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Philosophy is its subject, structure, function. Subject, structure and functions of philosophy Structure and functions of philosophy

The subject of philosophy is the universal properties and connections (relations) of reality - nature, society, man, the relationship between objective reality and the subjective world, material and ideal, being and thinking. The universal is the properties, connections, relationships inherent in both objective reality and the subjective world of Man. Quantitative and qualitative certainty, structural and cause-and-effect relationships and other properties, connections relate to all spheres of reality: nature, society, consciousness. The subject of philosophy must be distinguished from the problems of philosophy. The problems of philosophy exist objectively, independently of philosophy itself.

The central ideological problem is the relationship of man to the world, consciousness to matter, spirit to nature, the difference between the mental and the physical, the ideal and the material, etc. In society, human values- ideas of humanism, moral principles, aesthetic and other criteria that are common to all people. Thus, we can talk about the worldview of the entire society at a certain stage of historical development.

Deployed system philosophical knowledge includes:

· the doctrine of the world as a whole, of the global forces driving it, of the universal laws of its organization - this is ontology (ontos - being);

· the doctrine of man, his nature and the organization of his activities is anthropology (anthropos - man);

· the doctrine of knowledge, its foundations, possibilities and boundaries - this is epistemology;

· the doctrine of society and human history, which considers humanity as a whole - this is social philosophy;

· the doctrine of the nature of values ​​is axiology.

Specific philosophical sciences are adjacent to the complex of general philosophical knowledge:

· ethics - the doctrine of morality;

· aesthetics - the doctrine of beauty, of artistic creativity;

Logic - the study of the rules of thinking;

· religion.

A special area is the history of philosophy, since most philosophical problems are considered in the context of previous experience in solving them.



As a rule, in the works of specific philosophers, not all sections are presented equally fully. In addition, in certain periods of cultural history, different sections alternately come to the fore.

Understanding a person’s relationship to the world, the general laws of reality, and one’s own life position can be achieved in various ways. That is why they talk about levels of philosophical thinking that differ in degrees of abstraction and form of presentation. Ordinary philosophy at the level of practical thinking is an awareness of the principles of one’s life as a manifestation of fundamental values.

As a special type of spiritual activity, philosophy is directly related to the socio-historical practice of people, and therefore is focused on solving certain social problems and performs a variety of functions:

1. The most important of them is worldview, which determines a person’s ability to combine in a generalized form all knowledge about the world into an integral system, considering it in unity and diversity.

2. The methodological function of philosophy is the logical-theoretical analysis of the scientific and practical activities of people. Philosophical methodology determines the direction of scientific research and makes it possible to navigate the infinite variety of facts and processes occurring in the objective world.

3. The epistemological (cognitive) function of philosophy provides an increase in new knowledge about the world.

4. The socio-communicative function of philosophy allows it to be used in ideological, educational and managerial activities, forms the level of the subjective factor of the individual, social groups, and society as a whole.

Among the Stoics (IV century BC), philosophy included:

· logic;

· physics, or the study of nature;

· ethics, the doctrine of man.

The last one is the most important. The scheme has retained its significance to this day. In the 17th century In the bosom of general systems of philosophy, the theory of knowledge (epistemology) was developed and developed. She considered not only the abstract theoretical level, but also the sensory level of knowledge. What ancient philosophers called physics received a different name in the philosophy of later centuries - ontology.

A significant restructuring and rethinking of the structure of philosophical knowledge was carried out by I. Kant. The “Critique of Judgment” talks about three parts of philosophy, correlated with three “faculties of the soul,” which were understood as cognitive, practical (desire, will) and aesthetic abilities inherent in a person from birth. Kant understands philosophy as the doctrine of the unity of truth, goodness and beauty, which significantly expands its narrow rationalist understanding as just a theory or methodology of scientific knowledge, which was adhered to first by the Enlightenmentists and then by the positivists.

Hegel builds his system in the form of the “Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences”. Like the Stoics and Kant, Hegel also names three parts of philosophical knowledge, which he designates in strict sequence:

· logic;

· philosophy of nature;

· philosophy of spirit.

To the latter he includes a complex of philosophical sciences about state and law, world history, art, religion and philosophy itself.

Nowadays social philosophy (philosophy of history) and philosophy of science, ethics and aesthetics, philosophical cultural studies and history of philosophy are distinguished.

Philosophy poses two main questions to a person:

What comes first - thinking or being?

· whether we know the world.

From the solution of these questions, the main directions of philosophy begin to emerge - idealism and materialism, gnosticism and agnosticism.

The common values ​​of humanity ultimately converge on three basic concepts: truth, goodness, beauty. Fundamental values ​​are supported by society, and the main spheres of culture are formed and developed around them. Basic values ​​in these areas are taken for granted. Philosophy addresses directly all fundamental values, making their essence the subject of analysis. For example, science uses the concept of truth by asking what is true in a given case.

Philosophy considers the following questions about truth:

What is truth?

· in what ways can one distinguish between truth and error;

· truth is universal or everyone has their own;

· can people comprehend the truth or just form opinions;

· what means of knowing the truth do we have, are they reliable, are they sufficient?

Questions about goodness:

What is the origin of good and evil?

· can it be said that one of them is stronger;

What kind of person should be?

· whether there is a sublime and base way of life, or is it all vanity;

· whether there is an ideal state of society, state.

Beauty Questions:

· whether beauty and ugliness are properties of things, or is it just our opinion;

· how and why ideas about beauty change.

As a result, philosophy turns out to be a necessary development of other spheres of culture. Philosophy brings together knowledge from various fields, and therefore many defined it as the science of the most general laws of nature, society and thinking (this is not a complete description of its subject).

In addition to the global values ​​of humanity, philosophy explores the values ​​of individual existence: freedom, personal self-realization, choice, boundaries of existence.

Philosophy is a set of views on life, nature, the world and the place of man in them. Philosophy is based on logic and knowledge, based on clear concepts and terms. This is what distinguishes her from her religious worldview.

Worldview is a person’s view of the world and his place in it. Philosophical rationality, logic and theoretical background. Philosophy arose out of people's need to justify their existence and the existence of the world as a whole.

Philosophy originated in the times of Ancient Greece, where great scientists and thinkers thought about who we are and why we exist. Plato, for example, believed that truth is accessible only to philosophers who were born with a pure soul and a broad mind. Aristotle believed that philosophy should study the causes of being. Thus, everyone saw their own philosophy in philosophy, but the essence did not change - knowledge is acquired for the sake of knowledge itself. The subject of philosophy developed along with the world, the development of science and technology, and changes in spiritual life. Over time, many scientific movements of philosophy have emerged, which cover a wide range of knowledge, time periods and stages of human development.

Structure of philosophy

The general structure of philosophy consists of four subject sections of its study.

1. Theory of values ​​(axiology). Axiology deals with the study of values ​​as the basis of human existence, motivating a person for a better life.

