Abstract: The subject of the research is the practice of self-knowledge used in philosophy and psychotherapy. The rich arsenal of self-knowledge methods can be combined into two groups of practices: transcendental-phenomenological and existential-phenomenological. The first practices contribute to the purification of consciousness from the worked–out mental, behavioral schemes, the second ones are aimed at constructing the "I" in accordance with the selected cultural concepts. The purpose of the study is to determine the basic principles of self-knowledge practices and to reveal their potential in the study and construction of the "I". The research is based on phenomenological, narrative and existential approaches that reveal the functional relationship of the subject with the outside world.   The article gives a detailed description of the basic principles of transcendental-phenomenological and existential-phenomenological practices of self-knowledge, assesses the potential of these practices for the disclosure and formation of the "I" of the subject. The main principle of the transcendental-phenomenological practices of self–knowledge is the movement towards a pure stream of consciousness experiences that form the core of the "I". Their ideological basis is the intuitive experience of their own "I" in a state of "liberated" consciousness. Existential-phenomenological practices are carried out through the design and pronouncing of the experience of personal experiences within the framework of selected cultural meanings. The essence of these practices is to clarify self-existence by selecting fixed forms to describe existence, which set the boundaries of the "I". The presented practices effectively complement each other, with the help of transcendental-phenomenological practices, the individual goes beyond the objectified ideas about himself, through existential-phenomenological practices he carries out self-identification.

Keywords: practices of self-knowledge, Self, Ego-identity, phenomenological reduction, existence, reflection, narrative, meditation, breathing techniques, personal construct

Abstract: The concept of identity in the the era of fundamental rearrangement of the cultural and national map of Europe in the XIX – XX centuries. The threat of losing the identity of entire states, separate regions, and local communities, actualizes the value of cultural specificity and view of identity as a special concept. Regional identity associated with the cultural and natural heritage of a particular region remains most common. Identity alongside cultural heritage overall, is singled out as a special category only in case of its loss. The formation of the concept was related to the process of fundamental rearrangement of the cultural and national map of Europe in during the large-scale socioeconomic processes of the XIX – XX centuries. A sense of losing cultural bonds of the people, region, or local community aroused scientific realization of the value of identity. Determination and translation of regional identity is one of the pivotal stages in socioeconomic development of the regions and formation of attractive image of the territory. Moreover, the professional, age, gender and other types of identity can be distinguished in accordance with unifying characteristics. In light of the aforementioned facts, the author proposes to view the principle of identity as a peculiarity of interpretation of the cultural heritage.

Keywords: heritage, cultural heritage, cultural phenomena, cognition, identity, interpretation of cultural heritage, culture, transformation, interpretation, philosophy

Abstract: This article examines the specificity of Russian legal consciousness in its comparison with the legal consciousness of Western European civilization. The author traces the origins and peculiarities of establishment of the value foundations and orientations of the Russian and Western traditions of legal consciousness. A conclusion is made that in terms of producing the own specific system of civilizational values, the Russian legal consciousness cannot evolve within the framework of formalization of law as the modern global civilization with the inherent to it expansion of Western values. For the Russian legal consciousness, its alienation from the moral and exclusion from the sphere of ethical values is fraught with the loss of civilizational identity. The specific feature of Russian legal consciousness is the emergence at civilizational level of close relation between the norms of legal and ethical character, in analogy with the principle of gradation of values of the relative or absolute order. Based on such demarcation, the assemblage of lawmaking principles, such as freedom, equality and justice, acquire in Russian legal consciousness not the formal-legal as it is common to apprehension of law within the system of values of the Western technogenic civilization, but rather a religious-ethical meaning. The perception of law according to the Western example, associated with an attempt of its complete separation from the moral and exclusion of ethical values from it, can lead to the negative consequences, particularly the renunciation of own national identity.

Keywords: legal nihilism, civilization values, morality, legal mentality, legal tradition, legal consciousness, law, national and cultural identity, globalization, jurisprudence

Abstract: The subject of this research is the concepts of identity and self-identity of an individual viewed through the prism of epistemology of an observer, suggested by the Austrian-American mathematician Heinz von Foerster – one of the founders of the radical constructivism. The article demonstrates the close connection of Foerster’s philosophy with the phenomenological sociology and the concept of intersubjective world of Alfred Schütz. The author offers to demarcate the concept of identity and self-identity of a human based on the analysis of self-references of an individual. Identity is considered a result of the double sequence interpretation in the process of structuring the reality. The applied by Foerster in his concept definition of “responsibility” is apprehended as way out to self-identity of a person. The research was conducted within the framework of cybernetic trend of radical constructivism of Heinz von Foerster and phenomenological sociology of Alfred Schütz. The scientific novelty consists in examination of such concept as human identity in terms of the designed, intersubjective world: the article describes the intercorrelation between the developing individual and designed by him social reality through analyzing the self-references of that individual, which in turn, manifest as the foundation of the design process. The author draws a distinction between identity and self-identity of an individual, justified by the two levels of self-reference.  

