Family psychology 

Bright philosophers of the 21st century. Chapter VII Part Four. "Philosophical movements of the late 20th - early 21st centuries" Philosophy in the 21st century

A study examining debt from an anthropological perspective: where the word came from, what cultural and religious practices it is associated with, why the phrase “Debts must be repaid” has the power of a spell that abolishes all moral laws, and why this rule does not apply to some.

Terry Eagleton "Why Marx was Right"

A brilliant rhetorical exercise, an apology for Marx in the form of a response to ten popular complaints against him. The famous English literary critic presents the reader with Marx with a human face - a supporter of democracy and individualism, the middle class and spiritual freedom, while being surprised at the posthumous fate of Marx, who was not really understood by anyone.

Jonathan Crary "24/7 Late Capitalism and the End of Sleep"

A solid study that proves that the 24-hour work schedule dictated by capitalism wants to kill sleep. How does life in a sleepless world that does not distinguish between day and night affect a person’s self-awareness and how does the political need arise to restore the freedom of sleep?

Thomas Piketty "Capital in the 21st Century"

A sudden bestseller, proving that capitalism and democracy are, in principle, poorly compatible, and their apparent symbiosis was a unique historical curiosity. Piketty sees the inevitability that in the future, as in the forgotten past, all power will belong not to the diligent and inventive, but to hereditary rentiers and their relatives and friends.

Eric Hobsbawm "How to Change the World: Tales of Marx and Marxism"

Essays on the history of Marxism, written by the great English historian during half a century of study of this subject. An even tone, non-obvious themes, a huge knowledge of nuances and details - and, of course, faith in the inevitability of Marx's ideological victory in the near future.

Simon Critchley "Infinitely Demanding"

Philosopher Critchley explores the possibility of a politically conscious anarchist ethic that accepts the injustice and hopelessness of modernity. The responsibility of his “endless demand” denies nihilism, taking it to its extreme. In a similar way, in his last book he proposes unbelief as the basis of the deepest religious experience.

"The Invisible Committee" "The Coming Rebellion"

An anonymous jeremiad inspired by the Parisian riots of 2005, pouring rapturous contempt on both right and left, celebrating the “power of fire” from Herostratus to the Paris Commune. “More Hell” is a simple but effective premise for a political prose poem.

Guy Standing "The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class"

Standing describes a class of "new restless": stupid on social media, lacking a life plan or professional identity, economically insecure and uprooted. The left must dream up a better tomorrow for the precariat, otherwise right-wing demagogues will lure it into the web of fascism 2.0.

David Harvey "A Brief History of Neoliberalism"

The history of the neoliberal revolution launched around the same time by Pinochet, Reagan, Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher: why did what was radical become the consensus and can the world rid itself of the neoliberal cult and return to the leftist norm that created post-war prosperity?

Andrew Boyd, Dave Mitchell "Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution"

An activist hypertext encyclopedia that briefly explains the principles and methods of modern political-carnival action: detournement, flash mob, and so on. Written by Occupy Wall Street participants during the height of the '11 protests.

John Zerzan "Twilight of The Machines"

Radical anarcho-primitivism, developing the ideas of Ted "Unabomber" Kaczynski. Agriculture is the original sin of civilization; by returning to hunting and gathering, we will not only make amends to nature, but also come to a just society without oppression, sexism, alienation, etc. Anyone who settles for less is harmful and naive agents of the status quo.

"Tikkun" "Preliminary Materials for a Theory of the Young-Girl"

A post-situationist essay, consisting mainly of aphorisms printed in different fonts, about the Young Maiden in whom Capital was embodied. The Young Maiden (of any gender and not necessarily young, as the author’s team of “Tikkun” reports) personifies all the pain, boredom, meaninglessness and cruelty of the commodity world.

Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri "Empire"

A critique of the Empire, a new omnipotent and centerless sovereign, fundamentally different from recent colonial empires. The principles of opposition to Empire proposed by Hardt and Negri go back less to anti-colonialism and more to the two cities described by St. Augustine at the end of the Roman Empire.

Paolo Virno "The Grammar of Multitudes"

Multitude, “multitude” or “mass” (in the translation of “Empire” by Hardt - Negri) is the opposite of “the people”, a polyphonic, disunited, but tuned to constant communication entity, which in the post-modern and post-industrial era comes to the place of the revolutionary class. Virno's autonomist sociology partly complements and partly refutes Empire.

