The article is devoted to the philosophical, social and legal problems of the methodology of developing the system of Russian educational legislation and to its prospects. It contains the analysis of external determinants of educational policy and the respective legislation in the post-soviet period of Russian history; it determines the ideology, main principles, and the role of educational legislation in the modern society, as well as the existing models of educational legislation; it formulates a system of proposals on educational legislation, which, if implemented, as the author believes, may provide for a real increase in the quality of education and may return Russia to a leading position in this field.

Contemporary information revolution based on information and communication technologies, changes not only the nature of knowledge, but also the aims of education. Education puts the primary objective of not mastering knowledge as it was in the classical model of education, but the development of human abilities and personal qualities which are necessary in the information society. Information and communication technologies have such influence on the development of the intellectual, creative, communicative and other abilities of the individual, which can be seen as a revolution of consciousness.

In modern higher education the tendency to its unification and impersonality is more and more found out. Wide introduction of written examinations in humanitarian subjects, distribution of systems of testing minimize direct dialogue of the teacher with the pupil. The education system should be directed not only on pragmatically mastering by knowledge and abilities, but also on understanding of the cultural senses forming sphere of ideals and the purposes. And in this respect the essential role belongs to a philosophy course. Inclusion of a course of philosophy in an education system should not be considered as a certain addition but as a training prominent aspect of education, because it is philosophy, representing the most ancient layer of theoretical thinking, comprises practically all its later forms. The philosophy course is an original inoculation of freedom and this inoculation of free use of the reason should be a necessary element of education.

The article examines the civil society as a way of dialogical relationship between man and power, and as a socio-cultural space of nation consolidation. Referring to the history of the interpretation of the ideas in this direction in the national philosophy, the author raises the question about the ways of becoming of civil society in Russia and about the current problems of its development.

The article concentrates on double standards in modern society. The existence of double standards implies a wider space of preferences for “friends” and a smaller space for «strangers». This situation arises when a law adopted for the better functioning of the social system starts working against it contrary to the original desires of legislators. The situation creates an alternative institutional environment (micro-institutes) that defy the law and concord with basic interactive norms. If micro institutes based on unified standards are not effective, micro institutes seek to replace them. Hence come double standards. Double standards do not always have a negative influence on society. They sometimes are used to equalize life chances and become part of legislation and society. The author shows that the social policy based on double standards is a simple phenomenon that is not as simple as it sometimes seems. The author believes that double standards are sometimes meet the requirements of social life.

The article considers the logic of ethno-social development alternative to multiculturalism, which relies on fundamental nonremovability of dissonance coexistence of different cultural groups. A socio-philosophic analysis of causes of multi-culturalism policy collapse is provided. The concept of “dissonance tolerance” introduced by the author earlier is revealed and substantiated. The peculiarities and theoretical horizon of the “dissonance approach” in ethno-social research are determined.

The article deals with the complex and complementary relationship between Russia and Western Europe. The author shows that the loss of the inner unity of Europe can lead to the death of European culture.

The article suggests that the center of study of social structure of society should be shifted from materialistic criteria to sociocultural. It gives three basic sociocultural types in mentality of a modern man: clan individ, logocentric and person, and investigates their mental contents. The author There claims that these types can transit into each other and that the logic of cultural evolution under conditions of ideal’s globalization just via the new stratification can be properly explained.

The article was retracted on October 20, 2019.

The article analyses the phenomenon of loneliness based on the new psychotherapeutic method, invented by the author, - the portrait method - and the author’s many years of clinical practice. Pathological forms of loneliness are defined and various forms of autism distinguished. It is shown that pathological estrangement, disturbance of the patient’s dialogue with the outside world is a key factor of any psychological illness and is organically linked to the disturbance of the patient’s with himself, his mirror image. In this respect the author examines the processes of partial or full loss of the mirror self and its restoration in the patient’s treatment by the portrait method. The method’s specifics are described with means to establish efficient communication with the ill person and to cure him.

The article is devoted to the famous contemporary French philosopher Dan Sperber and his criticism of memetics. Sperber analyzes the arguments of Richard Dawkins and shows their vulnerability.

Biographical sketch of Soviet philosopher Maxim Lazarevic Shirvindt. M.L. Shirvindt is a head of section of the modern philosophy of the Leningrad branch of the Institute of philosophy. In terms of criticism in the USSR the theory of relativity, Freud’s psychoanalysis he was able to give an objective philosophical account of scientific theories. He’s an author of studies in philosophy of Schelling, American neo-realism. Belonged to Deborin’s school. He was arrested and executed in the years of Stalinism.

The purpose of this article is to create a collective portrait of faculty members of the Department of Philosophy of the St. Petersburg-Petrograd University from 1819 to 1917. On the basis of a wide range of published and archival sources were held the most accurate calculations of the structure and the strength of the department and medium-sized numbers associated with the life and scientific career. They allowed creating quite comprehensive picture of the history of development of philosophy at the St. Petersburg University and community of philosophers; a comparison with the university-wide features of the development of science and life of scientific community, based on prosopographical information.

The paper are brief essay of history of philosophical faculty of St. Petersburg State University, founded in 1940. The paper contains information about famous professors who have worked at the Faculty, the field of their scientific interests and areas of research. The information on the the head (decane) of of philosophical faculty and events connected with the faculty.