Anthropological Measurements of Philosophical Research

Spiritual Quest of Ukrainian Thinkers of the 16th – Early 17th Centuries in the Context of the Doctrine of Theosis

O. G. Hudzenko, O. V. Dobrodum — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The main purpose of this research is to analyse and study the development of individual spirituality within the context of theosis doctrine in the religious-anthropological studies of Ukrainian philosophers from the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century. Theoretical basis. The basis of the research is determined by modern methodological approaches to examining the correlation between philosophical and religious visions regarding the representation of views on deification among representatives of contemporary global philosophical-religious thought, as well as among representatives of Ukrainian religious-philosophical thought of the 16th and early 17th century. Originality. The paper analyses the unique views of Ukrainian thinkers on the role of theosis in shaping individual spirituality. Conclusions. The spiritual development of individuals, according to contemporary religious-philosophical authors and Ukrainian thinkers from the 16th to the 17th centuries, consists of self-discovery and moral growth as a means of approaching God. This serves as the basis for understanding human sanctity and life purpose, where the path to God is linked with renouncing worldly desires and striving for union with Him. The state of theosis is perceived as a personal experience, a collaboration between humans and God. The primary purpose of asceticism is to attain grace, which leads to the transformation of will. The doctrine of theosis influences the formation of a theocratic idea in culture and expands the understanding of internal experience due to the pursuit of spirituality. Theosis is a transformation of anthropological reality that goes beyond natural limits. This process constitutes a stage of spiritual growth that involves cultivating fear of sin, self-observation, and overcoming passions. One of its key aspects is interpreting closeness to God as cooperation between humans and the Divine, crucial for realizing divine grace. Considering the question of theosis draws attention to the importance of spiritual values and the search for meaning in life, especially in complex and unpredictable circumstances accompanying military conflicts, which Ukraine is currently facing.

Kant’s Philosophy and the Idea of the Self-Made-Man

O. M. Korkh, V. V. Khmil — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The authors of this article set the main purpose of understanding the ideological potential of Kant’s philosophical heritage from the viewpoint of its influence on the spread and legitimization of the self-made man idea in the worldview transformations of the modern world. Theoretical basis. Historical, analytical, and hermeneutic methods became fundamental for achieving the goal. The study is based on Kant’s works, as well as on the works of modern researchers of his ideological heritage. Originality. The analysis shows that the idea of the Self-made-man, which originated in the ancient world and gradually spread in the Western culture of the Middle Ages, early Modernism, and especially the Enlightenment, receives significant additional impulses in the context of Kant’s rethinking of the metaphysical foundations in the theory of knowledge and morality. Perhaps, the systematic theoretical substantiation of people’s abilities to use their own mind, their intellectual, and therefore moral autonomy, and freedom of will as the fundamental principles of personal Self-determination and Self-realization became the most important consequence of this rethinking. This, in turn, became the theoretical and moral-legal basis for further legitimization in the modern and postmodern world of the ideal of a person who creates oneself. Conclusions. The importance of Kant’s philosophy in the context of idea generation of the self-made man is hard to overestimate. It is entirely imbued with a leitmotif appeal to the individual to have the courage to use his/her own mind, to be independent and self-sufficient in assessments, choices, and actions, and therefore also responsible for their consequences, in the end, to be primarily an end, not a means. Thanks to this, a person, according to Hegel, finds an unconditionally strong and stable center in oneself. In fact, by strengthening the position of human-centric philosophy, as well as the moral and legal foundations of liberal humanism, Kant’s ideas provided further ideological legitimation in the orientation of an objectively growing individual towards actively placing Self-reliance and Personal responsibility on one’s own destiny as the key principles of the Self-made-man concept.

The Anthropological Content of Thinking: The Place of Thinking Among the Essential Forces of Man According to Hegel

