Human worldview: structure, typology, characteristic features. Abstract: The concept of worldview, its structure and historical types

Worldview is an important part of a person’s life. As a rational being, he must have his own thoughts, views, ideas, perform actions and be able to analyze them. What is the essence of this concept? What is its structure and typology?

Man is a rational being who lives consciously. It is characterized by mental activity and sensory perception. He is able to set goals and find means to realize them. This means he has a certain worldview. This concept is multifaceted and consists of several important definitions.

Worldview is:

• belief system person to the real, objective world;
• attitude of a rational being to the surrounding reality and to one’s own “I”;
• life position, beliefs, ideals, behavior, moral and ethical values ​​and the concept of morality, the spiritual world of the individual, principles of knowledge and application of experience related to the perception of the environment and society.

Defining and developing a worldview involves studying and perceiving only those views and ideas that have the utmost generalization.

The subjects of this concept are the personality, the individual, and the social group, society. An indicator of the maturity of both subjects is the formation of a stable, unshakable view of things, which directly depends on the material conditions and social existence with which a person is connected.

Levels

Human individuality cannot be the same. This means that the worldview is different. It is associated with several levels of self-awareness.

Its structure consists of a number of important components that have their own characteristics.

1. First level- everyday worldview. Most people are on it, because it is a system of beliefs that are based on common sense, life experience and human instincts.
2. Second level– professional. It is possessed by people engaged in a certain field of scientific and practical activity. It arises as a result of gaining knowledge and experience in a specific field of science, politics, and creativity. A person’s thoughts and ideas that arise at this level are educational in nature and are capable of influencing and being transmitted to other people. Many philosophers, writers, and public figures had this worldview.
3. Third level– the highest point of development is theoretical (philosophy). At this level, the structure and typology of a person’s views on the world and himself is created, studied, analyzed and criticized. The specificity of this level is such that it was reached especially prominent figures, theorists of philosophical science.

Structure

In the structure of the world vision, more specific levels are distinguished:

• elemental: the components of the worldview are combined and realized in everyday consciousness;
• conceptual: basis – ideological problems – concepts;
• methodological: concepts and principles that form the center, the core of the worldview.

These structural components have their own characteristics. From them one can judge how complex and contradictory the beliefs of a person are when he tries to combine knowledge, feelings, values, actions, and his own character traits coming from the outside.

Types

Depending on the level of development of a person’s belief system and the characteristics of his individual perception of the world around him, the following types of worldview are distinguished:

1. Ordinary(everyday) arises in the conditions of familiar everyday life. Usually it is passed on from the older generation to the younger, from adults to children. This type is characterized by clarity of position and ideas about oneself and the environment: people and the environment. WITH early age the individual realizes what the sun, sky, water, morning, good and evil, etc. are like.
2. Mythological implies the presence of uncertainty, the absence of separation between the subjective and objective. A person understands the world through what is known to him by virtue of existence. In this type, the worldview ensured the interaction of generations through mythical connections of the past and the future. The myth became reality; they compared their own views and actions with it.
3. Religious- one of the most powerful and effective types, associated with belief in supernatural forces that control the will, knowledge, moral and physical actions of people.
4. Scientific consists of specific, rational, factual thoughts, ideas, devoid of subjectivity. This type is the most realistic, reasoned and accurate.
5. Philosophical includes theoretical concepts and categories that are based on scientific knowledge and justification of natural, social and personal phenomena in accordance with logic and objective reality. Philosophy, or “love of wisdom” contains the highest meaning of scientific comprehension of the world and selfless service to the truth.
6. Humanistic stands on the fundamental principles of humanism - humanity, which state that:

• man is the highest global value;
• every person is a self-sufficient person;
• every person has unlimited opportunities for their own development, growth and manifestation of creative abilities;
• every person is capable of changing himself, his character;
• Every individual is capable of self-development and a positive impact on others.

In any type of worldview, the main thing is the person, his attitude towards himself and the world around him.

Despite some differences, the functions of each type are aimed at ensuring that a person changes and becomes better, so that his thoughts and ideas do not harm either him or those around him.

What role does vision of the world play in a person’s life?

A person goes through different stages throughout his life. The formation of personality takes place in constant searches and doubts, contradictions and discoveries of truth. If a person is truly interested in his own development and wants to reach the highest point of knowledge, he must develop his personal life position based on his own worldview.

Personal views can bring together different points of view and ideas. Their transformation allows a person to become a person, an individual.

Video: Worldview

Questions to prepare for the philosophy exam

1. Worldview, its structure and historical types.

WORLDVIEW - a system of generalized views on the world and man’s place in it, on people’s attitude towards the reality around them and themselves, as well as their beliefs, ideals, principles of cognition and activity determined by these views.
There are three main types of worldview:
everyday (everyday) worldview, which reflects the ideas of common sense, traditional views about the world and man;
religious worldview associated with the recognition of the supernatural principle of the world;
philosophical worldview, which summarizes the experience of spiritual and practical exploration of the world.
Based on a rational understanding of the culture of philosophy, it develops new ideological orientations. The bearer of a worldview is an individual and a social group that perceives reality through the prism of a certain belief system. It has enormous practical meaning, influencing norms of behavior, life aspirations, interests, work and life of people.
The worldview has a certain structure:
Attitude – sensory perception of the surrounding world (for example, optimist and pessimist)
Worldview – based on the worldview of the surrounding world in ideal images (adequate and inadequate)
Understanding the world is a cognitive and intellectual activity aimed at identifying the essence of ongoing processes.
Worldview has the following forms:
1. myth (mythos - legend) - the very first form (before religion), but now myth also plays an important role. Modern myth is a regulator of people's behavior and their relationships. The myth enshrines the moral and aesthetic values ​​of man.
There are myths:
Ideological
Socio-political
Artistic
Myth is actively used as a manipulator public consciousness.
2. religion – belief in supernatural forces. It has the following functions:
Worldview – helps to build a system of behavior, norms, etc.
Regulatory is the regulator of human interaction
Compensatory – compensates for the lack or insufficiency of knowledge
Consolidating – serves to unite people
Religious Beliefs:
- fetishism - (from French fetiche - idol, talisman), cult inanimate objects- fetishes endowed, according to believers, with supernatural properties. It was common among all primitive peoples. The surviving features are belief in amulets, amulets, talismans.
- animism - (from Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit), belief in the existence of souls and spirits, an essential element of any religion.
- totemism - a complex of beliefs and rituals of a primitive society associated with the idea of ​​kinship between groups of people (usually clans), etc. totems - species of animals and plants (less often natural phenomena and inanimate objects); each clan bore the name of its totem. He could not be killed or eaten.
- magic - (from the Greek mageia) (witchcraft, sorcery), rituals associated with belief in the supernatural ability of a person (sorcerer, magician) to influence people and natural phenomena. Magic arose in primitive society and became an element of rituals.
all these forms existed even before the advent of polytheism (10 thousand years ago), when settled life and the need for social division of labor appeared, the formalization of the relationship of domination and subordination
Monotheism is formed when monarchical states are formed (there is one God in heaven and one King on earth). Forms of monotheism:
Judaism (7th century BC)
Buddhism (5th century BC)
Christianity (1st century BC)
Islam (7th century AD)

2.Specifics of the philosophical development of reality.

Philosophy is a theoretically formulated worldview. It tries to solve basic worldview problems through thinking based on concepts and judgments that are connected with each other according to certain logical laws.
A concept is a thought that reflects in a generalized form the objects and phenomena of reality and the connections between them by fixing general and specific features, which are the properties of objects and phenomena and the relationships between them. In philosophy, in contrast to the religious-mythological worldview, abstraction is widely used, i.e. formation of concepts to designate images of reality.
Philosophy brought to the fore the intellectual aspects of the worldview, reflecting the growing need in society to understand the world and man from the standpoint of knowledge. Initially it appeared in the historical arena as a search for worldly wisdom.
A characteristic feature of the philosophical assimilation of reality is universalism. Philosophy is a form of knowledge of the universal foundations of existence. Throughout the history of culture, it has claimed to develop universal knowledge or universal principles of spiritual and moral life.
Another important feature of the philosophical way of mastering reality is substantialism. Substance, i.e. the underlying essence is the ultimate basis that allows us to reduce the sensory diversity of things and the variability of their properties to something permanent, relatively stable and independently existing. Substantialism manifests itself in the desire of philosophers to explain what is happening, the internal structure and development of the world through a single stable principle.
One of characteristic features philosophical reflection is doubt. Philosophy from the very beginning acts as a criticism of customs, everyday consciousness, traditional values ​​and moral norms. Human institutions that have stood the test of strength are placed on a more solid foundation of knowledge, all others are discarded as outdated.
3. Models of the world in various philosophical directions.

Questions about the essence of the world and the principles of its structure, which were posed in the mythological consciousness, today we can reconstruct in the form of a “mythopoetic model.” The integrity of the perception of the world in myth led to conjectures that objectively could not be realized in scientific models of the world (at least before the advent of Einsteinian physics), which were built rather on the “dismemberment” of existence rather than on the perception of it as a single whole.

The world in the mythopoetic model is initially understood as a complex system of relations between man and the surrounding nature. “In this sense, the world is the result of processing information about the environment and the person himself, and “human” structures and patterns are often extrapolated to the environment, which is described in the language of anthropocentric concepts.” As a result, we are presented with a universal picture of the world, built on completely different foundations than is achieved with the abstract conceptual perception of the world, characteristic of modern thinking. The indicated universality and integrity of ideas about the world in mythological consciousness were due to the weak separation of subject-object relations or even its complete absence. The world seemed united and inseparable from man.

Myth was not just a story about the world, but a kind of ideal model in which events were interpreted through a system of heroes and characters. Therefore, it was the latter who possessed reality, and not the world as such. “Next to myth there could not be in the consciousness of a non-myth, some directly given reality. Myth is a cognitive designation.” Let us now note the main features of this mythopoetic model of the world.

First of all, this is the complete identity of nature and man, which makes it possible to connect together things, phenomena and objects that are apparently far removed from each other, parts of the human body, etc. This model is characterized by an understanding of the unity of space-time relations, which act as a special ordering principle of the cosmos. Nodal points of space and time (holy places and holy days) set a special causal determination of all events, again linking together systems of natural and, for example, ethical norms, developing in each of them a special cosmic measure that a person must follow.

Space is understood simultaneously as qualitative and quantitative certainty. Quantitative certainty is described through special numerical characteristics, through a system of sacred numbers, “cosmologizing the most important parts of the universe and the most crucial (key) moments of life (three, seven, ten, twelve, thirty-three, etc.), and unfavorable numbers, like images of chaos, gracelessness, evil (for example, thirteen)." Qualitative certainty manifests itself in the form of a system of characters in the mythical picture of the world, which are opposed to each other.

