Earthly World Research Articles

The formation of the antinomic concept of God in the philosophy and art of Christians of the II-VI centuries

Purpose of the article: to trace the evolution of the conceptual definition of God in the works of Christian philosophers II-VI centuries. and the influence of religious and philosophical thought on the evolution of the artistic image of Christ from symbolic and allegorical in early Christian art to mimetic and spiritual in the icon painting of Byzantium. The methodology consists of using analysis and comparison of written sources and artifacts, reviewed in historical sequence. Scientific novelty: for the first time, is traced a dependence of the evolution of an artistic image to the conceptual definition of God in the works of early Christian apologists. Conclusions. The formation of the image of God in Christian art of the II-VI centuries was due to the development of theological thought, which evolved from the denial of the material nature of God to the affirmation of the unity of His transcendent and immanent principles. Emphasis by Christian thinkers I – II centuries on the transcendence and “without imagery” of God denied any possibility of its depiction. The development of ideas about the presence of God in the immanent world prompted to the perception of the earthly world as a symbolic picture of otherworldly existence and opened up the possibility of the embodiment of spiritual essences in allegories and symbols that prevailed in the art of the 2nd - 3rd centuries. Comprehension of the antinomic unity of the divine and human natures of Christ became the ideological basis for creating mimetic-spiritual images, which was stimulated by a change in the status of the Christian church in the 4th century. and was entrenched by decisions IV and V - VI Ecumenical Councils.

Worldview and aesthetic principles of the artistic culture of ancient Mesoamericans

The article is devoted to the philosophic and culturological analysis of the artistic culture of ancient Mesoamerica that gives the basis for the reconstruction of spiritual and aesthetic messages as well as artistic and figurative significance and in general the unique mythological worldview of ancient Mesoamericans. The priority is given to the special meaning of the Olmec civilization which founded spiritual, aesthetic, artistic and stylistic basics of Mesoamericans’ cultural and spiritual life further evolution. The conception of reincarnation based on the spiritual boundaries with the genus ancestors has become the main idea of this evolution. Implementation of this conception was observed in the art of all the following civilizations of the region. The exploration of the genuine Olmec, Teotihuacan and Maya ethnical and art cultures gave the possibility to generalize three types of architectural constructions such as stepped pyramids, palaces, playgrounds for cult ball games which are characteristic for Mesoamerican art. Rich iconography of religious, mythological, spiritual, aesthetic and soon social and historical meaning is common for these architectural forms and gave them artistic identity and content-informational significance.Focus on those times’ knowledge of geography and astronomy was another characteristic feature of Mesoamerican culture. All the settlements were built in distinct orientation to the parts of the world or to the certain celestial bodies and constellations. In this way the symbolic horizontal axis of being was formed. The vertical axis was symbolized by the pyramids, which acted as a kind of "guide" of souls from the underworld to the earthly world, and later to the heaven. A ball-playing area, which could also be a special ritual field for sacrifices was the place where earthly life ended, and the soul passed from the dead body to the heavenly world.Thus, the world-aesthetic principles of modern Mesoamericans’ artistic culture harmoniously combine two levels of universalism: human such as dualism and conflicts of contradictions, cyclicity and recurrence, rhythmicity, order and harmony, interdependence of everything that exists, and local ethnocultural spiritual and cultural universals such as reincarnation of the soul, constant spiritual and soul connection with ancestors, synchronicity, the possibility of simultaneous presence of the soul in three different worlds-dimensions, human sacrifices, affirmation of the sublime, heroic through the ugly and mean. This unique symbiosis of ideas, knowledge and values found its powerful expression in the highly artistic art of ancient Mesoamerica, determining its identity and originality.

