Shatalovich I.,
PhD in philosophical sciences, docent, associate professor of the
Department of philosophical sciences
Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University
(Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine),
E-mail: [email protected]
Worldview transition from hetero-determination to auto-determination in the
philosophy of life at the end of XIX - beginning XX century
For a more precise analysis, divide the amount used by the notion of
"determination" on the basis of internal activity in the auto-determination (selfdetermination, from the Greek αυτος -. Itself) and hetero-determination (determination
of another or from the outside, from the Greek ετερος - Other). A significant
contribution to the absolute auto-determination at the expense of weakening the role of
the hetero-determination made by the ideas formulated in the philosophy of life – nonclassical direction of the end XIX - beg. XX.
One of such epoch-making ideas, which is based on the denial of the heterodetermination belongs to Friedrich Nietzsche. It is well-known metaphor: "God is
dead." German thinker describes this in a very figurative form: "Where is God ... We
have killed him - you and I? We are all his murderers! But how do we do it? How could
we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the paint from around the
horizon? What we did, tearing the earth from its sun? Where now she moves? Where do
we go? ... Do we not continually falling? ... Is there still a top and bottom? ... Do not
attack stronger and more night? Needless to whether the broad daylight to light the
lantern? Do we not hear more noise gravediggers bury God? Is not it reaches us divine
smell of decay? - Gods and perish! God is dead!" [4, Vol. 1, p. 592-593]. We emphasize
in this important passage in the study thought determining origin, which for centuries
was the main, is not, but the world is not shattered by this and the sun is not
extinguished. According to the philosopher, the concept of "God" is coined as the
opposite of the concept of life. It all deadly enmity to life is reduced to the "terrifying
unity." "Death of God" indicates the moral crisis of humanity, the loss of faith in the
absolute moral law as an expression of spiritual hetero-determination.
As a result, Nietzsche proposes to reject the determining origin, which heterodeterministic European world for many centuries, and to reveal the deeper layers of the
human soul, which can become the basis for auto-determination.
The starting point and the base of the philosophy of Henri Bergson is the
protection of freedom, which was directed against the prevailing ideas at the time of the
determination of the human environment. In addition, a thinker takes up arms against
the position of the hard determinism. Describing the appearance of the latter in the
collections of "spiritual energy" and "Thought and moving" [2, p. 52, 89, 162], he drew
attention to the fact that the opening, following the Renaissance (mainly the opening of
Kepler and Galileo) have made it possible to reduce the astronomical and physical
problems in mechanics problems. Hence, the idea to present the entire material of
universe as a vast machine, subordinates to mathematical laws. Mistake of this
philosophical position was postulating a strict relationship phenomena and events in
which the investigation should be derived from the reasons.
In contrast to this position, Bergson [2, p. 263-264; 3, p. 262] believes that the
nature of a person of his liberty. By freedom he understands something between those
phenomena which are generally referred to as "freedom" and "free will". On the one
hand, freedom is to be fully oneself, to act in concert with them, and this is to a certain
extent "moral freedom" philosophers, independence of the individual from all that, what
it is not.
Despite the apparent contrast between determinism and freedom of Bergson, we
make the assumption that the thinker does not refuse from the idea of determination as
such. According to him, the reality is ordered to the extent that it is in line with our
thinking [3, p. 223].
A clearer contrast between auto-determination and hetero-determination in the
context of religious and social picture of the world, we note the Bergson "Two Sources
of Morality and Religion" [1]. The thinker distinguishes between closed and open forms
of morality, religion and society, which correspond to options hetero- and autodetermination. Closed (static) type of these institutions (which are a typical example of
ants and bees Society) is the self-preservation of social forms and is based on the
principles of authoritarianism, coercion, and "social pressure". Elements of society put
this pressure on each other, to keep the whole device. Its result is programmed in each
of us habits of the system going, so to speak, to meet this obligation. Closed type of
society Bergson also compares with the body [1, p. 5-6], which cells are connected by
invisible bonds, subordinate to one another in a complex hierarchy and naturally
accustomed to discipline, which can require the sacrifice for the sake of the highest
good of the whole. In this artificial organism habit plays the same role that you play in
the works of nature. Then the social life of the system seems to us more or less
thoroughly ingrained habits that meet community needs. Some of them - a habit of
command. Most - a habit to obey, each of which is putting pressure on our will and
determine it.
Open (dynamic) type discussed by Bergson institutions associated with holistic
life, is based on a "rush of love", freedom, living example of the creative person of
absolute morality. It is embodied in the great personalities - the moral heroes of the
Christian mystics. In this case, the idea of a thinker expresses approval of autodetermination. This point of view he holds in discussions about the formation of nations
by patriotism. Bergson believes that great nations failed firmly established in modern
times, because the coercion (binding force acting externally on the whole) gradually
gave way to the principle of unity (coming from the depth of each of the coupling of
elementary societies) [1, p. 299-300].
As a result, we note that the position of the representative of the philosophy of life
is based on a significant weakening (or criticized) role hetero-determination in favor of
auto-determination. There is an ideological shift from hetero-determination to the autodetermination, which is characterized by well-known aphorism of Friedrich Nietzsche:
"God is dead: Now we want to live superman", as well as his parable of the three
transformations (auto-determination rise in stages: the camel - lion - child). The
fundamental role of auto-determination also represented the teachings of Henri Bergson
on the spiritualization of the world and open form of morality, religion and society. This
ideological shift is gaining momentum in the further development of the western
philosophy of the twentieth century: the subjectivization of determinism as the
predictability (Carnap); predisposition, open behavioral programs and open society
(Popper); patricide, confrontation "It" and "Superego" (Freud); synchronicity (Jung);
beginningless freedom (Berdyaev); self-creation of consciousness (J. Sartre),
transgression (Foucault), "Anti-Oedipus" (G. Deleuze, F. Guattari), "Death of the
Author" (Roland Barthes), random fluctuation (J. Lyotard), self-organization
(Prigogine). As a result, contingency and freedom are seen as the inherent properties of
the world, there is a rejection of the idea of an external determination, metamorphosis
determination to self-determination, a new synthesis of deterministic and deterministic
in-category with a dominant role of the latter ("deterministic chaos").
REFERENCES:
1.
Bergson A. Dva istochnika morali i religii [Two Sources of Morality and
Religion]. – M.: Kanon, 1994. – 384 s.
2.
Bergson A. Izbrannoe: Soznanie i zhizn' [Favorites: Consciousness and
Life]. – M. : ROSSPEN, 2010. – 399 s.
3.
Bergson A. Tvorcheskaya evolyutsiya [Creative Evolution]. – M.: TERRA-
Knizhnyy klub ; KANON-press-Ts, 2001. – 384 s.
4.
Nitsshe F. Sochineniya. V 2 t. [Works]. – M. : Mysl', 1996. – (Filosofskoe
nasledie). – T. 1. – 831 s., – T. 2. – 830 s.