Ukrainian Romanticism and Positive Philosophy: Points of Contact in Views on a Just Society

<jats:p>The relevance of the research. The main condition for social reform is intellectual reform. For this, a synthesis of science and the formation of positive policy is necessary. Positive politics is a combination of the secular order, where the law of might prevails, and the spiritual order, the order of moral values, since a person's life is determined by their place in the spiritual hierarchy. The foundation of positive politics should be order and progress, which are based on the human spirit and moral qualities. In Ukraine, the time of the emergence of positivism historically coincides most closely with the period of Romanticism—a time when, from the idea of the unity of man, people, nature, and the world, the Romantics derived the idea of the natural-legal foundations of human existence. This makes their ideas resonate with the natural right of a person to respect dignity, the right of nations to self-determination and statehood, which are the foundations of the cultural, political, and legal flourishing of the nation. These ideas are close to the Comtean society based on harmony and solidarity. The purpose is to examine the peculiarities of the views of representatives of Ukrainian Romanticism on a just society. Conclusions. Noticing the great political and moral crisis of the society of his time, O. Comte finds a place in his teachings for the ideas of a positive (just) society, which serves the ideals of order and progress, and is a model of high morality and justice. The state, in his opinion, should be the guardian and expression of the "public spirit," standing watch over social solidarity and fighting against tendencies of fundamental divergence of ideas, feelings, and interests in society. Such ideas found fertile ground in Ukraine's natural law doctrines, which were historically closest to Comte and developed by the Romantics. Thus, we find points of convergence between positivism and romanticism in views on a just society (social harmony, freedom and equality, freedom of thought, etc.) in the works of M. Maksymovych, M. Kostomarov, P. Kulish, and T. Shevchenko.</jats:p>