2. Being (ontology). Ontology explains the relationship between the world and man, examines the structure and principles of existence. The structure of knowledge in ontology changes depending on time and era, trends in the development of philosophy, and the surrounding world. It is one of the foundations of metaphysics.

3. Cognition (epistemology). Epistemology is aimed at studying the theory of knowledge, engages in research and criticism. Considers the relationship of the subject of cognition to the object of cognition. The subject must have reason and will, and the object must be a phenomenon of nature or the world that is not subject to his will.

4. Logic is the science of correct thinking. Logic develops, for example, as set theory, is used in mathematical justifications of theories, describes terms and concepts (in modal logic).

5. Ethics. The science of morality and human morality, connecting human behavior and the world around us. She studies the very essence of morality, its causes and consequences, which leads to the justification of the moral culture of society.

6. Aesthetics - studies the beautiful, the perfect. As a philosophical science, it studies the relationship between beauty and the formation of taste in humanity, the relationship between man and art.

SUBJECT, STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

1. Subject of philosophy. Religious, scientific and philosophical pictures of the world.

2. Philosophy as a worldview. The main question of philosophy.

3. Structure and functions of philosophy.

1. Subject of philosophy. Religious, scientific and philosophical pictures of the world.F Philosophy translated from ancient Greek means “love of wisdom.” In ancient times, when separate sciences did not exist, philosophy included all human knowledge about himself and the world around him. She studied everything that existed. As knowledge accumulated, independent sciences emerged from philosophy: mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and social sciences. But philosophy did not split into separate sciences. She still studies everything that exists - nature, society, man - but only at the level of generalizations and the most important conclusions. Special sciences study individual objects of nature and society, and philosophy paints a general picture of the world. Philosophy studies the most general principles and laws by which the world works.

Philosophy occupies a special place in the system of sciences. It is the top of the pyramid of sciences, uniting and generalizing all knowledge about the world: natural sciences, social sciences, humanities. Any fundamental science at the level of its most important conclusions and generalizations turns into philosophy.

At the same time, philosophy is not the sum of the conclusions of particular sciences. She has her own subject of study. Therefore, it develops independently, although it interacts with private sciences. Philosophical ideas, as a rule, are ahead of the development of other sciences, because the overall picture is created before individual details are clarified.

Thus, the object of philosophy is the whole world, everything that exists. Subject of philosophy– these are the most common problems of the development of nature, society and man.

It is customary to distinguish between religious, scientific and philosophical pictures of the world. The religious picture of the world is based on belief in the supernatural. It is dogmatic and changes little over time. The scientific picture of the world is based on experience and evidence. It's constantly changing. The philosophical picture of the world, like the scientific one, is rationally justified and based on experience. But it differs from the scientific picture of the world in that it is more general. According to many, philosophy is not a science, but a special form of worldview, a special form of man’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.

2.Philosophy as a worldview, the main question of philosophy. Worldview is a system of a person’s general ideas about the world as a whole, about nature and society, about himself and his place in this world. The everyday worldview is formed in everyday life experiences. The scientific worldview is formed by the entire complex of sciences. But the theoretical basis of any worldview is philosophy, because it answers the most common questions. Among them, the main question stands out, on the solution of which the solution of all the others depends.

According to a number of philosophers, the main question of philosophy is the question of the relationship between matter and consciousness. Man knows two main types of reality – material and immaterial (spiritual, ideal). Matter is an objective reality, i.e. everything that really exists independently of the will and consciousness of people. The inner world of human consciousness is subjective reality - thoughts, images, feelings. Unlike material objects, thoughts do not have physical characteristics and do not obey material laws.

Already in ancient times, people posed the question: what comes first – matter or consciousness? In resolving the main issue, all philosophers were divided into materialists and idealists. Materialists consider matter to be primary, and idealists consider consciousness or some other immaterial force that generates matter and controls material processes.

There are two main types of idealism: 1) Objective idealists consider any spiritual principle located outside of man (objective) to be primary. Variety objective idealism is religion. 2) Subjective idealists consider the consciousness of the person (subject) himself to be the primary reality. An extreme option - solipsism - is a doctrine that recognizes human consciousness as the only reality.

Materialism and idealism together are examples of the principle called “monism” and according to which the basis of being is one principle: material or spiritual. There is also dualism - this is a principle whose supporters recognize two equal bases of existence, or two equivalent types of reality. For example, they recognize the eternal parallel coexistence of material and immaterial reality.

The main question of philosophy also has a second side: is the world knowable? This is also a question about the relationship between matter and consciousness, but not in the sense of what is primary, but in how material reality is reflected in consciousness. Is a person capable of having reliable knowledge about the world? Can we know the world as it is in itself? Is it possible to explain the essence, or do we always only describe phenomena given to us in experience in sensations? Some believe that the world is knowable, that a person is capable of obtaining reliable knowledge. Others believe that the world is unknowable, that a person can never be sure of the truth of his knowledge. Agnosticism is philosophical doctrine, which denies the knowability of the world, recognizing the fundamental impossibility of knowing objective reality through human subjective experience.

Structure and functions of philosophy.

Structure of philosophical knowledge:

1) History of philosophy.

2) Ontology (the study of being) is a section of philosophy that studies the most general principles and characteristics of being.

3) Epistemology (theory of knowledge) is a branch of philosophy that studies the general laws of human cognitive activity.

4) Social philosophy is a branch of philosophy that studies society.

5) Philosophical anthropology – the study of man.

6) Axiology – the doctrine of values.

7) Ethics is the science of morality.

8) Aesthetics is the science of beauty.

9) Logic is the science of thinking.

Functions of philosophy:

1. Worldview function. Philosophy helps to form a holistic worldview that a person needs in any activity, including everyday activities. Have philosophical worldview- means to have the deepest and most comprehensive understanding of the world, to understand fundamental laws and relationships. Broad philosophical knowledge helps a person analyze emerging problems and make the right decisions. Philosophical knowledge also helps to form strong life principles and beliefs that give strength to overcome difficulties.

2. Methodological function. Philosophy formulates a system of concepts, principles, laws and methods of cognition that are used in all sciences and in everyday thinking, i.e. are universal methods of cognition.

3. Critical function. Philosophy criticizes misconceptions and prejudices that interfere with the knowledge of truth.

4. Axiological function. Philosophy participates in the formation of a system of values ​​accepted by individuals and society as a whole. Figuratively speaking, philosophy is the “conscience of the era,” in which society’s spiritual search for ideals, guidelines, and values ​​is reflected as in a mirror.

5. Practical function. Philosophy formulates the general goals of the practical transformation of nature and society. The history of philosophy knows many examples when philosophical ideas did not remain only in people’s heads or on the pages of books, but were put into practice, changing the life of society and the course of history. Thus, at one time, the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment became the ideological preparation for the Great French Revolution and the War of Independence in the United States, and subsequently led to the formation of the modern appearance of Europe and America. The philosophy of Marxism became the basis of political theory, which was embodied in the activities of communist parties in various countries and radically changed the course of history of the twentieth century.

HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

PHILOSOPHY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

1. 1 The emergence of philosophy.