This model of the world is based on its own logic - on achieving the set goal in a roundabout way, through overcoming some vital opposites, “having positive and negative meanings, respectively” (sky-earth, day-night, white-black, ancestors-descendants, even-odd , senior-junior, life-death, etc.). Thus, the world is initially interpreted dialectically and it is impossible to achieve any goal directly (ahead) (to enter Baba Yaga’s hut, we do not go around the house, which would be logical in our reality, but we ask the house itself to turn “in front of us, back to the forest"). The dialectic of opposing principles, opposing actions and phenomena makes it possible to create a whole system of classification of the world (a kind of analogue to the system of categories), which in the mythopoetic model acts as a means of ordering being, “conquering new parts of chaos and cosmologizing it. Inside the cosmically organized space, everything is connected with each other (the very act of thinking about such a connection is for primitive consciousness already the objectification of this connection: a thought is a thing); global and integral determinism reigns here."

All these ideas about the unity of the world, with a certain interpretation, as we will see below, turn into philosophy, which, simultaneously relying on scientific data, creates various kinds of models of the unity of the world

So, substance-substrate model sees the unity of the world in the unity of the physicochemical substrate and properties. Data from modern science show that inanimate objects consist of identical chemical elements. The discovery of the internal structure of the atom and the discovery of more and more new elementary particles make it possible to raise the question of creating a unified theory of elementary particles that describes the substrate unity of the elements. In biology, genetic research shows that all living organisms are based on a genetic code consisting of four amino acids. The identity of the physical and chemical composition of living and nonliving matter is established, etc. . Finally, it has been established that all substances and elements of the world are interconnected through electromagnetic and gravitational fields.

Substance model presupposes the unity of the world through the assumption that the basis of being is a certain single substance, ideal or material, from which all the diversity of the world is derived. For Plato, the unity of the world is determined by the demiurge (creator) who created this world; for Hegel, it is the substantiality of the absolute idea, which is expressed in the presence of universal laws of development. In early materialism, a search was carried out for a certain lower layer of reality, the primary element from which all the diversity of the world flows. In dialectical materialism, moving matter acts as a substance, which is capable of generating something new, based on itself. In this substantial model, the unity of the world is manifested in a number of relations. Firstly, matter is preserved in quantitative terms, no matter how it changes, and always has universal attributive properties. Secondly, substantial unity means the conditionality of all processes occurring in the world. An object influences another, acting as the cause of changes in it, as if transferring substance into it.

IN functional (or nomological) model The unity of the world is explained by the presence and functioning of common laws. It is assumed that a certain universal connection is realized in the world. In this case, either a certain mental construction or a connection that is actually feasible can act as a universal connection. Thus, Pythagoras believed that the world is governed by divine mathematical laws of harmony and world order. Leibniz also proceeded from the idea of ​​the existence of unified divine mathematical laws and believed that they could be represented by a system of equations on the basis of which any phenomena could be explained. Laplace, based on the recognition of universal laws, saw the task in the integration of knowledge, which, in his opinion, would make absolute knowledge of the world possible. This concept later received the name “Laplacian determinism,” meaning that if it were possible to combine into a single whole all the knowledge about the world, all the parameters of bodies and fix them in single equations, then it would be possible to create a single formula that would cover all manifestations and all diversity of the world. Within the framework of this model, the particular laws of individual spheres of existence extend to the understanding of the world as a whole. As a result, the Universe appears to be a homogeneous formation, which leads to conclusions about the possibility of its complete and final knowledge. However, this contradicts scientific facts. In particular, it turns out that the universal connection is really limited by the speed of propagation of interactions (the principle of short-range action), the finiteness of the lifetime of objects, the finiteness of the object’s energy, and the absorption factor of physical interactions.

All of the listed models can be called local, since they mainly capture one aspect of existence, i.e. interpret, coarse it in order to identify the laws of this area. “Psychologically, such an approach can be easily understood, since we usually imagine all unknown and unknown areas in concepts and images of what is already known. This is a known content and extends to all possible scales.” This is actually a series of local pictures of the world of one or more sciences, branches of knowledge. Such a picture of the world is obviously incomplete and reflects only part of existence. As soon as such an understanding spreads to the world as a whole, its limitations become obvious.

The connection between philosophy and medicine.

The main sections of philosophy and the functions of philosophical knowledge.

Philosophy as a type of worldview.

The concept of worldview, its structure and main types.

LECTURE No. 1.

SECTION 1. PHILOSOPHY IN THE HISTORICAL DYNAMICS OF CULTURE

TOPIC: Philosophy as a cultural phenomenon

Questions:

3. Basic philosophical problems, subject field of philosophy.

Concept of worldview, its structure and main types. The current stage of historical development is characterized by an unprecedented complication of relationships between all aspects of society, between continents, countries, and regions. The transformations taking place throughout the world and the aggravation of global problems have significantly increased interest in general issues of social development. The conceptual study of these issues has important methodological significance for studying the processes occurring in the modern world, the connections of the past, present and future in the history of mankind. In this situation, the importance of a person’s philosophical understanding of his relationship to reality increases, since we're talking about about a person’s ability and capabilities to navigate conditions when there is a change in the deep ideological attitudes accepted in a given society.

Different sides of the world, playing a significant role in human life, are reflected in his consciousness and are expressed in various forms of social consciousness. Each such form is not only a reflection of a certain aspect of reality, but also a factor that determines a person’s orientation and determines the direction of his goal-setting activity in a given area of ​​life. Mastering the world, going through trial and error, finds and losses, a person accumulated the necessary knowledge, generalized it and systematized it. This knowledge was passed on from generation to generation, enriched with new acquisitions, discoveries, improved, and helped a person survive and realize himself as an individual.

With the formation and development There was a growing need for people and society to understand the world around them and reveal its “secrets.” individual have always been interested in questions about how the world works, what is man’s place in it, is man the creator of his own destiny, can he become the master of those forces in the struggle with which he has to assert his existence, is it possible to achieve happiness, what is the meaning of human existence and pl. etc. When analyzing questions of this kind, the mind inevitably moves from general considerations to specific dimensions of human existence: how to build your attitude towards nature, society, each other, what knowledge and values ​​should you be guided by? The answers to these and other questions are given by the worldview that is formed in culture.

The concept " worldview» inseparable from the concept of “person”. Worldview is a way of spiritual orientation of a person in the surrounding reality, a certain view of the world. This is a system of the most general ideas and knowledge about the world and a person’s place in it, the values ​​and beliefs of the individual. A complex of such ideas is necessary for an individual to organize his activities, behavior, communication, for self-affirmation, determine his life line and behavior strategy.

The most important components of a worldview are: firstly, the image of the subject himself; secondly, the picture of the world and thirdly, the individual’s life strategy.

When studying worldview, they also distinguishsteps ideological development of the world: “ attitude», « worldview», « worldview». Attitude - the first stage of a person’s ideological development, which represents a sensory awareness of the world, when the world is given to a person in the form of images that organize individual experience. Worldview - the second stage, which allows you to see the world in the unity of its sides and give it a certain interpretation. Worldview can be based on various grounds, not necessarily theoretically justified. The worldview can be both positively and negatively colored (for example, the worldview of absurdity, tragedy, shock of existence). Worldview — the highest level of ideological development of the world; a developed worldview with complex interweavings of multifaceted relationships to reality, with the most generalized synthesized views and ideas about the world and man. In the real dimensions of a worldview, these stages are inextricably linked with each other, mutually complement each other, forming a holistic image of the world and one’s place in it.

Analyzing the structure of the worldview, we can highlight its following aspects:: cognitive, axiological, praxeological. Each of these aspects of the worldview represents a complex subsystem, where individual components (aspects) can also be identified.

Cognitive side worldview necessarily includes the so-called naturalistic and humanitarian aspects. Naturalistic aspect The cognitive side of the worldview is knowledge and ideas about nature, space, the universe, and the natural essence of man. Here we consider questions about how the world arose, what life is and in what relation it relates to inanimate things, in what forms life exists in the Universe.

Humanitarian aspect The cognitive side of the worldview is an awareness of one’s social nature, one’s place in the “world of people.” It combines sociological, socio-political, ethical and aesthetic views and the individual's perceptions. How society is structured and functions, what is the direction of the historical process, what is the meaning of history, is social development predictable - these kinds of questions and the answers to them form the essence of humanitarian issues.

In the system of worldview occupies an important place axiological (value) side worldview . The concept of "value" » used to indicate the human, social and cultural significance of phenomena of reality; The value side of the worldview has always acquired its most current significance in eras of collapse cultural tradition and discrediting the ideological foundations of society.

Two types of value attitudes person to the world are the so-called objective and subjective values. Item values include a variety of subjects of human activity, social relations and natural phenomena included in their range, which are considered from the point of view of ethical issues. Subjective values- these are the methods and criteria on the basis of which procedures for assessing the relevant phenomena are carried out. These are attitudes and assessments, imperatives and prohibitions, goals and projects that are fixed in the public consciousness in the form of normative ideas and act as guidelines for human activity. They are formed in the process of socialization of the individual.

Thus, the axiological side of the worldview regulates human activity and is to a certain extent connected with the praxeological side.

Purpose praxeological subsystem - ensure a close connection between the cognitive and value components of the worldview and human activity. This is the spiritual-practical side of the worldview, since here the worldview carries out a kind of “fitting” of various programs of activity, behavior and communication into a practical situation. Thus, the worldview includes certain regulations spiritual and practical activity of the individual. Such regulations can be set through mythological, religious, scientific, philosophical and other views. In addition to regulations and principles, the praxeological side of the worldview also includes such a component as belief.

Belief - this is a form of deepening, rooting knowledge and values ​​in the worldview system, this is faith in the correctness of the acquired ideas. Knowledge may not translate into beliefs, but beliefs are based on rational knowledge. Beliefs are a link in the transition from knowledge to practice. Only when knowledge becomes beliefs does it become an element of a worldview (therefore, a worldview is often defined as a set of beliefs of an individual). Conviction helps a person in life, makes it possible to make choices and resolve difficult situations, which sometimes seem insoluble.

So, the praxeological side of the worldview includes regulatory principles of activity, behavior, communication and belief. Beliefs synthesize knowledge and worldview views, belief in their truth, social values ​​and ideals, and a person’s readiness to act. Thus, the chain of ideological development of a person includes: knowledge, values, beliefs and will to act.

Worldview as a form of human understanding of the surrounding reality has existed as long as humanity has existed in its modern understanding. However, its content varies significantly in different historical eras, as well as in individuals and social groups. Conventionally, we can distinguish the main historical types of worldview.

Historically, the first type was the worldview based on mythology. Man's sense of existence, emotional perception and understanding of nature accessible to him were expressed in ancient legends about the omnipotence of the gods and the exploits of heroes, carried out in a metaphorical, artistic and figurative form. With all the diversity of ancient myths (primitive society, ancient Indian, ancient Chinese, ancient Greek, etc.), they revealed similar human ideas about the world, its structure and man. The world here, as a rule, was presented in the form of chaos, a collision of accidents and the actions of demonic forces. Mythological consciousness did not record the differences between the natural and the supernatural, between reality and imagination.

