Review: The article is dedicated to comparative analysis on the material of ancient and Middle Eastern cultures of the essence and beginning of the virtue, as an ethical concept, which guides the spiritual and moral life of human and society, as well as regulates the sociopolitical and economic relations in society. The basis of the comparative analysis lies in Aristotle’s ethical teachings, who suggested a method for studying anatomy of a moral act alongside the interrelation between moral choices and social activities of man. Aristotle proposed a concept of the virtue as of result of the social and ethical thought of antiquity. Such method allowed structuring the understanding of the virtue that have established in Middle Eastern cultures, using the works of S. S. Averintsev and body of texts dedicated to culture of the Hittites. Methodological foundation of the article consists in the concept of value-archetypal complex, which identifies the value determinants of culture: man makes a value choice freely, but within the boundaries of understanding of good and evil set by their culture, which is the axiological system of coordinates that contains his value consciousness. Axiological dominant is the result of solution of the dialectics of spiritual and psychophysical beginnings of human nature, which is based on the initial value choice of a nation at the beginning of their historical path, structured relatively to the absolute values. The author proves that the axiological system of coordinates alongside the axiological dominant of ethnic culture manifest as the origins of the virtue; they are the anchor of the moral action of a human, suggesting the possible options for a value choice.  The following conclusions are made: ethical concepts in ancient and Middle Eastern cultures has a lot in common, as well as differ in multiple ways; common implies the understanding of the virtue as a reasonable constraint of human passions and desires in favor of the common good in society; different implies that human makes a value choice freely, but within the framework of the existing in their culture perception of good and evil, which sets the axiological system of coordinates, which contains his value consciousness. The analysis demonstrates that the axiological system of the Antiquity excludes the suffering side of human nature, whereas axiological system of Middle Eastern culture includes all aspects of human nature. The exception or rather acceptance of the fullness of human nature is related to the axiological dominant of «the value-archetypal complex» of ethnic culture, which also has a decisive influence upon the value choice of a man.

Keywords: value choice, ethics of virtue, virtue, value-archetypal complex, axiological system of coordinates, most favorable government structure, moral act, Aristotle, Ancient Greece, Middle East

Review: This article is dedicated to the problem of theoretical apprehension of the open systems, which first and foremost contain those that essentially cannot be locked in their content without detriment to their true interpretation. These are the historical cultural systems and the associated with them existential personal worlds of human being. If the questions of natural cognition are being successfully resolved using the formalized mathematical modelling, and suggest the natural constraint of the examined field, the socio-historical cognition is unable to develop based on simple transfer of the natural scientific methodology onto the area of historical studies. This results in the problem not even of methodological character or certain “improvement” of the existing methodology, but a more complicated set of questions regarding the character of theorization in the sphere of human existence. The author suggests that it is possible to structure the true rational conceptuality, realized in compliance with the requirements of concreteness and critically logical expansion of the content. The author determines the three stages of theoretical approximation necessary for a particular apprehension: first is a preparatory, which blocks the mythopoeia; second forms the origin of rationalization; and third carries out the conceptual work. The article analyzes the two examples of theorization, the composing poles of, correspondingly, negative and true apprehension.

Keywords: historicity, non-rational, mythopoeia, logical expansion, criticism, rationality, theorization, idea, universality, human existence

Review: This article examines the problem of the value of knowledge and certain approaches towards its resolution, particularly the classical point of view of Plato, approaches of Duncan Pritchard, Timothy Williamson, and Ernest Sosa. The proposed by D. Pritchard difference between the primary, secondary, and tertiary problems of the value of knowledge is being analyzed. Accent is made on the special value of knowledge. The author reviews Pritchard’s argument aimed against the thesis on the final value of knowledge, protected by epistemology of capabilities/advantages of Sosa and claiming the special value of understanding, as well as the position of Carter and Gordon that special value belongs to the objective understanding. Comparative analysis of the various positions allows identifying their strong and weak sides. If the special value of knowledge does exist, it must be universal for all types of knowledge, including such, which according to John Greco, comply with the diverse (more or less strong) epistemic norms. The author rejects the positions of Pritchard, Carter, and Gordon that favor the special value of knowledge, and adopt the externalist point of view of Timothy Williamson, suggesting the special value of knowledge consists in its factivity. The author also supposes that Williamson’s positions is compatible with the position of Wittgenstein.

