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The emergence of global problems is associated with the history of formation of contemporary civilization and technocratically oriented culture; this is a natural consequence of the crisis of industrial society. Two centuries ago, nations still existed in isolation, but in the late XIX and early XX centuries there took place dramatic changes. Technology, economics and transport enormously increased mobility and the transformation possibilities of humans. The process of change took place (and still does) together with deep and thorough reforms in the social sphere. The term «globalization» refers to a broad range of events and trends: the development of world ideologies, intense struggle for the establishment of the world order; a jump-like increase in the number of international organizations and strengthening of their impact; the weakening of the sovereignty of nation-states; the emergence and development of transnational corporations (TNCs), the growth of international trade; intensive mass migration and the formation of multicultural communities; the creation of planetary mass media; the expansion of Western culture into all regions of the world, and so on. Analysis of these trends shows that they have acquired a character of synchronous social changes in the first half of XX century; and this transformation took place in such a way that it can be characterized as a social-cultural shift.

The purpose of the article is to consider virtual civil society in the context of modern geopolitics. Existence of civil society is a basis of the democratic structure of the state, and its formation ensures irreversibility of democratic changes. Presently, there takes place a process of understanding of institutionalization of the basic structural elements of civil society; the ways of development of the Russian state and its relations with civil society are actively analyzed. Despite a large number of studies devoted to this problem, the concept of civil society is a debatable one both in the domestic and foreign philosophical science. This problem is especially topical in Russia as the problem of formation of civil society is especially important in the conditions of formation of democracy and solution of practical problems of formation of civil society. For this purpose it is necessary to find out the methodological bases of the theory arising round this issue, because the institutional nature of formation of civil society, the role of its structures and functions in society are not clear. The aspiration to construct "from above" an organic concept of civil society in Russia shows its inefficiency. The profound social changes happening in the modern world created new social reality. As a part of the outside world, the social reality possesses the character of objective reality, therefore its studying has to be guided not by comprehension of how it is given to us in our sensual representations and illusions, but by the knowledge of the characteristics inherent to it and existing out of and independently of human consciousness. The reality is attributed to everything that can arise, that exists and is passing. However, the reality belongs to the last foundations which do not need proof and justification. Development of new means of communication fosters the creation of new relations in society and new social reality, the virtual one. The problem of virtual reality, i.e. virtualization of society gains relevance in connection with continuous growth of the number of Internet users. People unite into communities to be convinced of correctness of their views. In the course of self-organization people pass three stages. The first is the discovery of the like-minded people, the presence of the people with whom it is worth uniting into a certain group. The second step is joining of like-minded people into a group. The third is collective activity. The Internet now solves the first problem. For further development of civil society, it is needed the real, not declared readiness of people to make their contributions. To increase the level of civil activity of people, it may be of help a greater transparency of the Internet when it is clear who and how votes in the Internet polls, which people belong to the community of interest for the blogger. The ability to civic consciousness is a question of convenient instruments of self-organization, for example, social networks on the Internet, and, not so importantly, a question of personal qualities of people, their consciousness. Technically, everything is ready in Russia to emergence of civil society. It remains to turn it into a broad socially oriented practice.

In the article, on the basis of inconsistency of the modern era, the need is shown for fundamental changes in the society in general and in its most important sphere, education. The author speaks about the necessity to change humanitarian strategy in the development by means of synthesis of culture and civilization that requires innovative rethinking of established types of spiritual and practical activities by the general public. Humanitarian methodology is considered as a way of uncovering the unique, inimitable in every person. The essence of the youth policy, which needs to be renewed, is determined in the context of the formation of a new humanitarian strategy. It is substantiated that the accelerated development of technical ways of life in the society should be considered as an incentive to improve the educational prospects for students, youth. The overcoming the planetary chaos, dynamic imbalance, according to the author, is a kind of a "shield" from the universal catastrophe of humanity.

