The values of traditional Kazakh culture

Abstract

Eastern (including Kazakh-Turkic) philosophy differs from classical Western philosophy in that it does not make a major distinction between the universals of culture and philosophy. For Kazakh traditional society, philosophizing is characteristic of a non-abstract, extremely generalized, figuratively complete form of reflection. For the most part, philosophical categories and concepts are reflected and enshrined in artistic and religious texts. Therefore, the study of Kazakh philosophers should be conducted in a broader socio-cultural context. A holistic conceptual understanding of the worldview universals of a nomadic civilization is one of the most urgent tasks of modern Kazakh philosophy. To accomplish this task, we have at our disposal a huge amount of material from the monuments of the Orkhon-Yenisei runic writings, to priceless samples of oral folk art in the form of folk legends, heroic epics, proverbs, and sayings, the poetical and musical heritage of the zhyrau-akyns, etc. Traditional Kazakh culture is the quintessence and reflection of a special nomadic type of economy. Nomadic civilization is an example of a favorable coexistence between nature and man. An eco-friendly lifestyle was a reflection of the internal attitude towards maintaining harmony between man and nature. At the same time, the Kazakhs managed to create a special socionormative culture based on deep spiritual traditions that widely regulated social relations. The genus origin was the fundamental principle of the individual's self-identification and linked him by inseparable blood ties with the community and the territory of residence as a continuation of his social and natural existence. A nomadic collective was a hierarchically designed social organism, where human life was strictly regulated. Every action in everyday life had not only practical, but also spiritual meaning, value. Sacralization of actions took place through the ritual. Almost every single thing in everyday life was endowed with symbolic meaning. Having mastered the methods, principles and categorical apparatus of Western philosophy, modern Kazakh philosophy has become capable of deeply analyzing and actualizing the past examples of the spiritual culture of the Kazakh people. At the same time, it opens itself up to other cultures and thus new opportunities for intercivilizational dialogue appear.