Filosofska Dumka

“MNEMONIC TURNS” IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT. HOW CULTURES OF MEMORY INFLUENCE THE MODERN WORLD

Roman ZYMOVETS — 2025-09-05

Theses about the “living” nature of the past, its ability to “return” and influence the present and the future have defined the contours of the so-called turn to memorial culture, which has been observed in Western humanities since the 1980s. The “memorial turn” marks the transition from the future-focused modernity to a new “regime of historicity” focused mainly on the past.

The article argues that the memorial turn of the late 20th century itself should be viewed historically, as one of the stages of the valorization of the phenomenon of collective or historical memory in the times of modernity and after them. The specificity of each of the stages was determined by the change in the perception of historical time as a complex mutual relationship of the temporal dimensions of the past, present and future. Depending on this, memory performed the functions of temporally overcoming gaps and balancing accelerations, the source of which was the future (1), processing traumatic historical experience and the emancipation associated with it (2), constructing the future as a field of lost or unrealized possibilities of the past (3). Each of these functions gives a special shade to the constitution of collective identity.

The memorial turn of the end of the last century was associated, first of all, with the processing of traumatic memory, regarding the crimes of former totalitarian regimes, as well as violence against oppressed and marginalized groups, communities, and peoples in the past. It took place against the background of a specific Western understanding of the conceptual implementation of the key tasks of liberal democracy, which was articulated in the discourse of the "end of history". This led to the projection of the agenda of liberal-democratic justice onto the past, as a result of which the historical-didactic concept of “negative memory” was developed and numerous discourses of memory, which became a form of emancipation from the traumatic burden of the past, emerged.

Currently, the meaning and function of the past in relation to the present are changing radically. The absence of universalist or more or less inclusive projects of the future, the alienation of the future itself, articulated in the concepts of trans- and post-humanism, lead to reconstructivist projections of historical memory onto the present and the future. From a critical elaboration of the past, they move to the embodiment of its lost and unrealized possibilities, which results in the flourishing of historical revanchism.

Against the backdrop of an alienated future, the European culture of negative memory, on the one hand, and various forms of historical reconstructivism, on the other, determine the face of the modern world. Their coexistence forms a complex picture of the multitemporality of the present despite economic, technological and communicative globalization. Projecting into the political sphere, they lead to tension and open conflicts between societies committed to the international legal status quo and the revanchist encroachments of collective actors of the "new world order", which also implies a new history.

DEFINITION AND CRITERIA OF HUMAN DEATH AS A BIOETHICAL PROBLEM

Dmytro SEPETYI — 2025-09-05

The article discusses the problem of defining human death (death of a person) and its criteria in the context of contemporary bioethical debates. It analyzes the main approaches to the theoretical justification of the criterion of human death as the complete and irreversible cessation of all brain function (“the whole brain criterion”), which since the 1970s has gained wide recognition and legal acceptance in most countries of the world, as well as the main critical arguments against this criterion. The analysis provides grounds for concluding that the justification of the whole-brain criterion of human death based on a purely biological definition of death as the irreversible cessation of the integrated functioning of the organism is refuted by weighty counterarguments, primarily counterexamples of the integrated functioning of the human organism with a “dead” brain. On the other hand, the justification based on the intuitively plausible identification of human death with irreversible loss of consciousness in all its forms (inability to experience anything), while supporting the adoption of the whole-brain criterion as a step in the right direction, as compared to the traditional cardiopulmonary criterion, leads to the conclusion that it is advisable to replace the whole-brain criterion with the criterion that more accurately corresponds to this identification—human death as the irreversible cessation of all brain functions responsible for conscious mental states (“the higher brain criterion”). Consideration of the main arguments of the supporters of this position, the objections raised against it, and the responses to these objections gives grounds for concluding that it adequately represents the most socially and ethically significant meanings associated with the concept of human (personal) death. At the same time, given the heated debate on this issue, it is reasonable to introduce a pluralistic practice whereby the death of persons whose conscientious (religious or philosophical) beliefs contradict the basic criterion established by law (applicable “by default”) can be determined according to the criteria that agree with these beliefs.

Eighth Nelly Ivanova-Georgievska Prize Competition

Vitaliy Nechiporenko — 2025-09-05

Competition for receiving the Nellie Ivanova-Georgievska Award for young researchers for the best scientific research in the following areas: Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Philosophy of Laughter, Philosophy of Dance.