It is also significant that the consciousness of the people of primitive society was completely indifferent to the contradictions found in the legends. In myth, thinking and action, morals and poetry, knowledge and beliefs are fused together. Such integrity, syncretism (indivisibility) of mythological consciousness was a historically necessary way of spiritual mastery of reality. Summarizing the above, we can conclude that mythological worldview is a set of ideas about the world based on fantasy and belief in supernatural forces, their similarity with manifestations of human activity and human relations. This assimilation natural world the human world was called “anthropomorphism”.

As further development society, the mythological worldview is losing its former role, although some of its elements can be reproduced in the mass consciousness in our days. Civilization brought to life new types of worldviews - religion and philosophy. Main signs religious worldview - belief in supernatural forces and the existence of two worlds (the highest - perfect, heavenly and the lowest - imperfect, earthly). Unlike the mythological one, the religious worldview is only partially based on anthropomorphic ideas, orienting a person to comprehend his differences from the natural world and realize his unity with the human race.

At all the above levels present to varying degrees ordinary (everyday) worldview, which is a set of views on natural and social reality, norms and standards of human behavior, based on common sense and the everyday experience of many generations in various spheres of their life. Unlike the mythological and religious worldview, it is limited, unsystematic and heterogeneous. The content of the everyday worldview varies over a fairly wide range, reflecting the specific lifestyle, experience and interests of certain social groups.

In parallel with the ordinary, scientific worldview, which is a system of ideas about the world, its structural organization, the place and role of man in it; this system is built on the basis of scientific data and develops along with the development of science. The scientific worldview creates the most reliable general basis for the correct orientation of man in the world, in the choice of directions and means of his knowledge and transformation.

All types of worldviews have its pros and cons. The mythological and religious worldview in their own way, often spontaneously, connects generations, consolidates and transmits the system social values, ideals and norms of behavior. At the same time, reality is perceived in them in an illusory, distorted form, contradicting scientific data. The scientific worldview is based on a rational understanding of the world, not allowing an intuitive, irrational understanding of the world, and it also cannot fully reflect and describe the existing reality and consider all the problems associated with human understanding of the world.

Based on mythological and religious worldviews, as well as the foundations of scientific knowledge, the cultural and historical prerequisites for the genesis of philosophical thinking are formed. Philosophical worldview arose from the need for a rational and irrational explanation of the world. It is historically the first form of theoretical thinking. Unites and complements all the missing points of previous types of worldviews. The philosophical worldview is the most general: it concerns a person’s relationship to the world, and considers all phenomena from the point of view not so much of their substantive characteristics, but from the position of their value directly for a person. This type of worldview is characterized by the desire to develop universal theoretical concepts (categories) and principles and, on their basis, provide an essential analysis of reality, identify the ultimate, universal foundations, patterns of existence and development of human culture.

2. Philosophy as a type of worldview.

The origins of philosophy are in the inquisitiveness of the human mind, according to Aristotle, people began to philosophize for the first time as a result of surprise.

Term "philosophy" first appeared in Ancient Greece (literally from the Greek phileo - love, sophia - wisdom, in ancient Russian sources - wisdom). Philosophers appeared first, then the word “philosopher” and a little later the word “philosophy”. According to ancient authors, the name “philosopher” was first found among Pythagoras, and as a designation for a special science, the term “philosophy” was first used by Plato. Ancient thinkers expressed the idea that wisdom as such is the prerogative of the gods, and the destiny of man is the love of wisdom, the attraction to it. In the dialogue “Symposium,” Plato clarifies: “The philosopher occupies an intermediate position between the wise man and the ignorant. None of the gods engages in philosophy, since the gods are already wise. But again, the ignorant do not engage in philosophy and do not want to become wise... Those who are between the gods and the ignorant engage in it" ( Plato, dialogue “Symposium”, 204 a-b).

Not all knowledge from the point of view of the first philosophers, there is wisdom. Much knowledge, as Heraclitus taught, does not add wisdom. Wisdom lies in judging all things and phenomena known to people based on the recognition of their common, enduring basis, and in comprehending the essence of being, finding the universal in the individual, justifying and explaining the diversity of the phenomena of human existence. The need for such an approach is conceptualized in the form of questions that directly affect human existence. These are the so-called eternal philosophical questions that have retained their significance for humans and for humanity for thousands of years.

Unlike mythology, which builds big picture of the world at the level of emotional and sensory cognition, philosophy creates a view of the world focused on rational cognition, it tries to understand the world based on itself . Philosophy differs significantly from other systems of knowledge and cognition in that it constantly questions itself about its own essence, subject and its purpose.

Philosophy inherited from mythology its worldview scheme, which should be understood as a set of questions about the origin of the world, its structure, and the position of man in it. The process of the emergence of philosophy in general form appears as a resolution of the contradiction between the mythological worldview and rational thinking. Philosophy, thus, became the rational-theoretical core of the worldview.

The formation of philosophy meant the establishment of a qualitatively new type of worldview in comparison with mythology and religion, which now appears as a system of abstract ideas that determine the principles of a person’s relationship to the world and his behavior in society. In philosophy, people's social self-awareness, social ideals and values ​​received theoretical expression. At the same time, philosophy was an integrative way of spiritual development of socio-historical practice, the contradictions of the progress of culture and civilization. The remark of the English scientist and philosopher B. Russell is fair: in order to understand an era or a nation, we must understand their philosophy.

However, we should not forget that philosophy does not coincide with the worldview, being only the theoretical core of the latter. Philosophy judges the basis that is common to all phenomena of the world, and seeks in it the conditions of its unity and integrity. Philosophy does not coincide with worldview, because: firstly, the emergence of worldview consciousness significantly precedes the formation of philosophy; secondly, the functions of worldview before the emergence of philosophy were performed by mythology, religion, the beginnings of scientific knowledge and everyday knowledge; and, finally, thirdly, worldview preceded philosophy not only in the process of human development, but also from the point of view of the formation of individual, personal consciousness. (A child who has no idea about philosophy, nevertheless, has a certain view of the world, poses ideological questions to adults and answers them in his own way).

3. Basic philosophical problems, subject field of philosophy.

Fundamental problems of philosophy arise along with its emergence. The range of problems classified as philosophical has changed with the development of human culture, knowledge and practice, but there have always been questions to which answers were traditionally expected exclusively from philosophy. German thinker of the 18th century I. Kant believed that four main philosophical questions can be distinguished: “what can I know?”, “what should I do?”, “what can I hope for?” and “what is a person?” A century later, another German philosopher M. Heidegger considered the ultimate questions of philosophy to be questions about what the world is, finitude, and solitude.

Despite the fact that it is extremely difficult for the various philosophical teachings that existed in the history of culture to recognize a single subject of research, it is possible to isolate the subject area of ​​philosophy, which historically changes within the boundaries determined by the specifics of philosophical knowledge. The subject area of ​​philosophical knowledge is outlined by the range of main problems that philosophy deals with.

-Firstly, this is a problem of the surrounding world, the search for the fundamental principle of all things . This topic is concretized in a number of questions: “Is there an unchangeable beginning of the world or is it in eternal development?”, “Is the world finite or infinite, one or multiple?”, “What is the difference between sensually perceived existence and comprehended speculative reality?” etc. In different historical eras, the answers to these questions took on different “configurations”. Relying on various sciences, synthesizing knowledge from different fields, philosophy delved into the revelation of the essence of the world, the principles of its structure, the fundamental principle of all things. At the same time, various philosophical “models” of the world were formed, retaining at all times paramount importance in the desire to understand its secrets.

- Secondly, the problem of cognition of man and the meaning of his existence . Philosophical anthropology was the focus of many ancient Eastern philosophical schools. Ancient philosophy through the mouth of Protagoras proclaimed famous phrase- “man is the measure of all things.” From the point of view of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, the cosmos is incomprehensible, and a lover of wisdom should realize that the most important thing for a person is self-knowledge. This anthropophilosophical line was continued many centuries later by I. Kant, who saw the highest purpose of philosophy as helping man to take his rightful place in the world, teaching him “what one must be in order to be human.”

- Third, the problem of relations between man and the world, subject and object, subjective and objective, ideal and material. The relationship “man - world” has historically been considered by philosophical knowledge in different ways. In the era of antiquity, it was interpreted as an idea of ​​the place of man in the integrity of the world Cosmos. In the Middle Ages, the problem of man's relationship to God as the absolute reality and the root cause of all things was of particular philosophical interest. New era thinkers in the “man and world” system emphasized the adequacy of scientific knowledge of reality. For German philosophers of the 18th-19th centuries. For Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel, what was important, first of all, was the understanding of the “subject-object” relationship. But with all the options for interpreting this system, ultimately, philosophers faced the need to clarify their position on the relationship between consciousness and matter.

Two opposing approaches to the solution of the question of nature, the essence of the world and man, they identified the essence of the main question of philosophy as the question of the relationship of spirit to nature, consciousness to matter, thinking to being. Recognition of the material and ideal as the ultimate foundations of the world and man inevitably led to the solution of the question of what is primary - matter or consciousness. The formulation and solution of this question constituted the first aspect of the main question of philosophy. Depending on how philosophers answered this question, what they considered primary and what secondary, they were divided into materialists and idealists. This is how materialism and idealism arose as two main directions in philosophy.

Materialism comes from that the world is material in nature, eternal, uncreated, matter is primary; that consciousness is a product, a property of highly organized matter (brain), consciousness is thus secondary. The material world, according to materialism, exists independently of man with his consciousness, or of any other forces. In history philosophical thought For a long time, materialism considered man only as a natural being, without seeing in him, first of all, a socio-historical essence. Nature (the world, space, the Universe) was so extolled by man that it was often deified, and human consciousness was sometimes attributed to it as its comprehensive property (pantheism, hylozoism, etc.). As a result, consciousness was explained at the natural, biological, rather than at the social level. Despite all its limitations, such a materialistic explanation of consciousness removed the mystical shell from man, raised the question of real, earthly well-being, of man’s natural desire for a better life, happiness, goodness, beauty, etc.

Idealism comes from the primacy of spirit, consciousness, thinking and secondary nature, matter, being. Those of them who believe that consciousness exists outside and before nature, independently of it, are called objective idealists(Plato, Hegel, etc.). In their view, nature and man himself are created by some impersonal spirit (world mind, idea, will, God). This world mind is nothing more than human consciousness itself, divorced from man and transformed into an independent, objective, all-encompassing force capable of creating the world around us. A different version of the idealistic solution to the main question of philosophy is offered by those thinkers who generally do not allow any reality outside and independent of our consciousness. This subjective idealists(J. Berkeley, D. Hume, etc.). Subjective idealism focuses on the subjective side of a person’s life, his ambiguous and contradictory attitude towards the world, which is perceived only through the prism of a complex system of assessments and really acts as a person’s sensory world.

