Intellectual Phenomenon Research Articles

The Digital Sufi Gaze: Between Love, Longing and Locality in COVID Britain

This article examines British Sufi responses to the COVID-19 pandemic within the broader context of Muslim experiences of and reactions to the pandemic. Set within a discussion pertaining to classical and contemporary expressions of Sufism, this article explores Sufi phenomena, including the murshid–murid (Sufi master–novice) dynamic, collective gathering and Sufi gaze (nazar) and whether these phenomena were possible within the inevitable digital environments Sufis were forced into as a result of the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, experienced in Britain. The author explores Sufi social and intellectual phenomena within classical and contemporary literature in relation to Sufi experiences in the West. She concludes that varied lived experiences and differing views on Sufism and both its classical and contemporary expressions were brought into question as a consequence of the COVID pandemic, the exploration of which are necessary in juxtaposition to one another to add nuance and depth and create holistic research of Sufi communities and Sufism more broadly, within contemporary Britain and further afield.

Tendencje postmodernistyczne w ukraińskiej sztuce okresu transformacji i pierwszego dziesięciolecia niepodległości

The topic of the article is the presentation of artistic trends that appeared in Ukrainian art at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s and which are described as postmodern. These include: trans-avant-garde painting, performative art, media art, and conceptual art. All of them are an expression of the newly gained freedom, they choose the oppressive past as their main adversary, but they are also a form of reflection on new cultural and intellectual phenomena that appeared in Ukraine during this period (mass culture, “new spirituality”). The point of my article is not a detailed analysis of the works of individual artists, as I only indicate selected trends and directions.

Apologetics and Criticism of Posthumanism (Review)

Posthumanistic ideas associated with the rejection of anthropocentric discourses and practices and implying (in transhumanism) the technological transition of man and society to a fundamentally new level of existence and organization of life, have a solid history of almost four decades. In Russia, with the exception of top essays such as “A Cyborg Manifesto” by Donna Haraway or “The Transhumanist FAQ” by Nick Bostrom, posthumanist conceptology began to take root intensively since the 10s. 21st century. Then “Cannibal Metaphysics” by Eduardo de Castro and “Being Ecological” by Timothy Morton first appeared on the Russian market. Gradually, the transmission of posthumanist ideas gained more intense momentum. Today, the domestic literary market features transhumanist literature (“Upgrade to Superhumans”), new anthropology, or “postanthropology,” marking the boundaries “beyond man,” representation of indigenous thinking, a series of books about socio-natural phenomena (“Insectopedia,” by Hugh Raffles, “How forests think” by Eduardo Kohn, “Gathering moss” by Robin Kimmerer), as well as new ontologies (Graham Harman, Ian Bogost), revising the classical subject-object picture of the world. Posthumanism can no longer be considered an inconspicuous cultural phenomenon. It is not surprising that sharp critical reactions appeared in the form of monographic studies. The article provides reviews of current Russian posthumanist literature and criticism. Particular attention is paid to the critical agenda, which positions posthumanism as a carrier of apocalyptic strategies for humans. The need for a careful study of the intellectual phenomenon and the search for common grounds for a constructive dialogue between cultures and concepts are argued.

The Doctrinal Manifestations of Extremism among Jews

The phenomenon of religious extremism is one of the most dangerous intellectual phenomena that arise in the religious domain. It is an ancient yet contemporary phenomenon, as it has begun to manifest itself in our current era across various religions. The Holy Quran has provided a historical dimension to the roots of extremism among the People of the Book, namely the Jews and Christians, through Quranic verses that illustrate the elements of this phenomenon and how to deal with it in terms of intellectual and doctrinal aspects. Hence, this research aims to shed light on the phenomenon of religious extremism, taking doctrinal extremism within some Jewish sects as an example. The research concludes that religious extremism is a global phenomenon not specific to any religion. Additionally, doctrinal extremism, in its first type, has been evident in certain teachings of the Jewish religion.

