Philosophical essay and its significance for the development of modern philosophical methodology
The article reviews essays by Plato, Michel de Montaigne, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gaston Bachelard, and Roland Barthes. The Dialogues of Plato had a huge impact on human culture, and not least because of their style, since it was the first such powerful combination of philosophy, poetry, elements of scientific knowledge, and highly artistic drama. In his own way, Montaigne analyzed fundamental questions of the universe: universalism, the relationship of all aspects of life and nature, the interconnectedness of various paths of evolution, and many others. Nietzsche clearly demonstrated the role of architectonics in the essay, which created a harmonious work, its stability, optimality, and correspondence to the rhythms of world harmony. Barthes opened a new stage in the development of essays: more rigorous, bordering scientific research. The essay opens up wide opportunities for the distribution of low-quality products, all kinds of fakes. The criteria for distinguishing an essay from simulacra are text harmony, stable and optimal architectonics, and the ability to interact with rigorous scientific methods (semiotics, hermeneutics, phenomenology). The truth of the essay can also be verified from the point of view of the world coordinate system based on the limit dynamic equilibria of deterministic chaos. The essay is necessary for the development of modern philosophical thought. Compared with previous eras, its importance has increased dramatically, since the subject of modern philosophy has become much wider, affecting issues at the interface with science, religion, and numerous areas of interdisciplinary knowledge. Many of these issues do not fit into the scientific or philosophical methodology and suggest completely new approaches to their study. They can be attributed to visionary work, para-science, that is, these studies are going in the right direction, but have not yet found an established terminology, theoretical or methodological base. The essay can provide the most complete interaction of scientific and extra-scientific knowledge; contribute to the creation of one of the options for modern universalism.