Philosophical understanding of education is a logical continuation of philosophical interpretation of the world and human beings in it. Therefore, it is not surprising that such an important social sphere has attracted attention of philosophers for centuries. Even a cursory glance at their concepts reveals that they have touched upon most issues that are still relevant today. The paper attempts to briefly describe the educational ideas of Titus Flavius Clemens, Origen, Saint Augustine, Boethius, Thomas Aquinas, Francesco Petrarch, Vittorino de Feltre, (...) Michel de Montaigne, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella. The authors used hermeneutical, cultural-historical, and integrative approaches. (shrink)

The article deals with the problem concerning the principles of the metaphysics explanatory basis, which provide the achievement of the goals in this most general, most abstract, and, at the same time, the most debatable field of knowledge. Different kinds of explanatory basis in metaphysics are analyzed – cosmic mereological monism, structural cosmic monism, cosmic modal monism, natural substance monism, transcendent substance monism, existential monism, abstract monism as well as the similar kinds of metaphysical pluralism including atomism and space-time pluralism. (...) The implausibility of pluralism and its inefficiency for solving the problems of metaphysics is argued, while for metaphysical monism the need for its clarification as a grounding force is stated. The conception of super-monism is proposed. It is based on the logic of fundamental reality which differs from generally accepted formal logic in that it lacks logical laws, primarily the law of contradiction. The fundamental reality is defined as pure being which is identical with a difference, identity, existence, and the existing. By the identification of the various, this reality is defined as one. By identity with distinction, this reality is defined as the ground of all world diversity. Being which is expressed in terms of difference and identity is reflected in the metaphysical formula, which is proposed as the only tool for describing everything that exists at the extremely abstract level. (shrink)

The article deals with the problem concerning the language of metaphysics. Metaphysics is understood as knowledge about the world as a whole. It is argued that such a perspective needs specific language tools for the description of metaphysical reality. The principal characteristic of the terms of the language aimed at describing the world metaphysically is their ultimate abstractness. It is stated that this abstractness not just corresponds but coincides with the ultimate simplicity of metaphysical reality, that is to say, the (...) reality of the world as a whole. The analysis of the ultimate reality or the absolute leads to the conclusion that both such reality and its depiction is ruled by a special logic different from what is conventionally considered to be logical. Elements of this logic are the ultimate abstractions. As it turned out, logical laws do not apply to extremely abstract objects, first of all, the law of contradiction. In the logic of the absolute, mutually exclusive statements point both to the same and not the same reality. The analysis shows that this is not the dialectical logic of contradiction and denial, it is the logic of the consistent unity and coexistence of identity and difference. The use of identities and differences in their ultimate sense allows us to determine the basic concepts of a metaphysical description – being, existence, the existing, difference, identity. Basic concepts serve as a necessary and sufficient basis for a complete metaphysical description of the entire existing, that is, the world as a whole. Going beyond the basic concepts, we, however, move from the logic of ultimate reality to the usual logic of empirical reality. (shrink)