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author: Olena Yatsenko


Urgency of the research. Philosophical analytics of the phenomenon of culture, rejecting ontological universals and addressing the problem of life, logically requires a clearer and more rational justification. The concept of "life" outlines the general contours of the content of research and analytical procedures, but in the nature of proving these abstractions differ from the classical not in content, but purely ideologically, nominally. Therefore, there is a need for a clear-cut form of justification for a new coordinate system for determining the essence of culture. If culture is a product and a result of human activity, then to analyze its specificity and to find patterns of its formation should be in the horizon of world history as the closest space for localization of this problem. Therefore, we turn to the achievements of those thinkers who saw in the historical past the key to understanding culture.

Target setting. Culture is traditionally identified as the realm of spirituality, ideal entities, and ideological ideals. However, the content of the cultural tradition in the corpus of civilization with its artifacts, technologies and infrastructure is the real embodiment. Accordingly, there is a need to interpret the phenomenon of culture in view of its civilizational manifestation.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The civilizational approach to the study of culture was initiated in the works of O. Shpengler, A. Toynbee, N. Danilevsky and others. The content analytics of cultural ideas of the latter is offered by A. Halapsis. Mark Gismondi (2004) continues the tradition of understanding civilization theory as a paradigm for interpreting the social sciences. A post-doctoral fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, Gregory Morgan Swer (2019) considers O. Spengler's main work to be not historical but existential and phenomenological in content, since the main focus of his research interest is the question of the nature and purpose of human existence. In the study of the purely human way of life, A. Toynbee seeks to combine evolutionary and civilizational approaches. In this way, the author tries to avoid unjustified speculation that is growing against the background of the absolutization of historical determinism. Society, in his opinion, is not only a field of self-realization of individuals, but also a system of general rules governing public life.

The research objective. The main task of the article is to clarify the content of culture as the ideological content of the corpus of civilization, with reference to the views of famous representatives of this area: O. Shpengler, A. Toynbee, N. Danilevsky, P. Sorokin.

The statement of basic material. Culture is a potential, intuitive, myth-making essence, immanent unity of many of its various manifestations: from the state system to the realization of daily human activity. Civilization is the process of crystallization of living energy in the form of stable forms, the authenticity of which becomes the field of discussion, search and practical philosophy. At this stage, cultural life loses its integrity and organicness, but becomes eclectic and kaleidoscopic. Unlike O. Spengler, N. Danilevsky considers culture a derivative phenomenon of historical and civilizational formation. In his opinion, culture does not degenerate into civilization, but finds in it its fullest and perfect embodiment. The idea of globalization is originally analyzed by the famous sociologist P. Sorokin. He is the author of the theory of the existence of culture supersystems, one of the most original in the history of cultural studies.

Conclusions. The resonant concepts of the philosophy of life have prompted numerous innovative questions about the essence of the phenomenon of culture in particular. All these philosophical intelligence enriched the arsenal of conceptual study of culture. But the tendency of opposing culture and civilization has not been widely supported. So, A. Weber shares the view of the progress of civilization as a rational-technological component, but strongly rejects the possibility of progress in a culture that is a conglomerate of spiritual values. In addition, particular attention is drawn to the work of positivists O. Comte, J. Mill and G. Spencer, who have made every effort to clarify the internal logic of social dynamics, to create a typology of culture on the basis of historical periodization, social stratification and institutionalization of the cultural corps.

Key words: culture, civilization, history, professional phenomenon, transcendence.

 

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