Questions and Tasks for Self-Control

1. What were the historical grounds for the development of non-classical philosophy in Western Europe?

2. What is the essence of materialistic representation of history?

3. Explain the term “irrationalism”.

4. What are the peculiarities of the “Philosophy of life” trend?

5. Comment on the essence of Psychoanalyses doctrine.

6. Give your regards to the theory of Existentialism. Point out basic characteristic features of Existentialism.

7. What are the stages in the development of Positivism?

8. Comment on the main problems discussed in Western European philosophical thought of the XIX–XX centuries.

Literature

Basic:

Philosophy. Historical-Philosophical Introduction : [the course of lectures] / L.V. Kadnikova − K. : NAU, 2004. — 172 p.

The Oxford History of Western Philosophy / Anthony Kenny. – Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2000. — 407 p.

World Philosophies / Ninian Smart. – London: Routledge, 2000. – 454 p.

Supplementary:

Frederick C. Copleston. On the History of Philosophy and Other Essays / Frederick Charles Copleston. — New York : Barnes & Noble Books, 1979. — 160 p.

Primary sources:

Albert Camus. The Myth of Sisyphus / Albert Camus : [transl. by Justin O’Brien]. — New York : Knopf, 1955. — 212 p.

Erich Fromm. Man for Himself : An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics / New York : Rinehart, 1947. — 254 p.

Jean-Paul Sartre. Being and Nothingness : An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology / Jean-Paul Sartre. – New York : Philosophical Library, 1956. — 638 p.

Martin Buber. Eclipse of God : Studies in the Relation between Religion and Philosophy / Martin Buber. — Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1977. — 192 p.

Martin Buber. I and Thou / Martin Buber : [tr. by Ronald Gregor Smith]. — [2d ed.]. – New York : Scribner, 1958. — 137 p.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. The Antichrist : a Criticism of Christianity / Friedrich Nietzsche : [transl. by Anthony M. Ludovici]. — New York : Barnes and Noble, 2006. — 75 p.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The Phenomenon of Man / Pierre Teilhard de Chardin : [transl. by Bernard Wall]. — New York: Harper and Row, 1959. — 318 p.

Unit 8

Formation and development of philosophical thought in ukraine

The aim of the theme is: to learn the development of Ukrainian philosophical thought as an integral national philosophy and an inseparable part of Ukrainian culture in the progressive flow of European spirituality and culture.

Key words of the theme are: Ukrainian Baroque, cordocentrism, “congenial work”, noosphere.

8.1. Ukrainian Philosophical Culture and Its Specificity

The specific character of Ukrainian philosophizing is closely linked with the national culture and national world vision and refers to the beginning of its history. It is there the basic sense matrix of the future national culture was laid and a peculiar character of the solar symbolic set an algorithm and focus of the world vision through the formation of moral standards, ways of magic effects upon the environment, syncretism of thinking and the development of the language. Later, of course, every historical era brought its own amendments.

In Ukraine philosophy developed as an integral part of historical consciousness of Ukrainian people and reflected the processes that occurred in their social life. Philosophy as a special form of self- awareness of national culture in Ukraine existed in close correlation with social, political, scientific, artistic and religious thought. Basic features of the national world vision became a logical criterion of philosophical outlook, towering gradually to the rank of general and ultimate, universal in Ukrainian "philosophy of the heart."

It based itself on the feature that neither the facts of consciousness, nor logic reasoning are determined as dominating in the mental life of man, but mental experience, which is based on the phenomena of the unconscious sphere, “heart”, “abyss” and defines the surface of our mind, i.e. intellect, common sense (Skovoroda, Gogol’, Yurkevych, Kulish). So, it defines the predestination of a human being as a “small world”, “microcosm”, because everything is hidden in the heart, as in the source of mental life, or in an “abyss”, since “microcosm” is the analogue of the big world, “macrocosm” (Stavrovetskyi, Skovoroda, Gogol, Yurkevych).

To characterize Ukrainian philosophical culture certain difficulties arise, since Ukrainian spiritual life was not always distinctly and clearly defined as was particularly Ukrainian cultural life. The degree of political dependence, as well as the level of national consciousness, in particular national consciousness of the intelligentsia, that is to say the most important preconditions of cultural development, also changed. Ukrainian history was for a certain period of time shrunk to the level of “regional history” (Russian, partially Polish). As a result, a significant number of prominent representatives of Ukrainian thought worked outside Ukraine, and, vice versa, the representatives of other countries took an active part in the cultural life of Ukraine.

