This is the thirty-second installment of The Cocoon Goes Global, a series that gives a sense of what the philosophy profession looks like outside of the Anglophone West. This is a guest post by Viatkina Nataliia Department of Logic and Methodology of Science, Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
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ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4839-1146
To practice philosophy in Ukraine, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the history, culture, and political landscape of the country. Ukraine has a rich philosophical tradition with many famous thinkers and scientists who have significantly contributed to this field. How is it vital for a philosopher in Ukraine to navigate the complex social and political challenges facing the country while adhering to philosophical principles? This requires a high intellectual curiosity, critical thinking skills, and a willingness to consider new ideas and perspectives. After all, being a philosopher in Ukraine means using your knowledge and experience to help others navigate life in our vibrant, dynamic country with a tragic past and facing a sad present.
To be a Philosopher in Ukraine before 1991
Nowadays, Ukrainian philosophers can communicate freely with colleagues from other countries to travel the world. But most recently, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991.
And it is worth remembering that being a philosopher in Soviet Ukraine is:
- To graduate from the philosophy department of the capital university and not have permission to teach unless you are a member of the Communist Party because the candidacies of teachers were approved by the ideological department of the city party committee
- not having the necessary foreign literature in the original language, and so on
- Go to Moscow libraries on a 10-day business trip during postgraduate studies or as a research associate to read foreign book novelties.
- Rewrite by hand in giant fragments the works of Western (and not only Western) philosophers on the topic of the dissertation in large notebooks (such abstracts are still kept in my archive because the hand does not rise to throw them away)
- Make photocopies (with a camera) of entire monographs and collections of Western colleagues so they can be passed from hand to hand. When Xeroxes appeared in Moscow libraries, a copy page was too expensive for the average graduate student or scientific researcher from the provinces to pay to copy an entire monograph or encyclopedic edition. The number of such photocopies, as well as access to literature and opportunities to read books in the year of their publication, were so scarce that there was no question of a consistent and complete reading of the works of the classics and modern philosophical literature. The libraries of scientific institutions also needed more funds to purchase valuable publications.
Fortunately, our Institute of Philosophy (Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR) in Kyiv received good scientific journals "in exchange" ("Mind," "Journal of Philosophical Logic," "Synthese," "Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic," some others English-language magazines, excellent Polish magazines "Studia Semiotyczne," "Studia Filozoficzne," "Studia Logica", "Dialectica") and this saved the situation.
- Is to take special permission from one's institute in Ukraine to read that scientific literature, which for specific reasons (known to the state security authorities) was stored in the so-called "special storage" in the capital of the Russian Federation (this concerned, in particular, works on history, some Western classics philosophy, works of the so-called revisionists of Marxism, etc.),
- learn about the state of development of world philosophy through the so-called "critiques of modern bourgeois philosophy," through ideologically filtered abstract collections, digests, reviews written by employees of the Moscow Library of Foreign Literature in the Social Sciences (INION), and also through the materials of international congresses on philosophy, as well as logic, methodology and philosophy of science, which were brought by colleagues together with books that they received as a gift or were able to purchase during this or that Congress.
- It should be explained that the delegations of any conference outside the Soviet Union were carefully selected and approved by the science department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR. As a rule, the delegation included directors of institutes and heads of departments (according to the conference's profile). It was out of the question that someone such as ordinary university teacher or research worker could go to a foreign forum simply because he conducts research in a specific field or wants to attend a conference and meet colleagues. Every delegate to the summit was monitored by KGB officers who were necessarily included in the delegations. In short, all issues of scientific activity were decided through Moscow at the highest administrative and party level. For my first trip to Spain for the Congress on the Philosophy of Mathematics in San Sebastian (1990), I had to go to Moscow for a Spanish visa. The flight to Madrid and back was also through Moscow.
- This means that every article, preface to the book and further on in the text – mentions and refers to the classics of Marxism-Leninism, the materials of the congresses of the Communist Party and the leading official Marxist philosophers, including foreign Marxists, because dialectical and historical materialism were approved officially a single explanatory base and model for all-natural, social and cultural phenomena. It doesn't matter that the whole world searched for the truth by competing with different philosophical schools, trends, and personal positions. We had only one school. We had to use the only correct explanatory model allowed.