Fredric Jameson "Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture"

Integrating the principles of structuralism and psychoanalysis, Jameson's Marxist criticism offers a method for understanding the ideological structures that are consciously or subconsciously embedded in all cultural texts and artifacts. In this collection, familiarity with Russian themes is especially noticeable - from Shklovsky to Sokurov.

Maria Gough “The Artist as Producer”

A new history of constructivism, showing that the paradoxes faced by the artist who went to work in communist production in the twenties (what is more important: increasing productivity or overcoming alienation? functionality or form of a thing?) were in fact deeply and inextricably linked with the paradoxes of the Soviet communism.

Chang Ha Joon "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism"

An economist from South Korea refutes liberal dogmas: about the benefits of free trade and the harm of protectionism, about lazy and hard-working people, about the advantage of private property over state property, that the free market is a friend of democracy and an enemy of corruption.

Jodi Dean "The Communist Horizon"

A polemical essay demanding to abandon the anti-communist prejudices of the Cold War, stop empty talk about democracy, instead of the fruitless anarchism of Occupy, engage in party building and move towards a bright future, where they give according to their needs and take according to their abilities.

Mike Davis "Planet of Slums"

A study of the great migration of humanity (or rather, its invisible majority) into self-built slums, the horror of which no Dickens would have dreamed of. According to Davis, the neoliberal revolution and the soft imperialism of the IMF and the World Bank are to blame.

Immanuel Wallerstein "The End of the Known World: Sociology of the 21st Century"

The world-systems analysis theorist shows that the world is entering a phase of unpredictability in which social sciences not only cannot predict the future, but also cannot understand the present. Oddly enough, Wallerstein sees this only as a reason for optimism.

Experts: Pavel Arsenyev, Evgeny Babushkin, Alexander Bidin, Ilya Budraitskis, Boris Kupriyanov, Eduard Lukoyanov, Kirill Martynov, Kirill Medvedev, Alexandra Novozhenova, Galina Rymbu, Alexey Tsvetkov

Photo at the beginning flickr.com/photos/bluepoolimages

Philosophy forces us to question and reflect on everything we take for granted. So today we have made for you a selection of outstanding thinkers, both modern and past, so that you can move your rusty brains at your leisure by picking up any of the works of the men and women below.

1. Hannah Arendt


Hannah Arendt is one of the most famous political philosophers of the modern century. After being expelled from Germany in 1933, she began to think seriously about the pressing issues of our time and began to diligently seek answers to the main questions of life, the Universe and everything in general. Completely immersed in herself and in her thoughts about politics, civil society, the origins of totalitarianism, about evil and forgiveness, Hannah tried to come to terms with the terrible political events of that time through her search. And although it is quite difficult to classify Arendt’s ideas into one general scheme, Hannah in each of her works (and there are more than 450 of them) calls on humanity to “think carefully about what we do.”

The most famous works:
"The Origins of Totalitarianism", 1951
"The Banality of Evil: Eichmann in Jerusalem", 1963

2. Noam Chomsky


A professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by day and a critic of American politics by night, Noam Chomsky is an active philosopher both outside and in the academic sphere. His political comments hit not the eyebrow, but both eyes at once. This philosopher asks questions aimed at creating new conclusions for the public. Chomsky changed the face of linguistics in the mid-20th century with the publication of his classification of formal languages, called the Chomsky hierarchy. And the New York Times Book Review declared that “Noam Chomsky is perhaps the most important intellectual alive today.”

The most famous works:
"Syntactic Structures", 1957
"The Problem of Knowledge and Freedom", 1971
"Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies", 1992
“Hegemony or the struggle for survival: the US desire for world domination”, 2003

3. Alain de Botton


The English writer and philosopher, member of the Royal Society of Literature and television presenter Alain de Botton is confident that, like in Ancient Greece, modern philosophy should also have some practical value for society. His works, documentaries and discussions touch on completely different aspects of human life, ranging from the professional work sphere to issues of personal development and the search for love and happiness.

