Idealism in philosophy is a spiritual principle. Plato's concept of objective idealism

In philosophy, depending on the solution to its main question, two directions are distinguished - idealism And materialism. Their opposition is fixed by a variety of thinkers, although the question itself - the question of the relationship between thinking and being, consciousness and matter, spirit and nature - is not formulated by most philosophers as fundamental.

Let's take a closer look at these two concepts.

Materialism. One of the important philosophical concepts is the concept of materiality. The totality of all material things is called matter in philosophy. Matter is an extremely broad concept, name. Any object in the surrounding world is a variety or form of matter. Thus, matter does not exist in the form of any specific object, but in the form of a huge and even infinite number of its forms. Continents and oceans, planets and stars, plants and animals are all different forms of matter.

One of the important philosophical questions is the problem of the origin of matter. Depending on the answer to this question, several global ideas about the world can be distinguished.

The first of these is called materialism. Materialism is a philosophical worldview, according to which matter (objective reality) is ontologically the primary principle (cause, condition, limitation), and the ideal (concepts, will, spirit, etc.) is secondary (result, consequence).

The development of materialism can be traced throughout the history of Western thought from its very origins and can be found throughout the history of philosophy. Materialism existed long before the appearance of its Marxist version.

In antiquity, Thales of Miletus believed that everything arises from water and turns into it. Democritus, Epicurus and Lucretius Carus most consistently pursued the materialist line. Ancient materialism, especially Epicurus, was characterized by an emphasis on the personal self-improvement of man: freeing him from fear of the gods, from all passions and acquiring the ability to be happy in any circumstances.

Materialism reached its rapid flowering in the era of the French Enlightenment (P. Holbach, D. Diderot), but during this period it remained mechanistic and reductionist (that is, it tended to deny the specificity of the complex, reducing it to the simple). French materialists identified the concept of matter with the concept of substance and argued that all material bodies consist of immutable and indivisible atoms and molecules.

They recognized the properties of matter as heaviness, impenetrability, figure, extension and motion, and by motion they understood the movement of material bodies in space and the movement of particles inside bodies. Philosophy: Textbook / Ed. IN AND. Kirillova. - M.: Yurist, 2001. P.176.

He acquired a decisive influence on European philosophy in the 19th century (K. Marx, F. Engels, L.A. Feuerbach, D.F. Strauss, Buchner, E. Haeckel, E. Dühring). The combination of Hegelian dialectics and materialism began almost simultaneously in Russia (A.I. Herzen, N.G. Chernyshevsky and others) and in Western Europe (Marx, Engels). The dialectical materialism of Marx, Engels and Lenin, unlike all other types of materialism, does not reduce matter only to substance: matter for him is “...a philosophical category to designate objective reality, which is given to a person in his sensations, which is copied, photographed, displayed our sensations, existing independently of them."

The main thing in the philosophy of materialism is the idea that matter did not come from anywhere and cannot go anywhere, because it exists forever, is the origin of the world, the world itself. Matter is everything.

Matter exists at different levels of complexity. The most complex and perfect form of matter is the human brain, which gives rise to consciousness or thinking. Any thought is immaterial. After all, it cannot be perceived by the senses, and it does not have any physical properties (it cannot be seen, touched, measured, heated, etc., etc.) Everything that is not perceived by the senses and does not have physical properties is called in philosophy the term "ideal", which is thus opposed to the concept of "material". Thought, therefore, is ideal, but it is a product of the brain, and the brain is a form of matter. This means that the material is primary, and the ideal is secondary and exists only on the basis of the material, thanks to it and after it. The ideal is secondary and completely dependent on the material. Where there is no thinking form of matter - the brain, there cannot be anything ideal.

From the point of view of materialism, matter is infinite not only in space and time, but also in its properties or qualities, which means our knowledge of the surrounding world is infinite, and we will never achieve complete knowledge about it, the final truth

The philosophical view opposite to materialism is idealism. The ideal in philosophy is everything that is not perceived by our senses and does not have physical qualities

Idealism is a term for a wide range of philosophical concepts and worldviews that consider the only true reality to be sensually perceived, and life values ​​to be reduced to bodily things and their monetary equivalent.

In the 7th - 8th centuries, philosophers constantly used the term “idea”, but “idealism” was rarely encountered among them. It is believed that it was first used in Leibniz’s 1702 article “Response to Bayle’s Reflections.”

Idealism has different but interconnected meanings, which can be arranged in a sequential series as the concept deepens:

in the most ordinary and superficial sense, idealism is understood as an inclination towards a higher than necessary assessment of persons and life phenomena, that is, towards the idealization of reality;

Idealism, related to this, but has a deeper meaning, when it denotes the conscious neglect of the real practical conditions of life due to belief in the power and triumph of the higher principles of the moral or spiritual order;

Plato's idealism or idealism of the dualistic type, based on the sharp opposition of two areas of existence: the world of intelligible ideas, as eternal and true essences, and the world of sensory phenomena.

Significant representatives of idealism in philosophy were also Fichte (subjective idealism), Schelling (objective idealism), Hegel (absolute idealism).

The main statement of idealism is the idea that Consciousness is eternal, uncreated and indestructible. It is everything (just like matter in materialism). It is the origin of the world, which generates, creates or creates everything material, physical, corporeal, sensory. Thus, from an idealistic point of view, Consciousness is primary, and matter is secondary, it exists only on the basis of Consciousness, thanks to it and after it. Thus, everything material is a manifestation, embodiment or other existence (another form of existence) of the ideal. Consequently, if the materialistic view is closely related to atheism, then idealism, on the contrary, is close to religious ideas.