2. Philosophy of Ancient India.

3. Philosophy of Ancient China.

4. Philosophy of the pre-Socratic period in Ancient Greece.

5. Ancient Greek philosophy of the classical period: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.

6. Philosophy of the Hellenistic period.

The emergence of philosophy.

There are three historical types of worldview - mythology, religion and philosophy. Before the emergence of philosophy, the religious and mythological worldview dominated the public consciousness. Its features: 1) belief in the supernatural, erasing the boundaries of the possible and impossible, 2) lack of understanding of the differences between nature and man, anthropomorphism, i.e. transfer of human properties to nature, zoomorphism - transfer of properties of the animal world to society; 3) syncretism, i.e. integrity, interweaving of religious, artistic and moral ideas. 4) illogicality, i.e. underdevelopment of logic, the use of sensory images rather than abstract concepts.

Philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, almost simultaneously in the countries of the West and East (India, China, Greece). Prerequisites for the emergence of philosophy: the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the emergence of commodity-money relations, the decomposition of tribal relations, the emergence of the first states, a critical attitude towards power and traditional religions. The material life of society became more complex and created a need for scientific knowledge. Religious and mythological ideas did not satisfy the increased needs of society. Unlike religion and mythology, philosophy sought a rational explanation for natural phenomena and social practice.

Philosophy of Ancient India.

The oldest religion in India is Brahmanism, whose sacred books were the Vedas and the Upanishads. Brahmanism is based on the belief that the root cause of the whole world is an immaterial force - Brahman. Brahmanism reinforced the division of society into castes. Under the influence of criticism of Brahmanism, six classical religious and philosophical teachings arose: Vedanta, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa. Three non-classical teachings also arose: Charvaka (Lokayata), Jainism, Buddhism. The philosophical ideas of ancient Indian philosophy were expounded in the books “Mahabharata” and “Bhagavad Gita”.

Basic principles and ideas of ancient Indian philosophy: 1) Most of the teachings were idealistic, i.e. presupposing one or another immaterial origin of the world, recognizing the spiritual basis of being. The Charvaka doctrine was materialistic, according to which the beginning includes four elements: water, air, fire and earth. 2) a dialectical idea appeared about the struggle of opposites - being and non-being, order and chaos (sat and asat), one and multiple. 3) The idea of ​​reincarnation, i.e. transmigration of souls into the bodies of other living beings. Samsara is an endless chain of rebirths. Karma is the sum of a person’s good and evil deeds, on which rebirth depends. 4) The principle of ahimsa - non-harm to living things, environmentalism (respect for nature). 5) altruism, i.e. recognition of the priority of the interests and needs of others (the opposite of selfishness).

The essence of Buddhism: 1) Life is filled with suffering; 2) the cause of suffering is desire; 3) there is a way to get rid of suffering - the middle one eightfold path: fulfillment of moral standards, asceticism, meditation. This path helps to break the chain of rebirths and achieve nirvana, a state of consciousness in which all desires fade away.

Philosophy of Ancient China.

In China, the most influential religious and philosophical teachings were Mohism, Legalism, Taoism (philosopher Lao Tzu), and from the 2nd century. before. AD Confucianism became the state ideology. The oldest religious and philosophical books are “Shi Jing” (“Canon of Poems”) and “I Ching” (“Book of Changes”). In the “Book of Changes” there was a transition from mythology to philosophy, dialectical ideas appeared: the idea of ​​variability and the idea of ​​the struggle of opposites. It was believed that from the primeval chaos two spirits were born who put the world in order: the male Yang spirit began to rule the sky, and the female Yin spirit began to rule the earth. The book “Canon of Poems” established the cult of heaven. Heaven (tian) is the divine principle that gave birth to humanity and controls it.

In Taoism, the main concept - Tao - is the beginning of the world, incorporeal, infinite, eternally moving.

The main book of Confucius is “Lun Yu”. The core of Confucianism is ethics, distributing responsibilities, requiring strict adherence to rules, adherence to etiquette, rituals, and traditions. Confucianism formed the ideal of the perfect person. A “noble husband” must be kind, honest, courageous, respect elders in age and status, fulfill duties, and observe the golden rule of ethics. Confucianism reinforced social inequality, collectivism and suppressed individuality.

PHILOSOPHY OF NEW TIMES.

1. general characteristics philosophy of the 17th-18th centuries.

2. Philosophy of the French Enlightenment.

3. German classical philosophy. I. Kant.

4. Philosophy of Hegel.

5. Philosophy of L. Feuerbach.

6. Philosophical irrationalism. A. Schopenhauer.

Philosophy of F. Nietzsche (1844-1900).

Nietzsche's philosophy is based on the concept of life as a biological phenomenon and as the highest value. Everything that serves to elevate life and improve it is valuable. Nietzsche agrees with Schopenhauer that the driving force in the development of life is the will, but not the will to live, but the will to power. On this basis - the presence of the will to power - people are not equal, they are divided into strong and weak, into a race of masters and a race of slaves. The first are born to command, and by their nature do not know how to obey. The latter find it more convenient to obey someone else's will. The Master Race has become the highest achievement of evolution, in which life and the will to power reach their maximum strength.

If in society, as in nature, the strongest would win, then humanity would improve. But man emerged from the animal world, and evolution stopped. In society, the weakest wins. A race of slaves, devoid of fortitude, came up with an excuse for their weakness in the form of morality, religion, and law. Morality and religion teach compassion and helping the weak. The law protects the weak from the strong. Slaves win in numbers, forcing the powerful to fulfill their norms. Their morality is revenge on the powerful, legalized envy. In nature, the weak die and progress occurs. In society, the weak are helped and regression occurs. As a result, human development has stalled in an insignificant state.

But Nietzsche hopes that artificial barriers will not stop the evolution of life. Nature once made a leap, the monkey became a man. But man is only a transitional stage. There will be a new leap - and a new biological species will appear - a superman, a “blue-eyed blond beast.” He will cast aside morality and law as unnecessary fetters. He will not obey anyone - neither God, nor the state, nor other people. The superman values ​​beauty and health, strives for the sublime, and improves himself. The superman appreciates life and its joys, but is not afraid of suffering, because... struggle and suffering strengthen the will. The superman respects the strong, but has no compassion for the weak. He will build a new society where beauty and strength will take the place of compassion and pity.

Nietzsche's merit is that he drew attention to the weaknesses and vices of man. His dream of the superman is a belief in man's ability to improve himself. Nietzsche's philosophy combines love and contempt for people. Therefore, some consider it an example of humanism, and some consider it the basis of fascism.

3. Positivism. Supporters of this philosophical school believed that science should only describe the facts of experience. Positivists criticized philosophy (both idealist and materialist) for making assumptions that cannot be verified by experience. They called this philosophy metaphysics. Scientific philosophy should combine the conclusions of particular sciences, but not go beyond their limits.

Stages of development of positivism (varieties):

1) “first” positivism(O. Comte, G. Spencer) (30-40s of the 19th century).

