Issue 2 2019

The subject of this study is a phenomenological and epistemological analysis of traditional text as «text of things». Text is proposed to be considered a «specific object» and an episteme. The episteme is viewed as a discursive formation (M. Fuko) and a way to learn a language, social institutions and history in their integrated development (social epistemology).The text of a literary monument of the first quarter of the 17th century Tales of a Peasant Son and а group of folk narratives are the object of the research. The way of representing the world of man through the «worlds of things» is a common and even typical phenomenon in the semantics of traditional narratives. The methodological framework of the research is based on the methods of socio-philosophical and philosophical-anthropological analysis, phenomenology and epistemological research. The structural organization of a text and the aspects of the narrative style that characterize phenomenological features of traditional text are of particular interest to philosophers and anthropologists. The socio-philosophical approach reveals the holistic episteme contained in a text. It allows one to consider the holistic ensemble of words and things that organize the textual structure in a synchronistic perspective. The historical-anthropological approach makes it possible to identify the problematics of the topical functionality of things, revealing the ethical and paradigmatic perspective of human existence. The epistemological approach to text allows expanding the possibilities of interpretation in terms of socio-philosophical heuristics. According to the research hypothesis, traditional text is interpreted as text-becoming, the principle of contamination is interpreted as a direct consequence of the archaic way of arrangement through the connection of things (logic of ritual, visualization, daily practices and other topical-distribution networks of the cultural tradition). The study is novel in providing a definition of text in connection with the extension of the episteme concept, which allows it to be analyzed using an extensive body of methodological approaches.

The article proposes analytical reconstruction of the French philosopher and historian M. Foucault’s interpretation strategy related to the genealogical project The History of Punishment. The object of cognition marginalization is content moment of this reconstruction, as contributing to both the transformation of the research subject field and the genealogical identification of the object. There are defined the rules of reconstruction, contributing to the diffusion of the methodological approach to power in the genealogy of M. Foucault. The article substantiates the position that the use of some individual rules of reconstruction cannot lead to methodological unity in the genealogical project due to the marginal-positive identification of the object and the structure of The History of Punishment. Comparison of J. Deleuze’s functional analysis and M. Foucault’s genealogical approach to the problem of power points to the diffusion of the method, which is unable to localize its object in the social space. In many ways, this will be facilitated by the use of the visual model as an epistemological one, which is traditional for Foucault’s research. All the dynamic and structural characteristics that are used in Foucault’s genealogy to analyze the concept of Microphysics of power will be reduced to marginal anthropology. In the genealogical period of the French thinker’s work, marginal anthropology is regarded as a way of constructing genealogical reality. Genealogical description as a method of a marginal object description is viewed as a consequence of methodological diffusion. The phenomenon of disciplinary power is considered as a marginal construction, deriving the concept of normal-abnormal from the totality of disciplinary practices, structuring the European society. M. Foucault’s focus on marginal anthropology will serves as a basis for the transition to The History of Sexuality project.

Dramatization is a living, state-synthesizing, active internal activity peculiar to the subject; it is difficult to fit into a strict definition; thus, because of all the above, it appears to be a concept. Based on the peculiar methodology of Georges Bataille, with its goal to express the experience of the impossible, the categorical apparatus of M. Heidegger’s existential phenomenology, hermeneutics, historical and philosophical analysis and the use of the given concept, an attempt was made to penetrate the depths of the creative act and personality characteristics of the author. The latter (poet, philosopher) is engaged in mythopoiesis, he does not just create a special language and lives in it but conveys something through it, this being his destiny, his drama. In this regard, we should speak about the expression of Being, where dramatization plays a significant role. Dramatization is the process that helps to «go beyond oneself» to the unknown and transcendental. There are other meanings as well. For example, from an existential point of view, a person who dramatizes his existence becomes closer to understanding language, phenomena and the meaning of his life. Dramatization helps bridge the gap between things and words. The key figures of our research are Plato and G. Bataille, in whose philosophizing two types of dramatization are most clearly traced. The first type is rational, where drama unfolding in life and in one’s own philosophy is presented; the second one is irrational, associated with inner experience, mystical ecstasies, dramatization to exhaustion. At the same time, Plato and Bataille have common features: moments of experiencing death, incompleteness, and overcoming limits. This text may be of particular interest to those who deal with the philosophical problems of the creative process (further development of dramatization in relation to other similar concepts would help understand it at a higher qualitative level), a comparative analysis of antiquity and postmodernism.