Anne-Thérèse Marguenat de Courcelles, Mme De Lambert – o «gosto» de uma Salonnière protofeminista

Anne-Thérèse Marguenat de Courcelles, Marquise or Madame de Lambert was the author of a significant published work, dealing with pregnant themes and concepts that are consistent with philosophical thought and literary culture in France in the 18th century. Ideas and sources that characterize her writing were mapped – namely the concept of taste; studies dedicated to it in the 19th and early 20th centuries, compared to most recent ones. Highlights are arguments in favor of a critical and “aware” education of women, reflections on moral philosophy and aesthetic considerations based on a plethora of authors from Greece to their contemporaries. She addressed the societal / intellectual phenomenon of the Salon and the Salonières that directed them in the 18th century, inquiring about: common denominators and / or deviations; mutual dependencies; conceptual nuances and repercussions, weighted in the context of feminist studies. Therefore, exclusive characteristics are listed in terms of posture, status and performance. In her Bureau d’ Esprit (1710-1732) “new” ideas of philosophical, literary, moral impact and under the aegis of poetic mediations fermented. Attention was paid to the singularities of her aesthetics and writing of an “epistolary” typology that was intended for her own children. It is finally thought-how much, how and if-her particularities and circumstances had repercussions / contributed to the understanding and evaluation of her work in an academic context and, also, to a French proto-feminist culture.

Barriers of confronting intellectual extremism in saudi universities from the point of view of postgraduate students

This study aims to identify the barriers facing Saudi universities in confronting intellectual extremism from the point of view of their postgraduate students. To achieve the objective of the study, a purposive sample of 133 postgraduate students in Saudi universities was selected. The study followed the descriptive survey method, through a questionnaire prepared by the researcher to collect information related to the study. The results of the study showed a number of barriers facing Saudi universities to confront the intellectual extremism, which came as follows: the weakness of activating the role of the intellectual awareness unit at the university, the absence of courses topics dealing with the phenomenon of intellectual extremism, the weakness of legislation on negative intellectual phenomena, the poor means of purposeful entertainment in universities, and the weakness of the complementary relationship between the university and society. At the end of the study, the researcher presented a number of recommendations and suggestions that will help Saudi universities to carry out their role and duties with regard to confronting intellectual extremism among their students.

‘Without rules and restrictions, there is no art’

In this interview, the renowned writer and poet Sergey Gandlevsky talks about his view of poetry as essentially an outcome of a ‘lucky error,’ which the author then tweaks to perfection. A lot of his works result from the author’s desire to stress self-reflection, causing the poet to separate himself from the lyrical hero instead of identifying with him, as if the author is looking at a bystander’s image of himself. According to Gandlevsky, true art thrives on rules and restriction and it is for that reason that he personally prefers accentualsyllabic verse to vers libre. As for prose writing, this task is easier for a poet than writing poetry is for a prose writer. A poet normally draws on their own experience, so locations visited and books read are of particular significance. Gandlevsky believes poetry to be a sensory rather than intellectual phenomenon, one which translates reading into physical pleasure. He also insists that poetry plays the role of a ‘gold standard,’ essential for maintaining ‘supreme examples of feelings and emergency supplies of idealism.’

CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN EUROPEANISM AS A "MARGINAL" POLITICAL TRADITION AND A HISTORIOGRAPHIC GRAND NARRATIVE

The author analyses the development features of Europeanism as an invented political tradition and historiographic grand narrative in Russian intellectual history. It is assumed that modern Russian Europeanism is related to the cultural traditions of Russian Westernisation genetically, as well as the reforms of the 1990s, when the political elites of Russia had pro-Western sympathies. The author perceives Europeanism as a number of heterogeneous intellectual phenomena. The author believes that historical and literary academic studies became the main form of the history and functioning of Russian Europeanism in the 2000s and 2010s. It is assumed that the Russian intellectual communities of historians, philologists and literary critics exist in a state of institutionalised dependence on the Western European model of humanitarian knowledge. The article shows that Russian Europeanism has two forms: firstly, the desire of Russian intellectuals to write the history of Russia in the European system of coordinates, “imagining” and “inventing” it as a European one; secondly, the refusal of some of them to analyse Russian problems as ideologically and politically motivated a priori. The author analyses attempts to Europeanise the Russian historical process as invented traditions in contexts of alternative historiographic interpretations. It is assumed that the European perception of the historical process became one of the historiographic grand narratives. The author believes that Russian Europeanism had significant cultural and intellectual potential, but it was unable to actualize its adaptive potential in competition with alternative ideological trends, including various versions of the left (communist) and right (nationalist) ideologies. Therefore, contemporary Russian Europeanism is not institutionalised and does not have a formal organisational structure. The author believes that the national intellectual communities, unlike the Russian ones, have not lost interest in the European idea yet, which guarantee the further development of Europeanism in Russia, but in substantially different forms.

