The difference between a religious worldview and a mythological one. Philosophy and science. Philosophical and scientific worldview. The relationship between religion and philosophy

Unlike mythology and religion, philosophy is based on human theoretical and logical thinking about the world. It replaces mythology and religion as a single body of knowledge based on a different foundation.

Philosophy is not an unconditional faith, but reflection; philosophy is not a point, not a dogmatic establishment, but always a question. The basis of philosophical reflection is a critical understanding of already established ideas about the world. As noted above, philosophy is reflection, which means that it deals not with the subject of existence itself, but with the thought of existence, with a certain, already established consciousness of existence. Philosophy is the analysis of our ideas about existence, therefore the degree of its abstraction is extremely high. Reflection is a look inside, a look into oneself. According to N. Berdyaev, a philosophical worldview is not the result of idle curiosity of people not engaged in any activity, but the fruit of difficult and long reflection.

Philosophy expressed the emerging need to understand with the help of reason (i.e. rationally) the concepts, the problems that arose during the historical process, therefore a distinctive feature of the philosophical worldview is the reflection of the world in a system of concepts. In addition, the philosophical worldview, in contrast to the mythological and religious, operates more with scientific facts and relies more on the data of specific sciences.

The mythological and religious worldview is a group, collective consciousness. Philosophy arises when the need for individual, personal comprehension arises. Each philosophical concept is purely individual. Philosophy always directs a person to independently analyze certain problems. The purpose of the theoretical philosophy presented in its history is to expand the information field for such activities. The person himself always has the right to develop his own position, but on the basis of philosophical knowledge it will be more weighty and significant.

Philosophy and religion are close for a number of reasons:

They are close in the subject of reflection. Both are aimed at searching for the meaning of life and express the need for harmonization of relationships.

They are close in reflection form. They are both a person’s spiritual relationship to reality, expressed in the most general, absolute form, for both God and philosophy are certain absolutes.

They are also close in that they are value-based forms of spiritual activity (not the scientific truth of specific knowledge is their goal, but the formation of a spiritual life concept in accordance with important life guidelines for a person).

And yet, these are different forms of spiritual activity. Their differences lie both in subject matter and in the way a person reflects the world:

Philosophy as reflection, as thinking, proceeds in its positions from the natural reality of being, being in itself, which has some internal, own reasons for development. Religion focuses on the supernatural, on the other world, on a transcendental existence, only on transcendence.

God for philosophy is a concept of being, which also requires its analysis, like any other concept, therefore philosophy of religion can be classified as a philosophical discipline. For a religious worldview, God is not a concept, but a real, concrete object of worship and faith.

Philosophy tries to substantiate its concepts through a system of concepts supported by the logic of scientific knowledge. She draws her material from different spheres of this activity, trying to comprehend them in her own specific language, with the help of reason, the logic of philosophical analysis. Rational presentation also applies to irrational (including religious) philosophical concepts.

Religion is a sphere of feelings, mysticism, and awe. A special psychological state of a person is associated with religion: a state of ecstasy, detachment from the outside world, a certain loss of one’s self, immersion in a world where oneself matters little. Philosophy acts as a self-conscious culture that critically determines its meaning, its essence and its purpose.

Religion orients a person toward unconditional faith (“I believe, even if it is absurd” - Tertullian). Philosophy directs one to reason, to doubt, to one’s own position, and not just to the position of, even recognized, authorities.

Religion, through God, claims absolute truth. Philosophy approaches this issue more modestly, more skeptically, and provides a choice of positions.

Religion talks about the salvation of the soul in the other world. Philosophy orients a person towards the improvement of the soul, towards the “work of the soul”, and therefore towards its salvation, in earthly existence, through worldly creative activity.

Religion, although it postulates human free will, nevertheless limits it to the framework of the relationship with God, therefore, one way or another, in the religious consciousness there is an element of fear and subordination. Philosophy is completely based on the freedom of the human person. Philosophy itself is only possible on the basis of freedom of thought.

In its original content, philosophy practically coincides with the religious-mythological worldview.

Mythology- a system of legends, tales, legends, using the imagination, explaining the course and origin of natural and social processes. Mythology in its origins was a naive philosophy and science.

Myth- a figurative variation of an artistic epic with a clearly expressed inclination towards a heroic and fantastic reproduction of the phenomena of reality, accompanied by a concrete sensory personification of a person’s mental states.

