Vol 24, No 4 (2020): HISTORY OF INDIAN AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

HISTORY OF INDIAN AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

Relevance of Buddhist Philosophy in Intercultural Philosophizing

Stepanyants M.T.

Abstract

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RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):537-543
pages 537-543 views

The Milindapañha in the Context of History of Indian Civilization

Schumann A.N.

Abstract

This paper restores the historical context of Milindapañha . The text is unique, because it is one of the very few documents of Ancient India, in which one of the authors is considered a Greek ( yavana ) as a participant in the dialog. To reconstruct the context of the book, the basic archeological data about the Indo-Greek Kingdom, including epigraphics, are summed up, as well as there are analyzed some references to the kingdom given in the Mahāvaṃsa , the earliest chronicle of Sri Lanka. These mentions in the Mahāvaṃsa are matched with the numismatics of Ceylon. From this analysis it is concluded that the document of Milindapañha was most likely created in Gāndhārī in the interval from the beginning of the 1st century B.C. to the end of the 1st century A.D., i.e. during the period of the domination of the syncretic culture of the North of India, combining Buddhism with certain elements of Hellenism. The treatise of Milindapañha was then preserved in Sri Lanka's tradition by continuing good political contacts with the Roman Empire after 400 A.D., that is, after the collapse of the Kushan and the Western Kshatrapas, the last dynasties that had previously preserved elements of Hellenism in the Indian subcontinent. The philosophical meaning of the treatise is then considered and it is concluded that in the text we can find direct references to the proto-Nyāya with the requirement to verify premises by examples. But the logical teaching of Milindapañha is far more archaic than the teaching of Nyāyasūtra , because only two sources ( pramāṇa ) of true knowledge are implicitly used: paccakkha (“obvious”) and anumāna (“inference”), and instead of the two verification methods called udāhārana and upamā , only one verification method called opamma is offered.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):544-569
pages 544-569 views

Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla: Life and Teaching

Titlin L.I.

Abstract

The article details the biography and teachings of Śāntarakṣita (8th century), a famous Buddhist scholar and enlightener, a leading figure in the spread of Buddhism in Tibet and his closest student Kamalaśīla (also 8th century). Śāntarakṣita is the author of several treatises, including “Compendium of Entities” - “Tattvasaṃgraha”, a monumental work that can rightfully be called the “Buddhist Philosophical Encyclopedia”, consisting of 26 sections (the Tibetan translation contains 31 sections), in which all key philosophical schools of India, namely: Mīmāṃsa, Vedānta, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Lokāyata, Jainism and Buddhism of other sects) are analyzed and subsequently refuted. Kamalaśīla is a direct student of Śāntarakṣita, the author of a “word-to-word” commentary on the teacher's “Tattvasaṃgraha”. The article also dwells on the history of the discovery and study of the “Tattvasaṃgraha”. The novelty of the study lies in a full-length encyclopedic presentation of the philosophy of Śāntarakṣita and his immediate student Kamalaśīla. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is the demonstration that Śāntarakṣita, as a representative of the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka school, worked in the genre of synthesis of the teachings of Yogācāra (Vijñānavāda) and Madhyamaka (Śūnyavāda), and in the field of epistemology he continued the theories of Dignāga and Dharmakīrti.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):570-589
pages 570-589 views

Interpretation of Dejectedness and Insanity in Buddhist Exegetical Treatises

Ostrovskaya H.P.

Abstract

The subject of the paper is the moral aspect of interpretations of dejectedness (daurmanasya) and insanity (cittavikṣepa-unmāda) in the treatises Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya by Vasubandhu (4-5th centuries) and Sphuṭārtha-abhidharmakośa-vyākhyā by Yaśomitra (8th century). Buddhist interpretation of these phenomena is based on the canonical postulate that only corporeal suffering is a karmic retribution (vipāka-phala). Dejectedness is treated by Buddhist exegetics as a peculiar trait of imagination (kalpanā) manifesting in the moment of mental construction of evil projective situations. Dejectedness can be good (kuśala) and evil (akuśala) dependent on personal moral position. Good dejectedness is repentance (kaukṛtya) for an undone good deed or sin done. Opposite to it is evil dejectedness. Insanity is treated as destruction of predicative (abhinirūpana) and mnestic (anusmaraṇa) functions of consciousness. This mental suffering is determined by karma in cases when attempts to destroy other’s consciousness had place in the past. Karmic retribution in these cases is corporeal suffering, or disbalance of gross elements, and insanity is the consequence of this disbalance.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):590-600
pages 590-600 views

On the Influence of Translations of Religious and Philosophical Texts of Buddhism on the Literature and Art of Medieval China

Kosykhin V.G., Malkina S.M.

