The thesis is devoted to the basic concept of the European lexicon, which is fundamentally important for a person of spiritual realization, of which asceticism is a necessary component. The purpose of the dissertation research is the explication of the philosophical meanings of asceticism from its various definitions. Our goal was to consider the philosophical or methodological aspect of asceticism. We saw that asceticism exists as meaningful self-restraint and, accordingly, sets a new level of reality and, therefore, goal-setting as the possibility of achieving it. The breadth and universality of asceticism are highlighted. Asceticism can be considered a cultural universal and an integral feature of human society. And accordingly, it can be assumed that it is rooted in the nature of man as a social being. We can talk about methodological of ascetic practices at the level of ascetical community All of them are aimed at achieving a state other than the initial one. It is understood as more perfect. Methodological and ontological aspects of asceticism coincide. Although asceticism belongs to the field of methodology, in this case, the method involves a change in essence. The method takes us to ontology. Asceticism is not just an exercise or practice, it allows someone to become an author-builder of your personality and move on to the ontological foundations of own existence. The inclusion of asceticism in synergetic concepts would enable to see it as a method of scientific search for a new subjectivity. In the context of humanitarian synergetics, asceticism is part of the process of individual self-organization. In our opinion, asceticism is intended to demonstrate synergetic models on it. Synergetics just undertakes to describe this state of transition and transformation of a person in ascetic practices. Synergetics gives a person the opportunity to destroy all subjectivity that is familiar to him and again appear before the world as an open problem and opportunity to be. The features of the conceptualization of asceticism in classical and nonclassical thinking are highlighted. The structure of ascetic doing is described, which is broader than just practice, since it implies a systematic approach and a complex of all practices. The systematic consideration of asceticism made it possible to present anthropology in a new way and its significance for ascetic discourse. New meanings of anthropology were discovered under the influence of non-classical approaches, when the construction of statements, the formation of activities, ways of establishing objects and their relations become the subject of philosophy. Only within the framework of a detailed anthropology can the problem of asceticism be effectively comprehended. Science, theology, and philosophy converge on this cognitive field. The specificity of philosophical and religious dialogue in the analysis of asceticism is revealed on the material of European philosophical reflection of asceticism, presented by the author deeply interwoven into the history of Christian thought. Philosophy and theology of austerity are considered as parts of one whole, consistent with current trends in European thinking. In line with the philosophical and theological dialogue, the author’s concept of “Eucharistic Man” was developed, which in turn provides substantial content for “Eucharistic Theology” and includes key anthropological principles. The author is looking for an opportunity to describe the Orthodox world view in a rational language, avoiding evaluative terms. Hence the attention to the categorical apparatus of Orthodox asceticism, the concept of “inner man”, the tendencies of Orthodox modernism. The current state of research on the concept of asceticism in philosophy is characterized by predominant attention to experience and the role of ascetic practices. Reflection of ascetic experience in the philosophy of the second half of the XX - beginning of the XXI century allowed to see asceticism surrounded by “spiritual practices”, “anthropotechnics” (technology of power in relation to a person) “practicing oneself” (taking care of oneself). Asceticism is considered as the main engine of the process of rationalizing attitudes towards the world and the formation of modern structures of consciousness. Asceticism is therefore an important component of many cultural traditions, which is one of the fundamental principles of culture, and is its universal prerequisite. The world of asceticism is the world of human activity, purposeful activity, the exercise of freedom. As a universal cultural practice, asceticism relies on a person’s understanding not as a given, but, rather, as a task, fulfills the supertask “to come true”. Keywords: asceticism, ascetic discourse, structure of ascetic doing, anthropology, self-care practices, reflection, constructing subjectivity, Orthodox personalism.
