Speaking about Traditional Values Seriously

The Review of the Expert Round Table of the HSE School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies “Traditional Values in the Optics of National Philosophy”

Abstract

The material provides an overview of the Expert Round Table at the HSE School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies “Traditional Values in the Optics of National Philosophy”, which took place on April 10, 2024. The key objective of the event was to contribute to the creation of a theoretical framework for the discussion of values, which could serve as a basis for the implementation of practical initiatives in academic, cultural, public, and political spaces. To solve this problem, which Russian society has recently faced in all its acuteness, first of all it is necessary to clarify the content and meaning of the concept of traditional spiritual and moral values; to answer the critical arguments that are put forward in relation to this concept; to map the position of Russian traditional spiritual and moral values in the actual global context and cultural process; finally, to determine the strategy that would give a basis to include this theoretical concept in the work in various fields of expertise. An important result of the discussion was the explication of the practical meaning of philosophy as applied to the designated task. It is the diversity and heuristic potential of philosophical tools (from the history of philosophy and axiology to the philosophy of religion and social philosophy) that makes it possible to organize intellectual work to preserve, protect and strengthen Russian traditional spiritual and moral values. Many participants specifically noted that the rich Russian philosophical tradition, both pre-revolutionary and Soviet, has great potential in this context, filling existing modern methodological approaches with specific content and adapting them to the Russian sociocultural space.