Три лика религиозной покорности в исламе и христианстве

The article provides a comparative analysis of the interpretations of religious obedience in Islam and Christianity. The topic of obedience as a religious virtue is being actualized in con-nection with the numerous destructive challenges and global problems of our time. Three sides of religious obedience are highlighted: humility, patience and loyalty. It has been established that the main differences in the interpretation of religious obedience between Islam and Christianity are associated with the understanding of the nature of the subject, object and method of obedi-ence. The subject of obedience in Islam: a person as the deputy of Allah on earth, an imperfect, but not god-like person with a mission prescribed or predetermined by the will of Allah. The ob-ject of obedience in Islam is the relatively perfect world created by God and the world order, which the believer must maintain. This is precisely the meaning of obedience in Islam. The sub-ject of obedience in Christianity: a fundamentally imperfect, weak, sinful person. The object of humility in Christianity: an imperfect, God-made world that should be accepted as it is without trying to transform it. The meaning of humility in Christianity: internal self-improvement, cor-rection of one's spiritual imperfection and acceptance of an imperfect world. Islamic submission is immanent, since oriented towards the earthly world, and Christian submission is transcenden-tal, for it is directed towards the other world, the spiritual world. Religious patience as one of the main virtues of the believer thus provides civic loyalty in different ways in Islam and Christiani-ty. In Islam, through the divine authorization of social reality, and in Christianity, through its de-valuation. Despite significant differences, both in Islam and in Christianity, religious obedience in all its three faces acts as a factor in the socio-political stability of the existing society.

In Memoriam and in Tribute: Stanley J. Dudrick, M.D.

Dr. Stanley J. Dudrick departed this earthly world on January 19, 2020 at the age of 84. He left a legacy that few people have or will ever attain. As a young surgeon, he recognized that although s...

The “Synthetic” Image of Jesus Christ in F.M. Dostoevsky’s Works and Its Origins in German Romantic Natural Philosophy

The articles analyzes the original concept of immortality, presented by F.M. Dostoevsky in a handwritten sketch written on April 16, 1864, the day after the death of the writer’s first wife. The authors argue that this concept was created under the influence of the ideas of German romantic natural philosophy, in particular G.T. Fechner’s work of The Book of Life After Death (1836). According to the pantheistic ideas of Dostoevsky and Fechner, every person after death continues to exist in the earthly world. Having lost a limited biological body in death, a person can get a more extensive “cosmic” body, covering significant areas of the material universe. His personal spirit continues to exist in mankind, and the degree of his influence depends on what kind of spiritual success he achieved during his lifetime. In the concept of Fechner and Dostoevsky, posthumous life can be very different: great personalities (Goethe, Shakespeare, Napoleon, etc.) acquire an even more significant being than during life, and they continue to influence humankind, which, developing in history, strives for an absolute “synthesis” -the merger of all people into an organic whole and at the same time the merger with the universe. Individuals who, during their lifetime, confined themselves to their selfish interests can even disappear. In this concept, God is defined as “universal Synthesis,” i.e., the goal of the world process and the final merging of everything with everything. Jesus Christ is understood as an absolute, perfect man who, after death, does not resurrect in his previous bodily form, but completely dissolves in humankind and acts as a force guiding it toward unity and synthesis with the material world.

THE VERBALIZATION OF THE COSMOLOGICAL MODEL IN OLEKSIY DOVHYY’S POETRY «LET’S GO TO THE AREA WHERE THE STORKS STILL LIVE…[HODIMTE V KRAY, DE SHCHE ZHYVUT’ LELEKY…

Purpose: to analyze the nature of linguistic explication of the ideas of Oleksiy Dovhyy’s lyrical hero about the peculiarities of the Universe organization, represented in poetry «Let’s go to the area where the storks still live…» [Hodimte v kray, de shche zhyvut’ leleky…]». The object of the study is Oleksiy Dovhyy’s artistic language, presented in the mentioned poetry. The subject is the analysis of the features of the lingual reflection by the poet of the gaze of his lyrical hero on the Universe structure. Methodology: general scientific methods (descriptive with analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, classification and systematization); special linguistic methods (conceptual analysis, lingual & poetic analysis). Finding. The author deals with a set of theoretical issues related to the study of text as a linguistic and ontological phenomenon. Issues of linguistic communication as a means of forming linguistic and conceptual worldview were also covered. The researcher has substantiated the relevance of such analysis within the anthropocentric paradigm of modern scientific studies. During the research it was found out that the analyzed text presents an image of the lyrical hero’s native land, which he perceives as a sacred locus, a certain repository of legends, glory and historical memory. An analysis of the cosmological representations of the poet’s lyrical hero revealed that in his worldview the universe has a three-level structure and consists of the UPPER, MIDDLE and LOWER spheres. It was noticed that the image of the UPPER WORLD is represented in the text not by his direct nominations, but indirectly — the poet uses tokens to refer to such higher-level realities as the sun, the dawn, the moon, the bird, etc. The researcher pointed to the significant role of these images for the lyrical hero in the organization of the depicted world. It is revealed that in the lyrical hero’s worldview, the above-mentioned spatial level acts as a world of gods relative to the average. This world of gods blesses the earthly world and Ukraine. Explained by the appropriate linguistic constructions, the images of the middle world are used by the poet to shift the focus to such a sign of sacred locus as «fertility». The lexemes-nominations of the images of the lower spatial tier are used by the author to convey the peculiarities of the worldviews of Ukrainians and to emphasize their cultural heritage. Results. The author of the article pointed out the important role of tree image in the depicted cosmological model. It was noted that the mentioned image was introduced by the poet for the artistic reproduction of the archetypal image of the World Tree, which combines all three spatial tiers and acts as a kind of axis. Thus, it was noted the diversity and at the same time the integrity of the cosmological structure depicted by the poet, whose elements are in constant interaction.

