Human Ideas Research Articles

HUMANS, NONHUMAN OTHERS, MATTER AND LANGUAGE: A DISCUSSION FROM POSTHUMANIST AND DECOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES

ABSTRACT Our objective is to discuss decolonial and, mainly, posthumanist perspectives, as we engage in an inter-epistemic dialogue, which encompasses discussions on matter and language. At first, we address Indigenous thoughts in order to relate them to decolonial and posthumanist worldviews, briefly concentrating our attention on some arguments concerning their relation, and we justify our choices. We draw on critiques of colonial and humanist ideas about humans, nonhuman others and matter, and we then discuss traditional conceptions of language. From a posthumanist framework, we approach understandings of language that directly intertwine it with materiality. Based on the problematizations we present, our aim is to expand understandings of what it means to be human and perceptions of language, as we become involved in a project that seeks to see and go beyond human hubris. Therefore, we encourage an onto-epistemological review of language, based on its entanglement with matter.

Analysis on the Design of Pet-themed Cafés

In the recent development, the phenomenon of blending different cultures and the collision of various new ideas and objects have emerged in the present society. This has promoted the emergence of new types of buildings to a numerous extent. The pet-themed café is one of the new models of architecture in the recent years. It is not only an important avenue for the people’s entertainment, but also as a venue that fully embodies humanistic ideas and cultural exchanges in the new era. Among them, the pet-themed cat café has shown its absolute advantage in China today and in the international culinary market. In this paper, the author takes the “Tmall Salon” cat café, who was responsible for its design, as a case to analyze the design of the pet-themed café. The author hopes to provide some help and suggestions for the design and development of pet-themed cafés.

THE PROPHETIC IMAGES OF PETER BRUEGEL’S ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHY

Summary. The purpose of the article is to apprehend the trends of modern civilization and the man’s place through the artistic and figurative philosophy of Peter Bruegel the Elder. Thus, we reflect on the modern spiritual crisis: anthropological, moral, religious. Methodology. The main method for this type of research was the methodological potential of phenomenology and existentialism. In particular, we are talking about the significance for us of the situation that Bruegel offers. What matters is not so much a historical generalization of a particular event, but primarily being wrapped up in it. We have also used historical, critical (estimating) and interpretive methods. Scientific novelty. Creativity of Peter Bruegel the Elder is first and foremost translated in philosophical thinking that was ahead of time for many centuries and gives impetus to self-knowledge and comprehension of the main idea of history – the Idea of Man. Peter Bruegel formulated the idea of apocalyptic world: the tragedy and absurdity of earthly life, the impossibility of stability and prosperity in it. Unfortunately, as Bruegel showed us, humanity continues to remain blind in relation to the higher Divine Truths, only on the basis of which it is possible to remain a Man and to be in harmony with oneself and the Universe. Conclusions. In the existential involvement of the painting of the Dutch artist, we saw common features between his era and modern age – the crisis of spiritual order, anthropological catastrophe. Secondly, in the sense of Bruegel’s understanding of the universe and man, there is the idea of Divine Providence. His egregious works do not suppress with hopelessness but «purify» and «enlighten» the viewer. It is invisible energy that awakens the spiritual and religious feeling of the man. And even though history returns in its ironically-tragic hypostasis, it is quite clear that the only aspiration can be the desire «not to feed» it with human lives.

HUMANISTIC IDEAS OF MUSIC EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING OF STUDENTS DURING THE AUTHORITARIANISM FORMATION PERIOD (20-50s of the XX century)