Abstract

The era of the Tang dynasty (618-907) was a period of great flourishing of all aspects of Chinese culture, when changes covered the most diverse spheres of philosophy, art and literature. The article examines the role played in this cultural transformation by translations from Sanskrit into Chinese of the religious and philosophical texts of Indian Buddhism. The specificity of the Chinese approach to the translation of Indian texts is demonstrated, when, at the initial stage, many works were translated in a rather free style due to the lack of precisely established correspondences between Sanskrit and Chinese philosophical terms. The authors identify two additional factors that influenced the nature of the translations. Firstly, this is the requirement of compliance with the norms of public, mainly Confucian, morality. Secondly, the adaptation of the Indian philosophical context to the Chinese cultural and worldview traditions, which led to the emergence of new schools of religious and philosophical thought that were not known in India itself, such as Tiantai, Jingtu or Chan, each of which in its own way influenced the art of the Medieval China. Special attention is paid to the activities of the legendary translator, Xuanzang, whose travel to India gave a huge impetus to the development of Chinese philosophy in subsequent centuries, as well as to the contribution to Chinese culture and art, which was made by the translation activities of the “three great teachers of the Tang era” Shubhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):601-608
pages 601-608 views

PHILOSOPHY OF RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS RENAISSANCE

Passion of the Russian Soul in the Context of Nikolai Berdyaev's Philosophy

Khakhalova A.A.

Abstract

The paper compares two intellectual traditions, that is, psychoanalysis and Russian philosophy. As a result, it demonstrates the kinship of the main methodological principles of both of these two trends of thinking in twentieth century. First, a psychoanalytic image of the Russian type of cognition is set - this is an existentially loaded experience of asking the truth, carried out by a person from the people. In culture, this image is presented as an agent of truth, usually in need. The following demonstrates the attitude to this image in the work and personal way of knowing N.A. Berdyaev. In this part of the article, a psychoanalytic study of the work of the Russian philosopher is done. In particular, the neurotic nature of N. Berdyaev’s letter, which is expressed in the excessive emotionality of the text and the prophetic emphasis, which sets the tone throughout his work, is noted. The main part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the intuitive-symbolic method of working with consciousness in the psychoanalysis of Freud and the philosophy of Berdyaev. Here the author emphasizes the practical side of the psychoanalysis and to how an emotionally and bodily tinted meaning arises in that context. This phenomenological reconstruction allows us to draw a parallel with what constitutes a symbol in the tradition of Russian religious thought, which also notes the experienced nature of the work of obtaining the meaning of a symbolic utterance. In this perspective, the author conducts a hermeneutic reconstruction of the continuity of the method of these two traditions from mystical Christian theology, in which the knowledge of God is understood as a passionately lived experience of communication with the Other, which occupies the status of a lover. This article represents the initial stage of a more detailed study of the relationship between psychoanalysis and Russian philosophy.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):609-619
pages 609-619 views

Reception of V.S. Solovyov's Legacy in Russian Religious and Philosophical Thought: G.V. Florovsky's Case

Chernyaev A.V.

Abstract

Public interest in the legacy of Russian religious philosophy, and above all in the legacy of V. S. Solovyov, reached its peak at the turn of the 1990s, after which it declined. As indirect evidence of this, we can note the remaining unrealized idea of installing a monument to the philosopher, slowing down the pace of work on the release of a complete collection of his works, and reducing the number of works dedicated to him. The year of the centenary since the death of Solovyov (2000) was symptomatic, when the authoritative representatives of the Russian philosophical community, S.S. Khoruzhiy and P.P. Gaidenko made an ambiguous assessment of Solovyov's ideological heritage and its significance for the subsequent development of Russian socio-philosophical and religious-theological thought. In the article the statement that the genealogy of the critical interpretation of Solovyov's legacy goes back to the works of the philosopher and theologian G.V. Florovsky is substantiated. Florovsky influence in Russian studies, as well as in post-Soviet Russia in general is difficult to overestimate. In this regard, the author draws attention to the ideological evolution of Florovsky, which gives the key to his interpretation of Solovyov's philosophy. The analysis showed that Florovsky's critical reinterpretation of Solovyov's legacy had both a theoretical, theological, and doctrinal character, and was caused by certain socio-psychological factors related to the generational conflict between representatives and heirs of the Russian religious and philosophical Renaissance of the early XX century. It is demonstrated that the reception of Solovyov by Florovsky was very significant, influential and archetypal for Russian religious and philosophical thought, both in Russia and abroad.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):620-630
pages 620-630 views

Groundlessness of L. Shestov as the Way of Going Beyond the Mind

Goldberg D.V.

