Some biologists and philosophers are convinced that no definition of life can be formulated. I polemicize with this skepticism. Especially, I discuss the argumentation of Carol E. Cleland and her co-workers. I demonstrate that the theory of evolution is a proper theoretical foundation for defining life. I show that downgrading the importance of the theory of evolution is not based on the traditional arguments against the scientific character of this theory (e.g. Popper’s argument). New arguments are deduced from the belief that every mature theory of life should explain all forms of life. I also consider conclusions derived from my analysis, showing that they lead to a functionalist view of life.

This article studies the unrestraint in beliefs associated with the overemphasizing of our beliefs. The author argues that the intolerance for other points of view appears (among other factors) because of a naively-objectivist understanding of philosophy, one which is based on two assumptions: first, philosophy is considered only as a theory and not an individual practice, not an experience, and second, the truth is considered as identical to a certain ideal-objective content that can be in one’s possession.There are true ideas and proper words. If we learn these ideas, we will definitely seize the truth. The author opposes this understanding the notion of philosophy which is based on the experience of the encounter and upon reflexive comprehension of this experience. It is possible to minimize unrestraint in beliefs if we assume that all the points of view including our own are considered as belonging to the incomprehensible Absolute.

This article deals with the most significant versions of the confessional factor, acting in modern Russian society as a cultural resource of international consent. Analyzing the problem of confessional tolerance, the author traces the reflection of supporting religious values in communicative-speech space of the renewed society.

Kalokagathia (καλοκαγαθία in ancient Greek) is the derived noun from the adjectives kalos k’agathos (καλός = beautiful, κἀγαθός = good or virtuous). The word was used by the ancient Greek writers and philosophers to describe the ideal of a person who combines physical strength and beauty along with a virtuous and noble character. It is the ideal of the personality that harmoniously pairs mind and body abilities and virtues, both in battle and in the activities of the everyday life. Its use is attested in many Greek writings (among them those of Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle), while the notion of kalokagathia imbued the moral thought in antiquity.

The article examines the research of the innovative-oriented scenarios in modern methodology. The innovative-oriented epistemological instruments indicate an opposition between determinism and sociocultural constructivism. Methodology is understood in the context of the technology of activity which is projected onto the innovation sphere in the context of their genesis, adaptability, spread and consumption. The article conceptually analyses epistemological instruments; it considers positive and negative tendencies relating to NIBC (nano-, bio-, info-, cognitive) technologies. The author claims that the modern image of the world includes the sum of technologies which determine the world; the image of the possible future can be called “post-human.”

The word cosmopolitanism is derived from “cosmos” (universe) and “polites” (citizen). The cosmopolite is a citizen of the world. The Stoics elaborate on the theme, using the ideas of oikeiosis and sympathy as its basis, thus drawing from their physics. Particularly, Epictetus defends cosmopolitanism on the assumption that man is akin to God, whereas Marcus Aurelius highlights the common possession of mind (νοῦς) and that man is by nature able for communal life. For the Stoics man is a social being who can be perfected only within the society of other human beings. The brotherhood of men is grounded on the indubitable axiom that the human soul is the source of the unique good, which is virtue. The distinctive parameter for creating a community is virtue, which is an objective for everyone but also an inherent and ecumenical capacity.

In this paper an attempt is made to comprehend the global historical process. The paper claims that the revolutionary progress in information and communication technologies, integrative tendencies in economic and cultural spheres, problems on safe-guarding, security and peace are not factors of globalization. They are rather social manifestations, which sustain its development. According to author’s position, there is a spiritual factor underlying globalization. The two similar processes/concepts—globalism and globalization—are substantially different from each other.

The concept of revolution in science is widely used in philosophy of science. We believe that the concept of revolution was borrowed from social-political literature and without any philosophical analysis was transferred to history of science. For this reason, attempts to transform that concept into an efficient instrument of building a theory of the development of scientific knowledge cannot be successful. This concept is nothing more than a metaphor for emphasizing empirical and theoretical discoveries of great significance in the history of science.