Keywords: intersubjectivity, phenomenological sociology, constructivism, self-reference, reference, theory of observer, observer, epistemology, identity, self-identity

Abstract: The subject of this article is the reasoning on the correlation between the objective-spatial (geographic) and symbolic (political-philosophical and cultural) foundations of the Russian identity. The object of critical understanding is the thesis “Russia is not Europe”: being relatively new to the Russian sociopolitical language, in our opinion, throughout many decades and even centuries, it remains in philosophical discussion “what is Russia” per se, what its civilizational specificity consists of, as well as how sustainable or variable this specificity is. The positions of the article are revealed from the perspective of constructivist approach in humanitarian science, which suggests that, the categories of identity (ethnic, national, civilizational, etc.) do not exists as the objective constants, but originate within the certain sociocultural context and transform within it. The main conclusion lies in the following supposition: consideration of Russia as the objective “Other” of Europe causes doubts, as well as the existence of certain unvaried cultural-civilizational code that is principally non-European or even anti-European in its essence. The article reveals correlation between the number of notions: “individual freedom – Russian Europeanism – reform and revolution”, which allows taking another look upon the certain aspects of Russian identity.

Keywords: tradition, modernization, philosophy of history, Russia and Europe, civilization, nation, identity , political philosophy, theory of culture, East and West

Abstract: The subject of this research is the constructive nature of “I”, which is presented by the manifoldness of “I images”, interconnected through a unified history of life. These “I” images can be distributed into three main constructs: the physical “I”, the social “I”, and the spiritual “I”. The physical “I” is the source of information about the world, upon which we form the idea of reality and ourselves. The social “I” is revealed through the choice of social roles, which represent typologies of the habitual human activity. The spiritual “I” is the result of understanding of own existence through the prism of values and ideas. The “I” cannot be fixed in form of an object; it manifests itself as a process. The author re-examines the idea of “I” as a sustained core of personality. The understanding of “I” as a dynamic constructs reveals greater prospects for development of psychotherapeutic methods, aimed at helping people in their search of selfness. Since the nature of “I” is unstable, it is not static, but rather dynamic characteristics of “I” that best reflect the structure of identity, as well as serve as the source of the main vital stimuli.  

Keywords: narrative, structuralism, existentialism, psychosynthesis, interpretation, phenomenology, constructionism, Image of "I", construct, adaptation

Abstract: The authors interpret noosphere development as a consciously managed nature oriented co-development of Human Being, Nature and Society, when the satisfaction of needs takes place with no harm for the Universe and later generations. The role of education today is like it has never been before. It may become a leader for the noosphere transition, and the link, by moving which one may resolve other problems of human society. Noosphere education does not deny previously existing systems, rather it takes the best of what humanity has developed  and suports the education with the knowledge of patterns of development of the noosphere system.  The authors formulate and substantiate the concept of semiotic representation of noosphere universum according to the teachings of hte V.I. Vernadskiy on transition from the biosphere to the noosphere.  The problems of noosphere universum are analyzed within the context of correlation of categoreis of "semiotics", "semiology", "fundamental noosphere law", "universal semiotic law", "language conscience", "semioconscience", "semiosphere", "infosphere", "biogeochemical energy", "noogenous biochemical energy", etc.  The philosophical and methodological analysis of the semiotic representation of the noosphere (noosphere reality) allows to suppose that the modern semiotic knowledge facilitates the formation of the new syntetic semiotic discipline - universum (noosphere) semiotics or semiosophy by developing within the lines mentioned by V.V. Ivanov and Y.S. Stepanov. Currently it is fair to speak of environmentalization of the world view, which is the form of humanization of knowledge.  Environmentalization serves the goal of spiritual and practical development of nature in order to form the system of "nature society", functioning "under control" (first of all technical and technological) of the people.  The process of transition from the biosphere to the noosphere viewed through the prism of semiotics and knowledge of the signs of the Universe turns out to be adequate to the cluster of principles of the modern natural sicence, allowing for understanding and explaining of the ways of development of the human civilization within the framework of the modern civilization processes. Semioconscience and semiotic thinking of Vernadksiy allow one to go outside the limits of scientific and religious understanding of noosphere to find symbolic and sign-oriented understanding of noosphere, guaranteeing the in-depth forms of noosphere discourse. The semioconscience may provide assistance for the deeper understanding of the processes of noosphere formation and the noosphere itself as an incomprehensible matter within the contexts of both the XX and the new XXI centuries.

Keywords: globalization, noogenous biochemical energy, noosphere universum, the basic noospher law, semioconscience, semiosphere, technosphere, universal semiotic law, universal evolutionism, universum noosphere conception

Abstract: Time has always been an important subject of research. There are many theories of time that have been created from ancient times till present. Time is also one of the basic element of both archaic and modern picture of the world. When viewing the features of archaic mind, we should keep in mind that, on one hand, archaic mind itself is being developed in a time frame. On the other hand the concept of time is created by human mind.  Achaic concept of time describes not only time cyclicity but also linearity and synchronicity. This is understanding that the past, present and future are happening right now, all at the same time. This archaic concept of time is single and discrete at the same time. Archaic time can exist before time and develop in the other time. This concept of time is similar to archaic concept of space. 

Keywords: archaic mind, archaic times, time cyclicity, time linearity, time synchronicity, Iliad, Achilles shield, harmonisation, order, cycle