- And finally, the fourth philosophical problem is related to the resolution of subject-subject relations, considering a person in the “world of people”. Here philosophy seeks to resolve complex issues related to the search for an ideal model of society (starting with the ideal state of Plato and Confucius, More’s “Utopia,” Campanella’s “City of the Sun” and ending with the Marxist model of the so-called harmonious communist society), the problem of individual self-improvement, and the problem of alienation. The search for agreement, mutual understanding, the ideals of tolerance, flexibility, and communicative resolution of all emerging conflicts are becoming the leading philosophical themes of modern philosophical thought.

None of the identified philosophical topics can be completely isolated from the other. They complement each other, but at the same time, in various philosophical teachings, priority is given to one or another philosophical topic- either the construction of an ideal model of the world, or the problem of man, or the relationship between man and the world, the formulation of epistemological questions. We must also not forget about the problem of the relationship between man and society, a person immersed in society and in the world of people. In historical dynamics, the emphasis in solving these philosophical problems has changed, but already in ancient philosophical teachings it is possible to fix the formulation and unique solution of each of the identified philosophical themes that determined all later types of philosophical worldview.

Thus, the possibility of different interpretations of the subject of philosophy lies in the complexity and versatility of the subject of research itself. Each time, L. Feuerbach noted in this regard, has exactly the philosophy that suits it, and recommended not to forget about the time when this or that work was created. The most subtle and precious thoughts of his time and people are concentrated, according to him, in philosophical ideas.

4. The main sections of philosophy and the functions of philosophical knowledge.

We have outlined only individual contours of the problematic field of philosophical knowledge, which make it possible to determine the dynamics and diversity of the subject of philosophy. Within the framework of philosophical knowledge proper, already in the early stages of its formation, its differentiation began, as a result of which such philosophical disciplines as ethics, logic, aesthetics were identified and the following sections of philosophical knowledge gradually took shape:

- ontology - the doctrine of existence, the principles of all things, the criteria of existence, general principles and laws of existence;

- epistemology - a section of philosophy in which the problems of the nature of knowledge and its capabilities, the relationship of knowledge to reality are studied, the conditions for the reliability and truth of knowledge are identified;

- axiology - the doctrine of the nature and structure of values, their place in reality, the connection between values;

- praxeology - the doctrine of the practical relationship between man and the world, the activity of our spirit, goal-setting and human effectiveness;

- anthropology - philosophical doctrine about man;

- social philosophy - a branch of philosophy that describes specific features society, its dynamics and prospects, the logic of social processes, the meaning and purpose of human history.

These sections are not reducible to each other, but are closely related to each other.

The role and place of philosophy in society is determined by its functions, by which we mean its impact on people and on their diverse objective activities. This influence, in a broad sense, appears as an influence on a person’s thoughts and behavior, as well as on their justification, stimulation and orientation. Functions philosophies are multifaceted. The fundamental function of philosophy is to identify the universals of culture and express their content in the system of philosophical knowledge. Universals (the most general ideas) of culture are recorded in folklore, art, religion, and ethical teachings, often through images, allegories, parables, i.e. not always in a logically coherent and information-rich form. Philosophy expresses their content primarily in a system of categories, which provides it with greater opportunities in the spiritual reproduction of reality and in the development of its mechanisms. This is accomplished in the process of philosophy performing a number of functions.

The most important of them:

- ideological- consists in developing a person’s generalized ideas about reality, his behavior and activities;

- methodological- is associated with the development, within the framework of philosophy, of ideas about the optimal way of human actions in the sphere of knowledge, practice and communication;

- epistemological- consists in creating a generalized picture of the knowledge of the world, formulating the principles of the cognitive relationship of the subject to the object, developing universal methods of scientific knowledge and logical thinking;

- axiological- focused on critical analysis of fundamental theoretical foundations value orientations people, their moral and aesthetic ideals, spiritual regulators of behavior in the world;

- praxeological- manifests itself in its indirect impact on practical activities people, determining their social goals and ideals, choosing means and methods of individual and collective action;

- critical- consists in identifying, by means of philosophy, misconceptions, dogmas and outdated stereotypes of thinking;

- prognostic - is associated with the development by means of philosophy of ideas that reflect the possible states of natural formations and society, trends in the development of events in various spheres of human activity and global processes.

Revealing the specifics of philosophy as a form of social consciousness, its content and functions is an important condition for the transformation of philosophical positions into ideological guidelines that help a person determine his attitude towards the world and himself. The study of the historical dynamics of the subject of philosophy, comparison of philosophy with mythology, religion, science, art, worldview allows us to conclude that philosophy cannot be reduced to any of these phenomena of human culture in an unambiguous way. She herself exists only when we philosophize. Philosophy is philosophizing (M. Heidegger). “Philosophy is, in fact, nostalgia, the desire to be at home everywhere,” wrote the poet and thinker Novalis. Philosophy can be a similar craving when we who philosophize are “not at home” everywhere. Philosophical truth is essentially the truth of human presence in the world.

Philosophy is one of the oldest and most fascinating fields human knowledge, spiritual culture. Originating in the 6th century. BC. in Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, it became a stable form of social consciousness for all subsequent times.

Each person, mastering and learning about the world, willingly or unwillingly, constantly faces the problems that are discussed in. A person thinks about the secrets of the universe, about the fate of humanity, about life and death, about the meaning of life, about good and evil, justice, etc. These and other “eternal” questions, each time solved anew by new generations, constitute the range of questions necessary for a person to have a general orientation in the world, to understand his place and role in it. The answers to these “eternal” questions form a person’s general view of the world and constitute his worldview.

The concept of worldview includes complex structure. Its main elements are knowledge, values, beliefs, principles, norms, ideals, and action programs. In the structure of the worldview, four main components can be distinguished:
1. Cognitive component. It is based on generalized knowledge - everyday, professional, scientific, etc. This is knowledge and ideas about nature as a whole, about the universe, the cosmos. Here we find answers to the questions: how the world arose, what life is, how it arose, in what forms it exists in the Universe, in what relation it is to inanimate things. In addition to knowledge about nature, the cognitive component of the worldview includes anthropological, sociological, socio-political, ethical and aesthetic views and ideas of people. This is generalized knowledge about man himself and about society, about its structure, functioning, about the direction of the historical process, about the meaning of history, ideas about human freedom in choosing actions and directions of activity.

The cognitive side of the worldview consists not only of views and ideas about nature, space, society, human history, but also questions related to clarifying a person’s cognitive relationship to the outside world: how does the thought of an object relate to the object itself, is it possible to adequately reflect the object, what is truth, error, lie, etc.

2. Value-normative component. It includes values, ideals, norms, etc. The concept of “value” is used to indicate the human and cultural significance of certain phenomena of reality. Value is the ability of an object or phenomenon to satisfy the needs and desires of people. The human value system includes ideas about good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, the purpose and meaning of life, etc. A person’s value attitude towards the world and towards himself forms a certain hierarchy of values, at the top of which there are some kind of absolute values ​​fixed in certain social ideals. An ideal is a model (standard) for a person in a specific situation and his desired norm in the future.

Evaluation is a way of determining value by a specific person, social group, or society. Assessment establishes a measure of compliance of the properties and features of an object or phenomenon with the needs and interests of a particular person, social group, class, stratum, etc. Therefore, the interpretation of the same phenomenon may be different for different people, social groups, etc.

The consequence of a person’s stable, repeated assessment of his relationships with other people are social norms: moral, religious, legal, etc., regulating daily life both the individual and the entire society. In norms, to a greater extent than in values, there is a commanding, imperative element, a requirement to act in a certain way, this is its regulatory function.

Conviction is a form of deepening, rooting knowledge and values ​​in a worldview system; it is a person’s faith in the correctness of the acquired ideas. Knowledge may not turn into beliefs. In turn, beliefs are not always based solely on rational knowledge. Belief is not only an intellectual position, but also emotional condition, stable psychological attitude, a person’s unshakable confidence in the correctness of the ideas that take possession of our thoughts and subordinate our activities. In the mechanisms of belief formation, along with knowledge, belief in their correctness, and a system of values, the volitional component also plays a crucial role. Will is a person’s ability to set goals and mobilize himself to achieve them.

4. Practical component. Worldview is not only a set of knowledge, beliefs, values, ideals, etc., but also a person’s real readiness for a certain type of behavior in specific circumstances. Without the practical component, the worldview would be extremely abstract and abstract.

Based on the above, we can propose the following definition of worldview.

Worldview is an extremely generalized, ordered system of a person’s views on the world around him, natural phenomena, society and himself; This is a system of the most general ideas about the world as a whole and a person’s place in it, as well as a set of beliefs, views, assessments, ideals, norms that determine a person’s attitude to the world and act as guidelines and regulators of his behavior.

Based on the nature of formation and method of functioning, one can distinguish the vital-practical and theoretical levels of worldview.

The life-practical level or everyday worldview is a spontaneously developing type of worldview in every person in the process of life, which includes a non-systematized generalized idea of ​​​​the world and a person’s place in this world. At this level, worldview is based on common sense and a variety of everyday experiences.

The everyday worldview includes the skills, customs, traditions passed down from generation to generation, and the learned experience of each individual person. It often contains internal contradictions and prejudices. The everyday worldview as a whole is not capable of critically understanding the inner essence of the complex, diverse and contradictory relationships “man - the world around him.”

These shortcomings are overcome at another, higher level of worldview - theoretical. The significance of this level lies in the fact that it is at this level that a critical understanding of the fundamental foundations of worldview beliefs, goals, ideals, and a picture of the world takes place, which are based on the everyday wisdom of traditions and common sense. Philosophy belongs to this level.

Philosophy is a form of worldview; however, not every worldview can be called philosophical. The concept of worldview is broader than the concept of philosophy. Philosophy does not coincide with worldview, because, firstly, the emergence of worldview consciousness precedes the formation of philosophy; secondly, the functions of worldview before the emergence of philosophy were performed by mythology, religion, and everyday knowledge; thirdly, worldview preceded philosophy not only in the historical process of human development, but also from the point of view of the formation of individual, personal consciousness. A child who has no idea about philosophy, nevertheless, has a certain view of the world, poses worldview questions and answers them in his own way.

Philosophy is not the primary form of worldview in the history of human development; it arises on the basis of previous worldview forms - mythology and religion. Thus, the main historical types of worldview include mythology, religion, and philosophy.

The mythological worldview is historically the first, non-divided form of spiritual culture of humanity, containing the rudiments of religion, science, art, morality and other forms of social life.

Mythology (from the Greek narrative, legend) is a type of worldview that is characterized by a fantastic reflection of reality in the form of sensory and visual representations.

