The Philosophy of the Act Responsibility as the Rationality of Participation

The article examines the content of the philosophy of the act presented by a prominent Russian philosopher, literary critic, and cultural theorist Mikhail Bakhtin. The author provides the reader with a particularly detailed introduction to the Russian philosopher’s main concept. According to the author, Mikhail Bakhtin’s legacy can be seen as a continuation of the theory of another German thinker, Immanuel Kant. Bakhtin begins where Kant ends — with the self-realisation of the moral personality in the world and society, making the ‘philosophy of the act’ the subject of reflection. The world of action is a personal world, not a random one, filled with responsible choices. And at the centre of these choices is a unique personality that occupies a unique place in the fabric of existence and is therefore responsible for it. The author compares M. Bakhtin’s idea with the concept of the German-French philosopher Albert Schweitzer, concluding that both thinkers are essentially talking about the same thing, namely the original human non-alibi-in-being and primacy, the vital principle as the basis of human actions. Responsibility is inseparable from human existence. The text reveals Bakhtin’s idea of dialogism: not only and not so much an exchange of judgements, but rather a participation in the creation of existence, an endless process of meaning-making and responsibility for one’s own unique contribution to this ‘blockchain’ of meanings created over a long period of time. The author emphasises the interdisciplinary significance of Bakhtin’s ideas, which go far beyond the humanities. Bakhtin’s ideas, such as the fundamental nature of responsibility in relation to freedom and consciousness, and self-awareness as a result of ‘solidifying’ dialogical interaction and many others are now confirmed by research findings in social semiotics, developmental psychology, and brain neurophysiology. These ideas are particularly relevant today in the context of the intensive transformation of socio-cultural practices in digital formats.

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