Идеи экологической этики в «философии живого» Стрэчана Доннелли

The paper analyzes the ethical views of the American philosopher, founder of the Center for Humans and Nature in Illinois, Strachan Donnelly. Thinker, social activist and philanthropist, follower of environmental ethics of O. Leopold argued for a “democratic environmental citizenship”» based on an ethics of responsibility (Hans Jonas), evolutionary biology (Ernst Mayr) and organic philosophy (Alfred North Whitehead). Donnelly called for dialogue among philosophers, biologists, environmentalists, economists, poets and artists from all over the world to preserve the present and future of the earthly world. Donnelly’s book “Philosophy of the Frog Pond: Essays on the Relationship between Humans and Nature”» shows the need to abandon the reductionist philosophy of dead nature and move towards an ethics of individual and collective responsibility towards living nature and human life. The concept of environmental ethics and philosophy of living of Strachan Donnelly is presented to the Russian reader for the first time. The article identifies the origins of Donnelly’s philosophy and shows his contribution to modern ethics and the philosophy of biology. On the example of this teaching, the author shows the possibility of highlighting the ethics of life as a special section of practical philosophy that goes beyond the framework of the «classical» environmental ethics.

Between the Sacred and Secular: The Role of Chinese Popular Deities in Creating Thirdspaces in Chinese Restaurants of Santiago de Chile

Material manifestations of the Chinese popular deities, Guanyin and Guan Gong, are ubiquitous in Cantonese-Chinese restaurants globally. Yet studies of Chinese popular religion among overseas Chinese have seldom focused on the diverse significance of these deities to Chinese migrants, nor the use of restaurant-spaces to house these deities. This article examines the presence and powers of such deities in Chinese restaurants of Santiago de Chile. We seek to understand how the presence or absence of Guanyin and Guan Gong figures specifically shapes migrant Chinese restauranteurs and workers’ experience of the restaurants as particular kinds of protected, sacred/secular spaces, and how these deities might also affectively shape the restauranteurs’ ways of being and inhabiting the restaurants. Based on semi-structured interviews with Chinese shopkeepers and workers, observation and photography of the spatial organization of 26 restaurants and the aesthetics of their deities, we argue that these restaurants are more than just their primary sources of livelihood. We argue that they approximate Soja’s “thirdspaces” (1996), which on the one hand mediate their interactions with the city and its other residents, and on the other hand mediate relationships between humans in the earthly world and deities in the “other” parallel world.

Eugene O'neill and the Tragic Tension

Eugene O'neill and the Tragic Tension

Devils, the Divine, and Despair in Doctor Faustus

Many scholars have noted that in Marlowe’s play, Faustus’s damnation is justified by his religious despair which prevents him from seeking repentance from God. But it is my contention that Faustus experiences both a religious and an intellectual despair, and it is the latter of the two which makes his ending truly tragic. Because of his inability to reconcile spiritual mysteries with earthly knowledge, Faustus loses faith in his own penchant for mastery; thus, in the end he laments not his turn towards the demonic, but his decision to ever extend his curiosity beyond the earthly world in the first place.  