2) empirio-criticism- subjective idealistic doctrine of the late 19th century. (E. Mach, R. Avenarius). They believed that a person cannot know how the outside world works, he only knows his sensations. The world for a person is a set of sensations, elements of the world. Therefore, thinking should be limited to describing a person’s own feelings. They called this the principle of economy of thought.

3) Neopositivism (logical positivism(20-30s of the 20th century) , analytical philosophy(since the 50s of the twentieth century). (L. Wittgenstein, B. Russell). This trend originated in Europe, but later became the most popular philosophy in the United States. They reduced philosophy to the analysis of language, scientific terms and logic. They used the principle of verification, according to which the truth of a judgment is verified by experience. They decomposed scientific knowledge into separate atomic propositions that can be verified experimentally. All other scientific judgments must be derived from atomic ones.

4) Critical rationalism (mid-20th century). Representatives of this direction were engaged in the philosophy of science, looking for clear criteria to separate scientific knowledge from non-scientific knowledge. For example, K. Popper introduced the principle of falsification, according to which scientific knowledge is knowledge that can be refuted. Knowledge that in principle cannot be refuted is not scientific (truths of religion, philosophical metaphysics).

5) postpositivism/historical school/ (60-70s of the twentieth century). (T. Kuhn, I. Lakatos, P. Feyerabend, Toulmin) They studied the history of science, how scientific knowledge grew, how scientific revolutions took place.

HISTORY OF RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHY

1. Formation and main features of Russian philosophy.

2. Development of revolutionary democratic ideas in Russia.

3. Russian religious philosophy.

1. Formation and main features of Russian philosophy. Russian philosophy is part of world philosophy, but at the same time, it has national characteristics. The formation of Russian philosophy began in the 11th century, after the adoption of Christianity in Ancient Rus'. It was influenced by: 1) pagan beliefs of the Slavic tribes, 2) Christian theology (Byzantine and Western European), 3) ancient philosophy (Plato, Aristotle). The main problems that interested Russian philosophers: 1) the inner world of man, the problems of good and evil, the meaning of life; 2) social philosophy, the problem of social justice, philosophy of history; 3) features of the Russian national character, the role of Russia in world history (Russian idea).

Until the 18th century Russian philosophy retained a mainly religious character. The most famous representatives of religious and philosophical thought of this period: Metropolitan Hilarion, Maxim the Greek, Kirill of Turov, Philotheus. In the 17th-18th centuries. The influence of European philosophy increased, secularization took place, i.e. gradual liberation of philosophy from the influence of religion. M.V. made a great contribution to the development of philosophical education in Russia. Lomonosov. He was a supporter of deism, believed that God created the world and gave it movement, but in the future nature develops independently according to physical laws. He argued that scientific knowledge of nature does not contradict religious faith.

Russian philosophy reached its greatest flourishing in the 19th century. The discussion about the historical fate of Russia and its future came to the fore. In 1836, the “Telescope” magazine published “Philosophical Letter” by P.Ya. Chaadaev, in which he bitterly reflected on the disastrous state of Russia. He harshly criticized the path of development of Russia, pointing out its lag behind the West. Chaadaev’s letter opened a discussion in which two approaches to determining Russia’s place in world history emerged. 1) Westerners argued that all peoples should follow a common path of development, that Russia should borrow the experience of Western Europe (Kavelin, Granovsky). 2) Slavophiles believed that there are no general laws of development, each nation follows its own path, Russia should develop on the basis of national traditions (Khomyakov, Kireevsky, Aksakov brothers).

2. Development of revolutionary democratic ideas in Russia. The absolute monarchy, serfdom and general backwardness of Russia attracted criticism from the most progressive thinkers. A.N. Radishchev in his work “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” showed the cruel and humiliating essence of serfdom, the slave and powerless position of the people. He was a supporter of the ideas of the Enlightenment, defended human rights and freedoms, and sought the democratization of society. Radishchev's treatise “On Man, His Mortality and Immortality” is devoted to a comparison of idealistic and materialistic teachings about man. He did not give an unambiguous conclusion, but admitted the admissibility of belief in immortality.

At the end of the 18th century 19th centuries Enlightenment ideas penetrate into Russia. They influenced the worldview of the Decembrists and led to the emergence of plans for the revolutionary reorganization of society. Most of the Decembrists adhered to the philosophy of materialism or deism. Under the influence of the ideas of the Decembrists, the ideology of the revolutionary democrats - Herzen, Ogarev, Belinsky, Dobrolyubov, Chernyshevsky - later took shape. Herzen advocated building socialism in Russia on the basis of the peasant community, for educating the people, for combining philosophy with natural science.

N.G. Chernyshevsky was a supporter of Feuerbach's anthropological materialism. In the book “Anthropological Principle in Philosophy,” he defended a materialistic view of man, argued that man is part of nature, obeys the laws of nature, and consciousness is a function of the brain. In the field of ethics, he was a supporter of the principle of reasonable egoism, according to which the desire for happiness is inherent in human nature, but in a reasonably structured society it does not contradict the interests of other people. A person's happiness is harmoniously connected with the happiness of society. In the field of aesthetics, Chernyshevsky defended the principle of realism and argued that art should be a reflection of life. His ideas influenced the formation of nihilism, populism and Russian Marxism.

The philosophy of populism continued the development of socialist ideas, but taking into account the special path of development of Russia. Lavrov and Mikhailovsky developed the subjective method in sociology and social philosophy. They exaggerated the role of the individual in history. Bakunin and Kropotkin were supporters of anarchism and considered the state a force that enslaves people.

One of the first supporters of Marxism in Russia was G.V. Plekhanov. But he believed that Russia was not yet ready to build socialism, that its economy must reach a higher level within the framework of capitalism. IN AND. Lenin believed that after the revolution Russia would be able to quickly overcome economic backwardness. He creatively developed the philosophy of Marxism. He gave a definition of matter, developed a theory of reflection that explains the essence of consciousness, developed a materialist theory of knowledge, dialectics, and social philosophy. The most complete and consistent presentation of their philosophical views IN AND. Lenin gave in his work “Materialism and Empirio-criticism”.

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

1. The essence of the philosophical understanding of knowledge.

2. Stages and forms in man’s knowledge of the world.

3. The problem of truth in the theory of knowledge.

Various phenomena can become the object of human cognition. But the process of cognition itself is also a subject of study. It is studied by psychology, logic, and the physiology of higher nervous activity. The philosophical theory of knowledge (epistemology) studies the general laws of human cognitive activity and answers the second side of the main question of philosophy: is the world knowable?

Different philosophical directions explain the essence of knowledge in different ways. From a religious point of view, the purpose of knowledge is the revelation of divine truths. Objective idealists believe that a person must cognize the spiritual force that rules the world - the Absolute Idea (Hegel), the world will (Schopenhauer), etc. Subjective idealists believe that a person can only know his own consciousness (Hume, Kant, Mach, Avenarius). Proponents of agnosticism deny the possibility of human knowledge of the world.