At the university, we were taught the history of philosophy in all its historical stages, including the history of philosophy in Ukraine, the basics of formal logic, psychology, as well as Marxist sciences - dialectical and historical materialism, scientific communism, atheism, Marxist-Leninist ethics, and aesthetics, as well as first courses - mathematics, biology, chemistry, almost all natural sciences.
If you had your own beliefs formed by family, society, and reading circle, the Marxist cycle of subjects could not change those beliefs. But it was impossible to express them freely.
Fortunately, quite a few unique courses were dedicated to particular areas and problems, read mainly by young teachers, and it was almost always fascinating.
After graduating from the philosophy faculty, one could enroll in postgraduate studies - at the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences or the university's philosophy faculty. Ukraine had only one Faculty of Philosophy, so the competition was always very high. But in those days, many school graduates entered the universities of Moscow, St. Petersburg (Leningrad), and Rostov-on-Don. The preparation and defense of the dissertation usually took 3 years of postgraduate studies. However, it was possible to prepare a dissertation independently, without leaving work, attaching to the necessary department or department of the university for preparation and defense.
We always emphasize that our candidate's thesis is much more complicated than a Ph.D. - in terms of requirements and level of execution. (Although there are other opinions that on the contrary - candidate's is easier, doctoral - more difficult) The goal of the scientific career of any scientific researcher in Ukraine has always been to defend a "real" doctoral dissertation, which is equivalent to the DrSc or DrHub of foreign universities.
Most people don't like this system of two dissertations except those who managed to defend it. Preparing a second dissertation takes a considerable amount of time and effort that could be spent on something more useful. But when a person overcomes the path and finds himself at this career peak, he receives some privileges - a slightly higher salary, membership in all kinds of academic councils, editorial boards of magazines, competition commissions, invitations to television as an expert, the opinion of such a person becomes essential for society. This order is preserved to this day.
After graduating from the university, I came to work at the Institute of Philosophy in the Department of Logic and Methodology of Science, headed by Professor Myroslav Popovych, a well-known philosopher, and bright personality at that time, as a technical assistant (because I was not a member of the Communist Party, and this was the only position, on which I could be taken), I was happy. I was not concerned about my position. The main thing was communication with colleagues, among whom there were many bright personalities, intelligent and knowledgeable not only in logic and philosophy but also in mathematics and modern theoretical physics based on the interdisciplinary approach implemented at that time. The American researcher-philosopher of Ukrainian origin Yevhen Lashchyk (1937-1995), a professor at La Salle University, who was banned from entering the USSR until the mid-80s - once wrote about our department in his works on research in this field in his publications in the USA. http://www.ditext.com/lashchyk/
To be a Philosopher in Ukraine after 1991
As mentioned, until 1991, there was only one philosophy faculty in Ukraine at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University.
But after 1991, Ukraine became independent, and numerous new state and non-state universities and philosophical faculties emerged. But the quality of education was very different. Most of those newly created universities no longer exist today. There are primarily old universities with newly created faculties, departments, or graduate departments that can withstand competition, have quality teaching, and have some authority in the philosophical community. Among the new universities of such a high level, which issued a diploma in the specialty "philosophy" after 1991, the revived National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" definitely stands out.
Our universities appear in world rankings, but this is exceptionally rarely reflected in the presence of the names of our universities on many websites, pages of well-known magazines, and in the registration columns. We need to write more articles to be published in notable foreign magazines to be noticed. It seems so. And although we have such worthy philosophical magazines as "Philosophical Thought" https://dumka.philosophy.ua/index.php/fd, Sententiae https://sententiae.vntu.edu.ua/index.php/sententiae/index, Kyiv-Mohyla Humanities Journal http://kmhj.ukma.edu.ua/, Філософія освіти https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed Східний світ https://oriental-world.org.ua/, Humanitarian Vision https://science.lpnu.ua/shv, as well as regional yearbooks. And this is not a full list of journals.
To be known worldwide, we must write articles on topics that may interest specific philosophical and scientific circles for publication in foreign journals. And for this, we need to be able to constantly read each other's magazines and books, and not only philosophical ones.