Keywords: objectual understanding, cognitive achievement, understanding, final value of knowledge, practical value of knowledge, value of knowledge, common knowledge, knowledge, factivity of knowledge, special value of knowledge

Review:  
Based on the ideas expressed by J. Rancière in the work “Aesthetic Unconscious”, this article reveals the essential role of phantasm as a component of aesthetic structure in literature art. At the same time. The author discusses the founded on the unconscious intentions and has compulsory power work of fantasy, the product of which is the phantasm. Freud’s theory determines such peculiarities of fantasy that are stipulated by its aesthetic potential. Leaning on the ideas of J. Rancière, the article identifies the points of common and divergence Freudian and aesthetical unconscious. Thus, special attention is given to the topic of des Unheimlichen in Freudian and aesthetic unconscious. The novel of N. Gogol “Viy” manifests as a unique literary source for the study of this topic. Storylines of the text hold central place in interpretation of the space of unheimlich-phantasm. The author also touches upon the theme of appropriateness of the psychological interpretations in fiction alongside the so-called “dream realm”, which due to the coexistence of Freudian and aesthetic unconscious obtains more in-depth meaning. Phantasm becomes inscribed into the aesthetic structure of the oeuvre in such way that the libido (of an artist, reader, or spectator) attains a form of this particular phantasm and the corresponding to it images. This is crucially important due to the fact that Freud, perceiving the aesthetic from the perspective of formal attractiveness, in its aesthetic aspect, allocated the place of merely “alluring prize” to the actual creative form.
 

Keywords: Dream realm, Transgression, Auratic object, Uncanny, Return of the rejected, Aesthetic potential of fantasy, Aesthetic unconscious, Freudian unconscious, Phantasm, Fantasy

Review:  
This article is dedicated to the historical reconstruction of evolution of the ontological models of science in Western European philosophy in throughout the Medieval Times and Renaissance. Their development is examined in the philosophical context, within the framework of which the core of worldview was Christianity, while the basis of ontological perceptions with regards to exact sciences was the Book of Nature. Metaphor of the Book of Nature was based on the semiotic analogy, which pursued correlations between the communication relations of human/human and human/nature.  Such ideology  is natural and its use as the foundation for ontological constructs was justified during the preceding period in the context of Ancient Greek philosophy. Semiotic ontology acquired its development in Medieval Times and Renaissance. The historical reconstruction is based on highlighting of the key directions of the evolution of ontological perceptions about reality from the universal perspectives. It is demonstrated that the ontological models develop within the three lines, depending on the subject of which science is taken as the foundation for perceiving the reality. Naturalization became the reason of why the semiotic ontology in evolution of the scientific knowledge was abandoned, and thus, it resulted in the loss of primary meanings. Historical reconstruction allows restoring these meanings, and its results can be relevant to modern research in the field of the ontology of science.
 

Keywords: mathematics, logic, science, historic reconstruction, naturalization, ontological model, Book of Nature, semiotic analogy, ontology of science, natural science

Review: The subject of this research is the ethical philosophy of John Dewey as a foundation of his liberal sociopolitical philosophy. The American thinker considered morality not a combination of the set norm, but rather a flexible, changeable instrument for creating the value judgments that are capable of making the society better. In Dewey’s opinion, the value judgments are pragmatic and exceptionally practical, and his metaethics is based on the precise demarcation of values and beliefs. Special attention is given to examination of the structure, essence, and functions of the value judgments and beliefs, as well as the role of ethical philosophy within the system of liberal sociopolitical philosophy of the American thinker. The authors also analyze the ethical epistemology of Dewey, which carries pragmatic and contextual character. The following conclusions were made during the course of this work: Dewey believed that the main issue of ethics in the contemporary to him world is associated with the way of structuring the society, rather than the personal decisions; and thus, his ethical philosophy is not an independent system, but a foundation of sociopolitical philosophy. His instrumentalist and exceptionally pragmatic ethical philosophy is focused on structuring of the social institutions, which affect the ability of people to render the reasonable moral judgments. The latter, according to Dewey, is in need for constant restructuring, and therefore, necessitates the development of “experimental intelligence”. Hence, Dewey’s ethical philosophy manifests as a foundation of his liberal sociopolitical philosophy, and is necessary for comprehending the fundamental bases of the English-American liberal socio-philosophical discourse of the XX century.

