Gestalt culturology": conceptualization, disciplinary status and history of research

The article is devoted to the delineation of the subject framework and conceptualization of gestalt culturology as an independent scientific direction, that can unite many spheres of knowledge, including theories that have no clearly expressed disciplinary status, or are characterized as "distinctive" and "original". The basis of this direction are proceedings of O. Spengler, oriented to the organic approach of Goethe, in which the problem of peculiarities of perception and uniqueness of representations of reality within separate cultures is put as core. Developing this problem, Spengler carried out a detailed and thorough analysis of gestalts of the world of various "cultural organisms", devoting the greatest part of the "The decline of the West". Also considered as fundamental the work of H. von Ehrenfels, which became a kind of foundation for the formation of gestalt psychology. Special attention is paid to the works of G.D. Gachev, who worked in Spengler's tradition and created a series of books devoted to the disclosure of the specifics of the "national images of the world". The basic parameters of the invariant of the world images, allowing to compare gestalts, born in the space of different cultures, are designated. The text raises the question of interrelations between psychology and culturology in the field of Gestalt-researchers. The specificity of their subject frameworks and intersection points, making cooperation of these sciences in the study area prospective, are shown. Attention is paid to the sphere of exploration of "multilayered" artifacts, material structures and "semantic aura" of which reflect signs of influence of many periods of history. These complex monuments appear as a kind of historical and cultural gestalts that require special methods of study, conservation practices, restoration and exhibiting. The works of T. Kuhn in the field of philosophy of science, the essential aspects of which are based on the understanding of paradigms as a kind of gestalts, in a special way "refractive" reality for the scientific community, are touched upon. The text considers several author's concepts and basic scientific spheres, intersecting with the subject field of gestalt culturology, among which is distinguished the theory of sociocultural dynamics of P.A. Sorokin, engaged in the analysis of mental structures of different types of culture; cultural-historical psychology, including a whole range of researchers in this field; cultural-intellectual history; cognitive culturology, etc. Attention is paid to the prospects for the development of gestalt culturology in modern science. The text outlines the problem of an adequate translation into Russian of the scientific term "gestalt", what makes, in fact, all attempts to monosyllabic translation of this term insufficient.

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