S. V. Voznyak, V. S. Voznyak — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. By appealing to Hegel’s philosophy, the article aims to understand the role of thinking through its relation to other essential human forces – feeling and will. Such a problem statement reveals the anthropological content of thinking, which is necessary for conducting a critical analysis of human nature. Theoretical basis. To realize the set purpose, the dialectical-logical method of categorical-reflexive analysis for texts and realities of human existence in the world is applied. Originality. The authors proceed from the fact that the usual way of interpreting thinking as existing alongside feelings and will is theoretically unsatisfactory since thinking is taken in a reduced way – only in its mental form. Thinking, as the mind itself, does not exist next to feelings and will, but permeates them through, at the same time being enriched by their definitions. In this case, thinking appears as an activity following the objective laws of reality itself, which implies a necessary and conscious change by the subject of the forms and schemes of its activity. The authors claim that the Hegelian paradigm of the interpretation of thinking as the substance of everything spiritual makes sense and provides an opportunity to adequately understand the nature of both feelings and will. Conclusions. Accusing Hegel of absolutizing thinking, attributing to him "panlogism" appears unfounded, since Hegel understands logic itself in a fundamentally different way. The interpretation of feelings and will as a kind of specifications of thinking by no means reduces them to thinking, but allows us to see their imbued with thinking as an orientation to reality itself in its essence, and not to partial features of the subject. Such an understanding of human nature is capable of adequately orienting pedagogical theory and practice toward the formation of a holistic culture of the individual as a culture of mind, feelings, and will.

Cultural-Anthropological Basis of Strong Constructivism in Social Cognition

O. N. Kubalskyi — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. This article is aimed at identifying the cultural-anthropological limits of the applicability of strong constructivism in social cognition. Theoretical basis. The study of epistemic cultures, carried out by the modern German philosopher of science Karin Knorr Cetina, gave reasons to rethink the role of cultural anthropology as a methodological basis of strong constructivism not only for scientific cognition, but also for educational practices, and perhaps also for some other social practices. An important role in identifying less successful versions of strong constructivism was played by the concept of fictionalism of the German philosopher Hans Veihinger, the Chilean biologists Humberto Maturán and Francisco Varela, and the German sociologist and philosopher Niklas Luhmann. Originality. Strong constructivism has broad prospects for use within cultural anthropology as an identification of the cultural foundations of human nature. Local research and educational practices are defined as a model for the formation of those social characteristics of their participants, which they themselves change through self-improvement. Strong constructivists involve the individual empirical experience of researchers, and also correct the inherited rules of scientific research as elements of research procedures and practices, thanks to which they achieve the creation of a common epistemic culture and the elimination of myths about the isolation of scientific cognition from the world. Conclusions. False ways of interpreting strong constructivism as fictionalism and as realism have been revealed. Fictionalism, as a methodology focused on the study of the contents of consciousness, loses the empirical experience of the world. Philosophical realism as positivism in the philosophy of science reduces the significance of scientific discoveries to confirmation of the laws of nature. Karin Knorr Cetina’s proposal to consider constructivism "on its own terms" appears not as a moderate compromise between these extremes, but as the only possible way to adequately reconcile the work of nature and the conscious activity of man. Such coordination takes place primarily in the creation of local epistemic cultures as a collective activity of researchers.

Communicative Dimension of Human Freedom under Deliberative Democracy

R. G. Drapushko — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. This article aims to analyse the ways of free communicative solution of civil society problems as a basis for the development of deliberative democracy on the example of the activities of volunteer organisations. Theoretical basis. The conceptual basis of the study is Immanuel Kant’s philosophical understanding of individual obligations as the basis for the institutionalisation of social communication. This concept is developed by Jürgen Habermas in the direction of deliberative democracy. Max Weber, Quentin Skinner, and other theorists give a special status to language communication in the functioning of social institutions. Contemporary Ukrainian researchers analyse the volunteer movement as the basis for the communicative implementation of human freedom. Originality. Practices of political performance in society contribute to the specific and contextual solution of the tasks of communication theory and provide answers to questions about sustainable human needs, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, contribute to solving the political problems of everyday life. Grassroots socio-political movements, and especially volunteer movements, practice free discussion of various social problems, which is the basis of the deliberative democracy. Conclusions. Overcoming value differences between members of society is more effective in deliberative practices as the core of social communication in a democratic society. The substantive way to find new forms of communication is to use deliberative practices of implementing freedom to improve the functioning of social institutions. The formal way is aimed at attracting the experience of volunteer organisations in using the minimum necessary forms of bureaucratisation of social institutions in a democratic society.

