Abstract: The subject of the research is the medieval idea of the other world as well as different interpretations of the earthly paradise in the minds of the Ancient Rus'. The object of the research is the content of orthodox, apocryphal and legendary texts about the other world. References are the translations of exegetes' texts (Severian of Gabala, John of Damascus, and Cosmas Indicopleustes) as well as their Slavic interpreters (for example, John the Exarch). As a comparison, the author of the article also analyzes apocryphas about the earthly paradise ('Walk of Agapius to the Paradise', 'Life of Macarius of Rome', 'Walk of Zosimos to the Rahmans') and original Ancient Russian writings about the other world ('Interpretative Paleya' and 'Message about Fair Paradise' by Vasily Kalika. In his research Milkov analyzes cultural and historical features of Ancient Russian thanatological phenomenon and its historical and psychological specifics. Views on the other world are analyzed by the author from the point of view of the interdisciplinary approach that allows to unite the religious interpretation and ethnofunctional analysis adopted from psychology. The results of the research demonstrate that there was no single understanding of the other world in Ancient Rus which was reflected in the debates around the paradise. The author concludes that in Ancient Rus the belief in the earthly paradise was developed under the influence of Antiochian theological tradition, apocryphal walks to the paradise and folk legends about the end of the world. Ancient Rus' thanatology is viewed as an important feature of Russian mentality that was developed on the basis of interaction between canonic, apocryphal and pre-Christian views. 

Keywords: folk legends, Russian mentality, apocrypha, Antiochian theology, earthly paradise, another world, Vasily Kalika, ethnofunctional paradigm, Ancient Russia, Tolkovaya Paley

Abstract: The subject of the research is the original ancient Greek writing that represented approaches of Greek researchers to the problem of longevity and brevity of life in philosophy and medicine. In her research Solopova analyzes Aristotle's treatise 'On Longevity and Brevity of Life', one of the series of minor natural-scientific treatises (so-called Parva naturalia) and the first aphorism of Hippocrates ('Ars longa, vita brevis', etc.). Hippocrates' aphorism is compared to the saying of a sophist Protagoras who talked about the brevity of human life explaining his refusal to study the problem of gods' existence/non-existence. In order to demonstrate the novelty of Aristotle's natural-scientific analysis of life's longevity and brevity, the author of the article analyzes Plato's thoughts on the matter based on his teachings about the immortal soul and periods of cosmos circulation. In the course of her research Solopova has applied methods that are traditionally used in ancient times studies: historical-philosophical, historical-cultural and linguistic analysis of original texts, reading, conceptual interpretation and comparative analysis of sources. For the first time in the academic literature the author compares and analyzes Protagoras', Hippocrates', Plato's and Aristotle's expressions and sayings about longevity and brevity of life. The author demonstrates how unique approach of each philosopher to the problem of longevity was. Special attention is paid to the analysis of Aristotle's treatise 'On Longevity and Brevity of Life' as the first research of the problem. The author analyzes arguments offered by Aristotle, logical aporias and general and specific reasons of long life of plants and animals described by Aristotle. 

Keywords: longevity, life, soul, Plato, brevity of life, Hippocrates, Aristotle, disease, animals, plants

Abstract: The article deals with a correlation between the concepts «activity» and «meaning» in existentialism. The category of «activity» is infrequent in the works of existentialists. Reviewing the basic postulates of pre-existential philosophy, prominent representatives of this philosophical school could not but criticize the enthusiasm of transformative activity, characteristic of traditional philosophizing. Interpreting the main vector of human being as aspiration to internal fittedness, spiritual comprehension of human depths, existential philosophers criticized the civilizational passion to transform the world. But in this context, they encountered a contradiction: ardent castigation of activity as creation could lead to social apathy, indifference, to defeatism and escapism. The existentialists turned to the theme of human activity, to the problem of a responsible action.The research method is related first of all to historical-philosophical analysis. Nowadays existentialism has been ousted by other forms of philosophical comprehension of reality. Therefore, a researcher of this problem has to preserve the thread of a comparativist development of philosophical reflection.The novelty of the approach is that the theme of «activity» as a phenomenon with regard to existentialism is examined for the first time in Russian literature. It can be found in such concepts as «activity», «act», «action», «creativity». The article shows that affirmation of meaning, project, goal is an inseparable quality of any activity in existentialism. Therefore, heterogeneous concepts display internal coherence, entireness.