The prerequisites for the mythological worldview were the inability of man to distinguish himself from the environment and the indivisibility of the mythological, which was not separated from the emotional sphere. Mythology was the first attempt at a person’s conscious relationship to himself and the world around him, an attempt by a person, with the help of fairy-tale characters, to create a unified picture of the world and show his place in this world. The main questions that mythology solved were questions about the origin of the Universe, the Earth and man, about the causes of natural phenomena, about the life and death of man, etc.

The distinctive features of the mythological worldview include:
- syncretism (undivided unity of the real and the imaginary, knowledge and faith, natural and supernatural);
- anthropomorphism (endowing objects of nature, and then social phenomena with human appearance and properties);
- hylozoism (absence of a boundary between living and nonliving), concreteness, emotionality, non-reflexivity, etc.).

Mythological thinking is artistic in nature, therefore it operates with images, but not with concepts (as a form).

Has the mythological form of worldview become a thing of the past? We can say that in general, mythology as a worldview form has historically outlived its usefulness, however, it can be fragmentarily preserved in modern culture. Various forms of social consciousness (for example, art) continue to use elements of mythology. In the 20th century, there was a conscious appeal of some areas of art and literature to myths, in which there was a rethinking of classical mythological images, as well as conscious myth-making.

Under certain conditions, mass consciousness can serve as the basis for the spread of a “social” or “political” myth. In a number of cases, authorities seek to create myths through which it becomes possible to manipulate mass consciousness (for example, myths about racial or national superiority, about the infallibility of leaders, about enemies, etc.).

Mythology has had a significant influence on the spiritual life of mankind. Mythological subjects inspired great artists and poets to create their creations, which were included in the golden fund of art.

Religion has replaced mythology. The religious worldview was formed at a relatively high stage of social development. Religion (from Latin - piety, shrine, object of worship) is a form of worldview in which the development of the world is carried out through its doubling into the earthly and supernatural, and supernatural forces in the form of gods play a dominant role in the universe and in the lives of people.

Religion is close to mythology, but different from it. The closeness of religion and mythology lies in the fact that religion, like mythology, appeals to fantasies and feelings. Religion differs from mythology in that it does not confuse the earthly and the sacred, but bifurcates the world into the earthly (real, natural, comprehended by the senses) and the otherworldly (supernatural, supersensible). The basis of the religious worldview is the belief in the existence of supernatural forces. As one of the main distinctive features religion can be called the presence of a cult system, i.e. systems of ritual actions aimed at establishing certain relationships with the supernatural world.

A qualitatively new type of worldview is a philosophical worldview.

The term philosophy (translated from ancient Greek “phileo” - love, “sophia” - wisdom) means love of wisdom. The word “philosopher” was first used by the Greek mathematician and thinker Pythagoras (6th century BC) in relation to people striving for intellectual knowledge and a correct lifestyle. Philosophy became a new phenomenon in the 6th century BC. in Ancient China, Ancient India and Ancient Greece. The most developed civilizations with a productive economy and commodity-money relations, with the first states and class structure, arose in these regions. A mature social foundation gave rise to ancient science and philosophy.

Philosophy is a special form of knowledge of the world, a form of social consciousness, a form of spiritual activity that develops a system of theoretical knowledge about the most general principles of being, knowledge, about the universal laws of development of nature, society and thinking, about man’s relationship to the world and his place in this world.

With the development of human society, the establishment by man of certain laws of existence, and the improvement of the cognitive apparatus, the need arose for the emergence of a new form of mastering ideological problems.

Philosophy arises from the need for a rational understanding of the world, as the first attempt to solve basic ideological problems by means of reason, i.e. thinking based on concepts and judgments interconnected by certain logical laws.

Philosophy differs from other forms of worldview not so much in its subject matter as in the way it is conceptualized, the degree of intellectual development of problems and methods of approaching their resolution. Philosophy inherited from mythology and religion their ideological character, i.e. the entire set of questions about the origin of the world and others, as well as the entire volume of positive (positive, useful) knowledge that humanity has accumulated over thousands of years. However, the solution to ideological problems in the emerging philosophy took place from a different angle, namely from the position of rational assessment, from the position of reason, and not faith or fiction.

The emergence of philosophy is the emergence of a secondary type of social consciousness, aimed at understanding the already established various forms of practice and culture. Philosophers subject this diverse material to reflection (Latin reflexio - turning back) and thereby comprehend the universal. The goal of philosophical search is to discover the universal through the particular and the general. This is equivalent to the fact that philosophy goes beyond everything finite and begins to reflect on the infinite. Such thinking is transcendental (lat. transcendens - stepping over, going beyond), since it is on the other side of finite things and particular laws, which are the subjects of practical experience and science. Problems of philosophical worldview cover the world as a whole, human life as a whole, and a person’s attitude to the world as a whole. The essence of philosophy is reflection on universal problems in the “world - man” system.

Thus, the subject of philosophy is formed by the universal essences of the world and its main fragments. Philosophy rationalizes the most general ideas about the world and man that develop in various spheres of spiritual culture, which are called universals of culture. Universals of culture are categories that accumulate historically accumulated social experience and in the system of which a person of a certain era evaluates, comprehends and experiences the world, brings together all phenomena that fall within the sphere of his existence. Universals of culture, first of all, are forms of thinking that characterize any human consciousness in various cultures; they are the quintessence of accumulated human experience, based on which each new generation learns and transforms the world. In addition, they determine a person’s emotional experience of the world, his assessment of the phenomena and events of the surrounding reality. Categories arise, develop and function in culture as complete system, where all elements are somehow connected to each other. This system appears as a generalized model of the human world, which is transmitted in culture and assimilated by individuals in the process of socialization. In the system of universals of culture, one can distinguish the so-called basic, universal categories, in which the necessary, essential properties and characteristics of objects and phenomena of the world are revealed. These properties are revealed by practice in the objective world, and then transferred to the ideal plane of consciousness, fixed in the form of the categories of space, time, movement, thing, property, relationship, quantity, quality, measure, form, content, causality, chance, necessity, etc. P. These categories are universal, since corresponding characteristics and properties are found in any objects. In addition to the basic categories in the system of universals of culture, one can distinguish categories through which the characteristics and properties of the subject of activity, the structure of his communication, his relationship to other people and society as a whole, to the goals and values ​​of social life are expressed. These include the following categories: man, society, self, others, labor, consciousness, goodness, beauty, faith, hope, duty, conscience, justice, freedom, etc. These categories no longer have the status of general and universal categories of being, but are applicable only to the sphere of social relations. However, in human life they play no less a role than basic categories. They record in the most general form the historically accumulated experience of including individuals in the system of social relations and communications.

So, the system of categories that underlies culture acts as its fundamental ideological structures. It expresses the most general ideas about nature, society, the place of man in the world, characteristic of a given culture, social relations, spiritual life, values ​​of the human world, etc. Each type of culture has a specific categorical structure of consciousness that expresses the characteristics of the culture certain type society, its inherent forms and methods of communication and activity of people, the scale of values ​​​​adopted in it. Categorical structures reveal themselves in all manifestations of the spiritual and material culture of a society of one or another historical type (in everyday language, phenomena of moral consciousness, artistic exploration of the world, etc.). They express the worldview of a given era, determining not only the explanation and understanding, but also a person’s experience of the world, which allows them to be considered as the foundations of the culture of the corresponding era.

For a person formed by the corresponding culture, the meaning of its universals most often appears as something self-evident, in accordance with which he organizes his own and builds his life.

In the process of philosophical culture over the universals, the language of philosophy is formed, which is a system of extremely generalized categorical forms. Thus, the result philosophical research and rational-logical reflection are philosophical categories that act as a kind of theoretical rationalization of the universals of culture, which are not always expressed in a logically coherent form and can be recorded in the form of images, allegories, parables, etc. They overcome sensory-emotional concreteness, imagery, symbolism, and the metaphorical nature of the language of pre-philosophical forms of worldview. Philosophical categories are forms of mental activity that reflect the essential and universal characteristics of natural and social reality. The specificity of philosophical categories is that they are universal in nature, i.e. are applicable not to any one area of ​​phenomena, but to phenomena existing in different areas of reality.

The specificity of philosophical reflection on the foundations of culture lies in the fact that with its help, awareness and comprehension of the ultimate foundations of being and worldview, the universals of human culture as a whole are realized. Therefore we can say that philosophy acts as a culture.

If we summarize all of the above, we can say that the initial beginning philosophical analysis, research, become the results of a rich and varied experience of spiritual and practical development by society of reality (everyday, religious, mythological, artistic, scientific). Historically, philosophy arises as a rational-theoretical type of worldview and a special form of spiritual mastery of reality, in the process of which a holistic and extremely generalized system of knowledge about the world, man and the forms of interrelation between them in a system of logical categories is developed. Philosophical categories, laws, principles are universal in nature, extending simultaneously to nature, society, man and thinking. Philosophy, as it were, brings together all knowledge about the individual, concrete, special, and natural into a generalized, systematized reflection of reality. Thus, philosophy is a theoretically formulated, systemically rational worldview. At its core, it is designed to reveal the rational meaning and universal laws of the existence and development of the world and man.

Introduction...

The concept of worldview...

Its structure...

Historical types...

Features of the philosophical worldview

Its difference from myth, religion and science

Basic problems of philosophy.

The problem of the “fundamental question” of philosophy in classical and non-classical classical philosophy

The structure of philosophical knowledge.

The status and role of philosophy in modern culture

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this work is to give an idea of ​​the worldview as a whole, its structure, historical types, aspects and forms, as well as the philosophical worldview as a special form of worldview. And also highlight the features of the philosophical worldview and indicate the difference from myth, religion and science.

Indicate the main problems of philosophy, separately highlight the problem of the “main question” in classical and non-classical philosophy.

And also describe the structure of philosophical knowledge and turn in work to philosophy in modern culture

The material is distributed into logically complete groups, the main ideas of which are reflected in the titles. Thus, the content of the test work is also his thesis plan.

CHAPTER 1: THE CONCEPT OF WORLDVIEW, ITS STRUCTURE AND HISTORICAL TYPES.

1. CONCEPT OF WORLDVIEW

Man is a rational social being. His activities are expedient. And in order to act expediently in difficult real world, he must not only know a lot, but also be able to do it. Be able to choose goals, be able to make this or that decision. To do this, he needs, first of all, a deep and correct understanding of the world - a worldview.

Man has always wondered what his place is in the world, why he lives, what is the meaning of his life, why life and death exist. Every era and social group has some idea of ​​how to resolve these issues. The sum of all these questions and answers form a worldview. It plays a special, very important role in all human activities.

There are two ways to master the universe:

1) through psychological associations, through images and ideas;

2) through a logical system of concepts and categories.

There are 2 levels of worldview:

1) emotional-figurative - associated with the world of sensations (art, mythology and religion);

2) logical-rational (philosophy and sciences that form the worldview).

