Thinking: conceptualization in the history of philosophy, contemporary issues, understanding and structure

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the rethinking of the phenomenon of thinking in the context of historical-philosophical conceptualizations, the current crisis of rationality, and the search for new methodological foundations for its study. The author draws from personal experience of participation in the Moscow methodological circle (MMC) and a polemical dialogue with the ideas of his teacher G. P. Shchedrovitsky, which gives the work a reflective and problem-oriented tone. In the first part of the article, three key historical conceptualizations of thinking are highlighted: Aristotle's concept (as correct ways of reasoning and cognition), Descartes' concept (as the "correct mind," governed by clear and distinct ideas), and the methodological concept (Kant – Shchedrovitsky), where thinking is understood as an activity-based and semiotic formation, subject not only to description but also to constitution. Special attention is given to the critical analysis of Shchedrovitsky's program, which, according to the author, managed to establish an activity-based and semiotic layer of thinking but failed to propose and implement a holistic historical-cultural reconstruction of thinking. The main part of the work offers the author's approach to studying thinking as a discursive practice, discretely changing with the shift of cultural epochs. The author formulates five essential characteristics of thinking: 1) discursive-activity nature; 2) semiotic mediation; 3) dual-layeredness (the presence of a governing layer – norms, rules, models, methodology); 4) conditioned by external factors and the presence of cultural consequences; 5) reflective conceptualization of thinking itself. These propositions are illustrated through a detailed analysis of Galileo's work "Discourse…," where thinking is presented as a complex polylogue of schemes, hypotheses, proofs, and experiments. In the conclusion, the author addresses contemporary challenges: the decline of interest in "correct thinking," the crisis of Kantian reason, and H. Arendt's question regarding the connection of thinking with morality. He concludes that thinking is originally value-laden; however, in the context of the multiplicity of discourses and propaganda, navigating it becomes extremely difficult, which highlights the role of philosophy and methodology as modern navigators of meaningful life.