NEW IDEAS IN PHILOSOPHY

Towards a synthetic theory of the ideal (an unfinished discussion in soviet philosophy on the nature of the ide-al)

Dmitry A. Elkin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The theory of reflection, formulated in general terms by the classics of dialectical materialism, represents a broad ideological platform for studying the essence of consciousness and analyzing cognitive processes. Agreement with the basic provisions of this theory does not mean unanimity in solving specific problems of epistemology. A clear example is the discussion on the problem of the ideal, which unfolded in the Soviet period of development of domestic philosophy. In the course of this discussion, fundamentally different points of view were expressed on a number of fundamental philosophical problems. Various options for synthesizing the positions expressed were proposed, but the discussion never ended with the development of a consensus. The question of the nature of the ideal remained open. A hypothesis has been put forward that one of the possible ways to develop a mutually acceptable solution to the problem of the ideal is to study the relationship between social and individual consciousness.

Connection of times and a moment in history (on the continuity of Russia's historical path)

Rudolf L. Livshits — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the aftermath of the roaring 90's, a period of (counter)revolutionary ferment and reckless destruction of established forms and norms of life ensued. Gradually thereafter, however, a period of rejection of radicalism emerged, concomitant with a return to principles and norms that had previously demonstrated their effectiveness. The relationship between neoliberalism and Russia, which had persisted since perestroika, is approaching its conclusion. A new phase in Russia's historical evolution is commencing, distinguished by a shift toward conservatism. However, this shift, while generally beneficial for society, carries the potential to resurrect "the most detrimental aspects of the past," (A.S. Griboedov) thereby risking a reversion to reactionary ideologies. The radical nature of this shift poses a significant threat, no better than the one into which Russian society fell after taking the course of "returning to the bosom of world civilization". This transformation, characterized by a "return to the bosom of world civilization," has been accompanied by a decline in the quality of life and a deterioration in social cohesion. Recent years have witnessed the emergence of ideological trends that have rendered the previously unfounded nature of certain fears quite evident.

The notion that history cannot be approached in a selective manner, but rather must be regarded in its totality, taking into account the temporal realities that have shaped it. Each moment in history is the product of preceding moments, thereby establishing the foundation for subsequent developments. In order to ensure that the judgment of descendants is equitable, it is necessary to judge the deeds of their ancestors without bias.

The peculiarities of historical consciousness of the middle ages

Dmitriy V. Savenkov — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The historiosophic concepts of outstanding thinkers of the Middle Ages (Augustine the Blessed, Eusebius of Caesarea, Joachim of Flora, Thomas Aquinas) are analyzed. The analysis revealed such general features of medieval historical consciousness as: theocentrism, providentialism, eschatology, linear understanding of the historical process, universalism, transcendentalism, distancing from fatalism, abstractness of the social ideal. Each of the identified features is given a meaningful characterization.

Freedom and conformism in postmodern society

Christina V. Vorobeva — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Freedom in bourgeois society is often understood as a "negative" freedom "from", as a "possibility". It should be distinguished from a positively understood freedom as freedom "for", which can be expressed through the concept of "realization" of C. Taylor. In the capitalist system, "negative" freedom turns into internal conformism, which becomes a significant obstacle to the implementation of "positive" freedom. The article analyzes various social causes of conformism, emphasizes the connection between the contradictions of capitalism and the conformist behavior of the individual. It is shown that with the advent of the postmodern era, these tendencies are intensifying, which leads to demonstrative nonconformism, behind which confusion and internal conformism are hidden. This circumstance further increases the existing gap between “negative” and “positive” freedom.

Artificial intelligence as a creative tool

Mariam Araik Davtyan — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The article presents a philosophical analysis of human creativity and artificial intelligence. Drawing on the works of Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Berdyaev, and McGilchrist, the author reveals the difference between the intuitive, purposeful nature of human creativity and the algorithmic novelty of AI. The conclusion is drawn that despite the technical productivity of AI, it lacks intuitive depth, subjective experience, and teleological direction. The necessity of philosophical understanding of human-AI interaction in the context of complementarity, rather than imitation, is emphasized.