Worldview is a system of ideas about the world and a person’s place in it, about a person’s relationship to the surrounding reality and to himself, as well as the basic life positions of people, their beliefs, ideals, and value orientations, determined by these views. This is a way for a person to master the world, in the unity of a theoretical and practical approach to reality. Three main types of worldview should be distinguished:

Everyday (ordinary) is generated by the immediate conditions of life and experience transmitted over generations,

Religious – associated with the recognition of the supernatural principle of the world, expressed in emotional and figurative form,

Philosophical - appears in a conceptual, categorical form, to one degree or another relying on the achievements of the sciences of nature and society and possessing a certain measure of logical evidence.

Worldview is a system of generalized feelings, intuitive ideas and theoretical views on the world around us and man’s place in it, on man’s multilateral relationship to the world, to himself and to other people, the system of not always conscious basic life attitudes of a person of a certain social group and society, their beliefs, ideals, value orientations, moral, ethical and religious principles of cognition and assessment. Worldview is a kind of framework for the structure of an individual, class or society as a whole. The subject of a worldview is an individual, a social group and society as a whole.

Based on the lessons of the past, A. Schweitzer stated: “For society, as well as for the individual, life without a worldview represents a pathological violation of the highest sense of orientation.”

The basis of a worldview is knowledge. Any knowledge forms a worldview framework. The greatest role in the formation of this framework belongs to philosophy, since philosophy arose and was formed as a response to the ideological questions of humanity. Any philosophy performs a worldview function, but not every worldview is philosophical. Philosophy is the theoretical core of a worldview.

The structure of a worldview includes not only knowledge but also its assessment. That is, the worldview is characterized not only by informational, but also by value (axiological) saturation.

Knowledge enters the worldview in the form of beliefs. Beliefs are the prism through which reality is seen. Beliefs are not only an intellectual position, but also an emotional state, a stable psychological attitude; confidence in the correctness of one’s ideals, principles, ideas, views, which subjugate a person’s feelings, conscience, will and actions.

The structure of a worldview includes ideals. They can be both scientifically based and illusory, both achievable and unrealistic. As a rule, they are facing the future. Ideals are the basis of the spiritual life of an individual. The presence of ideals in a worldview characterizes it as a proactive reflection, as a force that not only reflects reality but also orients it towards changing it.

Worldview is formed under the influence of social conditions, upbringing and education. Its formation begins in childhood. It determines a person’s life position.

It should be especially emphasized that a worldview is not only content, but also a way of understanding reality. Essential Component worldview represents ideals as decisive life goals. The nature of the idea of ​​the world contributes to the setting of certain goals, from the generalization of which a general life plan is formed, ideals are formed that give the worldview effective force. The content of consciousness turns into a worldview when it acquires the character of beliefs, confidence in the correctness of one’s ideas.

Worldview is of great practical importance. It affects norms of behavior, attitudes towards work, towards other people, the nature of life aspirations, tastes and interests. This is a kind of spiritual prism through which everything around us is perceived and experienced.

2. STRUCTURE OF WORLDVIEW

The structure of the worldview includes:

1) Knowledge is a set of information about the world around us. They are the initial link, the “cell” of the worldview. Knowledge can be scientific, professional (military), everyday practical. The more solid a person’s stock of knowledge is, the more support his worldview can receive. However, the worldview does not include all knowledge, but only those that a person needs to navigate the world. If there is no knowledge, then there is no worldview.

2) Values ​​are a special attitude of people towards everything that happens in accordance with their goals, needs, interests, one or another understanding of the meaning of life. Values ​​are characterized by such concepts as “significance”, “usefulness” or “harmfulness”. Significance shows the degree of intensity of our attitude - something touches us more, something less, something leaves us calm.

Utility shows our practical need for something. It can characterize material and spiritual values: clothing, shelter, tools, knowledge, skills, etc.

Harmfulness is our negative attitude towards some phenomenon.

3) Emotions are a person’s subjective reaction to the influence of internal and external stimuli, manifested in the form of pleasure or displeasure, joy, fear, etc.

Life constantly gives rise to a complex range of emotions in people. These may include “dark” emotions: uncertainty, powerlessness, sadness, grief, etc.

At the same time, people have a whole range of “bright” emotions: joy, happiness, harmony, satisfaction with life, etc.

Moral emotions give a powerful impetus to worldview: shame, conscience, duty, mercy. A clear expression of the influence of emotions on the worldview are the words of the famous philosopher I. Kant: “Two things always fill the soul with new and increasingly powerful surprise and awe, the more often and longer we reflect on them - this is the starry sky above me and the moral law in me.” .

4) Will - the ability to choose the goal of activity and the internal efforts necessary for its implementation.

This gives the entire worldview a special character and allows a person to put his worldview into practice.

5) Beliefs - views actively accepted by people that correspond to their vital interests. In the name of beliefs, people sometimes risk their lives and even go to their death - so great is their motivating power.

Beliefs are knowledge combined with will. They become the basis of life, behavior, actions of individuals, social groups, nations, peoples.

6) Faith is the degree of trust a person has in the content of his knowledge. The range of human faith is very wide. It ranges from practical obviousness to religious beliefs or even gullible acceptance of outlandish fictions.

7) Doubt - a critical attitude towards any knowledge or values.

Doubt is an essential element of an independent worldview. Fanatical, unconditional acceptance of any views without one’s own critical reflection is called dogmatism.

But you can’t go over a certain limit here, because you can go to the other extreme - skepticism, or nihilism - disbelief in anything, loss of ideals.

Thus, a worldview is a complex, contradictory unity of knowledge, values, emotions, will, beliefs, faith, and doubts that allows a person to navigate the world around him.

The core, the basis of a worldview is knowledge. Depending on this, the worldview is divided into ordinary, professional and scientific.

1) An ordinary worldview is a set of views based on common sense and everyday life experience. This spontaneously emerging worldview covers the widest strata of society, is very important, it is a really “working” worldview of many millions of people. However, the scientific level of this worldview is not high.

2) A higher type of worldview is professional, formed under the influence of the knowledge and experience of people in various fields of activity, etc. This could be the worldview of a scientist, writer, politician, etc.

Worldview ideas that arise in the process of scientific, artistic, political, and other creativity can, to a certain extent, influence the thinking of professional philosophers. A striking example of this is the enormous influence of the work of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky to domestic and world philosophy, but even at this level a person is not immune from mistakes.

3) The highest level of worldview is a theoretical worldview, to which philosophy belongs. Unlike other types of worldview, philosophy is not only the creator of a worldview, but also professionally analyzes the worldview and subjects it to critical reflection.

The concept of the structure of a worldview presupposes the identification of its structural levels: elemental, conceptual and methodological.

The elemental level is a set of ideological concepts, ideas, views, assessments that develop and function in everyday consciousness.

The conceptual level includes various ideological problems. These can be various concepts of the world, space, time, social development of man, his activity or knowledge, the future of humanity, etc.

The methodological level - the highest level of worldview - includes the basic concepts and principles that form the core of the worldview. The peculiarity of these principles is that they are developed not simply on the basis of ideas and knowledge, but taking into account the value reflection of the world and man.

Being included in the worldview, knowledge, values, behavior are colored by emotions, combined with will and form the conviction of the individual. An obligatory component of the worldview is faith; it can be both rational and religious faith.

So, a worldview is a complex, intense, contradictory unity of knowledge and values, intellect and emotions, worldview and attitude, a reasonable justification of faith.

The life-practical worldview is heterogeneous; it develops depending on the nature of education, the level of intellectual and spiritual culture, and the national and religious traditions of its bearers.

1) HISTORICAL TYPES OF WORLDVIEW ARE

1) mythological,

2) religious

3) philosophical.

Historically, the first was the mythological view of the world (myth - legend, tale; logos - word, doctrine, concept, law) a product of imagination, an attempt by people to explain the world, the origin of the earth, rivers, lakes, the secrets of birth and death, etc. Human psyche requires a myth. This is the main way of understanding the world in primitive society - worldview.

The mythological worldview is characterized by an unclear separation of subject and object, the inability of a person to distinguish himself from the environment. In the process of cognition, the unknown is comprehended through the known; Man knows his own existence and the existence of the race, from which he does not initially distinguish himself.

The basic principle for solving ideological issues in myth is genetic, i.e. the origin of the world and nature was explained by who gave birth to whom (the book of Genesis). Myth combines two aspects: diachronic (a story about the past) and synchronic (an explanation of the present and future). The past was connected with the future, which ensured the connection of generations. People believed in the reality of the myth; the myth determined the norms of behavior in society, the value system, and established harmony between the world and man. This animation of myth is expressed in primitive forms of religion - fetishism, totemism, animism, primitive magic. The evolution of ideas about the mysterious spiritual forces underlying natural phenomena takes the classical form of religion. Along with mythology, there was also religion.

Religion(from Latin religio - piety, holiness) is a form of worldview, the foundation of which is the belief in the presence of certain supernatural forces that play a leading role in the world around humans and specifically in the fate of each of us. In the early stages of the development of society, mythology and religion formed a single whole. So the main elements of religion were: worldview (in the form of myth), religious feelings (in the form of mystical moods) and cult rituals. Religion is a belief in the supernatural, based on faith.

The main function of religion is to help a person overcome the difficulties of existence and elevate him to the eternal. Religion gives meaning and stability to human existence, cultivates eternal values ​​(love, kindness, tolerance, compassion, home, justice, connecting them with the sacred, supernatural). The spiritual principle of the world, its center, the specific starting point among the relativity and fluidity of the world's diversity is God. God gives integrity and unity to the whole world. He directs the course of world history and establishes the moral sanction of human actions. And finally, in the person of God, the world has a “higher authority”, a source of strength and help, giving a person the opportunity to be heard and understood.

The problem of God, translated into the language of philosophy, is the problem of the existence of the absolute, the supramundane rational principle, actually infinite in time and space. In religion, this is the beginning of the abstract-impersonal, and the personal, expressed in God.

The mythological and religious worldview was of a spiritual and practical nature and was associated with low level mastering reality, human dependence on nature. Later, with the development of civilization, people began to rise to a theoretical understanding of worldview problems. The result of this was the creation of philosophical systems.

Philosophy is an extremely generalized, theoretical vision of the world.

The term "philosophy" comes from the Greek "phileo" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom) and means "love of wisdom", of theoretical reasoning. The term “philosopher” was first used by the ancient Greek scientist and philosopher Pythagoras (580-500 BC) in relation to people striving for high wisdom and the right way of life.

The very concept of wisdom carried a sublime meaning; wisdom was understood as a scientific comprehension of the world, based on selfless service to the truth.

Wisdom is not something ready-made that can be learned, solidified and used. Wisdom is a search that requires effort of the mind and all the spiritual powers of a person.

As a result of this emergence, the development of philosophy meant dissociation from mythology and religion, as well as going beyond the framework of everyday consciousness.

Philosophy and religion as worldviews often solve similar problems of explaining the world, as well as influencing human consciousness and behavior.

