Several months ago, after I volunteered to examine Dmytro Chyzhevs'kyi's works on the history of philosophy in Ukraine, I found myself with a dilemma. The first problem was that I did not possess a first-hand knowledge of Ukrainian literature to conceive independently a history of philosophy in Ukraine to act as a foil against Chyzhevs'kyi's views. The second problem was that my reading of Chyzhevs'kyi resulted in an unmanageable pile of criticism. The result is that what I have to (...) say is both too little and too much: too little because I have no worked out alternative to Chyzhevs'kyi's history; too much because I cannot give an adequate critique in some twenty minutes. With such a dilemma, I follow the standard procedure in limiting myself to one thesis. Simply put, my thesis is that Chyzhevs'kyi has a confused concept of philosoply. But, then, it may be rather that I am confused about Chyzhevs'kyi's clear concept of philosophy. Whatever the case, let me explain why I find his concept of philosophy confusing. (shrink)

Dmytro Blazheiovskyi about History of Ukrainians.

У статті здійснюється аналіз терміна «дґ’яна». Висвітлюються зміни, як зазнавало дане поняття в період «Ріґведи» та упанішад. Проаналізовано п’ятнадцять уривків з різних текстів, де названий термін вживається. У висновках показано відмінність в розумінні цього терміна і його трансформацію від зверненої назовні думки, що об’єднує людину з метафізичним світом в «Ріґведі», до конкретної практики в упанішадах, необхідної для внутрішньопсихічної трансформації і досягнення езотеричного розуміння.

Eucharistic ecclesiology, which underlies Orthodox ecclesiology, has at its core a communion between the Local Churches. In practice, it manifests itself in the mutual recognition between the various autocephalous and autonomous Churches. The head of a separate Church of the Universal Orthodoxy during the Liturgy commemorates all the leaders of other self-governing Orthodox Churches. Communion through the sacraments also happens between the Churches, namely, unity is manifested through communion in the Eucharist. The teachings of the early Christian author, Ignatius Theophoros, (...) Bishop of Antioch, formed the basis of the local structure of the Church. The main principle of his theology is the unity of all the faithful of a certain territory around his bishop, that is, the common communion of all Christians in the Eucharist, which only the bishop of that territory is entitled to fulfill. The bishop, in turn, is a member of the "universal bishopric" and through it the local church is part of the one universal Church. (shrink)

У статті проведено економетричний аналіз з метою дослідження характеру впливу країнних ризиків на прямі іноземні інвестиції і транснаціональні корпорації за кордоном. За допомогою кореляційно-регресійної моделі встановлено універсальний показник для відображення ризику щодо здійснення ПІІ і діяльності ТНК в країнах, що розвиваються. Виявлено негативний зв'язок між індексом ЕМВІ та прямими іноземними інвестиціями ТНК. Емпірично доведено негативний вплив країнних ризиків на надходження ПІІ у певну країну і діяльність ТНК.