Myth structure:

• cognitive component- worldview: the origin of things, the etiology of the world, etc.;
• prescriptive-incentive component— principles of life: values, attitudes, instructions, directives, ideals;
• practical component- world action: social interaction, interindividual communication, exchange of activities, self-affirmation, cult and ritual-mystical acts, symbolic rites, spells, etc.

For the first time in the history of mankind, mythology poses a number of philosophical questions:

• how the world came into being;
• how it develops;
• what is life;
• what is death, etc.

Mythology was an attempt to explain natural phenomena and human life, the relationship between the earthly and cosmic principles.

Basic historical types and essence of worldview

Mythology is the initial form of worldview; it expressed: naive forms of explanation of natural and social phenomena; moral and aesthetic attitude to the world.

Mythological worldview- a system of views on the objective world and the place of man in it, which is based not on theoretical arguments and reasoning, but on the artistic and emotional experience of the world, on social illusions born of inadequate perception by large groups of people (nations, classes) of social processes and their role in them.

Close to mythological religious worldview, it also appeals to fantasy and feelings, but at the same time does not mix the sacred and the earthly.

- attitude and worldview, as well as corresponding behavior, determined by belief in the existence God, deities; a feeling of dependence, connectedness and obligation in relation to a secret force that provides support and is worthy of worship. The basis of living religiosity is mythological action and worldview.

By , religion- this is the law that lives in us, this is morality addressed to the knowledge of God.

Faith is given by God to man:

• through upbringing in a religious family;
• schooling;
• life experience;
• the power of reason comprehending God through the manifestation of his creations.

Freedom of religious belief is one of the inalienable human rights. Therefore, we need to be tolerant of representatives of other religions, atheists, who are in unbelief: after all, unbelief in God is also faith, but with a negative sign. Religion is closer to philosophy than mythology. They are characterized by: a look into eternity, a search for higher goals, and a value perception of life. But religion is mass consciousness, and philosophy is theoretical consciousness, religion does not require proof, and philosophy is always the work of thought.

Mythological worldview

From the moment a person “discovered” himself in the world around him, a problem arose related to his attitude towards the world. To do this, it was necessary to look for answers to important questions: what is the essence and nature of the surrounding world, what is the essence and nature of man himself, what is common between man and the reality around him and what separates them, how should one behave in this world? Such questions are classified as ideological.

The very posing of these kinds of questions became evidence of a certain maturity of a person, the development of his worldview. In the course of his observations, a person began to notice patterns and connections in the phenomena and processes around him. Some of them were perceived as the results of internal activity, relatively hidden but purposeful activity. The conclusion followed that not only man learns and masters the world, but he himself is the object of research, observation and influence.

Not only animals and plants, but also rivers, mountains, steppes, fire, air, earth, water, heavenly bodies turned out to be animated in human understanding. Each of the essences actualized in this way acquired a personal beginning, and with it - will, aspirations, interests, and passions. Each such entity, of course, was endowed with a name. In addition, the human consciousness has formed an idea of ​​creatures that are unseen in ordinary practice, but supposedly play a significant role in the processes of existence, capable of having a great impact on human life. Various cultural and ethnic systems are distinguished by the totality of their mythological creatures. Integral characters of ancient myths - Olympian gods, centaurs, griffins, cyclops, sirens; in the Russian tradition it is Yarilo, goblin, phoenix bird, etc.

Rice. Worldview and its types.

Some of the people turned out to be talented organizers of their fellow tribesmen, courageous and skillful warriors. Others are sages who influenced the consciousness and lifestyle of many people. Still others proved themselves to be skilled artists or craftsmen. All of them remained in human memory and, in the minds of subsequent generations, acquired the status of heroes endowed with superhuman abilities, demigods. They were credited with incredible feats, they boldly entered into the fight against the elements, in partnership or confrontation with supernatural entities, and often emerged victorious in difficult and dangerous situations. The stories and legends about them intertwined real experience, folk wisdom, imagery, and fiction, which took on fantastic forms.

This is how mythology arose. It is considered the first type of worldview and represents a relatively coherent system of myths, as well as an idea of ​​the world and attitude towards it, based on criteria arising from the content of myths.

Myth in the modern understanding, it is a form of holistic mass experience and interpretation of reality with the help of sensory-visual images, which are considered independent phenomena of reality.