The article highlights the humanistic ideas of domestic cultural and educational figures on musical education and upbringing of students in general educational institutions. The main views of B. Asafiev, F. Kozytskii, Ya. Mamontov, S. Syropolko, L. Kulakovskii, Ya. Polferov, Ya. Chepiga are updated. It is noted that the peculiarities of the ideas of a well-known scholar in the field of music science B. Asafiev are that he saw the creation of a new musical culture in mass education by means of music. In his opinion, this is possible, only if the skills of active, conscious perception, communication education with life through the joy of creativity are developed. The humanistic approach of the composer and teacher F. Kozytskii lies in the fact that he managed to combine new forms of musical work together with children (listening to music, creative improvisation) with a historically established traditional activity - choral singing, filling it with new content.The ideas of L. Kulakovskii, a teacher of the Kiev Institute of Music and Drama, are revealed. He assured that the goal of education by means of musical art is to develop the mental organization of a child. It is facilitated by choral singing, which, with the help of text, suggests a connection with an emotionally conscious, brightly shaped life. It is emphasized that the basic humanistic ideas of Ya. Mamontov and Ya. Chepiga boil down to the fact that musical education must exist for all children, without exception, who must be introduced into the sphere of artistic feelings and impressions. The main condition for the harmonious development of man, in their opinion, is his aestheticization.The humanistic views of an art education inspector Ya. Polferov, who offered to cultivate not professional skills in work with children, but the ability to actively observe musical phenomena and react to them extensively, are highlighted. The ideas of Professor C. Siropolko of M. Drahomanov of the Ukrainian High Pedagogical Institute in Prague take a significant place. He believed that musical education of students should be built on a national basis, using, first of all, vocal and choral music.

Values and adaptation profile of young people involved in combat sport

The article deals with specific features in the process of the socio-psychological formation of young people. It also highlights the age appropriate behavioral patterns and psychological development of the young population. The research task is to study the social values changes as well as the ability to adapt to the ever changing environment This target group consists of the 70 young people who are engaged in combat sport and martial arts, such as “sambo” or Jiu jitsu and at the same time study the humanistic ideas and principles of Islam. It is subdivided into two sub-groups depending on the period of their engagement into these activities: a) for the period of up to 1 year (age 16–25) and b) for 3–5 years (age 21—27). The value profile of this group was investigated using the methods by E. B. Fantalova, such as “free choice of values”, the “‘values and accessibilities’ ratio”, To investigate the “adaptive profile” were used multi-level questionnaires by A. G. Maklakov and S. V. Chermenin. The statistical approach has shown specific trends in the value profile of the two sub-groups. It has also helped to specify the adaptive characteristics, types of behavioral regulators, communicative competence and moral normativity.

Providing psychological support to pregnant women in childbirth by obstetrician service staff

Aims of study. The aim of this study was to investigate the theoretical foundations of psychological support for women in childbirth during midwifery activities.
 Results. An important condition for increasing the efficiency of the treatment process is not only taking into account the patient’s psychological peculiarities, but also providing psychological support to patients during medical care, in particular midwifery activity. Research on different aspects of psychological support is noted in the works of domestic and foreign psychologists who reveal the humanistic ideas of personal development interaction, requiring building a subject-subject relationship in the process of communication. A number of publications are presented in the modern literature concerning the role of psychological support in professional midwifery activities. According to the authors, this area is an important professional responsibility of obstetrician service staff. A special role is played by the psychological support of patients during childbirth. The relationship of the characteristics of the birth process with the emotional state of mothers is noted in modern literature. Psychological support for women in childbirth should be given with the knowledge of the patients’ specific psychological characteristics in this period. The state of consciousness of a woman in childbirth is one of the important psychological factors that require the attention of medical personnel. The altered state of consciousness (ASC) in childbirth, which has an adaptive role, is important for both active labor and reducing pain sensitivity in childbirth. A maladaptive ASC, on the contrary, interferes with the birth process and increase pain sensitivity. Depending on the activity, the psychological component of the generic dominant will manifest itself in an adaptive or maladaptive ASC, with psychological support for women during childbirth contributing to the activation of an adaptive ASC.
 Conclusion. Analysis of the psychological characteristics of women during childbirth showed the importance of considering the state of consciousness of the patient and the activity of the psychological component of the generic dominant when determining the strategy of psychological support.