Уникальный концепт славы: девальвация ценности личной славы (молвы) в русском былинном эпосе

The article is dedicated to the concept of glory, which should be placed among the main concepts of the world’s folk epics. According to the author’s analysis (undertaken through the axiological, comparative-historical, and historical-genetic methods), glory – as rendered in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, The Mahābhārata, European and Oriental medieval epics, etc. – is most often related to the rumors about a concrete hero and emerges as a substitute of individual immortality or as a pledge of postmortem beatitude. Among nearly all known works of heroic poetry, only the Russian folk epics are fundamentally opposed to this interpretation: Bylinas don’t treat glory as a specific attribute belonging to this or that hero, but as a collective virtue of all Russian knights – the one intended to deter foreign rulers from their invasions of Russia and to protect, in this earthly world, both the divine law and suffering people. Accordingly, the article provides a comparison between different works of heroic folklore and Russian bylinas, which enables both to interpret more fully the axiological structure of the epic tradition as such (the notions of glory, honor, boasting, and rumor – the ones still insufficiently analyzed in scholarly literature and defined more precisely in the present paper), and to determine the principal originality of the Russian folk epics, their unique position among other oral songs of similar nature. In particular, a comparison between the heroic songs of Christian Europe and Russian bylinas allows the author to argue confidently that precisely the latter incarnated (in the most original and profound way, at different levels of their artistic structure, including plot, motives, and imagery) the values and the ideas of Christianity, its spiritual and moral potential.

Опрокинутый человек «Тимея» Платона в апокрифических «Мученичестве Петра» и «Мученичестве Филиппа»

The study offers a hermeneutic analysis of the apocryphal “Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter” (MPt). We argue that the main idea of Peter’s monologue from the cross is borrowed from Plato’s Timaeus (43e4–8), which describes a man who is placed upside down and thus perceives his right as left and considers truth a lie. MPt interpreted this account in the light of the Old Testament narrative about the expulsion of the first man Adam from paradise and the imperative to return to the “ancient fatherland”, following the “second Adam”, Jesus Christ, up to imitation of his death on the cross, transforming this instrument of shame and death into the tree of eternal life. The Apostle Peter, crucified on the cross with his head down, makes himself a living example of the existential overturn of man after the fall. Peter quotes an apocryphal λόγιον of Christ that exhorts to make everything upright: the earthly world order — right and left, top and bottom, front and back — should be again turned over and put from head to foot. Having established that Peter’s monologue constitutes a “discourse of reversal”, we argue that the starting point for constructing the λόγιον of Christ in the MPt was His saying in Matt 18:3: “if you don’t turn over (στραφῆτε) ..., you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The apparently similar utterance from the “Gospel of Thomas”, usually indicated as a parallel, cannot be considered as such, since it urges not to reverse the “signs of nature”, but to overcome sexual differentiation. It is concluded that the “Martyrdom of Peter” demonstrates the primacy of its narrative (as well as the autonomy of its “hermetic” imagery) in comparison with the “Martyrdom of Philip”. Vocabulary, rhetoric, and contents of the MPt place it within the early Christian, Gnostic and Hermetic literature. A distinctive feature of the work is its distinct esotericism: it has an initiatory, mystagogical character, its own metaphysics and dramatic logic. On the contrary, the “Martyrdom of Philip” belongs to the genre of the lives of saints, saturated with wonders and fabulous details. The transformations which “Martyrdom of Peter” undergoes in the Latin paraphrase by ps.-Linus are analyzed. It is shown that ps.-Linus fundamentally changes the narrative in order to make it conform with orthodoxy, although this is achieved at the cost of destroying the logic of the Greek prototype. An annotated Russian translation of the Apostle Peter’s monologue on the cross is published in the Appendix.