Abstract

The article is devoted to identifying the specifics of Russian philosophy through the analysis of F. M. Dostoevsky and L.N. Shestov’s texts. The stylistic features of the two philosophers have been considered, their ways of philosophizing and denying of the cult of reason have been examined. The analysis is carried out using additional literature of French existentialism (were used such philosophers who wrote in similar styles as philosophical essays). To date, there are many researches in which study features of Russian philosophy. It is noted, that one of them are imagery, inseparable connection between philosophy and faith and criticism of rationalism. The excessive cult of reason leads to such problems in the history as the creation of the hydrogen bomb, the environmental crisis and so on. The revolt against reason and the state of groundlessness are a response to the processes of modern rationalization and technocratization, an attempt to go beyond the limits of the usual paradigm, to get out of the closed subjectivity. Thus, it’s necessary to define the limits of the reason and develop a new way of philosophizing, for this reason it is proposed to consider the concept of groundlessness in the philosophy of L.N. Shestov, which makes the attempt to construct a philosophy, avoiding strict logic and excessive rationality.
RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):631-636
pages 631-636 views

ETHICS AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

Ethico-Theology without Postulates: Questioning the Prehistory of Kant’s Philosophical Theology

Sudakov A.K.

Abstract

According to the prevailing opinion of the Kantian scholars, Kant’s critique of the traditional philosophical theology in the chapter of his Critique of Pure Reason dedicated to the ideal of reason motivated his rejection of transcendental theology in favor of a construction foundeв on “postulates of reason”. An examination of Kant’s sistematics of philosophical-theological disciplines reveals nonetheless some changeability of the borderlines of transcendental theology. This means that Kant’s critical arguments do not necessarily affect all kinds of trancendental theology, and allows us to investigate Kant’s reflection of the transcendental ideal if reason as a foundation for an alternative version of philosophical ethico-theology which does not need “practical postulates”. In the first Critique there is no ground for such a construction, because Kant's concept of virtue remains partly naturalistic at that time. The idea of a pure aprioristic ethics of duty as expounded by Kant later furnished the needed conceptual foundation for a concept already prepared in the theory of the ideal, asserting the reality of a transcendental-practical ideal as a prototype of moral will, as humanity in its comprehensively determined moral perfection, as the realm of ethical ends, and lastly, in an anticipation of the “prototypical” Christology of Kant's late treatise on religion, as the divine human person within us. Compared with this version of transcendental philosophical theology Kant’s ethico-theology of “postulates” should be legitimately determined as a form of natural theology.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):637-656
pages 637-656 views

Violence and “Counter-Violence”. On Correct Rejection. A Sketch of a Possible Russian Ethics of War Considered through the Understanding of Violence in Tolstoy and in Petar II Petrović Njegoš

Bojanic P.

Abstract

The article’s intention is to construct a possible minimal response to violence, that is, to describe what would be justified (necessary or legitimate) “ противонасилие ” (counter-violence). This argument is built on reviving several important philosophical texts in Russian of the first half of the twentieth century as well as on going beyond that historical moment. Starting with the reconstruction of Tolstoy’s criticism of any use of violence, it is then shown that, paradoxically, resistance to Tolstoy’s or ‘pseudo’-Tolstoy’s teachings ends up incorporating Tolstoy’s thematization of counter-violence into various theories, which sought to legitimate the use of force. In particular, Tolstoy’s discovery of a force, which, on the one hand, is not grounded in violence and, on the other hand, which is capable of countering violence, becomes fundamental in reasoning about the just use of force. The connection is made between Tolstoy and Petar II Petrović Njegoš, who also thematizes the use of force in Christian perspective. In his view, justice, “blessed by the Creator’s hand,” has the capacity to protect from violent force. Any living thing defends itself from what endangers it by means Creator bestowed it with. Living force and protective use of force are conceptually linked in Njegoš’s reasoning. Thus, only protective force can defeat aggressive force. This is shown to be Njegoš’s contribution to the Orthodox Christian discourse on violence. If a force can be counter-violent, the next step in our argument would be to search for a protocol that should have universal validity, that is, it has to be valid for all conflicting sides, The protocol of counter-violence requires that, firstly, it is a response to violence; secondly, it interrupts violence and forestalls any possible future violence (it is the ‘last’ violence); thirdly, it is subject to verification, it addresses those who are a priori against any response to violence (which usually refers to various forms of “Tolstoyism”). Finally, it is shown that state power does not create law, but it is being right that makes law or gives life to social order, and thereby can authorize the use of force. This is the innovation in the histories of justification of force, absent in the West. Aggressive violence can necessarily be opposed only in the way that implies the possibility of constituting law and order.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):657-668
pages 657-668 views

