TRADITIONS AND PECULIARITIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT

Plan 1. Peculiar features of Ukrainian philosophic thought 2. Main periods of philosophy development in Ukraine 3. Philosophical ideas of H.S. Skovoroda

1. Peculiar features of Ukrainian philosophic thought The main peculiarity of Ukrainian philosophy is its humanistic, anthropological aspiration. Ukrainian philosophy was directed not so much on achievement of abstract truth about essence of life, but on search of the truth and wisdom, on search of the answer to a question «How to live?»

Such practical-moral orientation of Ukrainian philosophy caused the appearance of the tradition, which was called “philosophy of heart” (its different aspects were described in the creativity of H.Skovoroda, Yurkevych, P.Kulish, etc.). The essence of this tradition is in aspiration to find the deepest bases of a sincere human life, than the level of reason. Only "heart" from which feelings, emotions, experiences are born, are really an interior of human soul, instead of cold mind. From «philosophy of heart» the original gnosiological position proceeds; estimates emotions, feelings as a way of knowledge (N.Gogol, Yurkevych).

H.Skovoroda

P.Kulish

P.Yurkevych

D. Chyzhevskyy considers, that the Ukrainian philosophy has tested especial influence from the side of antique-Byzantine culture, culture of baroque and romantic cultural tradition. Modern researchers, especially V.S. Horskyy, consider, that these three types of culture can be put in a basis of periodisation of the Ukrainian philosophy.

2. Main periods of philosophy development in Ukraine The first period of development of the Ukrainian philosophy — prince time The first period of development of the Ukrainian philosophy — prince time, since times of Christianity of the Kiev Rus and finishing with the lost of independence by the Halytsko-Volynsk princedom (XI-XIV c.). A spiritual source of philosophical idea of that time was the antique inheritance and patristic (products of church fathers — Ioana Zlatousta, Grygoria Bohoslova, Ioana Damaskina, etc.).

Ioana Zlatousta

Grygoria Bohoslova

Ioana Damaskina

Ilarion Volodymyr Monomah Nestor Except the translations of bible books, antique, Byzantine, Bulgarian authors, compositions of church fathers and their interpretations, there are also original products of thinkers of the Kiev Rus. Among them it is necessary to point out “Slovo pro zakon i blahodat” (“Word about the law and grace”) by the Kiev metropolitan Ilarion, sermons of Kyrylo Turovskyy, "Povchannya" ("Lectures") by Volodymyr Monomah, “Slovo o polku Igorevim” (“The word about Igor's regiment”) by Nestor, etc.

The second period of philosophical idea in Ukraine includes time of Cossacks (XVI-XVIII c.). It is the so-called period of the baroque in the Ukrainian culture. For the baroque as the phenomena of culture, as the certain art style there is characteristic of the decorative effect, theatricality; aspiration to contrasts, to synthesis and connections frequently opposite styles, genres, ideas. An ideal of the baroque culture becomes «the heroic person».

Petro Mohyla Kiev fraternal school under the direction of metropolitan Petro Mohyla becomes the higher educational institution (1632), and then it receives the status of Academy. Professors of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy were: S.Yavorskyy, F.Prokopovych, H.Konyskyy, M.Kozachynskyy, S.Kulyabka, I.Hizel, H.Shcherbatskyy, etc.

Petro Mohyla

Kiev-Mohyla Academy

Activity of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy divides into two stages. The first stage covers the time from the establishment till the end of the XVIII c. It was the period of separation of the philosophy from theology, from theological problems. The second stage — XVIII c. — is marked by influence of the West-European philosophy of New Age and Enlightenment. Nature-philosophy, the theory of cognition, logic becomes the basic problems on the courses of professors of the Kiev- Mohyla Academy.

The third period of the Ukrainian philosophy is defined as philosophy of the period of romanticism (ХІХ-ХХ c.). The social- philosophical problematic receives the especial role in philosophy of this period, especially the problem of the correlation of man and society, man and nation. Two influential cultural traditions have caused the spiritual atmosphere of Ukraine of this period — Enlightenment and Romanticism.

Romantic ideas are expressed in the creativity of M.Gogol, P.Kulish, T.Shevchenko, M.Kostomarov, P.Yurkevych, D.Dontsov, etc. Peculiarity of the Ukrainian romanticism becomes its connection with «philosophy of national idea», aspiration to join anthropological, social, national ideas with the ideas of Christianity.

D.Dontsov

The first attempt of development of philosophy of the Ukrainian idea belongs to the representatives of the Kyrylo-Mefodiy organization ( ) to M.Kostomarov, P.Kulish and T.Shevchenko. In their ideologies were united romantic tradition, national-political radicalism and belief in the opportunity of reorganization of the whole life on the basis of Christian principles.

3. Philosophical ideas of H.S. Skovoroda H.S. Skovoroda Creative work of H.S. Skovoroda ( ) — philosopher, poet and traveler – takes an especial place in the history of the Ukrainian philosophy. Being 16 years old boy he became the student of the Kiev academy, some time has stayed in the court chapel in Petersburg, traveled to the countries of the Western Europe, knew a lot of languages, learned philosophy, was the expert of the antique and patristic literatures. Nothing has been printed during his life, already after the death there are known cycles of his philosophical dialogues ("Narkis", “Potop zmyin”, etc.).

Life way of H.S. Skovoroda was teaching, he became the national teacher. On his tomb it was written: «World caught me, but has not caught». The love to the God became the basis of his existence and creativity. Skovoroda understood philosophy as "practical" philosophy, as skill to live inside of the God, in harmony with the nature, in peace with people and with own conscience. «When spirit of the man is cheerful, ideas are quiet, heart is peaceful — everything will be light, happy, blessed. It is philosophy».

Main ideas of Skovoroda were: - Doctrines about the man, about self-knowledge as a unique way to the God and fortune; - Doctrines about three worlds, which are making everything existing; ·- Idea of the double nature of three worlds; - «Philosophy of heart» as the middle of spiritual human life and the main instrument of self-knowledge.

Doctrines about three worlds

The first The second world The third world Everything created by God (according to Skovoroda), it is possible to define as three worlds. The first is the general world, «it consists of the uncountable worlds and is the big world» — macrocosm. The second world — microcosm, a man. The third world — symbolical world of the Bible. Symbols of the Bible «conduct our idea to understanding of the eternal nature».

Each of these three worlds (according to Skovoroda) consists of two "natures", that’s why it has the double nature: one — visible (material), second — invisible (divine). The invisible nature is the God who penetrates everything real. The macrocosm according to the external material "membrane" hides internal, divine sense. The microcosm contains sin, body, and terrestrial human nature.