Idealistic philosophy says that human thinking or reason is a small particle of world Consciousness, which is, as it were, a “divine spark” located in any person. Therefore, knowledge of the world, which is an infinite Consciousness, is quite possible, because a particle of it is represented in us, with the help of which we can join it. Philosophical Dictionary / Ed. M.T. Frolova. - M.: Politizdat, 1991. P. 236. .

Thus, the main provisions of materialism and its opposite idealism can be formulated as follows.

Materialism teaches that:

1. The world is material by its very nature, everything that exists appears on the basis of material causes, arises and develops in accordance with the laws of motion of matter.

2. Matter is an objective reality that exists outside and independently of consciousness, and the spiritual does not exist at all separately from the material, but everything mental, or spiritual, is a product of material processes.

3. The world and its laws are completely knowable and, although many things may be unknown, there is nothing that is by nature unknowable.

These provisions of materialism are opposite to the provisions of idealism. Idealism states that:

1. The material world depends on the spiritual.

2. Spirit, or mind, or idea can and does exist separately from matter. (The most extreme form of this statement is subjective idealism, which believes that matter does not exist at all and is a pure illusion)

3. There is a region of the mysterious and unknowable, “above” or “beyond” or “behind” that which can be established and known through acceptance, experience and science.

Idealism in philosophy is a movement that claims that our spirit, subconscious and consciousness, thoughts, dreams and everything spiritual are primary. The material aspect of our world is considered something derivative. In other words, spirit generates matter, and without thought no object can exist.

General concepts

Based on this, many skeptics believe that idealism in philosophy is acceptance. They give examples where convinced idealists are immersed in the world of their dreams, regardless of whether they concern a specific person or the whole world. We will now look at the two main varieties of idealism and compare them. It is also worth noting that both of these concepts, although often characterized by opposing dogmas, are the exact opposite of realism.

in philosophy

The objective movement in philosophical science appeared in ancient times. In those years, people did not yet share their teachings as such, so such a name did not exist. Plato is considered to be the father of objective idealism, who enclosed the entire world existing around people within the framework of myth and divine stories. One of his statements has passed through the centuries and is still a kind of slogan of all idealists. It lies in selflessness, in the fact that an idealist is a person who strives for the highest harmony, for the highest ideals, despite minor adversities and problems. In ancient times, a similar trend was also supported by Proclus and Plotinus.

This philosophical science reaches its apogee during the Middle Ages. In these dark ages, idealism in philosophy is a church philosophy that explains any phenomenon, any thing, and even the very fact of human existence as an act of the Lord. The objective idealists of the Middle Ages believed that the world as we see it was built by God in six days. They completely denied evolution and any other gradations of man and nature that could lead to development.

The idealists separated from the church. In their teachings they tried to convey to people the nature of one spiritual principle. As a rule, objective idealists preached the idea of ​​universal peace and understanding, the realization that we are all one, which can achieve the highest harmony in the Universe. Idealism in philosophy was built on the basis of such semi-utopian judgments. This movement was represented by such personalities as G. W. Leibniz and F. W. Schelling.

Subjective idealism in philosophy

This movement was formed around the 17th century, in those years when at least the slightest opportunity arose to become a free individual, independent of the state and the church. The essence of subjectivism in idealism is that a person builds his world through thoughts and desires. Everything we see and feel is only our world. Another individual builds it in his own way, and accordingly sees and perceives it differently. Such “isolated” idealism in philosophy is a kind of visualization as a model of reality. Representatives are I. G. Fichte, J. Berkeley, and D. Hume.

Concrete idealism

Concrete idealism

For the first time, the term “concrete idealism” was used by Sergei Trubetskoy in relation to his own philosophical system, as well as to describe the main tendency of all Russian religious philosophy. Using this term, Trubetskoy contrasted the Russian philosophical tradition with the classical systems of Western idealism (Descartes, Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel), which he called abstract, or abstract, idealism. In these systems, the absolute beginning is Reason, considered as something abstract, one-sided in relation to a specific living rational being (man or God). Concrete idealism, as the absolute beginning of everything that exists, posits a concrete Being, which is an original real being, containing as its abstract moments all the definitions usual for classical idealism - thinking, subject, spirit. In this case, reason is recognized as limited (i.e., rationalism is not considered a universal philosophical paradigm): the concrete Absolute is cognized in a “superrational,” mystical, intuitive act.

We can agree that such an understanding of the absolute principle and its knowledge is quite characteristic of Russian philosophy. The corresponding criticism of Western philosophy was carried out by the “senior” Slavophiles (A. Khomyakov and I. Kireevsky); they assumed that philosophy should take as the Absolute the idea of ​​a living personal God, characteristic of a religious worldview. This approach was most clearly carried out by Vladimir Solovyov in his works “Critique of Abstract Principles” and “On God-Humanity”; his criticism of the Western tradition in his work “The Crisis of Western Philosophy” is based on the same grounds. Lev Lopatin used the term “concrete spiritualism” to characterize his philosophical system; he similarly contrasted the concepts of “concrete” and “abstract”. Nikolai Lossky also called his philosophical system concrete idealism.

