Abstract

The article examines the features of the modern methodological-philosophical reception of the legacy of the most famous Ukrainian philosopher, Hryhoriy Skovoroda (1722–1794), and its timeless heuristic influence on cultural sociality. The introduction outlines the general state of the development of academic Skovorodian studies. For the first time, the specifics of three research approaches in understanding the central issues of Skovoroda’s teachings – the sources of human self-realization – are analyzed in comparative juxtaposition. In the first paragraph, it is emphasized that the cultural approach views Skovoroda’s ideas through the lens of the dominant Neoplatonic Ukrainian tradition of philosophizing, known as the “philosophy of the heart”. In the second paragraph, it is argued that the ethno-psychological approach significantly helps to systematize Skovoroda’s ideas by considering their connection with the national Ukrainian mentality and the Slavic “worldview”. As an example, the practical ethics of Skovoroda and Masaryk are compared. The third paragraph, using a semiotic approach, interprets the teachings on self-realization in light of Skovoroda’s proposed theses on the antinomy of human cognition, the dual nature of man, and the concept of vocation. It is argued that, in each of the approaches discussed, Skovoroda’s conscious integration of his “life philosophy” and personal self-fulfillment into Ukrainian reality is emphasized, aiming to revive the inherent values of freedom, dignity, and justice in collective national identity and culture.