nations, states. Without a common culture, the exact sciences will also “wither away”, requiring great intellectual effort, humanitarian expertise of the projects being implemented.
Low culture negatively affects all phenomena of social life, manifests itself in political irresponsibility, carelessness and mismanagement, lack of elementary tact in relations between people.
In each new generation, the cultural layer, which forms the basis of spiritual growth and moral stability, must constantly increase. Calls for the erasure of previous cultural layers, a negative and indiscriminate attitude to the past, undermine the foundations of peace and harmony.
Humanitarian culture is based on the democratization of society, transparency and freedom of creativity, respect for different opinions, encouragement of cultural contacts and interaction of national traditions.
The central idea of \u200b\u200bthe philosophy of education is to strengthen the humanitarian training of a specialist of any profile. Humanities contribute to the formation of a world of spiritual values \u200b\u200bof youth, ideas of dignity and honor, patriotism and responsibility, respect for the individual, respect for human life.
Humanities education protects a person from technocratic myopia and primitive pragmatism, helps to relieve psychological stress and emotional overload, helps to restore mental balance and health, and increases the creative potential and vitality of the individual.
Humanitarian culture creates a kind of "islands of stability" in the world of endless changes and transformations. It broadcasts from generation to generation the eternal values \u200b\u200band masterpieces of world culture.
It is these factors that determine the strategy for the development of higher education in Russia. Culture provides a guideline in the life of a modern person, determines the main vector of his interests and worldview. Liberal arts education is becoming a prerequisite even in those areas where, until recently, only practical or political experience was enough.
A graduate becomes an “important person” in all areas of activity. His authority largely depends on the level of his culture, his ability to negotiate, and to show sincere interest and respect for the traditions of other peoples.
The system of higher education should offer young people a whole range of humanities in order to find their way in a rapidly changing world, to overcome the framework of narrow specialization, when the knowledge gained gets old and is not applied. The fundamentality of education, combined with the technology of innovation and a high general culture, determine the development strategy of higher education.
However, this promising line began to be questioned. And this circumstance causes legitimate concern. Suggestions are made about reducing the humanitarian cycle of disciplines, about the arbitrary choice of subjects, about "taking" them out of the educational process.
The training of highly qualified specialists in a number of branches of knowledge, including the humanities, has undergone another "restructuring" without sufficient grounds. This led to the unjustified acceleration of the work of dissertation councils in scientific work, a revision of the topics of scientific research, the volume of candidate examinations, and a change in the work of graduate and doctoral studies. Such “reforms” have a negative impact on the training of young specialists, who are already in short supply in the “aging” education system.
The coming century will significantly expand the traditional set of specialties in all areas, including the humanities. It is hardly possible to stop this process with “nomenclature circulars”.
Many of the above circumstances and trends stimulated the development of cultural studies as a special branch of humanitarian knowledge. In the history of social thought, philosophers have repeatedly turned to cultural problems. They were worried about the prospects for the development of culture and civilization, the possibilities of a person's creative self-realization, preservation of cultural heritage, prevention of conflicts and spiritual crisis.
These reflections form the historical basis of cultural studies.
However, in the twentieth century, the problems of culture have become especially acute and have caused the need for a holistic view of culture as a social phenomenon.
It should be noted that St. Petersburg University has always been distinguished by a high level of humanitarian culture, the relationship between "physicists and lyricists", an organic combination of European enlightenment and Russian mentality, breadth of cultural erudition, understanding of the specifics of Eastern wisdom.
N. Ya. Made a great contribution to the science of culture. Danilevsky, P.A. Sorokin, M.M. Kovalevsky, L.I. Mechnikov. Their works on culture gained worldwide fame.
At the Faculty of Philosophy, the methodological foundations of the study of culture as a social phenomenon and systemic integrity were determined. V.P. Tugarinova on the values \u200b\u200bof life and culture, M.S. Kagan on the philosophy of culture, B.V. Markov about the anthropology of culture, philosophical aspects of the culture of everyday life in the works of K.S. Pigrov contributed to the development of cultural studies.
At the Faculty of Philosophy, for the first time at the University, the Department of Philosophy of Culture and Cultural Studies was created, headed by Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Yu. Solonin. The Dissertation Council on Philosophy of Culture and Culturology is successfully operating, which trains highly qualified specialists.
Centers for cultural studies have also developed in other universities, where graduates of the Faculty of Philosophy are successfully working.
Among them are the Department of Theory and History of Culture of the St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts, the Department of World Artistic Culture of the Pedagogical State University named after A.I. Herzen and many others.
Culturology is developing in many cities of Russia: Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, Novosibirsk and Samara, Veliky Novgorod and Khabarovsk. All this indicates the need to study the culture of society in its entirety, about the prospects of cultural studies as a science of the XXI century.
Culture is a complex, open, diffuse, self-organizing system. It covers various aspects of human interaction with other people and with oneself, with nature and society. The communicative essence of culture encourages dialogue, stimulates creativity, cognition and understanding. As an inalienable attribute of human existence, it has an extremely wide distribution area "everywhere and in everything." This property of culture makes it difficult to define its subject area and causes a lot of discussion.
