ORDERED LIBERTY IN BORYS HUMENIUK’S TEXTS

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the notion of ordered liberty and whether Borys Humeniuk promotes it in his texts. In order to determine it several issues are examined. First, the author establishes reasons for discussing this writer by describing Humeniuk’s personal and professional life; while also connecting the fact that Humeniuk acknowledges the importance of literature for shaping a society. Further, the author establishes the framework of the paper, as he discusses what freedom is in the philosophical tradition of the West and elaborates on the key idea of the paper — what the ordered liberty is and its origin. After an introduction of specific literary texts for the paper, the author moves to their discussion. This research includes a description of tiers of the society that is discerned in connection with personal responsibility and selflessness. Those tiers would be, firstly — members of the military who are ready to die for their country; secondly — everybody who in some way helps the military; thirdly — draft dodgers; and lastly — government officials, who are despised for being corrupt. This breakdown helps understand Humeniuk’s perception of ordered liberty, as it gives better understanding of his value system. Then using previous findings the author analyses three types of freedom found in Humeniuk’s texts. The first is freedom from life, as from war and suffering. Second, freedom that manifests in a public setting. It surfaces in a sentiment that everyone should work for the cause of defending the country. Third, deeply personal freedom, which can be seen in behavior when people tend only to their business; furthermore, they are rather cynical of all institutions and their ability to improve. Lastly, author makes a connection between Humeniuk’s sentiment about artists’ great impact on society and his emphasis on the latter type of freedom, showing the disconnection between the two ideas. The novelty of such research lies in bridging Ukrainian literature and the Western philosophic tradition, specifically on freedom and its facets. The further development of this research is analysis of Ukrainian literature through this lens as it helps to establish the attitude of Ukrainians towards freedom and if applied properly, helps to encompass policy makers in their work for the prosperity of Ukraine.