Abstract: The meaning of the present research is to characterize the newest trends in philosophical anthropology. The author of the article analyzes the results of the two original projects related to the philosophical understanding of human, the international anthropological journal 'Diogenes' Lantern' and humanities almanac 'Human.ru'. The synergetic anthropology project is presented by the central Russian philosophers headed by S. Khoruzhy. They effectively adopt the most recent findings of European philosophy. Meanwhile, this is a very original and significant project. It relates to ancient spiritual practices, at the same time, their searches conform to the logic of the modern academic discourse. The purpose of the present research is to extend the limits of the philosophical understanding of human. The second project is inspired by the searches for new grounds of human existence. It is referred to a new form of philosophy about human. The author uses the methods of philosophical anthropology that have been developed throughout the history of its development. At the same time, he compares the focus of classical philosophy to the modern stage of the development of views on human as a special form of existence. For the first time in the Russian philosophical literature the author views the current state of philosophical anthropology as a special discipline about human. The author of the article underlines the fundamental renovation of the modern conceptual framework of philosophical anthropology. The author introduces new concepts such as breaking through, singularity, and anthropological practices. He also provides his evaluation of modern attempts to find new grounds and fundamental criteria of human existence. He notes that philosophical anthropology still plays the role of a 'servant' to rational classical metaphysics of the Enlightenment epoch. He also outlines the ways to overcome crises in philosophical anthropology. 

Keywords: breaking through, spiritual practices, anthropological crisis, energy ability, special form of existing, philosophical anthropology, singularity, construction, human existence, human

Abstract: The subject of study is reflection over the book «Relativism kak bolezn’ sovremennoy filosofii [Relativism as a malady of modern philosophy]» (Ed.-in-chief V.A. Lektorskiy. M., 2015). Why is relativism as one of methodological principles of knowledge assessed in the book as a malady of modern philosophy? Do we not see a constant escape of the single truth replaced by the luxuriant meadow of diverse opinions? Are we, contrary to Kant, convinced in the limitlessness and liturgical harmony of human knowledge? The conception of the book is not directed against cognitive doubts, does not dispute possible assumptions of the plurality of truth. It shows its indisputability to the extent that relativism becomes hardly ever the dominating methodological rule. It is in this sense that K. Popper called relativism «the main malady of our time». Is knowledge (and/or truth) relative, does it depend on time, place, society, culture, historical epoch, conceptual frame? Or is it absolute, universal and independent? These and similar questions are as old as philosophy and characterize the opposing doctrines – relativism and absolutism.Standard methods of scientific research are used, including the method of comparative analysis, referring to traditional problems of epistemology – the nature of rationality, understanding the possibilities of knowledge and changing of the world.The novelty of the work is related to analysis of critical approaches to modern relativism. The book attempts at finding the foundations of relativism and its practical shortcomings. Relativistic tendencies in modern epistemology and philosophy of science and also in sciences of man, psychology, cultural and historical science are examined. The authors distinguish between relativism and scepticism: they show that pluralism can fruitfully be practiced exactly if it is interpreted in the antirelativistic clue. Relativism, as reductionism, claims to be the only methodological principle capable of giving birth to modern philosophy in its search of new foundations of knowledge.

Keywords: illusions, experiment, disinformation, information, truth, relativism, science, philosophy, cognitivism, sciences of man

Abstract: Salman Akhtar is a famous American psychoanalyst and winter of numerous awards. He bases his book ‘Matters of Life and Death’ on Sigmund Freud’s teaching about the ‘two instincts’ and completes Freud’s teaching with later researches of Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, Eric Erikson, Wilfred Bion and others. Human life is viewed by the author from the point of view of the two components thereto – life and death – in their opposition and continuity. The first part is devoted to studying the main terms related to life: kindness, happiness and play. Different definitions of these terms are provided. Summarizing different scientific concepts of happiness, the author divides the following four categories of happiness: enjoyment, joy, ecstasy and satisfaction. Salman Akhtar traces back their ontological roots, metapsychological correlates and elements related to personal experience. The second part of the book is devoted to death. Salman Akhtar provides the two points of view on the matter – acceptance and denial of death – and their structural and existential functions. For this purpose, he also touches upon the problems of mortality, grave and orphans. Salman Akhtar studies the psychological meaning of graves as places where a deceased person is having his final sleep as well as expression of ethnic and religious hatred through desecration of graves and destruction of grave yards. He pays special attention to the problem of orphanage as a trauma experienced by a child and which consequences will remain for the rest of his life. The second part of the book views death and life as a continuous unity. Overcoming the barrier between life and death and traveling along the mental landscape of generation, we are leaving our bodies behind and returning to life as a metaphor full of play and generosity.

