Issue 3 2020

The article analyzes Aristotle’s testimony of a possible continuity between the teachings of Hermotimus of Clazomenae and his compatriot Anaxagoras. This testimony will remain the only one among the later ancient reports concerning Hermotimus, representing him more as a wizard and a seer than a philosopher. In this way, his image is presented until the 19th century; Hegel, Zeller, Windelband and others showed undisguised skepticism towards this figure. The state of affairs began to change at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries, when the irrational aspects of ancient thought started to attract researchers. Rohde draws attention to the profound transformation of ideas about the soul in the 7th – 6th centuries BC, when the soul started to be perceived as existing separately from the body, as a special substance not reducible to the latter. E. Dodds discovers the origins of this new concept in the northern countries that opened up to the Greek world due to the colonization of the Black Sea coast and enriched the culture of Hellas with elements of «shamanism». The ability to experience the separation of soul and body was a hallmark of magicians and seers of a special kind that appeared in the 7th – 6th centuries BC — Abaris, Aristaes, Epimenides, and others. Rohde considers Hermotimus to be the most notable example of such a magician. It was from his personal experience that Hermotimus could draw a conclusion about the irreducibility of matter and spirit to each other, and, as a consequence, of the separateness of Mind as a universal principle. The distinction between spirit (soul) and matter (body) will become the fundamental principle of Greek philosophy; the concept of Mind (Nous) will serve as the foundation for the system of Anaxagoras, the first Athenian philosopher, from whom, in fact, the history of classical Greek philosophy begins.

The study deals with differentiated social «communities» peculiar to the Roman society of the late period (Empire era), which formed the «meaningful contents» of the everyday life culture constructs. As one of the typical «artifacts» there are considered «book» texts (epigrams of Martialis), reflecting «small» events of social and family life of Rome. The study aims to trace the transformation of traditional social communities (of the class, family, political, professional, ethnic types) caused by historical social practice, Roman ideology, mental concepts and stereotypes of social behavior. The methodology of the study is determined by the interrelations of the «epistemological fields» of related disciplines within which the studied phenomena are represented in different aspects. The research is conducted at the intersection of philosophy, sociology (including sociology of culture) and textual criticism; the axiological aspect of the problem under discussion acquires a special meaning. The analyses of literary sources allows to trace the static and dynamics of the daily culture of antiquity, reflecting the profound changes that occurred both in the formation structures of the «great» Rome and in the sociocultural space of Roman antiquity. The scope of application of the research results is not limited to the field of humanities; possible follow-up may involve expansion of the range of sources (up to material sources, such as archaeological, statistical) and specialization in one of the areas indicated in the paper. The conclusions demonstrate the potential of the axiological approach (in conjunction with the philosophy of culture and social psychology) to the studied social and cultural phenomena.

In the heterology of G. Bataille, a person appears as a being doomed to death and revealing gaps in the depths of himself. That is why the idea of human corporeality turns out to be connected with the idea of inner experience, which represents a movement to the «edge of the possible» and through which death is revealed. It is death and the ability to discover it that makes a person who he is, affirming the transgressiveness of the human body and human being. Death, being absolutely heterogeneous, constitutes a person as a self-that-dies, revealing the gap that comprises its nature. Awareness of death leads to a feeling of eroticism, which contains the simultaneous affirmation of life in combination with the acceptance of death. Moreover, death is the semantic core of eroticism. The human is a «gaping hole» opening wide to the other, and all his being presupposes discontinuity and ecstasy, which means that only excess puts a man on the edge, allowing him to transcend all boundaries. In this case, the inner experience turns out to be in many ways a body experience, because the heterogeneous is constantly manifested in the ultimate experiences of the body and the ultimate manifestations of the human corporeality, where horror and lust, attractiveness and disgust are fused together. Human experience is the experience of the limits and gaps in which a person seeks to get beyond his limits, to surpass his anthropomorphic and body boundaries in an act of self-waste. Thus, being on the extreme edge, the human discovers death through transgression, but exactly in the understanding and acceptance of death he acquires true being and overcomes his own corporeality.