We have read different books all our lives and have different communication experiences. We hardly know each other. How, for example, can we explain to a foreign reader where it originates, or with which authoritative philosophers of the past does modern Ukrainian philosophy identify itself? Why did the majority choose Hrigoriy Skovoroda as a national philosophical example and role model? (This is discussed in an interview with my colleague Larisa from the G. Skovoroda Karachevtseva Institute of Philosophy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXYqzdLy71s&t=3329s).
How Taras Shevchenko, Mykola Kulish, Mykhailo Drahomanov, Ivan Franko, and Lesya Ukrainka influenced the development of Ukrainian modern philosophy in a country that did not go through the process of Church Reformation (although instead, it went through the reforms of the imperial-Petrovian type when the church was directly turned into a state department without patriarch; this is precisely what our Theofan Prokopovich tried to do) and, accordingly, society, in the stagnant tsarist Russian empire, and later for more than 72 years it was under the pressure of another, Soviet, empire? How to convey to foreign colleagues that Ukraine has a long history of philosophical education, which followed the models and canons of teaching courses of European universities, starting from the 15th-16th centuries, and from the beginning of the 17th century in some institutions a full-fledged teaching of philosophy was implemented? (You can read this in the collective monograph "Philosophical education in Ukraine. History and modernity" (in Ukr.), Kyiv 2011).
Publications by Ukrainian authors of the present time in journals included in the international scientific databases Scopus and Web of Science could have improved the situation more. But meeting our fellow philosophers at international conferences is rare, where they would lead a section or be invited speakers. In this role at international symposia, I can only mention my colleagues, the wellknown logician philosophers Yaroslav Shramko and Iryna Khomenko.
But only some things are so hopeless.
The new generation of philosophers is advantageously different from the older generations educated in the Soviet Union. Young philosophers already know several foreign languages, receive grants for research work in other countries, they grow up in a free country. Naturally, representatives of this generation express a sincere misunderstanding of how it was possible to write about Hegel or Kant without reading their works in the original. How do we explain to these young people that each book had to be hunted down and obtained from different sources? And that is why they mostly read Russian translations, which are now mercilessly criticized by translators of the new generation. This is not a tragedy - it is a normal progression. But there still needs to be a complete and systematic library of translations into Ukrainian of all the necessary philosophical works that philosophy students can study.
Behind the need for translations is the developing Ukrainian philosophical language and professional terminology. Therefore, the idea and initiative of translating the European Dictionary of Philosophy (Lexicon of Untranslatables), which initially seemed strange, became a substantial cultural achievement. Still, it has been translated into 7 leading world languages: Romanian, Farsi, etc. The Ukrainian version was the first in the world, and it was during the work that the main problems of "translation of untranslatables" were solved. Several international conferences were devoted to the experience of this work under the editorship of Barbara Kassen and Konstantin Sigov, and it formed the basis of work on English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic editions. Only some countries have such a dictionary translated into their own language. Equally important were the trilingual editions (Latin-French-Ukrainian) of René Descartes' Meditations (Oleg Khoma) and the Ukrainian translation of Aristotle's Metaphysics (Olexii Panych), as well as translations of Immanuel Kant's Prolegomena... Vitaly Terletskyi), Selected works of Zh.-Zh. Rousseau (O. Khoma, Oksana and Serhii Yosypenko), Husserl's Ideas ... (Vakhtang Kebuladze), Selected Works of Kazimir Tvardovsky (Stepan Ivanyk, Ihor Karivets), and this is far from the entire list of significant works of world philosophy translated into Ukrainian classics and philosophical works of famous modern authors. At one time, the translations of Anatoly Yermolenko, who currently heads our Institute of Philosophy, from German communicative philosophy played a role in the formation of unified democratic thought and contributed to the emergence of a new public discourse and intellectual atmosphere in Ukraine. A. Yermolenko's polemical response to Habermas' speech regarding the war in Ukraine, even though the latter did not respond to it, demonstrated the maturity and independence of the philosopher, which made us all more confident in ourselves when it seems that we are alone with global evil (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 23.05.22, 11:40
Despite the considerable number of English-language publications (reviews, articles, books) by Ukrainian philosophers (the journal Sententiae constantly publishes English-language articles of a decent level), there needs to be more works translated by Ukrainian authors into European languages, which is a problem. However, an article in English by Oleksandr Kulik, professor of philosophy from the Dnipro University, named after O. Honchar, the city of Dnipro, which is mercilessly subjected to shelling by Russian aggressors, can give an idea of some features of Philosophy in Ukraine https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367096053_WHAT_IS_UKRAINIAN_PHILOSOPHY. Prof. Kulyk currently teaches at University College Cork, Ireland.