ONTOLOGY AND GNOSEOLOGY

Hellenic Theology of Early Classical Period

Naidysh V.M.

Abstract

The author analyzes the transformations of Hellenic theology’s content and forms in the epoch of early antique classics (1st half of the 5th century B.C.). The general orientation of such transformations is the generalization of mythological gods’ meanings into the abstract implications of the Absolute, which is not yet sacral in its full sense and not transcendent. Besides, this period is the end of the “decentralization of consciousness”. Cognitive limitations to the development of abstract conceptual thinking and the rational component of consciousness are removed. This process’s main points transform mythology into artistic and aesthetic creativity (folklore, mythopoetic epic, etc.), religious consciousness, and theology. Rationalism is always critical. Critical rationalism inevitably leads to historicism. Therefore, the formation of a historical attitude strengthens at the sight of the critical approach. The world's mythological image is increasingly being questioned (first in parts, and then in general). Its content is being transferred to the past. Finally, the era of early classicism comes into play. It is a time when theology becomes a field of philosophical and theoretical reflection on myth and an area of its artistic and aesthetic experience. The most influential form of such an understanding of myth was the theater. The ancient theater served as a “spiritual and practical” form of ancient theology, a subject embodiment of theology in stage action.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):669-680
pages 669-680 views

The Concept of Time in Soviet Neoclassicism (On the Example of Architectural Discourse)

Kruglova T.A.

Abstract

The article discusses the process of switching temporal regimes in Soviet culture at the turn of the 1920s - and during the 1930s on the material of architecture. The concepts of time in constructivism and neoclassicism are compared since the struggle between them determined the main vectors of artistic development in the reconstruction period. The author analyzes the discourse of the official position in relation to the main trends in the development of architecture in the context of the periodization of socialist construction and elicits the reasons for supporting the reference to the classical heritage. The change of political agenda (the transition from dismantling the old order and the rectification of the consequences of the collapse of the social fabric as a way to build a new social order) set new requirements for architecture as the most important way of social representation. The new society - socialism - was interpreted in constructivism, which was the leading direction of 1920s architecture, in the modus of the future. In the neoclassicism of the 1930s, socialism was placed in the modus of the present. Constructivism was aimed at the pragmatics of restoring social fabric and solving current problems (mass housing, a new social infrastructure), as well as at constructing a future society and human. At the end of the first five-year plan, the authorities set other goals for culture in general and architecture in particular: the representation of achievements and the expression of the greatness of socialist construction. Neoclassicism was called upon to perpetuate the present state of affairs in the modus of real perfection and superiority of Soviet socialism over any other formats of social life. Between the time of creation (constructivism) and the time of completion (neoclassicism), there is formed a gap that must be hidden. As a way of hiding the temporal gap were chosen classical principles of form-making and examples of the Renaissance and Russian classicism, that were designed to convincingly demonstrate, on the one hand, the possibility of accelerating and compressing time, the swiftness of achieving the ideal, and on the other hand, tp depreciate innovations, make the idea of the movement of time into the future unnecessary. The theory of the leading neoclassicist I. Zholtovsky is discussed as an alternative to the utopian interpretation of time in constructivism, as materializing the mythological time, in which the source and end of creation are given simultaneously in the modus of eternity.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):681-693
pages 681-693 views

Time and Enlightenment

Soboleva M.