Although the initial definition of “concrete idealism” implied the opposition of the Russian philosophical tradition to the systems of Western idealism (primarily the systems of Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel), at the beginning of the 20th century, a new generation of Russian thinkers gave a completely different assessment of German idealism, seeing in it not so much the opposite of relation to Russian religious thought, as much as its natural source and foundation. Pavel Vysheslavtsev, in Fichte's Ethics (1914), insisted that the traditional image of Fichte as a straightforward subjective idealist was deeply incorrect; Vysheslavtsev argued that Fichte’s late system is based on the recognition by the Absolute of the living personality of God, which is incomprehensible in a rational way and infinitely concrete in its content. Ivan Ilyin in his book “Hegel’s Philosophy as a Doctrine of the Concreteness of God and Man” (1918) convincingly showed that Hegel’s Absolute - speculative thinking - must be understood precisely as an absolutely concrete and living principle, i.e. just as is assumed in the model of concrete idealism. The same Ilyin, in the article “The Crisis of the Idea of ​​the Subject in the Teachings of Fichte the Elder” (1912), contrasted Fichte’s system with all forms of Western idealism, believing that he was the first to try to accept a specific human personality as the absolute beginning of philosophy. Finally, Sergei Levitsky in his book “Fundamentals of an Organic Worldview” (1946) already quite confidently refers Fichte, Schelling and Hegel to the direction of concrete idealism, believing that as the Absolute, German philosophers choose a concrete spirit, understood by analogy with the human “I”, but raised to a superhuman degree. It should also be taken into account that two bright Russian thinkers, who can also be attributed to the direction of concrete idealism - Semyon Frank and Lev Karsavin - saw the source of their philosophical constructions in the teachings of Nicholas of Cusa; this means that in Russian thought of the first half of the 20th century, concrete idealism was understood as a fairly long tradition in European philosophy, going from Nicholas of Cusa to German idealism of the early 19th century and then finding its full expression in Russian philosophy - among Vl. Solovyov and his followers .

Literature

Berdyaev N.A. Alexey Stepanovich Khomyakov. Chapter IV. Khomyakov as a philosopher. Epistemology and metaphysics. Tomsk, 1996. pp. 75-92.

Gaidenko P.P. “Concrete idealism” S.N. Trubetskoy // Trubetskoy S.N. Essays. Moscow, 1994. P. 3-41.

Evlampiev I.I. Concept of consciousness S.N. Trubetskoy in the context of European philosophy of the twentieth century // Questions of Philosophy. 2007. No. 11. P. 33-44.

Evlampiev I.I. Divine and human in the philosophy of Ivan Ilyin. St. Petersburg, 1998.

Ilyin I.A. Hegel's philosophy as a doctrine of the concreteness of God and man. St. Petersburg, 1993.

Levitsky S.A. Fundamentals of organic worldview // Levitsky S.A. Freedom and responsibility. Moscow, 2003.

Lossky N.O. The idea of ​​concreteness in Russian philosophy // Questions of philosophy. 1991. No. 2. P. 125-135.

Polovinkin S.M. Concrete substantial spiritualism L.M. Lopatina // Bulletin of the Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy. 2008. Vol. 9. No. 2. pp. 172-180.

Soloviev V.S. Criticism of abstract principles // Soloviev V.S. Essays. In 2 volumes. Moscow, 1988. Volume 1. P. 581-744.

Soloviev V.S. The crisis of Western philosophy (against the positivists) // Solovyov V.S. Essays. In 2 volumes. Moscow, 1988. Volume 2. P. 3-138.

Trubetskoy S.N. Foundations of idealism // Trubetskoy S.N. Essays. Moscow, 1994. pp. 594-717.

I.I. Evlampiev

Tags: phenomenology of religion
Discipline: Philosophy
Authors:

The theory of idealism, which was also sometimes called utopianism, and in a broader context of social theory - liberalism, as a direction of scientific thought began to take shape in Ancient times. We find reflections on this matter in the works of Plato and Aristotle, Confucius, Cicero, Ulpian and others. Ancient scholars focused on the essence of the state and the problems of war and peace, which, after all, in later times were the main object of study in the theory of international relations. Even then, statements were formulated about the abnormality of wars and their just or unjust nature, and the aggressiveness of states was explained by the peculiarities of their internal political structure.

Of particular importance for the development of the foundations of idealism were the views of two great ancient Greek philosophers - Plato and his student Aristotle.

Plato (429-347 BC) became the author of a very interesting concept of the forms of political government of states, the doctrine of their gradual degradation and circulation. According to Plato, the state arises from a person’s natural need to organize interactions among similar ones. The organization of these interactions has the goal of introducing a certain fair order of human relationships. Justice in relations between people is possible only if the state exists, since “... those who adhere to justice adhere to it through their inability to create injustice, and not through their own desire.” The most important forms of state are: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Forms of political government determine not only the internal, but also the foreign policy of the state, since it limits and directs the will of the people. If the statement is true that the state, under certain political conditions, determines the life of citizens, then it is also correct that it determines their attitude towards other states. Among all forms of Political government, the most susceptible to external aggression is timocracy as “a mixed order, the signs of which are the imitation partly of the aristocracy (timocracy is characterized by respect for power ...), partly of the oligarchy (people here are greedy for money and, like savages, revere gold and silver); In this system, there will be no direct and simple-hearted people left; it will not be the wise who will rule, but those who are simpler - born for war, endowed with an ardent spirit, military cunning will be held in high esteem, and such a state will forever fight.”