Formation of a Philosophical Canon in Religious-idealistic Samizdat

As a product of hobby groups, religious and philosophical samizdat was the practice of an entire cycle of intellectual content production: from the search for sources to their adaptation and pragmatization. At the same time, pragmatization determined the future projects and the organization of circles as communities. A wary attitude towards the transformations of the world demanded among supporters of religious philosophy reflection on the life-building and social potential of the community. This cautious attitude determined the composition of the canon, the features of which are determined by the specifics of intellectual production in these circles. Thus, Berdyaev was accepted into the canon as the inventor of the aphoristic mode of thought production. Sergei Bulgakov was an extra-Soviet non-conformist thinker whose sophiology corresponds to social constructivism in contemporary scholarship and, at the same time, allows the meta criticism of church habitus. The canon was built as actual: the works of religious philosophers of the twentieth century were perceived as part of current philosophy, not because of a lack of newer sources, but because of the understanding of their work as avant-garde and their social program as not yet put into circulation, and therefore belonging to the future projects. The expansion of the canon could occur only if the philosophical fiction, from Dostoevsky to Solzhenitsyn, was accepted into the canon, which made it possible to concretize the intellectual phenomena of the 19th century. Thus, inclusion in the canon meant recognition, not so much of the author's philosophical merits as to his or her ability for a polemical gesture but also for grounding the circles' autonomy. The disintegration of this circle organization of the “second culture” coincided with the ontologization of the problematics of Russian idealistic philosophy, which (ontologization) became normative in Russian higher education.

Yu. N. Solonin on the socio-political philosophy of conservatism

Professor of the St Petersburg State University Yu. N. Solonin to the study of global and Russian conservatism, analyzes his works on the problems of philosophy and axiology of politics and political ideology. The author shows that political philosophy of Solonin was theoretically grounded Center for comprehensive study of conservatism at the Philosophy Department of the St Petersburg State University. It is pointed out that many well-known specialists from St Petersburg and other regions of Russia took an active part in the work for the Study of Conservatism Center. They investigated the substantial characteristics of conservatism as a complex socio-cultural and intellectual phenomenon and the historical-philosophical preconditions of conservatism. Solonin’s works creatively developed the concepts by Russian scholars dealt with conservatism, and it helped to organize a research school of comprehensive study of conservatism. The article offers an analysis of Solonin’s writings on conservatism while he was leading the Study of Conservatism Center. The works by Solonin and other scholars revealed the main features of conservatism’s philosophy, such as holism, organicism, traditionalism, etatism, and irrationalism; they analyzed the historical, cultural, political-legal and socioeconomic preconditions of the genesis of European and Russian conservatism. The article argues that a special attention in Solonin’s theoretical heritage was paid to the analysis of the problem of liberal-conservative synthesis. He specifically analyzed the potentialities of liberalconservative synthesis and proved that various non-classical forms of political ideologies are being formed in modern conditions. Solonin also noted the complex and diverse ideological currents of conservatism in Russia, its being conditioned by the traditional way of Russian society, the attitude of the people to the state.

Ф. М. Достоевский в позднем творчестве М.М. Бахтина

The author aims to outline the conceptualization of Mikhail Bakhtin's late works. Their essential moment is Bakhtin's specific attitude to works by Fyodor Dostoevsky and to literature as a special part of culture. In this connection, the author understands Bakhtin's philosophy as a philosophy of literature bordering on philosophical anthropology. In the article, using Bakhtin's writings, as well as a number of studies on his works, as material, the author intends to reconstruct the ontological basis of fiction, in the center of which lies the concept of grotesque Bakhtin developed in his book dedicated to Francois Rabelais. Despite the huge amount of literature on Bakhtin's oeuvre, there are no studies on his later works as a separate research space. This applies both to the corpus of texts, since part of the Bakhtin archive has not yet been published and lies in the manuscripts department of the Russian State Library, and to attempts to show the philosophical significance of Bakhtin's late writings by conceptualizing them and bringing them together into a separate intellectual phenomenon. The article attempts to analyze Bakhtin's later works through the prism of his attitude to Dostoevsky's works. The name of Bakhtin is not just associated with the name of Dostoevsky. The Russian philosopher revealed the ontology of Dostoevsky's works, and, since for Bakhtin Dostoevsky's works are the pinnacle of the development of literature, through Dostoevsky's works Bakhtin unfolds literature in its highest manifestation for us. The author substantiates the thesis that the understanding of Bakhtin's late works is based on the ontologization of grotesque, which Bakhtin himself indicates indirectly, not explicitly. The author also shows that Bakhtin sees literature, the subject matter of his research, as a purpose, as a special part of culture that reflects the ultimate embodiment of the human principle, and not an example in his theoretical constructions. Bakhtin's attitude to Dostoevsky is primarily reflected in his book about Dostoevsky in two editions. However, it would be wrong to reduce this attitude only to this book. In a broad sense, all of Bakhtin's philosophical works can be reduced to a certain hermeneutics of Dostoevsky due to the presence of a close and organic connection between concepts and ideas in Bakhtin's works, as well as the fact that Dostoevsky for Bakhtin is a key figure in his philosophical legacy. However, in the present article, based on a late interview, the author of the article reconstructs Bakhtin's thoughts about Dostoevsky that outline, among other things, an important topic in the field of Bakhtin's hermeneutics - the role of Dostoevsky's reader.