Abstract

The subject of the work's analysis is the phrase “Time, forward!”. It seems that, on the one hand, this statement can be given a sociological interpretation. In this case, its content is the idea of acceleration and purposefulness of the “big,” collective time, which dominates the individual and determines his life. On the other hand, referring to Hegel, one can identify the project of Enlightenment behind this phrase. It involves the movement of the spirit from a state of alienation from itself in the object's idea to itself through the achievement of autonomy in the belief of concepts tested by its reflection alone. The socially significant meaning of such a speculative thinking project is to get rid of the despotism of dominant opinions on the path of critical, dialectical, and speculative thinking.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):694-703
pages 694-703 views

PERSON AND CULTURE IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION

Jihad and Hijra Concepts Emergence in Face of Globalization and Postmodernism

Correa H.E.

Abstract

The hypothesis of our work is that the concepts of globalization, the information technology boom and Postmodernism are closely linked and that somehow eroded the ontological concepts of identity, individual and cultural diversity, in terms of the relationship “I and the other”. In the international strategic framework that “other” has fallen on Arab-Islamic culture. The thought of the Western world, with its logic of instrumental rationality has built stereotypes about that culture, ignoring its archetype. This reality is the one that perceives the concepts of the Arab-Islamic tradition of “Jihad” and “Hijra” only as ideas that lead to the destruction and not as a heritage of the philosophical and religious thought for the development of humanity. From a Jungian interpretation, both concepts and the psychic behaviors that derive from them, outside the fallacious and violent interpretations, are valuable contributions to humanity in the current situation.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):704-719
pages 704-719 views

Ethnic Tourism as Knowing Other

Chistyakova O.V.

Abstract

The article is dedicated to considering ethnic tourism in its importance to comprehend modern cultures that are Others to the traveler's experience. In this regard, ethnic tourism is presented from the Other's cognition, i.e., the way of life of a nation, its religious and ethnic values and traditions, historical past and legends, and geographical specificity of residence. Thus, the meaning of ethnic tourism is related to the human desire to discover other cultural and social spaces. Simultaneously, the article shows how another culture's perception affects the awareness of a tourist's identity. The author notes that ethnic tourism aims at fixing the distinctive features and specifics of people's life. Therefore, this type of tourism is most conducive to forming images and perceptions of ethnic and cultural diversity. The author substantiates the role of ethnic tourism to establish a dialogue of cultures in the modern world. Distinctive features of globalization, particularly travelers' continuous mobility, the conversation of ethnic groups, and the value-based mutual enrichment of peoples, have been deduced. Some theoretical approaches of Russian philosophers to the study of ethnic tourism are defined. The researcher emphasizes the idea of a correlation between ethnic cultures and religions. In this regard, early Christianity's theological ideas are conditioned in terms of their impact on the subsequent formation of pilgrimages and the modern religious tourism organization. The contemporary unity of ethnic culture and religiosity is vividly manifested in the uniqueness of the Old Believers' tradition of the Kerzhak resettlers living in the Altai Mountains. The article concludes that ethnicity should be acknowledged in any tourism organization, especially religious and pilgrimage types.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):720-729
pages 720-729 views

SCHOLARLY LIFE

Cognitive investigations in Kantian perspective: towards new synthesis

Arkhiereev N.L., Ivleva M.L., Baldo Dagtcmaa ..

Abstract

This is a review of the book “Mozg - kultura - socium. Kantianskaya programma v cognitivnykh issledovaniyakh” by Bazhanov V.A. The author`s main aim is a reconsideration of some fundamental principles of epistemology and philosophy of science in the light of state-of-the-art advancements of neurosciences. According to the author of the book, social and cultural revolution in neurosciences has been crucially modifying the initial Kantian program of consciousness research and the modes of linguistic representation of its results. In particular, in epistemology the universal concept of transcendental subject has been altered with regard to neurobiological and social data, which concern some preconditions of cognitive activity. In philosophy of science such a shift of research perspective allows to implement a naturalistic interpretation of natural sciences, clarifies the problem of empirical foundations of mathematics and sheds a new light on the problem of apriori elements of mathematical thought. The analysis of evolutionary and neurobiological preconditions of logical thought leads to the sort of revival of psychologism program in logic, which enables author to put forward an original interpretation of the problem of plurality of logical systems. Finally, some topics of social sciences as well as problems of genesis of art, ethical and religious systems, can acquire new interpretation with respect to modern investigations in cognitive science.

RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2020;24(4):730-737
pages 730-737 views

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