The Saliva Tree: Archiving the (Monster) Tree

To view culture as a multispecies and not as an anthropocentric one is the call of the era. The liberal Humanist idea of human as an autonomous entity is to be debunked, as culture involves not only Homo sapiens, but also other species – animals, plants, microbes, machines and hybrids. No species can dwell independently. Each species thrives in a network, interconnected and interdependent to each other. This network forms a culture of multispecies, where every being is akin to the other. Multispecies culture is all inclusive and all encompassing, disregarding the crippling binaries of human/ non-human, culture/nature, abled/disabled, normal/abnormal and so on. It is important to realize that each binary is an anthropocentric cultural construct. It must be discarded in order to create the culture of companion species, that is includes all forms of existence, not overlooking the ‘unwanted’ object as the minor ‘other’, in the anthropocentric view. The paper aims to argue that each species (highlighting the figure of tree in the paper) is an active actor in the bio cultural space. It strives to emancipate the figure of a tree from the clutch of anthropocentric notion, as ‘nature’/ ‘passive recipient’/ ‘care-giver’/ ‘mother’. To serve my purpose, I have chosen a Science Fiction, titled The Saliva Tree by Brian Aldiss. The fiction has an alien tree, functioning in a farm on the Earth. The tree has a horrendous physical appearance, is carnivorous and is non-sessile. All such features compile to render the arboreal creature as a ‘monster’, an identity imposed upon a misfit, considering it as a threat to the human-centered culture. I have argued how the farm with the ‘monster’ tree and other variety of species and machines becomes an archive, a dynamic biocultural space. It also enhances the botanical culture or ‘FloraCulture’, as termed by John Charles Ryan.

Humanism’s Revival in Third‐Wave Behaviorism

Humanistic counseling therapies have fallen from grace in an age of manualized care. However, the behaviorists’ embrace of key humanistic ideas may signal a revival. In this article, the author reviews 10 of these key ideas, examining what a revival of humanism could mean for counseling theory, practice, and research.

Antilop ve Flurya’da Post-İnsan ve İnsan-İnsan Olmayan Hayvan İlişkisi

Recently, numerous scientific and technological advances have taken place and the idea of man as the measure of all things has been challenged by the flourishing manifestations of trans-/posthumanism. Therefore, what it means to be human has been questioned by various theoreticians like Cary Wolfe, N. Katherine Hayles, and Donna Haraway. In this regard, concepts like Self/Other, human/non-human, body/mind are analysed in the framework of trans- and posthumanism. Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake (2003) not only indicates a posthuman condition but also illustrates the question of identity regarding the characters. Consequently, this study discloses breaking points which involve issues of authenticity, othering, as well as identity explorations of the individuals based on post-/transhumanist theories and significant issues of the contemporary age. In addition, the study scrutinizes the human-nonhuman animal relationship and how it contributes to the identity formation of the human in a posthuman era.

Matter beginning to matter: On posthumanist understandings of the vital emergence of health

In recent years much health research across the social sciences and humanities has undergone a noticeable, albeit by no means cohesive or comprehensive, ‘turn’ towards a posthumanist theoretical orientation. This paper reviews the radical ideas about health's emergence that have accompanied this turn, noting the core processes that are understood to always be in play. In particular, while acknowledging that not all humanistic ideas have been rejected in this work, it describes how some have been reworked and extended in 'other-than-fully conscious' and 'more-than-human' terms. The paper assesses and synthesizes this diverse literature, emphasising the novel understandings of corporeality, materiality, assemblage, relationality, vitality and affect that have become distinctive features of it.