THE LAUGHTER OF SATYRS AND COMEDIANS AS ANTHROPODESTRUCTIVE AND ANTHROPOSAVING WORLD RELATION IN THE BORDERLINE SITUATION:PART I

Daniella BILOHRYVA — 2025-09-05

The content of the article is closely related to the works of V. G. Tabachkovsky and N. A. Ivanova-Georgiyevska on the topic of the saving functions of laughter as a life-affirming worldview and the destructive possibilities of a life-denying worldview. The relevance and novelty of the research lies in establishing the existence of anthropo-destructive laughter and its features, different from anthropo-saving laughter or simply laughter; in identifying the conditions under which it will be precisely determined when and in which cases laughter is anthropodestructive and when anthroposaving; and how exactly the constructive and destructive features of both life-affirming and life-denying laughter and worldview are presented on the example of the jesting poetry of satyrs and comedians present in ancient Greek songs and dramas, the difficulty of which lies in determining the quality of their initial laughter. Accordingly, the purpose of the work is showing of the origins, essence and initial purpose of the laughter of satyrs and the first comedians as human-destructive and human-saving worldview, or rather, world relation as attitude toward the world, that is realized in the crisis or borderline situation, with indicating the facets not only of laughter and the perception of the situation, but also the facets of the choice of how to relate to and to shape the behavior to the circumstances that have arisen. As a result of the research, it was discovered that bitter laughter is embodied in the maliciously mocking sardonic laughter of satyrs in dithyrambic songs, satyr dramas, tragedies, the essence of which is reduced to the initial sacrificial songs, where the heroes of the mockery were victims in honor of a particular ancient Greek deity, and then this type of action turned into a drama that was supposed to cause pity in the audience through the mockery of the heroes. In contrast, benign laughter is manifested in comedies, which, as it turned out, originally represented a humorous struggle against injustice. It was also revealed the origin of the word 'comedy', the essence of comedians singing, and telling about the first singers who eventually overcame their offenders by punishing them with laughter. Therefore, the borderline situation of meeting unfavorable circumstances, where one person becomes a victim, forces this one to make a choice between the anthropodestructive worldview and attitude toward the world (world relation) with crying because of his fate, alternatively, the anthroposaving worldview and world relation with the benign laughter as a form of resistance. In another instance, it forces a person observing someone's plight from the sidelines to make a choice between making an evil mockery of someone who has found themselves in a crisis situation with the aim of destruction, or helping that human get out of difficulties through life-affirming laughter for victory over pessimism and ill-wishers.

THE SPACE HETEROGENEITY PROBLEM: THE CONCEPT OF HETEROTOPIA

Antonina BOIKO — 2025-09-05

The article attempts to actualize the spatial dimension of human existence, namely the phenomenon of heterotopia which became popular in the world at the end of the 20th century for rethinking modern network connections, performativity in culture, the new dominant mode of space, the mode of emplacement (l'emplacement), being on the frontier, inter- and transdisciplinary research. A brief review of the history of the concept of space suggests that the spatial aspect of human life was largely ignored in medieval and modern times. With the help of social topology and philosophical topography, which uses the phenomenological method, it becomes clear that contemporary cities are saturated with contradictory meanings that can be combined in heterotopias. Cities are complex topical formations with a huge number of highly charged places. In cities, we encounter a particularly pronounced element of heterotopias, which can be more or less tangible. Thus, heterotopias become “counter-locations”, a kind of utopia that has been realized. In them, everything real that people encounter is imagined, presented, questioned, and turned upside down. Six principles of heterotopias are given, outlining their essence. The example of several popular heterotopias demonstrates the need for a new approach to work with space in Ukrainian society, to its rethinking. Modern trends in many areas of life manifest this extraordinary relevance of the spatial issue, which, in our opinion, is best demonstrated in the phenomenon of juxtaposing several places in one space. Malls and the subway are such places of the greatest demonstrativeness of the essence of heterotopia in modern urban life. The subway has acquired special importance with the beginning of the full-scale invasion. As a result, these heterotopias reflect a defining ambiguity. On the one hand, we can agree with Foucault that heterotopias reflect the crisis (previously mainly deviant) nature of social relations, on the other hand, such a nature is already an integral part of social life in the 21st century.