In addition, cultural phenomena do not always lend themselves to accurate description and explanation, "elude" rationalistic analysis. They always contain uncertainty, understatement, enigma and mystery. The culture turns out to be internally contradictory and difficult to predict.
All these features of culture make it difficult to study it, and often call into question the need for cultural studies as a science. American anthropologist Leslie White, author of The Science of Culture (1949), wrote about this skepticism. Nevertheless, overcoming objections, he noted that there is a whole class of phenomena in social reality that are subject to special study. They are associated with the unique human ability to symbolize, impart meaning and meaning to objects and phenomena.
It is this capacity for symbolization that forms the world of culture. This class of phenomena includes ideas and beliefs, relationships between people, patterns of behavior, customs and rituals, language and art forms. All these objects and actions are endowed with symbolic meaning, and cultural studies are engaged in the disclosure of their meaning and values. A completely new field is opening up in science and the understanding of cultural processes will be on a par with Copernicus's heliocentric theory or the discovery of the cellular basis of all forms of life, L. White wrote.
A culturologist is called upon not so much to describe an event or phenomenon as to understand its meaning, based on the symbols, signs, meanings and values \u200b\u200binherent in a given culture. It is they who make up the mentality of the nation, its self-awareness and dignity.
The emergence of a new branch of knowledge always causes a mixed reaction in the scientific community. Suffice it to recall genetics and cybernetics, sociology and social psychology, psychoanalysis and pedology. They not only provoked discussions, but were subject to prohibitions and persecutions. Fortunately, those days are over. But the alertness to the new science remains. Both enthusiastic and skeptical assessments are expressed about cultural studies. But gradually the force of resistance is overcome, because cultural studies open up unusually interesting and fascinating research opportunities, mastering the scientific and educational space.
It is one of the humanitarian disciplines in universities and colleges, doctoral and candidate degrees are awarded in cultural studies. A lot of textbooks, teaching aids, anthologies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and monographs have been published. Published works on the culture of world famous Russian and foreign scientists. There is no doubt that this "first wave" revealed many methodological, theoretical and historical problems. The vagueness of the boundaries of the subject and the area of \u200b\u200bcultural studies, the vagueness of the logic of constructing its structural sections, the relationship between morphology and dynamics of culture, the specificity of methods and categories of research - these and many other problems require solution.
Certain difficulties arise when clarifying the specifics of the history of culture: the relationship between the history of society and the history of culture; between philosophy of history and philosophy of culture; historical process and theoretical modeling; cultural heritage and cultural transmission mechanism; between describing phenomena and understanding their meaning; between universal human universals, cultural values \u200b\u200band their historical, ethnic meaning and symbolization.
For cultural studies, comprehension of the history of culture is the main methodological principle of cognition.
Outside of historical analysis, any constructions are unproductive, because they are not confirmed by reality. History allows us to reveal the uniqueness and originality of culture, their local discreteness, regional and ethnic characteristics.
Culture is not only synchronous, but diachronous. It is not without reason that it is compared with the soil layer: sometimes thin, sometimes more powerful; sometimes poor, sometimes rich. The multi-layered culture is the basis for the stability and stability of its root system.
The history of culture is evidence of the power of a person's spiritual energy, his creative aspiration, emotional anxiety and desire to improve the environment of his own arrangement and habitation. Creativity and innovation are essential impulses for cultural dynamics.
Culturology examines the history of culture in three aspects:
- Differentiation of cultural phenomena, identification of their social and cultural significance, symbolic and sign value.
- Integration of phenomena in the context of culture, providing a systemic and holistic analysis.
- Comparison and comparison of cultural phenomena of different regions, theoretical support of comparative studies for understanding the cultures of different peoples
Culturology appears as a complex of cultural sciences. Each of them has its own research area, preferred categories and terms, methods and source base.
The process of the emergence of special culturological theories testifies to the development of science. Now it is moving at an accelerated pace, albeit somewhat chaotic. Obviously, the interests of researchers, the accumulated material, and the demands of practice play an important role.
A number of the largest sections of cultural studies can be distinguished: history of culture; history of cultural studies; philosophy of culture; theory of culture; sociology of culture; anthropology of culture; applied cultural studies.
Each section has its own field of study, interacts with a certain range of sciences, differs in the language of description, analysis of facts and phenomena, symbolic meanings and meanings. Along with this, there is a differentiation within the general sections, when the areas of cultural studies are distinguished, acquiring an independent scientific status.
Thus, for example, the “axiology of culture” or the science of values \u200b\u200bemerged from the philosophy of culture; from the theory of culture acquired an independent status "semiotics of culture" or the science of signs, symbols and meanings, exploring the language and text of culture.
"Historical culturology" includes the cultural genesis of phenomena; the historical dynamics of cultural processes; storage and transmission of cultural heritage; historical typology of cultures of the peoples of the world; historical personology as the science of realizing the creative potential of an individual in the course of his life.