The paper explores Martin Heidegger’s concept of the «history of being». This concept was created in the philosopher’s late period. Critically analyzing the own paths of existential philosophy revealed in Being and Time, Heidegger gradually forms a spectrum of being-historical notions that will occupy a central position in contemplation after «the turn». The methods of analyzing the presence used before «the turn» create the appearance of an anthropological approach to the question of being, which becomes the main subject of the philosopher’s self-criticism. This, in particular, served as an originative impulse for the formation of the «history of being» concept. This article presents the key intentions of this concept. The author reveals these intentions in their natural interconnection, tracing the development trends from Black Notebooks to full-fledged volumes devoted to history of being. The questions asked in the renowned Heidegger’s opus magnum are revealed in a completely different plane, where the human presence (Dasein) is transformed into the foundation of the people’s essence, provided they are open to the call of being (Geschick). The author of the article does not share the opinion of researchers claiming that there are sufficient grounds to draw a hard line between Heidegger-1 and Heidegger-2, interpreting «the turn» as a sharp rejection by the philosopher of the results of his work before the 1930s. However, the being-historical layer requires new historical and philosophical interpretations: the professor’s forced release from the academic framework opened a new depth of his language and thought. Therefore, the key notions of the being-historical concept, necessary for acquaintance with it, have become the topic of this study. The hermeneutic and historical-genetic methods are the main ones applied in the study. The former, perfected by Martin Heidegger himself, is necessary in the interpretation of his texts, saturated with specific turns, original use of previously known terms, poetic allegories.

In this article, the author analyzes the contraposition between infantile consciousness and «heroic art» used by Merab Mamardashvili. Examining the phenomenon of infantile consciousness, the author discovers a number of principles underlying it. Studying how these principles give rise to areas of absent life experience (from the side of thinking or from the side of feeling), the author indicates how another principle grows out of it — the «unknowability of being» or «demonization of being». Under such conditions, a person performs an evaluation procedure instead of stating the inconceivability of a situation and the self-determination procedure (the inconceivability of a situation is evaluated negatively and is fixed in thinking in this way). Using these conclusions, the author describes a situation in which «heroism» is understood as something alien to the meanings Mamardashvili endowed the «heroic art» idea with. The alienness shows itself in the way «heroism» is expressed as defense against the «unknowability of being». The author draws attention to the principle of ratio, important to Merab Mamardashvili, which consists in maintaining the final apodictic form between the two poles — the unknowable in sensory experience and the unknowable in thinking. With the help of this principle, the meaning of Mamardashvili’s statements about «heroic art» is clarified.

In the paper, the content of the concept of substance is defined; the relevance of substantial explanation in philosophical and general scientific methodology of modern materialism is considered; the methodological features of substantial explanation are analyzed. Among these features are the choice of dialectics as general methodology for deriving theoretical ideas about substance (as opposed to the inductive approach and ideas about pramatter), the relations between the universal substance and special substances, the consideration of substance as an absolute reality, the actual indicators of substance in the context of post-nonclassical scientific rationality, the development of substantial explanation from the concrete to the abstract and vice versa (including the problem of the ontological and epistemological «cell»), as well as the substratum approach and the definition of substantial attribute. The concept of substantial attribute is introduced, which is the procedural basis for the self-reproduction of a form of matter or of the matter as a whole. This concept expresses a process without which this or that substance could not be the cause of itself, i.e. the substance. For an infinite material substance, self-development is a substantial attribute, but in each particular material substance it has specific features corresponding to the level of complexity of the substance. In this regard, different types of substantial attributes are identified in the structure of the main forms of matter: in the physical world — a self-sustaining thermonuclear reaction, in the chemical world — autocatalysis, in the biological world — autopoiesis, in the social world — labor. Thus, with the help of the above aspects, the paper substantiates the thesis that modern materialism, coupled with dialectics, creates a number of important methodological prerequisites for substantial explanation to be used not only as a philosophical but also as a general scientific method.

