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The article notes that Descartes asserted that bodily movements enter the mind of a human directly from his nervous system. Recognizing also that a human’s body is controlled by his incorporeal mind, as well as that the mind is localized in the structure of the bodily human brain, Descartes actually ignored his own statement about the independent, moreover substantial, status of the mind in relation to the human body and, therefore, about their absolute isolation from each other. It is revealed that Descartes virtually adhered directly to the viewpoint that thinking is a manifestation of the functioning of a specific part of the human corporeal brain. Thus, it is established that there is not only an objective-idealistic, but also a materialistic component in the interpretation of the relationship of the human mind and the functioning of his brain. The conclusion is also made that Descartes was aware of the presence of this materialistic component in his works. Because in fear of the inquisition, the philosopher stated his views in a way that not only would not show this component explicitly and clearly, but, on the contrary, would remain it as concealed to readers as possible, including by parallel statements about his adherence to an objectively idealistic viewpoint in the form of faith in the Christian god.

The study deals with the substantiation of the following theses: a) the nature of the principles in scientific theories is Plato’s world of ideas; b) any other respond to this question is inadequate and/or internally inconsistent. The problem of the nature of the principles may be called the basic problem in the philosophy of science, because the principles determine completely the content of any theory. Plato was the first to answer the question “where do the principles come from?”. He claimed that any genuine knowledge is the soul’s memory of the world of ideas; the possibility of formating the prerequisites of scientific theories is a consequence of the involvement of the soul in the world of ideas. The alternative (and, in fact, the only real one) is F. Bacon’s empirical inductivism. However, this approach is internally inconsistent: nothing follows from the facts alone, because the inductive conclusion already presupposes a certain general thesis as its basis. Therefore, it is not like the inductive derivation of the principles is complicated or inefficient, but it is merely impossible. And if the principles of theories cannot be got from experience, then they are a priori.

The article is aimed at studying the causes of scientific activity, the value of which is first realized individually and only then recognized by small groups of people, owners of capital, politicians and society as a whole. The pursuit of scientific research may be considered as a way of individual interaction with the “Significant Other”, which begins at a person’s birth and continues throughout his life. As his awareness grows, he discovers new facets of the “Significant Other”, perceiving it first as the pleasant (in the process of physiological consumption), then as the useful (as a source of material and immaterial benefits), the noble (identifying the “Significant Other” with his small group) and, finally, as the holy (as a source of civilizational benefits). Rising to each new stage of interaction with the “Significant Other”, a person is guided by fundamentally different motives, values and meanings, as well as by a deeper understanding of cause-and-effect relationships.

In considering the formation of the theory of global evolutionism as a necessary element in the comprehension of the unity of the world, the author proceeds from the need for a level of thinking adequate to the unity and related to the scientific picture of the world. In the author’s view, given the systemic organization of nature, the basis of the scientific picture of the world is the general theory of the system of nature, according to which the structure of nature is the alternation and interdependent development of opposite systems: a complete system of heterogeneous elements and a discrete system of objects of the same kind. The revealed structure makes it possible to comprehend the mechanism of natural selection and self-organization as a manifestation of the development of these opposite systems - as the interdependent development of autonomy and association. The driver of evolution is the interaction of variability and identity, which has the form of repeatability in the inorganic world, the form of heredity in the living nature; in human society, the driver takes the form of interaction of activity and conservatism. With the rise of the mind, man leaves the system of biogeocenosis, settles on the planet and interacts with the nature of the planet as a whole, forming a new system of “man and nature”, where the interaction of man and nature is mediated by the system of “public consciousness and public practice”. The evolution of consciousness comes to the fore; transformations of thinking and ideas become the subject of selection in the system of society.

The article discusses the relationship between clarity and rigor as characteristics of a mathematical argument and the achievement of proof by means of formalization. It is shown that the project of providing the connection between these characteristics, which is proclaimed by D. Hilbert, by means of formalization turns out to be unfeasible at the current stage because of the lack of formalization tools that preserve the content of mathematical reasoning. The requirements for the formalization tools which are necessary to implement Hilbert’s strategy are set out. In addition, a strategy is proposed for studying the dynamic relationship between formalization and the content of a mathematical theory, as well as their contribution to understanding the mathematical proof, which enables to overcome the apparent gap between meaningful and formalized mathematical theories with regard to the characteristics of clarity and rigor.