They also call "ecology of culture" as the science of interaction with nature, habitat and human arrangement. “Regional culturology” is successfully developing, reflecting the specifics of the development of the cultural space of territories and urban complexes. It is closely related to local history.
Applied culturology reveals the mechanisms and technologies of familiarizing with culture, determines the strategy of cultural policy.
The science of culture has many pseudonyms: cultural studies; fundamental cultural studies; general cultural studies; cultural studies; theory of culture; philosophy of culture; cultural anthropology; social cultural studies. The vagueness of the names reflects the level and stage of development of science. On closer examination, they differ little from each other and require terminological accuracy.
Culturology is in the process of formation, its contours are not yet clear enough. At the same time, this opens up great prospects for researchers, because she is open to creative search and innovation.
The scattered world finds unity in culture. Humanity, as never before, has felt the need for dialogue, mutual understanding and communication, integration of cultural space as the basis for the spiritual unity and harmony of peoples. There is a need to hold the First Russian Culturological Congress dedicated to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, which will contribute to the development of scientific research on the culture of the past, present and future.
The subject of cultural studies. Philosophy of culture and cultural sciences.
Subject of cultural studies:
In a broad sense, culturology is a complex of separate sciences, as well as theological and philosophical concepts of culture; in other words, all those teachings about culture, its history, essence, patterns of functioning and development, which can be found in the works of scientists, representing various options for understanding the phenomenon of culture. Excluding the above, culturological sciences study the system of cultural institutions, with the help of which the upbringing and education of a person is carried out, and which produce, store and transmit cultural information.
From the nd position, the subject of cultural studies forms a set of various disciplines, to which are history, philosophy, sociology of culture and a complex of anthropological knowledge. In addition to Him, the subject field of cultural studies in a broad sense should include: history of cultural studies, ecology of culture, psychology of culture, ethnology (ethnography), theology (theology) of culture. At the same time, with such a broad approach, the subject of cultural studies appears as a set of various disciplines or sciences that study culture, and can be identified with the subject of philosophy of culture, sociology of culture, cultural anthropology and other theories of the middle level. In this case, culturology loses its own subject of research and becomes an integral part of the noted disciplines.
Its main tasks will be:
- the most profound, complete and holistic explanation of culture, its essence, content, features and functions;
- study of the genesis (origin and development) of culture as a whole, as well as individual phenomena and processes in culture;
- determination of the place and role of a person in cultural processes;
- interaction with other sciences studying culture;
- the study of information about culture, which came from art, philosophy, religion and other areas related to the unscientific knowledge of culture;
- study of the development of individual cultures.
Functions of cultural studies:
The functions of cultural studies can be combined into several main groups according to the tasks being implemented:
cognitive function - study and understanding of the essence and role of culture in the life of society, all its structure and functions, its typology, differentiation into sectors, types and forms, human-creative purpose of culture;
conceptual-descriptive function - the development of theoretical systems, concepts and categories that make it possible to compose a holistic picture of the formation and development of culture, and the formulation of description rules that reflect the features of the development of sociocultural processes;
evaluation function - implementation of an adequate assessment of the impact of the integral phenomenon of culture, its various types, industries, types and forms on the formation of social and spiritual qualities of the individual, social community, society as a whole;
explanatory function - scientific explanation of the peculiarities of cultural complexes, phenomena and events, the mechanisms of functioning of agents and cultural institutions, their socializing influence on the formation of personality on the basis of scientific understanding of the revealed facts, trends and patterns of development of socio-cultural processes;
ideological function - the implementation of social and political ideals in the development of fundamental and applied problems of the development of culture, regulating the influence of its values \u200b\u200band norms on the behavior of the individual and social communities;
educational (teaching) function - dissemination of culturological knowledge and assessments, which helps students, specialists, as well as those who are interested in cultural issues, to learn the features of his social phenomenon, its role in the development of man and society.
The subject of cultural studies, its tasks, goals and functions determine the general outlines of cultural studies as a science. Note that each of them in turn requires in-depth study.
Culturology as a science
The historical path traversed by humanity from antiquity to the present has been complex and contradictory. On this path, progressive and regressive phenomena, the desire for the new and the adherence to the usual forms of life, the desire for change and the idealization of the past were often combined. In all situations, culture has always played a major role in people's lives, helping a person to adapt to the constantly changing conditions of life, find its meaning and purpose, and preserve the human in a person. By virtue of him, a person has always been interested in the ϶ᴛᴏ sphere of the surrounding world, which resulted in the emergence of a special branch of human knowledge - cultural studies and the corresponding academic discipline that studies culture. Culturology - ϶ᴛᴏ primarily the science of culture. This specific subject distinguishes it from other social, humanitarian disciplines and explains the need for its existence as a special branch of knowledge.
Culturology and philosophy of culture
As a branch of knowledge that separated from philosophy, culturology has retained its connection with the philosophy of culture, which acts as an organic component philosophy, as one of the relatively autonomous series of theories. Philosophy as such seeks to develop a systematic and holistic view of the world, tries to answer the question of whether the world is cognizable, what are the possibilities and boundaries of cognition, its goals, levels, forms and methods, and the philosophy of culture should show what place is occupied by culture in the whole the picture of being, seeks to determine the uniqueness and methodology of cognition of cultural phenomena, representing the highest, most abstract level of cultural research. Acting as a methodological basis of cultural studies, it defines the general cognitive guidelines of cultural studies, explains the essence of culture and poses problems that are significant for human life, for example, about the meaning of culture, about the conditions of its existence, about the structure of culture, the reasons for its changes, etc.