The article deals with the process of formation and evolution of the chronotopological organization of human existence in the aspect of the personal world formation. The theoretical and methodological foundation of the study is formed by the integration of approaches applied in the social sciences and humanities. These approaches include: the program of cultural centrism aimed at understanding the unique essence of the subject of social and humanities knowledge; a dialectical model, according to which being is not an abstract object but a becoming process; an organicist concept, which asserts a deeply structured natural interconnectedness of being; a relational understanding of the essence of time and space, in the context of which they are considered in inseparable unity with being; a chronotopological concept, substantiated from a philosophical point of view through the prism of the spatiotemporal continuum as presented in the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. As a result of the study, a philosophical dialectical model of the personal chronotopology evolution was obtained, characterized by a complex organization and interconnectedness of elements that determine its formation and lead to its becoming as a functioning level of human chronotopology. In the formation of the personal world, three elements organizing this process have been identified. They are chronotopological dialectical principles (in-self, for-other, for-self), chronotopological modes (specific methods of the formation and state of space and time), chronotopological integrals (a certain level or form of the chronotopological structure as reached in the process of becoming). The implementation of the in-self and for-other principles is expressed by the action of four modes: near and surrounding space, linear and loop time. They lead to the initial formation and subsequent evolution of the personal spatiotemporal structure.

In this article, the author tries to find the best strategy of defining scientific and semiscientific concepts in philosophy. In the first part of the article, the main types of definitions are analyzed. The author dived into the details of each of them and found explicative and ameliorative definitions to be best suited for scientific and semiscientific concepts. The ameliorative method, however, appears to be slightly more preferable because it provides us with more theoretical tools for philosophical analysis. The second part of the article demonstrates the advantages of the ameliorative method using the «innateness» concept as an example. The author has chosen «innateness» because it has plenty of various definitions in science and philosophy today. If such a complex case can be solved with the ameliorative method, then we may conclude that this method is productive. The author found the ameliorative analysis of «innateness» to be a rather fruitful method of work with the mentioned concept. Therefore, the ameliorative approach to formulating definitions is concluded to be the most appropriate for philosophers and scholars when working with scientific and semiscientific concepts.

The theme of network society rests on the problem of changes in the basic values of individual consciousness. It is the management of consciousness that should guide all network strategies toward their real humanization, the formation of a ‘new system of values’ supporting sociocultural institutions, as well as axiological imperatives in the new network world order, thus ensuring information security. Despite the numerous works devoted to network society and management in it, there is no holistic philosophical study of consciousness management as a process and a factor contributing to the preservation of information security in conditions of instability. The lack of philosophical research into the management of consciousness in modern society makes it possible to fill the gap. In this situation, there arises a need for socio-philosophical study of the network society and consciousness management, for defining the philosophical and methodological aspect of the problem. The creation of the modern information environment, the emergence of the Internet, the diversity of social practices, the formation of new social institutions, the development of communicative technologies, the dynamism of the modern era bring to the fore the problem of a scientific approach to the analysis of consciousness management. The uncertainty and crisis nature of the world require new research with a focus on the managerial aspect (management of consciousness) in order to preserve stability and world development, information security. It also becomes necessary to identify the individual’s changing values and to develop a new system of values. This study aims to carry out socio-philosophical analysis, to identify and justify the specific features of consciousness management in a network society. The scientific significance of the work is associated with the author’s approach to determining and managing the network consciousness, and with the interrelationship of management, information and consciousness. In practical terms, the paper determines the role of managing the information crowd’s network consciousness in ensuring information security, in order to preserve the stability and development of the world civilization. The author uses the systemic and analytical approach. This study is a significant contribution to the logical and methodological base of social philosophy, management, cybernetics for further introduction into the practice of educational process and social management.