The contextual definition of knowledge proposed by D. Lewis does not solve the Gettier problem. Rather, the problems which Lewis’s approach faces indicate that a satisfactory epistemological theory must accept the primacy of knowledge and the equivalence of knowledge and evidence, which leads to T. Williamson’s knowledge first epistemology. The rules which Lewis introduces for determining the relevant possible scenarios and which should be taken into account in his approach to knowledge are ad hoc . In particular, Lewis admits that he does not know how to reformulate the resemblance rule, so as to exclude the scenario of radical skepticism in a way that is not ad hoc . As a general principle for Lewis’s rules, we propose the principle of family resemblance, understood as the existence of a common Wittgensteinian rule and, in particular, the existence of common hinge propositions. Adjusted accordingly, Lewis’s definition of knowledge is compatible with both Wittgenstein’s hinge epistemology and Williamson’s knowledge first approach.

In its classical formulation, the basic problem of philosophy opposes the material and the ideal. Besides philosophy, the opposition of spirit and matter occurs in many areas, including natural sciences, where it often results in complex problems. One of these is the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. To obtain an effect perceived by the observer, the measured particle should be brought into interaction with the macro-instrument, which leads to a change in the initial parameters of the particle. That is, the observer influences the quantum system, and in an unpredictable probabilistic way. This situation results in epistemological difficulties and raises questions about the cognizability of the world, the violation of causal determinism, etc. For a science that studies the material world and aims at the ideals of objectivity, the perception of the possible influence of the observer’s consciousness on the measurement process is a problematic moment. The analysis shows that attempts to solve the basic problem of philosophy are based on softening the mentioned opposition by introducing an intermediary. It is shown that if we assume the existence of a link between matter and spirit, then the problem of quantum-mechanical measurements can be considered in an unexpected aspect, namely in terms of thermodynamics, which make it possible to provide a natural interpretation of the quantum-mechanical uncertainty arising in the course of measurements.

We studied the distribution of fluoride (F^-) in fresh and moderately mineralized waters of subpermafrost aquifers of Central Yakutia. We analyzed the data archive of 296 water samples collected by the Melnikov Permafrost Institute staff members during hydrochemical surveys between 1984 and 2019. The average fluoride concentrations varied between 5 and 10 mg/L. Highest concentrations (up to 15.5 mg/L) are observed in waters of the terrigenous aquifer systems occurring over the crystalline basement. The sources of fluoride can likely be the various fluoride-bearing minerals of aluminosilicate rocks. The high fluoride concentrations in these aquifers are associated with geochemistry (alkaline environment and sodium-bicarbonate water type) resulted from cryogenic metamorphism of rocks. Lowest concentrations (0.4-0.8 to 2-3 mg/L) are observed in subpermafrost groundwater samples collected from wells near the Lena River channel. These low concentrations indirectly indicate the presence of open taliks beneath the channel and the infiltration of stream water into the subpermafrost aquifers.

The territory of the north of Western Siberia is known as one of the promising regions of the Russian Arctic in terms of reserves of alternative fuel sources, in particular, gas hydrates. According to the results of interpretation of the data of 3D transient electromagnetic method (TEM) in the cryolithozone, performed in the Nadym district of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug at depths of 100-220 m, geoelectric anomalies of increased electrical resistivity values were revealed, accompanied by the induced polarization anomalies. The authors associate the mentioned anomalies with the possible accumulations of gas hydrates in the cryolithozone. To justify the applicability of the transient electromagnetic method in the near field zone in a shallow modification for mapping subpermafrost geoelectric anomalies in the cryolithozone, a description of a mathematical experiment is presented in the paper. The experiment is based on empirical electromagnetic data. As a result of mathematical modeling, it is shown that the use of transient electromagnetic method makes it possible to estimate the conductivity and polarizability of the upper part of the section of the study area and to identify anomalies in the cryolithozone, which are probably associated with hydrate-bearing deposits.

This analytical review is devoted to the Vladimir Romanovich Alekseev’s monograph dedicated to kurums - a specific type of covering coarse deposits, widely distributed within the mountainous permafrost areas of Northern Asia.