Philosophy of culture and cultural studies differ in the attitudes with which they approach the study of culture. Culturology considers culture in its internal connections as an independent system, and the philosophy of culture analyzes culture in ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙii with the subject and functions of philosophy in the context of philosophical categories, such as being, consciousness, cognition, personality, society. Philosophy considers culture in all specific forms, while in cultural studies the emphasis is on explaining different forms culture with the help of philosophical theories of the middle level, based on anthropological and historical materials. With this approach, culturology allows you to create a holistic picture of the human world, taking into account the many-sidedness and diversity of the processes taking place in it.
Methodological foundations of cultural studies. The variety of approaches and trends in cultural studies. Cultural theories of N. Danilevsky and K. Leontiev. Concepts of local cultures by O. Speigler and A. Toynbee. Historiosophical theory of K. Jaspers. Conceptions of culture as a game of I. Heyzinga and S. Lem. The theory of supersystems P. Sorokin. Cultural and historical conies of the Eurasians. L. Gumilyov's ethnogenetic theory.
The actualization of the problem of preserving spirituality and cultural values \u200b\u200bat the end of the 20th century led to the turn of a number of scientific disciplines towards the study of the essence and functioning of the phenomenon of culture. The process of scientific understanding of such a phenomenon as culture requires the use of certain methodological foundations. In other words, the study of culture must be carried out within the framework of one or another philosophical thought. It is the difference in methodological foundations that determines the presence of three approaches in the study and understanding of the phenomenon of culture, namely: systemic, activity-based and value (axiological) approaches.
According to the domestic scientific tradition of the 20th century, the study of culture took place within the framework of philosophical thought, which seeks to develop a holistic, systematic approach to the analysis of culture as a social phenomenon. As a result, we have before us a philosophical foundation of culture, when its essence is considered as a universal property of society. Within the boundaries of this methodology, an artificial division of the integral cultural process into material and spiritual levels arose. It should be noted that researchers have begun to pay less and less attention to material culture, focusing their efforts on studying the spiritual side of culture.
This kind of methodological basis for the study of culture limited the understanding of the essence of the phenomenon of culture, because problems associated with the creative process and the multidimensionality of culture remained in the shadows (after all, the orientation was towards the productive nature of cultural phenomena). At the same time, this approach reveals the social essence of culture, therefore it became the theoretical basis for further methodological searches in the course of cultural research. Culture began to be understood as something that is hidden behind the dialectic of "material" and "spiritual", which, in turn, stimulated the search for a single source and essence of culture.
Such a source was the activity approach, on the basis of which various models of culture as an integral system were created. Within the framework of this approach, which is characteristic of Russian cultural studies, two orientations are most widespread. For representatives of the first (N. Kagan, N. Zlobin, etc.) culture is a process of creative activity, during which there is a spiritual enrichment of society and self-creation of a person as a subject of the cultural and historical process. Here, attention is focused on the fact that culture enables a person to be born a second time (first birth is a biological act!).
Adepts of the second orientation (E. Markaryan, V. Davidovich, Yu. Zhdanov) see in culture a specific way of activity that contributes to the preservation and reproduction of civilization in the conditions of the changing world (in the previous lecture, this orientation was considered in detail). Different orientations that exist within the framework of the activity approach complement each other and have a common methodological basis - culture is derived from human activity. The activity approach to the essence of culture serves as a certain basis for the study of both local cultures and historical types of culture, as well as the relationship between culture and civilization.
The study of such complex problems as culture and values, culture and spiritual life requires different methodological foundations. The value (axiological) approach is appropriate here - culture is a function of the human race, it includes the ways by which a person asserts his existence in the world. The purpose of cultural activity is to preserve the "homo sapiens" species, thereby determining the main value - a person. Thus, it is the person, the human race that is the absolute cultural value. The axiological approach to the problems of culture is due both to the opposition of culture to nature, and to the fact that not all social phenomena are included in the world of culture (it is enough to recall the tendency to destruction of the system of cultural values \u200b\u200bor an element of this system, therefore they speak of “anti-culture”).
In cultural studies, there is a variety of approaches, directions and schools, which, due to the limited volume of the book, will simply have to be listed. One of the first approaches to the study of culture is anthropological, its formation began with the theories of early evolutionists (G. Spencer, E. Tylor and D. Morgan). The latter are characterized by the absolutization of the principle of the continuity of the historical process. Then a culture-anthropological approach was formed, developed in the works of B. Malinovsky, K. Levi-Strauss, E. Fromm, A. Kroeber, F. Klachon, etc. Within the framework of this approach, a number of schools have developed: functionalism, structuralism, etc. studies of the tribes of New Guinea and Oceania, B. Malinovsky together with Radcliffe-Brown formulated three main postulates of functionalism: each culture is integrity (as a consequence of the functional unity of society); every society or type of civilization, every custom or ritual, worship or belief fulfills a certain vital function for culture; in order to preserve the culture of its integrity, each of its elements is irreplaceable.