The most famous works:
"Experiments of Love", 1997
"Status Concern", 2004
"Architecture of Happiness", 2006

4. Epicurus


Epicurus is an ancient Greek philosopher born on the Greek island of Samos, and the founder of. The great thinker of the past categorically insisted that the road to happiness lies through the search for pleasure. Surround yourself with friends, remain self-sufficient and don’t get into trouble - this is his constant principle. The word “Epicurean” has become synonymous with gluttony and idleness due to provisions taken out of context. Well, we invite you to personally read the works of the famous philosopher and draw your own conclusions.

The most famous works:
Collection of aphorisms “Main Thoughts”

5. Arne Naess


A mountaineer, social activist and philosopher originally from Norway, Arne Naess was a major player in the global environmental movement and the author of a unique perspective on the debate about the destruction of the natural world. Naess is considered the creator of the concept of “deep ecology” and the founder of the movement of the same name.

The most famous works:
"Interpretation and Accuracy", 1950

6. Martha Nussbaum


American Martha Nussbaum speaks loudly about social justice based on the ancient philosophy of Aristotle, where every person is a bearer of inherent dignity. Nussbaum argues that, regardless of intelligence, age or gender, every member of the human race should be treated in this respectful manner. Martha is also sure that society does not function for the sake of mutual benefit, but for the sake of love for each other. In the end, no one has yet canceled the power of positive thinking.

The most famous works:
“Not for profit. Why does democracy need the humanities”, 2014

7. Jean-Paul Sartre


His name has practically become synonymous with existentialism. The French philosopher, playwright and novelist, who created his main works between 1930 and 1940, bequeathed to his descendants the great idea that man is doomed to freedom. However, we have already written about this, and if by a fatal coincidence you missed this article, you can fill in the gap

The most famous works:
"Nausea", 1938
"Behind Closed Doors", 1943

8. Peter Singer


After the publication of his famous book Animal Liberation in 1975, Australian philosopher Peter Singer became a cult figure for all activists for the protection of the rights of our little brothers. Get ready for this dude to make you think differently about the food on your plate and also inspire you to make small sacrifices for those less fortunate.

The most famous works:
Animal Liberation, 1975

9. Baruch Spinoza


Although the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza lived in the 17th century, his philosophy is still relevant today in many ways. In his major work, Ethics, Spinoza describes his subject matter like a mathematical equation and protests against the idea of ​​absolute freedom of the human person, arguing that even our minds work according to the principles of the physical laws of nature.

The most famous works:
"Ethics", 1674

10. Slavoj Zizek


Slovenian philosopher, cultural critic and founder of the Ljubljana School of Philosophy Slavoj Žižek has become a significant figure in modern pop culture. Slavoy calls himself a “militant atheist,” and his books instantly sell out in huge quantities and become bestsellers.

The most famous works:
“The year of the impossible. The art of dreaming is dangerous", 2012
"Welcome to the Desert of Reality", 2002
“The doll and the dwarf. Christianity between heresy and rebellion", 2009

Philosophy can be called our evening debates in the kitchen of our own home, but there is also a philosophy that is not so easy to understand. This is not just a debate about meaning, about truth, life and love, this is science, scientific philosophers are engaged in it. So, let's see which of the brightest representatives of modern philosophy is worth turning your attention to, who you should get to know better, and what meaning you can discover for yourself.

Let's start with a woman who was expelled from Germany in 1933, her name is Hannah Arendt. This fragile lady became a political philosopher, she began to ask complex questions of our time and looked for answers on her own.

So Hannah thought about politics, civil society, totalitarianism, evil and forgiveness, she had a lot of topics. In her works, Hannah encourages us to “think carefully about what we do.” If you want to get closer to this amazing woman, then you should first pay attention to such works as “The Origins of Totalitarianism”, 1951 and “The Banality of Evil: Eichmann in Jerusalem”, 1963.

The second genius on our list is Noam Chomsky, this man is a professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Concurrently, Chomsky is also a critic of American politics. This man can safely be called a philosopher of the 21st century, because he asks questions that are very important, first of all, for society.

By the way, even the New York Times Book Review magazine wrote about the activities of this scientist, namely, that he is the most important of modern intellectuals. So, it’s worth paying attention to a person with such weight, his most popular works: “Syntactic Structures”, 1957, “The Problem of Knowledge and Freedom”, 1971, “Necessary Illusions: Control of Thought in Democratic Societies”, 1992, “Hegemony or the struggle for survival: the US desire for world domination", 2003.

