Philosophy. Philosophical anthropology.

                                      

Lugutsenko T.V.

                        Ontological spirituality foundations

Those spirituality beginnings which form in their sum total its foundation, initial creative material, invisibly presented in every man’s existence and reflected in samples of spiritual culture are considered. The problems to realize the role of spirituality in society have been analyzed; spirituality at the level of objective, social, subjective worlds existence is measured; essential characteristics of spirituality as a phenomenon regulating the effectiveness of social relations are shown; specific peculiarities of spirituality in its individual, social and cultural measurement are revealed.

Key words: spirituality, spiritual culture, quasi-spirituality, spiritual practices, psycho-spiritual existence.   

 

². Introduction. The reason to refer to the theme of spirituality is caused by the necessity to realize the role of spirituality in modern society. Underestimation of the notion ”spirituality” leads to that fact that a man consciously or unconsciously appears in the environment of civilization and manifests himself as a man without a soul or “as if being spiritual”. This leads to double consciousness. A man thinks that he is spiritual (when he thinks about himself), and when he acts he manifests himself as a quasi-spiritual man.

Being in the situation of transformation and trans-aggression of culture in modern civilization the humanity needs to change the world outlook, valuable content of existence and its radical changes. At a modern stage of cultural development it is necessary to make systematization of accumulated experience of spiritual searches, all in all what particularly corresponds to the phenomenon of spirituality practices. The works of foreign researchers are devoted to studying of different aspects of spirituality. Those sources, beginnings of spirituality which from our point of view form in their sum total its foundation, its initial creative material which invisibly presents in every man’s existence and reflects in the samples of spiritual culture  have been researched in ontological spiritual beginnings. The problem of spiritual ontology is in fact one of the eternal problems of all philosophers of past times.     

Comprehension of centuries – old experience of spiritual searches is passed, conveyed from Plato and Aristotle, Buda and Lao Sty, Hegel and I. Fighter, V.S. Solovyev and Berdyaev. This problem is presented in the works of modern knowledge by V.S. Barulin, V.D. Isaev, S.B. Krymskiy, G.V. Platonov, B.K. Sukhantseva, A.K. Ugledov and some others. Its foundations are rather frequently reduced to some kind of one beginning in the interpretation of spirituality. They are either being lost in the deeps of unconsciousness or are being formed in the context of the structures comprehension and consciousness activity not referring to values and ideals; or they correspond to qualitative characteristics of  a personality; or they are reduced to spiritual society’s values and so on. Such a position allows analyzing rather successfully this or that aspect of spirituality, but at the same time its unity and metaphysic deepness are being lost. Spirituality is supposed to be a result of integrated interconnection of different creative organized beginnings of unified man, society and nature’s existence.

II. Research aim. We differentiate natural, socio-cultural and individual-personal beginnings of spirituality. Natural spiritual beginnings are reflected in natural harmony, self-sufficiency, self-organization of natural environment. Obvious ugliness and absolute aggression are absent in nature but at the same time greatness and beauty as existence truth are present. Being the source of creative inspiration for a subject, natural environment gives the standard of life measurement and natural perfection in the world.    

Attention is paid to the fact that first of all, such naturalism doesn’t lead down to primitivism, and secondly, hasn’t in itself fatal predetermination of spiritual man’s gains. Natural beginnings can become and they can’t become the factor of spiritual subject development. Corresponding socio –cultural environment is obviously becoming the condition of such involvement of a man and the world.

In the given context socio-cultural beginnings of spirituality for a man are the initial conscious factors determining the incentive to independent spiritual searches. Thus, socio-cultural beginnings determine personality’s self-creativity which then transforms the cultural environment itself. It is in the culture that the highest qualitative characteristics of spiritual perfection acquire the incentive of spiritual values which simultaneously present themselves the essence and the condition of subject’s existence with its full value. Spiritual values express a measure in the system of relations “man- man”, “man – society”, “man – nature”, “society – nature” and so forth in all cultural phenomena. Imagination about perfection is also reflected in cultural ideals which are distinctive landmarks of spirituality directing people, social groups and communities’ dreams, expectations and efforts to harmonic, the highest state, superior every-day life.  Ideals having normative character determine the way and the manner of behavior of people in society and they are expressed in all forms of culture, namely in religious, science, art, morality, law and so forth, they carry out different functions in it. Gradually, they are becoming the core of personality’s spiritual world. And in this case spirituality in cultural society is the ideal without which the man’s life can become inhumane. It is also necessary to note that it is socio-cultural environment which creates the conditions for the personality to follow the way of putting in order his psychics, helping organize the potential of unconsciousness into conscious strong willed efforts, giving them a creative direction. Not occasionally, that today the notion “culture of psychic activity” is rather frequently used. At the first stages the harmony of ontogenesis passing is considered by the structures of unconsciousness in which archetypes take the important place. As many researchers of past and present times note an individual possesses inborn ability to perceive intuitively the unconscious impulses. Unconscious potential of psycho-spiritual unity presents itself an important precondition of subsequent spiritual gains which are not reduced to it and they are not its passive reproduction. Here, let’s stress that absolutism of given spiritual beginnings is impermissible because all their manifests are only connected with man’s free creative activity in corresponding socio-cultural environment. Let’s stress that unconscious potential of spirituality creates the basis for subsequent conscious activity of man’s soul and reason. A soul presents itself an integrated component of a man’s complex psychics. It doesn’t only unite all levels and environments of individual’s internal world beginning from unconscious forms till the highest forms of consciousness and frankness but it is some kind of accumulation of spiritual energy of different existence plans. At first emotional state is formed, i.e. the ability to perceive intentions of psycho-spiritual unity, to feel different manifests of spiritual beginnings, their principles and laws. And only then spirituality in the highest sense of this word is born and develops in the process of man’s reason. New information environment is created in which the processes to realize the principles of harmony and love play the main role. Conscious transformation of these principles in the program of a subject’s life activity is taking place.  