In modern Western cultural studies, a sociological approach, or the sociology of culture, has become widespread. Its representatives: P. Sorokin, M. Horkheimer, T. Adorno, G. Marcuse, K). Ha-bermas - made a significant contribution to the development of the problems of the cultural and historical process. The goal of the sociology of culture is to apply a systematic approach to the analysis of culture by comparing it with other social phenomena. The concept of culture within the boundaries of this direction does not cover the entire life of society, but only one of its aspects.
Structuralist approach in cultural studies was developed by K. Levi-Strauss and M. Foucault. Levi-Strauss considered the main problem of cultural studies to be the study of the process of transition from nature to culture and used the methods of structural linguistics and the theory of informatics. No less interesting is the playful approach to culture, which is outlined in the works of I. Heizinga and S. Lem (this will be discussed below). A semiotic approach is also spreading, when culture is viewed as a symbolic system. The works of E. Cassirer, Z. Langer, C. Morris, J. Lotman and others are known here; in them attention is focused on the semiotic nature of art in all its varieties (in particular, music, abstract painting), non-instrumental knowledge and a wide range of recreational activities.
And finally, there is a biospheric approach to the study of culture, shared by such scientists as K. Lorenz, B. Skinner, and others, and has heuristic potential. If we consider our planet as an all-encompassing system, then an attempt to understand the culture
tour from the biosphere point of view. This is what K. Lorentz does, postulating in his book "Beyond the Mirror" the following: 1) holistic systems are the subject of evolution, 2) more complex systems have properties that are not reducible to the properties of simple systems of which they are composed. On this basis, he makes an attempt to trace the history of the evolution of systems, from simple cells to complex cultures. In other words, cultures (and civilizations) are part of the biosphere, which itself is a particle of the universe. Within the above approaches, which are often intertwined, there is a variety of schools different types... For example, some researchers adhere to rationalism (N. Levi-Strauss, M. Foucault, Y. Lotman, etc.), others are adherents of irrationalism (K. Jaspers, K. Jung, etc.). Irrationalist ideas about the essence of culture were formed in the "philosophy of life" by Nietzsche, Bergson, the works of the existentialists Jaspers, Sartre, Camus and others.
It is interesting that the above approaches and trends in cultural studies are used by theorists of the national liberation movement and the countries of the so-called "third world" in the fight against the concepts of European cultural studies. So, irrationalism, the culture-anthropological approach is used in such concepts of the cultural and historical process as negrit, Indianism, "black self-consciousness", pan-Arabism, paturkism, etc. The same Negro is a form of the struggle of the value-emotional culture of Negro Berbers against the rational-cold culture of the West.
In the concept of negritude, Negro culture is endowed with features that unite it with nature and cosmic cycles (the concept of negritud was created by L. Senghor). This culture is characterized by the integrity of the perception of the world, developed intuition, and in social terms - by the assertion of justice and mutual assistance. In contrast to Negro culture, according to L. Senghor, the culture of Europeans is a symbol of "cold scientific thinking" and all-embracing analysis. In an effort to cognize and transform nature, this culture actually destroys it. In turn, the development of technology and the widespread use of mechanical devices lead to the leveling of the personality and, as a reaction to this, to the expansion of cruel individualism and violence in the form of class struggle and colonialism. L. Senghor deduces the deep antihumanism of Western culture, the tendency of whites to violence and the seizure of someone else from its paradigm. It is not far from here to the messianism of black Africans to save world civilization from white violence.
Let us now consider the basic concepts of culture that are of Significant Publicity. First of all, let us pay attention to the book by N. Danilevsky (1822-1885) "Russia and Europe", which substantiates the concept of multilinear and closed development of cultures. On the basis of rich empirical material, he put forward a theory of cultural-historical types, which had a great influence on the modern Western philosophy of culture. This theory is a theory of the multiplicity and different quality of human cultures (or civilizations), which contradicts the Eurocentric and linear concept of world culture. Our scientist is characterized in the West as the founder of the now popular approach of spatio-temporal localization of cultural phenomena. ‘N.Ya. Danilevsky divided all original civilizations into three classes: positive, negative figures and civilization serving alien goals. The first includes: Egyptian, Chinese, Assyrian, Indian, Iranian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Arabian, German-Roman (European) and Buryat. To them should be added the Mexican and Peruvian civilizations that did not have time to complete their development. These cultural and historical types are positive figures in the history of mankind, they contributed to the progress of the human spirit. The second class is formed by negative cultural and historical types (Huns, Mongols, Turks) that help “to give up the spirit of civilizations fighting death”. The third class includes those civilizations that are beginning to develop (Finns, etc.), which are not destined to play either a creative or destructive role in the history of mankind, because they became part of other civilizations “as ethnographic material”.