The combination of brave and warlike rulers with a mercantile society in whose interests they act, according to Plato, is the most important reason for the aggressiveness of states and wars between them. In timocracy, the determining factor in political management is the desire “... so that wise men do not come to power, because there are no longer... sincere and decisive people...; there to reach out for those who are heartbreaking in spirit, and for those who are less perfect and more inclined to war than to peace. "Aristotle (384-322 pp. BC) is the author of one of the first works in which he generalized experience in public administration - “Politics”. He bases the perception of the state on the statement that “the state belongs to what exists by nature, and man (by nature) is a political being.” The existence of a person outside the community represented by the state is unthinkable, since a unit cannot exist without the whole.

Aristotle outlined the international context of the existence of the state in seven statements:

1 The ultimate goal of state policy is to achieve the happiness of its citizens, determined by law, good customs and education. However, unlike Plato, he believed that an ideal state cannot exist, since the fact of its proximity

2. The basis of relations between states must be removed from imposing them on each other, since this is contrary to good customs and law.

3.War and conquest is not the goal of the state, although it must be ready for war for its own defense.

4. The territory of the state must be difficult to access for enemies, but have enough routes (land or sea) that can be used for military and trade purposes.

5.People behave in accordance with the climatic conditions of their residence. In Europe they are active and independent, but in countries with hot climates they are sluggish and indecisive, although endowed with creative imagination.

6. The state needs military force only during war, and therefore its employment is not the most important goal of state policy, but only a means of using it in critical situations.

7. For some states, the use of armed forces and especially the navy is necessary in peacetime, as this makes it possible to arouse respect and fear among enemies, and, in addition, to help friendly states.

The main idea of ​​Plato and Aristotle, which later became the foundation of not only idealism, but also the entire classical school of the theory of international relations, was a statement about the subjective nature of the state and its policies. They understood this policy, which must meet the criteria of wisdom and justice, as the imitation of good customs and ideas1.

The revival of idealism in the Middle Ages can be considered the theological concept of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), who saw the cause of war in the sinfulness of people and secular power, and considered the combination in politics of customary and canonical law, that is, of human and divine order, to be a means of achieving and preserving peace.

Conflicts and wars arise from human weaknesses and sins (greed, cruelty, pride, etc.), which must be overcome or regulated through the confession of lex aeterna, i.e. God's eternal law. That is why secular power must be supplemented by spiritual power, which in the realities of the 13th century. meant the subordination of the Christian monarchs of Europe to the power of the Pope. The subordination of secular power to spiritual power was aimed at the complete exclusion from public life of war between Christians and regulation on the basis of the lex helium (law of war) of wars in the name of self-defense, the victory of “good over evil”, maintaining Christianity in the fight against Gentiles and barbarians. To recognize a war as just, three conditions are necessary:

1) it must be officially declared by the legitimate government;

2) it must be justified by a just cause (lista causa);

3) its purpose must be determined by a fair intention (recta sh-tentio).

The concept of T. Aquinas became the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, since it substantiated and generalized its practical policy in relation to the then European states.

Characterizing the attitude of the church to the problem of war, M. Howard wrote: “The concepts of jus ad helium, jus in hello - justice in war, justice for the vanquished - were not very useful when the Normans, like an all-consuming fire, devastated Christian lands. It was also difficult for the clergy to apply the concept of humanity and justice to Muslims; they fanatically sought to convert or exterminate infidels wherever their swords reached...

During the wars between Christians, the situation looked somewhat different. It was considered shameful for a Christian to fight with a Christian, and the Church constantly condemned this, but in vain, as in our days. But Christian theologians agreed that some wars were “just.” This category included those that were fought on the basis of ‘legitimate priority and for just reasons’.”

The principle of justice, T. Aquinas borrowed from Plato and Aristotle, was associated not only with the idea of ​​theocracy in international relations, but also with the justification of the need to prohibit certain types of wars, which the church recognized as inappropriate to it.

The idea of ​​completely eliminating war from international relations in modern times led to an attempt to theoretically substantiate the so-called “La Paix Perpetuelle” (“Eternal Peace”), based on the idea of ​​​​creating a pan-European confederation as a way to achieve peace and avoid wars through overcoming the arbitrariness of feudal rulers. The very projects of the confederation were put forward by P. Dubois, Duke de Sully, E. Rotterdam, V. Pen, J.J. Rousseau and many other thinkers. These projects were associated with the search for an optimal political structure in Europe. An expressive feature of their views was the rationale for the need to create a certain supranational institution that could resolve disputes between European states in a non-biased manner. The Council of Monarchs was appointed by P. Dubois, the European Parliament by V. Pen, the Council of the Confederation by J.J. Rousseau. In all cases, their competence included not only arbitration in interstate disputes, but also armed “punishment” of the aggressor by the community of states, headed by supranational institutions.

In one of his first works, “Mare liberum” (“Free Sea”), he tries to explore the dilemma of war and peace through the prism of the moral principles that determine the relationship between the states of the world. In his opinion, to resolve armed conflicts, universal moral principles should be applied, which should be adhered to by governments of all countries of the world. This is about:

The principle of self-preservation, which consists in mutual respect for legitimate and necessary interests for the existence of states;

The principle of opposition to arbitrariness and injustice is the solidarity of governments to prevent policies that are based on interests and goals that are unjustified by self-preservation.

X. Grotius philosophically substantiates and develops these ideas in his further works. G. Hoffman-Llorzer reduces his reasoning to five main points:

1 Humanity can achieve a just and happy life only under the guidance of the “true God,” whose intentions are always just.

2. Humanity is subject to two principles: a) international law (jus gentium); c) natural law (Jus naturae).

3.God gave Christians a special right (jus voluntarium divi-pit).