Another no less significant character in the world of philosophy of the 21st century is Alain de Botton. This Englishman is a member of the Royal Society of Literature, and he is also a writer and TV presenter.

His works contain everything you can think about in life: here is the road to happiness and love, here are friends, relationships with people and everything else. If you want to know why things aren’t going well at work, why you haven’t been able to find your way in life, what you’re doing wrong on the road to personal growth, you should read the thoughts of this brilliant philosopher. Here are his most significant works: “Experiences of Love”, 1997, “Concern with Status”, 2004, “Architecture of Happiness”, 2006.

Once again a woman on our philosophical list, her name is Martha Nussbaum, this American woman gives a monologue about social justice, she relies in her works on the ancient pillars derived by Aristotle. According to this strong woman, it makes no difference what gender a person is, what religion or nationality he is, how old he is, and so on, everyone has their own dignity, which is what the great ancient Greek philosopher said.

The woman talks about such a category as respect, it should be present, but how to achieve this? Society, according to the philosopher, is not built on mutual benefit, it is built on good and pure feelings. In general, just read Martha, and you will become closer to the truth, her most famous work to the world: “Not for profit. Why democracy needs the humanities,” 2014

Of course, you shouldn’t take everything that these people wrote as truth; you can’t do that with anything, ever. The fact is that by reading philosophers, you can learn to think, ask questions, draw some conclusions, but this is very important in life - to open your eyes and heart.

Despite national differences in the development of schools and directions of modern philosophy, the situation at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. characterized by the presence of general trends associated, first of all, with the attention of the world philosophical community to the challenges of the methodology of philosophizing and the problems of an adequate approach to the analysis of social reality. One of these trends, clearly evident in the second half of the 20th century, is the convergence of schools and trends, or more precisely, methods of philosophical analysis developed within various schools. There is a certain identity between the approaches of phenomenology, deconstructivism, hermeneutic and analytical principles. This trend is reinforced by the unification of philosophical education in the modern globalizing world, which leads to heated discussions about the status and scope of old and new disciplines of the philosophy of philosophical knowledge in general.

Attention to the methodological problems of philosophy gives rise to a tendency to consciously use methodology, which, in turn, leads to the active popularization of this issue. Knowledge of methods and techniques of philosophical analysis becomes a necessary component of general education.

A conscious appeal to one or another methodology, to the standards of a particular school or direction leads to a change in the rules of corporate behavior of philosophers and humanists. One of the leading requirements of professional activity is the recognition on the part of the scientist of his own engagement, the conditionality of his own cognitive interest.

This recognition becomes possible due to the fact that not only in the humanities, but also in the natural sciences, the classical “subject-object” division is being “removed” as a necessary principle of any scientific research. The researcher is viewed as an individual who is obliged to understand the boundaries of his own cultural and historical background, which leads to an active revision of the status of the humanities, their methodology, boundaries and capabilities. Even within the framework of natural science approaches, there is an increasing recognition of the need for various forms of historical and literary education, because ultimately, the natural scientist lives among people and needs knowledge of how to communicate with others and build his own life project.

That is why, as the topics of recent international philosophical forums show, more and more attention is paid to the problems of so-called practical philosophy, namely, topics that are included in the research field of such philosophical disciplines as ethics, philosophy of politics, philosophy of law, social philosophy, philosophy of history. They are joined by new philosophical disciplines related to the understanding of human activity in the field of technology, information, media and communications.


In connection with the political and social transformations of recent decades, the range of practical philosophy includes such topics as the moral consequences of globalization and problems of human identity.

(Philosophy: a textbook for students of higher educational institutions / V.S. Stepin [et al.]. - Minsk: RIVSH, 2006. - 624 p.)


Lecture 4. Philosophy and national identity. Philosophical thought in Belarus

National traditions of philosophizing are part of the world philosophical process, while possessing significant historical and substantive originality. However, the degree of this variability varies. If European national traditions are distinguished primarily by the unique styles of philosophizing, then the traditions that arose in cultures that found themselves on the periphery of the processes of the industrial revolution and the formation of liberal ideology are characterized by thematic features.