Keywords: existence, meaning, creativity, act, action, freedom, activity, existentialism, anxiety, asociality

Abstract: In his article Nilogov examines the concept of ‘wordless communication’ that first appeared in the book ‘Transformation’ written by an English mathematician, engineer and psychologist John Bennett (1897 – 1974). As a synonym for ‘wordless communication, ’ Bennett used the term ‘anti-language’ that, in the conceptual meaning, was close to the philosophy of anti-language the philosophical discipline developed by the author of the article. The author offers his definition of anti-language as a combination of classes of anti-words that represent associated regions of partly or fully unenumerated existence. Analyzing Bennett’s definition of anti-language that was very close to the definition of telepathy, nonverbal communication and clairvoyance, Nilogov demonstrates similarities and differences between his own interpretation and Bennett’s concept and provides particular examples of classes of anti-words as an illustration. In his research Nilogov has used the methods of analysis, synthesis, hermeneutical methods, association method and interdisciplinary links between linguistics, psychology and philosophy. According to the author, Bennett’s concept of ‘nonverbal communication’ reveals only one aspect of anti-language philosophy and therefore cannot be identified as antilanguage. Thus, Nilogov offers new approaches to studying the inner world of human revealed through the phenomena of telepathy, nonverbal communication and anti-language.

Keywords: Bennett, nonverbal communication, anti-language, philosophy of anti-language, wordless communication, telepathy, clairvoyance, Gurdjieff, anti-word, unconscious.

Abstract: The subject of the present article is the religious and mystic insights of Chizhevsky and Ciolkowski in terms of the idea of cosmic consciousness based on Bokk and the concept of cosmic game. The author of the present research article describes the ‘heretical’ ideas of Kaluga cosmists and provides particular arguments to prove the hypothesis that the two great friends had cosmic consciousness. In order to prove that Ciolkowski and Chizhevsky had cosmic consciousness, the author analyzes the phenomenology of this phenomenon and personal qualities and creative work Konstantin Ciolkowski and Alexander Chizhevsky. If we admit that the founders of the cosmic natural science had the highest form of consciousness, we may see their religious and mystic views in a different light as well as view them in terms of the concept of cosmic game and make a hypothesis that Ciolkowski and Chizhevsky were prophets of those times. In her research the author used the following methods: analysis of literature, comparison, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization. The novelty and scientific importance of the article is that the author tries to define the non-verbal source of religious and mystic aspects in Ciolkowski’s and Chizhevsky’s writings. The main conclusions made by the author are the following. In the course of her research, the author concludes that the hypothesis about Ciolkowski and Chizhevsky having the cosmic consciousness have a high probability to be true. Many religious and mystic ideas introduced by Kaluga cosmists were based on a certain state of mind and can be interpreted in terms of the concept of cosmic game. The author also believes that Ciolkowski and Chizhevsky could have been the messengers of cosmic evolution.

Keywords: religion, mysticism, esoterics, cosmic consciousness, cosmic game, cosmic evolution, cosmism, Ciolkowski, Chizhevsky, Bokk.

Abstract: At the present time much attention is being paid at quantitative indicators that would reflect the performance efficiency of scientific work. This is caused by the need to wisely use the budget in order to fund scientific activities. To what extent the Citation Index can allow to assess the significance of scientific work and contribute to the knowledge progress? The article represents the evidence that the Citation Index cannot be properly used as the performance and efficiency indicator of scientific activities.