The Order and Chaos in Human Relationships: Objective Grounds and the Ways of Harmonization

V. M. Shapoval, I. V. Tolstov — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. This article aims to provide a philosophical analysis of disharmonious relations between people in society, to reveal the causes of existing conflicts and to find ways to reduce the manifestations of chaos in human relations. Theoretical basis of the article is socio-cultural anthropology, the principles of the unity of the historical and logical, the ascent from the abstract to the concrete, the unity of analysis and synthesis. To solve the tasks set, authors also used the principles of objectivity, systematicity, and comprehensive development. Originality. The article goes beyond one-sided views on the relationship between people in society, reveals the causes of existing conflicts from a philosophical perspective and searches for ways to reduce chaosogenic manifestations in society. It is assumed that chaos and order in human relations arise not only due to the contradictory interaction between the fundamental components of the Universe – matter and energy, but also due to a lack of understanding of the laws of information use. Therefore, without the discovery and rational use of the basic laws and principles governing the functioning of information in the Universe, it is impossible to overcome chaos in human relations. Conclusions. Given the profound impact of information on human relations, it is possible to help reduce the manifestations of chaos in human relationships. The proper handling of information, along with the rational use of matter and energy, is crucial for overcoming the current state of disharmony and creating a more favourable and orderly future for humanity. Thus, the vector of harmonisation of human relations lies in the plane of comprehensive knowledge of mass-energy and information processes occurring in the Universe, focusing not on subjective, ill-considered short-term goals, but submitting to them for consistent inclusion in these processes.

Recreational Space as the Embodiment of the Garden of Eden Archetype

I. O. Merylova, K. V. Sokolova — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

The purpose of the article is to research the spiritual basis and motivation of human activity in the relationships between humans and the natural environment to create various forms of recreational spaces in the socio-cultural context of the post-industrial era. Theoretical basis. The research is based on the approach of analytical psychology by C. Jung, who identified the archetypes of the collective unconscious. These archetypes help overcome the limitations of the functional and pragmatic approach, which is focused on mere survival. They make sense and provide values in the relationship between humans and nature. Originality. The article evaluates how archetypal images of the collective unconscious, with the help of the Garden of Eden image in the socio-cultural context of European civilization, influence the recreational space in contemporary urban environments. The novelty of the work is also in the interdisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge from various fields such as philosophy, sociology, cultural studies, analytical psychology, and urban planning, which contributes to the profound understanding of complex socio-cultural processes. This paradigm emphasizes the interconnection and interdependence, adaptability, and co-evolution of society and nature, as well as requires the interdisciplinary methodological approach. Additionally, the article presents a fresh perspective on nature and its elements in terms of their importance both for individuals and society. Conclusions. The article investigates the socio-cultural factors that evoke the interest of man and society in natural factors as a recreational resource and determine the latest theoretical approaches to their use. Various recreational activities to create a renewed space provide a person with a full physical, socio-psychological and cognitive development. The humanization of the natural environment becomes the embodiment of the collective memory and history of mankind. The recreational space symbolizes spiritual values, so it is transformed from physical to socio-cultural and provides theoretical approaches to its implementation in modern urban planning practices.

Anthropological Dimension of Wartime Ecocide: Ecofeminist Methodological Assessments

K. I. Karpenko, R. E. Hagengruber, C. R. Nielsen — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The authors aim to disclose the anthropological dimension of ecocide during and after Russia’s war against Ukraine, relying on the multidisciplinary practices and intellectual production of ecofeminist women thinkers, including philosophers, sociologists, historians, psychologists, and others. The theoretical basis methodological approaches in philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, analytical philosophy, communicative philosophy, existentialism, ethics of justice, and ethics of care determine the study’s theoretical basis. Originality. For the first time, a systematic analysis of the anthropological dimension of ecocide has been carried out based on ecofeminist methodology. The specifics of the Ukrainian resistance to ecocide were revealed as part of a single struggle – an anti-imperial and ecological struggle for independence and prosperity. It is emphasized that during the war, the opposition to ecocide is a component of the fight for national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, and therefore, the ideas of pacifism in this period are subordinated to this primary goal. After the war, preventing threats of ecocide should become an integral part of the struggle for stable peace and prosperity. Ecofeminist pacifist perspectives should be a priority among the most essential goals for that period. Conclusions. Ecofeminist methodological assessments offer valuable insights into the anthropological dimension of ecocide in wartime and post-war contexts, highlighting the complex interplay between gender, violence, and environmental destruction. By focusing on the experiences and perspectives of women and marginalized communities, ecofeminist analyses contribute to a more holistic understanding of ecocide and its impacts on both human populations and ecosystems.