4. Jus naturae and jus gentium, in certain circumstances, contradict the law created by man (jus voluntairum humanum).

5. The divine image, which is perfect, corresponds to the human image, determined not only by fair intentions, but also by social interests.

The image (nature) of a person is always imperfect due to the tragic discrepancy between fair intentions and social interests of a person. This discrepancy is the root cause of social cataclysms (primarily wars) that arise as a result of violations of justice. Injustice generated by human passions always leads to war. War, however, in his concept is a marginal phenomenon, since “there is no dispute through which war could not begin... War itself leads us to peace as its ultimate goal.” So, according to X. Grotius, war violates the normal state of international relations and is a temporary phenomenon, since they always return to peaceful coexistence between the states of the world. To establish a just international order and eliminate war, it is necessary to form a system of law, which is a consequence of the idea of ​​​​God's justice.

In his main work “De jure Belli ac Pacis” (“On the Law of War and Peace”), he understands the system of international law as a set of customary (natural) and positive2 norms of relations between states, their codification and compliance by states in their policies, in his opinion, is an effective tool for harmonizing international relations. At the same time, they must be kept from armed violence, and conflicts that arise between them must be resolved through negotiations, conscientious mediation and in court. The latter method of resolving contradictions is especially valuable, since it equalizes the rights of strong and weak states and gives the latter hope for justice.

J. Bentham (1748-1832) put forward the idea of ​​“limiting force” in international relations, which, in his opinion, would make armed conflicts and wars of conquest caused by religious and priority disputes, the tyranny of one nation over another, the selfish interests of power elites. Political elites are accustomed to using armed force in any circumstances, despite the fact that such a policy is contrary to the interests of peoples inclined to peace and harmony.

Limiting the use of armed force in international relations, according to J. Bentham, is possible under the following conditions:

Introduction of personal responsibility of government members for dragging peoples into war;

Implementation of militarization, weakening of the influence of the army on society and general disarmament;

Implementation of the practice of “secret” diplomacy;

Creation of an international organization consisting of delegations of European states authorized to resolve disputes between them.

The foundations of an idealistic understanding of international relations are holistically and clearly formulated in the works of the outstanding German philosopher E. Kant (1724-1804) “Towards Eternal Peace” and “Ideas of Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View.” E. Kant is considered the founder of the liberal trend of idealism, for his idea that the goal of human development is to achieve a “universal civil state,” which is understood as a system of representative democracy. The desire to achieve such a state must necessarily limit the subjective will of individuals in power. their lack of control contributes to the manifestation of cruelty, greed, delusions of grandeur, which pushes peoples to war, which they all do not want. This can only be done under the condition of creating a civil society, creating public control over the actions and decisions of the authorities and involving citizens in the active management of the state, the consequence of which will be permanent peace. It will arise due to the fact that if in order to “solve the question: to be or not to be a war? - The consent of citizens is required, then ... they will think carefully before starting such a bad game. Because they will have to take on the entire burden of the war: fight themselves, pay for the military expenses of their states from their own pockets, and finally restore the devastation caused by the war.” The state of permanent peace must be supported by the development of mutually beneficial trade relations and the system of international law. This will smooth out contradictions and mistrust between peoples, and create a moral and legal basis for their harmonious development.

In general, relations between states can be permanently peaceful provided that their governments adhere to six essential principles:

1. An international treaty cannot have legal force when the reservatio mentalis2 is secretly stored in it, since international treaties are designed to eliminate the causes of wars between states, and not to create grounds for their occurrence in the future.

2.An independent state cannot be annexed or transferred (as an inheritance, as a result of purchase, exchange or dynastic marriage) to another. The state and its citizens cannot be considered as property, since they have national sovereignty, the violation of which always leads to wars.

3. Post-war armies must be eliminated over time, since they are constantly ready to wage war; they pose a serious threat to the existence of others, especially neighboring states. their existence causes attempts by governments to arm themselves and increase their armed forces to the point where “the military costs associated with maintaining peace become so burdensome in a short war that the standing armies themselves become the reason for a military attack in order to relieve this burden.”

4. Public debt should not be used for foreign policy purposes. We are talking about the accumulation of foreign debts by governments, which can give them the necessary funds to wage war even with creditor states.

5. Every state of the world cannot interfere by force in the internal affairs of another state. Such interference is a violation of the sovereign rights of the people and cannot cause any other reaction other than armed resistance to the interventionists.

6. The state cannot use dishonest methods in political struggle (even in times of war): murder, violation of the terms of treaties or the act of surrender, inciting foreign citizens to treason or rebellion against their legitimate authority. Such actions undermine trust in relations between governments and the authority of the authorities who resort to them in the eyes of their own citizens.

Idealists, in essence, in their views on international relations, were also E. Rotterdamsky, E. DeWattel, J. Locke, C. De Saint-Pierre, T. Payne, J. Mill, who, despite their differences, “were united by the way of seeing the world , an expressive belief in conscience and rationality as prerequisites for peace and universal harmony."

By the beginning of the 20th century. individual concepts of idealists regarding the nature and content of international relations are expressed either in the thoughts of politicians or in the peripheral works of philosophers, which does not give grounds to consider idealism as a holistic scientific direction; it is based on a coherent system of views. The theory of international relations did not receive systematic development until after the First World War, and its object of study occupied a marginal place in philosophy, history, legal science and sociology. Until now, most scientists proceeded from the immutability of the international community, that is, they considered it from a metaphysical position. The study of processes in the international environment was not generally defined as a subject of research, since there was no even a primitive understanding of them.