Role structure in young married couples

The article discusses the structure of roles in young married couples and the problem of role distribution between spouses. Currently, the majority of young spouses have disparity in their ideas about the role structure of the family, as a result of which there are disturbances in the relations between them and difficulties in the process of their adaptation to family life. One of the reasons for such difficulties may be indefinite or concrete boundaries for a young family, living conditions of spouses and the absence or presence of some experience of living together with a spouse. The article presents the empirical research results on the role structure of young couples (the results are part of a larger study). The sample consisted of young spouses in the amount of 400 people, 200 young couples, who do not yet have children. The age of the spouses was 20–30 years old (the average age of the spouses is 26,4). Couples had lives together up to five years. Research methods used included a questionnaire, testing, and the method of statistical data processing by t-Student criterion. As a method of research, a socio-demographic questionnaire and the questionnaire «Distribution of roles in the family» (Yu. Ye. Aleshina, L. Ya. Gozman, Ye. M. Dubovskaya) were employed. It was hypothesized that the ideas of men about the role structure in young married couples differ from the ideas of women, regardless of their living conditions (jointly or separately with their parents). Statistically significant differences were found in the implementation of the following family roles by spouses: raising children, in stabilizing the emotional climate in the family, and in organizing and maintaining the daily life. The data on the distribution of family roles in young families living together and separately with their parents are presented. It was concluded that the living conditions of a young couple have an insignificant effect on the family’s role structure, which is characterized by the presence of some features of egalitarianism.

Bede's Temple: An Image and Its Interpretation by Conor O'Brien

Reviewed by: Bede's Temple: An Image and Its Interpretationby Conor O'Brien Dana M. Polanichka Bede's Temple: An Image and Its Interpretation. By Conor O'Brien. [ Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs.] (New York: Oxford University Press. 2015. Pp. xx, 242. $100.00. ISBN 978–0–19–874708–6.) In Bede's Temple, Conor O'Brien presents an "extensive tour of Bede's thinking on the temple" (p. 5). He tackles the entirety of Bede's exegesis on that iconic structure, not only his main trilogy— On the Tabernacle, On the Temple, and On Ezra and Nehemiah—but also all other Bedan works referencing the temple. Moreover, O'Brien engages with contemporary, comparative representations of the temple image, namely, those in the Codex Amiatinus, adding visual components to his largely textual study. This monograph is well written and easy to read, engaging as subtly with complex primary texts as with the broad historiographical field. It offers a much-needed and successful exploration of Bede's interpretation of the temple that breathes life and color into these early medieval exegetical works. After three black-and-white figures from the Codex Amiatinus, Bede's Templeopens with a helpful "Possible Chronology of Bede's works" (pp. xix–xx). O'Brien then evenly divides the monograph into eight chapters. The first serves as an introduction in which he explains the term dominating his study—the temple image. Where templealone would narrowly refer only to the physical building, temple image"combine[s] the static architecture of the temple with the dynamic ritual of its priests, thus allowing Bede to speak about both the eternal reality of the Church and the living experience of its members through a single divinely sanctioned image" (p. 5). Rounding out his introduction, O'Brien offers a concise literature review and a sweeping, though brief, historical overview of Bede's world. The second chapter then explores the intellectual context of Bede's vision of the temple, including both resources available at his monastery and the Christian exegetical tradition. Chapters three through seven are the heart of the book. They embrace a thematic organization that moves through Bede's many interpretations and fully lays out O'Brien's central argument "that Bede's temple is a multifaceted image which, nonetheless, teaches us much about the structure of Bede's thought" (p. 6). Here one shifts in scale, from Bede's largest interpretations of the temple as history (chap. 3) and cosmos (chap. 4), to his middle-level vision of the temple as body of Christ (chap. 5) and as Church (chap. 6), and finally narrowing to his understanding of the temple as individual (chap. 7). At one end, the temple image provided the keystone for Bede's sweeping vision of history, connecting Old Testament and New; linking Jewish past and Christian present; and representing "a harmonious vision of salvation history" (p. 72). At the other end, the temple image represents the individual soul, just as it referred to the entire Church. Together these chapters drive home O'Brien's argument for "the consistent importance of unity to Bede's world view and the theological importance of Christ as the guarantor and enabler of that unity" (p. 7). However Bede interpreted it, the temple image served to unify disparate entities—Jew and Christian, earth and heaven, God and man. [End Page 564] O'Brien's eighth and final chapter serves as a conclusion. First, he undertakes a diachronic approach to Bede's writing, and then he discusses Bede within the context of his monastery. Here O'Brien can return to the final portion of his argument, that while Bede's thinking on the temple reveals much about the individual, it also speaks to more than this one exceptional man's ideas. Placing Bede at Wear-mouth-Jarrow, O'Brien demonstrates how Bede's temple emerged out of both a significant Christian tradition and his particular historical context, that is, the intellectual environment at his monastery. This concise and focused monograph thus forcefully illuminates not only Bede's thinking on the temple image, but also the man himself as well as monastic life and theological writing in the eighth century...

