Feminine Origin in the Cosmogonic ideas of the Slavic and Eastern Philosophy: a Comparative Analysis

Article
Open Access
by Oksana Petinova1 and Violeta Svitlytska2
1 The state institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinskiy” (Odesa, Ukraine)
2 International Humanitarian University (Odesa, Ukraine)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/31/8
Received: 8 August 2023 / Accepted: 2 September 2023 / Published: 15 October 2023

View Full-Text Review Reports Cite This Paper

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the role of the feminine principle in the cosmogonic ideas of the Slavic peoples and the philosophy of the Ancient East, in particular, India and China, to the establishment of common and distinctive features of female personification. The authors conclude that the ancient tribal culture, which was based on the logic of nature, the maintenance of the world in unity and the balance of opposites, was much more favorable to women than monotheistic religions, which affirmed the sinful nature of women. Ideas about the origin and development of the universe occupy a central place in the mythological heritage, in the cosmic processes and powerful forces of nature, the unbreakable harmony of male and female principles can be traced, where male energy consists in the idea of fertilization, and female energy – in birth and creation. In every mythological system, there is a character of the Mother Goddess, who acts as a co-creator of the world and living beings, but with the establishment of the patriarchal system, the mythological paradigm undergoes changes, and the female principle is gradually recognized as secondary, or it was completely leveled in the processes of world creation. The archetype of the Great Mother reflects the functioning of human values and runs through the entire history of philosophy and culture.

Keywords: culture, cultural phenomena, collective consciousness, cosmogony, cult, mythological traditions, female personification, substance, Archetype of the Great Mother

References

Anderson, P.S. (2007) Feminist Challenges to Conceptions of God: Exploring Divine Ideals. Philosophia, 35, 361–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-007-9083-7

Bradley, A.T. (2017) Gender Equations: Experiences of the Syzygy on the Archetypal Spectrum. Psychological Perspectives. A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought, Volume 60, Issue 3: Gender Diversity, 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332925.2017.1350801

Bühler, G. (2023) The Laws of Manu. Sacred Books of the East, Volume 25. Available online: https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm

Chai, D. (2023) Wuwei in the Lüshi Chunqiu. Dao, Volume 22, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-023-09894-8.

Doronina, T. (2012) Personification of male and female principles in mythological discourse: gender aspect. Philosophical Studies, Vol. 8, 38-47.

Feng, Q., and W. Chen (2023) The Rise of Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism. In A Concise History of Chinese Philosophy. Springer, 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0007-7_2

Informational and analytical cultural and educational portal Spadok.org.ua (2023) The goddess Lada is a symbol of harmony, love, and well-being. https://spadok.org.ua/davni-viruvannya/bohynya-lada

Leslie, E. Gomberg ABD (2001) What Women in Groups Can Learn from the Goddess. The Maiden-Mother-Crone Trinity. Women &Therapy, Volume 23, Issue 4, 55-69. https://doi.org/10.1300/J015v23n04_05

Lurker, M. (2004) The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons. Routledge.

Lynn, M.S. (1994) Feminism, ecofeminism, and the maternal archetype: Motherhood as a feminine universal. Communication Quarterly, Volume 42, Issue 2, 145-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463379409369923

Madan, G. (1990) India through the ages. Publication Division.

Nomys, M. (1993) Ukrainian sayings, proverbs and so on. Kyiv: Lybid.

Posthuma, R., Zh. Haiyan and Zh. Yang (2023) Country Culture Archetypes, Transformational and Transactional High-Performance Work Systems, and Innovation. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4471959

Ray, A.C., F.J. Thumin, and A.G. Barclay (2010) A Semantic Differential Study of the YinYang Symbol. Journal of Personality Assessment, Volume 35, Issue 4 (1971), 338-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.1971.10119679.

Ryzhova, O. (2020) Forms of manifestation of the archetype of the Great Mother in the image of the goddess Marena in the ancient culture of various Slavic peoples (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Poles). Siveryanskyi litopis, No. 5, 25-35. Available online: http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/173309?show=full

Sharma, K. (2018) Mother India: The Role of the Maternal Figure in Establishing Legal Subjectivity. Law Critique Vol. 29, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10978-017-9197-4

Shaw, M. (2006) Buddhist Goddesses of India. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Škof, L. (2020) God, Incarnation in the Feminine, and the Third Presence. Sophia, Vol. 59, 95-112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-018-0646-9

Sobolievskyi, Y. and L. Sobolievska (2022) Platonism and Cosmology in Early American Puritan Philosophy. Philosophy and Cosmology, Volume 29, 125-134. https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/29/11

The Chinese Cosmos: Basic Concepts (2023) Available online: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/bgov/cosmos.htm

Voytovych, V. (2014) Encyclopedia of folk beliefs. Ukrainian mythology. Steblyak.

Zhongjian, M. (2023) The Origin of Chinese Civilization and the History of the Relationship with Confucianism and Daoism. In A Brief History of the Relationship Between Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Springer. 41-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7206-5_2

Share and Cite

Petinova, Oksana and Violeta Svitlytska (2023) Feminine Origin in the Cosmogonic Ideas of the Slavic and Eastern Philosophy: a Comparative Analysis. Philosophy and Cosmology, Volume 31, 96-107. https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/31/8
Back to the list of Articles