The article considers P. van Inwagen’s theses about being, including the thesis «being is not an activity». In formulating that Inwagen argues with the existential-phenomenological tradition. The article aims to investigate the causes of the misunderstanding between Inwagen and the existential-phenomenological tradition. It is shown that Inwagen treats this tradition as if it were an «objectivist» approach, just like the analytic tradition but presenting another answer to Inwagen’s meta-ontological question. Ignoring the radical difference between the existential-phenomenological approach and the analytical, «objectivistic» approach leads Inwagen to misunderstanding of Heidegger’s statements about being. From the «objectivist» analytical standpoint, the question of existence has nothing to do with the course of our experience, with fact something has been given to us, or with giving meaning to something, etc. That is why Inwagen wonders how existence can be associated with an «activity» at all. For the same reason, Inwagen does not understand why the existential-phenomenological tradition’s adherents talk about some differences in such «activities». From Inwagen’s point of view, all the differences lie in the «nature» of things, not in being. From the «objectivist» point of view, it seems exactly like that, because it is impossible to understand «from the outside», for example, the convergence of awareness and being-in-the-world. Within Inwagen’s objectivist position, Heidegger’s philosophy can only be comprehended as anthropology or psychology, which are studies limited to the topic of human beings or their inner world. The article concludes that although one can deny the phenomenological approach in general, but it is possible to show from the inside of that approach that what Heidegger says in his philosophy is, firstly, meaningful and, secondly, relates to ontology and not to anthropology or psychology.

The article provides reconstruction of philosophical and historical ideas of Jose Ortega y Gasset, the greatest European philosopher of the 20th century. Ortega considers the historical existence of man in the context of different paradigms: phenomenology, existentialism, philosophy of life. The philosopher’s views on the content and structure of the historical process are shown. The fundamental role of beliefs and ideas in the historical existence of man is emphasized. Beliefs are the reality a person lives in. They constitute the latent layer of the man’s «logos». Ideas are generated by human intellectual activity. The true primary reality is mysterious and problematic. Man is only able to create imaginary worlds, construct interpretations, comparing them with the mysterious reality. Such modes of historical human existence as self-immersion and self-alienation are considered. The most important structural element of the historical process is generation. Ortega proposes to regard generation as a fundamental historical category that allows one to understand the dynamics and nature of historical changes. The generation is the trajectory history moves along. Ortega considered historical crisis to be another important category related to the historical existence of man. The historical crisis is a fundamental form that the structure of human life can take. History is a linear system of human experiences extended in time. Forms of human life in history are not infinite, each historical stage «sprouts» from the previous one. The historical crisis is a transition to a new era, a kind of bifurcation point. Ortega considered the concept of historical reason to be one of the important achievements in his philosophy of history. Life has a much more radical nature than all the worlds constructed by intelligence. The historical crisis of modernity led humanity to the point which can be defined as «cartesianism of life», not «cartesianism of thought». There is a moment in history when collapse of the physical reason frees the way for the vital and historical reason. The historical reason finds itself in history as a dialectical experience of man.

The article aims to explore the phenomenon of the new media and their dual nature. The objective of the study is to investigate the essential attributes of the new media and present them as a set of binary oppositions: real – virtual, private – public, interpersonal – mass, broadcast – interaction. The author analyzes the new media as a sphere of virtual social being of the modern people, where they are faced with such issues as self-identification, adaptation, responsibility, distinction between true and false or private and public. On the one hand, the diffusion of real and virtual spheres turns online environment into a source of significant social connections. On the other hand, this gives the network identity a playful and changeable nature. Due to broadcasting and interactional models of mass communication coexisting simultaneously, a user immerses into the communication flows of everyone with everyone, where they could be both an influential creator and distributor of content, or a participant of endless chats for the sake of chats themselves. The diffusion between the interpersonal and mass communication leads to plurality and instability of the contexts to which a user belongs. The article examines the conflict potential of online activity through the opposition between the private and public spheres. It describes such effects as erosion of a genuinely public sphere, blending of the opposite social contexts, the phenomenon of hyperpublicity. In conclusion the author discusses a question about the creative activity of the Internet users and emphasizes that the new media environment provides them with opportunities for constructing self-narrative and joining into the global process of sharing ideas, meanings and digital artefacts. As a result, the users expand the borders of their own world, become more autonomous and self-actualizing.