This new information environment is directed at the reinforcing of spiritual beginnings in existence.  It is becoming a potential source of creativity, aspiration to perfection, surviving and creation of the highest and beauty. Thus, a man’s soul possessing an integrity provides in this or that sort of measure the balance of psychical and corporal in a man, supports his life, and spirituality gives it profound, deep senses, height and perfection.. Here, spirituality is not a direct manifest of soul energy; it can enter the contradiction with spiritual aspirations. It is also necessary to mention that spirituality does not directly dependent on the degree of the development of man’s separate abilities, his intellect level and sensitive refinement. The representatives of religious thought (N.A. Berdyaev) and contemporary researchers (A.V. Ivanov, V.D. Isaev and others) indicate it. Any man’s potential under certain conditions can acquire characteristics opposite the highest spiritual aspirations. That’s why psycho-spiritual abilities are not so important as their deep awareness, motives and quality of their usage. 

III. Results. Spiritual –sensible basis of its existence are formed in the process when a personality realizes the ontological beginnings of spirituality. These foundations are recognized in this or that kind of form in many world wide spiritual traditions. We find their deep realization in Russian religious philosophy (N.A. Berdyaev, I.A. Ilyin, S.L. Frank and others). It is in it where the concept of soul is rather thorough and detailed presented and which hasn’t lost its importance in modern philosophy and it can be used in the context of this considered problem. 

Summarizing and generalizing the experience of past times spiritual searches the laws and principles of psycho-spiritual subject’s existence (for example, principles of spiritual-ethical unity, the highest love, spiritual freedom, aspiration to existence perfection and so on) can be mentioned and singled out. Realizing his many-sided spiritual potential and his highest mission  the personality makes conscious ethical  choice expressing the spirituality in different forms of culture (religious, philosophy, science, art and so on).

       IV. Conclusions. Thus, the result of spirituality manifest in society culture is go from natural spontaneous existence perfection to conscious, aimed, strong willed aspiration to perfection and unity on the basis of morality, beauty in culture, on the basis of the highest form of spiritual creativity and the best samples of social activity (human control of social life, labor and host feat, creativity of scientists, teachers, figures of culture and politics, lifelines of priests and altruists).  

 

The List of used literature

1.     Isaev V.D. A man is in the environment of civilization and culture / V.D. Isaev. – Lugansk: Svitlitsa, 2003. – P.48 – 108.

2.     Lazarev F.V. Intellect and wisdom are in the horizon of new culture paradigm / F.V. Lazarev. – Simferopol: SONAT, 2004. – 64 p.

3.     Lugutsenko T.V. Dialogue is as a form of communication of different cultural traditions / T.V. Lugutsenko, N.V. Alyoshina // Philosophical achievements: Collection of scientific works. – Lugansk: V. Dahl EUNU Publishing House, 2011. – Issue 13. – P. 86 – 95.

4. Lugutsenko T.V. Cultural paradigm as a phenomenon of socio- cultural man’s existence / T.V. Lugutsenko // Gileya: scientific herald: collection of scientific works/ [Chief Editor V.M. Vashkevich]. – K.; VIR UAN, 2003. – ¹ 69. – P. 491 – 496.

5. Sukhantseva V. K. Metaphysics of culture / V.K. Sukhantseva. – K.: Fact, 2006. – P. 26 – 27.

6. Tabachkovskiy V.G. Human relation to the world: facts or a problem? / V.G. Tabachkovskiy. – K.: Scientific thought, 1993. – 223 p.

7. Yung K.G. The problem of a modern man’s soul / K.G. Yung // Archetype and a symbol – M.: 1991. Access mode:
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8. Yaspers K. Spiritual situation of time / K. Yaspers. – M.: Republic, 1994. –     287 p.  

 

Ëóãóöåíêî Ò.Â. Îíòîëîãè÷åñêèå îñíîâàíèÿ äóõîâíîñòè

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Êëþ÷åâûå ñëîâà: äóõîâíîñòü, äóõîâíàÿ êóëüòóðà, êâàçèäóõîâíîñòü, äóõîâíûå ïðàêòèêè, ïñèõîäóõîâíîå áûòèå.

Ñâåäåíèÿ îá àâòîðå

1.Ëóãóöåíêî Òàòüÿíà Âàëåíòèíîâíà äîêòîð ôèëîñîôñêèõ íàóê, ïðîôåññîð êàôåäðû ïðèêëàäíîé ôèëîñîôèè è òåîëîãèè èíñòèòóòà ôèëîñîôèè è ïñèõîëîãèè Âîñòî÷íîóêðàèíñêîãî íàöèîíàëüíîãî óíèâåðñèòåòà èìåíè Âëàäèìèðà Äàëÿ

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Information about the author

Lugutsenko Tatyana Valentinovna is Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, professor, the chair of applied philosophy and theology, Institute of Philosophy and psychology, V. Dahl East-Ukrainian National University

1. Home address: 91051, Lugansk, kvartal Zhukova, dom 17, kvartira 73.

2. Telephone: 050-731-64-85

3. E-mail : telfira@yandex.ru