Their fundamental difference is that religion, in solving ideological problems, is based on faith, and philosophy is a reflection of the world in a theoretical, rationally understandable form.

1) The original types of worldview are preserved throughout history.

2) “Pure” types of worldview are practically not found in real life form complex and contradictory combinations.

CHAPTER 2. FEATURES OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORLDVIEW, ITS DIFFERENCE FROM MYTH, RELIGION AND SCIENCE

1. FEATURES OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL WORLDVIEW

The worldview is formed not only by philosophy, but also by scientific (natural, technical, social) disciplines, as well as by various forms of social consciousness - political, religious, etc. However, only philosophy gives it a holistic and complete form, which integrally unites and generalizes all worldviews, formed in the human mind from various sources. Worldview exists on two levels:

1) sensual as a worldview, spontaneous perception of the surrounding reality and

2) rational - at the level of the mind as a worldview, a logical basis for processes and phenomena. A worldview at a rational level is the deepest understanding of the world. It is based on the theoretical justification of the laws of development of objective processes. But it can only be carried out on the basis of their sensory perception (one’s own or other people), therefore the worldview understanding of the world must be considered in the unity and interaction of the sensory and rational levels.

The philosophical worldview was formed historically in connection with the development of philosophical knowledge itself. Worldviews at the pre-philosophical level among primitive man were presented in the form of myths, legends, tales, etc. In the late period of primitive society, a religion arose, which from its own positions formed worldviews in connection with ideas about the creation of the world, the origin of people and animals, life and death, etc. Both myths and religion did not go down in history along with primitive society, when there was no science yet, but only practical skills and illusory ideas about them existed. The mythological-religious worldview continued to accompany social development at all its subsequent stages, but no longer as the only forms of worldview, but as views remaining from the past, coexisting along with the philosophical form.

In addition, the philosophical worldview as highest type worldview is a rational explanation of the world based on theoretical and logical analysis.

The main feature of the philosophical worldview is its criticality in relation even to its own initial theses.

The philosophical worldview appears in a conceptual, categorical form, to one degree or another relying on the achievements of the sciences of nature and society and possessing a certain measure of logical evidence.

The main features of the philosophical worldview:

Conceptual validity;

Systematicity;

Versatility;

Criticality.

The focus is on the person with his relationship to the world and the world’s relationship to this person.

Despite its maximum criticality and scientific nature, philosophy is extremely close to the everyday, religious and even mythological worldview, for, like them, it chooses the direction of its activity very arbitrarily.

2. ITS DIFFERENCE FROM MYTH, RELIGION AND SCIENCE

The origins of philosophy were mythology and religion , but unlike the latter, philosophy is in explaining the world and man relies not on faith, but on the power of reason , on his ability to scientifically study reality, as a result of which becomes the basis of the scientific worldview .

Unlike other types of worldview, philosophy is characterized by evidence, logical validity, argumentation, and the systematic nature of knowledge.

Therefore, philosophy, forming a holistic understanding of the world, is

core worldview, its theoretical basis.

Unlike science, religion and art, which also form a certain worldview system, the philosophical worldview has a number of distinctive features.

The place of philosophy in the spiritual culture of society. The specificity of the philosophical worldview and the philosophical way of solving the eternal problems of human existence become obvious when comparing philosophy with science, religion and art.

Philosophy and science. The connections between science and philosophy are fundamental, and many of the greatest philosophers were also outstanding scientists. It is enough to recall the names of Pythagoras and Thales, Descartes and Leibniz, Florensky and Russell. Science and philosophy are similar in that they are spheres of rational and demonstrative spiritual activity, focused on achieving truth, which in its classical understanding is “a form of coordination of thought with reality.” However, there are at least two major differences between them:

1). any science deals with a fixed subject area and never claims to formulate universal laws of existence. Thus, physics discovers the laws of physical reality; chemistry - chemical, psychology - psychological. Moreover, the laws of physics are very indirectly connected with mental life, and the laws of mental life, in turn, do not work in the sphere of physical interactions. Philosophy, unlike science, makes universal judgments and strives to discover the laws of the entire world. Moreover, if any philosophical school refuses the task of constructing universal world schematics, it must provide a universal justification for its reluctance to deal with such problems;

2). Science has traditionally abstracted itself from the problem of values ​​and from making value judgments. She seeks the truth - what is in the things themselves, without discussing whether what she has found is good or bad, and whether there is any meaning to it all. In other words, science primarily answers the questions “why?” "How?" and “where from?”, but prefers not to ask metaphysical questions like “why?” and for what?". Unlike science, the value component of knowledge cannot be eliminated from philosophy. Claiming to solve the eternal problems of existence, it is focused not only on the search for truth, as a form of coordination of thought with existence, but also on the knowledge and affirmation of values, as forms of coordination of existence with human thought. In fact, having ideas about goodness, we try to restructure both our own behavior and the surrounding circumstances of life in accordance with them. Knowing that there is something beautiful in the world and having formed a system of corresponding ideal ideas, we create a beautiful work of art in accordance with it, change material reality for the better, or eliminate ugly things.

In the interpretation of the relationship with science, philosophy has two dead-end extremes. This, on the one hand, is natural philosophy, as an attempt to build universal pictures of the world without relying on scientific data, and, on the other, positivism, which calls on philosophy to abandon the discussion of metaphysical (primarily value) issues and focus exclusively on generalizing the positive facts of science. The passage between the Scylla of natural philosophy and the Charybdis of positivism implies a constant creative and mutually enriching dialogue between science and philosophy: the attention of specific sciences to universal philosophical models and schemes of explanation and, conversely, the consideration by philosophical thought of theoretical and experimental results obtained in modern scientific research.

Philosophy and religion. Like philosophy, a religious worldview offers a person a system of values ​​- norms, ideals and goals of activity, in accordance with which he can plan his behavior in the world, perform acts of assessment and self-esteem. Like philosophy, religion offers its own universal picture of the world, which is based on the act of divine creativity. The value and universal nature of the religious worldview brings it closer to philosophy, however, between these two most important spheres of spiritual culture there are fundamental differences. The fact is that religious ideas and values ​​are accepted by an act of religious faith - the heart, not the mind; personal and non-rational experience, and not on the basis of rational arguments, as is typical of philosophy. The system of religious values ​​is transcendental, that is, superhuman and superrational, in character, emanating either from God (as in Christianity) or from his prophets (as in Judaism and Islam), or from holy ascetics who have achieved special heavenly wisdom and holiness, as this is characteristic of many religious systems in India. At the same time, a believer may not rationally substantiate his worldview at all, while the procedure for logical substantiation of his ideas is obligatory for a person who claims to have a philosophical worldview.

Religious philosophy itself is possible, as a rational attempt to build a holistic religious worldview, free from dogmatic church blinders. Brilliant examples of such philosophy, in particular, were provided by the domestic philosophical tradition at the turn of the century (see V.S. Solovyov, P.A. Florensky, N.O. Lossky, S.L. Frank, brothers S.N. and E.N. .Trubetskoy). Theology (or theology) must be distinguished from religious philosophy. The latter, in a number of its sections, can use the language, methods and results of philosophy, but always within the framework of recognized church authorities and verified dogmatic definitions. The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of religious experience, its place in culture and human existence is called the philosophy of religion. It is clear that philosophy of religion can be studied not only by a believer, but also by an atheist philosopher.

The relationship between philosophy and religion varies from era to era, from culture to culture, ranging from a state of peaceful coexistence and almost dissolution in each other (as in early Buddhism) to irreconcilable confrontation, as was typical in 18th century Europe. Currently, there is a growing trend towards dialogue between philosophy, religion and science with the aim of forming a synthetic worldview that harmoniously synthesizes modern scientific facts and theoretical generalizations with time-tested religious values ​​and fundamental movements of systematic philosophical thought.

Philosophy and myth. Much brings myth together with philosophy; more precisely, myth was the basis of philosophy

However, despite all the closeness, there is still a boundary between philosophy and myth. The fact is that the language of philosophy is the language of philosophical categories and, if possible, rigorous proofs. Emotions, appeals to personal experience, fantasies and imagination are the exception rather than the rule here. But without this, a myth cannot exist. Its element is personal experience and empathy, confession and passion, flights of fancy and emotional catharsis (purification). Of course, the deepest symbols and images can exist in philosophy, but they are always only the initial object for subsequent rational interpretation; as if a figurative and semantic “gene” for the subsequent development of an integral philosophical worldview.

Thus, philosophy is in some ways similar and in some ways different from all other important spheres of spiritual culture (or spheres of spiritual creativity) of man. This determines its “central-connecting” position in the spiritual culture of humanity, which does not allow this culture to disintegrate into a bad multiplicity of ideas, values ​​and worldviews at war with each other. Here we come to the problem of the diverse functions that philosophy performs in human cultural existence.

Difference from religious-mythological and everyday types of worldview?

Firstly, there is a departure from anthropomorphism: the philosophical worldview no longer tries to transfer the properties of man and human relationships to the world as a whole.

Secondly, the philosophical worldview gradually replaces the sensory images on which the myth rests with abstract concepts, and the associative connections with the image of the myth with logical connections of concepts.

Finally, thirdly, the philosophical worldview is presented not as a dogma that should be accepted without reasoning, but as one of the possible ways of understanding and explaining the world, allowing for criticism and replacement in better ways. This stimulates the development of justification for philosophical systems and serves as the basis for changing and improving the philosophical worldview.

Of course, all these features of the philosophical worldview were formed gradually. The first philosophical constructions are still filled with elements of mythology. For Thales, the world is still full of gods. Heraclitus speaks of the Sun as a living being, looked after by the goddess of justice Dike and her servants Erinyes. For Empedocles, all processes in the world are determined by the struggle of love and hatred. However, gradually all these mythological and anthropomorphic elements disappear. The water of Thales, the air of Anaximenes, the fire of Heraclitus and the earth of Xenophanes are replaced by Parmenides with the abstract concept of being. If before Parmenides philosophers only proclaimed their theses, then Parmenides for the first time resorted to logical proof, which from his student Zeno already acquired the distinct form of proof by contradiction, based on the law of excluded middle.

Thus, a philosophical worldview - philosophy - was gradually formed, which at first included well-known scientific knowledge - mathematical, astronomical, medical. It was as holistic as myth, but unlike myth it was abstract, rational and critical.

CHAPTER 3. MAIN PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY. THE PROBLEM OF THE “MAIN QUESTION” OF PHILOSOPHY IN CLASSICAL AND NON-CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY.

1. MAIN PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY

In ordinary consciousness for many centuries there has existed, and is still often found today, the idea that philosophy does not have its own real problems. It is no coincidence that the symbol of the philosopher was a bear sucking its own paw. For example, on the title page of J. Brucker’s book “A Critical History of Philosophy,” published in the 40s of the 18th century, there was an image under which was placed the aphorism: Ipse alimenta sibi (your own food).