From the point of view of dialectical-materialistic philosophy, the task of man is knowledge material world, its objective laws, as well as self-knowledge.

Proponents of metaphysical thinking view cognition as passive reflection. Dialectical materialism also represents cognition as reflective, but active. Those. in this process, a person purposefully seeks knowledge, transforming the world around him. Cognition is an active, creative, transformative reflection of reality by a person.

A person experiences the world, first of all, with the help of sensations, which are subjective images of the objective world. Sensations are objective in their source, because they reflect the objective world. They are objective in content, because reflect the world as a whole correctly. The subjectivity of sensations lies in the fact that they arise in the consciousness of the subject, and therefore may differ from person to person.

The process of cognition is endless, because matter is inexhaustible. At the same time, there is nothing in the world that is fundamentally unknowable. What remains unexplained today can be known in the future.

The basis of knowledge is socio-historical practice - this is the material and objective activity of people aimed at transforming nature and society. The difference between practice and theory: the main goal and result of theoretical activity is the creation and change of intangible objects (ideas, plans, knowledge). Practical activities are aimed at changing material objects and processes. Types of practice: industrial practice, socio-political, scientific and experimental, everyday practice, etc. In relation to cognition, practice performs four functions:

1) as the basis of knowledge, practice provides initial information

2) how the driving force of practice creates the need for new knowledge

3) as a criterion of truth, practice allows one to distinguish true knowledge from error.

4) as a goal, practice is the final sphere of application of our knowledge.

Theory and practice are two sides of a single cognitive process. Practice plays a decisive role. It is the real needs of practical life that determine the emergence of new theories. But the theory is also active. When applied in practice, it transforms nature and society.

2. Stages and forms in man’s knowledge of the world. Cognition is a complex dialectical process. From describing superficial phenomena, a person moves on to explaining the essence. Accordingly, this process goes through two main stages - sensory and rational cognition.

Sensory cognition is the initial stage of the cognition process, obtaining information through the senses. It occurs in three main forms: in the form of sensations, perceptions and ideas. Sensation is an elementary form of sensory cognition, a reflection in consciousness of individual features of an object. Perception is the reflection in consciousness of a holistic image of an object. Representation is the repeated reproduction of a visual image of an object, without its direct perception.

The meaning of sensory cognition: 1) the senses are the only channel of information coming directly from outside world; 2) sensory knowledge is the basis for the next stage - rational knowledge. Disadvantages: sensory cognition provides superficial, scattered, contradictory information, reflects phenomena, but does not reveal the essence.

Rational cognition is the acquisition of information using the mind, in the process of logical reasoning. It occurs in three main forms: in the form of concepts, judgments and inferences. A concept is an elementary form of thought that reflects the general and essential characteristics of objects (words and phrases). Judgment is a form of thought in which, with the help of two or more concepts, something about something is affirmed or denied (sentence). Inference is a form of thought in which a new judgment is logically deduced from two or more propositions.

The ability for logical, abstract thinking is a unique evolutionary achievement characteristic only of humans. Rational knowledge allows one to penetrate into the essence of objects and reveal objective laws.

Sensual and rational knowledge are interconnected; they cannot be separated and opposed, as the rationalists and sensualists did. With sensory knowledge, the work of the mind is already present, and rational knowledge is generally impossible without sensory knowledge.

There is a third, not the main stage of cognition. Intuition is the ability to comprehend the truth through its direct perception, without justification by evidence. The condition for intuition is rich experience. But the mechanism of intuitive decision itself is random, irrational, because associated with the unconscious part of the psyche. Intuition plays an important role in solving non-standard problems and in scientific discoveries.

3. The problem of truth in the theory of knowledge. The main goal scientific knowledge is the comprehension of truth. There are different approaches to defining truth. Proponents of pragmatism (American philosophy) consider knowledge that is beneficial to be true. Proponents of conventionalism believe that generally accepted knowledge resulting from agreement is true. The classic definition of truth was given by Aristotle: Truth is knowledge that corresponds to reality.

Truth is always mixed with error, i.e. unintentional acceptance of knowledge that does not correspond to reality as truth. Criteria for truth that make it possible to distinguish it from error: 1) sensory evidence (but feelings can deceive, and facts can be misinterpreted); 2) rational evidence, i.e. reliance on axioms (but axioms are valid only under certain conditions); 3) logical consistency (but logic only confirms the correctness of the form of thought, not the content). These criteria may apply, but they are limited. The real criterion is to compare subjective knowledge with objective reality. Such a criterion is practice - testing knowledge in the practical activities of a person.

Truth is divided into relative and absolute. Relative truth is incomplete, limited knowledge about a subject. Absolute truth is comprehensive, exhaustive knowledge. Relative truth is a particle of the absolute.

Truth is characterized by two principles: 1) The principle of objectivity. Any truth is objective in content, because corresponds to the object, but is subjective in form, because is contained in the human mind and can be expressed in various forms (languages). 2) The principle of specificity. Truth depends on specific conditions. What is true in some conditions may be a fallacy in others (laws of classical, relativistic and quantum mechanics).

The dialectical-materialist understanding of truth is opposed to the views of relativism and dogmatism. Proponents of relativism exaggerate the relativity of truth (each person has his own truth in each individual case). Supporters of dogmatism exaggerate the absoluteness of truth (all truth is eternal, unchangeable, fair in any circumstances).

BASIC LAWS OF DIALECTICS

1. Philosophical concept law. Determinism and indeterminism.

2. The law of unity and struggle of opposites.

3. The law of mutual transition of quantitative and qualitative changes.

4. The law of negation of negation.

1.Philosophical concept of law. Determinism and indeterminism. Determinism is the doctrine of universal natural relationships and interdependence of objects, processes and phenomena. Supporters of determinism believe that the world is orderly, that everything in it is interconnected, and the relationships are natural. Proponents of the opposite doctrine - indeterminism - believe that the world is chaos, randomness prevails in it and any event can happen. At the core modern science lies the principle of determinism.

Types of connections: causal (relationship of cause and effect), structural (relationship between elements of the system), functional (relationship between the properties of an object, expressed by a function), target (teleonomic) - these are connections in which the development of the system is subordinated to a specific goal.

According to the nature of the action, connections can be necessary and random, essential and insignificant, general and individual, temporary and stable, etc. Among the whole variety of connections, there are those that are laws. Law is a necessary, essential, general, stable connection.

Classification of laws:

1) According to the forms of movement, physical, chemical, biological, and social laws are distinguished. 2) According to the nature of the action, laws are divided into dynamic and probabilistic (statistical). Dynamic laws describe the behavior of individual objects and establish an unambiguous relationship between their states (laws of dynamics). Probabilistic (statistical) laws describe the behavior of large populations, but with respect to individual objects they make only probabilistic predictions. These are all the laws of the microworld (Maxwell’s law on the distribution of molecules by speed, Heisenberg’s uncertainty relation). 3) According to the breadth of action, laws are specific, general and universal. Particular laws operate in a narrow area (Ohm's law). General laws operate either in all of nature (the law of conservation of energy), or in society (social laws), or in thinking (the laws of logic). Universal laws operate in nature, in society and in thinking.