Keywords: political philosophy, social philosophy, instrumentalism, Dewey, pragmatism, liberalism, ethics, judgment, value, contextualism

Review: The object of this research is the virtual social communication, while the subject is the socio-ontological conditions for the existence of virtual social communication. The goal of the article consists in explication and examination of the conditions for realization of socio-ontological incomplete forms of communication, particularly the occurrences of communication involving an artificial actor. The key question raised by the author implies the following: is there is a possibility for semantic communications under the conditions of socio-ontological incompleteness. In other words, the problem of meaning-making in situation of the virtual communication is being formulated. During the course of this study, the author determines the two main directions in assessment of the role of virtual communication in development of the society: 1) pessimistic, according to which, virtualization of communication represents a meaningless path of the evolution of humanity; 2) optimistic, in which the virtual reality manifests as a factor of intensification of social dynamics in the society. It is established that the virtual communication contains the deterioration factors of the semantics of messages. The author identifies the conditions that reduce the effect of such factors.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, semiotics, transgression, metacommunication, social system, transhumanism, virtual communication, information, social evolution, cybernatization

Review: This article examines the main meanings of social adaptation in the historical context, as well as modern stage of development of a scientific thought. The authors demonstrate the contradictory nature of social adaptation and ambiguity of its interpretations, as well as establish the dependence of understanding of the meaning of social adaptation from a specific historical period. Adaptation as a process is viewed within the framework of three key scientific directions: natural scientific, psychological, and philosophical. The latter is revealed from the perspective of its interpretation as the interaction that forms between personality and social environment, and is aimed at resolution of the emerging contradictions between them. Social adaptation has dual nature, which manifests in interaction of the two beginnings: passive (adjustment of a person to social environment), and active (transformation, subordination of environment. The role of social adaptation in the process of evolution and establishment of a human in society is being revealed . It is demonstrated that by resolving the contradictions that actualize the adaptation process, human acquires the necessary experience that makes him a full member of society and successfully socialize within it. By the virtue of social adaptation, a human obtains capacity to such activeness, which allows finding the way for resolving the social contradictions, while preserving the own self-identity and considering the demands of social environment.

Keywords: Interaction, Society, Personality, Adaptive strategies, Adaptability, Stages of adaptation, Process, Contradiction, Social adaptation, Adaptation

Review: The subject of this research is the perception of death in public consciousness and its interpretation through the prism of religious and atheistic views. The latter imply the more general social ideas, which manifest as a complex of views, feelings, opportunities for objectification, and suggested ways of interaction, associated with death and caused by the instance of death, or corresponding discourse. The reflection of death in people’s consciousness, in other words the product of social perceptions, is defined by the concept of death. The author uses the phenomenological methodology (phenomenological project of E. Husserl) and hermeneutic methods of analyzing the religious and philosophical aspects applicable to the thanatological problematic. Based on the comparative analysis of the perceptions of death, the author underlines the specificity of each of them, as well as the affiliation to eschatology of a certain type. The religious perceptions are characterized by understanding death as a surmountable quasi-obstacle that opens up a genuine being of spirit. Religious eschatology substantiates the possibility afterlife existence. Within the framework of atheistic perceptions, death designates a return into the state of pre-existence. Special importance is given to the social being and establishment of social eschatology within it. The conclusion is made on the synthesis of religious and atheistic perceptions of death in modernity, which creates platform for the interesting further research in the field of social thanatology.