Естетизація християнського етичного ідеалу в казці О. Вайльда «Щасливий принц»

The paper explores the problem of the relationship between the ideas of aesthetics and the Christian doctrine of active love in the famous tale written by O. Wilde. The research which emphasizes the Christian basis of the author's outlook became the methodological basis of the present study on the background of a detailed analysis of various assessments of the writer's position, interpreted as an immoral aesthete and as a supporter of socialist ideas or a recipient of ideas of ancient philosophy of spiritual beauty. The study proves this in detail, analyzing the plot and figurative solutions of the fairy tale «Happy Prince», taking into account the traditional Christian symbols. Thus, the image of the Prince-Statue, decorated with gold and precious stones, is interpreted as a symbol of Christ, who gives his splendor and power to save the poor. It is also reminiscent of the words of Christ, who tells a young rich man who seeks perfection to sell his wealth and give money to the poor. The very values of the earthly world, gold and precious stones, luxurious things made of them, are transparently interpreted in an ironically reduced tone. The confirmation of the fact that the aestheticization of being yields to the hidden spiritual greatness of Christian love and self-sacrifice is also that that the values of the earthly world, gold and precious stones are transparently interpreted in an ironic tone in the fairy tale. The swallow, being the ancient symbol of the Renaissance, this bird was lured by the perishable beauty of idols and tombs of Egypt, the biblical symbol of captivity. The swallow finds its purpose in the service of the Prince, scattering his precious clothes to the poor. And here the ethical criterion turns out to be higher than the aesthetic one. They are not rewarded on the Earth: the bird dies of the cold, and the remains of an unpresentable statue of the prince are demolished, the decisive word to belong to the professor of aesthetics. However, the angel of God brings the most precious things he has found in this city to the heavenly palaces of the Lord: the tin heart of the Prince, torn by grief, and a dead bird. By analyzing the writer's ideological system with implicit implications, Wilde's position is quite obvious: despite his apparent admiration for the aesthetics of beauty, the writer rejects ultimately the doctrine of aesthetics and exalts Christian values, setting out his concept in the style of a parable.

Мир запахов и ольфакторная коммуникация в традиции тюрко-монгольских народов Внутренней Азии

The sense of smell as well as other organs of human senses play an important role in social communication, in the intercommunication of people with the natural world and another world inhabited by supernatural beings. Peculiarities of the perception of odors and their significance in the life of society, the functions of the organs of perception in traditional culture in general, and communication in particular of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples of Inner Asia, have not yet become the subject of special research. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap. The study showed that the sense of smell, like other sensory organs in nomadic culture, plays an important role in social communication, in the communication of people with the natural world and another world. The world view of nomads built into the system of smells is not unique – pleasant smells are familiar to the herder, they characterize the Upper world of deities, unpleasant – the Lower world. The combination both of them is distinguished by the earthly world of man. In the communication of people with another world, special importance is attached to the role of sacred plants – thyme, juniper, fir, whose smell is found to be pleasant throughout the studied region. Their functions are concentrated in the ritual sphere: they cleanse of filth, treat patients, open “channels of communication” with other worlds. With the spread of Buddhism, nomads became acquainted with the smells of “overseas” sacred plants, which gradually replaced the local ones. The smell is due to the social and cultural factors. In this regard, the range of pleasant/familiar smells of nomads is formed by the smells of domestic animals - horses, cows, sheep, the smell of dairy products, boiled meat. In our opinion, the smell, but not the external appearance of a person, animal, plant or object formed the basis of a very important concept in the traditional culture of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples about sacred purity/impurity mainly. The smell played an important role in the social communication of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples. It was evidenced by the prevailing form of contacts between close people – sniffing. The significance of the smell is evidenced by a complex of traditional expressions that characterized the dignity of man. It was revealed that olfactory information was given more importance in natural zones with limited visibility – in the steppe zone, taiga.

Their Eyes Were Watching a Goddess: Zora Neale Hurston's Vodou Subtext

Written in Haiti but set in Florida, Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God makes rich use of Haitian religious traditions to empower African American women. Vodou, the religion of the slaves, was both a religious act and a political one in Haiti. African slaves continued to find power in the evocation of their gods to defy the colonial powers. Hurston taps into the subverted powers of the Vodou pantheon and rituals to speak to her American audience, linking the physical rebellions of the earthly world with the spiritual world. One voice of Hurston's double narrative speaks to those who are unaware of Vodou imagery, and one for those who are. Several scholars have noted Janie’s connection to the Haitian goddess of love, Erzulie. This paper seeks to expand the scope of the Vodou connections to retell the story on a mythological level. This layered reading resolves many of the curiosities in the text and, through the power of the Cosmic Zora’s words, evokes not a Vodou curse, but rather a healing cure for America’s racial wounds.

