Потаённые страницы истории западной философии

The position of the 19th century Swiss linguist F. de Saussure arouses interest in the philosophy of language with strange and paradoxical theses. The strangeness of theses stems from the fact that they do not fit into any epistemology known in the history of Western philosophy: neither sensationalism, nor rationalism, nor apriorism, nor the phenomenology of the spirit. According to Saussure, in the structures of language there are no signs of its origin: as if language always existed, only transforming in time and geography. The article supports Saussure’s observations with additional arguments. In particular, the older the language, the more morphologically complex it is, the more cumbersome and casuistry it is. Language, even if it arose historically, did not «from simple to complex», as is the case with natural emergence. Another argument comes down to the fact that within the framework of visual communication, especially among relatives, the grammatical structures of verbal language are generally unnecessary: understanding is carried out «without words». Therefore, the need for morphological structures appears exclusively outside of visual communication, that is, for the sake of mail – through written signs. An important conclusion follows from this: human language was formed exclusively in the form of writing; the acoustic stage of language is secondary – based on a ready-made written language. All spoken languages appeared as a «sounding» of a ready-made «writing». Writing did not emerge from language, but language emerged from writing. The third argument is represented by the thesis that writing developed outside of signal communication, solely for the purpose of transmitting technological recipes. Accordingly, the initiation of writing was «recipe knowledge» – within the framework of priestly ritual-trance cognition.

The lost manuscript of D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky about ecstasy in language and culture

Russian philologist and sociologist D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky interned in Europe for some years and took W. Humboldt’s thesis «language is the spirit of the people» as the basis for his research. In the dissertation on the texts of the Rig Veda, special attention was paid to Agni, the deity of ecstasy. The ecstatic nature of the psalmody, coupled with the analysis of rituals, led Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky to several socio-cultural conclusions. Firstly, in trance rituals the consumption of «intoxicants» is mandatory. Secondly, ritual body movements must correspond to the nature of psychotropic substances; you can’t drink and don’t move. Thirdly, trance fainting is controllable: you cannot lose responsibility for solving an urgent problem (for the sake of which you participate in a trance). And most importantly: the result of the trance should be the visualization of a way to solve a problem (health, trade, communication). As a sociologist, Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky noted the preservation of the ancient culture of trance rituals in civilization: these are holidays, sexuality, creativity in various activities (art, religion, science, war, work, leisure).

Allusion to philosophy in the works of F.M. Dostoevsky

There is one peculiarity in the works of F.M. Dostoevsky: all his characters put forward or discuss some «ideas». One gets the impression that the novels are philosophical or even theological in nature. It turns out that all ideas without exception are not concrete. For example, «beauty will save the world» – when, from whom, did it ever save? As L. Shestov noted, all of Dostoevsky’s «ideas» are «on the eve» of meaning. Readers have an expectation of an «idea», but without the idea itself. This is a literary device of the writer. It makes no sense to accuse the author of understatement or, on the contrary, to declare him a «philosopher». Art lies in the illusory nature of not only feelings, but also thoughts. Dostoevsky as an artist creates illusions of profundity, thereby exhausting his literary intent.

Another literary device used by Dostoevsky is the psychology of gossip. Gossip is a conversational genre in which there is nervous excitement and a thirst to find out everything «to the end». All the writer’s characters are busy with «ideas» and «gossip». As a result, a symbiosis of sensuality and reason, characteristic of the writer’s work, arises. Naturally, on this basis it is not philosophy that arises, but the appearance of its presence. When a writer is declared in all seriousness to be a «philosopher», this clearly harms philosophy as such.

Anti – Huizinga: a different philosophy of play