M.Sh. Khasanov, V.F. Petrova Philosophy Almaty, 2017
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M.Sh. Khasanov, V.F. Petrova Philosophy Almaty, 2017 Recommended for publication by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for tertiary education students Reviewed by: Zh.Zh. Moldabekov, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor M.S. Sabit, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor M.Sh. Khasanov, V.F. Petrova Philosophy. Textbook. Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, Almaty, 2017. [•] pages This Philosophy textbook is based on the model syllabus for all Bachelor’s degree specialisations in accordance with the model curriculum approved by Order No. 343 dated 16 August 2013 issued by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (the “RK MES”). The syllabus was reviewed and approved by the meeting of the Republic’s Education and Training Methodology Board of 17 January 2014, Minutes No. 1. The textbook introduces the reader to the history of the development of the non- material culture of mankind and world’s philosophical thought on understanding of universal problems of human existence and society, history and politics, culture and education, the theory of dialectics and epistemology, technology and global problems of our time. The textbook material is aimed at helping the reader to prepare for lectures and seminars, to complete individual student assignments and to prepare for mid-term tests and examinations and answers to test questions. Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 Subject, Purpose and Functions of Philosophy 1.1. Origin, Genesis and Purpose of Philosophy Chapter 2 Philosophy of the Ancient World. 2.1 Philosophy of Ancient Kazakhstan 2.2 Philosophy of Ancient India 2.3 Philosophy of Ancient China 2.4 Ancient Philosophy Chapter 3 Eastern and Western Philosophy of the Middle Ages 3.1 Arab-Islamic Philosophy 3.2 Turkic Philosophy 3.3 European Christian Philosophy Chapter 4 Philosophy of the Renaissance 4.1 Humanism as a Distinctive Feature of the Renaissance Era 4.2 Concepts of Platonism, Neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism in Science and Art 4.3 Reformation as a Protest Against the Renaissance Glorification of Man Chapter 5 Philosophy of the Modern Age 5.1 The Search for Methods of Acquiring Knowledge: Empiricism and Rationalism, Materialism and Idealism. Chapter 6 Philosophy of the European Enlightenment of the 18th Century 6.1 Enlightenment as a Path to Social Progress. Chapter 7 Classical German Philosophy 7.1 Ontology and Epistemology, Metaphysics and Dialectics, Idealism and Anthropological Materialism Chapter 8 Foreign Philosophy from Late 18th Century to Early 21st Century 8.1 Marxism 8.2 Neo-Kantianism 8.3 Philosophy of Life 8.4 Positivism and its Historical Forms 8.5 Phenomenology 8.6 Existentialism 8.7 Hermeneutics, Postmodernism, Poststructuralism 8.6 Existentialism 8.7 Psychoanalysis 8.8 Russian Philosophy. Chapter 9 Kazakh Philosophy. 9.1 Anthropocentrism and Humanism of the Philosophy of Chokan Valikhanov, Ibrai Altynsarin and Abai Kunanbayev 9.2 Socio-Philosophical, Socio-Political and Ethical-Humanistic Views of Writers and Poets of Kazakhstan of the Late 19th Century - First Half of the 20th Century Chapter 10 Being as the Central Concept of Ontology 10.1 Ontology as the Study of Being and Types of Being 10.2 Concepts of Matter Chapter 11 The Principle of Evolution: Dialectics and Synergetics 11.1 Basic Principles, Laws and Categories of Dialectics Chapter 12 Possibilities and Limits of Knowledge 12.1 Levels and Structure of Knowledge 12. 2 Truth as the Purpose of Knowledge Chapter 13 Philosophical Anthropology 13.1 Problems of Man in the History of Philosophy 13.2 Concepts of Man in Philosophical Anthropology Chapter 14 Social Philosophy 14.1 Society as a System 14.2 Contemporary Concepts of Society Chapter 15 Philosophical Understanding of Global Challenges of Our Time 15.1 Main Global Challenges of Our Time Chapter 1 Philosophy Philosophy: Subject, Functions, and Diversity 1.1 Origin, Genesis and Purpose of Philosophy Philosophy (literally from Greek “love for wisdom”, Pythagoras) originates at such stage of the development of society when man develops the need to acquire coherent knowledge about the world and of his role and place in the world. Answers to questions being asked require the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The love for wisdom begins with reflecting on the nature and essence of man, human destiny, on rational socio-political order. Wisdom which is based on morals lets an individual to define his life stance. Philosophy arose in the 7th-5th century BC in India, China, and Greece, i.e. almost simultaneously in different civilisations and at such level of the development of society which was characterised by the division of intellectual