Ideas of Russian religious philosophy in the scientific practice of the region

Usachev Alexander Doctor of Philosophy Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Journalism at Bunin Yelest State University 399770, Russia, Lipetskaya oblast', g. Elets, ul. Kommunarov, 28.1 a.usacev@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. Morphologically, in scientific practice, the theme of religiosity provides three basic levels of meanings that are so necessary for the modern development of science. The first level concerns ensuring the factor of organic unity of humanitarian knowledge, despite the specific features of a highly professional nature. For example, the theme of religion vividly presents the theme of man and personality, without which it is impossible to imagine the development of any humanitarian discipline. Man and personality figure as a non-classical idea of religious ontology as the realization of God's plan for man and humanity. ^{[2, p.148]}

The main part. Since the humanities, by definition, are the sciences of man and the human in the broadest context, such a specific feature of religious ontology is actively used in dissertation and academic processes. Even if the religious origin of a number of human characteristics is kept silent – we are talking about personality, about choice, about the meaning and purpose of life - yet the logical basis and conclusions, as a rule, are often activated. In this case, rationalistic philosophy, originating in the paradigm of Modern Times, personalistic entities such as God, Logos, are replaced by philosophical equivalents of the Absolute and transcendence. In addition to the unity and continuity of the subjects of the humanities, the religious theme morphologically plays a role in raising the question of the essence of man. The essence of a person is not identical with his existence. Due to this circumstance, a set of questions arises about the causes and ways of overcoming psychophysical dualism, the discord of words and deeds, design and implementation, the status of reason in an unstable world. For the same reason, simple formulations cannot reflect the complexity of life and scientific dynamics ^[6]. Any dynamics is provided by a set of static structural elements. In particular, the role of such statics is performed by the interpretation of a person as a finite entity having a double localization. We are talking about spatial localization associated with the physicality of a person and temporal – it, in turn, is associated with the limited time of existence. Religious ontology, as well as some other types of non-classical ontology, begin practices with the fact that the subject region can be designated and thought out only taking into account these localizations. Classical ontology is based on the mind as the central instance of thinking. The mind is extra-spatial and timeless and is a phenomenon that is extremely abstracted from unique contents, and, primarily, pays attention to meta-discursive concepts with generally meaningful meanings. Religion speaks of the impossibility for a person to "embrace the immensity." This allows us to interpret it in the aspect of simple living and activity. The religious theme creates the basis for seeing in a person a unique combination of being and cognition, and not their strict differentiation. Religion becomes the ideological basis for ontological epistemology, for the theory of cognition, which seeks to think through the essence of the content of the concept of subject, for which it expands its ontological basis to the concept of personality. The subject is functional, the personality is existential. The subject is schematic, the personality is integral. The subject is a rationalistic and, therefore, a classical entity. Personality is associated with religious, emotional-volitional, intuitive components and, therefore, it is rooted in a non-classical mentality ^[10]. Under the influence of religious ontology, a theoretical attitude of philosophical thinking is born, which sees the primary unity of being and cognition, which stops at the fact that being is revealed to cognition. Such a combination of life aspects can be authentically understood only in the case of personality-oriented interpretations of goals, tasks and cognition techniques. What is revealed is always connected with culture, language, location, time and should reflect the interest of the knower in the subject. The interest is irrational. It is interest that shows the intuitive nature of the choice of the subject of knowledge, which is developed by such Russian and European philosophical trends as phenomenology, intuitionism, fundamental ontology. It establishes a person in relation to existence and forms a set of research strategies into a single cognitive productive process ^{[4, p.18]}.

The third aspect, dictated by the theme of religion and which has taken a certain place in scientific usage, is the demarcation of the past and present in the modern history of the country and the region. The presence of religion becomes a supporting factor of an ideological nature, which makes it possible to distinguish between self-consciousness before the revolution and after it. A constructive attitude to the influence of religion on historical, cultural and civil processes, as well as its role in the formation of personality and understanding of one's destiny, allows us to distinguish between the ontological characteristics of pre-revolutionary Russia, the history of the 20th century and the current process of returning to the origins. In this context, to understand religious ontology means to move away from the schematic interpretation of being, which strongly depends on Western rationalistic scientific practice, on the criteria of benefit and effectiveness. It is based on the maximum abstraction from the existential content, i.e. from the existence of the object and the subject of research as in its simple essence, given in direct perception and reflects the attitude of a person to it even before the epistemological subject-object heading.

