Multiversum. Philosophical almanac

Sound as a weapon: a phenomenological analysis of the auditory experience of war

Denys Davydov — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The article examines sound as a specific form of violence within the experience of war through a phenomenological framework. The topic of the study concerns the reinterpretation of “sound as a weapon” beyond its conventional technocentric understanding, while the subject is the auditory dimension of wartime experience as a structure of lived perception. The aim of the research is to analyze how the sounds of war–explosions, drones, sirens, tense silence–function not merely as physical stimuli, but as events that transform the mode of being-in-the-world. Methodologically, the study is grounded in a hermeneutic-existential modification of phenomenology, drawing on the works of Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Martin Heidegger, and integrating insights from contemporary sound studies. This approach allows sound to be interpreted as an experiential structure embedded in temporal, bodily, and affective dimensions rather than as a neutral acoustic signal. The relevance of the research is determined by the growing need to move beyond the dominance of visual paradigms in war studies and to critically reassess discourses on “non-lethal” acoustic technologies that risk neutralizing the violence of sonic impact. The scientific novelty lies in conceptualizing war as a radical reconfiguration of sensory hierarchy, in which the auditory acquires functional dominance under conditions of threat. The study demonstrates that in wartime sound operates as a form of structural coercion, destabilizing the lifeworld, reshaping temporality, and transforming bodily orientation. The main results show that sound in war functions as an existential weapon: not primarily through physical injury, but through the forced restructuring of perception and anticipation. Practically, the findings contribute to interdisciplinary dialogue between philosophy, psychology, military studies, and ethics, offering a deeper understanding of how war transforms fundamental conditions of human experience. The conclusion affirms that the most radical power of sound in war lies in its capacity to reconfigure lived reality itself.

Resource potential for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction

Illia Sahaidak — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The article considers the resource potential of Ukraine's recovery from the standpoint of biophilosophy, which means priority care for the living conditions of the population of Ukraine. Also, from the standpoint of the global application of the ideas of classical political economy and the philosophy of capital development, attention is paid to international support for Ukraine from international monetary and financial organizations, governments of foreign countries, and the maximum accumulation of internal resources. It is proven that from the point of view of the philosophy of labor, human resources are a key factor in the productivity and efficiency of the reconstruction economy and the main driver of the further innovative development of our country, therefore their recovery is a significant challenge and at the same time a task for the reconstruction of Ukraine. It is found that in conditions of war, the situation on the labor market remains contradictory, which causes unemployment due to the cessation of work of enterprises and a shortage of personnel in certain industries due to mobilization and migration. It is emphasized that from the standpoint of the theory of social systems, the tasks of a dual economic policy in the development of an effective policy are: the return of today's refugees, strengthening Ukraine's ties with the growing Ukrainian diaspora, stimulating the growth of the birth rate and implementing a balanced family and pro-natalist policy. It is emphasized that from the standpoint of physical economy, the main priorities of the post-war development of the Ukrainian labor market should be to increase the level and productivity of economic activity of the population. This requires not only an increase in the level of employment, a reduction in the period of unemployment, but also the modernization of the conditions and content of work, its digitalization, the democratization of managerial relations and the creation of conditions for the professional and personal development of employees.

The concept of humility wisdom in the ukrainian spiritual and educational tradition: genesis, transformations and culture-creative functions

