The question of whether there are cultural borders between East and West is thrown up by the clear awareness of a process exacerbating worldwide contradictions which politicians call the Clash of Civilizations. However, UNESCO proposes that this opposition should be transformed into a more peaceful Dialogue of Civilizations. It is obvious that in both cases we need to disentangle the causes of differences that undoubtedly have ancient roots.

Résumé Une telle question est générée par la prise de conscience d’une intensification des contradictions à un niveau global de civilisation. Les politiciens parlent souvent, à ce propos, de « choc ». Il paraît justifié d’examiner les raisons de ces contradictions qui ont des racines historiques. L’auteur considère que l’on ne peut pas parler en bloc de « culture de l’Orient », ni de « civilisation orientale ». En revanche, les formules de « culture occidentale », « civilisation occidentale » (...) lui semblent renvoyer à un sens concret. Et cela parce que l’Occident est une notion à bien des égards, compacte, notamment sous l’angle religieux. Il convient de réfléchir sur les rapports, toujours d’actualité, entre la Foi et le Savoir, apparus dès l’aube de la culture, et poser la question des raisons pour lesquelles les principales réligions monotheistes, à l’exception notable du christianisme, ont freiné le développement de la science et de la technique. Si l’on privilégie souvent les mouvements d’échanges entre l’Orient et l’Occident, en une marche vers le couchant (retour de nombreux acquis de la civilisation hellénique au travers de la pensée arabe), ne sont aucunement à négliger les mouvements inverses qui ont grandement à voir avec l’attrait pour les acquis des grandes civilisations orientales. (shrink)

The era in which Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī emerged as a canonical scientist significantly contributed to his education and shaped his scientific worldview. The formation of al-Farabi’s spiritual worldview and his ideas is directly associated with embracing the ancient philosophical tradition, more precisely, Aristotle’s philosophy and logic. The focus of the article is alFarabi’s analysis of Aristotle’s principles in the study of logic and their further development. Al-Farabi’s worldwide reputation as the Second Teacher after Aristotle, the First Teacher, in the East (...) is directly rooted in his mastery and advancement of the science of logic. In simple terms, the philosopher states that logic leads a person to a straight path to being capable of radically discerning between good and bad, truth and lies, and honesty and deceit. This, in turn, steers humanity away from succumbing to mistakes or getting into trouble. Al-Farabi constructs a comprehensive scientific analysis of the socio-cultural foundations of Aristotle’s doctrine of logic and the ability to adapt it in his unique way to society. The study of the theoretical basis of al-Farabi’s teachings on logic and its significance involves employing hermeneutic, comparative, and stylistic methods in the research of the texts. (shrink)

The article discusses the origins, formation, and development of the scientific school of chemical physics and nanotechnology in Kazakhstan. The authors describe the achievements of a scientific school that is on par with the best of its kind locally and globally, adding new competitive results of practical relevance to the economic development of the country. The article also highlights the special role of the outstanding scientist Zulkhair Aimukhametovich Mansurov in the development of the methodological foundations of the scientific school, the (...) targeted training of the scientific personnel in the priority areas of the development of Kazakhstani chemical physics, and the creation of nanoscale materials for multifunctional purposes. Also, the main principles of the philosophy of Mansurov’s scientific school are presented. (shrink)