Philosophy, its Subject, and its Role in Human and Societal Life

Fundamental Questions of Philosophy and its Structure

The universal problem of philosophy is the relationship between "human being - world." This issue manifests in many aspects: subject - object, material - ideal, objective - subjective, and so on. From ancient times, philosophers have sought to identify the central aspect within this universal problem, which is often referred to as the fundamental question of philosophy. The most widespread formulation comes from Friedrich Engels in his work Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy: "The great fundamental question of all, especially modern philosophy, is the question of the relationship between thinking and being." This approach to the fundamental question of philosophy is grounded in the essential facts of human existence: there are material and spiritual phenomena. Engels identifies two main aspects of this question: the first is whether spirit or nature is primary, and the second is whether the world can be known. Depending on how philosophers resolve the first aspect, they are classified, according to Engels, as either materialists or idealists.

Materialism (from Latin materialis — material) holds that nature, existence, and matter are primary, while consciousness, thought, and spirit are secondary. Idealism (from Greek idea — form, archetype), in contrast, is a philosophical trend that argues spirit, consciousness, thought, and the ideal are primary, with being, nature, and the material as secondary.

Both materialism and idealism exhibit internal diversity. In terms of the historical development of materialism, one can distinguish its main forms: the spontaneous materialism of the ancient Greeks (Thales, Democritus, Heraclitus); the metaphysical mechanistic materialism of the Early Modern period (Bacon, La Mettrie, Helvétius); and dialectical materialism (Marx, Engels). There are also distinctions between scientific and vulgar materialism, the latter reducing the ideal to the material and equating consciousness with matter (Vogt, Büchner, Moleschott).

Idealism is also varied, with two primary forms: objective and subjective. Objective idealism considers some supra-human consciousness, such as the "absolute spirit" or world reason, to be the primary basis of existence. Key representatives include Plato, Aquinas, and Hegel. Subjective idealism, on the other hand, views the only reality as a collection of sensations, experiences, moods, and actions of the subject. Classical proponents of subjective idealism include Berkeley, Hume, and Fichte. The extreme form of subjective idealism is solipsism (from Latin solus — alone, ipse — self), which asserts that one can only speak with certainty about the existence of one's own "I" and sensations.

The question of the origin of being is also tied to the concepts of monism, dualism, and pluralism. Monism (from Greek monos — one, single) is the philosophical principle that explains the diversity of the world as manifestations of a single origin—whether matter or spirit. Therefore, monism can be either materialist or idealist. Dualism (from Latin dualis — dual) is a philosophical doctrine that holds that spirit and matter, the ideal and the material, are two independent, equally fundamental principles that do not condition one another. For example, Descartes posited that two equal substances, thinking (spirit) and extended (matter), lie at the foundation of existence. Pluralism (from Latin pluralis — multiple) suggests several or a multitude of independent substantial principles or types of being. An example can be seen in ancient theories proposing such diverse elements as earth, water, fire, air, and so forth as the foundations of all existence.

When addressing the second aspect of the fundamental question of philosophy, namely the question of whether the world can be known or the identity of thought and being, philosophers have also taken different stances. The majority, adhering to optimistic positions, gave an affirmative answer to this question, proclaiming the power of reason and its unlimited cognitive capabilities. They believed that human beings are capable of obtaining reliable knowledge and objective truth.

The pessimistic stance on the possibility of human cognition of the world was first represented by skeptics and later by agnostics. Skepticism (from Greek skeptikos — doubtful, one who investigates) is a philosophical doctrine that questions the possibility of reliably knowing the objective world. Its representatives include Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus. Agnosticism (from Greek agnostos — unknown) is a philosophical view that denies the fundamental possibility of knowing the essence of things and the laws governing reality. Key representatives include Kant and Hume.

An alternative approach to defining the fundamental question of philosophy can be found in the position of the French thinker Albert Camus. Focusing on the problems of human existence, he wrote: "I consider the question of life's meaning to be the most urgent of all questions." A view similar to Camus's is expressed by Nikolai Berdyaev, who considered the main philosophical problem to be that of human freedom—its essence, nature, and purpose.

Philosophy explores various aspects of being, cognition, human essence, and human existence. Accordingly, the system of philosophical knowledge has historically developed the following branches:

• Ontology (from Greek ontos — being, and logos — study) — the investigation of the most general questions of being; philosophy, striving to encompass the world in its unity, addresses the ultimate foundations of existence;
• Epistemology (from Greek gnosis — knowledge, and logos — study) — the investigation of the most general questions of cognition;
• Logic — the study of the laws and forms of correct thinking;
• Methodology (from Greek methodos — the path to knowledge, and logos — study) — the investigation of principles and means for constructing theoretical (cognitive) and practical activity;
• History of Philosophy — the study of the variety of concrete historical forms of philosophical thought in their development and continuity;
• Philosophy of History and Society — the investigation of the most general questions of the existence and development of society;
• Philosophical Anthropology — the analysis of general questions regarding human existence;
• Axiology (from Greek axios — value) — the philosophical study of values;
• Ethics — the investigation of morality as a specific form of social consciousness;
• Aesthetics — the investigation of the laws governing human artistic engagement with the world.