Funding of humanitarian institutes is generally very modest, and the remuneration of academic researchers needs to be higher. Real progress (if we can talk about it in philosophy) is achieved by individual intellectual efforts. However, which of the philosophers worldwide can be surprised by this? Philosophers work in several universities to master related professions to earn a living and creativity. Our philosophers do not have sabbaticals to travel, visit other universities, or devote creative vacation time to writing a monograph. Colleagues usually travel to international conferences at their own expense or do not travel at all. In principle, there is a virtual opportunity to receive money for participation in a foreign forum. Still, for this, you need to immerse yourself in the incredible bureaucracy of the Academy, with complete hopelessness, to receive these funds for tickets and accommodation.
And the opportunity to communicate live with colleagues, participate in conferences, make a report, return with a lot of positive impressions, receive a creative impulse, adjust the direction and content of research, share these impressions with colleagues and students, have inspiration for further work - mostly remains a dream.
The year 2015
This year was marked by the Ministry of Education and Science canceling the compulsory teaching of philosophy courses in Ukrainian universities. With this act, the ministry deprived future graduates of philosophy faculties of their jobs. This is a rudiment of the Soviet system. It still claims its governing rights to teach all courses, masking it with false "university autonomy" slogans, and plants a catastrophic bureaucracy in its senselessness. To this day, it manages the scientific councils of institutes and universities in a feudal manner, determines "from the ceiling" how many articles a dissertation student must publish for his thesis to be accepted for defense, and also approves the results of dissertation defenses, receiving scientific titles, and awards.
Pandemic
It is difficult for any Western philosopher to even imagine what role online conferences played in the lives of many Ukrainian philosophers during the pandemic. For the field in which I work, namely analytical philosophy and logic in its various thematic sections, the possibility of communication has opened up for all those willing in many scientific centers of the world.
When you don't have the opportunity to travel abroad, the online format is a real find! The chance to listen, ask questions, and participate in the discussion is the unexpected gain we received from the pandemic, which immediately changed the format of teaching and holding conferences in our country and the world.
I managed to "attend" the seminars and conferences on memory issues around the Center de philosophie de la memoire, Universite Grenoble Alpes.
I follow with interest the development of the Buenos Aires Logic Group; two years ago, for two months, I attended a seminar that this group held twice a week for everyone. I can freely participate in the Polish semiotics seminar meetings and listen to the Nordic Online Logic Group presentations.
I have dreamed of getting to Oxford University all my life, even if only for a short time. But no one will invest in my development and scientific career at my solid age. Well, let's hope that I will be lucky… For now, I listen to reports at conferences and lectures on YouTube by professors of my favorite universities.
Many seminars and conferences on analytical philosophy, modern logic, epistemology, and socio-semantic knowledge networks interest me. And when, after the pandemic, most gatherings began to return to their usual in-person mode of operation, I was distraught. I thought these people were protecting their world from people like us, those who cannot pay a registration fee, even a reduced one - a third or half of the monthly salary. Getting to the conference venue is sometimes a fantastic money. This happened this summer when I could not find the funds to participate in the 17th CLMPST Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24-29 July 2023, where I was invited and the abstracts were printed.
A question may arise
Why remember the old Soviet times, the realities of personal life experiences (which, for some reason, remain in memory)?
Contemplating what has been happening in Russia for the past 25 years, namely the curtailment of all political and civil liberties, the rewriting of the history of the country and the state, the return to the ugly form of Bolshevik-imperial totalitarianism and dictatorship, the conquering and violent aggression towards Ukraine, all this does the return of such a regime in Ukraine is unacceptable. We have a "5th column" of those who would like to rule philosophers, and not only philosophers, to form a totalitarian ideology, to prohibit criticism of the government, and to impose only one type of discourse approved by "above." I remember well what it looked like. So, I don't feel any nostalgia for the past, and I don't want it to return in any form.