Increasing Knowledge of Climate Processes in the Context of Sustainable Development

Climate change of the Earth under the influence of anthropogenic factor is an actual problem of all mankind. In order to prevent irreversible processes in nature, it is necessary to adhere to the highest humanism, as the main achievement of man. The humanistic idea in society – the concept of sustainable development-is considered as a solution to the problem. In the article we have tried to reveal the problem of increasing climate literacy of students as a direction established by the concept of sustainable development. This problem requires knowledge in climatology. Climate literacy is a problematic issue for a number of reasons. These include some inhibiting factors of the educational process, there is no full content, and as a consequence of the uncertainty of the teachers themselves in their competence in this area. For most, climate change is a controversial issue. The doctrine of climate is not an exact science which is physics, chemistry, on the contrary there is scholasticism, as in biology, geology. Among other equally important factors mentioned in the concept, it is important to develop the pedagogical factor in solving the problem of global climate change. Since the integral content of knowledge determines its implementation in practice through the methods of pedagogy.Key words: global climate change, sustainable development concept, climate literacy, pedagogical factor, project thinking, noosphere paradigm.

Humanistic Ideas about History and Foundations of the New Chronology by Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540—1609)

The question of the development of humanistic historiography in the Renaissance and early Modern era is considered. Special attention is paid to the contribution of Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609) to the creation of a new chronology. The novelty of the research is that Scaliger’s achievements in the field of chronology are considered as an important component of the process of formation of a new historical narrative and the development of scientific principles of historical research. It is emphasized that earlier works written by Italian humanist historians used outdated calendar systems, which developed in the late Antique era and were characterized by a lack of understanding of the true significance of the change of historical epochs. The authors show that Scaliger’s achievements in the field of chronology allowed historians of the early Modern era, especially the French historians, to make significant progress in the understanding of the relevant for the history of Europe period of transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. The article concludes that due to the achievements of Scaliger the time scale of the Roman Empire and barbarian kingdoms was able to line up in a meaningful sequence. The history of the Frankish Kingdom as the initial period of the Middle Ages was able to take its place of honor in the writings of historians.

Международный инструмент «Шкала ECERS-R»: исследование комплексной оценки качества дошкольного образования

We center on the issues of contemporary preschool education, priority objectives, educational environment quality and the problems of assessing its quality. We describe and substantiate different approaches used in assessing education quality. We pay attention to the description of ECERS-R methods “Scale for comprehensive assessment of education quality in preschool educational institutions”, the latest version of which has been pre-adapted and tested in Russian regions. We also analyze the experience of using this technique in other countries. We show that the ECERS-R method is not only highly reliable, but also plays an important role in preschoolers development, as the method tool has a high level of elaboration and is based on humanistic pedagogy ideas. In the context of contemporary Russian education, this technique is relevant, since the evaluation criteria given in it (sub-scales and indicators in the ECERS-R scale tools) have a direct analogy with the educational areas described in the Federal State Educational Standard of Preschool Education.

