Discussions on Teaching Philosophy in Russian Higher Education in the Context of New Educational Reform

The research deals with discussions in the academic environment around the teaching of philosophy at a Russian higher school, which take place in 2023-2025 due to the ongoing fundamental reforms of the entire education system. The features of this reform are clear from official documents such as the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 12.05.2023 № 343 “On some issues of improvement of higher education system” and discussion of the forthcoming “Strategy for the development of Russian education until 2036”. It is about the current transition to “basic” and “specialized” higher education, about close attention to education as a person’s upbringing, oriented on traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, about the formation of nationwide civic identity. The appearance within the framework of the mega-project “DNA of Russia” of a new compulsory university academic discipline “Foundations of Russian statehood” in 2023-2024, the updated version of “History of Russia”, the upcoming introduction “History of religions of Russia” is a fundamentally important context for discussions around the discipline “Philosophy”. The proposed study demonstrates two conceptual projects of an educational and methodical complex and a teaching manual on philosophy for non-philosophical specialties, claiming to be of Russian-wide status. The first was developed by a working group of the Institute of Philosophy of St. Petersburg State University under the leadership of N.V. Kuznetsov. It is proposed to look at philosophical problems, grouped into eight thematic sections, as eternal and existential, getting acquainted with the main answers to philosophical questions of various thinkers - Western, Russian, Eastern. The course is logically based on historical-philosophical material and introduces students not only to philosophical concepts, but also to traditional values, many of which are comprehensively revealed in this course. The second approach is a widely discussed project of the collective study guide “Philosophy for non-specialists of natural-scientific and technical fields of training”, carried out under the editorship of I.M. Chubarov and ready to be printed. Here, the basis is a peculiarly understood active approach and philosophy presented as “practice-oriented” discipline. This study critically examines the concept of I.M. Chubarov and discusses the importance of philosophy in the system of higher education as a humanitarian, value-based and ideological course that can play an important role in the formation of moral guidelines and Russian civic identity.