Even the language, which can often be the criterion of ascription of a personality to this or that culture, even in this case it cannot be taken as such – for instance, because almost none of the Ukrainian thinkers wrote in the Ukrainian language. Nevertheless, national peculiarities show up in their way of thinking, as it always happens, “spontaneously”. All this makes the boundaries of analysis of the history of Ukrainian philosophical thought very “vague”. On the one hand, apparently, we exclude those from this history, who wrote in other languages, or worked abroad – at least for reason, that the features of national character emerge in the thought and beyond the conscious will of the thinker. On the other hand, it was quite normal when German, Polish and Russian professors lived and worked in Ukraine. Naturally, without the analysis of the creations of these foreign representatives, which influenced Ukraine, the picture of cultural life in Ukraine would be incomplete.

The development of Ukrainian philosophy may be divided into four main periods, which were defined with originality of Ukrainian philosophy.

The first period covered the time of Kyiv Rus (XI-XIV cc.). The character of philosophical thought in the X-XIII centuries was conditioned by the specificity of socio-economic development in Kyiv Rus.

Those new conditions evinced the necessity of a new religion. At first, the attempt was made to create the so called “own” religion, using the traditional conceptions of Eastern Slavs. After having failed, they searched for a religion, which would allow Rus to enter the groundwork of European culture. This attempt, as we know, resulted with the christening of Kyiv Rus. It is natural that Christianity became the predominant religion.

With the foundation of Christianity, the ancient Rus culture got a chance to become acquainted with the heritage of the world philosophical thought of the past. Kyiv scribes knew works of Joann Damascene, Pythagoras, Democritus, Diogenes, Plato, Aristotle and other thinkers. The Bible, works of the Holy Scriptures and "Church Fathers” took a significant place in shaping philosophical ideas. Christian philosophy was the first to excite an interest in philosophical thought in Rus.

A characteristic feature of philosophical thought of Kyiv Rus was "Sofia" understanding of philosophical knowledge, where Sophia is thought as personal-pluralistic knowledge. In ancient philosophy worldview orientation aimed at spiritual world. Man was not thought only as a part of cosmos and nature, but he recognized himself the master of nature, its "crown".

The second period (XVI – XVIII centuries.) was associated with the time of the Cossacks. A new, early modern stage, a key feature of which was openness of most philosophical thought of the time for the influence of West European Renaissance, Reformation and Counterreformation philosophy began. Ostrog Academy played an important role in the rise of spiritual culture and in particular philosophy in late XVI – early XVII century. Philosophical problems concerned were primarily God and the world, God and man.

The period of Kyiv Mohyla Academy foundation (1632) coincided with the establishment of Baroque in Ukraine. It caused a shift of Ukrainian philosophy toward the West. Within the frame of baroque scholasticism in the XVII century there was a synthesis of the achievements of Western philosophy with the spiritual heritage of Prince Ages. According to the characteristic of ancient Ukrainian culture of thinking, philosophy was understood as wisdom and the means to attain that wisdom was religious and mystical experience.

The third period covers the XIX - the first third of the XX century and is characterized by the influence of romanticism culture and the interaction of romantic and Enlightenment philosophy. Throughout the nineteenth century there were two main areas of philosophy: official and "informal", or publicist. In the latter an intense search of Ukrainian identity took place, though it was unsystematic. The second, "official", or professional, academic line regarded most pressing problems of society’s spiritual life and the achievements of science as the subject of philosophical understanding. The centers of professional philosophy in Ukraine were Kharkiv University, Kyiv Theological Academy and St.Volodymyr University in Kyiv.

The fourth period covers the XX–XXI centuries. It was defined by the existence of Ukraine within the multinational Soviet Union, as well as by complex and ambiguous cultural consequences of the emigrants life, who were separated from their motherland. Ukrainian philosophy, like philosophies of other Soviet republics of that time, was "dissolved" in a single dominant in that period Marxist-Leninist philosophy with the same requirements, same goals, same tasks and same worldview. There was a dogmatic consideration of traditional philosophical problems, and philosophy became politics and official ideology maid.

The following stages in the development of the Ukrainian philosophy in the Soviet period are distinguished: 1920s, the Stalinism period (1930s – 1950s); the end of 1950s–1980s – stagnation stage, the period of reorientation, and 1990s of the XX century – the beginning of the XXI century - the period of independence.