ТВОРЧІСТЬ ҐЕОРҐА КАЙЗЕРА В РЕЦЕПЦІЇ ЮРІЯ КЛЕНА

The given article deals with Klen’s research of the German dramatist George Kaiser. The main parameters of artistic universe of this author are presented in the article. There are also outlined the methodological strategies of research the German dramatist’s creativity by Yuri Klen – a well-known Ukrainian literary critic. Georg Kaiser is one of the brightest representatives of theatrical and literary expressionism. His plays are the unique phenomenon in the 20th century drama. His expressionism appeared to be the special one and the global and scope of plots allowed scientists to call G. Kaiser a «new myth creator». Among world scientists, who comprehended the features of author manner of this sign artist for history of world drama, a main place belongs to the Ukrainian literary critic – Yuri Klen. In his scientific work there is the article «George Kaiser», which an author compositionally divides into seven parts. Its pre-condition is an original metaphorical lineation (vivid registration of which is adopted from astronomy), structural-semiotics assertion that every writer creation has a basic idea or favourite main image, that can be found in many writings of the author. However, in the Ukrainian literary critic’s opinion, it is not impossible to say it on the first sight about George of Kaiser because every work of this author has a new incarnate idea, new and unexpected development of a plot, new and original interpretation of that problem which has been solved in his previous works. In the article “George Kaiser” by Yuri Klen the biographic approach can be highlighted while analyzing creative works of the German dramatist. The Ukrainian literary critic also outlines the secrets of psychology of the German artist creation in expressionism manner. Expressionism drama is always drama of ideas; therefore acting persons of this drama are not individuals, but types which helps writer to lead the general action of the characters. Yuri Klen asserts transformation of images in dramas by George of Kaiser, their original reduction up to separate characters and allegories: his characters lost the outlines of people and become symbols of idea, super individual creatures, typical samples, and logic of acting can be sacrificed for the sake of the higher logic – logic of composition and dramatic construction. Few times a researcher accents on closeness an artistic world view of the German dramatist to cubism: characters mainly don’t have the names, but appear on the stage under the names: a «father», «multimillionaire», «black», «yellow» – they are structural formulas. Summarizing these the structural-semiotics searches, Yuri Klen marks once again that in George Kayiser’s works can be found: 1) central idea of man renewing which is peculiar for all his creative work; 2) leading motive of escape-chasing and 3) element of contingency which manages events, that is a case-shove which suddenly gives dynamic of action and sets fire before a man as a distant lighthouse – dream about renewal. It is also possible to assert that researches of expressionism by some authors whose creation correlates with expressionism views demonstrates complete maturity of Yuri Klen to be a serious literary critic armed by the newest methodological approaches to study literature as theoretician and practician of literature studies.

Landscape field/meadow archetype in the Mari art of the 1950s–1980s

Despite the official Soviet national policy, the professional art of the USSR peoples developed as a form of artistic reflection of ethnoculture about itself. The author of the article studies this process on the basis of the previously developed structural-archetypal model of the ethno-cultural space of the Mari people. The article contains the analysis of the artistic representations of the cultural field/meadow archetype on the material of fine art of the 1950s-1980s. The archetype is represented by iconographic types of “Collective Farm Fields of an Epic Scale”, “Harvest”, “Pastures”, “Blossoming Meadows”. A field, in the style of socialist realism, as a rule, is depicted as a space for heroic deeds, the greatness of the Soviet Motherland and the authorities arranging for the “battle for the harvest”. They glorify the collective farm system seen as a source of abundance and fertility. The masters of the “severe style” introduce the sign-symbolic principle in the image of the field, the artists having already gone beyond the ideological constraints while paving the way for non-romantic trends in the national art. Since the 1970s, the theme of the fields is lyrically approached by the national neoromantic artists who relieve the heroic pathos of socialist realism. The idea of man’s subjugation of nature gave way to the harmonious unity of beingness. The image of the fertile field in the pictures of the national artists was replaced by the images of meadows, pastures and forest glades. The semantics of the field archetype in the last decade of the Soviet era reveals the meaning of emptiness, loneliness and non-existence, often in combination with the image of a dry tree or a felled grove. It was the way to express feelings about the ongoing assimilation of the nation, about the loss of cultural memory. The evolution of artistic representations of the meadow/field archetype in the period under investigation has shown the failure of an attempt to substitute the traditional perception of nature for the ideaologemes of socialist realism.