The three basic laws of dialectics are universal. They do not directly govern objects, like private or general laws. They manifest themselves as general tendencies of many private connections and laws. The laws of dialectics fix the similarity in the development of any objects. Together they form a general theory of development. Knowledge of the laws of dialectics allows you to better understand the development of an object in order to control it.

2. The law of unity and struggle of opposites. The law of unity and struggle of opposites is the core of dialectics, because it reveals the source, the driving force for the development of any system. It answers the question: why does development occur?

Already in ancient times, people noticed that among the diverse phenomena, those that form pairs, are polar in nature, and occupy extreme positions on a certain scale stand out. Ancient philosophers spoke about the opposition of good and evil, light and darkness.

Opposites are sides of an object, process or phenomenon that are simultaneously mutually exclusive and mutually presuppose each other. The properties of an object, the processes occurring in it, the forces acting on it can be opposite. Arithmetic operations are the opposite. In physics, electric charges, magnetic field poles, action and reaction, order and chaos are opposites; in chemistry - analysis and synthesis, association and dissociation; in biology – heredity and variability, health and disease.

Contradiction is the interaction of opposites, their unity and struggle. They repress and suppress each other, but at the same time they cannot exist without each other. Each of them is itself, relative to its opposite.

There are many different opposites in the world, but among them stand out those whose interaction becomes the cause of change and development of the system. In any developing system there are contradictions, i.e. unity and struggle of opposing properties, forces, processes. Contradictions can lead to the destruction of the system. But if contradictions are resolved, this leads to the development of the system. The absence of contradictions means stability, an equilibrium state of the system. Thus, this law states that the cause, the source of any development is contradictions.

Philosophy (from the Greek phileo - love, sophia - wisdom) - love of wisdom.

Philosophy is the science of the universal; it is a free and universal area of ​​human knowledge, a constant search for the new.

Philosophy can be defined as the doctrine of the general principles of knowledge, existence and relations between man and the world.

The subject of philosophy is everything that exists in the fullness of its meaning and content. Philosophy is aimed not at defining external interactions and precise boundaries between parts and particles of the world, but at understanding their internal connection and unity.

Main features: 1) synthesis of knowledge and creation of a unified picture of the world corresponding to a certain level of development of science, culture and historical experience; 2) justification, justification and analysis of worldview; 3) development of a general methodology for human cognition and activity in the surrounding world.

Functions of philosophy:

Worldview function (associated with a conceptual explanation of the world);

Methodological function (consists in the fact that philosophy acts as a general doctrine of method and as a set of the most general methods of cognition and mastery of reality by man);

Prognostic function (formulates hypotheses about general trends in the development of matter and consciousness, man and the world);

Critical function (applies not only to other disciplines, but also to philosophy itself; the principle of “questioning everything” indicates the importance of a critical approach to existing knowledge and sociocultural values);

Axiological function (from the Greek axios - valuable; any philosophical system contains the moment of evaluating the object under study from the point of view of the various values ​​themselves: moral, social, aesthetic, etc.);

Social function (based on it, philosophy is called upon to perform a dual task - to explain social existence and contribute to its material and spiritual change).

The whole variety of philosophical problems can be reduced to five main groups:

Ontological; epistemological; axiological; praxeological; anthropological.

These five groups of problems form the structure of any philosophical knowledge. Ontology is a philosophical doctrine about being and existing things. Epistemology is the philosophical doctrine of knowledge. Axiology is a philosophical doctrine of values. Praxeology is the philosophical study of action. Anthropology is the philosophical study of man. All sections of philosophical knowledge exist in indissoluble unity. In addition to the main groups of philosophical problems that form the core of philosophy, in the structure of philosophical knowledge there are areas of research that are correlated with a specific fragment of spiritual culture or a form of social consciousness: philosophy of science, philosophy of history, philosophy of art, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mythology, philosophy of politics. Each of these elements is based on ideas and principles formulated in the “core” of philosophical knowledge - ontology, epistemology, axiology, praxeology and anthropology.

Main branches of philosophy

Main sections of philosophy:

1) ontology - the world as a whole, its origin and fundamental principles

2) epistemology - the science of means and methods of knowledge.

3) ethics - the science of morality, ethics and proper behavior.

4) aesthetics - the science of beauty and art.

5) anthropology - the science of development, origin, human nature:

Main branches of philosophy

Ontology as a branch of philosophy

Types of logics that determine the construction of an ontology:

1) formal logic

Tertium non datum - there is no third option

2) dialectical logic

Dialectical logic allows both A and non-A at the same time

Low ruble exchange rate: good or bad?

3) multi-valued (relativistic logic) - estimates the degree or probability from 0 to 1. Depends on the reference system.

4) negative logic - Eastern logic (Buddhism) - neither one nor the other.

Epoch - abstinence of judgment, non-duality.

Not (A and not A)

Car accident. Two strategies to explain to yourself how this happened. 1) blame circumstances 2) blame themselves

Metaphysics - believes that there is something absolute and unchanging in the world that does not depend on time, circumstances and the subject of perception. Uses formal logic, believes that there is absolute truth.

The laws of mathematics are universal. Moral principles are considered universal. God. Nirvana.

Causa sui - cause of oneself.

Ship of Theseus (paradox)

Relativism - everything changes, everything is relative, depends on time, place, subject of perception.

The concept of morality is relative.

Dialectics - the world consists of opposites, their struggle and unity.

Confucianism believed that man is neutral by nature - tabula rasa. Upbringing determines.

Lao Tzu, all people are naturally kind.

How are events happening in the world? What do they obey, how are they managed?

Determinism - everything is due to natural causes. Answers the questions Why.

Indeterminism - most processes occur randomly.

Inversion of the earth's magnetic field. Nonlinear equations describing nonlinear processes.

Teleology - teleos - goal, logos - teaching - all processes in the world are subordinated to a higher goal.

Arbitrium liberum - free will

1) closer to teleology: fatalism - the doctrine that everything is already predetermined

Stoics: Marcus Aurelius and Epipictetus, Amor fati - love of fate

Marx: being determines consciousness

2) voluntarism (Nietzsche, American philosophy of the 20th century) - everything is in our hands and we create our own destiny

3) Machiavelli, Fortune

Ethics as a branch of philosophy

Film Confucius

Golden rules of ethics:

2) morality

3) proper behavior

The golden rule of ethics: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Confucius

Thales: what irritates you in others, do not do it yourself

Bible: With the measure you use, it will be measured back.

The paradox of tolerance:

“our custom is not to impose our customs”

Rule of the golden mean:

Thales: Nothing in excess (Temple of Apollo at Delphi)

Confucius: have two extremes, but choose the middle: altruist and egoist, ascetic and hedonist, the parable is neither hard nor soft.

Ontology

Where did it come from and what does the world consist of?

Monism - everything consists of only one substance. Plurality is illusory.