The purpose of this article was to comprehensively explore the phenomenon of the narrative of the Decalogue in its fundamental principles in the context of the theological understanding of Jewish law. For this purpose abstract-logical methods, historical-legal, phenomenological, axiological, epistemological methods, method of critical and systematic analysis and method of comparative theology were used. The result is a theological understanding of the basic moral and legal principles and reducing to a single, systematic; a study of the correlation between the normative (...) and the moral side of such a narrative was conducted. Of particular importance is the establishment and isolation of the basic initial principle in the defined context that underlies both Sinai law and all the biblical law. Because with the change of historical realities, which coincided with the destruction of the Temple and the termination of sacrifices, the law has also changed. However, the biblical law was of particular ideological importance, it set the tone and revealed and formed the basic principles for the further development of all Jewish law. Therefore, in our study we have drawn attention to the main ideological features of the biblical laws, because in our opinion, the basic formative essence is hidden in them and only by understanding it − will we be able to understand Jewish law itself. However, the phenomenon of law and even more so of Jewish law, is one of the best regulators and exponents of the educational principle that is designed to raise a person in love. Of course, morality is called for it and it should take precedence over everything else, but the legal part should not be ignored. Law should serve as a socially just, integrative, fundamental, binding, most effective, most respected regulator. Therefore, the problem of combining legal principles and moral precepts for biblical law did not stand basically. The significant part of the adopted legal norms initially was characterized by moral prescriptions, confirmed and expressed by law. Such a transition, the shift from morality to law, and the close relationship between them are one inseparable whole. And apart from Halacha, which was responsible for the legal aspect, there were also the writings of the prophets whose task was to illuminate the transition from law to morality, because precisely morality is the essence of everything. Here is the true meaning of the existence of a legal expression of such an educational principle. Thus, the basic educational principle of the Decalogue, in particular, and of biblical law in general, was to educate a high-moral person who had restrictive precepts that would not allow him to fall into lawlessness, and the formative commandments that would allow a person to be educated in the search for God, and to stabilize himself in the godlike state commanded by God through Moses. That is the essence of the Decalogue and Jewish law. The educational principle, both basic and effective, though not so familiar to the modern understanding of the nature of law, is precisely the principle that laid down both the basis of the Decalogue and the foundation of all Jewish law at least in its biblical part. (shrink)

The present article aims to examine the Black Sea / Kuban Cossacks' songs as one of the most important historical sources, which allows us to understand the important aspects of the history of the North Caucasus Ukrainian people'. This is primarily due to the new challenges needed to study the evolution of their identity, certain features of the mentality, and "survival strategies" characteristic for the Ukrainian population in the region. New questions put by historians require expansion of sources where song (...) tradition, folklore, etc., can become invaluable material for comprehension and interpretation of the new understanding of the history process. The authors have based on the fact that in recent times there have been a fundamental change of attitude towards scientific issues and accordingly to sources, which scientists were based on. Strict approaches and requirements to sources which historians relied on during the period of "positivism" have become much more flexible and spread to the analysis of art, culture and folklore of certain social groups and historical periods. It has become possible to find new approaches to solving problems of scientific research and expand the range of issues which can already be answered. One of the unexplored phenomena, yet barely covered in the domestic science is the history of Ukrainian communities of the North Caucasus area. The authors propose to consider the peculiarities of mentality of this community through the prism of song tradition of the Black Sea / Kuban Cossacks that played a crucial role in all spheres of life. Besides, the features of song traditions of Ukrainian Cossacks which react very quickly to current events of certain historical periods allows us to consider it as a very important indicator of community' response to new circumstances in which the community was. The approach enables us to view features of "history of mentalities" of the Ukrainian community in the region much more than focusing on official documents and political declarations. (shrink)

Contemporary medical diagnostics has a dynamic moral landscape, which includes a variety of agents, factors, and components. A significant part of this landscape is composed of information technologies that play a vital role in doctors’ decision-making. This paper focuses on the so-called Intelligent Decision-Support System that is widely implemented in the domain of contemporary medical diagnosis. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, I will show that the IDSS may be considered a moral agent in the practice of medicine (...) today. To develop this idea I will introduce the approach to artificial agency provided by Luciano Floridi. Simultaneously, I will situate this approach in the context of contemporary discussions regarding the nature of artificial agency. It is argued here that the IDSS possesses a specific sort of agency, includes several agent features (e.g. autonomy, interactivity, adaptability), and hence, performs an autonomous behavior, which may have a substantial moral impact on the patient’s well-being. It follows that, through the technology of artificial neural networks combined with ‘deep learning’ mechanisms, the IDSS tool achieves a specific sort of independence (autonomy) and may possess a certain type of moral agency. Second, I will provide a conceptual framework for the ethical evaluation of the moral impact that the IDSS may have on the doctor’s decision-making and, consequently, on the patient’s wellbeing. This framework is the Object-Oriented Model of Moral Action developed by Luciano Floridi. Although this model appears in many contemporary discussions in the field of information and computer ethics, it has not yet been applied to the medical domain. This paper addresses this gap and seeks to reveal the hidden potentialities of the OOP model for the field of medical diagnosis. (shrink)