Intellectual disability – towards the modification of theoretical contexts

n this article, I deal with the contemporary contexts of the analysis of the intellectual disability phenomenon and the alternative proposals for theorizing presented by disability studies. I ask the question: what /who the dominant views and non-scientific alliances are for. I question the tendency to favour the medical approach in special pedagogy, which is the starting point as well as the reference point for the educational, rehabilitation, care and support practices it develops. I am not going to decide on the legitimacy of various approaches, I am aware of their historical and systemic conditions. However, I dare to ask a question about – as Miłosz Markiewicz (2017) described it – the limits of the definition of a Human. In view of the experienced diversity of human conditions, like the above-mentioned author, today I have a “problem with using the category of disability too easily” (Markiewicz, 2017, p. 23), and in particular, not often considered in relation to the methods of scientific analysis and theoretical contexts, the category of intellectual disability.

HUSTYNSKYI LITOPYS: A DOCUMENTARY MONUMENT OF UKRAINIAN HISTORICAL THOUGHT OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Ukrainian historical thought of the seventeenth century is an interesting intellectual phenomenon, the genesis and social and cultural functioning of which took place against the background of political, geopolitical and interfaith confrontation in Eastern Europe. In Ukrainian historiography, this period of cultural and intellectual development was called “the first Ukrainian national and cultural revival”. Its characteristic feature was the growing interest of society in historical memory, in particular, in the memory of the Ancient Rus era as the origins of Rus-Ukraine, which is trying to find its place among other peoples of Europe. The question of reflecting the ancient n era in the historical thought of Ukraine in the late sixteenth − seventeenth centuries. in historiography it is elaborated in fragments, within the framework of side plots, at best, at the level of coverage of the views of individual authors (Feodosii Sofonovych, Inokentii Hizel, author of the Ukrainian Chronograph, some Polish writers, etc.). Among the monuments of historical thought of this tame period, the “Hustynskyi Litopys” attracts attention, the authorship of which is still the subject of discussion. The problem of authorship of the monument is quite old, but this issue has not been finally resolved. There is an assumption that y 20s of the seventeenth century. Zacharii Kopystenskyi worked on the chronicle. The list of Mykhailo Losytskyi, the hieromonk of the Hustyn monastery, made in 1670, is considered to be the final edition of the monument. This editing preserves the conceptual identity and consistency of presentation. The chronicle, despite its conceptual dependence on Polish literature, is based on its own concept, within substantiates the peculiarities of Rus' historical path among neighboring peoples, and explains the genesis of the Cossack factor, which became decisive in Eastern European politics of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ukrainian historical thought in the form of a chronicle of the 16−17th century needs further meticulous research.

The Culture of Philosophy Withering Away On the Basis of Hungarian Philosophical Experiences

Philosophy is for itself, in other words, it is an activity for itself by itself. It is one of the most precious intellectual treasures and pleasures of a human being. There are many symptoms which show that abstract thinking has lost its former glory, its glorious position in society. Unfortunately, the culture of philosophy has become a degraded intellectual phenomenon, and this short study analyses the reasons for its diminished value. It would like to stress there reasons: the first is: the practicable principle and interest as the age symptom. The second is: when the politics intervenes in the philosophy of the function (but we know that act of the way of thought is other as the movement of politics. The third is: the responsibility or irresponsibility of the philosophers. This study remarks some critical point of views in connection of there reasons. In conclusion, I claim that the current state of philosophy is the business of everybody; philosophy is a common intellectual property for all of us. In contrast to the public awareness, it is not an “aristocratic genre” but a “plebeian” one.