Idealism was finally formed in the 20-30s of the XX century. as a systematized set of views of intellectuals - idealists who shared the position of CELA President William Wilson regarding the League of Nations and modern international relations. His views were formed under the significant influence of the ideas of J. Bentham and were expressed in the programmatic slogans of a radical transformation of international relations: “peace through law”, “harmony of interests”, “world harmony”, “international law as a world treasure of moral values”. The famous 14 points that the President of CELA proposed at the Versailles Peace Conference became the actual embodiment of the theoretical principles of idealism in real international relations.

During the period between the world wars, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, signed on August 27, 1928 in Paris, also relied on the principles of idealism. The “Pact of General Refusal of War” consisted of two articles in which the parties1 solemnly pledged not to use military force in relations between themselves and to resolve all possible disputes peacefully. The doctrine of Secretary of State CELA Stimson logically followed from the articles of the treaty and consisted of non-recognition of territorial changes achieved by military force. Quite skeptical about the significance of the legal ban on the use of military force, J. B. Durosel noted: “This pact marked the apogee of the pacifist wave and the “pactomania” characteristic of diplomacy at that time. Many people believed then that when more pacts, even innocent ones, were signed, those who signed them would closely honor their word. It was certainly a dangerous illusion.

Idealists believed that war was the result of policies carried out and controlled by selfish, cruel and incompetent political leaders. Such policies and the general suspicion and aggressiveness that result from them are greatly facilitated by the secret diplomacy and militarism widely practiced by states. Transparent government policy, active development of international law, democratic supranational institutions (which follows from the doctrine of “internal analogy”) and collective security systems are the “key” elements of harmonious international relations.

Another principle of idealism is the principle of national self-determination, which developed from E. Kant’s idea of ​​a “common civil state.” The free expression of nations will lead to the creation of their legitimate representative power, and this will eliminate the causes of internal conflicts and their escalation into international ones. G. L. Dickenson believed that, while consolidating the principle of national sovereignty, it is necessary to simultaneously form world public opinion on the problems of international relations, which can become a powerful means of achieving harmony as a manifestation of the “world mind.”

British researcher N. Angel, unlike most idealists, considered the idea of ​​national sovereignty and the fact of dividing humanity into independent, warring states as scientific absurdity. Developing E. Kant's idea about the importance of mutually beneficial trade for the harmonization of international relations, he argued that war between the highly developed countries of the world is impossible. He cited the reason for free trade, which created unprecedented interdependence and cooperation, which became the basis for the individual and collective well-being of the countries of the world (for this he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933). In total, idealists constantly tried to justify the impossibility and rudimentary nature of war, as well as the obsolescence of foreign policy concepts that were based on the use of military force. At one time, E. Rotterdamsky substantiated the thesis about the economic unprofitability of war, and O. Comte argued that in the 19th century. the need for forceful action by states disappeared with a change in the main criterion for the development of society, in contrast to previous eras, when it was determined by the possession of a certain amount of human and natural resources - it became the scientific organization of labor.

The theory of idealism is based on the assumptions "that human behavior shapes the environment, but can be changed... that humanity is capable of self-improvement... the political environment can be transformed by the development of new institutions such as the League of Nations and the United Nations." Harmony of interest in peace at the community or nation-state level is based on the individual's interest in peace. There are idealists who interpreted the essence of a participant in international relations as anthropomorphic, believing that he can act in international relations well or badly, morally or immorally. The activities of any participants in international relations are determined by certain principles, and they themselves may be subject to moral improvement.

The theoretical views of idealists on international relations boil down to the following statements:

1. International relations, like any social relations, arise from the character and aspirations of a person, and therefore it is advisable to consider and explain them through the prism of her behavior. A person, like any team created by her, is interested in harmonious and conflict-free relationships, since they guarantee development and prosperity.

2. The state is a macro-phenomenon of any human community, and their foreign policy can be compared to human behavior, that is, it can be moral or immoral, good or evil. The criterion of morality is universal human norms of behavior, which are materialized in the sphere of international relations as harmony and non-conflict. The state that initiates the conflict acts immorally and deserves the application of adequate measures to it by the international community. R. Kast called the initiator of the confrontation “a natural aggressor, a rebel against peace.”

The instruments for maintaining stability are international organizations, international law and world public opinion. International organizations are called upon to be regulators of relations between states, playing the role of arbiters and guiding them towards harmony.

3. National interest psychologically expresses a subjective understanding of the needs of society, which is always different from reality. In international relations there is a harmony of interests of their participants, and the divergences of their views and contradictions are not significant, since harmonization by the “invisible hand” (God, reason, etc.), borrowed from the economic theory of A. Smith.

4 Conflicts cannot arise on an objective basis, because any contradictions without an objective basis can be resolved through negotiations.

International relations, and especially foreign policy, must be carried out according to universal moral norms and international law, as a guarantee of stability, and their violation leads to contradictions and conflicts, which is an abnormal phenomenon.

E. Carr considered supporters of idealism as intellectual descendants of the Enlightenment (XVIII century), Liberalism (XIX century) and the idealism of W. Wilson (XX century). Idealism, in his opinion, is associated with the traditional Anglo-American tendency to exaggerate freedom of choice in foreign policy, a certain pharisaism built on slogans of disinterest, morality and normative thinking of both politicians and scientists, divorced from life. Commenting on the renaissance of idealism of the early 20th century. , He wrote: “Ironically, the half-forgotten ideas of the 19th century. were born again in the second and third decades of the 20th century. in the special field of international relations and became the basis of a new utopia...