Keywords: philosophy, science, information, knowledge, citation index, key performance indicators, balanced system of indicators, scientometrics, Hirsch index, impact factor.

Abstract: Philosophical essay mostly based on long-term field researches conducted by the author. The essay is devoted to the analysis of human thoughts and actions in the situation of choosing between death and life based on materials about a traditional African society that still exists nowadays.

Keywords: psychology, Africa, life, death, euthanasia, tribe, custom, ancestors, descendants, morals, situation of choice.

Abstract: The problem of consciousness, psyche and material is one of the most difficult issues in scientific cognition of human. This article is aimed at: 1) brief analysis of the basic hypotheses about the nature of consciousness in different spheres of knowledge: science, philosophy, religion and yoga; 2) description of the modern approach to the relationship between consciousness, psyche and material. When drawing out the main conclusions the author notes that consciousness is a universal phenomenon existing in each atom of the material. The main characteristic of the consciousness is an impulse to exist, a will to self-preservation and a desire to survive and live forever. Representatives of different spheres of knowledge divide the universal (i.e. integral) consciousness into various levels. This is the reason why there are so many theories of consciousness today. Modern experimental researches show that brains are not related to the production of consciousness at all. Our brain catches and transmits information and energy which allows us to express all kinds of potentials and capabilities. Our brain models the souring world by the means of neurons. Many neurons working together make it possible to build a model of the world. Consciousness can exist both outside one’s body and one’s spirit and consciousness is both material and ideal because it has a dual nature. There is no such a science which could fully explain the phenomenon of consciousness. However, we have all grounds to believe that science, philosophy, religion and Eastern teachings are gaining more common points about the nature of consciousness as the basis and prime cause of all being including earthly lie, psyche and human consciousness.

Keywords: psychology, theory of consciousness, universal consciousness, levels of consciousness, material, brain, psyche, soul, Eastern psychology, Christian anthropology.

Abstract: The author describes the two lines of researching a myth, - the interpreting poetic study and the socio-psychological one. As a part of the first line, the author describes the three approaches which were formed during the Ancient Times and have been lived through all this time up to the present. It is shown that all these three approaches have the same drawback: they are basically interpretative which is completely inadmissible when studying a myth. The certain advantage of the second line of research (which covers a number of approaches, too) is an attempt to interpret a myth based on the pattern of the mythological perception of the world (even if it seems absurd from the point of view of a modern European) and try to understand which role such perceptions played in the primitive society and which psychological and social functions a myth performed.

Keywords: psychology, cultural studies, myth, mythopoetics, peculiarities, perception of the world, study, interpretation, logic, symbol, archetype.

Abstract: The author of the article refutes the point of view of professors A.F. Losev and I.S. Kon that ancient Greeks had no notion about the idea of personality. It is shown that belief of ancient Greeks in fate in no way relieved the person of responsibility and that the necessity for the citizen of the police independently to take decisions in multiple changing situations presupposed a person with intelligent self-consciousness and strong Self.

Keywords: personality, body, fate, soul, tragedy, belief, gods, freedom, self-consciousness, humanism

Abstract: Many times humor has been the matter at issue in history of philosophy and psychology. There are numerous ideas and conceptions describing the phenomenon of humor. However, many psychological aspects of this topic are still left unstudied. The author views the humor in the context of psychological problems.

Keywords: psychology, humor, the comic, funny, wit, emotion, intellect, the unconscious, comic

Abstract: The “frontier” is an event, an image and a feeling. It is also a motive and an archetype. This phenomenon is practically drainless in its content because it characterizes a variety of aspects and situations which are, however, come to one only “core” construct. In a word, the frontier is a place in time and space (a border, neutral territory) where the opposites meet and face the conflict which is eventually solved by their synthesis. There, at the frontier, transformation takes place and something new appears. That is the place of creation.