According to the theory of N.Ya. Danilevsky, humanity is by no means something single, a "living whole", it is rather a living element, cast into forms similar to organisms. The largest of these forms are the "cultural-historical types", which have their own lines of development. There are common features and connections between them, expressing the universal humanity, which exists only in the nationality. The originality of the main idea of \u200b\u200bN.Ya. Danilevsky is that the common thread in the development of mankind is rejected, the idea of \u200b\u200bhistory as the progress of a certain common, or "world", reason, a certain common civilization, which is identified with the European one, is rejected. Such a civilization simply does not exist, there are many developing individual civilizations, each of which contributes to the common treasury of mankind. And although these civilizations are replaced and disappear, humanity lives, constantly using this common treasure and becoming more and more rich. This is in what area and what progress in the general course of history was recognized by our compatriot.
One of the supporters of the position of N. Ya. Danilevsky was the famous writer, diplomat and historian K. Leontiev (1831-1891). He entered cultural studies as the author of the collection "East, Russia and Slavs". K. Leont'ev generally shared the concept of the closed development of Danilevsky's cultures, but, unlike him, he associated belonging to one or another cultural-historical type not so much with the national as with the religious confession. In this, K. Leont'ev anticipated A. Toynbee's concept of local cultures. So, the creation of the Russian-Slavic type of culture, he, first of all, associated with the strengthening of Orthodoxy and the return to sovereign Byzantism.
Considering that political democracy is hostile to the essence of culture, K. Leont'ev was an ardent opponent of the revolutionary movement. At the same time, he criticized tsarism, but "from the right." At the end of his life he advocated the unification of the autocracy with the socialist movement; uniting the efforts of tsarism and the Catholic Church in the struggle against the liberal democratic forces of Europe.
The theory of N.Ya. Danilevsky had a strong influence on the work of the German thinker O. Spengler, anticipating many of the provisions of his famous book "The Decline of Europe". It pronounced a harsh sentence on modern Western civilization for its bare technicalism and lack of life-giving organic principles. O. Spengler distinguishes between possible (as an idea) and actual (in the form of the body of an idea) culture that is accessible to a person's perception: actions and moods, religion and state, art and sciences, peoples and cities, economic and social forms, languages, law, customs, characters, facial features and clothing. History, like life in its making, is the realization of a possible culture: “Cultures are organisms. The history of culture is their biography ... The history of culture is the realization of its possibilities ”.
In Spengler's concept, cultures are incommensurable with each other, because each of them has its own primordial symbol (soul), its own specific mathematics, its own art, etc. World history as a whole is like a motley meadow on which completely different beautiful flowers grow, not similar to each other. At the same time, it should be noted that, like organisms, cultures have their own phases of development, namely: spring, summer, autumn and winter (civilization). In relation to spiritual life, this means, accordingly, the awakening of the soul enveloped in dreams and the creation of powerful works by it, a consciousness close to maturity, the highest point of strictly mental creativity and the extinction of spiritual creative power. Hence follows the death of Western civilization, emphasizes its doom. However, it is not very well known that at the end of his life O. Spengler reconsidered his views on the disappearance of Western civilization and came to the conclusion that the West will be reborn in the future; literally this conclusion sounds like this: "Rise of Europe".
O. Spengler's influence on cultural studies went far beyond the German tradition, and the most prominent researcher who fell under this influence was the famous scientist A. Toynbee (1889-1975). In his famous 12-volume essay, A Study of History, he expounds the concept of local cultures. In methodology A. Toynbee was an empiricist, while N. Danilevsky and O. Shpengler rather proceeded from generalizing attitudes. However, like all supporters of the multilinear development of cultures, he divides the history of mankind into local civilizations, each of which is a "monad" in the Leibnizian sense of the word. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe unity of human civilization is, in his opinion, a misunderstanding of the European tradition generated by Christianity.
In the 12th volume of "Studies in History" A. Toynbee lists 13 advanced civilizations: Western, Orthodox, Islamic, Indian, Antique, Syrian, Chinese, Indus civilization, Aegean, Egyptian, Sumerian-Akkadian, Andean, Central American. Until our time, only 5 active civilizations have survived: Western, Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Orthodox. Each civilization goes through four stages in its development: emergence, growth, breakdown and decay, after which it dies, and another civilization takes its place, i.e. before us is the concept of the historical cycle of civilizations.
The subject of the philosophy of culture is the phenomenon of culture. It is one of the broadest and most ambiguous categories of philosophy, as well as socio-humanitarian science in general. Culture is a form of human activity to create, reproduce and renew their social life, embodied in the material and spiritual values \u200b\u200bproduced.
In philosophy, there are more than 500 definitions of culture as a phenomenon, and their number is constantly increasing. According to the estimates of American cultural scientists A. Kroeber and K. Klaxon, if from 1871 to 1919 there were 7 definitions of culture, then from 1920 to 1950 there were 157 of them. This testifies to the versatility and extreme complexity of culture as a public education. Even in ancient Rome, using the concept of "culture", philosophers tried to clarify the qualitative difference between human society and nature. In the literal sense, the word "culture" means improvement, improvement, processing, care. Initially, it concerned agricultural practice, the use of nature with the help of technical tools for human purposes. This fundamental cultural significance has survived to this day - "cultivator", "cultivation of the land", etc. Over time, the concept of "culture" has significantly enriched, began to be used as an indicator of a person's education, a measure of the development of society. It was used to distinguish an ancient Roman or a Greek from a barbarian, a European person from a savage, a well-mannered person from an "uncultured" one.