Generation in the Dimension of Growing Responsibility

E. V. Shcherbenko — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of generation, which is a necessary condition for the birth of the modern open society, taking into account the risks that accompany this process. Theoretical basis. The research covers a wide range of concepts (K. Mannheim, J. Ortega y Gasset, M. McLuhan, B. Anderson, P. Connerton, etc.), which reveal the temporal aspect of the analysed phenomenon, in particular, the insecurity of its constitution (the risk of a "lost generation") in the horizon of modernity as an unfinished project (J. Habermas), and the growing degree of responsibility associated with the formation of the creative social class. Originality. For the first time in the research literature, the author analyses the connection between the study of the phenomenon of generation and the establishment of a consensus in the modern world on the observance of the rules of win-win games as the value foundation of Western civilization. One of the key points of this process is the processing of the traumas of modernization. The omission of this task in the agenda of the transition society, despite the warnings evident in retrospect, releases the element of resentment, with consequences that can be qualified as an anthropological catastrophe. Conclusions. Ukrainian society, opening up to the world and working through the traumas of modernisation (Chornobyl, the Holodomor, the Fall of Lenin), which has become a kind of hermeneutical cycle of healing the "humanitarian aura of the nation" (L. Kostenko), in the process of which new layers such as the creative class appeared on the public scene, has demonstrated the European identity of the Ukrainian community. In the new horizon after 02/24, when, according to A. Yermolenko, it is no longer possible to talk about the postmodern situation, the Ukrainian agenda irreversibly acquires globality and should be rethought in the dimension of the "big time" and its global responsibility. This affects, in particular, the entire legacy of Russian-Soviet modernisation, to the extent that it has become an integral part of modern Ukrainian identity, including such controversial pages as the "Afghan" trauma.

Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi’s Philosophy of Education: Human-Centred Dimension

V. H. Kremen, V. V. Ilin — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The basis of the presented study is a methodological and human-centred analysis of the philosophy of education of the outstanding Ukrainian educator Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi as a relevant anthropological-intellectual strategy for understanding and comprehending the educational process in the context of civilisation challenges. This implies a sequential solution to the following tasks: 1) to review the conceptual content and human-centred load of Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi’s pedagogical position in the discourses of philosophical anthropology and social philosophy; 2) to analyse the theoretical knowledge of the anthropo-existential concept of the outstanding teacher in the context of the transformation of Ukrainian education; 3) to determine the main parameters of the cognitive field of Sukhomlynskyi’s philosophy of education in the development of values of patriotic education of young people. Theoretical basis. The dynamic process of Ukraine’s unfolding struggle for the preservation of its nation and territorial integrity brings Sukhomlynskyi’s philosophy of education to a new level of understanding of human life and society. The human-centred dimension in interaction with the philosophy of education allows us to define Sukhomlynskyi’s pedagogical concept in the fullness of its metaphilosophical, existential and axiological content. The relevance of the problem under study is due to the crisis of values in the situation of civilizational transformations, which, as a result of information and digital technologies, have a cumulative impact on all spheres of people’s life and their attitude to the world. In the process of implementing the educational ideas of the Ukrainian teacher, the development and transformation of the individual’s self-awareness takes place in accordance with the intellectual challenges of the modern socio-cultural environment. Originality. It is substantiated that the philosophy of education of Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi largely determines the strategy for the transformation of Ukrainian education both in the context of digitalisation of the educational space and in the situation of a full-scale war against Russian aggression, which opens up new prospects for the implementation of identity dimensions in interaction with a qualitatively different level of national subjectivity. Conclusions. The approval of the conceptual provisions of Sukhomlynskyi’s philosophy of education gives rise to a new type and method of paradigm of thinking and cognition in the implementation of strategies for the transformation of modern education, which determine the qualitative theory of the educational process in the context of human-centrism. It is characterized by the level of modern philosophical reflections, which allows preserving and at the same time changing the system of education and upbringing of the young generation in the context of universal values. On this basis, the philosophy of education of the prominent Ukrainian educator appears as a way of renewing all aspects of human life, which deconstructs itself in the situation of a human-centric dimension.