Just as Bentham centuries ago took the ideas of the Enlightenment and adapted them to the needs of the time, Woodrow Wilson ... made faith in the reason of the last century almost the fundamental basis of international relations."

Idealism as a system of scientific views on international relations was formed at the initial stage of development of the theory and developed primarily in CELA and Great Britain. The crisis of the League of Nations and the Second World War put an end to many illusions of scientists and clearly demonstrated the inadequacy of the reality of international relations to their ideas about it. The theory of idealism suffered a severe crisis, which resulted in skepticism towards it and the transformation of the position of analysts to diametrically opposed assessments of international relations.

The classical theory of idealism remains the theoretical basis of many modern scientific ideas and concepts, the scientific justification for the foreign policy of a number of states in the world.

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The significance of the category of being is affirmed by all philosophical schools; content, categories of being are the object of discussion. In the philosophical doctrine of being, philosophers are faced with a number of cardinal problems, the different solutions of which determine the differences in philosophical views. These problems include questions such as: Does the world have unity in its existence and what is the basis of this unity? Is the world unchanged in its essence or is it constantly changing and developing? Is the world orderly in its development and change, does it obey any laws, or does it change and develop in a completely arbitrary manner? Does the world, both as a whole and in its individual fragments, have a systemic organization or does it exist as a simple conglomerate of various elements?

Depending on their solution, philosophical concepts of the world are divided into idealism and materialism, monism and pluralism, determinism and indeterminism, etc.

Now the time has come to classify the historically established areas of ontology; both European and Eastern.

As a rule, philosophers sought to create their pictures of the universe based on one principle. This direction in ontology is called monism . There are several variants of monism. It can be materialistic, idealistic, objective, subjective, etc. The choice of one or another version of monism by a philosopher occurs in accordance with internal convictions.

Materialism This direction of monism is called, in which matter is recognized as the fundamental principle of all things. Spiritual, mental processes are considered to be a product of matter; the laws of spiritual existence depend on material existence and are a reflection of the laws of the material world. Idealism This is the direction of monism that recognizes the idea, spirit or thought as the fundamental principle of all things. Matter is the embodiment - a “variety” - of spirit. Idealism believes that the laws of evolution of the material world are generated by the spirit. Objective monism recognizes the existence of an objective world completely independent of the subject; reality that is imposed on the subject. Subjective monism refuses to accept the existence of this reality and considers the world to be the creation of a specific subject.

Monism has very serious roots in the European philosophical tradition. The philosophers of antiquity were for the most part monists. Let us remember Thales with his idea that the fundamental principle of existence is water. The monism of most ancient philosophers had the character of objective materialism. Medieval philosophy also gravitated towards monism, but in a version of objective idealism: the idea - the Divine Spirit - is the fundamental principle of the world, since God creates matter, i.e. matter would not exist without soul. It is called objective because God is considered a reality that exists independently of the subject, i.e. from a person. The philosophy of the Renaissance and Modern Times, which recognized the authority of the church, was also generally characterized by subjective idealism. In the 19th century, the materialist direction of European monism was revived - for example, Marxism. Existential philosophy laid the foundations of subjective idealism. The human soul was considered the creator and container of the world, hence subjectivism and idealism. Monism is also characteristic of some areas of Eastern philosophy: some schools of Buddhism believe that the fundamental principle of existence was the thought of the universal Buddha Dainichi, which gave birth to the other five primary elements; the totality of these six substances forms all the objects and phenomena of the surrounding world - this is also objective idealism. Mahyadmiks, for example, take the position of subjective idealism, like Berkeley, denying the reality of the material world.

A feature of European philosophy, which largely determined its appearance, is precisely its tendency towards monism. Throughout the history of European philosophy there has been an ongoing debate between materialism and idealism. The dispute, which came down to the wording of the so-called. fundamental question of philosophy: “What comes first: matter or consciousness?” . Until now, various schools of European monism offer their answers to this question. The question is indeed serious, but it is completely meaningless if you take the point of view dualism .

Dualism is a philosophical movement that paints a picture of the universe based on two equivalent principles. A dualistic view of the world allows you to free yourself from the need to answer the basic question of philosophy, for example. We can recognize matter and consciousness as two equal substances, the totality of which creates the world around us.

Dualism is not typical for traditional European philosophy. Some dualistic tendencies can be traced in the teachings of Descartes and Kant (although both of them are rather subjective idealists). Eastern philosophy leans more towards dualism. Suffice it to recall the Taoist concepts of “yin” and “yang”.

Modern European systems philosophy also adheres to a dualistic concept. According to representatives of this philosophical movement, two opposite substances eternally coexist in the world and carry out mutual transitions: world of substances (concentrated matter consisting of atoms and molecules) and world of energy (scattered, matter, all kinds of subatomic structures). Entropic processes lead to the transformation of concentrated matter into scattered matter, while negentropic processes have the opposite direction. The division of matter into concentrated and dispersed matter is complemented by dividing it into mass (forming objects of the material world) and massless (forming phenomena of the spiritual world).

The third ontology option is pluralism , recognizing the equality of several principles. Pluralism does not include fundamental world philosophical concepts, but more specific directions, for example, social-philosophical, anthropological, etc. Pluralism tries to theoretically substantiate the accepted fundamental principles.

The most amorphous version of ontology is eclecticism . Eclecticism may take one or more basic positions, but without justification, i.e. without theory as such. Eclecticism is characteristic of those areas of philosophy in which it is understood as a form of creativity. Postmodern, for example.