As the most important periods in history of philosophical thought in Belarus The following can be distinguished: 1) the spread of the ideas of Renaissance humanism and reformation (XVI-XVII centuries); 2) the predominance of scholastic philosophy (XVII - first half of the XVIII centuries); 3) dissemination of the philosophy of education (second half of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries); 4) the spread of people's democratic ideologies (second half of the 19th century); 5) development of philosophical thought within the framework of traditional problems of Marxist-Leninist philosophy (20-80s of the XX century); 6) inclusion in the world philosophical process, mastering the ideas of modern Western philosophy.

The beginning of the spread of the ideas of Renaissance humanism in Belarus is associated, first of all, with the activities of Francysk Skaryna(c. 1490-1541). Skaryna saw the Bible as the most important source of enlightenment for the people. Skaryna associated the possibility of improving people's lives with the spread of the spirit of philanthropy. He attached great importance to legal issues. Skaryna distinguished between “innate” (natural) and “written” laws. The natural law is written, “is in the heart of every person,” according to it you need to “do not do to others what you yourself do not want from others.” Because some abused the lack of written laws. it was necessary to establish such for “evil people, who, fearing execution, pacified their courage.”

From the middle of the 16th century. unfolded on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Reformation Movement, had a significant influence on public thought. A prominent ideologist of one of the movements of the Reformation - antitrinitarianism- was Symon Budny(1533-1593). He published the Catechism and his translations of biblical texts with a preface and commentary in Belarusian. Essentially, he began to revise and criticize the Holy Scriptures. He rejected the dogma of the divine nature of Christ, calling the assertions that God could be born from his own nature “nonsense of the sophists.” Christ, according to S. Budny, is an outstanding prophet, but still a mortal man. He should not be worshiped as God, and the doctrine of the Trinity is untenable. Along with this, S. Budny denied the dogma of the immortality of the soul. Next, he came to deny God as a person and interpret him as a faceless creative principle. The views of S. Budny already in the 70s of the 16th century. became known far beyond the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They became the subject of controversy among Western European reformers.

At the end of the 17th century. became the most famous scholastic in Vilna V. Tylkovsky(c. 1624-1695). As a Jesuit writer, he was popular not only in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some of his works were republished in Latin and in translations in Paris, Vienna, Augsburg and other cities. The largest work of V. Tylkovsky is the nine-volume “Entertaining Philosophy” - a systematic presentation of the teachings of Aristotle in the interpretation of Thomas Aquinas. His book in Polish, “Scientific Conversations Containing Almost All Philosophy,” was very popular.

Among the teachers of medieval scholasticism, a professor at Vilnius University stood out M. Smigletsky. His main work, Logic, written in Latin, was in demand in educational institutions in France and England. On the question of universals, which was fundamental for scholastic philosophy, M. Smigletsky adhered to the position of realism. Along with scholastic realism, moderate nominalism also became widespread at the Vilna Academy. His supporters were I. Kimbaras, G. Stanislavski, S. Kruger, K. Wierzbicki.

A notable event of this era was the trial and execution of an atheist Kazimir Lyshchinsky(1634-1689). A nobleman by birth, he received his primary education in Brest, then at the Vilna Academy, and became a teacher in one of the Jesuit schools. Subsequently, he renounced his clergy, returned to the Lyshchitsy estate in the Brest povet, got married and devoted himself to pedagogical, social and scientific activities. He opened a school on his estate and taught there himself. A provocateur sent to Lyshchinsky in 1687 stole part of his treatise “On the Non-Existence of God” and sent it to the Bishop of Vilna. Lyshchinsky was arrested, tried, beheaded and burned at the stake along with the manuscript. Lyshchinsky's treatise, written in Latin and containing 265 sheets, has not reached us, but its contents can be judged from the materials of the trial. The treatise stated that “people... are the creators and creators of gods, and God is not a real entity, but a creation of the mind and, moreover, chimerical; therefore God and the chimera are one and the same.” The immaterial beginning of the world does not exist. Lyshchinsky did not believe in the “resurrection of the dead” and the “Last Judgment.”

