Demifologization of Russian culture. Philosophical essays

In his new book, Vladimir Kantor, writer, doctor of philosophical sciences, professor of National Research University "Higher School of Economics", head of the Russian-European intellectual dialogue, and considers one of the most important philosophical problems. The whole history of the culture of mankind, including Europe and Russia as a legitimate part of Europe, is permeated with myths as structurally forming scraops of consciousness. The myth plays the role of ambiguous, important as an instrument in the hands of a philosopher, for example Plato, he becomes destructive, mastering the consciousness of the crowd. As Mamardashvili wrote, there is no problem in the myth and everything is clear, and therefore he is so in demand by ignorance. The task of the philosopher to make the world re -incomprehensible, which is possible only, asking questions to yourself and the world, not trusting myth as knowledge. We are accustomed to some mythical interpretations, say, Pushkin, Chernyshevsky, so that a person of mass culture does not even want to look for other meaning, the myth is, as it were, given forever and does not require verification. And only the philosopher, the scientist opens the world, "spells" it, eliminating the myths. In the book, the author is trying to spell several myths: Pushkin, Gorky, Turgenev, Kerensky, and rejected by mass literary criticism - Katkov and Chernyshevsky, as well as the phenomenon of a revolution, overgrown with dozens of glorifying and cursing texts, songs and paintings. It is more difficult to live without myths, but this is human life