Transformation of Anthropological Legal Values of Human Existence under Conditions of War

V. S. Blikhar, R. F. Gryniuk — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The main purpose of the article is to study the anthropological and socio-philosophical dimensions of human existence in the context of hostilities by highlighting the aspects of transformation of anthropological legal values of human existence during the war. Theoretical basis. The methodological tools are presented in the interaction of axiological, synergetic, socio-legal and comparative methods. The survey method is used to obtain quantitative data on the self-assessment of Ukrainian citizens in relation to the war, changes in their internal intentions as a result of the crisis of social reality. Originality. Military actions can act both as a catalyst for the formation of new anthropological legal values, in accordance with the specifics of martial law and the need to adapt legal systems to the challenges arising in wartime, and as a destructor of certain value attributes of society. Conclusions. The nature of paradigmatic changes in wartime is represented by the metamorphosis of anthropological legal values, which manifests itself in profound changes in the philosophical understanding of man, the transformation of legal principles and the revision of moral norms in society. Reflections on the legal paradox appear in attempts to balance the need to keep within the law with the requirement to ensure security and defence in the first place. The article highlights the following aspects of changes: revision of the concept of individual rights and freedoms by recognising that individual rights may be subject to restrictions for the sake of the common good or national security; new legal values arise which are related to the protection of human rights in war conditions.

Man in the Space of Freedom and Resentment: Symbolic Correlation of Existentials

P. V. Kretov, O. I. Kretova — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. The article aims to problematize the forms of correlation between the fundamental category of freedom and the phenomenon of resentment in the context of the formation of ethical discourse, as well as to consider the symbolic mechanisms of the collective imagination in the formation of a picture of the human world. Theoretical basis. The study uses the method of historical and philosophical analysis and methods of the humanities – hermeneutics and phenomenology. Originality. An attempt is made to comprehend the correlation between freedom as a category of philosophical anthropology and practical philosophy and the phenomenon of resentment. Conclusions. The ethical category of freedom, explicitly or implicitly, significantly shapes the content of the process of choice and social action by a person, which can be manifested in discursive practices and narratives of ideologies, public opinion and collective imagination. Symbolic mechanisms of human consciousness record the paradoxical correlation and at the same time the antithesis of reality reception and meaning generation between rational awareness and existential experience, humanization and appropriation of freedom and emotional-affective, reactive attitude of a person to narratives, motives, symbols and images of resentment. At the same time, freedom can presuppose the conscious content of resentment, while resentment deforms the concept of freedom into arbitrariness or violence, appealing not only to the archaic values of tribalism, but also to the rational basis of individual freedom of the individual, on which the philosophical tradition of the West is based. The resentful forms of thinking and emotional reception of reality function as symbolic constructions, that is, they can have a wide and internally contradictory field of interpretations. Western philosophical thought has a significant potential to reinterpret the challenges of the phenomenon of resentment based on the tradition of ontotheology and ethics of discourse due to the specific rationalism of the vision of the philosophy of freedom.

Empathy and Self-Empathy in the Anthropological Dimension of Modernity

Y. O. Shabanova — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose. In the article, the author questions rethinking the phenomena of empathy and self-empathy as modes of self-understanding of humanity and the inner intention to self-exploration of human spirituality. Theoretical basis. The research is based on the phenomenological dimension of modern anthropology and axiology. Originality. The change of the traditional intersubjective approach in the understanding of empathy to an introsubjective one and the affirmation of self-empathy as one of the defining existences in human beings, which is adjusted by the altruism-egoism value scale and forms the skills of unconditional empathic action towards the Other as a mode of self-exploration in the spiritual essence of a person are argued. Conclusions. The commonplace in a wide palette of research views on empathy is the construct for the Self – Other disposition and the intersubjective approach emphasizing the object of empathy. Transformation of the intention vector of empathic consciousness from the object to the subject of empathic action opens up deep possibilities of spiritual improvement as a way of self-awareness in the human essence. The transformation of the intention vector of empathic consciousness from intersubjective (I in the Other) to introsubjective (I through the Other) has the potential for spiritual development according to the altruism-egoism value scale. Empathy as an introsubjective position of self-exploration is inseparably connected with self-empathy, which in the mutual integration of its three main components – benevolence towards oneself, reflexivity towards one’s own experience and a tendency to understand one’s fate as common to all mankind – forms an important regulator of self-understanding of a person’s spiritual potential and the possibility of the practical extrapolation for these skills to an empathic way of communication at all levels of anthropo-being. Anthropological accentuation on the inner essence and meanings of human existence is carried out through intuition and self-altruism as the fading of pragmatic interest in the socially conditioned Self (Ego) and immersion in the essential Self – the bearer of the universal spiritual in a person. Self-empathy is considered in the context of the ideas of Stoicism as a deep self-immersion in the human essence and sensitivity to immediate emotional internal states, as a construct of emotional intelligence and a way of realizing individual uniqueness in the context of the metamodern concept of atopy. Self-empathy is defined as one of the key existences in human beings, which forms the skill of altruistic (unconditional) implementation of empathy.