Myths reflect the ideas of people of ancient societies about the origin of the world and man, the nature of its functioning, the system of spiritual, ethical, aesthetic values ​​and norms. The myth is distinguished by the simplicity of the plot, according to which a person interacts with humanized nature and fantastic creatures. Everything that was set out in myths could not be criticized, was accepted as facts of reality, and was a model of worldview and behavior.

In other words, a myth is a manifestation of the worldview of an ancient man, containing certain guidelines and some prescriptions for his daily practice.

Ancient man, having realized his autonomy in nature, had not yet fully separated himself from it. He seemed to himself to be an integral, natural and, apparently, quite vulnerable element of the surrounding world and relied more on feelings than on reason. It should be noted that elements of the mythological perception of the world still exist today, but in ancient times mythology was the only form of world perception. Mythological consciousness is distinguished by the perception of ideal pictures, never observed in reality, born of the creative imagination of man, as “irrefutable facts of existence.” It blurs the lines between natural and supernatural, objective and subjective, and replaces cause-and-effect relationships with analogies and superficial explanations.

So, mythology(from the Greek mythos - legend and logos - word, concept, thought, mind) - a type of worldview that is characterized by a sensory-figurative uncritical perception of myths by the individual and mass consciousness; their content is accepted as sacred, and the norms formulated in them are accepted as requiring strict execution.

In the course of the development of the mythological worldview and mythology as a system of myths, the conviction in the reality and power of supernatural forces grew stronger in human consciousness. by the will of which the processes of reality and the life of man himself are determined. An element of worship of these forces arose and began to separate into separate normative-value regulatory systems.

Initially, the objects of worship were totems(usually animals or plants considered the patrons of a particular group of people - clan) and fetishes(inanimate objects endowed with supernatural properties in the beliefs of believers). However, their sacred properties at a certain point in the development of human consciousness were devalued, and their place was taken by supernatural, intangible (often in the minds of people - humanoid) omnipotent entities. As a rule, they were not directly connected with nature, but they themselves acted as its creators.

A certain hierarchy arose between these creatures. People sincerely believed in the ability of these creatures to control the components of nature, both real ones (for example, the ocean) and fictional ones (“the underworld”). Various supernatural entities could “manage” one or another sphere of human activity or extend their protection to large areas in which people lived. Thus, the entire world around man was divided between a collection of deities, who, depending on their status, had greater or lesser supernatural powers. This is roughly what polytheism looked like.

But ideas also arose about a single powerful god, capable of single-handedly determining absolutely all processes occurring in nature and society. People trusted him completely and endowed him with unquestionable authority. This system is called monotheism.

This is how another type of worldview was formed - religious, in which, as in the mythological, the sensual aspect in relation to reality prevailed over the rational.

Religious worldview

The main difference between religion is the limitless faith into the supernatural ideal principle - God, into his omnipotence and omnipresence. Religion presupposes the dominance in the human soul of a feeling of dependence on God and unconditional worship of him.

It should be noted that the phenomenon of worship of sacred objects and animals arose around the same time as the formation of a system of myths; in many cases it was the same process. Elements of a religious worldview were also present in mythological consciousness. But the final formation of developed religious beliefs is usually associated with monotheism, when the religious worldview began to prevail over the mythological one. Among the early monotheistic religions, the most famous are , , which formed before our era, formed at the beginning of the first millennium Christianity, and in the middle - Islam.

(Latin religio - piety, piety, shrine) - worldview, worldview, attitude, as well as the associated behavior of people, determined by the belief in the existence of a supernatural entity - a deity that influences the world around us and human life.

The range of problems solved by a religious worldview does not differ significantly from the problems solved by mythology. However, the nature of their decision within the framework of religion is more strict and unambiguous. Religious systems (primarily world religions) are more organic than mythological ones and more perfect in structural terms. They regulate human life more strictly and in detail. In addition to the ontological, ideological, educational functions inherent in mythology, religions implement evaluative, consolidating, consoling and some other functions.

However, the religious worldview was to a large extent contradictory. It `s naturally. Even an individual’s worldview often turns out to be more complex than the most perfect religious system. It is even more problematic for the developing social consciousness not to go beyond the framework of religious consciousness. This is due to the uniqueness of individual consciousness, the complexity of collective consciousness, the multifactorial nature and dynamism of social consciousness. The process of mastering the surrounding world is associated with diverse practical experience, the need to deepen a wide variety of applied knowledge, the importance of possessing accurate data and patterns of processes of observable existence.