The article deals with the problem of «superfluous people» in the contemporary socio-cultural reality. This term appeared in Russian literature and journalism in the middle of the 19th century to describe people who, with all their external well-being, were dissatisfied with their own life. In contrast to this interpretation, the English economist T. Malthus defined «superfluous people» as the population that consumes resources with minimal profit. The author of the article is in search for the answer to the question why in the contemporary world there is an increase in the number of «superfluous people» in the Malthus’s sense, that is the outcasts, the unemployed, and people who do not fit the standards of consumer society. According to the author, the reason is the distortion of social attitudes in developed countries of the West. The global economic crisis, especially in the context of COVID-19, requires a change in the liberal economic course. The author suggests adjusting the Russian economic policy taking into account the constant sanctions imposed by the West against the Russian Federation. In these conditions, the most appropriate option is the mobilization economic policy. The government should ensure the creation of enterprises for manufacturing import-substituting products, which would protect the country’s economy from the inevitable collapse. Significant attention and support should also be given to the social sphere, which would provide the population with a sufficient number of jobs. These actions of the government would support the country’s economic and social stability, thus making it possible to avoid mass unemployment.

The article deals with the functions of role-playing games of different types in adulthood in conjunction with the particularities of the players’ self-consciousness. Changes in the status of game in the sociocultural context of postmodern society are discussed. 45 respondents took part in the empirical study: 15 participants of live action role-playing games (8 women, average age 31.53 ± 6.48 years old, game experience 10.7 ± 5.9 years), 15 participants of the online role-playing game «Second Life» (8 women, average age 33.8 ± 5.62 years old, game experience 9.57 ± 4.33 years), and 15 people who are not keen on role-playing games (8 women, average age 30.33 ± 6.03 years old). In course of research were used the author’s questionnaire Self-Portrait of a Role-Playing Games Participant, a modification of Kuhn–McPartland’s Twenty Statements Test, Dembo–Rubinstein’s self-esteem measurement methods, and the Giessen Personality Questionnaire by D. Beckman. It has been found that while «players» and «non-players» lack differences in self-esteem, the participants in role-playing games rate the in-game-self higher in a number of parameters than the real-life-self. The characteristic features of self-consciousness of participants in role-playing games have been identified. For the participants in live action role-playing games, those include cognitive simplicity of the self-image and social orientation of the self-identity. For the «Second Life» players, over-differentiation of the self-image and egocentric orientation of the self-identity are common. The key functions of role-playing games have been identified based on the content analysis of the questionnaires. They are as follows: getting intense emotions and changing identities are the key functions in the group of live action role-playing games’ participants, while self-fulfillment and transgression are typical for the «Second Life» players. The results are discussed in the context of possible changes in modern criteria for distinguishing normal and pathological personality.

The paper provides results of research on academic and sports motivation of student-athletes and students who do not participate in sports. The study was carried out in the period from May 2019 to February 2020 in Perm State University. It engaged 140 students: 70 involved in sports and 70 not involved. The average age of the interviewees was M = 19.85. The following methods were used to study the students’ educational and sports motivation: Self-Efficacy Scale (as adapted by D.S. Kornienko, A.Ya. Fominykh); Self-Efficacy to Regulate Exercise (as adapted by D.S. Kornienko, A.Ya. Fominykh); Sports Motivation Scale (as adapted by D.S. Kornienko, A.Ya. Fominykh); Scale of Academic Motivation (as adapted by T.O. Gordeeva). The results of the study show that students who are not involved in sports have more pronounced types of academic motivation, such as cognitive and achievement motivation. Student-athletes are more strongly motivated than non-athletic students in such types of motivations as positive emotions, improvement, learning, achievement, approval. Student-athletes have a higher level of sportsmanship and overall self-efficacy than non-athletic students. Some correlations between sports and academic motivation within groups have been found. In the group of student-athletes, a negative correlation was found between the motivation for excellence in sports and the motivation for self-esteem in learning. As for non-athletic students, external motivation is linked to approval motivation. The positive correlation of achievement motivation with emotions and cognition has been established.