In a broad philosophical sense, culture is everything created by man, in contrast to that generated by nature. In this sense the Italian philosopher G. Veko applied the concept of "culture". Culture is also certified as a second nature, a social environment created by human labor and energy.
Focusing both on the differences between culture and nature and their connections, researchers note that culture exists in spite of nature and at the same time thanks to it. This dialectical connection mediates human activity, which continuously, during the life of 1200 generations of people, focuses the accumulated experience, cultural heritage, knowledge, skills and abilities of mankind in the forms and types of culture.
Culturology explores general issues of culture.
Culturology (lat.cultura-care, development and logos - teaching) is a science that studies the essence, internal laws of culture, explains the various and diverse cultural phenomena that have accumulated over the centuries in various areas of natural science, social and humanitarian, technical and technological knowledge.
This term was introduced by the American cultural researcher L. White (Science of Culture, 1949). The deep foundation of culturology as a general theory of culture, according to the German romantic philosopher Adam Müller (1779-1829), is cultural philosophy - a philosophical view of culture.
in relation to philosophy, the term "philosophical culture" is often used. It expresses the realization that philosophy is the creation of the spiritual creativity of mankind, it is not just included in culture, but is also a decisive cultural force capable of expressing the dynamic forces of culture. In this sense, philosophy acts as the self-awareness of culture. "Philosophy is the only area of \u200b\u200bthe spirit, which is a reflection on the entire culture, its tendencies" (V. Torosyan).
Philosophy of culture is a branch of philosophical knowledge that studies the worldview aspects of the spiritual creativity of people, which is embodied in the creation of culture.
The philosophy of culture, in contrast to cultural studies (cultural anthropology, professional culture, history of culture, etc.), leaves out of the research "secondary" subjects of cultural life, leaving them to specific cultural sciences. Philosophical culturology is a science that clarifies the essence of the foundations and universal principles of culture, studies the worldview aspects of human creativity, which is manifested in the continuous process of manufacturing, disseminating and using both material, social and spiritual values. In accordance with this, material, spiritual and social cultures are distinguished, which are divided into numerous types of culture - technical, industrial, everyday, managerial, scientific, political, moral, artistic and aesthetic, etc. Culture is present in all spheres of human life, it invariably and constantly accompanies all forms of its life, determines the quality of human relations. Therefore, the subject of attention of cultural philosophy is the problems of the professional culture of a doctor, teacher, lawyer, economist, manager, worker in the field of tourism, etc.
The essence of culture can be grasped only through human activity. It is no coincidence that Cicero called philosophy "the culture of the soul" (Tustlansky Conversations, 45 BC), emphasizing that culture is an indicator of "quality", evidence of the maturity of his thinking, "reliability" of behavior, nobility of actions. In this aspect, culture is synonymous with "genuine humanity". “Whoever wants to know what a person is, he also has and above all knows what culture is” (G. Landeman).
Culture is also a phenomenon of "human self-determination" (V. Bibler). In cultural activity, a person is created, and in anticultural activity, its degradation.
One of the main tasks of culture is the formation of an educated, civilized personality. In this sense, culture is opposed to counterculture - attitudes, norms of behavior and forms of "mastering the world", alternative to the normal, civilized, generally accepted world outlook and attitude. Counterculture includes various manifestations of deviant (Latin - deviation) behavior - drunkenness, debauchery, hooliganism, drug addiction, criminal offenses, etc. Primitive, rough, vulgar morality is often attested as "cave ethics", that is, as the behavior of a savage, primitive man, which is guided by atavistic instincts and differs little from the animal. it is often described as "anti-culture". The concept of "counterculture" is also used to define a special type of youth subculture, which challenges the established norms and values \u200b\u200bof traditional culture, is a multifaceted social experimentation.
In the structure of culture as a certain integral organism, the following elements are distinguished:
a) substantial - value-cultural institutions and systems of norms (morality, religion, everyday behavior, communication of individuals (etiquette));
b) functional - traditions, rituals, customs, prohibitions (taboos), which are unwritten regulators of the culture functioning process.
According to L. Bayt, in the structure of culture as a system, it is legitimate to distinguish between technological, social and ideological subsystems that cover all forms and manifestations of culture.
In the theoretical and philosophical doctrine of culture, the question of the relationship between culture and civilization, initiated by W. Spengler, is often raised. Civilization is a big stage in the cultural evolution of mankind. The countdown of civilizational progress began 3.5 thousand years BC. e. with the emergence of a primary civilization that arose directly from the primary society. According to A.-J. Toynbee (Civilization before the Test, 1948), the main features of civilization are the emergence of monumental architecture, the emergence of writing, the development of cities.