Svitlana Humeniuk — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The article examines the concept of spiritual tradition within the Eastern Christian cultural context and analyzes smyrennomudriia (humble wisdom) as a fundamental category of Ukrainian spiritual and educational culture. The subject of the study encompasses theological, ecclesiological, and cultural-civilizational dimensions of spiritual tradition, as well as the historical development and structural-functional characteristics of humble wisdom. The purpose of the research is to provide a holistic interpretation of smyrennomudriia as a spiritual and value-based principle that ensures continuity, integrity, and originality of the Ukrainian spiritual tradition.The methodological framework of the study is based on historical-philosophical, cultural, hermeneutical, and systemic-structural approaches, which allow for an interdisciplinary analysis of spiritual phenomena in their historical dynamics and cultural embodiment. The relevance of the research is determined by the contemporary need to reinterpret traditional spiritual values in the context of cultural transformations and challenges to national and spiritual identity. The scientific novelty of the work lies in conceptualizing smyrennomudriia as an autonomous category of spiritual culture and in identifying its internal structure, which includes value-ethical, spiritual-anthropological, intellectual-gnoseological, and cultural-identification components.The study demonstrates that within Eastern Christian thought spiritual tradition functions not merely as the preservation of inherited forms but as a living process of actualizing transmitted spiritual experience in new historical circumstances. In this context, humble wisdom emerges as an integrative ethical and intellectual mechanism that unites faith, reason, and moral practice. The research reveals that smyrennomudriia played a decisive role in shaping the book culture of Kyivan Rus, the educational ideals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the subsequent transformations of Ukrainian spiritual thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is shown that humble wisdom evolved from a monastic-ascetic virtue into a broader cultural and educational principle regulating pedagogical practices, intellectual discourse, and moral self-reflection. The practical significance of the research consists in the possibility of applying its results in philosophy of culture, religious studies, history of education, and contemporary models of spiritual and moral education. The conclusions substantiate that smyrennomudriia functions as a key element of the Ukrainian spiritual code, ensuring cultural continuity, ethical balance, and the harmonious integration of spirituality, knowledge, and national identity in both historical and modern contexts.

Symbolic violence as a practice of authority: (non)recognition of discrimination manifestations by students in the university environment

Tamarа Chop, Nataliia Habrusieva, Oksana Potikha — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

This article examines the problem of non-recognition of discriminatory practices in university settings through the theoretical lens of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence. Gender-based violence is approached not as a series of isolated incidents, but as a structural effect of institutional, linguistic, and pedagogical practices that reproduce power hierarchies and normalize inequality. The study draws on empirical data obtained from anonymous student surveys conducted in 2024–2025, focusing on experiences of discriminatory remarks and practices within academic interactions, particularly in relationships between students and teaching staff. The theoretical framework integrates Bourdieu's concepts of symbolic violence, pedagogical authority, habitus, and inculcation with an analytical model developed by Suruchi Thapar-Björkert, Lotta Samelius, and Gurchathen S. Sanghera. This model identifies four interrelated mechanisms through which symbolic violence is reproduced in everyday institutional contexts: misrecognition, condescension, consent, and complicity. These mechanisms allow for an analysis of how discriminatory practices are perceived as normal, benign, or pedagogically justified, rather than as forms of violence or domination. The article argues that students may possess abstract knowledge about discrimination and gender-based violence while failing to recognize these phenomena in concrete educational interactions. This gap is explained not by a lack of awareness, but by the long-term process of inculcation through which dominant norms, hierarchies, and modes of communication are internalized as natural and self-evident. Furthermore, the university is conceptualized as a linguistic and epistemic authority that monopolizes the definition of legitimate speech, knowledge, and complaint, thereby limiting the possibility of articulating experiences of discrimination as institutional problems. By situating everyday discriminatory practices within a broader structure of symbolic power, the article demonstrates how universities may simultaneously declare commitments to equality while reproducing subtle forms of domination through pedagogical communication, institutional silence, and normalized hierarchies. The findings contribute to critical discussions on gender, power, and violence in higher education by highlighting the structural conditions that render discrimination both persistent and largely invisible.

Religious and philosophical debate between Kyiv thinker Vasyl Ekzemplyarsky and Friedrich Nietzsche

