The category of the heart in philosophy and religion: from mysticism to pragmatics

Abstract

One of the extremely urgent problems of modern anthropology is the problem of the whole person, more precisely, the problem of the completeness of his nature. It includes many elements of a different nature, which raises the question of the existence of a center that controls human activity as an integral being. The author proceeds from the fact that such a coordinating center, in accordance with historical, philosophical and religious studies, is the human heart. The article analyzes the features of understanding the heart, presented in the philosophical and religious literature. Special attention is paid to the views of the Christian philosopher A. S. Pozov, who takes a clear position in revealing the fundamental role of the human heart in all the diversity of its existence. The functional elements of cardiac activity, which can be of practical importance, have been identified. A series of questions about the practical applications of heart problem research has been formulated. This is the role and significance of the heart in the transition to a digital society. These are, further, the ways and means of transformation of human nature and their justification. Finally, following I. A. Ilyin, we talk about the need to study the evolution of the forms of “heart contemplation.”