This paper aims to highlight the life of computer technologies to understand what kind of ‘technological intentionality’ is present in computers based upon the phenomenological elements constituting the objects in general. Such a study can better explain the effects of new digital technologies on our society and highlight the role of digital technologies by focusing on their activities. Even if Husserlian phenomenology rarely talks about technologies, some of its aspects can be used to address the actions performed by the digital (...) technologies by focusing on the objects’ inner ‘life’ thanks to the analysis of passive synthesis and phenomenological horizons in the objects. These elements can be used in computer technologies to show how digital objects are ‘alive.’ This paper focuses on programs developed through high-order languages like C++ and unsupervised learning techniques like ‘Generative Adversarial Model.’ The phenomenological analysis reveals the computer’s autonomy within the programming stages. At the same time, the conceptual inquiry into the digital system’s learning ability shows the alive and changeable nature of the technological object itself. (shrink)

Intelligent algorithms together with various machine learning techniques hold a dominant position among major challenges for contemporary value sensitive design. Self-learning capabilities of current AI applications blur the causal link between programmer and computer behavior. This creates a vital challenge for the design, development and implementation of digital technologies nowadays. This paper seeks to provide an account of this challenge. The main question that shapes the current analysis is the following: What conceptual tools can be developed within the value sensitive (...) design school of thought for evaluating machine learning algorithms where the causal relation between designers and the behavior of their computer systems has been eroded? The answer to this question will be provided through two levels of investigation within the value sensitive design methodology. The first level is conceptual. Within the conceptual level, we will introduce the notion of computer intentionality and will show how this term may be used for solving an issue of non-causal relation between designer and computer system. The second level of investigation is technical. At this level the emphasis will be given to machine learning algorithms. (shrink)

The paper “Crisis of the consumer society: searching for a new ideology” studies the ideology of the consumer society and its main tendencies such as values substitution, human self-isolation and loneliness and the dehumanization of the world. Based on the analysis of contemporary mass art and advertisements the author traces the growing gap between the real life of people and the dominating consumerist model of society. The author evaluates different radical movements (nationalist, racial, religious) as people’s attempt to discover their (...) identity, to find genuine feelings and experiences in the consumerist society. This results in the increase of xenophobia and intolerance in the intertwined and fragile modern world. The paper also states the possible solution to this problem – ajoint effort of the philosophers of the world to create a new, nonconsumerism ideology that would be able to overcome the existing detachment among people. (shrink)

У статті, на основі усних свідчень воїнів-"афганців", джерел особистого походження та різнопланової літератури зроблена спроба показати соціокультурний простір Афганістану в період війни 1979-1989 рр.через сприйняття радянських бійців. Простежено соціально-економічне становище місцевого населення, що свідчило про значну майнову диференціацію. Це дало підстави як дослідникам, так і воїнам-"афганцям", говорити про анахронізми "феодального" ладу в країні. Визначено низку управлінських проблем в умовах війни. Установлено, що різне ставлення афганців до контингенту радянських військ в Афганістані залежало від "національно-етнічної", економічної та релігійної приналежності членів афганського соціуму.

The purpose of the present article is to contribute to the postphenomenological theory of technological mediation by introducing a new type of ‘human-technology’ relation named ‘transcending mediation’. Previously postphenomenology didn’t pay much attention to the role technology plays in mediating human relation to Transcendence. This was because of empirical turn and pragmatism that are anti-metaphysical in their nature. In the present paper, however, I will show that the empirical element of technology can be balanced by some metaphysical findings. Keeping this (...) in mind, I will rely on Karl Jaspers’s metaphysics of ciphers in order to demonstrate how technology mediates not only our relation to the world but also shapes human’s relation to Transcendence. As I am going to show in the present paper, this sort of mediation becomes possible because technologies are actively participating in so-called self-transcending practices. The latter, according to Karl Jaspers, are practices through which humans can elucidate one’s true self (e.g., become an Existenz). In this article, I will take a case of Smart education as a particular type of self-transcending practice and will show how contemporary AI educational systems enable and disable particular forms of becoming true self (Existenz). (shrink)