The above idea of the double localization of a person in time and space creates a second morphological fact – the actualization of topos, cultural and historical space in thought. We are talking about the analysis of the correspondence of the cultural and historical unique values of the region, native places, creative landscape, meaningfully taken into account in literary, philosophical or artistic products.  Such correspondences can be carried out at the level of language, characteristic subject matter, unique subjectivity. Large signs can be taken here, for example, the North or South of the country, national or religious identity. But, among other things, the "subtle matter" is of particular interest, namely the psychology and character of the individual, which are formed in this area and organically, leaving signs, enter into the fabric of an artistic, philosophical or any other text. This morphological fact reveals three different sides ^[8]. The first side is a direct indication of the place of origin of an idea, concept, scenario of behavior or mode of existence, which concerns a well–defined, not mythological, but geographical area containing the boundaries of the quality of style, language, event series. It directly or indirectly guesses or contains the style and character of the area. A striking example is the fate of V. Rozanov, who in Yelets finds a family in the true sense of the word, but, in addition, according to his own testimony, comes from formal Orthodoxy to personal faith, which played such an important role in his personal and creative destiny. M. Prishvin in his diaries traces the change of social worlds in Russia during the revolution, changes in the relations between people and in cares, in contrast to what was his life as a child, Dol. I. Bunin comprehends the life milestones that took place in Yelets and his estate near the city, in emigration, presenting them as an existential subject basis for understanding the results of his life and the fate of Russia in the 20th century.

The second side of the morphological fact of the actualization of the place consists in attributing its meaning to the common fate of Russia at different historical stages. The categories of conservatism and innovation are relevant here, which reflect the peculiarities of the dynamics of what is happening. The subject of the analysis is the measure of the weight of the Yelets region in the pre-revolutionary era: merchant traditions, active and diverse life that makes up the economy of the region, the role in the spiritual identity of Russia in the works of the authors already listed. The continuation of the artistic and philosophical analysis of life refers to the revolutionary period, which, for obvious reasons, is imbued with nostalgia, desires to bring to life the old mores, "old" values. In it, among other important tasks, the intention is clearly visible to reproduce not only in an identical form, but also in an authentic, authentic sense of what was dear to people throughout an overwhelmingly long fragment of the history of the city and the region. The second side is interesting because it includes not only the existence in which imitation, similarity, simulacra occupy an important place, but also the structure of understanding. In particular, they can manifest those components of life and creativity that may not have been acceptable at the time, which is taken as a basis ^[9]. And the very fact that forces the current generations of scientists to turn to history, again and again leaving aside nostalgia, to clarify the ontological components, the lack of which is very sensitive today, also requires their understanding. It forms a request for the history of being, developed by historiography, for the implementation of plans, ideas and life principles that make up a living picture of the past of the Yelets region.

