A conversation between the director of the H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the NAS of Ukraine, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Anatoliy Yermolenko, who represents academic philosophy, and the Ukrainian philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko, oriented towards public intellectual discourse, creates a unique synthesis of theoretical depth and social relevance, combining philosophy, cultural studies, and political theory, analyzing the German intellectual tradition through the prism of Ukrainian experience. The conversation is structured around several thematic blocks that highlight historical and contemporary aspects of German-Ukrainian intellectual connections.
Anatoliy Mykolayovych begins the discussion with an analysis of contemporary German philosophy, particularly the legacy of Jürgen Habermas, whose theory of communicative action became the foundation for understanding the public sphere in democratic societies. Volodymyr Yermolenko raises the issue of the reaction of German philosophers to Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. In particular, controversial articles by J. Habermas in the German press are discussed, where he called for negotiations with Russia under any conditions, which sparked criticism in Ukraine.
Anatoliy Yermolenko offers a Ukrainian perspective, emphasizing that the war forces a reconsideration of J. Habermas’s ideas about dialogue and peace in the context of real threats of totalitarianism, which found its expression in his response to Habermas in the article “Resistance Instead of Negotiations,” published in the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine. Particularly valuable is Anatoliy Mykolayovych’s analysis of intellectual resistance in Ukraine during totalitarian times. Philosophers such as Volodymyr Shynkaruk, Oleksandr Yatsenko, Vadym Ivanov, Myroslav Popovych, while studying Western philosophy, including German philosophy, tried to go beyond Marxist-Leninist ideology. And dissident philosophers such as Vasyl Lisovyi, Yevhen Pronyuk, and others sought receptions of Western philosophical thought, for which they were persecuted by Soviet security services.
The Ukrainian experience of war and resistance, as Anatoliy and Volodymyr Yermolenkos note, becomes a catalyst for rethinking the German philosophical tradition and its receptions. Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression forces a renewed emphasis on the threats of totalitarianism, a reconsideration of the ideas of negotiations, dialogue, and democracy proposed by J. Habermas, and notes the need to adapt Western thought to the realities of modern conflicts. The Ukrainian philosophical tradition, established even under Soviet totalitarianism, demonstrates resilience and the capacity for innovation, which can enrich the global intellectual discourse.
The conversation took place in the space of the “Ukrainian PEN.” The episode was made with the support of the “Goethe-Institut Ukraine.”
LISTEN TO THE RECORDING OF THE CONVERSATION
According to information from the H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the NAS of Ukraine