According to Spengler, each culture is a kind of original organism that has a unique spiritual basis ("the soul of culture"), a certain age of its existence (1200 - 1500 pp.). "Each culture is in deeply symbolic connection with matter and space in which and through which it seeks to be realized" ("The Decline of the West", 1920). Over time, culture freezes, dies off, its blood coagulates, its forces break down - it becomes a civilization. Therefore, Spengler argued, "culture" and "civilization" are not identical concepts. Civilization is a "frozen culture" that loses its dynamics, the ability to develop. Culture is the opposite of civilization, external to man. Modern culturologists are convinced that the transformation of culture into civilization, its "ossification" is one of the regularities of the world cultural process.
Kulturfilosofiya conceptually connects various interrelated issues: essence, signs and properties, historical types and varieties, patterns of the emergence and evolution of culture, etc. The philosophy of culture examines the laws of the cultural process at all its main stages; the functional purpose of culture, by means of which the spiritual and practical development of the world takes place; the conceptual apparatus of culture. In this aspect, the universals of culture are determined - the most general, unchanging (invariant) concept, principles, criteria of culture. Due to the presence of such universals, culture at all stages of its historical development retains a certain consistency and unity of the main structural elements. Thanks to this, cultural values \u200b\u200bare not only preserved, but also transmitted, inherited, transmitted, forming a solid platform for the civilizational existence of mankind. On the basis of cultural universals, the reproduction and renewal of the most characteristic samples of the cultural creativity of the people takes place. This is evidenced by the process of cultural revival in modern Ukraine. Culturologists distinguish between the following cultural universals:
a) general value concepts and generalizations that relate to objects of cultural and philosophical research - worldview, space, time, movement, culture, history, civilization, etc. The concepts of "culture", "culture", "cultural space", "movement (development - decline) of culture" are fundamental in culturological knowledge;
b) value ideas and generalizations that relate to the subjects of cultural activity and their evaluative attitude to cultural objects - a person, community, ethnos, as well as beauty, goodness, hope, creativity, etc.
At the heart of any historical, regional, national culture, you can always find a system of interconnected universals. The philosophy of culture fixes a kind of unity of these essential foundations of the cultural life of society, takes them into account, clarifying the structure, functional features of culture. This provision of the Spengler concept of culture is the subject of controversy. Some of its participants envisage the decline of the European "old" culture, which over time, like the Babylonian culture or the Mayan culture, will disappear, they are opposed by supporters of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe formation of a qualitatively new general civilizational culture of the information type.
In this regard, the problem of universal (universal) and national in culture is actualized. A common human culture is common, characteristic of any representative of the human race. In the modern world, this concept has, first of all, a moral, value load, therefore it is no coincidence that it is designated as "universal values". A special place in the philosophy of culture is occupied by the problem of cultural values \u200b\u200b- the basis of culture, which determines the characteristics of its specific varieties, an important component of the general philosophical theory of values.
National culture - a set of values \u200b\u200binherent in a particular nation, specific forms of life of a particular ethnic group (mountain peoples, the population of islands, coastal or desert territories). For example, the national culture of Ukrainians is the culture of the forest-steppe East Slavic type, which is based on the ideas of Orthodoxy, and classical architecture has baroque features. National culture mainly manifests itself in the forms of spiritual life (language, artistic creativity, peculiarities of folk customs, etc.). Language is an important element of the national culture.
The national is not the antipode of the universal. On the contrary, it personifies, “personifies” the essence of the spiritual, moral principle inherent in all of humanity. Ethnic groups, nationalities, nations form humanity only in coexistence and interaction. "The universal is ensured only when it rests on the own nationality of each people" (F. Dostoevsky). National culture replenishes the common human culture when the values \u200b\u200bdeveloped in it become the property of all mankind, fall into the common cultural treasury. The content of the world cultural process is revealed only through the exchange of values \u200b\u200bof each culture. Taking into account the originality of Ukrainian national culture, folk traditions, customs, types of management, norms of behavior, one cannot but take into account the fact that Ukrainian culture has been under the strong influence of Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and other cultures for centuries.
The most important condition for the existence of any ethnos as an integral system is the "integral functions of culture". "Rid the ethnos of internal cultural ties, and it will inevitably be assimilated" (Y. Bromley).
The philosophy of culture not only reveals the essential features of culture, its regularities and tendencies, but also finds out, defines the "blank spots" in cultural knowledge, formulates its problems. Its section, which speaks of the contradictions of the modern cultural process, crisis situations that constantly accompany the progress of culture, is designated as problematic relevance. The problem of the crisis of the European-American culture of the XX-XXI centuries, the specificity of cultural transformations in modern civilization is acutely debatable. For the young Ukrainian state, the issue of combining national cultural values, traditions with the achievements of world culture is significant. It is also important to clarify the relationship of secular (secular) culture, including science, education, and the culture of various religious confessions, primarily Orthodoxy, mass, avant-garde ("popular") culture with the culture of elite, classical. A separate section in the philosophy of culture is the question of the prospects for cultural progress in the modern information society.