In resolving fundamental ideological issues about the world, society, and knowledge, already in ancient times, people relied not only on mythological traditions, religious values ​​and norms, but also on rational knowledge. This was due to the improvement of the production of material and spiritual values. The development of rational knowledge was facilitated by the emergence of ever new types of specialized activities - animal husbandry, agriculture, medicine, and the construction of large engineering structures. The development of arts and crafts played an important role. Social and territorial expansion, realized in economic, political, cultural and information relations with neighboring and distant countries, was of considerable importance. It took various forms - from travel and trade expeditions to wars. Long-distance sea and land voyages, military confrontation required the organization of production of various technical devices, vehicles, construction of communications, etc. When solving these problems, many questions arose that could not be resolved within the framework of mythology and religion. At the same time, these processes revealed the contradictions of an uncritical worldview.

As a result, the need to form a rational understanding of reality became increasingly obvious. The process of the emergence and development of such an approach to reality occurred in parallel with the development of essentially “uncritical” types of worldview - mythological and religious. However, at first, rational knowledge was distributed exclusively in the field of practice and, as a rule, did not go beyond the resolution of everyday issues. It was more of an auxiliary nature. Mythology and religion, meanwhile, took the form of ideological systems.

New knowledge had a significant impact on social practice and consciousness. They became the first elements of science and, among other things, required generalization and systematization. Gradually, a conscious desire for a holistic perception of the world based on this knowledge was formed. Worldview was increasingly based on an understanding of the essence of the processes and phenomena surrounding man, on more logical theoretical conclusions, increasingly confirmed by empirical experience. This is how another type of worldview developed - philosophical.

Philosophical worldview

It is distinguished by a critical position in relation to the surrounding world, in relation to the person himself, as well as in relation to the process of human cognition of reality. The philosophical worldview is based on logically consistent conclusions regarding the subject of research. Faith that did not require proof, traditional mythological views in philosophy were supplanted by the desire to understand the essence of things.

Gradually, philosophy began to occupy increasingly strong ideological positions, but did not completely abolish mythology, much less religion. It should also be noted that in their essence and significance in the life of society, all types of worldviews are largely similar to each other. This allows us to determine the essence of the worldview.

Worldview- a system of views on the objective world and a person’s place in it, value orientations, ideals, life position, beliefs that underlie the attitude of a person (an individual, a group of people, a community) to himself and to the world, his everyday behavior and aspirations.

In the worldview, two levels are usually distinguished: figurative-emotional and conceptual-categorical. Mythological and religious types of worldview are largely emotional and figurative in nature. In contrast, the philosophical type of worldview is based primarily on rational thinking. it represents logically based systems of views and assessments of reality, attitudes towards it.

Finally, philosophy turned out to be a more dynamic, capacious and diverse form of worldview. It penetrates deeper into the essence of things and processes, allowing you to have a more comprehensive and versatile understanding of them.

In mythology and religion, all this is either absent or does not have the same rigor as in philosophy.

Elements of a philosophical worldview have always existed since the time when a person first thought about what surrounds him, how this surrounding world is structured, how this or that element of it arose, who he is in this world. Mythology and religion also contain fragments of philosophical knowledge as components, since they contain certain generalizations. On the other hand, mythology and religion can to some extent be considered variants of a philosophical approach to reality.

Thus, for mythology, the surrounding world is a certain given, a self-evident container of phenomena and processes that are to one degree or another understandable to man, an arena of dramatic relationships between supernatural entities, in which there is a place for man himself, although the role assigned to him is modest. At the same time, neither the past nor the future in myth often differ significantly from the present, the world is cyclical in its development, the subject of research is not at all concerned about this, evolution for him is quite limited, and sometimes only of an everyday nature.

Most well-known religions interpret the world as the creation of God, forbidding us to think about whether anything exists outside of this “commodity” (i.e. created) world. Man is just one of the elements, entirely dependent on the creator of reality, but at the same time the most important and perfect creation, called to consciously, in a form accessible to him and within the limits allowed from above, to realize the divine will in this world.