SOME REMARKS ON PHENOMENOLOGY OF MUSIC

Alina KAHALO — 2025-09-05

The paper shows the necessity to investigate the phenomenology of music, which the author understands as a propaedeutic to the construction of an ontology of music as a specific cultural phenomenon. One cannot proceed towards the task relying solely on experiential descriptions of what music is perceived to be and on excessively metaphoric language commonly in use with music studies. Unlike the natural science, which starts inductively from experience to dive afterwards into a sort of theory backed by rigorous experimentation, understanding cultural phenomena has to begin not with empirical impressions, but with a grounded concept. Otherwise, one risks finding oneself in quest for some other unintended entity. These grounded concepts are still wanted in the field of musical culture studies. Therefore, the notion of conceptual deficit is introduced, denoting the state of affairs in the attempts of philosophy and cultural studies to investigate music. The author analyses the existing approaches to musical phenomenology in the context of philosophy of music, which, unlike the correct phenomenological investigation of music, is rather a set of implications that inevitably arise when traditional and commonplace ideas about music are accepted as the basis for phenomenological research. Some of difficult-to-resolve contradictions to which the tradition of descriptive musical phenomenology comes when attempting to construct ontological models are examined. In the author's opinion this state of affairs contradicts Husserl's guidance «zurück zu den Sachen selbst», which suggests it is necessary to turn away from naïve impressions of some thing to the very thing as it is, towards «to ti ên einai», «the what it was supposed to be», that is, to the solid concept and not a partial example of the thing. The article charts a path of transition from the phenomenological study of music to a genuine investigation of the paradoxes and problems of the ontology of music as a specific cultural phenomenon.

Music as the very thing appears to have to be conceptualised not as an acoustic phenomenon, not as an immediate emotional experience, not as a sentence with obscure and fluid meaning from a language purportedly capable to express the inexpressible, but as a radically different thing, an entity that exists as an enigma, a problem to be talked about and to be solved, perhaps analytically, to ensure the sound ontology of music as a cultural phenomenon.

Editorial

Vitaliy Nechiporenko — 2025-09-05

Editorial

Foreword

Tetiana GARDASHUK — 2025-09-05

WAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT

WAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT: ECOLOGICAL, ETHICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS

Anatoliy YERMOLENKO — 2025-09-05

Yermolenko, A. (moderator), Gardashuk, T. (moderator), Remezova, O., Havryliuk, R., Hutsalenko, O., Kisselyova, O., Karachevtseva, L., Boichenko, N., Karpenko, K., Gomilko, O., Biriuk, N., Vatsyk, Yu., Balinchenko, S., Adamenko, B.

This issue of the Philosophical Thought journal is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the environmental impact of war on humans and society. It contains materials from the roundtable discussion, 'War and the Environment: Ecological, Ethical and Anthropological Dimensions', which took place on 28 March 2025 at the H. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (moderators: Anatoliy Yermolenko, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Director of the H. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy; Tetiana Gardashuk, Doctor Hab. in Philosophy, Head of the Department of Logic and Methodology of Science) and thematic articles.

The roundtable, which brought together philosophers, natural scientists, and other humanities experts, provided an opportunity for a broad dialogue to find answers to today's challenges. It also allowed for a deeper understanding of how war transforms the environment, the value system, and the very essence of man. The discussion covered direct and indirect environmental damage (destruction of ecosystems and habitats, natural resources, agricultural lands, pollution, and climate change) and anthropological transformations caused by war, as well as ethical, philosophical, and artistic reflections on these issues. The impact of the war on the geological environment and the country's mineral resources was highlighted. The importance of evaluating these resources for the country's socio-economic potential and post-war rebuilding was emphasized. One of the central issues was the impact of Russian aggression on Ukrainian identity, particularly in terms of destructive environmental changes. Other issues included the moral and ecological dimensions of war, and rethinking ecocide as an ethical and existential catastrophe, as well as ways to confront it. It was also noted that nature is not only a 'silent victim' of war, but also a witness to tragic events, which leaves a unique imprint on the landscape of our memory.

Participants also expressed their support for holding regular roundtable discussions on the topic of “War and the Environment”.

THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR AS A CHALLENGE TO THE IMPERATIVE “HUMAN DIGNITY – RESPECT FOR NATURE”

Anatoliy YERMOLENKO — 2025-09-05

The article examines moral and ecological problems in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war as a challenge to the imperative “human dignity – respect for nature”. In particular, the author discusses the predictions of prominent contemporary philosophers (K.-O. Apel, H. Jonas, H. Küng, etc.) regarding risks of a global ecological catastrophe, as well as their warnings about the possibility of the destruction of humanity as a result of a global nuclear war. Putting forward the concepts of “rehabilitation of practical philosophy”, according to which moral and ethical affiliations would become the unifying factor between man and the environment, they directed their efforts towards the scientific substantiation and practical formation of a new moral and ethical and political and legal world order as a value-normative safeguard against global catastrophe. The article notes that the Russian-Ukrainian war, aimed not only at the destruction of Ukrainians as an ethnic group, but also at the destruction of their natural and cultural environment, is not only genocide, but also ecocide of the Ukrainian people.