Research into styles in psychology (from the 1950s to the 2000s) has undergone a kind of life cycle − from styles being widely studied to those falling into oblivion. Further constructive study of this problem requires creation of new R&D (research and development) programs, generalization of the experience gained in various schools of thought.

The paper aims to provide a historical and theoretical analysis concerning the results of research on the phenomenon of «style» in Russian psychology; the research subject is the phenomenon of style (individual style of activity, styles of activity, styles of business communication). Hypotheses: 1. Regular reproduction of the same standard approaches in research and development does not promote constructive progress in the study of a scientific problem. 2. The study of the phenomenon of «style» based on the model of business communication styles allows us to emphasize several aspects in the evolution and functioning of style that were not distinguished when studying styles on other models (educational, sports, work).

The article critically analyzes the history and results of studying the problem of style (individual style of activity, styles of activity) in Russian psychology (particularly within the Perm school), the use of the concept of «system» in Russian psychology, attitudes towards scientific opponents, trends in R & D within one school of thought, etc. The conditions for further constructive studies of the phenomenon of style are discussed (using new models that contribute to the discovery of new properties of style, making it possible not to attribute but to study its systemic properties as a unique psychological system; raising questions about the place and role of different styles in the processes of a phenomenon’s formation–development–functioning–disintegration, about the unity and difference of styles in the «chain» of their manifestations, about their structural and functional unity, about the self-similarity of their organization, etc.). Use of the model of business communication styles is believed to contribute to solving relevant scientific problems.

The most important condition for the successful innovative development in Russia is acceptance of the introduced reforms by the population and their understanding that these transformations entail improvement of the quality of life and growth in the level of social well-being. The quality and accessibility of social services are important components of social welfare. The system of social services currently existing in our country needs modernization which would include increasing the availability of social services, development of competition for the quality of their provision and extension of the range of services rendered to citizens. The subject matter under research in this paper is mechanisms and barriers of the social service system modernization in the context of the principal directions of Russia’s innovative development. There appear to be two main mechanisms of modernization: inclusion in the social services system of such entities as socially oriented non-profit organizations and development of social entrepreneurship that could extend the range of social services available to the population and compete for the quality of their provision. Special attention is paid to the analysis of interaction between governmental and non-governmental social service entities. The empirical research combines quantitative and qualitative methodology, since a number of phenomena (e.g. social entrepreneurship) represent an exception rather than a rule, and therefore they are of particular interest. Among the main barriers to the modernization of the social service system, there are both administrative barriers and the ideas and beliefs prevailing among the population (distrust of NGOs; low level of awareness of social entrepreneurship; reluctance of managers to register their organizations as providers of social services; low civil activity of the population in the regions of the Republic; concentration of non-governmental social service entities in the territory of the Petrozavodsk city, with the problem of access to social services being most acute in rural areas).

The paper considers the particularity of socio-demographic processes in modern Russia and the development of the market of geriatric services and social support. There is provided analysis of statistical indicators for age characteristics of the country’s population in the focus of the distinctive trend of the aging process, against the background of the quality of life deteriorating due to age-associated diseases. The article raises a question about the steady growth of demand for medical, social, and elderly care services, the creation of infrastructure on the basis of public-private partnerships, charities and commercial organizations. The problems existing in the segment of geriatric services and social support for the elderly are reflected. The authors demonstrate the limited availability of services rendered by public care institutions for the elderly and senile age people, this problem being caused by the high demand among the population against the background of a fairly low quality and insufficient number of such institutions. The paper considers the potential of private institutions for the elderly and also the constraints to the development of this segment. It is argued that the formation of the market of geriatric services and social support for the elderly population involves not only the creation of a network of specialized care and treatment institutions but also requires special attention to the coordination of efforts towards prevention of premature aging, formation of a healthy lifestyle, motivation to health maintenance, involvement of older persons in information and educational processes, provision of affordable and high-quality medical care, taking into account the peculiarities of health of the elderly and age-related diseases. The review of some federal laws, regulations, standards aimed at improving the system of social protection of elderly citizens is presented.