Luidmyla Pastushenko — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the philosophical debate between Kyiv academic thinker V. Ekzemplyarsky and German philosopher Nietzsche in the work “The Gospel of Jesus Christ before Nietzsche’s Court” (1915). The work defines the subject area of the debate and reproduces the main points of V. Ekzemplyarsky’s substantive criticism of Nietzsche’s philosophical views concerning the latter’s understanding of the fundamental aspects of the Christian worldview and understanding of life. The author demonstrates the originality of V. Eksemplyarsky’s original approach to the analysis of Nietzsche’s philosophy, which consists, on the one hand, in revealing Nietzsche’s unique worldview and clarifying the underlying worldview intuitions of his work, and on the other hand, in interpreting Nietzsche’s ideas as a reflection of the spiritual demands of the time. As shown in the article, by conducting a comparative analysis of the two opposing value systems and ideals of Nietzschean and Christian ethical teachings, V. Ekzempliarsky highlights their common features, while at the same time explaining the fundamental differences between them. The article highlights the place and significance of the religious-philosophical polemic between V. Ekzemplyarsky and Nietzsche in the development of Ukrainian philosophical thought, proving that a thorough and professional critical analysis of Nietzsche’s philosophy enabled the Kyiv thinker to form his own original vision of the relationship between Christianity and the joy of life and love. The author has established that the creative work of the Kyiv thinker presents the experience of religious and philosophical understanding of the phenomenon of love, which, unlike its traditional, ascetic interpretation in Christianity, is revealed as an expression of the uniqueness and completeness of human existence.

Between faith and doubt: the existential structure of religious consciousness under the conditions of the worldview crisis of contemporary man

Bohdan Sulyatytskyi — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The article presents a philosophical analysis of the worldview crisis as an existential form of transformation of contemporary religious consciousness. The subject of the study is the structural interrelation between faith and doubt within the conditions of modern pluralism. The aim of the paper is to conceptualize the worldview crisis not merely as a sociocultural phenomenon but as a disruption of the internal coherence of worldview as a multi-level structure of personal self-determination, including ontological, axiological, and existential dimensions. The methodological basis of the research combines existential-phenomenological analysis, hermeneutical reconstruction of classical and contemporary philosophical texts, and conceptual clarification of the notions of faith, doubt, worldview, and religious consciousness. The relevance of the study is determined by the transformation of the “conditions of belief” in late modernity and the growing reflexivity of the subject in secular and post-secular contexts. The scientific novelty lies in interpreting the worldview crisis as an internally structured existential tension rather than as a mere decline of religiosity. A comparative analysis of Western and Ukrainian philosophical traditions reveals significant differences in the understanding of worldview. While Charles Taylor emphasizes historically conditioned “conditions of belief,” Ukrainian philosophers Myroslav Popovych and Serhii Krymskyi interpret worldview as an inner spiritual structure of the person. Drawing on the ideas of Søren Kierkegaard, Paul Tillich, and William James, the article demonstrates that doubt should not be understood as the negation of faith but as its structural component in the context of secular modernity. The study concludes that the contemporary worldview crisis is ambivalent: it reflects the destabilization of traditional meaning structures while simultaneously opening the possibility for a new spiritual configuration and a reflective, existentially grounded form of faith. The practical significance of the research lies in clarifying the conceptual foundations for further studies in philosophy of religion and in contributing to contemporary discussions on religious self-determination in pluralistic societies.

The concept of “person” in the light of the philosofical antropology of fr. Battista Mondin

Andrii Kopystynskyi — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The present scholarly study explores the problem of the “person” in the light of the philosophical anthropology of the renowned twentieth-century philosopher and theologian Fr. Battista Mondin. His works, particularly those of an anthropological character, occupy an important place in contemporary philosophical and theological discourse. The concept of the person that is proposed by the Italian thinker, combines both a profound metaphysical analysis with phenomenological and transcendental methods, by which it is possible to understand the human being not merely as a biological or social entity, but as a spiritual, free, and therefore personal being. Such a being is capable, on the level of personhood, of opening itself to the highest uncreated and perfect Personal Being – the Triune God. At the center of Mondin’s philosophy lies the desire to understand who the human being is in the fullness of his or her existence, and what it truly means to be a person. On the one hand, Fr. Battista develops his concept of the person in the light of, classical metaphysics, and on the other, in terms of modern phenomenology, thereby allowing one to describe the experience of human existence “from within”. The transcendental approach applied by the thinker aims to uncover those structures that make human self-conscious existence possible, while the phenomenological approach focuses on describing the ways in which the person manifests itself in the world of culture, freedom, spirit, and religion. Thus, the person appears not as a static being, but as a dynamic one – a being that reveals itself through the various dimensions of human life. Accordingly, Fr. Battista Mondin distinguishes six definitions of the concept of “person”, each of which highlights a particular aspect of human existence. Together they form an integral anthropological system that unites the natural, cultural, moral, and theological understandings of the human being.