The third side is the idea of a holistic perception of the history and mentality of the Yelets region. Its content unfolds in two ways. First, it is necessary to be convinced that the restoration of continuity is possible. Secondly, what can be restored, returned to the cultural space of modernity, will include the historical appearance in everyday life, will become its habitual and organic component. The first of these aspects is essentially connected with the conviction that the current cut of the mentality is not only an echo and reflection of the historical appearance of the region. It contains genuine existential elements that, for a number of reasons, are not so visible and activated today. In this aspect, the idea expressed by N. Berdyaev is also important. In particular, the philosopher noted that to return to the past state of the state, society is an even greater utopia than projects about the future. In this case, the Nietzschean idea of eternal return, which had such a great influence on the formation of non-classical philosophy, should be perceived ontologically, not imperatively, not ethically. In order for historical practice not to have a modernist aspiration to implement a speculative scheme, which in this case is the past, it is important to see in reality the mode and forms of the return of the past. Among those in scientific practice are academic and dissertation processes, which today are not conceivable without partial or complete attribution to the texture of the historical and cultural plan from a number of phenomena that testify to the uniqueness of the region. From these signs of time, it is possible to reveal the second aspect ^[7]. The conviction that the elements of the mentality that have shaped its qualitative certainty for nine centuries are obviously or implicitly present. If you level out all sorts of "cons" that lie on the surface, for example, a whole century of existence without a personal ideology, without a market that always enlivens the life of the economy and the development of merchants, you can still come out with a number of significant "pros". Among the affirmative features, one can easily find a number of axioms of ontological properties that will reveal the primary intuition of the historical roots of the region and its inhabitants. First of all, we are talking about a language that, of course, is influenced by modernity, but retains the actual features, intonations, emotional load, from which the literary and artistic talent of a number of outstanding people was built. Further, the architectural and geometric pattern of the city matters, from which nothing else directly follows than the appearance, the unique face of the city, its squares, streets, temples and individual buildings. They keep the prayers, human stories, thoughts and feelings of those who lived in them, visited, asserted their existence. And, perhaps, an important role belongs to the will, which in non-classical philosophy has received an ontological status. The will manifests itself in the fact that it orients researchers to the subject combinations of the edge, the native land, which reveal its specifics. The will also reveals the desire to live in its own region, to be the center of all pulsating and vital threads. It can be assumed that this is the same will that organizes human existence, revealing unique features. It is, ultimately, the will to truth and authenticity. Since man, not reason, has become the leading topic of the humanities, truth and authenticity have become at the forefront of scientific search ^[6].

The conceptual and logical form plays a role in determining the perception of the world of people of any era, which has gained reflexive work on comprehension and systematization. This is an ontology, i.e. at the same time a theory of being and a certain way of presence. In the epistemological aspect, it is important to find out the cognitive potential of the concept, its prospects and constructiveness in performing certain tasks of understanding. On the one hand, it is an obvious function of any concept. On the other hand, its obviousness does not entail simplicity at all. V. Dilthey and the neo–Kantians completed the theory of the difference between the methods of natural and historical sciences. In particular, the latter focus on experiencing, penetrating into the intuitive fabric of a historical event. In the axiological aspect, the value structure, the weight of the circumstances under discussion in the context of the existence of this region, land, country, community of people should be clarified. This aspect is of the most subjective nature, not always, perhaps, revealing a universal meaning and highlighting unique features that are not reduced absolutely to the general.

The ratio of individual and unique is classic. The exceptions are those cases when criticism of classical thought or binary structure led thought into contemplative or descriptive practices. Both a partial departure from dialectics and a great commitment to its centuries-old achievements are usually due to reasons of a personal, individual nature at those moments in history when there is a strong interest in self-understanding, in the interpretation of unique circumstances affecting being ^[1].

Humanitarian processes in modern Russia, as they develop, require more and more attention from the conceptual and categorical understanding. The answers to the simple questions "what is it?", "what does it lead to?", "what is the source and continuation?" suggest diverse research in the field of determining the identity of phenomena, the personalistic component, make it possible to achieve greater clarity in the actualization of historical thinking, philosophy and other forms of scientific and artistic writing today. This line of activity has several tasks.

The first of them follows from a number of consequences of the globalization process, which brings a number of positive qualities to modern history, such as: economic development, reduction of the number of poor and disadvantaged, certain guarantees in blocking military large and small conflicts, etc. At the same time, there is an obvious threat to local cultures, damage to their viability, deformation of historically verified images of cities, territories, ethnic groups, which is directly related to the loss of its unique national face, traditions, folklore, etc. For Russia, this process is especially important, because in its intellectual history, the period of comprehension of Western averaging and unifying practices was the subject of active discussions in philosophical and socially oriented literature in the 19th century on ideological and moral grounds, and in the 20th century - on ideological grounds. This experience of critical comprehension is heterogeneous and sometimes can even be opposed to one another, but in any case, the construction of rethinking facts and ideas of Western origin was not perceived in spontaneity and naivety, but served as a material for thinking through and understanding themselves.

