25. Philosophy of Antiquity. General characteristics of schools and philosophical systems.

Hermeneutic theory is a member of the social subjectivist paradigm where meaning is inter-subjectively created, in contrast to the empirical universe of assumed scientific realism (Berthon et al. 2002). Other approaches within this paradigm are social phenomenology and ethnography. As part of the interpretative research family, hermeneutics focuses on the significance that an aspect of reality takes on for the people under study. Hermeneutics focuses on defining shared linguistic meaning for a representation or symbol.

In order to reach shared understanding as proposed in hermeneutic theory, subjects must have access to shared linguistic and interpretative resources (Marshall et al. 2001). However, hermeneutic theory also posits that linguistic meaning is likely open to infinite interpretation and reinterpretation due to the interpretative ambiguity coming from presuppositions, to the conditions of usage different from authorial intention, and to the evolution of words (Marshall et al. 2001).

Due to its interpretive nature, hermeneutics cannot be approached using a pre-determined set of criteria that is applied in a mechanical fashion (Klein et al. 1999). However, a meta-principal, known as the hermeneutic circle, guides the hermeneutic approach where the process of understanding moves from parts of a whole to a global understanding of the whole and back to individual parts in an iterative manner (Klein et al. 1999). This meta-principal allows the development of a complex whole of shared meanings between subjects, or between researchers and their subjects (Klein et al. 1999).

28. Interlude on Russian Philosophy. The Westerners and Slavofiles.

If Westerners insisted that the countries of Western Europe and Russia are developing by the same for all mankind laws, the Slavophiles believed that the most important historical task of Russia is the development of distinctive social and cultural beginnings. Westerners were united by critical attitude to the Slavophiles, confidence in the priority of general laws of historical development over special and specific. However, Westerners have a different interpretation characteristics of peculiarities of Western civilization and, consequently, differently imagined perspective of the historical development of Russia. It is believed that opposition to the Westerners and Slavophiles was overstated by later criticism and literary history. For example, Pavel Annenkov in his memoirs, notes that often, it referred only to "an elegant, differences of opinion". Typical Westerners political demands were: to provide citizens with basic rights and freedoms, the cancelitation of serfdom, corporal punishment, restriction of autocracy constitution, etc. The most important states of Slavophiles formulated in close connection with the reflections of the world, west and Russian history. World History was understood by Slavophiles as a dramatic confrontation began spiritual freedom and material boundaries. In civilizations and cultures of different peoples, this conflict is reflected and embodied differently. The turning point in world history was connected with the appearance of Christianity. But Christianity was differently perceived west nations and Russia: the West, Christianity was subjected to distortion, while in Russia remained in a perfect cleanliness. The distortion was due to the adoption of the West beginnings the pagan Roman learning. According Slavophiles, Russia faces a great challenge - to bring the beginning of the true Christian spirit to the peoples of the West. Different fate of Christianity in west and Russian.People identified the features and peculiarities of their historical path: in the West dominated the beginning of individualism, formal rationality, external freedom, in the Orthodox East - collectivism, whole faith, the true catholicity