Valentina I. Postovalova

Professor, Doctor of Science (Philology), chief researcher of the sector of theoretical linguistics of the Department of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sсienсеs

Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences

(Moscow, Russia)

Abstract. The main track of modern cognition determines three epistemological “turns” of European knowledge. Firstly, there is an “anthropological turn” which includes switching researchers’ attention from studying the world around us to understanding the phenomenon of a human being. Secondly, there is a “linguistic turn” which results in a focus of culture on language acquisition in close connection with consciousness, understanding of the world and people’s spiritual life. Thirdly, there is a “theological turn” which tends to integrate theological knowledge into world outlook and culture. These “turns” lead to the development of anthropological and theoanthropological paradigms in linguistics and set an important objective of intrascientific reflection – to understand what a human being is. The issue of understanding what a human being is, is considered to be the most significant because the paradigms under review are based on this understanding. Modern humanitarian knowledge provides three approaches to defining the human nature. Firstly, there is a not-religious approach (a-theistic). Secondly, there is methodological secularism. Thirdly, there is a transcendently religious approach which considers a human being not independently, on a selfsufficiency basis, but in terms of human's connection with anthropocosmic and theoanthropocosmic reality. The article given deals with the concept of human being in Orthodox Christian worldview forming a basis of synergy-personalistic paradigm of studying language in a new integrative branch of science – theolinguistics, which studies the connection of language and religion. In this framework a human being is understood as a “god through divine grace” or a “microtheos”, whose main goal is to achieve “theosis” (θέωσις), which is, according to Orthodox Christian viewpoint, the aim of human creation and the ultimate objective of Christians. It is emphasized that although theosis, as a mysterious reunion of a human and God, is a real spiritual order experienced by those who face it, for the rational knowledge it is still an inconceivable mystery (“cryptography”), something beyond human intelligence.
Keywords: humanitarian knowledge, epistemological turn, paradigm, Orthodox Christian Theolinguistics, human being and human faces, theosis, science as creative work and modern world, scientists and their spiritual lessons.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation:Postovalova, VI 2020, ‘human being as a microtheos in orthodox christian worldview and the ways of human movement towards theosis’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 4 (4), pp. 110-127, URL: http://tula-vestnik.ru/pdf/2020/vipusk_4_29_12_20.pdf (in Russ.)

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