Philosophy is not satisfied with the simplicity and static nature of the mythological picture of the world, or with the predetermination and predetermination of the religious interpretation of existence. Philosophers put forward various, sometimes contradictory, ideas of a substantial nature or rationally substantiate the ontological (for example, cosmological) ideas of myths. Thus, some early philosophical systems advocated hylozoism(assuming the animation of all material bodies, the nature of the cosmos).

Even within the framework of a religious worldview, philosophy strives for a more complete understanding of existence, for a more adequate reflection of it, for cognitive diversity. Besides polytheism(polytheism, paganism) and monotheism(a religion based on belief in one God) philosophical thought, manifested in religion, has put forward concepts at different times deism, pantheism. The position of deism lies in the idea that God created the world and after that did not interfere in its development, giving man the opportunity to live according to reasonable laws received along with the act of creation. Pantheism identifies God with nature.

However, philosophy goes far beyond religion.

Philosophy strives to take into account all significant information about reality. She critically examines newly emerged concepts, but also questions previously established ideas about nature. By summing up all critical experience and the latest achievements of science, philosophy forms a modern understanding of the world. This view includes all the questions that arose both at the very beginning of the development of human civilization and throughout its history. These questions are called philosophical - about the eternal and the temporal, about the boundless and the finite, about the individual and the innumerable, about the sublime and the base, about truth and error, about justice and deception, about perfection and primitiveness. Philosophy is equally interested in the entire Universe and the individual. Philosophers talk again and again about what our world is. how it arose and in what direction it is developing; about beauty, love, goodness, happiness.

Reality is presented differently in different philosophical systems, teachings, schools, but each new concept, as a rule, does not reject the previous one (at least it does not reject it absolutely). The next concept, rather, adds new touches to the picture of the world that has been created over the centuries. As a result of the interaction of such systems and ideas, philosophical knowledge strives to penetrate more deeply into the essence of previously known phenomena and processes that make up our world.

Philosophy aims to formulate universal approaches that allow us to fully and deeply understand the general laws of existence or the essence of its important fragments - the material world around us, society, man. At the same time, philosophy tries to ensure the greatest objectivity of the knowledge it contains. However, any concept inevitably includes a significant subjective component, determined by the personality of its author. And just as there are no identical people, there are no two identical philosophical concepts. However, this does not prevent large groups of philosophers and representatives of society who share their positions from adhering to any general principles, the most fundamental provisions, central, especially significant ideas.

Philosophy originates as an attempt to solve basic worldview problems by means of reason, i.e. thinking based on concepts and judgments that are connected with each other according to certain logical laws. In contrast to the religious worldview with its primary attention to issues of man’s relationship to forces and beings superior to him, philosophy brought to the fore the intellectual aspects of the worldview, reflecting the growing need in society to understand the world and man from the standpoint of knowledge.

The emergence of philosophy meant the emergence of a special spiritual attitude - the search for harmony of knowledge about the world with the life experience of people, with their beliefs, ideals, hopes.

Philosophy inherited from mythology and religion their ideological character, i.e. the whole set of questions about the origin of the world as a whole, about its structure, about the origin of man and his position in the world, etc. She also inherited the entire volume of positive knowledge that humanity has accumulated over thousands of years. However, the solution to ideological problems in the emerging philosophy took place from a different angle, namely from the standpoint of rational assessment, from the standpoint of reason. Therefore, we can say that philosophy is a theoretically formulated worldview.

Philosophy- This is a special, scientific-theoretical type of worldview. It represents the highest level and type of worldview, characterized by rationality, systematicity, logic and theoretical design.

Differences between the philosophical worldview and the religious and mythological:

̶ philosophical worldview is based on knowledge (and not on faith or fiction);

̶ the philosophical worldview is reflexive (there is a focus of thought on itself);

̶ the philosophical worldview is logical (has internal unity and system);

̶ the philosophical worldview is based on clear concepts and categories.

The main stages of the evolution of philosophy as a worldview:

- Cosmocentrism- this is a philosophical worldview, which is based on an explanation of the surrounding world, natural phenomena through the power, omnipotence, infinity of external forces - the Cosmos, and according to which everything that exists depends on the Cosmos and cosmic cycles (this philosophy was characteristic of Ancient India, Ancient China, and other countries of the East , as well as Ancient Greece).