Humanism, Humanitarian Values and the Search for the Foundations of Modern Bioethics

The article discusses the relationship of the axiological foundations of modern bioethics with casual and even incidental effects of the activity of scholars in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The author examine the ability of humanists to influence the formation of values system as well as the possibility of instrumentalizing these values in social practices. The study determines the entire causal complex that led to the formation of a special tradition of non-religious substantiation of values associated with the teaching and study of ancient languages in the context of the functioning of political and legal institutions and cultural and historical traditions of European states. The author considers the origins and meaning of humanism and the gradual change of its content as well as the transformation of humanistic experience into a tool of constructing ideals and values and an element of social technology. A special place is given to the analysis of attempts to form meta-ethics and bioethics within the framework of the value system of post-Soviet Russian society and the role of humanistic ideas in this process. On the example of the development of modern European philosophical thought, the controversial and problematic nature of various interpretations of humanism is shown, and the thesis of the historical conditionality of the ideals of humanism and its connection with some certain paradigms of metaphysic is confirmed. The central theme of the article is the problem of the relationship between the historical and conceptual, conditional and unconditional, contextual and universal in the heritage of the late medieval humanism. Technologization paths and contexts for the interpretation of humanistic ideas in modern Russia are outlined. The paper determines the ways of harmonization of humanitarian values and the system of their social and legal legitimation. On the example of the educational policy of higher education in recent decades, achievements and failures in the process of forming a new value system are analyzed. This value system could be used as a basis for legislative practice and state policy that would allow determining the basis of modern bioethics, which is of great importance for the development of Russian society and further improvement of the moral and legal foundations of its existence.

HUMANISTIC POTENTIAL OF "PHILOSOPHY OF COMMON CAUSE" OF N. FEDOROV

Introduction. The article is devoted to the humanistic aspect of the cosmic philosophical doctrine of N. Fedorov analyzed in the context of secular humanism, which was formed in the 20th century and is still developing intensively. The aim of the article is to contrast the views of the thinker N. Fedorov with the key principles of secular humanism. The tasks are: – to determine the place of humanistic ideas of Philosophy of the common case in the heritage of the founder of cosmic philosophy – M. Fedorov; – to analyze the principles of modern humanism in the context of the issues of secular humanism, presented in the Humanist Manifestos; – to show the relevance of the ideas of M. Fedorov for the modern humanistic tradition. Research methods are: – a comparative method that enables to identify and compare the characteristic features of secular humanism and the active-evolutionary doctrine of M. Fedorov; – historical and cultural method is applied to restore the ideas of M. Fedorov through the prism of the main provisions of secular humanism; - principle of additionality is used to outline the meaningful provisions of the Humanist Manifestos as documents that reflect the normative-value system of modern time. Research results. M. Fedorov argues that evolutionary process is expected to be directed by human reason and morality dictate. The basis for the convergence of secular humanism and active Christianity of M. Fedorov is the theme of regulating natural processes based on the progress of science and technology at the consciously creative stage of the mankind’s evolution. Causing mortality by the spontaneity of the previous course of evolution, the thinker defends the idea of the immanent resurrection of all human generations as the ultimate and most important goal of the mankind’s existence. To M. Fedorov’s thought the search for immortality is the object of comprehensive scientific inquiry and the greatest reason for unification of people of the Earth, regardless of their nationality, race, citizenship or wealth. Achieving immortality for individuals alive today and future generations and resurrection of all people who ever lived are two inseparable goals, according to M. Fedorov. Discussion. The doctrine of M. Fedorov, the main provisions of which are: the resurrection of ancestors, the achievement of immortality, and the regulation of nature on a cosmic scale is not sufficiently investigated through the prism of modern theories of humanism. Conclusion. Active-evolutionary approach to the problem of death and immortality of man of M. Fedorov is in tune with the modern scientific quest, but it does not coincide with the main direction of secular humanism, which proves the feasibility of population decline

David I. Shyovitz. A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. 325 pp.