The text also states that the Russian authorities, by placing current Russian legislation above international law, violate not only agreements that regulate relations between states, but also international agreements on environmental protection. The concept of the “Connatural World” of both man nature as a “Related Universe” is proposed in the article as a methodological paradigm in solving global environmental problems. It is also considered as a factor in the rehabilitation of the significance of moral and ethical belongings, which are motivating components of achieving victory in the Russian-Ukrainian war and restoring their cultural and natural environment by Ukrainians.

RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR: ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS AND NUCLEAR FEARS

Tetiana GARDASHUK — 2025-09-05

The article is analyzing the environmental impacts of full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine within the framework of modern approaches to assessing the war-environment interaction. This includes the concept of ecocide as the widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment.

The particularities of the current Russo-Ukrainian war are its hybrid character and scale, vast targeting of industrial and agricultural infrastructure, as well as weaponization of different kinds of resources and civilian nuclear facilities. Special attention is paid to the analysis of new threats of nuclear disaster resulting from the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and attacks on other civilian objects, which match nuclear terrorism and violate the principle of nuclear taboo (Nina Tannenwald), inducing nuclear fear. Such a fear is considered an expression of solidarity with all life forms threatened by nuclear disasters (Ulrich Beck). Russian nuclear terrorism is a speculation on nuclear fears and an exploitation of this feeling. Hans Jonas’ heuristics of fear could be a clue to transform the fear into effective actions to stop Russian aggression, nuclear blackmail, and terrorism.

GLOBAL PROBLEMS OF HUMANITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR

Valerii ZAHORODNIUK — 2025-09-05

The article is dedicated to the global problems of humanity in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War. It shows that the two pressing global problems humanity faces in the 21st century are the problem of war and peace, and the problem of ecology. These problems hold significant theoretical and practical importance. While one problem or the other may take center stage in human history at different times, their undisputed and constant interconnectedness is a well-established fact.

It is argued that the ecological situation in Ukraine is significantly deteriorating due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. However, it's not just about diagnosing the illness. Certain remedies are just as crucial. In the study of global problems, particularly ecological ones, it's important not only to describe these issues but also to engage in philosophical reflection upon them. We should overcome the enlightenment illusion that humans act according to acquired knowledge and that science is a panacea for solving humanity's global problems, especially ecological ones.

The author agrees with the German researcher W. Kuhlmann, who believes that it's impossible to completely abandon anthropocentrism concerning nature in general. In this regard, the author proposes their own ecological imperative: "Treat nature as you would wish it to treat you." This ecological imperative is based on a uniquely modified "golden rule," which Immanuel Kant once transformed into his own categorical imperative.

Certain reservations are justified regarding the term "ecological ethics" itself, as ethics is the theoretical understanding of morality, and this category is inherent only in inter-human communication. Therefore, ethics is possible only in subject-subject relations, and ecology, as it’s known, is the science of the relationship between humans and nature, which is not a subject. That is why anthropocentrism in relation to nature remains unconquered.

The relationship between humans and nature is mediated by the relationship with other people, just as the relationship between humans and the world is mediated by the relationship between humans. In this context, a moral relationship in human communication regarding nature is possible. With this understanding, ecological ethics would no longer cause significant objections. However, it is shown that the central problem of this discipline remains unresolved: Is nature valuable in itself, or is it valuable to humans? If we insist on the first thesis, we will inevitably adopt a position of naturalism. If we share the second thesis, this choice will inevitably lead to anthropocentrism. Therefore, it is worth agreeing with the renowned German researcher K.M. Meyer-Abich, who believes that humanity is not the measure of all things. Instead, everything that surrounds us is perhaps the measure of our humanity.