This paper revives phenomenological elements to have a better framework for addressing the implications of technologies on society. For this reason, we introduce the motto “back to the technologies themselves” to show how some phenomenological elements, which have not been highlighted in the philosophy of technology so far, can be fruitfully integrated within the postphenomenological analysis. In particular, we introduce the notion of technological intentionality in relation to the passive synthesis in Husserl’s phenomenology. Although the notion of technological intentionality has (...) already been coined in postphenomenology, it is “in tension” with the notion of technological mediation since there are still no clear differences between these two concepts and studies on how they relate one to another. The tension between mediation and intentionality arises because it seems intuitively reasonable to suggest that intentionality differs from mediation in a number of ways; however, these elements have not been clearly clarified in postphenomenology so far. To highlight what technological intentionality is and how it differs from mediation, we turn the motto “back to the things themselves” into “back to the technologies themselves,” showing how the technologies have to be taken into consideration by themselves. More specifically, we use the concept of passive synthesis developed by Husserl, and we apply it to technologies to show their inner passive activity. The notion of the passive synthesis enables to demonstrate how technologies are able to connect to a wider (technological) environment without the subjects’ activity. Consequently, we claim that technologies have their pole of action, and they passively act by themselves. (shrink)

Метою даної статті стало дослідження принципу Таліону як основного принципу дії єврейського права. Для цього було використано абстрактно-логічні методи, історико-правовий, феноменологічний, аксіологічний, гносеологічний методи, метод критичного та системного аналізу, метод компаративної теології. У результаті дослідження було богословсько охарактеризовано принцип Таліону, виявлено деякі проблемні моменти в цілісному розумінні даного принципу та запропоновано концепцію прямого взаємозв'язку між основними принципами формування і застосування єврейського права в біблійний період. Останнє й взяло на себе функцію наукової новизни цього дослідження, показало максимально тісний взаємозв'язок і кореляцію, (...) що, своєю чергою, дало можливість цілісно поглянути на певні проблеми і задати правильний алгоритм для подальших досліджень названої тематики. (shrink)

Last year, the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” celebrated the 25 th anniversary. This article confines to this very special event and analyzes three important anthropological studies that deal with moral components of human being. The research directions have been formed at the Department since its establishment in 1992. -/- The first part of the article focuses mainly on the Kantian studies. According to Kant’s anthropology, human nature should be explored on two levels: empirical and intelligible. (...) Empirical level deals with general causality and considers the human being as the one entirely determined by nature. The second level considers the man from the perspective of freedom, moral activity, capacity to create aims and legislation. The research primarily gives a general scale of Kantian intelligible anthropology, which appears as a two-dimensional framework and consists of moral anthropological perspective and the one which Kant calls anthroponymy. Only the combination of these two aspects can allow us to comprehend the human nature as a whole. -/- The second section of this article will shed a light on the Nietzschean anthropological theory. The paper elucidates three basic dimensions of Nietzschean critical anthropology. First of all, of the author comments on Nietzsche’s critique of Christian morality. Next, he articulates the Nietzschean idea of self-overcoming. Finally, the author identifies the main features of his genealogy of morality. All those components bound together can provide a wide horizon of Nietzschean opinion on the ethical dimension of human being. -/- The last part of this article considers modern techno-anthropology in a broad sense. The problem of human and technology relation is considered in an ethical dimension, which unites all the three research directions. In this section, the author discusses the main components of technological mediation and non-neutrality. Using these two concepts, he proves that human nature (even in its ethical dimension) is not an autonomous and independent actor but the one that is deeply connected with the world and others through technology. -/- . (shrink)