The problems concerning the development of rural areas and their key productive force — peasants — are not central to the sociological discourse of modern Russian science. At present, there are not many scientists focusing on socio-structural processes in Russian villages, including the changes in the social status, life world, and existential self-awareness of peasants. Meanwhile, some fundamental changes have taken place there over the post-Soviet period. They have had an impact on the society in general and altered the cultural, demographic, and anthropogenic landscape of the country. According to statistical data, the rural population has increased in Russia, while the number of those employed in agriculture has substantially reduced. We see the asymmetry of urbanistic processes with the high unemployment rate in rural areas of individual regions. There has occurred redistribution of land, including reduction of farming lands and concentration of land in the hands of agricultural holdings and large farm enterprises. The number of functioning small private farms has decreased, while their owners gradually join the group of wage employees or «precarium». These processes result in increasing social desertification: medical, educational, and cultural institutions rendering services to local population are being liquidated, while the transport accessibility of villages is reducing. The scale and consequences of this phenomenon have been insufficiently studied in sociological literature, especially with regard to the development of self-government in rural areas. We consider it timely to recall the practice of zemstvo (local municipal administration in Tsarist Russia) and achievements of zemsky (territorial) statistics that studied the life of peasants in post-reform Russia. Territorial statistical investigations played an important role in the development of scientific and theoretical framework for studying villages and peasants, as well as laid the foundation for sociology of rural areas in Russia. In practical terms, these studies brought transparency into the perception of issues associated with socio-economic differentiation in villages, distribution of land, labor migration, as well as meeting the needs of peasants in healthcare, educational institutions, etc. Territorial statistical specialists mastered the expeditionary method of data collection, a prototype of modern «field» surveys used in sociology. The activities of territorial councils as self-government bodies can provide an example of successful local initiative aimed at the development of Russia’s rural areas at the present stage.

Professional self-determination of students, its economic, pedagogical and psychological prerequisites are becoming increasingly relevant subjects for research in Russian science. However, the issues related to the social prerequisites of this process remain much less studied: the students’ ideas about the socio-professional structure of the society, the adequacy of their ideas about the content of jobs in professional areas they might choose. As a theoretical basis of the study, the author considers the psychological and sociological theory of self-determination (self-determination theory), which focuses on the autonomy of the individual in various fields of activity, including educational and labor. The author notes the importance of taking into account the objective factors of professional choice considered in Soviet works on this issue as well as in classical articles of the structural functionalism representatives.
The empirical base of the research is the materials of diagnostic surveys conducted in the Perm region since 2017 to assess readiness of basic school students for professional self-determination. The author analyzes the indicators characterizing the students’ ideas about the objective conditions of professional self-determination concerning two areas: the adequacy of students’ ideas about the socio-professional structure of the society and various ways of considering the significance of particular factors in choosing the future path by students.
The survey allows us to identify a number of problems regarding the adequacy of students’ ideas about the socio-professional structure of the society: despite the wide range of different activities that students are able to name and evaluate in terms of their relevance in the region, to a considerable extent basic school graduates do not possess a clear idea of the content of jobs as well as the conditions of professional activity.

The development of modern religious practices, growing diversity of these practices, and also some liberalization of legislation on the registration of religious organizations will serve as a trigger for the transition of religious groups that previously operated informally to the public sphere. All these factors open the door for many of these groups to obtain religious organization formal status. On the other hand, the emergence of eclectic teachings, which often include elements of scientific, commercial, environmental, and other concepts, also provides the basis for conducting theological analysis. These social processes allow us to forecast the further steady increase in the number of appeals of the state bodies to expert councils to determine the religious component in the activities of a particular social group. In the last few years, there were banned the religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, some neo-pagan and Islam-oriented organizations, some pseudo-scientific cults, including Revelation of the New Century. These bans, as well as the decisions concerning judicial examination of some religious literature content (Bhagavad Gita and E. Kuliev’s translations of the Quran), indicate high demand for theological examination at present. However, the ambiguity of the society’s perception of some court decisions made based on theological examination and periodically criticized in the media quality of training for specialists involved in the process of theological examination make an additional analysis of regarding functioning of this institution, as well as decisions made following the results of theological examination, ever more urgent.