Geopolitics is a science about large spaces, the global political, economic and other processes and the art of their management. The term «geopolitics» is composed of two parts: «geo» and «politics». The word «geo» (earth, territory) suggests that geopolitics considers the influence of geographic factors on the policy of the state. The main such factor is considered to be the location of the state on a continent. In addition, it should be noted that among the significant factors there are not only the length of borders, their location on the natural or artificial boundaries, but also the population, the population density, social structure and, what is important, the level of education, mentality, specificities of the national character and others. The root «geo» has acquired today a second meaning, denoting not only the «global» dimension of politics that characterizes relations between the superpowers or military blocks, but also the «clash of civilizations» (Toynbee, Samuel Huntington), or the change of the overall configuration of the world system (e.g. from the bipolar to the mono- or polycentric ones). The modern actors of geopolitics, rather than yearn to conquer new territories, seek to control as much spaces as possible: not to control the territory as a whole but the lines of communication and various flows in these areas (financial, trade, labor and so on), thereby maintaining the most favorable conditions for their own development and prosperity. In 1916, the Swedish scientist Rudolf Challen (1864-1922) in his work «The state as a form of life» introduced into science the term «geopolitics», defining it as «doctrine, considered the state as a geographical organism or spatial phenomenon». The German theorist Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904) studied the state mainly from the standpoint of its relationship to the environment, space, taking as the main criterion the spatial relationships. A. G. Dugin considers geopolitics as an ideology: «the world-view of power, the science about power and for power», «the science of ruling». We present geopolitics as a world-view, ideological doctrine justifying the direction of international policy of the state in the living space. It is a practical strategy of international policies of nations and states of the Contemporary history. Geopolitical relations are a relative unity and struggle of various forces in the world, it is a balance of power. After the destruction of the Soviet Union as a result of the Belavezha Accords, the balance of power in the world has changed significantly, the world ceased to be bipolar. The West, taking advantage of the situation, tries to impose its own rules on Russia imposes, trying to create a new world order on Russia’s expense. This threatens unpredictable consequences for the whole world. Note that the expansion against Russia is taking place; this is clearly shown by the events in Ukraine. This expansion has essentially «soft character», its other forms could entail active resistance from the Russians (a deterrent factor is that Russia has a formidable nuclear weapons). We must understand that in the XXI century, as the recourse crisis, especially concerning energy, is aggravating, population is growing, fertile land is being depleted and lost, a «hard version» of territorial expansion cannot be excluded in the world affairs.

The modern world development, on one hand, leads to increased interdependence among peoples and nations, and on the other, aggravates the contradictions between them. In modern conditions, not only there takes place the exacerbation of global problems, but also their relation with the fundamental social problems changes. Therefore, the processes of globalization in all their contradictions are a reality of the modern world, to be reckoned with. Political, financial institutions, corporations and information flows, acting in the world, erase national borders and establish uniform rules for all countries. At the present stage, none of the countries can stay aside from the rapidly developing processes of globalization. Participation in it allows not only solving the pressing economic problems, but also actively entering the global technology flows to learn and effectively use the experience of organization and management of production. The changes occurring in the world, initiate the emergence of new so-called global opportunities, interesting new ideas and ways of their implementation. The main challenge of globalization Russia is whether it will be able to organically enter into the process of world development or not. In terms of technology and economy, Russia still has a chance to overcome or mitigate the growing lag behind the developed countries as much as possible using the advantages offered by globalization. Despite the structural imbalances of the economy, inherited from the Soviet period of development of the country and acute crisis of the transition period, Russia has maintained a sufficient level of scientific and technological development, rather skilled labor force and intellectual potential.

Education is one of the most important factors contributing to the successful solution of the globalization problems. Its purpose is to prepare the person to working in new organizational structures and to broadly disseminate information technology changing the work organization. In the process of globalization, educational activity for all social and age groups of population becomes the primary means of development and reproduction. Currently there is implemented marketization of education, due to investments of big business and international financial institutions in standardization, and distribution of training modules for employees in accordance with the technological requirements. The positive trends in the implementation of this direction are a significant increase in jobs and job training, a relatively short training period of the employee. The negative factors include narrow specialization and, as a consequence, insecurity of the human in front of ever-changing economic situation, inability to take into account personal interests and preferences in the area of education. Globalization of the crucial problems of humanity and their universal intellectual and practical development are carried out through education, which thus acquires common goals. The question arises of a universal educational space as a modern global educational system, whose main content is cultural and scientific achievements of all mankind, absorbed in unified organizational forms, on the basis of common tools, methodological principles and technological possibilities of teaching.

In the article the authors present a philosophical-psychological interpretation of the ideas of the ancient philosopher Plato. It was Plato who opened the structure in the form of «ideas», «forms», «eidos». He distinguished the real world, where people live, and the world of shadows. He laid the new content into the basis of all things, the numbers. Plato interpreted human behavior as the behavior of a doll, which is controlled via the external and internal threads (the mind). In his dialogues he proved the existence of innate knowledge. The person must make a choice of a thread which, by its control, makes the person good, active and high-spirited. A. F. Losev, a specialist in Plato, expressed Platonism in two or three sentences. On the basis of the conducted analysis, the philosopher argues that the center of Plato's philosophy is the concept of Eidos, and that this Eidos, as we said above, is justified, so to speak, from above and from below. It is justified from above as a product of the over-existent One; from below, as a womb, which generates from itself, by moving into formation, the Soul, which re-draws the face of Eidos, turning it into a Sophian symbol, and thus into a model, a Paradigm, in Demiurge, further generating the Cosmos. Hence, in its essence, Platonism is a doctrine about three or four guises, dialectically deploying existence in its entirety: the One, Mind (Eidos, Idea), Soul and Cosmos. Though Plato did not use this terminology, but the formula of the «entire Plato», proposed by Losev, is an analysis using the generalizing terms of the core of this philosophy. In the teachings of Plato about the basic ontological substances, according to Losev, the «One» is nothingness. It is the basis of the entire existence and entire reality. There are hidden there not only ideas of things, but the things themselves, as well as their formation. «Mind» is one of the faculties of the Soul. Its subject is the essence of things but not their formation. «Mind» in the Platonic sense is life in the extreme generalization. «Mind» is embodied in the «Cosmos». «Soul» combines the mind with the ideas, which constitute it, and the corporeal world. «Soul» is distinguished by eternal mobility. It is in everything and in the entire «Cosmos» at the same time. «Cosmos» is an eternal prototype or sample, is a kind of an organism of an idea, rather, idea as an organism, which is in the cosmic proportions. Further development of the prototype leads to the triad: the body of «Cosmos», soul of «Cosmos», and the mind of «Cosmos». In his dialogues, Plato proves the existence of innate knowledge.