Left a significant mark on the history of Belarusian and Russian culture Simeon of Polotsk(Samuel Petrovsky-Sitnianovich, 1629-1680). He was born in Polotsk, studied at the Kiev-Mohyla College and the Vilna Jesuit College. Having accepted monasticism in 1656, Simeon became a teacher at the Polotsk fraternal school and became close to supporters of the unity of Belarus with Russia. He argued that the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples come from a single root - “from the Russian family”; he considered the Belarusians to come from this family, and the Belarusian land as “ancient Russian”. Polotsky believed that the world was created by God. The world is based on two principles - material (earth, water, air and fire) and spiritual. Man is involved in both principles. Like Aristotle, S. Polotsky identified the stages of being: being in general is inherent in all things and beings, everyone exists, but plants, in addition, also have life, animals also have sensitivity, and in addition to that, humans also have intelligence. About cognition, Polotsky expressed thoughts close to Western European sensationalism: the mind of a newborn is like a blank slate, there are no innate ideas, cognition begins with sensations. Nature is like a book that man should study; The existence of God is inaccessible to sensory perception, which means that God cannot be known, but one must believe in him. S. Polotsky highly valued the role of philosophy in people's lives, believing that it heals human morals, teaches a just life, and helps rulers wisely rule the state.

Ideas educational philosophy began to spread in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the second half of the 18th century. A prominent supporter of education was Kazimir Narbut(1738-1807). He was born in the Lida district, began his education in Shchuchin, continued in Vilna, then in Italy, Germany, and France. Narbut left a significant handwritten legacy, including on philosophy, logic, ethics, natural science, etc. He wrote his works in Polish. He published the first logic textbook in Polish in Vilna. Narbut's views on the structure of the world are based on the ideas of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Kepler. Adopting the position of deism, he sought to liberate philosophy from scholasticism and theology. At the same time, he believed that true knowledge does not contradict religion. In his views on society, K. Narbut adhered to the theory of the social contract.

He played an important role in the dissemination of the ideas of the Enlightenment in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Hieronymus Stroynovsky(1752-1815). In 1799-1806. I. Stroynovsky served as rector of the Vilna Main School, which with his participation was transformed into a University in 1803. In 1785, in Vilna, his work “The Science of Natural and Political Law, Political Economy and the Law of Peoples” was published in Polish, and was widely used as a textbook for students of higher and secondary educational institutions. (In 1809, it was published in Russian translation in St. Petersburg.)

In epistemology, I. Stroinovsky adhered to the position of sensationalism and highly valued the philosophical systems of Locke and Condillac. The social views of I. Stroynovsky are based on the theory of “natural law”.

At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. along with educational views, ideas spread romanticism. The influence of romanticism manifested itself in aesthetic views Leon Borovsky. Borovsky was born in Pinsk Povet, studied in Postavy, Vilna. As a supporter of the romantic-poetic perception of life, Borovsky believed that true poetry is more characteristic of the early stage of humanity than the modern one. The romantic views of L. Borovsky aroused his interest in the pagan myths of the Belarusians and Lithuanians. He considered oral folk art to be a model of true poetry.

In 1812, the second higher educational institution on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polotsk Jesuit Academy, opened in Polotsk. In the 20s of the XIX century. teachers of Vilna University and Polotsk Academy conducted polemics on the pages of the Vilna Diary and the Polotsk Monthly. Issues of morality, training, education, attitude to the ideas of the French enlighteners, the peasant question, etc. were discussed. Professors of the Polotsk Jesuit Academy took positions of clericalism and conservatism on these issues.

In 1817-1823, a secret organization operated at Vilnius University "Society of Philomaths"(science lovers). The leading core of the society included: Józef Jezowski, Tomasz Zan, Adam Mickiewicz, Jan Czechet, Franciszek Malewski, Kazimir Piasecki, Mikhail Rukevich, Onufry Pietraszkiewicz, Teodor Lozinski. They proclaimed virtue and work to be the basis of their union. The leading role in the development of the most important program documents of the organization was played by A. Mickiewicz and T. Zahn.

Members of the society declared their goal to be self-improvement and preparation of youth for activities for the benefit of the fatherland. The philomaths considered serfdom and autocracy to be the main obstacle to progress as contrary to natural law and the reason of establishment.

Creativity played a prominent role in the development of Belarusian social thought Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich(1807-1884).

Dunin-Martsinkevich believed that it was necessary to improve human relations through education and moral education. Literature in the Belarusian language can play an important role in this, which would be understandable to both the landowner and the peasant and would depict an ideal state of life, simple and friendly relations. He preached the fraternal unity of people, the simplicity and “naturalness” of life according to centuries-old patriarchal traditions, contrasting them with the complexity, moral chaos and mutual hostility reigning in the city. Dunin-Martsinkevich considered the Belarusian language to be peasant and common. Belarus did not seem to him independent in national terms. He saw its value in preserving the best of bygone times. The cultural uniqueness of Belarus is determined for Dunin-Martsinkevich by the synthesis of two cultures - noble and folk. The first carries a high level of spirituality, and the second - originality. This unity should determine, according to Dunin-Martsinkevich, the character of the new Belarusian culture.

