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Rezvanolla Seyfullaev - PhD,
Academician of Russian Academy of Natural Science, Russia

Olessia Stroeva - PhD

Philosophy of the XXIst century – Dialogue of Cultures

“Philosophy is a culture of spirit”. - Cicero

Rezvanolla Seyfullaev

Defining the place of philosophy in the system of human values Bertrand Russell in the “History of Western Philosophy” assigned to it “no one’s land” between science and religion. We consider, that here Bertrand Russell set a fundamental problem of relation between knowledge and faith, science and wisdom. Philosophy, as we see, occupies “middle position” between them. Hence there originates an eternal problem of the sense and purpose of philosophy, which has been exciting the best minds throughout the history of humanity. In our complicated and contradictory age it has gained special sound, as the world is faced with the real threat of self-destruction and universal catastrophe.
Humanity of the XXIst century is seeking for the answers to the eternal and vital questions of its reasonable existence, expressed in poetic form by Omar Hayam in the XI century:
Where have we come from?
Where are we taking the path?
What is the sense of being?
It is incomprehensible…

Like an answer to these questions there sounds an optimistic call of French poet Paul Valerie:
Be never tired seeking for the answer
To that which has no answer
In this unanswering there is already an answer.

Philosophy is called due to its spiritual purpose “love to wisdom” to find answers to the eternal questions of creation and sense of human existence in it.
It seems, that not by chance ancient Greeks (Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato) having discovered “Wisdom of East” gave birth to “Philosophy of West” in the form of Western love to the Eastern wisdom. Since that time cultural dialogue between East and West has emerged.
In Indian philosophy the notion “darshaka” is introduced meaning “seeing of the truth” as a synonym to philosophical wisdom. In the history of the dialogue between al-Gazali, eastern Sufi, and ibn-Sinna (Avicenna) there is known their mutual recognition, when the first told that ibn-Sinna “knows what he sees” and the second answered that al-Gazali “sees what he knows”. In this dialogue the unity and difference of wisdom and knowledge, Faith and Mind is reflected.
Right is Socrates, stressing the great task of philosophy to be a midwife in the complicated process of delivery of Thought. Frances Beckon underlining the main purpose of philosophy to “teach thinking”, at the same time, warned not to be too deducting.
Socrates’ ideas about the sense and task of philosophy were generalized and developed by Kant in the “Metaphysics of morals”, where the major role of philosophy is described as a midwifery of the Thought.
In the history of Philosophy statements of Hegel sound as a mighty accord: Philosophy is an epoch, caught in thought; and the conclusion of Marx: Philosophy is a quintessence of the epoch.
All above mentioned again and again proves the actuality of the problem, which is being discussed at the Athenian Forum. Our reflections on the theme are an attempt to conceive this problem and express some ideas, hoping for the acceptance on such a representative Congress.
It’s become vital nowadays to search for the answers on such questions as: what is the future of mankind? What is the role of science in the prognosis of future? Is the dialogue between science and religion possible in the XXI century? What is the philosophy of future? Etc.
These questions were disturbing minds of scientists, philosophers and theologises in the past. Though they have taken on special significance today.
It’s well known that the first prize in the competition on the theme of “Wisdom of Socrates” was judged to the statement: “The wisdom of Socrates was in the following - he wasn’t thinking about what he knew that he knew nothing.”
As we see in this statement the problem of relation of knowledge and wisdom is put in the forefront.
Philosophy of future ought to solve this problem. If to suppose that knowledge is a power of Spirit and philosophy is a culture of Spirit, then Unity of Power (Will) and Culture, or Science and Philosophy is Wisdom itself.
In this movement from Science to Wisdom philosophy functions as an engine by means of love to wisdom.
Descartes’’ “cogito ergo sum” – “ I think, therefore I am”, Galileo’s “God created the world with mathematical pen” - that is a search for the answer to the question about the sense of philosophy and its task in solving the problem of human relation to the world, opportunities and limits of investigating nature and himself.
How important remembering Confucius: “In the society, where the sense of word is lost, human freedom is lost either”.
According to Cicero, philosophy is ‘a teacher of life, inventor of laws, booster to any virtue’. Right is Seneca defining philosophy as a history and art of righteous way of life.
During the whole history philosophy has been lighting up the path of Future.
In the XXI century philosophy has become a symbol of self-consciousness of a new man and his assurance in renaissance of higher spirituality and overcoming of spiritual crises, in which humanity has found itself at the edge of centuries.
This very idea is incorporated in the call of Persian poet Saadi, which is engraved in golden letters on the front of UN building:
All Adam’s tribe is one body,
Created out of one ash,
If one part is wounded
The whole body trembles.
If you never weep on human sorrow,
No one calls you a man.

Only with mutual efforts we will be able to build a great edifice of Unity, Peace and Concord on Earth. Such should the world become in the XXI century.
World Philosophical Forum is one of the steps in these efforts.

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