Dualism - the world consists of two principles. Matter + form or idea.

Pluralism is more than two principles.

Epistemology as a branch of philosophy

The main question of epistemology: The relationship between reality and the perception and thinking of reality. Perception and the world coincide.

Agnostics - objective reality is not knowable

Relativists - knowledge regarding time and the subject of perception

Sources of knowledge

Empiricism - John Locke: the child's mind is a blank slate. All knowledge comes from experience.

Apriorism - all knowledge exists before experience. Kant.

Means of knowledge:

Sensualism - all knowledge from the senses. Induction.

Rationalism - reason is the main source of knowledge. Deduction.

Irrationalism - there are other sources of knowledge: intuition, revelation.

Ax saw log fork

Latural thinking

4) Basic questions of philosophy. Ways to solve them

The question of the relationship between consciousness and being, spirit and nature is the main question of philosophy. The interpretation of all other problems that determine the philosophical view of nature, society, and, therefore, of man himself ultimately depends on the solution of this question.

When considering the basic question of philosophy, it is very important to distinguish between its two sides. Firstly, what is primary – ideal or material? This or that answer to this question plays a very important role in philosophy, because to be primary means to exist before the secondary, to precede it, and ultimately to determine it. Secondly, can a person understand the world around him, the laws of development of nature and society? The essence of this aspect of the main question of philosophy comes down to clarifying the ability of human thinking to correctly reflect objective reality.

In solving the main question, philosophers were divided into two large camps depending on what they take as the starting point - material or ideal. Those philosophers who recognize matter, being, and nature as primary, and consciousness, thinking, and spirit as secondary, represent a philosophical direction called materialistic. In philosophy there is also an idealistic direction opposite to the materialist one. Idealist philosophers recognize consciousness, thinking, spirit as the beginning of everything that exists, i.e. perfect. There is another solution to the main question of philosophy - dualism, which believes that the material and spiritual sides exist separately from one another as independent entities.

Only Marxist philosophy provided a comprehensive materialist, scientifically based solution to the Basic Question. She sees the primacy of matter in the following:

matter is the source of consciousness, and consciousness is a reflection of matter;

consciousness is the result of a long process of development of the material world;

consciousness is a property, a function of highly organized matter of the brain;

the existence and development of human consciousness and thinking is impossible without a linguistic material shell, without speech;

consciousness arises, is formed and is improved as a result of human material labor activity;

consciousness is of a social nature and is determined by material social existence.

philosophy thinking conscious science

The structure of philosophy as a science

When studying philosophy, there are usually 4 main sections:

  • 1. Ontology (from Greek ontos - that which exists and logos - word, speech) is the doctrine of being, the foundations of existence. Its task is to explore the most general and fundamental problems of existence.
  • 2. Epistemology (from Greek gnosis - knowledge, cognition and logos - word, speech) or another name epistemology (from Greek episteme - scientific knowledge, science, reliable knowledge, logos - word, speech) is the doctrine of methods and possibilities knowledge of the world. This section examines the mechanisms by which a person understands the world around him.
  • 3. Social philosophy is the doctrine of society. Its task is to study social life. Since the life of any individual depends on social conditions, social philosophy studies, first of all, those social structures and mechanisms that determine these conditions. The ultimate goal of social cognition is to improve society, the order in it, and create the most favorable conditions for the self-realization of the individual. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to identify the driving forces social development, i.e. laws of the functioning of society, the causes of certain social phenomena we observe. The more deeply we understand the relationships and laws existing in society, the more subtly we are able to improve social structures and mechanisms that contribute to the prosperity of society.
  • 4. History of philosophy is a section devoted to the history of philosophical teachings, the evolution of philosophical thought, as well as science with the corresponding subject of study. The history of philosophy is important because it shows not only the final result of modern knowledge, but also the thorny path that humanity has overcome in search of truth, and therefore all the difficulties and obstacles that arose along this path. Only by following this path can one understand the full depth modern truths and avoid repeating typical mistakes of the past.

Each philosophical teaching is valuable because it carries a grain, a piece of truth of greater or lesser significance. As a rule, each subsequent teaching is based on the knowledge and thoughts contained in the previous ones, is their analysis and generalization, and sometimes works on their mistakes. And even if it is erroneous, the teaching makes its valuable contribution on the path to the truth and allows one to realize this error. Therefore, without tracing the development of thought from its very origins, it can be difficult to understand the final result of knowledge, the full value and depth of modern truths. Perhaps this is also why disdain for philosophical truths is growing in modern life. Some of us do not understand their value, do not understand why they are exactly what they are, whereas it would be more convenient for them to understand and perceive differently. Before we are convinced of the truth of this or that knowledge, we sometimes need to hit a lot of “bumps” in life. The history of philosophy is the experience of mistakes, the experience of the ups and downs of thought from the most outstanding thinkers. Their experience is invaluable to us. In the history of philosophy we can trace the evolution of a solution to almost any problem. Philosophy courses taught in universities discuss the most important of them. However, the history of philosophical thought is not limited to the set of topics that textbooks can accommodate. That is why when studying it it is so important to turn to primary sources. A course in the history of philosophy is just a brief description of real teachings, the full depth and diversity of which is hardly possible to convey in this course.

Philosophical disciplines The names of most branches of philosophy (social philosophy, history of philosophy and epistemology) coincide with the names of the corresponding philosophical disciplines that study them. Therefore, they are not mentioned again here.

Since philosophy studies almost all areas of knowledge, within the framework of philosophy there was a specialization in certain disciplines, limited to the study of these areas:

  • 1. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality and ethics.
  • 2. Aesthetics is a philosophical doctrine about the essence and forms of beauty in artistic creativity, in nature and in life, about art as a special form of social consciousness.
  • 3. Logic is the science of the forms of correct reasoning.
  • 4. Axiology - the doctrine of values. Studies issues related to the nature of values, their place in reality and the structure of the value world, i.e., the connection of various values ​​with each other, with social and cultural factors and the structure of personality.
  • 5. Praxeology - the doctrine of human activity, the implementation of human values ​​in real life. Praxeology considers various actions from the point of view of their effectiveness.
  • 6. Philosophy of religion - the doctrine of the essence of religion, its origin, forms and meaning. It contains attempts at philosophical justifications for the existence of God, as well as discussions about his nature and relationship to the world and man.
  • 7. Philosophical anthropology - the doctrine of man, his essence and ways of interacting with the outside world. This teaching seeks to integrate all areas of knowledge about man. First of all, it is based on material from psychology, social biology, sociology and ethology (studies the genetically determined behavior of animals, including humans).
  • 8. Philosophy of science - studies the general laws and trends of scientific knowledge. Separately, there are also such disciplines as the philosophy of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, history, law, culture, technology, language, etc.

