Man As a Philosophical Problem In the Concept of M.S. Kagan

Moses Samoylovich Kagan is a famous St. Petersburg scientist, philosopher, culturologist. The methodological basis of his writings was Marxism and, in particular, system analysis. The ideas and studies of Moses Samoilovich are formulated in his numerous books and articles, one of which is "Man as a problem of modern philosophy", consisting of five parts.

In this article, the author raises the central philosophical problem of "man and the world", which was relevant at all times. Most people think about their place in the world, because their activities must have an understandable purpose and direction. Very often a person begins to perceive his life as a routine, and then the question arises, "Why is it necessary, that I am in this world? What is my nature, essence, purpose? What determines the meaning and value of human life? What are the cardinal problems of human existence? These and other similar issues that determine the content of philosophical-anthropological thought are today at the center of attention of many scientists. [1]

In his work, Moses Samoilovich tries to understand these issues, draws attention to what a multifaceted and complex creature is a person. Kagan refers to the works of many philosophers and psychologists, such as Marx, Engels, Feirbach, Scheler, Freud, Ananiev, and others. The author writes that this topic has been treated differently in history. He distinguishes three types of philosophy, the first of which is the theocentric. Its essence is the perception of man as a certain deity. This type of philosophy persists throughout the history of culture.

The next type is naturocentric. Moses Samoilovich reports that he originated in Greece, and then revived in the European philosophy of modern times. For this historical type of philosophy , the recognition of the primacy of nature is characteristic. According to the anthropocentric type, man is the most complex type of being, a kind of synthesis of his relationship with nature, society, deity.

This typology allows us to clearly imagine how the philosophy developed, to trace in stages the relationship between man and the environment, social and cultural spheres. It is worth noting that the author, referring to history, does not look into the future and does not assume what will be the next type of philosophy. Even the Greeks realized that a man can begin to philosophize only from the knowledge of himself. The solution of being for man is hidden in man. Given the increased interest of the individual to self-knowledge, one can not ignore the assumption of a future type of philosophy.

In the next part of the article, MS. Kagan draws attention to a person as a unique form of being, compares it with other natural creatures and social institutions, pointing to their close relationship. Very often a person claims to be a "king of nature", a demiurge, a "super-human". But for an individual to overcome dependence on external forces (nature, society, culture), one must soberly understand his capabilities and objective boundaries. For this, according to MS. Kagan, it is necessary to reveal the historical variability of the essence, the form of human being . And indeed, throughout his entire existence, man seeks to break free, to get rid of dependence on external forces, the so-called slavery. But is it worth it? History shows us the close relationship between man, nature, culture, science, religion, all these are links of one chain. And, in order to maintain peace in the world, in my opinion, a person should not exalt himself above external forces and self-proclaim himself a super-being.

The third part of the work draws our attention to changes in the attitude of man and the world. If at the very beginning of human history the individual's dependence on external forces is clearly traced, then in the present situation we observe the opposite. In our eyes, the dependence of the environment on human activity is rapidly growing. This is because humanity has reached a level of consciousness and self-awareness that allows it to consciously regulate its relations with social institutions and natural elements, consciously direct its activities in science and technology, technology and communication, education and upbringing, soberly considering, based on Of the scientific knowledge obtained by him, the real limits of his capabilities, conditioned by the objective laws of the life of nature, society and culture. " With the onset of the third millennium, many people began to more and more surprise the world with their abilities, inventions, influence on external forces. This once again underscores the uniqueness of the human being.

In the fourth part, Moses Samoilovich reports the emergence of the danger of self-destruction of mankind. In this regard, each individual begins to realize his place in the world. A person realizes that he is not only a biological genus, a part of society, but also a bearer of cultural and religious values. But many terrible events that occurred in primitive times, in the Middle Ages, and now, make us think about the lack of values in people. And now, in my opinion, a person has a huge responsibility before the whole history of his kind. People need to retain their moral and spiritual qualities, appreciate and usefully spend every minute of their lives.

And in the final part of MS. Kagan reveals the problem of the relationship between philosophy and culture. Throughout history, philosophy has drawn to art (poetry, music, cinema, etc.), with the purpose of solving various problems of poetry, music, cinema, etc. The author considers the main thing that now this attraction becomes an awareness of the need to correlate that understanding of man , Which gives the philosopher life experience and achievements of sciences, with that specific knowledge, which is obtained by the artistic recreation of man. And this is very important for revealing the essence of understanding of modern man.

Further, the author turns to the problem of man and nature and suggests three ways of developing these relations: man-king of nature, worship of nature and dialogue with nature. In my opinion, the third option will ensure the best development of the relationship, this view is shared by the author. A person should be friendly to nature, with love and respect, and this will ensure his self-development.

Summarizing, Moses Samoilovich concludes that man has evolved and continues to develop spiritually, this is an eternal process that carries the name of self-development. And it is on this basis that philosophy can continue to consider its "tribal" problem - the relationship of man and the world.

Man is a very complex system that is constantly evolving. Thinking about a person captures a wide range of problems. This spectrum is almost inexhaustible. As a result, almost all philosophical reflections are drawn into the field of view of studying the main philosophical problem - man and the world. Based on the research of this article, the main thing for modern society is understanding its own purpose. The person should realize what a great responsibility lies before him - the maintenance and preservation of universal values and culture, which throughout history has been handed down from generation to generation.

[1] Gurevich PS Man as an object of socio-philosophical analysis. / / The problem of man in Western philosophy. Moscow: Progress, 1988, c. 504