ON PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEMPORARY ACADEMY AND BEYOND: THEORY, SOCIETY AND STATE

One of the key issues of practical philosophy is the possibility of philosophical thought to become the guiding basis for life practice of a particular individual or socio-political formation. Many of the recent works of the RAS Academician A. Guseynov deal with the consideration of this problem in general theoretical and specific historical contexts. The article refers to these works, aiming to answer the question of what place practical philosophy can and should occupy in academic and social contexts. Therefore, it becomes preliminary and necessary to explicate the content of the practical philosophy concept. A. Guseynov shows the inextricable connection between abstract theory, including imperfect forms of its implementation, and the practical orientation of thinking. Within the framework of the existing organization of intellectual life, philosophy is simultaneously institutionalized in the existing structure of scientific knowledge, i.e. it is an application for solving specific tasks, but is also entrusted with the task of preserving intellectual autonomy, without which it ceases to be philosophy. The author, relying on the A. Guseynov’s works, consistently addresses three subjects, the clarification of which is important for determining the practical philosophy position: the relationship between theoretical and practical philosophy; the relationship of practical philosophy to society and vice versa; and finally, the relationship between state and practical philosophy. In conclusion, the author suggests that dealing with applied tasks does not result in practical philosophy losing its philosophical core.