- Theocentrism- this is a type of philosophical worldview, which is based on the explanation of all things through the dominance of an inexplicable, supernatural force - God (was widespread in medieval Europe).

- Anthropocentrism- a type of philosophical worldview, in the center of which is the problem of man (Europe of the Renaissance, New and Contemporary times, modern philosophical schools).

Historically, a form of theoretical comprehension of the world appears; the symbol is replaced by Logos – intelligence. Philosophy originates as an attempt to solve basic worldview problems by means of reason, i.e. thinking based on concepts And judgments, communicating with each other according to certain logical laws. Unlike religion, philosophy brought to the fore the intellectual aspects of the worldview, reflecting the growing need in society to understand the world and man from the standpoint of knowledge and rationality. Initially it appeared in the historical arena as a search for worldly wisdom.

Philosophy is a theoretically formulated worldview; it is one of the forms of human culture. Hence, worldview in philosophy appears in the form of knowledge and is systematized, ordered in nature. And this moment significantly brings philosophy and science closer together. The beginning of philosophy constitutes the beginning of science in general. This is confirmed by history. Philosophy is the mother of science. The first naturalists were also philosophers. What brings philosophy closer to science is the desire to rely on theoretical research methods, to use logical tools to substantiate one’s positions, and to develop reliable, generally valid principles and provisions.

History shows that the theoretical form of substantiation of reality, the field of knowledge, is formed precisely within the framework of philosophy. But as empirical material accumulated and methods of scientific research improved, differentiation occurred in the forms of theoretical development of reality. Sometimes this process is described as a branching off from the philosophy of specific sciences. In European culture, this process occurred in two main stages, which have some indirect connection with each other.

First stage associated with the differentiation of the theoretical form of mastering reality in ancient Greek culture. This period was most clearly recorded in the system of Aristotle (IV century BC).

Second phase– XVI-XVII centuries, when science was formed as an independent social institution. Since that time, private sciences have been mastering certain areas of nature and society. In doing so, they rely on experimental (empirical) research methods. Philosophy, based on concrete scientific knowledge, sees its task in the synthesis of diverse human knowledge, in the formation of a unified scientific picture of the world.

Thus, after independent branches of scientific knowledge were formed - mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, etc., philosophy lost its function of being the only form of theoretical development of reality. But under these conditions, the specificity of philosophy as a form of universal theoretical knowledge was more clearly revealed. Philosophy is a form of knowledge of the most general, or rather, universal foundations of existence.

A philosophical generalization has a much broader potential than any other specific generalization. Sciences, in their essence, must proceed from everyday experience and special experiments. Experience has its limits. And philosophical thought is characterized by consideration of the world beyond the boundaries of human experience. No experience allows us to comprehend the world as a holistic, limitless in space and imperishable in time, infinitely superior to human powers, independent of the individual and humanity as a whole, an objective reality with which people must constantly reckon. A holistic understanding of the world provides ideological support for specific scientific research, allows them to move forward, correctly pose and solve their problems. Therefore, a characteristic feature of the philosophical method of mastering reality is universalism. Throughout the history of culture, philosophy has claimed to develop universal knowledge or universal principles of spiritual and moral life. And this found its expression in such images of philosophy as “mother of sciences”, “science of sciences”, “queen of sciences”.

The word "philosophy" comes from two Greek words - "phileo" - love and "sophia" - wisdom, so in general we get - love of wisdom.

Philosophical knowledge is often defined as scientific knowledge. However, there are a number of differences between philosophy and science that have forced many thinkers to question the identification of science and philosophy.

Firstly, philosophy, like science, is the primary human activity in the sphere of thinking. Philosophy does not specifically set itself the task of testing aesthetic feelings, as art does, or moral actions, as religion and morality require. Although philosophy can talk about art and religion, it is, first of all, reasoning, thinking about all these subjects.

There is no doubt that philosophy is close to science in the desire not only to assert and accept certain provisions on faith, but to first try to criticize and justify them. Only if these provisions satisfy the requirements of criticism are they accepted as part of philosophical knowledge. This is the similarity between philosophy and science. Like science, philosophy is a type of critical thinking that tries not to accept anything simply on faith, but to subject everything to criticism and proof.

