Познание, мораль и политика = Cognition, morality and policy. Учебное пособие

S.A. Nizhnikov

COGNITION, MORALITY

AND POLICY

Moscow

Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

2018

C O N T E N T S

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

In the present work has been carried out an attempt of definition of spiritual cognition and to lay out its naked essence through an analysis of its manifestations in humankind’s cultures. The very analysis of eastern and western culture and philosophy ancient and temporary ones, resulted in substantial comprehension of uniformity of spiritual conceptions and its cognition that are inherent to a man and to the humankind in general. Concept of spiritual cognition is divided in several branches of its realization but nevertheless among such contradicting and multi-sphere aspects as philosophy, religion and art, we tried to detect their inner unity that represent the spiritual as it is. Spiritual cognition represents the highest form of manifestation of the reasonable life of a man, its essence.

The sense of spiritual phenomenon in simple and clear words is determined as relation of a man to his own life, to his I and to his own world in which he exists. Spiritual cognition is demonstrated in realization by a man of the purpose of his being, it express relation of a man towards each moment of his life from the point of view of Eternity. Though this relation is imported from outside but it is the essence of the life itself, immanent essence of which is disclosed through appeal to transcendental.

In the investigation, through a prism of N. Machiavelli’s creativity, possible variants of a correlation between violence and non-violence in policy are revealed: specially Machiavelli’s (only the virtue political aim justifies any means), Machiavellianism (the aim justifies any means), humanistic (the virtue aim can be

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achieved only by virtue methods) and pacifists (nonresistance to evil by force, – L. Tolstoy). The basic difference of the specified variants of understanding of a correlation between morals and policy is established. It is marked, that Machiavellianism cannot be named a policy at all, as such activity is extremely criminal offence. Limited humanism of Machiavelli can be relatively justified only at a stage of formation the national states, but it is inadmissible in the world becoming global. Pacifist-nonresistance variant considered as immoral. It is asserted that the decision of modern global both international, and internal problems can be reached only on the basis of a humanistic policy of non-violence, (nonresistance to evil by violence, that doesn’t except, but sometimes need resistance to evil by force) which principles are opened in «axial time» by world religions and philosophy, and which were advanced by I. Kant, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, M. Gandy, M.L. King, etc. In detail I. Il'in's polemic with L. Tolstoy’s doctrine of «nonresistance to evil by force» is revealed in details. The role of intelligentsia in the Russian society is analyzed.

Fundamental metaphysical issues are discussed here; different types of worldviews and their impact on the sociopolitical life, including their connection with the political ideologies of the past (Hegelianism, Marxism, etc.) and the present (liberal democracy) are considered. Christianity actualized here as imperishable source of all social metamorphoses in Europe. Religious philosophical and sociopolitical materials are presented in the spirit of the famous anthology of Russian philosophers titled Vekhi (Landmarks, 1909), yet formulated as discussions, sometimes frank and unprejudiced; as a result, the author draws certain conclusions to be evaluated by the readers. Particular attention is drawn to the ideological foundations of opposition movements, which often prefer ungrounded captiousness to creative activity. Here is taken an attempt to formulate the crucial fundamentals of positive ideology, which is essential to Russian society.

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ception to which senses can’t supply adequate subject. Cognition founded on intellect specifies world apprehension principles. In Criticism pure mind he notes that any our cognition is caused thanks to senses, then moves to reason and finishes into intellect as the highest cognition capacity;

– Faith as “groundless knowledge” directed to cognition of incomprehensible and transcendent.

Only the last two highest levels are considered as spiritual cognition.

Meanwhile we must make difference between faith and superstitions. Faith is based on speculative thought and doesn’t contain naturalistic character while superstitions are specific «vain belief», faith in nonsense. Superstitions are always empirical; they give literal interpretation to all that is interpreted in spiritu- ally-symbolic way by faith. Faith gives a scope to the human freedom and consolidates it but superstitions always mean complete human dependence on some forces or idols. The superstitions, same as mystics construct other worlds in the image and likeliness of the sensual world; per se they just double and triple the present world. The faith says about other world as of a spiritual speculative world but not as of a world situated in some other space and time. The faith speaks about eternity. Hell and Paradise

– are spiritual ideas so within these abstract concepts it is useless to look for wonderful gardens or for devils with pans. We can find these symbols in religious legends but they are not to be interpreted as naturalistic ones. There are always a lot of superstitions but there is only one faith though its interpretations can vary. The superstitions are unscientific, but the faith is superscientific, it includes science but is not limited by it. According to philosophy a human being can create his life on the basis of his sense and according to developed religion on the basis of faith in absolute virtue that is above and more powerful than stars or terrestrial augurs. Let us correlate the discussed human cognitive abilities with the main kinds of human’s intellectual development of the world:

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tual, for the latter relates to the first one. Mystics and superstitions are not super-rational but are just primitive «rational» and empirical. They claim for the status of super national knowledge while remaining within the limits of rational and design structures of «other worlds», contradicting by that to empiricism and rationalism in the proper sense of the word. Without any authorization irrational is using both rational and super rational, being in fact pseudo rational and pseudo super rational.

Any true cognition regardless its form it has or the methods it use has a creative character. Creativity finds its reflection in cognition of unknown in the very movement of cognizing thought. The specific creative character is an inherent quality of intuition and of imagination. The development of creative imagination plays the role of a ram for break through the traditional theories and getting beyond their limits. The cognition creativity can exist in environment of freedom, objectivity and criticism.

First of all it is self-cognition. In the most intimate spiritual making where the person is extremely sincere to himself, he is capable to touch depths of his own life, to meet himself, sometimes for the first time is valid to find out and realize him. Thus the spiritual self-knowledge is carried out, for such selfrecognition is simultaneously also spiritual transformation of the person. The spiritual knowledge begins there where a person in the unfathomed sincerity concerns depths of his own same as of general being.

§ 2. Spiritual cognition in different cultures

Is there anything spiritual that has universal significance or some kind of superstructure above national interests? Fyodor Dostoevsky answered this question by saying that what is universal is born from the blossoming of what is national. Those things which are the best and the deepest products of national cultures are also, by nature, universal. The Tao te ching, the Vedas and the

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