and manual labour. During this period, we see the completion of the transformation of the tribal system into the slave-owning system and the transition from myth to logos society’s intellectual life. Society has already accrued positive knowledge and now develops the need for systemisation, consolidation of and rational reflection on the acquired knowledge. At early stages, philosophy was seen as the “science of sciences” and incorporated all knowledge about the world accumulated by humans. It developed as natural philosophy (philosophy of nature). As philosophical knowledge continued to develop, the structure of the “mother of all sciences” becomes more complex with new branches developing within it: ontology (the study of being) is followed by epistemology (the study of knowledge); methodology (the study of the methods of acquiring knowledge); philosophical anthropology (the study of humans); ethics; aesthetics, as well as by the study of society, government and state. In other words, philosophy is historic in itself, it is developing, growing and becoming more sophisticated; the subject of philosophical study and methods of knowledge and cognition are becoming broader and deeper, and the function and purpose of philosophy more complex. The functions of philosophy which deal with worldviews and belief systems, ontology, epistemology, and axiology serve as its main functions. The human nature is such that, in addition to actual, positive knowledge of the world, man aspires to acquire insight into the nature of things and phenomena. No science other than philosophy poses the essential questions of being and gives answers to these questions: what is truth, life and death, good and evil, finiteness and infinity of the world, what is human destiny. Concrete or general scientific knowledge is not sufficient to answer these questions. Someone who perceives the reality only through the prism of his area of expertise risks finding himself in a situation when the meaning of being disappears and “the time is out of joint” (Hamlet). Since its inception, philosophy has sought to provide a generalised and systematised perception and understanding of the world. By way of explaining what this world is, philosophy relied on sense perception and reason, the system of values and beliefs. Worldview is the combination of sense and reason, the axiological system of man’s attitude to the world. Worldview may be prescientific, unscientific, nonscientific, extrascientific, and scientific, it may be passive observational and active. Conventionally, we distinguish three worldview types: the mythological, religious and philosophical. The mythological worldview (mythos – a traditional story, tale) involves man’s ideas, emotionally expressive and imaginative in their form, about the creation of the world from chaos, the origin of man and the stages of his life, about heroes, spirits, gods, and the forces of nature. Religious worldview (religiō – piety, sanctity) is based on the belief in the existence of supernatural forces that determine human life. Philosophical worldview is rational perception of the world and man’s place in it. This type of worldview is determined by the fact that philosophy synthesises, consolidates and classifies the knowledge obtained by other sciences and, at the same time, gives an assessment to all that exists being guided by the scale of universal values and ideas of humanism. It builds a system of humanistic values helping humans become human. Worldview structure comprises Weltanschauung, world perception, attitude, perspective, vision, outlook, a system of values, ideals, i.e. the dream of a perfect arrangement of society and order of life. Any worldview is based on conviction, a firm and established system of beliefs and ideals, i.e. knowledge multiplied by the confidence in one’s rightness. The system of man in the world, which is the subject of philosophy, is constantly changing and developing. The conditions of existence, the means and purpose of knowledge and the transformation of reality are becoming more sophisticated. All of this requires more systemic approaches toward and a more advanced organisation of knowledge, the cognitive process and actions of humans. Accordingly, philosophical knowledge is also changing, expanding and becoming more detailed and profound. Philosophy is not only a science, but also a form of public consciousness and theoretical basis for worldview. Its central question is the question of relation between being and consciousness which has two facets: 1) ontological: what comes first – matter or consciousness; and 2) epistemological: are we capable of knowing this world. By answering these questions, philosophers are divided into materialists and idealists; and, in terms of epistemology, into optimists, skeptics and agnostics. The entire history of classical