Keywords: Freudianism, death instinct, happiness, life instinct, happiness of peace, play, graves, orphanages, reincarnation, immortality.

Abstract: There is a growing need in psychological assistance of economic identity formation in the process of professional development due to the increasing complexity and dynamism of the economic environment of human life and activities in a modern world. The relation between one’s professional choice and one’s search for an optimal position and form of existence in the system of economic relations as well as the connection between professional functioning and economic identity, economic status and economic well-being require a detailed study of professional and economic identity formation as the two elements of one process. The subject under review is the peculiarities of psychological assistance of the economic identity formation of students in the process of their professional development at discipline-specific universities. Methodological basis of the theoretical research is the systems approach and subject-activity approach. Conclusions made by the researcher are based on the summarization of a great number of theoretical insights and practical researches in the sphere of professional and economic identity formation as well as on the analysis of the theory and practice of psychological assistance at modern universities. The summary of scientific data allows to make a conclusion that despite their close relation and general ‘basic’ personality determinants (such as one’s attitude to the world, to himself, to human community, one’s life goals, values, ambitions and so on), the processes of professional and economic identity formation are not identical by their content. This must be taken into account when developing the methods and practice of psychological assistance at a discipline-specific university and making relevant psychotechnological solutions. However, there are certain difficulties caused by the multiple interpretations of the relation between the terms ‘professional identity formation’ and ‘economic identity formation’ (due to the fact that for a long time those phenomena were either studied independently from one another or their relation was analyzed fragmentarily. On the other hand, researches and guidelines in the sphere of psychological assistance of students mostly focus on their professional or personality identity but not economic identity. The novelty of the author’s approach to the problem is in viewing economic personality as the main determinant of economic identity formation and substantiation of psychological conditions for the development of economic identity of students in terms of psychological assistance of their professional development at a discipline-specific university.

Keywords: psychological assistance, economic identity formation, economic personality, professional development, professional identity, development of an economic personality, psychological conditions, psychological guarantees, psychotechnologies, diagnostics.

Abstract: The review of Ruth Benedict’s book ‘The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture’ provides an analysis of her conception of cultural diversity in the world. This book is published as a part of the program that has being implemented by a famous cultural scientist and editor Svetlana Yakovlevna Levit for many years. Thanks to her, we get to know how culture influences personality and how different values develop in history. An Antique person, for example, was used to spending his earnings on his needs. The more you make, the more benefits and goods you get. He would be certainly puzzled by the idea to put aside money for the ‘black day’. The ones who did put aside money felt rather uncomfortable and experience a neurotic situation. Lenders constantly felt the influence of general cultural traditions of those times that disapproved of ‘thinking life ahead’. However, today a young person would feel nervous just for the opposite reasons. Would we consider someone normal if he says he feels the appearance of an animal and even show certain signs on his body proving it? However, it is quite natural in bushman’s culture, although a European would certainly feel neurotic in such a situation. For Japanese men the tradition of harakari is an affair of honor. The one who could not do it, would be scorned. But in Orthodox culture such a deed would be considered as a death of one’s soul. Marriage agreements became quite popular in the West but they are still not that adopted in Russia. The thought of concluding a marriage contract when having a church marriage is believed to be blasphemous. An Archaic man taking to his deceased grandfather would seem a psychotic to modern people. But it was considered to be the norm in ancient cultures. A Jewish would feel joyful about lending money at a big interest rage, while a Russian would only fee sorrow and remorseful about it. This is the cultural diversity Svetlana Yakovlevna Levit’s editor’s program is telling us about.

Keywords: psychology, law, virtue, ethnopsychology, society, culture, shame, guilt, moral, anthropology.

