This dissertation focuses on reconstructing anthropological visions of Ukrainian diaspora in the context of their religious-philosophic studies which chronologically cover the 20s of XX and the beginning of XXI century. The works of O. Kulchytsky, I. Mirchuk, I. Ohienko, I. Ortynsky, D. Chyzhevsky, V. Shaian, M. Shlemkevych, V. Yaniv and others have served as dataset for analysis and systematization.
In order to understand and expose the conception of worldview, humanistic and moral ideas about a man represented by diaspora thinkers, the author first turns to their biographical narrative in which their life path, dramatic conflicts that induced them to emigrate can be traced down; secondly, she considers those philosophical and religious ideas in the context of which their anthropological paradigm was formed; thirdly, the author explores the extent to which the foundations of their ideas were consistent with the domestic and world traditions of philosophizing, and to what extent these ideas pertained to those problems that the society was concerned about.
Ukrainian diaspora is viewed as existential-personalized discourse-communicative project. The sources of specific anthropologic concepts of Ukrainian diaspora thinkers are traced. This paper maintains that Ukraine-centrism together with theo-centrism can be viewed as the specific philosophic values and discourse strategies of the thinkers in question. The carried out investigation allows us to outline religious values and ethic-humanistic priorities within anthropological domain of the diaspora philosophers named. Among these values and priorities are: religious spirituality, idea of inner orientation of a person, cordocentrism, trinitarianism of Vira (Belief / Trust), Nadia (Hope), Lyubov (Love), the latter trinity enabling person’s synergic activity with Absolute Personality.
Ukrainian diaspora thinkers’ religious-philosophic legacy contains a range of ideas which prove to be valuable and influential having considerable impact on ethnonational and spiritual identification of Independent Ukraine. It is exactly the existential-cordocentric attitude of Ukrainian diaspora thinkers that made it possible to distinguish such characteristics of Ukrainians as sentimentality (manifested on the example of Ukrainian lyricism expressed in songs; aesthetism of folk ritualism), personalism (expressed in individuality, striving for freedom of spirit); emotionality (revealed through the prism of the people’s creative reflection, depicted in art). These guidelines are intended to encourage the formation of the spiritual world of Ukrainians through the prism of preserving their traditions and customs by the people, where a combination of factors such as national, mental and transcendent, generating free Ukrainian spirit takes place. God and Ukraine are the top idea-topical priority of the Ukrainian diaspora philosophers’ world view paradigm.
Key words: Ukrainian diaspora, religious-philosophic discourse, Ukrainian centrism, theocentrism, cordocentrism, ‘inner’ personality.