Keywords: fear of death, conception of death, reincarnation, immortality, atheism, religion, death, social perceptions, instance of death, eschatology

Review: Special place in philosophy of the East belongs to the question of human dignity and honor, particularly among the samurai. Bushido is considered an unwritten code of the samurai, digest of the rules and recommendations of an “ideal warrior”, who puts honor and dignity of his personality at the top. Bushido initially originated in form of general principles of a samurai-warrior, but due to its transformations was complemented by the ethical norms, and has finally established by the XVI – XVII centuries in form of the unwritten code of samurai ethics. The notion of dignity is one of the problematic philosophical questions in all cultures, but acquires a special role in philosophy of the East. Method of this research is the philosophical analysis of Bushido. In conclusion, the author determines the religious and philosophical grounds of Bushido, as well as analyzes its transformation in Eastern culture. The scientific novelty consists in comparative analysis of the Eastern culture of samurai and European culture of the medieval knighthood. The author also identifies the differences in these cultures alongside their cultural and ethical foundations.

Keywords: dignity in culture, Shintoism, Confucianism, Eastern philosophy, Bushido, samurai, code of honor, honor, advantage, Eastern culture

Review:  
The subject of this research is the process of subjectification from the perspective of M. Foucault: the formation of subjectivity inevitably begins since the moment of appearance of a human and continues throughout his entire life; genuine subjectivity is achieved by an individual in the mature age, but still not in the absolute. At the same time, the subject indicates the achieved a certain existential level individual, who undergone an evolutionary triad of subjectification: individual – personality – subject (A. V. Pavlov). Phenomenological approach allowed intuitively, precisely, descriptively, and analytically establish the differences and lead to clarity the phenomena of conscious life. The scientific novelty consists in the selection of initial point – the period of infancy of an individual, and suggests to focus on the problem of self-identification (finding the true identity) of a subject, which is expressed by J. Lacan in a so-called mirror stage, as well as the triad of Lacanian registers that indicate its peculiarities, and the process of institutionalization of a subject, universally and totally grasping the entire field of subject’s action. The author also plans to examine the proposed by M. Foucault self-practices that thoroughly explain the process of self-positing of a subject, as well as intersubjectivity, when the view and response of the Other is important for the formation of Self.
 

Keywords: Other, Authority, Intersubjectivity, Self-practices, Lacanian triad, Mirror stage, Modernity , Subjectification, Subjectivity, Subject

Review: The topic of this article is the creative path of John M. Cage – a prominent American composer, philosopher, poet, musicologist, and artist, who one of the first in avant-garde music of the early XX century used aleatoric, “chance operations”, electronic music, and nontraditional use of musical and nonmusical instruments, as well as considered the factor of chance and uncertainty as substantial and seminal element of music production. The composer also drastically changed the perception of music, and his musical ideas in many ways defined the evolution of the new music trends alongside the visual culture of the post-war avant-garde. The work applies the cultural-historical method that provides grounds for substantiating the position that Cage was and continues to be not only one of the most influential composers of the early XX century, whose legacy spreads far beyond the boundaries of the kingdom of music, art, literature, cinema, and other conceptually expressed knowledge about the world, but also, a clearly underestimated artist in the modern history of music culture. Cage opened a new abundance of opportunities in modern art, the era of multiple experiments in various forms of art – music, painting, choreography, poetry, etc. He shifted the focus from the internal psyche of an artist towards the modern artistic environment, as well as created the foundation for a special form of perceiving music – silence, which boosted to the extensive definition of the music compositional practice and creation of the new form of acoustic spirituality. The sound becomes a chameleon, by adjusting in accordance with the changing sounding around it. This article attempts to fulfill the still existing theoretical gap in the Russian scientific literature on the history of experimental music with regards to the diversified personality and creativity of the composer. The author substantiates the thesis that Cage tried to see all types of sounds as potentially musical, appealing the audience towards accepting all of the sounding phenomena as equal. He revolutionized music in order to achieve the opportunity to compose and perform any type of music and expand the sounding space of music, by implementing the new nonmusical sounds.

Keywords: open form of music, principle of uncertainty, arrangement of sound, synthesis of arts, creative path of J. Cage, American musical experimentalism, history of music, aleatorical music, chance operations, expanded range of musical instruments