Modern Japan and Multiple Modernities: A Case Study

Transformation studies should be a key topic for the comparative analysis of civilizations. Their most important task is to deal with the changes to world-views and cultural semantics inherited from axial traditions, changes resulting from the emergence of modern society and its radically innovative normative turn. To put it another way, the question relates to modern discursive reworkings of path-dependent figures of thought. In the context of such processes, discourses on identity intertwine with more or less critically oriented discourses on culture and society. For non-European countries, and very emphatically for Japan, Northwestern Europe is an almost exclusive domain of reference, notwithstanding eventual condemnations of European “decadence” or – as the case may be – capitalist contradictions. But when some critical distance from Europe is achieved, it combines easily with returns to a supposedly primordial native legacy, even with the illusory belief that this legacy can inspire a transformative creation of something new in human history. Such intellectual phenomena occur, with significant variations, across a broad political spectrum. This essay discusses a few exemplary Japanese cases.

Physico-Theology: Religion and Science in Europe, 1650-1750

Physico-Theology: Religion and Science in Europe, 1650-1750

Islamophobia Nodal confrontation

This research deals with a cultural and intellectual phenomenon deeply rooted in history, even if it has a modern term, and it is a phenomenon (Islamophobia) intended to intimidate Islam and claim appeals that distract ordinary people and uninformed masses from embracing it, and this research proposes confronting this phenomenon from a doctrinal point of view through definition With the constants of the Islamic religion and the Islamic faith, and the extension of the rational approach on which Islam relies in stating the facts of its belief and persuading people of it.

The future of human and humanity in the philosophy of Nick Bostrom

The proposed research is devoted to understanding the content of the philosophical views of the transhumanist philosopher, futurologist, professor at the University of Oxford, co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, director of the Institute for the Future of Humanity (Oxford University) N. Bostrom, whose works belong to the mainstream of Western philosophical thought, but have not yet gained wide popularity in the Kazakh academic community. The focus is on the philosopher’s ideas about the future of man and humanity, which are represented by transhumanist views and attempts to make predictions of the human and posthuman future, as well as the experience of N. Bostrom’s understanding of transhumanism as an intellectual phenomenon and social movement. The set research tasks are solved on the basis of the implementation of the principles of historical and logical, concreteness, and consistency. As a result of the analysis of the works of N. Bostrom, program documents of institutions in the organization of which he is involved, an array of philosophical texts of authors who are in controversy with the thinker, a systematic reconstruction of his views and activities is carried out. The research materials introduce the reader to the field of current philosophical discussions in the modern West. The analysis of the author’s texts undertaken in the article by N. Bostrom’s research on the future of man and humanity allows us to identify the peculiarities of his understanding of the nature of man and society, methods of forming a prognostic vision, possible global risks, as well as to comprehend the experience of N. Bostrom in reconstructing the history of transhumanism. Key words: N. Bostrom, future, human, humanity, global risks, transhumanism, futurology.

‘Contesting Teutomania’: Robert Gordon Latham, ‘race’, ethnology and historical migrations

ABSTRACT The essay elucidates the intellectual and historiographical phenomenon of migration to the forefront by engaging with the perceptions of the Teutonic/Germanic migrations of the fifth century among a few major Victorian ethnologists and historians. It focuses particularly on the unique view of the ethnologist and philologist Robert Gordon Latham (1812–88). While many Victorian historians of the mid-nineteenth century became obsessed with the Teutonic narrative, arguing that these ancient tribes had conquered vast territories of Europe, Latham, in contrast, downplayed the impact of Teutonism, discounted the vastness of the Teutonic expansion in Europe and expressed his doubts regarding the alleged Teutonic purity of the English nation. Instead, Latham advocated for an ethnological investigation, drawing conclusions which were critical of the very influential Teutonic narrative that he considered misleading, since it was founded solely on superfluous ancient historical sources. Latham’s challenge of the prevailing thesis, hence, reflected a heightened mid-nineteenth century debate between ethnology and history. Rather than delving into the historical migrations themselves, the study of the perception of Teutonic migrations contributes to the understanding of how these historians and ethnologists differentiated between ‘ideal’ and ‘destructive’ historical migrations while inserting different meanings to the concepts of ‘race’ and ‘language’.

The Scholastic Foundations of Emilio Jacinto’s Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness), c. 1896

Focusing on Emilio Jacinto’s conception of freedom (kalayaan) and legitimate political authority in Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness), this article traces his thinking to the political theories developed during the Spanish Counter-Reformation by theologians such as Francisco de Vitoria and Francisco Suárez. It argues that Jacinto’s vernacular political theology had Scholastic foundations. It provides an alternative intellectual history to Philippine revolutionary thought that is neither founded upon Protestant, northwestern European liberal influences nor derived from folk millenarianism but instead emphasizes the need to approach the “Filipino Enlightenment” as participating in a larger, global, distinctly Hispanic intellectual phenomenon.