Abstract: Are Karl Mannheim’s ideas too old today? Do his sociological principles remain valuable from the point of heuristics? Does his conception reflect all the diversity of social changes and their dynamics? These are very topical issues because sociology and social knowledge have been significantly enriched over the past ten years. Topics covered by the German researcher, either sociology of knowledge or his theory of elites, have an absolutely different meaning today. This is why, since we offer our readers a collection of Karl Mannheim’s works, we ask the question about how the Western sociologist’s conceptions refer to our today’s reality? Karl Mannheim wrote about the epoch of transformations in general and dynamic social reconstruction in particular.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, sociology, diagnosis, knowledge, history, collective action, society, planning, inflation, mass.

Abstract: This is the review of a few major works in literature, cinematography, theatre and art devoted to identification as the main source of the cultural development and revival.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, culture, identification, conflict, human, society.

Abstract: This is the summary of the 4th scientific almanac ‘Questions of Social Theory’ devoted to the problem of human identity. The almanac raises questions about anthropological value of human, cultural identity of human and socio-cultural diversity of human identities.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, human, identity, cultural identity, socio-cultural diversity of human identities.

Abstract: This is a summary of selected articles ‘Psychoanalytical Conceptions of Psychosexuality’. According to the author of the summary the articles allow us to understand one of the most significant and fundamental teachings, - the psychoanalytic teaching about psychosexuality.

Keywords: psychology, psychoanalysis, sexuality, psychosexual development, neurosis, libido, sublimation

Abstract: This is a summary of selected articles ‘They don’t write like that anymore’. As the editor of the articles V. I. Tolstyh writes, he decided to find the form of expression of society and human, their needs and expectations. For this purpose V. I. Tolstyh applies to works by famous philosophers, philologists and critics as well as ‘philosophizing writers’.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, language studies, criticism, history, article

Abstract: This is a summary of P. I. Simush’ book ‘Poetical Individuality as a Key to Russia’s Mysteries’. Analyzing poems by Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Sysoev, the famous philosopher tries to answer the question about whether it is possible to express a country’s destiny by one poet’s works.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, culture, poetry, Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Sysoev, Russia

Abstract: This is a summary of I. V. Chindin’s work ‘Mythology of Culture. Russia’. In his monograph I. V. Chindin studies the anthropological aspect of cultural and religious metamorphoses in Russia during the 20th century. At the end of his monograph the author concludes that historical development of Russia cannot be described in only rational and logic terms.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, culture, mythology, Russia, research, cultural and anthropological phenomena, myth, plot

Abstract: This is a summary of L. A. Dyrkov’s and L.S. Sysoev’s monograph ‘Russian Messianism and Russia’s Destinies’. The authors of the monograph carry out a philosophical analysis of the essence of Russian messianism, its origins and evolution. In conclusion the authors underline that it is very important for Russia to find a national idea which would be based on true Russian values and free from messianism pretence.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, culture, Russia, national idea, nationalistic doctrines, messianism, values

Abstract: This is a summary of M. T. Stepanyants’ book ‘Islamic Mysticism’. In his work M. T. Stepanyants reveals the topic of Sufism based on broad historical and philosophical material.

Keywords: psychology, philosophy, culture, anthropology, gnoseology, Sufism, Islam, mysticism

Abstract: This is a summary of selected poems by Doctor of Philosophy, leading research assistant of Institute of Philosophy of the RAS M. M. Novoselov ‘Through the Years of Feelings and Thoughts’.

Keywords: philosophy, psychology, culture, poetry, lyrics

Abstract: This is a summary of the book ‘Popular Psychology of Personality Types’. The book contains six chapters, each of which answers the questions on how to use strong sides of a psychotype in teaching, family life, at work and personal self-improvement.

Keywords: psychology, popular psychology, personality, psychotype, spheres of life

Abstract: This is the review of the book ‘The Human and the Other’ by one of distinguished modern philosophers V. A. Kutyrev. The book is devoted to the problems of a place of human in our modern world, his existence and survival.

Keywords: philosophy, psychology, human, society, civilization, crisis, survival

Abstract: This article is a review of the book ‘Hello Soul” by a famous Russian psychologist, analyst and writer Valery Vsevolodovich Zelensky. In his book Zelensky summed up all his works devoted to the study of phenomenology of spirit. Zelensky’s works well show his versatile nature and tendency to reflect on the key problems of psychoanalytical theory and practice.

Keywords: philosophy, psychology, soul, spirit, phenomenology, psychoanalysis