At the same time, there is an important difference between philosophical knowledge and scientific knowledge. All sciences are private areas of knowledge that study only some part of the world. Unlike private sciences, philosophy tries to understand the world as a whole, in the unity of inorganic and organic processes, the life of the individual and society, etc. Philosophy is a project of universal knowledge, universal science. That. In terms of its subject of study, philosophy differs from the sciences: sciences have parts of the world as their subject, philosophy has the world as a whole.

To summarize, we can conclude that 1) philosophy is similar to scientific knowledge in the method of cognition - just like the private sciences, philosophy uses a critical method of cognition based on evidence and justification. 2) philosophy differs from the private sciences in the subject of knowledge - unlike the private sciences, philosophy tries to critically understand the world as a whole, the most universal laws and principles.

It should be emphasized here that until now truly scientific knowledge has been able to be built only within the framework of particular, non-universal knowledge. Such knowledge is distinguished by high rigor and reliability, but at the same time it is private knowledge. As for philosophical - universal - knowledge, so far, again, it has been possible to build only universal, but not too rigorous knowledge. It is very difficult to combine high rigor and universality in the finite human mind. Usually knowledge is either strict and non-universal, or universal, but not too strict. That is why philosophy today cannot be called a true science, but rather a universal teaching, or knowledge.

Philosophy may not differ from science in two cases: 1) when the level of development of scientific rigor is not yet high enough, and is approximately equal to the rigor of philosophical knowledge. This situation existed in ancient times, when all sciences were branches of philosophical knowledge, 2) when philosophy could catch up with science in terms of increased rigor. Maybe this will happen in the future, and then philosophy will become a full-fledged synthetic science, but for now it is difficult to talk about this with confidence.

Even if philosophy today does not possess a level of rigor sufficient for science, the existence of such universal knowledge is in any case something better than the complete absence of synthetic knowledge at all. The fact is that the creation of universal knowledge about the world, the synthesis of knowledge from particular sciences, is a fundamental aspiration of the human mind. Knowledge is considered not entirely true if it is torn into many unrelated fragments. Since the world is one, then true knowledge about the world must also represent a kind of unity. Philosophy in no way rejects the private knowledge of individual sciences; it must only synthesize this private knowledge into some kind of holistic knowledge. That. synthesis of knowledge is the main method of philosophy. Particular sciences develop parts of this synthesis; philosophy is called upon to raise all these parts to some higher unity. But real synthesis is always a difficult task, which can never be reduced simply to the juxtaposition of separate parts of knowledge. Therefore, philosophy cannot be simply decomposed into the sum of all special sciences, or replaced with this sum for philosophical knowledge. Synthetic knowledge requires its own efforts, although dependent, but not at all reducible to the cognitive efforts of individual sciences.

Philosophy is a special, scientific-theoretical type of worldview. The philosophical worldview differs from the religious and mythological in that it:

Based on knowledge (and not on faith or fiction);

Reflexively (thought is directed towards itself);

Logical (has internal unity and system);

Relies on clear concepts and categories.

Thus, philosophy represents the highest level and type of worldview, characterized by rationality, systematicity, logic and theoretical design.

Philosophy as a worldview has gone through three main stages of its evolution:

Cosmocentrism;

Theocentrism;

Anthropocentrism.

Cosmocentrism is a philosophical worldview, which is based on an explanation of the surrounding world, natural phenomena through the power, omnipotence, infinity of external forces - the Cosmos, and according to which everything that exists depends on the Cosmos and cosmic cycles (this philosophy was characteristic of Ancient India, Ancient China, and other countries of the East , as well as Ancient Greece).

Theocentrism is a type of philosophical worldview, which is based on the explanation of all things through the dominance of an inexplicable, supernatural force - God (was widespread in medieval Europe).

Anthropocentrism is a type of philosophical worldview, at the center of which is the problem of man (Europe of the Renaissance, modern and contemporary times, modern philosophical schools).

Mythology (from the Greek mythos - story and logos - word, concept, doctrine) is a universal type of worldview of primitive societies; All ethnic groups have a mythology as their first worldview, which contains at its core a myth-fictional story, a work of folk fantasy, in which natural or cultural phenomena are presented in a naive-anthropomorphic form. A comparative study of the myths of different peoples showed that, firstly, very similar myths exist among different peoples, in different parts of the world and, secondly, myth was the only universal form of consciousness. It reflected the attitude, worldview and worldview of the era in which it was created. The poetic wealth and wisdom of various peoples are enshrined in the mythological consciousness.