In the second half of the 19th century. noticeable phenomena in social and political life were the activities Kastus Kalinowski(1838-1864), who published “The Peasant Truth” and preached the ideas of the peasant revolution, communal socialism, and national liberation; populist groups, and the newspaper "Gomon", creativity Frantishka Bogushevich(1840-1900),Yankee Luchins(1851-1897); distribution Marxist ideas.

At the beginning of the 20th century. Newspapers stepped up in the ideological field “Northwestern region, Our share, Our field, Bolshevik newspaper Star. Writers played a major role in the development of Belarusian socio-political thought Aloiza Pashkevich-Tetka (1876-1916), Yanka Kupala(1882-1942), Yakub Kolas(1882-1956), supporters of the idea of ​​national autonomy of the Belarusian people, their enlightenment, community and classlessness (I. Lutskevich, Y. Vereshchat, Burbis), Bolshevik propagandists and organizers M. V. Frunze, A. F. Myasnikov.

In 1921, the work was published in a small edition in Vilna Ignat Abdiralovich(I.V. Kanchevsky, 1896-1923) “Advanced Ways.” In it, the author reflects on the historical path and cultural identity of Belarusians, who are between East and West and have not taken either side. Belarusians need “their own Belarusian forms of life,” but at the same time they should avoid “Belarusian messianism.”

Systematic research and teaching of philosophy was resumed decades later in Soviet Belarus in 1921 thanks to the establishment of the Belarusian State University and the organization of the department of dialectical materialism and the activities of such philosophers as Vladimir Nikolaevich Ivanovsky(1867-1939) - specialist in the field of philosophy of science, history of philosophy and psychology, an outstanding researcher of cults and worldviews of antiquity Nikolai Mikhailovich Nikolsky(1877-1959), academician of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus (1931), corresponding member of the ANSSSR (1946), famous specialist in the field of history of philosophy Bernard Emmanuilovich Bykhovsky(1898-1980), Georgy Fedorovich Alexandrov(1908-1961), who was the editor and one of the authors of the above-mentioned three-volume History of Philosophy, Vyacheslav Semenovich Stepin(b. 08/19/1934), specialist in the field of theory of knowledge, philosophy and history of science, philosophical anthropology, founder of the Minsk methodological school, within the framework of which the ideas of the philosophical foundations of science were developed, etc.

Lev Iosifovich Petrazhitsky(1867-1931) one of the founders of the psychological theory of law. He was born in the Vitebsk province, graduated from the Vitebsk classical gymnasium. Later he became a professor at St. Petersburg University, and after the revolution he emigrated to Poland and headed the department of sociology at the University of Warsaw. Petrazycki's ideas have had a great influence on modern American sociology of law.

A native of the Vitebsk province and a student of the Vitebsk gymnasium was one of the greatest Russian philosophers Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky(1870-1965).

Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin(1895-1975) worked in Vitebsk for four years (1920-1924): he taught general literature at the Pedagogical Institute and philosophy of music at the Conservatory, gave public lectures, and was engaged in active scientific work. It was during these years that he developed his fundamental ideas, which found expression in the study of Dostoevsky’s work, in the works “Towards the Philosophy of Action”, “Author and Hero in Aesthetic Activity”, “Subject of Morality and Subject of Law”.

In the 20th century, scientific and technological progress continues, reaching unprecedented rates. At the same time, this is an era of major social upheavals on a global scale. Philosophically, the 20th century is marked by a transition to anthropological issues. Two reasons:

  1. connected with the development of science itself, namely at the turn of the century the human sciences appeared. Sigmund Freud, Ivan Pavlov, Sechenov enjoyed authority at the turn of the century. Philosophy turns from speculative to scientific.
  2. historical reasons. Man shows his qualities in World Wars. The problem of man again became dominant. Irrationalism is growing in human understanding, because reality itself was irrational. The main question is: What is a person? - is put in a new way. A new question arises: What is the relationship between man and technology?