In modern philosophy there is a whole movement - positivism, which declares the problems of philosophy meaningless, pointless. However, the problems of philosophy are no less real than in any science. And despite the fact that the composition of the problems and their expression among philosophers of different eras and peoples is different, they to one degree or another have something in common, and this circumstance alone suggests that they are not accidental, but are generated by some deep reasons.

Philosophical problems- these are problems not about objects (natural or created by people), but about a person’s attitude towards them. Not the world (in itself), but the world as an abode human life- this is the starting point of philosophical consciousness.

"What do I know? What should I do? What can I hope for?" , - it is in these questions that, according to Kant, the highest interests of the human mind are contained.

Philosophical questions - these are questions about the fate, purpose of man and humanity.

It is not philosophers who come up with these questions. Life creates them. They appear as fundamental contradictions in living human history, having an open, independent character. Passing through the entire human history, appearing in a certain sense as eternal problems, they acquire their own specific unique appearance in different eras, in different cultures. Philosophers - to the best of their strength and abilities - they solve these eternal, life-meaning questions. The very nature of philosophical problems is such that a simple, unambiguous, final result of their solution is impossible; their theoretical solution is conceived not as a final solution that resolves the problem, but as solutions designed to:

Summarize the past

Determine the specific face of the problem in modern conditions

Think about the future pragmatically

Universal problem philosophy is the problem of the relationship “world - man”. She has many faces : “subject - object”, “material - spiritual”, “objective - subjective”, etc.

Philosophers have long been afraid to identify the main one in this universal problem, the so-called fundamental question of philosophy.

2. THE PROBLEM OF THE “MAIN QUESTION” OF PHILOSOPHY IN CLASSICAL AND NON-CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY

First, let's look at classical and non-classical philosophy: classical and non-classical philosophy are terms that emerged from natural science. Euclid's geometry, Newtonian physics are considered classical At the end of 19, beginning. In the 20th century there was a departure from the classics - the creation of non-classical physics and geometries. The same processes occur in philosophy. The crown of classical philosophy is considered to be German classical philosophy (from Kant to Hegel). The main problem is the problem of rational, reasonable knowledge. Moreover, the mind is considered not only as an individual, but also as a super-individual, embodied in concepts, thoughts, ideals, in what Hegel called social consciousness. Man masters the world only with the help of his mind. This philosophy is dominated by faith in reason, in its perfection and omnipotence. Reason is believed to lead to enlightenment of the masses and democracy. Classical philosophy believes that there is a rational order in the world; in nature, society, in man himself. The task of man is to comprehend the laws of nature and society with the help of reason. The beginning of the 20th century - the rapid development of science, anti-humanism in everything (wars, murders, etc.). All this cast doubt on the idea of ​​the omnipotence of reason. In addition, there were discoveries in the field of biology, human psychology (Freud's discovery), etc. An expanded understanding of Freud's ideas leads to a new understanding of man. The first attempt to rethink classical philosophy was Marxism. He was the first to emerge from classical philosophy into practice, human activity, but otherwise he adhered to classical theories. Other philosophical movements of the 20th century break with classical theory at all. They are no longer based on reason, their ideal becomes irrationalism, i.e. super-rationalism. At the core there is something that does not contradict reason, it is above reason. Thus, the task of non-classical philosophy becomes the knowledge of the laws not of the objective, but of the subjective world: internal states, human experiences. A person is considered in irrationalism as a subject of communication, as his internal sensory connection with the world (be it the world of another person or society). In classical philosophy, the epistemological approach dominated. In philosophy, chapter 20, an axiological approach becomes established. Axiology is the science of values. The subject of analysis is fear, melancholy, care, despair. Philosophy becomes psychological.

Knowing what classical and non-classical philosophy is, let’s consider the “main question” from different angles:

In Marxist philosophy, this question was formulated by F. Engels: “The great fundamental question of all, especially modern philosophy, is the question of the relationship of thinking to being.”

This approach to formulating the main question of philosophy is based on the fundamental facts of human life:

There are material and spiritual phenomena (consciousness, will, thinking);

Each person distinguishes himself from everything that surrounds him and distinguishes himself from everything else;

He correlates his goals with reality, evaluates reality.

The “dual” nature of the human, the “doubling” of man himself and his world in consciousness is the basis for highlighting the relationship between the material and the spiritual as the main question.

The basic question of philosophy has two sides :

1) what comes first - spirit or matter? Depending on the answer to this question, philosophers are divided into two main directions.

Representatives of the first - materialists - take matter as a basis, and consider consciousness as something secondary, dependent on matter.

Varieties: metaphysical materialism, vulgar materialism, dialectical materialism.

Representatives of the second - idealists - consider the spirit, consciousness to be primary, and the material world to be secondary.

Idealism exists in two main varieties: -subjective idealism - representatives of which consider the consciousness of a person, a subject, to be primary;

Objective idealism - supporters of which consider the primary spirit to exist independently of man.

Materialism and idealism are monistic directions in philosophy (Greek monos - one), since both directions take one principle as a basis.

Along with philosophical monism, there is a current of dualism (Latin dio - two), whose supporters consider matter and consciousness as two parallel principles.

2) Is the world knowable?

Most philosophers answer this question in the affirmative.

However, some philosophers deny the possibility of knowing the world in whole or in part. These were representatives of agnosticism (Greek a - no, gnosis - knowledge). Some philosophers, while recognizing the knowability of the world, expressed doubt about the reliability of knowledge; they were called skeptics, and the direction was skepticism (Greek skepticosis - criticizing).

Considering the main question of philosophy, it should be noted that not all philosophers agree with it. Moreover, most philosophers, in the past and now, do not even consider the solution of this particular question to be their most important task.

In various philosophical teachings, the problems of ways to achieve truth, problems of moral duty, freedom, practice, etc. are brought to the fore:

French philosopher A. Camus “I consider the question of the meaning of life the most urgent of all questions”;

Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev - the main problem is the problem of human freedom: its essence, nature, purpose;

German philosopher P. Rickert - the problem of evil and violence.

But nevertheless, any philosopher, considering this or that problem, in one way or another considers the relationship “world - man”, which means whether he wants it or not, he turns to the main question of philosophy.

CHAPTER 4. STRUCTURE OF PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE. STATUS AND ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY IN MODERN CULTURE

1. STRUCTURE OF PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE

As a theoretical discipline, philosophy has a number of sections:

Ontology (ontos-being, logos-teaching) is the doctrine of being or the origins of all things.

Epistemology (gnosis-knowledge, logos-teaching) is the doctrine of knowledge. This is the section where problems of the nature of knowledge and its capabilities are studied. The prerequisites of knowledge are explored, the conditions for its reliability and truth are identified. Epistemology includes the following chapters and departments:

Psychology of cognition – studies the subjective and individual processes of cognition.

The logic of knowledge is the science of generally valid forms and means of thought necessary for rational knowledge in any field of knowledge. (dialectical logic, class logic, propositional logic, relational logic, etc.)

Criticism of knowledge - analyzes the relationship between objective and subjective elements.

General history cognition, evolution of cognition.

Axiology (axios – value) – the doctrine of values.

In the structure of philosophical knowledge, they also distinguish:

Social philosophy - analysis, study of the social structure of society, people in it.

Philosophical anthropology – the study of man. (from the problem of origin to the cosmic future.)

Philosophy of culture is a section where the essence and meaning of culture is studied and explored.

Philosophy of law is a doctrine, a science about the most general theoretical and worldview problems of jurisprudence and state science.

Philosophy of history.

History of philosophy.

Independently, no less important are the following sections:

Dialectics - (the art of conversation, argument) - the doctrine of the most general natural connections and the formation, development of being and knowledge. Method of cognition.

Aesthetics is a science that studies the sphere of a person’s aesthetic relationship to the world and the sphere of people’s artistic activity. (includes theory aesthetic values, theory of aesthetic perception, general theory art.).

Ethics is a philosophical science, the object of study of which is morality, morality, as a form of social consciousness, as one of the aspects of human life.

There are known attempts at a clear classification within philosophical knowledge, for example:

Methodological department of philosophy (logic, ontology, epistemology)

Systematization of scientific knowledge data.

Evaluating department of philosophy (area of ​​issues related to the facts of evaluating human activity).

However, modern philosophers refuse to construct multi-level classifications, since there are no taboo topics for philosophy.

2. STATUS AND ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY IN MODERN CULTURE

Modern philosophy receives new uniform by expanding all its main functions, giving them relevant theoretical and practical content. This is due to the further development of philosophical problems proper, overcoming lack of spirituality, utilitarian technocratic thinking, narrow practicality and formalism. Modern philosophy, as a new stage in the development of theoretical thought, reflects the state of society and the position of man in the world in relation to the post-industrial era and the corresponding level of scientific achievements. It is a theoretical model of the emerging information technology civilization, its co-evolution with the surrounding natural and cosmic environment, contributes to finding solutions to global problems of mankind, understanding deep integration processes in the world community, and correct understanding of others. current problems.

The formation of modern philosophy has the necessary prerequisites. Among them:

1) social, due to the development of information technology production, changes in the nature of social relations and social structure, and the growth in the number of layers of the population belonging to the middle class throughout the world. The formation of a post-industrial society is associated with the emergence of a new type of worker, combining a high level of professionalism and culture with knowledge of the foundations of new philosophical thinking;

2) scientific, related to outstanding discoveries in the field of fundamental sciences (synergetics, vacuum theory, anthropic principle, microelectronics, etc.), which determined the development of modern scientific picture peace;

3) theoretical, determined by new developments in the field of philosophy itself, its expanding connections with practice.

The most important achievements of modern philosophy are the civilizational approach to the analysis of social phenomena and the principle of anthropocentrism in its updated content. The world is considered as a complex multi-level self-developing system with multivariate possibilities for the interaction of its fragments. Modern philosophy has had to abandon the idea of ​​progress as a linear process. Historical development is considered as a transition from one relatively stable phase of structural organization to another, to a new level of organization of elements and methods of their self-organization.

Modern materialism has received real opportunities for positive contacts with various directions of world philosophical thought. And such interaction, carried out on a principled basis, strengthens it ideological positions, provides the opportunity for further creative development fundamental theoretical problems and social practice.

It is also worth noting that the transition of humanity to a qualitatively new stage of development in social, spiritual, cultural relations is today only a real possibility of its recovery from the global crisis, but it is far from being a realized state. Difficulties and dangers in carrying out this task stem mainly from the person himself: the low level of its awareness, society’s lack of understanding of the causes and mechanisms of the functioning of natural, anthropological and social phenomena in their interaction as specifically special elements of a single world existence.

Conclusion: Humanity must fully master the achievements of spiritual culture, the science of rational management and regulation of world processes. This task cannot be solved without modern philosophical knowledge about the world. Which once again proves the status and important role of philosophy in modern culture

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