Philosophy of nature in the essays of Sergey Zalygin of 1960s-1990s

On the material of the essays the views of S. Zalygin on nature are reconstructed. The system of these views is considered in its development from the early 1960s until the second half of the 1990s. Using the conceptual apparatus of science, he creates a theoretical picture, which includes the understanding of the structure and the relations in the natural space, its reasonableness and cognition, the understanding of determinism and causality of natural processes, of the fundamental regularities of nature, and of the relationship between nature and humankind. The analysis shows that the transformation of the writer's philosophy of nature goes from positivist and materialistic understanding of nature to its objectively idealistic interpretation. The writer's views on nature are formed in the 1950s, but as an integral picture (system of beliefs) they are made from the beginning of the 1960s. The method of nature interpretation by S. Zalygin is largely due to the professional activities. As a hydrologist, he draws on the concepts of modern natural sciences, expresses views mainly on the level of abstract theoretical generalizations. The views of the writer are based on the idea about the relationship of the living matter with all the structures of the planet. The space of its interfaces and interactions is soil. S. Zalygin directly relates his views with the teachings of V. Vernadsky, through which they are attached to the tradition of the Russian cosmism, to the idea of the inner unity of humankind and the cosmos. Recognition of the Supreme mind, which stands over the world and is its root cause, is a refusal from the view about nature as a self-organizing system with a mind of its own. Theoretical thinking is not opposed to the individual experience of direct, sensual and emotional perception of natural phenomena. On the one hand, it follows sense, analyzing and classifying the perception object. On the other hand, contemplation forms a clear vision of nature, which fills abstract concepts with real meaning. Personal experience of nature sensory perception allows S. Zalygin to talk about the forms of its impact on the individual, and theoretical concepts allow to speak about the methods and limits of human knowledge. Philosophical understanding of nature in the essays of S. Zalygin serves to seek ways of overcoming the crisis in relations of society and nature. It should indicate the real place of people and humankind in the ontology and outline the bounds of its life.

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