The idea of freedom and its existential transformations

Abstract

The article examines the idea of freedom in the context of its existential transformations in modern Russian society. This is achieved by considering the essential aspect of freedom by identifying its ontological, existential foundations. An approach to the definition of freedom as a process of “self-movement” of cultural universals (love, hope for a better world, etc.) is proposed. The article substantiates the idea that the existential “I” appears in all the diversity of its life manifestations, and this, in turn, allows a deep study of the entire panorama of the modern crisis, where the search for existential values makes not only culture too elastic, but also capable of existential transformations. An analysis of the existential transformations of human freedom shows that the existential “I” does not coincide with either the absolutely spiritual or the empirical “I”, which is important for the most complete analysis of modern cultural processes.