The subject of the research is the relationship between the phenomena of religion and migrations. The problem of their interaction has been inherent in human society since the ancient times; this problem is relevant one in nova days too. The consequences and prospects of development of this complex phenomenon in contemporary society are not sufficiently examined in science yet, especially in Sociology. In the paper, the role of religion in migration processes is studied based on the analysis of various sources, synthesis, induction, analogy, and abstraction. In course of research were analyzed numerous religious treatises, fiction works and classical sociological works, as well as works by foreign and Russian contemporary academic authors. The paper notes that the migration discourse has now shifted from the geographic and demographic to the socio-political domain. Religion has begun to play an important role at all stages of migration, both from the perspective of neoliberal and humanistic approaches. The paper aims to identify the role of the religious factor in the migration process and the role and logic of migration not only in inter-faith but also in intra-faith relations. It is shown that migration either serves as a catalyst for religious feelings and behavior or it strengthens the existing religious identity of migrants and enhances the quality of their religious feelings. The study highlights the need to improve the legislative framework of religious freedom, but also raises the question of how far religious communities can go in the process of advancing religious practice. In this regard, migrations often become a challenge for a secular state. Therefore, it is concluded that only an integrated approach would contribute to solving this problem.

This article identifies barriers and incentives for the use of mediation (conciliation procedures) in dealing with conflicts arising in the social sphere. The study is based on the analysis of the literature, particularly scholarly works written by specialists in the field — mediators and intermediaries. Among the barriers revealed are the low level of public awareness of conciliatory procedures, negative psychological attitudes towards the conflict and the process of its peaceful settlement as well as barriers associated with the low level of mediators’ training, the absence of normative regulation for the out-of-court mediation procedure. The article substantiates how particular barriers hinder the development of conciliatory technologies. The identified incentives include saving resources, the possibility of maintaining and restoring relationships, the flexibility of the procedure, and the basic principles and rules of mediation. It is described how these incentives contribute to the spreading of this institution in Russia. The article also provides a description of the results of research (sociological survey) concerning the views of students, experts in the field of mediation, state and municipal employees and pensioners, about the obstacles in the development of mediation as well as factors stimulating this process. The empirical study results confirmed the theoretical conclusions about the existence of real barriers in the development of conciliation procedures in the social sphere, such as the lack of information about conciliatory technologies for resolving conflicts, the lack of regulations on their application out of court, the lack of salary standards for mediators in budgetary organizations, the predominant ideas in society about the competitive strategy of behavior in a conflict, the lack of information about educational programs in the field of conflictology and mediation. In conclusion, the authors provide some recommendations prepared based on the analysis of the literature and the empirical research results and containing possible measures aimed at removing the existing barriers.

We present an analysis of the new trends in the interaction between the social welfare system and citizens in the context of digitalization in Russia. These trends relate to the transition from the traditional model of work «man – man» to the remote model «man – computer – man». Particular emphasis is put on the inevitable acceleration of this process under the influence of the self-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We describe in detail the tendency to form informal communities in the virtual space allowing the population to create additional, alternative self-informing channels about social benefits and social services. The reasons for the popularity of such essentially self-help groups in social networks, giving citizens a possibility to satisfy their information needs in matters of social welfare and social services without the participation of authorities, have been identified on the basis of a number of empirical studies conducted in the Perm region in 2020. A high level of public confidence in these alternative communication channels at the horizontal level is shown. At the same time, we present an analysis of the reasons for people’s dissatisfaction with the official channels of information due to a number of negative attitudes in the public consciousness regarding official websites of social welfare bodies and social agencies as well as the quality of face-to-face and distance counseling by their employees. There are given some recommendations on improving the digitalization of social welfare and social services, such as changing the approach to generating content on official web-sites, remote counseling methods, introducing Internet services for selecting benefits and social services, choosing a social agency, filing complaints, etc. The public expectations in this sphere are also presented.