Main directions of modern world philosophical thought (XX-XXI centuries)

  • 1. Neopositivism, analytical philosophy and postpositivism (T. Kuhn, K. Popper, I. Lokatos, S. Toulmin, P. Feyerabend, etc.) - these teachings are the result of the consistent development of positivism. They analyze the problems faced by private (other than philosophy) sciences. These are problems of physics, mathematics, history, political science, ethics, linguistics, as well as problems of the development of scientific knowledge in general.
  • 2. Existentialism (K. Jaspers, J.P. Sartre, A. Camus, G. Marcel, N. Berdyaev, etc.) - the philosophy of human existence. Human existence in this teaching is understood as the flow of experiences of an individual, which is always unique and inimitable. Existentialists place emphasis on individual human existence, on the conscious life of the individual, the uniqueness of his life situations, while neglecting the study of the objective universal processes and laws underlying this existence. Nevertheless, existentialists strive to create a direction of philosophy that would be closest to the current problems of an individual’s life and analyze the most typical life situations. Their main themes are: true freedom, responsibility and creativity.
  • 3. Neo-Thomism (E. Gilson, J. Maritain, K. Wojtyla, etc.) - a modern form of religious philosophy that deals with understanding the world and solving universal human problems from the position of Catholicism. His main task is to introduce the highest spiritual values ​​into people's lives.
  • 4. Pragmatism (C. Pierce, W. James, D. Dewey, etc.) - associated with a pragmatic position on solving all problems. Considers the appropriateness of certain actions and decisions from the point of view of their practical usefulness or personal benefit. For example, if a person is terminally ill and no benefit is calculated in his further existence, then, from the position of pragmatism, he has the right to euthanasia (assisted death for a seriously and terminally ill person). The criterion of truth, from the point of view of this doctrine, is also utility. At the same time, the denial by representatives of pragmatism of the existence of objective, universally valid truths and the understanding that the goal justifies any means of achieving it casts a shadow on humanistic ideals and moral values. Thus, Dewey writes: “I myself - and no one else can decide for me what I should do, what is right, true, useful and profitable for me.” If everyone in society takes such a position, then ultimately it will turn into only a field of collision of various selfish motives and interests, where there will be no rules and norms, no responsibility.
  • 5. Marxism (K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin, E.V. Ilyenkov, V.V. Orlov, etc.) is a materialist philosophy that claims to have scientific status. In his analysis of reality he relies on the material of special sciences. Strives to identify the most general laws and patterns of development of nature, society and thinking. The main method of cognition is dialectical. Dialectics (ancient Greek dialektike - the art of arguing, reasoning) is a way of thinking that seeks to comprehend an object in its integrity and development, in the unity of its opposing properties and tendencies, in diverse connections with other objects and processes. The original meaning of this concept was associated with philosophical dialogue, the ability to conduct a discussion, listen and take into account the opinions of opponents, striving to find the path to the truth. The social philosophy of Marxism is based on the idea of ​​​​creating a communist society built on the ideals of equality, justice, freedom, responsibility and mutual assistance. The ultimate goal of building such a society is to create conditions for the free self-realization of any individual, the fullest disclosure of his potential, where it would be possible to implement the principle: “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” However, to realize these ideals, the problem of the individual, unique existence of the individual, the richness of his inner world and needs has not been sufficiently worked out.
  • 6. Phenomenology (E. Husserl, M. Merleau-Ponty, etc.) - a teaching that proceeds from the fact that it is necessary to cleanse our thinking of all superficial, artificial logical constructions, but at the same time it neglects the study of the essential world, independent of the human perception and comprehension. Phenomenologists believe that knowledge of the objective world is impossible, therefore they study only the world of meanings (calling them essences), the patterns in the formation of semantic reality. They believe that our idea of ​​the world is not a reflection of the objective world itself, but is an artificial logical construction. To restore the true picture of the world, we must proceed only from our practical attitude towards things and processes. Our understanding of things should develop depending on how we use them, how they manifest themselves in relation to us, and not what their actual essence is that can explain cause-and-effect relationships. For example, for them it does not matter what physical or chemical properties the material from which the thing is created has, what bacteria live in it and what microscopic processes occur in it, for them higher value has its form and the functions it performs. From their position, when talking about things, we should put into them only the practical meaning of their possible use. Speaking about natural and social processes, we must mean, first of all, their possible influence on us or the meaning that they carry for us. Thus, the phenomenological approach separates a person from reality, removes the focus on understanding the relationships and laws of the world, discredits the desire for wisdom and objective truth, and loses sight of the value of the experimental knowledge accumulated by humanity.
  • 7. Hermeneutics (W. Dilthey, F. Schleiermacher, H.G. Gadamer, etc.) - a philosophical direction that develops methods for correctly understanding texts, avoiding one’s own bias, “pre-understanding” and, trying to penetrate not only the author’s intention, but also into his state during the writing process, into the atmosphere in which this text was created. At the same time, a very broad meaning is put into the concept of text; in their understanding, the entire reality we understand is a special type of text, since we comprehend it through linguistic structures, all our thoughts are expressed in language.
  • 8. Psychoanalytic philosophy (Z. Freud, K. Jung, A. Adler, E. Fromm) - explores the patterns of functioning and development of the human psyche, the mechanisms of interaction between the conscious and unconscious. Analyzes various mental phenomena, the most typical human experiences, seeks to identify their nature and causes, and find ways to treat mental disorders.
  • 9. Postmodernism (J. Deleuze, F. Guattari, J.-F. Lyotard, J. Derrida, etc.) is a philosophy that, on the one hand, is an expression of the self-perception of a person of the modern era, and on the other, seeks to destroy the classical a philosophical tradition that strives for knowledge of wisdom and truth. All classical philosophical truths and eternal values ​​in it begin to be revised and discredited. If the modern era, the modern cultural situation (postmodernity) can be called a revolt of feelings against reason, emotions and worldviews against rationality, then the philosophy of postmodernism rebels against any form that can claim to limit individual freedom. However, on the path to such absolute freedom there are objectivity, truth, correctness, regularity, universality, responsibility, any norms, rules and forms of obligation. All this is declared to be a tool of the authorities and elites to manipulate public opinion. The highest values ​​are freedom, novelty, spontaneity, unpredictability and pleasure. Life, from their point of view, is a kind of game that should not be taken seriously and responsibly. However, the destruction of those norms, ideals and values ​​that were developed through trial and error based on the generalization of the experience of many generations of people is dangerous for the further existence of humanity, since this is the path to society creating unbearable conditions for life (the struggle of selfish motives, the constant use of each other, endless wars, growing environmental crisis, exacerbation of personal problems, etc.).

Indeed, as a result of such a postmodern trend, a simplified understanding of life begins to be valued in society; a person begins to understand the world in the way it is convenient for him to think about it. And therefore people begin to face many problems only because of their short-sightedness, only because they imagine life differently than it really is. Their expectations about life turn out to be deceived, their dreams and goals turn out to be unattainable or achievable, but lead to a different result than they expected, bringing them only disappointment. It is no coincidence that the origins of the modern global economic crisis come from the short-sightedness of state rulers, heads of financial institutions and ordinary people who, without calculating the consequences, accumulated loans and debts that far exceeded reasonable limits.



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