Стаття містить результати дослідження, яке дало можливість удосконалити систему показників діагностування ефективності управління структурою капіталу акціонерних енергогенеруючих товариств, що, на відміну від існуючих, базується на аналізі управління власним та борговим капіталами з урахуванням значень економічної доданої вартості для них. Це дозволяє визначити "вузькі місця" в управлінні складниками структури капіталу акціонерних товариств та надати відповідні рекомендації для прийняття раціональних управлінських рішень. Обґрунтовано, що до показників оцінювання ефективності управління структурою капіталу акціонерних товариств доцільно відносити показник визначення рентабельності інвестованого капіталу, визначення структури капіталу, (...) фінансового важеля, середньозваженої вартості капіталу та економічної доданої вартості, яка є ключовим показником у рамках визначного комплексу. (shrink)

Modern transformation of religious institutions and religion in general, affect the livelihoods of the western society. Today there are so many religious movements that offer a solution to secularized man's material and spiritual problems. Some came from the East, the other formed under the influence of modern culture and media. There are two main areas: first representatives insist on religious adaptation to social norms, the latter require preservation of authentic religious forms and principles. Some researchers emphasize the possibility of combining (...) scientific and religious worldviews - this compromise position will allow to reconcile the two camps, whose representatives are in a state of confrontation. Virtualization social life leads to changes within the religious organizations and the emergence of new trends, which focus on the development of communication technologies and the creation of new philosophical approaches. Traditional religious systems use virtual space as a tool for data transfer, but refuse to implement religious practices in the virtual space. The third kind of organizations - conformists, appealing to tradition, but using modern science. Technological process leads to a change in the nature of the human person, which adapts to the new conditions and accepts new cultural, religious, and ideological positions. This leads to both personal and social changes, which are the subject of this article. (shrink)

At the present stage of scientific research, one of the undefined problems in religious studies is, first of all, the problem of the expediency and relevance of the use of the term "primitive religions" or "primitive religious beliefs" in relation to both representatives of Aboriginal peoples of the present and the analysis of the development of religions in the history of forms of religion. discovered in general. The problem of determining the original religion and its forms of expression is somewhat (...) compounded by the fact that the use of special terminology in theoretical developments depends not only on the various features of research methodological approaches, but also on the language in which studies are commonly published. Therefore, the use of one or the other terminology requires the isolation of a possible synonym for relatively adequate nomination of these religious manifestations. (shrink)

Indigenous beliefs of Australia have attracted the attention of numerous generations of researchers of the XIX - XX centuries. The reasons for this interest were not limited by the exotic beliefs of the traditional beliefs of the distant region of the planet. Anthropologists, ethnographers, sociologists, historians and religious scholars, considering the preservation of one of the most archaic systems of economy and social organization among the tribes of Australia, respectively, considered the aboriginal beliefs as a spiritual result, reflecting the most (...) archaic system of social relations, referring to them as a kind, "The standard of primordial religion." So, the Soviet researcher S. Tokarev notes that the beliefs of Australians are the most archaic religious phenomenon that has remained to this day and a classic, typical example of totemism. (shrink)

The emergence and spread of various non-pagan religious movements can be called one of the global trends of today. This process is also characteristic of individual religious manifestations in Ukrainian society. On the territory of Ukraine, the revival and activation of non-pagan movements has its own specificity. We highlight some aspects of the phenomenon of revival of the Ukrainian denomination not only in its general confessional expressions, but also from the standpoint of scientific determination and investigation of the problems of (...) self-identification of representatives of different currents of Ukrainian neo-paganism. First of all, we include in the concept of "self-identification" the following points: national self-determination of an individual, confessional self-name, which signifies belonging to a certain religious organization and attributes of self-determination, which has its manifestation in national and religious symbolism, clothing elements and more. (shrink)

Information about the Department of Religious Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine during 2013.