The goal of the article is to discuss the causes of appearance of science and education as areas of social existence and touch upon the issue of the time of their appearance in history. In this case, the causes of appearance of science and education are understood as the condition and realization causes, that is, only the necessary social and economic conditions leading to the appearance of these phenomena in a given historical period. The article deliberately ignores the logical and methodological factors of their genesis. In the analysis of these socio-economic reasons, we introduce the concepts of science and education in the broad sense of the word and the concept of science and education in the modern, narrow sense. The conclusion is that science arises because of acute social and economic needs of the corresponding society and only one of the alternatives («replies») to the «challenge» situation. The modern system of education is a consequence of the needs of the society in a large number of specialists, able to create something principally new. Education in the broadest sense is a consequence of the need of the relevant social groups in the confirmation of elite status and maintenance of complex social technologies. Modern science and modern education emerged as a mass phenomenon around the same time, about XVI-XVII centuries. And the reason for this was, in fact, one and the same factor: the urgent need to change the societies themselves (in the social and technological aspects). Science and education in the broad sense, historically appeared much earlier, do not have such organic connection, because they were caused not by the same reasons and could exist in relative isolation from each other. The above is one of the arguments in favor of the externalist point of view, that is, that science and education arise and change rather due to the external socio-economic factors than to the factors immanent to them.

The article analyzes the processes of interaction between social institutions of academic science and higher education in contemporary Russia. It is concluded that the main content of the process was the formation of the phenomenon of forced integration, which is understood as a force including of the academic research institutions of the federal and national research universities, to dramatically enhance scientific potential of universities. The author is critical of this experience, offering to find and use other, mutually beneficial ways and forms of integration. According to the author, in the conditions when the global trend is the creation and development of research universities, the main issue for Russia becomes the following one: how most organically and effectively make academic institutions a part of the new university. The path proposed today at the federal level can hardly be considered optimal. The reason is the forceful imposition of a new model with significant damage to the prevailing democratic traditions, scientific productivity and, most importantly, the psychological state of the scientific staff of academic institutions. In our opinion, it is necessary to find new ways, in some cases, some intermediate forms of interaction without drawing power resources for the forceful solving the problems, because the limit of this kind of actions has been exhausted in the reform of science in 2013. The task is to build a new system of relationships, the most advantageous to both parties, while preventing the loss of accumulated experience and scientific groundwork, personnel, material-technical base of academic institutions, at the same time, enhancing to the maximum extent the scientific potential of domestic higher education.

The article is devoted to defining of the actual incompleteness of the «cross-philosophical methodology», as well as tracking the use of methodological «crosses» in domestic and foreign (English) tradition. Combinatorial eschatologism, claimed as a way of identifying the methodological syntheses, in no way preclude further completing of the author's proposed taxonomy table, because it is not invariant. In his article, the author tries to understand the usefulness of the application of combinatorics to the problems of methodological combinations in the philosophy that effectively overcome the postmodern eclecticism, often involves a rejection of the search for rigorous solutions. The article analyzes historically methodological combinations and the conclusion about the need to expand the number of methodological variations for solving urgent problems of philosophical multiscreen knowledge. The analysis of scientific and philosophical literature demonstrates that methodological variations are used not only in classical philosophical practice as methods of cognition, but also as markers for the critical evaluation of some philosophical schools themselves and each other; methodological «crossing», probably because of heuristic redundancy, often go beyond the purely philosophical perspective, as for example, the economic, pedagogical and Western theological thought actively borrows methodological crossing for their needs. A combinatorial table, which the author proposes to call «methodological sieve (partly using the metaphor of William James) is a convenient way to build a unified picture of the methodological intersections. This tool allows effectively exhausting the possible intersections without worrying about missing some of them. The main purpose of this article is to reconstruct those synthetic methodological concepts, without the clarification of which the modern philosophical methodology cannot be considered complete and logically justified. In the conditions of permanent growth of information flows, the ability of the student to quickly recognize the methodological principles with further study, classification and application are of particular importance. In accordance with the requirements of saving the study time, this matrix can be used in the teaching of philosophical methodology to graduate students in the course «History and philosophy of science». In this context, the function of combinatorial philosophy will be to clearly and succinctly clarify the methodological difficulties, and to inform graduate students about the variable set of philosophical cognition methods, their meaning and importance for the theory of knowledge.