1.2. The Subject Matter and the Nature of Philosophy

Philosophy is an area of intellectual activity which is based both on a special type of thought (philosophical knowledge that we have discussed) and on the autonomy of its subject matter.

Philosophy is not localized in a concrete domain of knowledge and reality as biology, geography or other sciences. But philosophy does have its own subject matter and the fundamental impossibility of such a localization is part of its specificity. This is an area of underlying intellectual activity which is a reflection on that activity and, thus, on its meaning, purpose and forms; ultimately a reflection on the essence of man himself, as the subject of culture, on his essential relationships with the world.

Philosophy is a form of man’s intellectual activity where the focus is centered on the idea of man in his relation to the world. Philosophical knowledge has always been oriented towards clarifying the links between man and the world, towards the inherently human inner goals, causes and modes of cognizing and transforming the world. Man is an active being, who transforms his life, changes conditions of his being and asks himself questions as for senses of his activity.

Thus, philosophy is not just a specific scientific discipline: it is also a specific type of thought and even a special kind of emotional attitude, a system of worldview, emotions, immersed in his state of spirit. Man thinks deeply about the universe, about good and evil, the beautiful and the ugly, about social justice, truth and lie, and the meaning and purpose of human history. Philosophical creativity answers man’s deep need for a rational explanation of his place in the flow of being, of his historical destiny, personal freedom and the essence of the surrounding world. Philosophy gives man a chance to find his place in the limitless ocean of events, to gain a deep understanding not only of the external world but also of his own spiritual world.

Philosophy is not only a reflective theoretical system, expressing the most general vision of the world, but also a system of principles which teaches the art of living rationally. Its study offers not only intellectual but also aesthetic and moral delight and even inculcates civil attitudes in man.

Philosophy occupies a special place in culture being simultaneously the focus in which the rays from all the other areas of man’s cognitive and practical activity (political, emotional, aesthetic and so on) meet and a kind of general energy impulse for all these forms of his intellectual activity The question of whether philosophy is a science should be considered in greater detail. Although it is based on the thinker’s immediate experiences, it has no empirical research devices at its disposal. The truth and effectiveness of philosophical theory are verified as a rule by the entire stream of life events rather than by separate experiments and observations. There is a difference in the very subject matter of science and philosophy. While science operates with facts philosophy deals with purports and senses.

The basic philosophical problems that are the principles, on which the relationship between man and the world are founded, are not similar to natural-scientific methods, theoretically convincing formulations and an orderly systematic presentation of philosophical concepts, categories, principles and laws. It is similar to science at the level of general theory, provided it is considered as an integral entity.

Philosophical thought is developed due to logical comparisons, confrontations, passing the bounds of different branches of science. It is reflective; it does not study only the object but also the very process of investigation.

The specificity of the cognitive process in philosophy is underlined by the role of an individual creating a philosophical work. Philosophy is closer to art than to science. Man in his relation to the world is the principal subject matter of philosophy, man as personality is the only possible subject of it. Philosophy asserts man as the highest value of the world, as the starting point of philosophical knowledge and this knowledge must therefore inevitably assume a personality oriented form.

Philosophy has got its human dimension. What does it mean?

1) Philosophy does not regard man as an object (like psychology) but only as a subject.

2) The subject matter of philosophy is not an individual subject with his particular qualities but the subject as a general universal category opposed to the category just as universal as of the object.

3) Philosophy purports to free man’s thought from various traps (rational, formal, intuitive) for an adequate perception of the world, to remove obstacles inherent in the mind itself.

4) Philosophy meditates not just on man as subject but on man in his relation to the world. It strives to find common features in the world of objects and in the world of the subject, i.e. the universal laws of being, it attempts to determine man’s concrete and unique place in the universe.

Philosophy is closely connected with value orientation and vital purports. While science attempts to answer the question “why”, philosophy tackles the questions of “what for, what purport”. Therein lies its worldview function.