Depending on what is placed at the foundation of the world, to which sphere of existence primacy is attributed (nature or spirit), all philosophers are divided into materialists and idealists. Both materialism and idealism have equally fundamental philosophical justification, and both of these movements in philosophy are represented equally by great thinkers of the past and present. The choice between these trends in philosophy is determined by personal preferences related to education, upbringing, a system of shared values, and a general way of thinking.

There are four main forms of existence

The concept of being is abstracted from all the specific differences between things, objects and processes, except for one of their features, namely their existence, which gives the world its original integrity and makes it the object of philosophical reflection. And one of the first questions that arises on the path of philosophical understanding of the world is the question of the diversity of ways and forms of being.

It is advisable to highlight the following differing, but also interconnected basic forms of being.

1) The existence of nature - the existence of things (bodies), processes, which in turn is divided into the existence of things, processes, states of nature, the existence of nature as a whole and the existence of things and processes produced by man, represents the existence of inanimate and living nature, this is the Universe , space, habitat for humanity; The prerequisite, the basis of human activity were and remain today things, processes, states of nature that arose, existed before man, exist outside and independently of the consciousness and actions of people ("first nature"). Then man began to powerfully and widely influence the nature of the Earth. A whole world of things, processes, and conditions produced by humanity arose. In philosophy it was called "second nature." Nature is objectively real and primary also in the sense that without it life and human activity are impossible. Without it, objects and processes produced by man could not even appear. The “second nature” strictly depends on the first - on nature as such, on its things, processes, patterns that exist before, outside and independently of man. What is the difference between “second nature” and first nature? On the one hand, the material of first nature embodied in it is an objective and primary reality in a philosophical sense, developing according to laws independent of man and humanity. On the other hand, in objects of “second nature” human labor and knowledge are embodied or, to use Hegel’s term, “objectified”. The existence of objects and processes of “second nature” lies in the fact that they represent an indissoluble unity of natural material and objectified spiritual (ideal) knowledge.

2) Human existence is (conditionally) divided into human existence in the world of things and specifically human existence. The specificity of human existence is that it takes place not only in the natural world, but also in society, where a person acquires political, economic, moral and other qualities, communicates, behaves and becomes a person. A person simultaneously belongs to two worlds: to the natural bodily world as its organic part and at the same time to the world of consciousness, the mental world, belonging to which makes him human. It is the presence of consciousness in a person that allows him not only to be, to exist, but also to reason about the existence of the world and his own existence. A person’s way of being in the physical world is determined by his belonging to the mental world and vice versa. In this regard, human existence is a dialectical unity of the objective and subjective, body and spirit.

In human existence, no matter how specific it may be, the primary prerequisite is the existence of the body (existence in accordance with the laws of life, the cycles of development and death of organisms, the cycles of nature, etc.) and the need to satisfy its necessary (in this sense fundamental) needs. The existence of an individual person is a directly given dialectical unity of body and spirit. The functioning of the body is closely connected with the work of the brain and nervous system, and through them - with the psyche, with the spiritual life of the individual.

We can say that the peculiarity of human existence lies in the emergence of a specific, unique for living nature, “non-rigid” and non-universal conditioning of human existence from the side of his body. Non-rigidity is manifested in such facts as, for example, a person’s ability to regulate and control his fundamental needs, satisfying them not in simple accordance with the manifestations of nature, but within the limits and forms determined by society, history, the individual’s own will and self-awareness. The non-universality lies in the fact that many human actions, which could be determined (and are sometimes determined) by a kind of egoism of bodily needs, are very often regulated by other motives - spiritual, moral, social.

3) The existence of the spirit (spiritual, ideal existence) is divided into individualized spiritual and objectified (non-individual) spiritual; constitutes the unity of individual and social consciousness. Thanks to individual consciousness, a person can carry out various activities, choices, set goals and objectives, creating a “second” nature as the main element of culture. By objectified (objective) spirit we mean social consciousness, i.e. consciousness of individual groups and communities. The spiritual world of man is also characterized by a dual existence. Bearing in mind precisely the differences in the form of being, the spiritual can be conditionally divided into two large subspecies - the spiritual, which is inseparable from the specific life activity of individuals (individualized spiritual), and the one that can exist and often exists also outside of individuals, or, speaking otherwise, it is objectified (non-individual, objectified spiritual). The subjective spirit is the inner mental world of a person with all levels of its existence from the unconscious to self-consciousness. This world is the property of the individual. At the same time, the joint activity of individuals in society necessarily gives rise to objectified or intersubjective spirituality, that is, such spiritual formations that are no longer just the property of individual individuals, but the property of a community of individuals, the property of the spiritual culture of society. One example of the objectively spiritual is human language. In language, the results of the work of individual consciousnesses are objectified, and the innermost thought of the individual, behind which stands the work of his entire psyche, becomes the property of the community. It seems to cease to belong to the world of the subjective spirit, acquiring objective existence as independent of the mental world of the individual. Such forms of objective spirit include all forms of social consciousness: science, religion, morality, art, etc.

Of course, there is an organic relationship between the objective and subjective spirit, both in the process of formation and in the processes of development and functioning. The inner mental world of a person develops to the level of consciousness only by joining the objectively existing spiritual culture of humanity, and the objective spirit itself, the world of knowledge, morality, art, religion, exists as long as the existence of individuals and the world of their consciousness is assumed.

4) The existence of society is the joint life activity of people who have a certain organization and system of social relations. It is divided into individual existence (the existence of an individual in society) and the existence of society.