War
Ukraine is putting up military resistance to those who want to destroy what was created by the hands of Ukrainians during the years of independence, and physically wipe us, our children, and grandchildren from the face of the earth and prevent future generations of Ukrainians from dealing with their own mistakes and building their lives without Russian interference. Russia is used to using the mind, scientific, artistic, and sports achievements of Ukrainians, the practical intellect and hands of hardworking, masterful people charged with life-giving force.
Russia is currently transporting Ukrainian chernozems, fertile soil, in wagons, as Nazi Germany did during World War II. She takes out our factories and industrial equipment and steals the grain grown by the hands of our farmers. It has to stop. Realize that there can be no return to the Soviet Union, that Ukraine has no desire to submit to Russia at the cost of losing human dignity, and can no longer tolerate the rudeness of the great power and the sloppiness of the Russian population, as well as more than one century of oppression of the native language and culture.
Teaching and research haven't stopped, everything is functioning in hybrid regime - online and in-person Where it is possible). At the moment of alarm students go to the shelters or continue studying in university underground room.
Despite all the trials and financial restrictions, there has been a book boom in Ukraine over the past 10 or more years, in which the books of philosophers occupy almost the first place. This applies not only to young authors but also to middle and older generations.
Another new feature of the modern world of philosophers is the appearance of like-minded people and sponsors from the medium-sized business environment (the "Between the Ears" Foundation, the "Cowo Guru" Foundation) who sponsor the publication and reprint of philosophical translations, philosophical lectures, and conferences.
Therefore, being a philosopher in Ukraine now means:
Write books and articles, give lectures at universities, hold online round tables, workshops, and conferences on current social and political topics, arrange musical evenings of poetry accompanied by the philosophers' music, record podcasts on the Ukrainian history of philosophy and culture, and raise children. Also, to collect funds for the purchase of cars and sniper rifles for the front, take those cars to the military to the front line, return back, again collect funds for the Army, and again write books and give lectures... And also protect the Motherland from a bloody, gluttonous neighbor. When shelling continues at night. When some philosophers die on the front lines.
I am writing about my younger colleagues and peers. They head large museum and exhibition institutions and projects, academic institutions and research projects, conduct colossal educational work... I am curious to know how they manage it all. But they do it. And this new generation inspires and creates a perspective for a real future after the end of the war.
Currently, Poland has granted me and my granddaughter temporary shelter. I received incredible support from my colleagues at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw, and I continue to work remotely in Ukraine. I teach a small but essential course, "Introduction to Philosophy," in Ukrainian for students from Ukraine. They were also accepted by the Faculty of Philosophy in Warsaw. I am pleased with this solidarity of philosophers, which is crucial in severe trials.
I've also been reflecting on the creative atmosphere at the Academy of Sciences at my Institute of Philosophy in Ukraine, and I'm really impressed. The environment is conducive to productive thinking and discussion, and I always feel inspired and energized. The staff and fellow philosophers are all knowledgeable and passionate about their work, creating a truly stimulating environment. Overall, I am very fortunate to be a part of such a vibrant and intellectually engaging community. Our Academy is alive and working.
I was not officially authorized by anyone to write this blog. It contains my own experience and my own view on the state of existence of philosophers in Ukraine. Many events, traits, and achievements of our philosophers simply did not fit into the scope of this publication. But anyone may continue.
The position of philosophers during war and conflict is crucial as they can provide valuable insights into the ethical implications and consequences of such events. It is essential to listen to their perspectives and reflect on their ideas to better understand the situation and find ways to promote peace and justice. Their contributions can help shape the discourse around the conflict and inspire positive change.
Various ways to support Ukraine during the ongoing conflict include donating to reputable aid organizations or raising awareness through social media and other platforms. Whatever action you choose, it is vital to stay informed and educated about the complexities of the conflict and its consequences for the people of Ukraine.
Thank you, truly
Posted by: Peter Finocchiaro | 09/10/2023 at 08:08 PM