Ontological-anthropological dichotomy and metaphysical incompatibility of the “russkii mir” and the Ukrainian world

Oksana HORKUSHA — 2025-09-05

The ideas about the world and man on the worldview maps of the Ukrainian world and the "russkii mir" are mutually exclusive. This is actually the reason for one of the Kremlin's stated goals of this war: the "denazification" of Ukrainians, which actually means the destruction of our identity in all cultural and intellectual discourses. In the system of identities of a person, religious, church and confessional identity are connected with civil identity, because a believer of a particular denomination realizes himself at the same time as a citizen of a particular country; and historical, discursive-basic for the "memory of the family" and understanding of one's own origins, place in modernity and socio-civilizational perspectives. A whole spectrum of confessions is simultaneously present in both Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, these confessions often have a common origin due to a long historical period during which the territory of Ukraine, due to previous occupation by Muscovy, existed as part of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union (an imperial clone of Muscovy in the last century). For thirty years, the confessional development of independent Ukraine took place independently or at a distance. Muscovy's war of aggression against Ukraine raised the question of the commonality/incompatibility of those confessions whose representatives were on different sides of the front. In the article, we will find out whether the doctrinal discourses of these confessions are connected with the worldview maps of the "russkii mir" and the Ukrainian world? How do they answer fundamental metaphysical questions about the meaning of life and the price of human death, about the possibility of destroying part of the actualized world in light of the expediency of modern war and the specific frontline situation, where Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims, pagans, Protestants, supported by their religious preachers, are on different sides?

The author compares the two included positions of the subject regarding reality: 1) real (typical for Ukrainians, in which the subject is included in the event, perceives reality as an ontological given, with which, in interaction with others who are also in this event and share the same (adequate reality) worldview parameters and self-define as a conscious responsible actor, including God (for believers), co-creates the future taking into account the past and the jointly formulated proper; 2) simulacrum, inherent in the bearers of the "russkii mir", in which their worldview model is recognized as exemplary, while reality is refuted, destroyed, and becomes material for the embodiment of the "correct picture of the world" imposed by the Kremlin. Accordingly, being on the battlefield from different sides (Ukrainians defending their world and actualized life, and Russians who want to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians), representatives of the same religions cannot actually profess the same God, for the same Lord cannot be the Creator and the Destroyer, the author of the real world and the Liar who imposes his lies on the world.

WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE RELIGIOUS PLURALITY OF UKRAINE

Anatolii KOLODNYI — 2025-09-05

The article raises the issue of the danger of the Russian-Ukrainian war for the traditional religious diversity of Ukraine. The authors believe that religious plurality is threatened by objective and subjective circumstances. Among the first are the direct losses experienced by religious communities due to the death of their followers because of Russian aggression, captivity, and migration. People of different religious beliefs die en masse in the process of war. They, constituting the human resource and social base for religious communities of different religious traditions, will not reproduce the natural increase in the number of members of a particular faith. Therefore, such an expected and unexpected decrease in the number of believers as well as the number of their religious communities of both majority and minority religions will lead to a contraction of the religious field of Ukraine. This applies equally to territories controlled by the Ukrainian government and those temporarily occupied by Russia. During the war, surviving believers in the controlled territories are forced to migrate both within the country and beyond its borders. This introduces some chaos into the religious life of Ukrainian believers. Temporary/non-temporary displacement of millions of people significantly changes the religious landscape of the country.

Temporarily occupied territories have lost the communities of Ukrainian churches that have existed there for years – Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant. Residents of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are leaving their small homelands. Those who are unable to leave either join the army of non-believers or join churches and religious organizations that have Moscow/Russia as their administrative centers. Not only the landscape is changing, but also the nature of the religiosity of the Ukrainian population, which also depends on the policy and moods of the leaders of certain religious communities. The decision to change administrative subordination, which can be considered a subjective factor in the process of reducing religious pluralism in Ukraine, will lead to a transformation of the religious, national and political orientation of religious communities. The war influenced the polarization of sentiments in the religious environment not so much between religions as within the communities themselves, dividing former brothers in faith into supporters of Ukraine and the awareness of the need to defend it, and its enemies, the Zhduns, who expect the return of Soviet times and Moscow's dominance.

The authors conclude that the traditional for Ukraine religious pluralism is facing the threat of destruction (within uncontrolled territories) or a significant reduction (within controlled territories). Large churches maintain their area of responsibility, although they have lost their members (dead, displaced, migrants). Minority communities have struggled to survive after COVID-19, and with the beginning of the war, both the number of followers and the number of communities is rapidly decreasing. Previously, dominant religious associations allowed the possibility of minorities existing alongside them, even supported them to some extent, tried to form tolerant relations, and acted as a kind of guarantor of their freedom. Now, when the resources of even the dominant religions have greatly decreased, they definitely do not care about Jews, Muslims, Baha'is, etc. There is a danger that interreligious understanding will also experience a crisis.