Main anthropological trends and ideas of the 20th century.

  1. German philosophical anthropology of the 20th century. Max Scheler ʼʼThe position of man in spaceeʼʼ. Scheler considers 4 worlds: inorganic nature, plant, animal and human - and comes to the conclusion that man is akin to all worlds, the essence of man is the difference between vital impulse and spirit. The vital impulse is stronger than the spirit. The impulse is blind and the spirit is weak. Man is a self-determining being and goes beyond his limits. The human spirit is akin to the cosmic spirit. H. Plesner is trying to create a scientific philosophy of man, based on data from the sciences, primarily biology. The main work is “Stages of the organic and man”. Plesner deduces several laws of existence, one of them is the law of natural artificiality, according to which a person cannot live outside the world created by himself. The second law is the law of mediated immediacy - a person needs some kind of mediators. Eccentricity of a person - the center of a person is outside of him. A. Gelen sees a feature that distinguishes a person from others - lack of specialization, which allows a person to be anyone. Culture as a means of compensation for human biological inadequacy.
  2. Neo-Freudianism is another human philosophy. This school has a focus on viewing man as a biological being. All individual characteristics are laid down in childhood. Consider the influence of social factors on human consciousness. Alfred Adler showed that the content of the subconscious is determined by a social inferiority complex. E. Fromm explores the phenomenon of aggressiveness - “Anatomy of human destructiveness”, as well as the phenomenon of love and human freedom. There is a practical beginning, a desire to help a “lost” person. Carl Jung introduces the concept of the collective unconscious, whose field creates the content of culture and religion.
  1. Existentialism is the philosophy of human existence. Does not express the intention to build a specific philosophy based on the sciences. It is close to fiction. This direction has become widespread. Representatives: Karl Jaspers, M. Heidegger, Jean Paul Sartre, A. Camus, G. Marcel. Existentialism had the greatest influence on the minds of the mid-20th century. They considered the philosophers of the 19th century, especially Dostoevsky, as their predecessors. Main themes: human freedom, religion, fear, melancholy, feeling of abandonment. Sartre introduced the concept of a “borderline situation” - existence on the verge of life and death. Representatives of existentialism rethink the value of man after the Second World War. Another problem is the interaction between the individual and society; they believe that society is hostile to the individual. A person must be a participant in events. The theme of freedom is considered in relation to the theme of responsibility. Freedom is seen not as a benefit, but as a burden, which a person cannot throw off. Sartre – “Being and Nothingness”, “Nausea”, “The Devil and the Lord God”, “Existentialism - ϶ᴛᴏ humanism”. Camus believes that human existence is absurd. Existentialism has an ambiguous attitude towards religion. There is religious existentialism (Jaspers) and atheistic existentialism (Sartre and Camus). Sartre argues that it is not important for a person whether there is a God or not.

The 20th century provides a wide range of anthropological ideas: from Freudianism to the consideration of man as a purely spiritual being. The influence of Marxism continues.

Throughout the 20th century, keen interest in epistemology remained, and the philosophy of science developed.

The main epistemological directions of the 20th century.

  1. Neopositivism. Representatives - L. Wittgenstein, B. Russell. Neopositivism is often called logical and linguistic positivism. What makes it similar to classical positivism is that its representatives consider scientific knowledge to be the only true one, do not believe in philosophical knowledge and believe that all questions come down to scientific proof. Neopositivism offers a method of verification of judgment - verification of any judgment. If the method is applicable, then the judgment makes sense; otherwise, it does not. In the mid-20th century, neopositivism was replaced by postpositivism.
  2. Postpositivism. Representatives - K. Popper, I. Lakatos, Thomas Kuhn, P. Feyerabend. They come to the conclusion that philosophy and science are inseparable. All scientific knowledge is relative, subjective and loaded with evidence and theories. Popper proposes the principle of falsificationism - proof of the falsity of a theory.

Philosophy of the late 20th century.

The era of postmodernism is coming. Signs: there is value indifference to hierarchies; game character.
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There is no concept of “reality” in philosophy. All attention is paid to the inner world of the subject. Interest in Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism. Knowledge cannot claim to be true. The main concept is text. “The man is dead” is the slogan. M. Foucault, J. Baudrillard consider certain aspects of existence.

Conclusion: we are seeing a variety of polemics - a departure from classical philosophy; retreat into private images.