The second task is related to the heterogeneity of humanitarian experience in Russia. Heterogeneity allows for a kind of unique experience without prejudice to the universal, and not in the strategy of contradiction and dialectics, but in the strategy of coexistence. This circumstance is explained by the fact that any level of generalization of a unique territory - a country, a region, a city, a separate place - fits perfectly into the framework of common sense and forms the effectiveness of the study ^[3]. The paradox of such reflection is that the uniqueness of the native land is understandable to those who live in it without explanations, but at the level of dialogue with another, the difficulty of authentic understanding arises, because the participants of the dialogue also have their own ontic space that does not require proof. In this situation, if sometimes you want to achieve clarity in your reasoning, it is quite difficult to refrain from value judgments and not turn the conversation into the power of a binary best/worst pair. The term "worst" in this pair is difficult to imagine in an adequate application to the unique, the essence of which is transcended and cannot be determined in horizontal comparison with other subjects of the empirical order.

Humanitarian processes in modern Russia, as they develop, require more and more attention from the conceptual and categorical understanding. The answers to the simple questions "what is it?", "what does it lead to?", "what is the source and continuation?" suggest diverse studies in the field of determining the identity of phenomena, the personalistic component, make it possible to achieve greater clarity in the actualization of historical thinking, philosophy and other forms of scientific and artistic writing today. This line of activity has several tasks.

The first of them follows from a number of consequences of the globalization process, which brings a number of positive qualities to modern history, such as: economic development, reduction of the number of poor and disadvantaged, certain guarantees in blocking military large and small conflicts, etc. At the same time, there is an obvious threat to local cultures, damage to their viability, deformation of historically verified images of cities, territories, ethnic groups, which is directly related to the loss of its unique national face, traditions, folklore, etc. For Russia, this process is especially important, because in its intellectual history, the period of comprehension of Western averaging and unifying practices was the subject of active discussions in philosophical and socially oriented literature in the XIX century on ideological and moral grounds, and in the XX century - on ideological grounds. This experience of critical comprehension is heterogeneous and sometimes can even be opposed to one another, but in any case, the construction of rethinking facts and ideas of Western origin was not perceived in spontaneity and naivety, but served as a material for thinking through and comprehending themselves ^[8].

The second task is related to the heterogeneity of humanitarian experience in Russia. Heterogeneity allows for a kind of unique experience without prejudice to the universal, and not in the strategy of contradiction and dialectics, but in the strategy of coexistence. This circumstance is explained by the fact that any level of generalization of a unique territory - a country, a region, a city, a separate place - fits perfectly into the framework of common sense and forms the effectiveness of the study. The paradox of such reflection is that the uniqueness of the native land is understandable to those who live in it without explanations, but at the level of dialogue with another, the difficulty of authentic understanding arises, because the participants of the dialogue also have their own ontic space that does not require proof. In this situation, if sometimes you want to achieve clarity in your reasoning, it is quite difficult to refrain from value judgments and not turn the conversation into the power of a binary best/worst pair. The term "worst" in this pair is difficult to imagine in an adequate application to the unique, the essence of which is transcended and cannot be determined in horizontal comparison with other subjects of the empirical order.

Conclusions. The most common idea taken from Russian philosophy in the modern scientific practice of the region is the idea of the religious origin of all basic values and constructions, the religious affiliation of all significant phenomena of the world and culture.

The dynamics of the religious-value structure allows us to determine the most significant relationships and meanings that influenced the thinkers of the Yelets region, formed their worldview, which communicated qualitative lines in the formation of the ideological basis in creativity, both literary and philosophical.

A person in religion remains alone with himself, bypassing institutions and institutions that unite people, give them common tasks. When a question is posed in this way, the problem arises by itself, without the additional participation of the thinker.