The psychophysiological problem and the social essence of human be-ings

Vyacheslav S. Buynevich — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The very formulation of the psychophysiological problem stems from an implicit assumption that there is a direct connection between consciousness and the brain. However, consciousness does not belong to the brain but to the human being as a social-material entity, whose mode of existence is labor as the process of producing their own life. Consciousness and physiology are not linked directly but through speech and signs, which themselves are both the result and the condition of labor activity.

Man, consciousness, sign. Towards a general theory of the sign

Vyacheslav V. Koryakin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The "vertices" of the semiotic triangle (object, ideal object, sign) have no direct connection. Their unity is found only in man. Man is a social material being, the essence of which is the production of his own life through the transformation of the material world. A person produces himself as a social object, reflects himself in an ideal form and at the same time creates himself as a sign denoting his own ideal being. The social material existence, the ideal and the "iconic" existence of an individual are forms of human existence that are in dialectical unity. The relationship between an object, a thought, and a sign is revealed in the multitude of orders of metamorphoses that are formed in the process of a person's production of his own life. The variety of metamorphoses can be considered as the basis for building a general theory of the sign.

Keywords: man, consciousness, sign, semiotic triangle, semantic triangle.

The problem of violence in the philosophical project of W. Benjamin

Semyon V. Borodulin — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The article analyzes the concept of violence developed by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) in a number of historiosophic works. The article characterizes the forms of violence he singled out: law-establishing, law-supporting, mythical and divine. It is shown that the theory of violence proposed by W. Benjamin's theory of violence is inscribed in the general theory of historical process, which is the author's variety of providentialism and messianism.

Postmodernism as a denial of utopia

G.V. Melnikova — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Using the example of the concepts of H. Jenks, J.-F. Lyotard and F. Jameson the author analyzes ideas about the development of various social phenomena (aesthetic, economic and political) in the post-Modern era. In all these theories modernism is rejected as the embodiment of utopia. Thus, the architectural work of the modernist Le Corbusier embodied the features of Platonic utopia (radicalism, impersonality, egalitarianism). Architects of postmodernism, on the contrary, strive for the naturalness of their creations and respect for the historical heritage. The concept of metanarratives by F. Lyotard — the "big stories" of modernity, which are inferior to the "small stories" in the era of postmodernism, also approaches the concept of utopia in its characteristics. According to the F. Jamison's concept of late capitalism, utopia is transformed into a "desire machine", which is designed to replace the ability to desire in the schizophrenic subject of postmodernism, so his own ability to produce desires fades due to the secondary nature of culture, the predominance of nostalgia and pastiche in it.

The limitations of the information approach toward interpreting the capabilities of artificial intelli-gence

Artyom S. Makarov — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the fastest growing fields of science and technology these days. Therefore, the interest of researchers in the problem of AI is quite understandable. The attention of scientists is attracted not only by the purely applied aspects of the topic, but also by the ideological problems that inevitably arise in its comprehension. Currently, progress in the study of AI is based on three approaches to human consciousness as a standard of intelligence: informational, computational and connectionist. The article critically analyzes the information approach based on the idea of the formal identity of human consciousness and artificial intelligence. In our opinion, such an identification is unlawful, since it unacceptably simplifies the nature of consciousness. The concept of information is radically insufficient to reflect the essence of consciousness, since it is an abstract quantitative measure in no way related to the meaning of mental images. A number of arguments are given in favor of the claim that the information approach is inherently reductionist, identifying information exclusively with physical processes. The information approach ignores the social content of consciousness or tries to eliminate it. It is concluded that the information approach contains the error of the mismatch between the substrate and the attribute: consciousness as a complex socio-anthropological property cannot in principle be "encoded" in AI information systems.