Reviewed by: A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz by David I. Shyovitz David Malkiel David I. Shyovitz. A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. 325 pp. doi:10.1017/S036400941800065X Historical scholarship of the past few decades has sought to liberate the image of medieval Ashkenazic Jewry from the grip of Wissenschaft thinking, which portrayed it as xenophobic and ignorant. David Shyovitz's A Remembrance of His Wonders takes this scholarly movement in a new direction. Shyovitz argues that far from shunning the natural order, the German Pietists reflected deeply on natural phenomena that inspire marvel because they appear to defy explanation. The Pietists, chiefly Judah the Pious, collected these wonders in texts that often begin with "a remembrance of His wonders" (Psalm 111:4), in order to derive theological conclusions from seemingly aberrant forces of nature. The theological import derived from remembrances revolves around God's existence and omnipotence, and typically is learned a minore ad maius, from the physical order to the recondite divine realm. Shyovitz interprets these lessons propounded by the Pietists as implying a powerful current of skepticism among the rank and file of medieval Ashkenaz, which also challenges the traditional historiographical image. Indeed, Jeremy Cohen and Avraham Grossman have put forward similar arguments in different contexts, and yet I can imagine the Pietists propagating material of this sort for the edification and spiritual well-being of their audience without conjuring an atmosphere involving a crisis of faith. The interrogation of nature through its wonders is a familiar trope from the travel writing of Gerald of Wales and others, which treats home-bound readers to descriptions of bizarre creatures encountered at the geographical limits of the world, liminal phenomena in liminal locales. Thinking about events and behaviors that lie at the edge of the natural realm offered a way to conceptualize the natural [End Page 465] order and where its boundaries fall. Thus, the interest the Pietists show in the workings of nature situates them squarely in the context of medieval science, which, as Lynn Thorndike has shown, did not distinguish between science and magic, the natural and occult. More startling is the Pietists' methodology, which combines observation and experimentation. They instruct readers how to produce certain results, and their thinking is refreshingly modern for not being rooted in the classical tomes of Aristotle, Galen, and others. Judah the Pious takes his place among Albert the Great and other medieval thinkers whose empiricism anticipated the scientific revolution. A Remembrance of His Wonders also posits a high degree of cultural integration, with knowledge of the natural order—including the occult—derived not only from rabbinic tradition (e.g., sources about magnets, salamanders, etc.), but also from contemporary Christian writings, including bestiaries, lapidaries, encyclopedias, and "books of secrets." Once again, the book confounds the image of Ashkenazic Jewry as insular, although Yitzhak Baer, Joseph Dan, and others have suggested possible connections to Berthold of Regensburg or Caesarius of Heisterbach and acknowledged the presence of Germanic folklore in the Pietists' writings. Remembrances from the natural world are the subject of the first chapter; the remaining four focus on the human being, especially the body. We are thus cautioned that the Pietists' well-known asceticism does not imply disdain for the body; rather, the idea of man as microcosm stimulates intense scrutiny of the body's form and processes, from which the Pietists derive practical advantage, such as for divination or to fashion a golem. This fascination with the human form seems to sit well with the Ashkenazic tradition of divine corporealism, a tradition closely associated with Moses Taku, though true also for Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières. Shyovitz's overall thesis of intense Ashkenazic acculturation is supported here by evidence that the microcosm idea circulated widely in twelfth-century Europe, at the cathedral school of Chartres or, closer to home, in the writings of Hildegard of Bingen. We are also treated to sources from visual art, including the Noah Window of the Chartres Cathedral (fig. 8). The Pietists' theory of the soul supports Shyovitz's argument about their interest in...