Why did primitive man’s perception of the world take such a strange form as mythology? cultural and social b) the inseparability of primitive thinking, which has not yet been clearly separated from the emotional sphere. The consequence of such preconditions was a naive humanization of the environment. Ludina transferred her personal properties to natural objects and attributed life and human feeling to them. In myth it is impossible to separate the natural from the symbolic, the real from the fantastic, the existing from. BAJ and legs, the spiritual from the natural, the human from the inhuman, evil from good, etc. Therefore, myth is characterized by a form of integrity that is almost impossible for other forms of consciousness. In addition, for the bearers of our phological consciousness, myth was not an opinion or a story, but reality itself.

So, the inability to distinguish between the natural and the supernatural, indifference to contradictions, weak development of abstract concepts, sensory-concrete, metaphorical, emotional nature, these and other features of primary consciousness turn mythology into a very unique symbolic (sign) system, through the terms of which it was perceived and the whole swine was described.

Religious worldview

This is a more mature form of worldview than mythology. In it, being is comprehended not in mythical, but in other ways, we highlight the following: a) in religious consciousness, subject and object are already clearly separated, and therefore, the indivisibility of man and nature characteristic of myth is overcome; b) the world bifurcates into spiritual and physical, earthly and heavenly, natural and supernatural, moreover, the earthly begins to be seen as a consequence of the supernatural. Mythological characters live in the phenomenal world (on Mount Olympus, on Mount Meru, etc.) c) in religion, the supernatural world is inaccessible to the senses, and therefore one must dig into the objects of this world. Faith is the main means of comprehending existence; d) a feature of the religious worldview is also its practicality, since faith without works is dead. And in this regard, faith in. God and the supernatural retinue in general evoke a kind of enthusiasm, that is, vital energy, which provides an understanding of this world with a vital character e) if for myth the main thing is to substantiate the connection of the individual with the race, then for religion the main thing is to achieve the unity of man with. God as the embodiment of holiness and absolute value.

Religion is a multifaceted and multi-valued phenomenon. Today, despite scientific achievements that seem to deny its ideological positions, religion continues to be a great socially organized and organizing force in the world, to a large extent, this is due to the fact that it in its own way reflects the great life experience of mankind, preserves the system of emotional- figurative ideas and experiences, values, norms of behavior, moral ideals that are so necessary for modern humanity. With the help of ritual, religion cultivates human feelings of love, kindness, tolerance, compassion, mercy, duty, and justice. But a religious worldview can also display opposite moods and ideas: fanaticism, hostility towards people of other faiths.

Philosophical worldview

This type of worldview in modern conditions is considered as one of the most influential and active types. It, like religion, developed from primary mythology, inheriting its ideological functions. But what is similar between the knowledge of philosophy and the types of worldviews considered?

They are united by a common focus - to give a picture of the world and man in it with his relationship to the reality that surrounds him, and to clarify the meaning of human existence. However, representatives of different types of worldviews seek answers to these problems in their own ways. As for the modern philosophical worldview, it is necessary to pay attention to the following features:

a) the philosophical worldview is characterized not by a sensory-imaginative, as in previous worldviews, form of mastering reality, but by an abstract-conceptual one;

b) philosophical worldview is a theoretical form of worldview that arose historically, and the first form of systematized theoretical thinking in general;

c) the difference between a philosophical worldview and a mythological and religious one is that religion and mythology coincide with the corresponding worldview, while philosophy forms the core of scientific worldview.

d) unlike religion and mythology, philosophy in understanding the world systematically relies on scientific knowledge;

e) philosophy strives to pose and solve the ultimate, absolute problems of human existence;

f) philosophy explores the cognitive, value, socio-political, moral and aesthetic attitude of man to the world; develops certain criteria and principles of social and individual activity, relying not on authority, but on knowledge of necessity.

Thus, the philosophical worldview is a natural stage in the spiritual development of humanity, which was determined both by changes in the social existence of people and by the development of various branches of social consciousness

The listed historical types of worldview are nothing more than typified and abstracted forms of human activity in certain historical periods of time in accordance with the development of culture and knowledge; these forms of activity are the manifestation and expression of human consciousness and self-awareness, practically oriented towards transforming the world and oneself according to norms of cultures and civilizations.