Features of the canonical order of Orthodox Churches: a historical and canonical analysis

Mykola Lahodych — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The article offers a historical and canonical analysis of the distinctive features of the canonical order of the Orthodox Churches in the context of the transformations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It shows that canonical order is not a neutral “technical” superstructure, but one of the key dimensions of ecclesiological identity, which responds sensitively to shifts in the political and cultural environment. The aim of the present study is to reconstruct the structural invariants of the Orthodox canonical tradition and to identify typical models of church organization (imperial, national-state, diasporic), through the prism of which the experience of particular autocephalous Churches is interpreted, including the Ukrainian one. Methodologically, the author relies on historical-canonical and comparative-legal analysis, supplemented by hermeneutic reading of the sources. Working through patriarchal tomoi, church statutes, conciliar and synodal decisions, historical ecclesiastical documents, and modern theological and religious-studies literature, the study identifies a relatively stable core of canonical order rooted in three recurring principles: territoriality, conciliarity, and a certain understanding of primacy. Particular attention is paid to the Ukrainian ecclesiastical space, viewed here as a laboratory where canonical order is being reconsidered amid war, postcolonial shifts, and competing jurisdictional claims. The article concludes that contemporary crises of the pan-Orthodox order reveal not so much the “failure” of the canonical tradition as the need for its hermeneutic renewal – one capable of combining historical continuity with sensitivity to the challenges of human rights, religious freedom, and democratic governance. Prospects for further research are seen in deepening the comparative analysis of local models of canonical order and in developing conceptual frameworks that make it possible to avoid reducing ecclesiology to political expediency or administrative efficiency.

Activities of UOC leaders during the war: patterns of value-oriented affiliation to the source of aggression

Oleksandr Brodetskyi, Mykola Shcherban — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The subject of the study is the value-semantic involvement of high-ranking clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the narratives and practices of the ideology of the Russkiy mir. The aim of the article is to explicate and empirically articulate the key patterns of symbolic manifestation of the ideological loyalty of the UOC leadership to the source of aggression. This aim is oriented toward contributing to the development of an informational, educational and methodological resource for preventing further ideological and physical invasions by Russia. Methodologically, the study is grounded in an understanding of religious institutions as subjects of symbolic governance and in the conceptual nexus of “values / symbolic communication / social practice / security role”. A pattern analysis is employed to identify and typologize recurrent socio-value practices in the activities of UOC leaders, alongside procedures of critical discourse analysis with attention to verbal, aesthetic, and gestural-communicative meanings. The empirical base consists of official statements, news reports, and publications from the official resources of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the UOC from 2012 to 2025, as well as expert materials in the field of religious studies. The relevance of the study is determined by the existentially liminal situation of Ukraine’s defense against the Russian aggressor and by the need for a humanitarian-security reflection on the role of religious leaders in shaping the value orientations of communities. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the application of pattern analysis to the concrete practices of high-ranking UOC clergy and in the systematization of material that complements existing scholarly and legal expert assessments of the UOC’s affiliation with the ROC. As a result of the study, typical patterns in the activities of UOC leaders are identified – ranging from controlled pilgrimages and symbolic acts of loyalty to the reception of ROC functionaries, the dissemination of sacralized texts imbued with imperial meanings, and participation in international ideological events. The practical significance of the work consists in the use of its findings for the educational purposes, for enhancing religious-studies and ethical literacy, and for strengthening the security resilience of Ukrainian society. The conclusions emphasize that the affiliation of UOC discourse with Russian imperial narratives constitutes a systemic social and security challenge to the sovereign self-regulation of Ukraine.