One of the most important discourses in contemporary religious studies is the definition of the essence and role of religious education and the problem of its coexistence with the secular. On this occasion in the circle of researchers there are diverse, sometimes opposite, points of view. The following headings of the reception of expediency of the implementation of religious education are as follows: 1) the emphasis on the current legislation on the separation of church from the state, in particular the (...) laws of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" and "On Education"; 2) comparison of foreign experience in implementation of the implementation of religious education in the practice of social life, comparative analysis of the positions of supporters and opponents of religious education; 3) outline the problems of religious and spiritual education in the context of the formation of state-church relations, the complexity of incorporation of the religious component into the system of secular education, their demarcation; 4) the relevance of the distinction and delineation of religious and religious studies, the specificity of their functional orientation. (shrink)

У статті розглядаються та аналізуються основні теоретико-методологічні підходи до висвітлення проблематики становлення та формування модерних націй, витоків їхніх ідеологічних, соціально-економічних та історичних основ. Уважається, що в наш час, коли такі поняття, як "нація", "національна держава", "національна ідентичність" набули широкого вжитку в політичному дискурсі держави, наукове обґрунтування цих термінів та визначення інтелектуального та історичного їх змісту є особливо актуальним та важливим.

У статті розглядаються основні напрями колонізаційної політики Російської імперії по відношенню до татарського населення Північного Кавказу під час експансії в Криму та на Кавказі в другій половині ХVІІІ ст. Висвітлюються обставини знищення ногайських татар, які жили на Кубані, геноцид по відношенню до мешканців цієї території, основні стратегії, які поєднували в собі підрив єдності татарської спільноти, розпалювання ворожнечі між татарськими кланами та безпосереднє знищення татар шляхом прямої військової агресії.

In article the author investigates evolution of legal status of the Black Sea Cossack Host in the general administrative and legal system of the Russian empire. The author considers the basic stages of this evolution in a concrete historical context, shows, how depending on concrete historical circumstances legal status of the Black Sea Cossack Host changed. Proceeding from the received results, the author comes to a conclusion that to Cossack elite which has been closely connected with the simple Cossacks, long (...) time was possible to keep as much as possible wide autonomy of the Black Sea Cossack Host, to save up high enough level of democratic traditions of the Ukrainian Cossacks - the self-management, an influential role of Cossack communities, rather considerable economic independence. Thanks to persistence and diplomatic abilities of heads of the Black Sea Cossacks, it was possible to them to achieve from imperial structures of acceptance of such acts which allowed Cossacks of Kuban to keep a wide autonomy that favourably distinguished these Cossacks from other Cossack formations of the Russian empire. (shrink)

Стаття присвячена філософському осмисленню автономної людини. Філософія людини – один із найбільш актуальних напрямків сучасної філософії. Нашою метою є дослідити лінії артикуляції автономної людини в західноєвропейській філософії. Звертається увага на те, що дослідження філософської антропології дозволяє вирізнити дві стратегії артикуляції автономної людини: радикальну скінченність і план іманенції. Перша стратегія зумовлена новим співвідношенням скінченного і нескінченного. Запроваджена І. Кантом формоутворювальна скінченність займає місце нескінченності, що дозволяє розуміти людину як обмежувача сил скінченного. Друга стратегія пов’язана з відкриттям радикальної іманентності, яка дає змогу (...) мислити людину поза трансцендентними подвоєннями. Радикальну іманентність не варто зводити лише до секуляризації, тому що вона репрезентує принципову настанову, яка визначила конфігурацію диспозитивів знання і влади. Означені диспозитиви, з одного боку, сформували автономне розуміння людського, а з іншого – створили умови кризи цієї автономності. Одним із наслідків цих процесів є виникнення філософії культури, яка маркує сферу автономно осмисленого людського. (shrink)

Over the last 30 years, the growing role of political Islam has attracted attention from both the media and academia. Although it is given various names, such as "Islamic fundamentalism", "militant Islam", "political Islam", all this is due to the fact that a certain trend in Islamic movement is gaining more influence in politics and security in the global scale. The decisive moment in this was the overthrow in 1979 of the pro-Western Shah monarchy in Iran and the creation of (...) the first theocratic world in the modern world there. (shrink)