El Paraíso, el paisaje y la lejanía en América de Kafka

En este artículo abordamos la novela América, de Franz Kafka, a partir de tres motivos centrales: el paraíso, el paisaje y la lejanía. Intentamos señalar de qué manera el paraíso y el mundo terrenal recorren paralelamente la trama de la novela. La descripción del paisaje nos ofrece una ventana al paraíso, pero inevitablemente regresamos al mundo terrenal. Se trata de un diálogo contrapuntístico entre el paraíso y la tragedia, donde la mujer entraña ambos, una puerta al paraíso, y la expulsión de éste.

The Images of the Energy of Nature in the Mythological Representations of the Northern Selkups

Introduction. The author considers the study of the traditional energy regimes of the Selkups according to mythology as the first priority. Methods and materials. Materials for studying the topic were taken from archival sources, scientific literature collected by the author during ethnographic expeditions. The methods used in the study include the analysis and use of the theory of myth. Analysis. The mythology of the Selkups describes energy figuratively. The main source of energy – heat and light – is the sun. It is drawn in the image of the old woman-ancestor who grants and takes people’s lives / souls. The old woman, her huge gut, embodies the otherness, where, at the hour of birth, human souls come to the earthly world, and where they return after death. The images of the mythical old women embodying fire, moon, cold and night, are the incarnations of the mother sun. In these images, the energy of fire is classified into kind and terrible fire, the fire that gives life and brings death, into heat and cold, light and darkness. In addition to the energy of fire, Selkup mythology distinguishes the energy of water, land and forests. Its source and embodiment are also mythical old women-ancestors. This energy is described as food sent to men by the divine nature. Results. According to the Selkup mythology, the Selkups from ancient times recognized energy as the basis of human vitality and were well acquainted with all types and sources of natural energy used by humanity before the beginning of the era of technical inventions.

An Old Amharic poem from northern Ethiopia: one more text on condemning glory

AbstractThis article presents a publication and translation (with linguistic and philological commentaries) of a recently discovered piece of Old Amharic poetry, possibly dating to the first half/middle of the seventeenth century. The published text bears the titleMärgämä kəbr(“Condemnation of glory”), but its content differs from that of several other Old Amharic poems (not entirely independent from each other) known under the same title. It is only the general idea and the main topics that are shared by allMärgämä kəbrpoems: transience of the earthly world, the inevitability of death and of God's judgement, and the necessity of leading a virtuous life. One can thus speak ofMärgämä kəbras a special genre of early Amharic literature, probably originally belonging to the domain of oral literature and used to address the Christian community with the aim of religious education and admonition of laymen.

Earth–world–planet: Rural ecologies of horror and dark green criminology

This article responds to green criminology. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of the coal-producing region of Appalachia and the processes of mountaintop removal mining, the article engages contemporary philosophy, ecocriticism, and “dark ecology” to suggest that green criminology rethink its linguistic categories and epistemological assumptions. The article employs an analysis of some examples of horror cinema to suggest criminological engagement with “ecologies of horror” and the “horrors of ecology” that condition life in the shadow of harmful modes of resource extraction. It concludes with some thoughts on the potential of a “dark” green and green-cultural criminology.

Body, Space, and Sensations in Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Predicament”

This paper aims to examine the sensationalism of Blackwood’s Magazine as evident in Poe’s tale “A Predicament” and how Poe disengages from the tradition of Blackwoods. On the one hand, Poe conflates Psyche Zenobia’s adventure into a Gothic Cathedral with the Blackwood’s sensationalistic experience, which treats vehement sensations as the prime condition for stimulating the mind’s engagement with a spiritual vision of a world beyond the material world. On the other, Poe’s tale disengages itself from the tradition of Blackwood’s Magazine: Zenobia loses her sensations altogether in the quest for final knowledge and there is no return to her real life. This paper will further look at the mutilated/deformed body in Poe’s “A Predicament” as a body in pain, or without pain, through which the mind engages its imagination. It will also discuss how Poe, through Zenobia’s gaze and speculation upon a sublime cathedral, installs an aesthetic appreciation that distances an imaginary space from reality and facilitates self-mesmerism through which Zenobia is grounded in the earthly world, both physically and spiritually.