Social Philosophy as Problem-Oriented Knowledge

The article examines the main meanings of the concept of “social philosophy” and reveals three such meanings. First, social philosophy presents the views of a particular thinker (from antiquity to the present day) on society and its nature. Second, social philosophy is the study of the most general laws of development of nature and society (scientific philosophy). Third, social philosophy is a value- worldview analysis of the most urgent and complex problems of social development, including philosophical (worldview) criticism of the prevailing ideas in this society and the search for constructive value alternatives. The author adheres to the third approach to understanding the meaning of social philosophy and gives two examples of socio-philosophical work: 1) analysis of the problem of labor in Russia in the context of the dominance of the theory of ‘catching up’ modernization; 2) analysis of the problem of democracy in the context of prevailing ideas about the inevitability of political authoritarianism as the main path of development of Russian civilization.

социальная философия, социальные концепции, исторический материализм, социальная проблема, социальная критика, проблема труда, догоняющая модернизация, демократия, авторитаризм, social philosophy, social concepts, historical materialism, social problem, social criticism, problem of labor, catching up modernization, democracy, authoritarianism

1. Канарш Г.Ю. Справедливость и демократия. Российский контекст // Философские науки. 2015. № 12. С. 40-56.