The subject of this article is epatage, widely spread in modern culture thanks to digital technologies. Today epatage associated to media performance is deliberately constructed, imposing mass consumerism with a ready-made-fictional image, and operating “anti-values.” There are a lot of causes of the existence of the epatage image which violates certain cultural codes. Meanwhile epatage can be described as a response to certain objective and subjective calls. As a peculiar form of culture, epatage contains both positive and negative pulses.

In this paper, the author-developed conception of the “situationality of being,” i.e. the extension of the theory of the “philosophy of nonbeing,” is presented; the generalized definition of the notion “situation” is formulated; and the essence of the “situationality of being” is explained. The conception of the “situationality of being” makes it possible to develop the situational pattern of the world; in accordance with this conception, “the world is the situation of situations,” The world appears before us in the form of one gigantic situation due to the interaction of various situational factors of different level and different qualities, which lead in the long run to a certain situative dynamic balance (the so-called existent world).

The article considers the scope of the early Stoics’ notion of “incorporeal” and the ontological concept of the incorporeal as being incapable of interacting with bodies. First, an interpretation is proposed that the incorporeal is an important part of the con-cept of meaningful conduct of Homo sapiens, as one can trace its direct relationship with his assents, desires and expectations as the elements preceding action. Second, a reconstitution has been suggested, one showing that in the scope of the incorporeal the Stoic system has a concurrent “as is said” type of predicate, or lekton.

In different social and human sciences researchers apply different concepts of personality, spirituality and the spiritual environment. In this paper I propose new definitions of them.

In my paper I will argue for the thesis that spiritual exercises are an essential part of every philosophical life. My arguments are partly historical, partly conceptual in their nature. First, I show that philosophy at each stage of its history was accompanied by spiritual exercises. Next, I provide a definition of spiritual exercises as genuinely philosophical activity. Then I show that the philosophical life cannot be complete if it does not include spiritual exercises.

Whatever the theory of knowledge may be—classical, non-classical, or post-non-classical, idealistic or materialistic, dialectical or metaphysical—its core is always the question: “Is there absolute truth?” (which I doubt)—because I am (absolutely) convinced that there is relative truth, for it is obvious. In the last few decades post-non-classical views on truth, namely, relativistic have triumphed. Nowadays we witness a renaissance of theoretical paradoxes of sophistry that can lead, and often do lead to real social misfortunes. To avoid them, one has to consider how it all began in the times of classical ancient Greek philosophy. Such exploration is the aim of the present paper.

This paper argues that the question of the human is a major concern in Judith Butler’s philosophy. I believe that although this concern is more visible in her relatively recent works on ethics and politics, in her earlier works it is always in the background. I read Butler as a deep thinker on the nature of the human, and argue that her thoughts on ethics and politics should be read as a (non-utopic) yearning for a human condition where a collectively inhabitable world becomes possible. This paper will explore the question of the human as Butler discusses this in its relation to intelligibility, critique, and the opacity of the subject not only to understand the terms of dehumanization but also to offer ways of conceptualizing a more humane world.

The glamorous culture affecting education gives rise to the phenomenon of glamorous education (glam-education). The main features of glam-education, concerning its substantial, communicative, valuable, organizational components, are discussed in this article. Glam-education is proved to be a demonstration of the personality’s existential crisis in the postmodern society. A brilliant package of glam-education camouflages the death of original thinking, the necrosis of genuine emotions and the lack of a productive imagination of a person.

Oriented by the philosophical work of Kant and Heidegger, this paper reflects upon some of the ways in which philosophy can inform every day living. First briefly sketching some of the connections between philosophical practice and the cultivation of autonomy, critical rationality, personal responsibility, and attitudes conducive of peace, this paper then turns to the capacity for philosophical contemplation to enrich a life by cultivating sensitivity and attentiveness to meaning and inherent worth.