THE PECULIARITIES OF THE INTERPRETATION OF THE CONCEPT OF WILL IN THE SERMONS OF A. RADIVILOVSKY

Abstract

The article provides the concept of the will, its interpretation in the selected dictionaries and the sermon of A. Radivilovsky since it is an important notion in the linguistic world image of Ukrainians. The visions of the concept of A. Radivilovsky and other writers of that time are compared. The inter- est for the interpretation and understanding of this concept appeared in Ukrainian culture in the 17th century. The reason for this was the penetration of Latin-Polish literature into the territory of Ukraine. The interpretations of the will were quite different, even within one century. So-called «evolution» of the concept can be traced back to the dictionaries that record the vocabulary of the researched period («Lexicon» by Pamba Berynda., «Materials» to the dictionary by E. Timchenko and «Dictionary of the Ukrainian language of the 16th – the first half of the 17th century»). The change of the conceptual world image of Ukrainians, specifically in the ratio of such concepts as God and Man, is observed in the second half of the 17th century. A. Radivilovsky is an innovator in this regard. For him as well as for I. Gisel, freedom is defined as the path to the Salvation. An important thing is that A. Radilovsky appeals to the will not in a specific sense. The main point for him is freedom of the will which he defines as a special gift from God that is given to a man in order to live for good and increase the glory of the Lord. In the sermon he refers to the work of Blessed Augustine. The preacher believes that a person who chose a righteous path with his own will can reach the Salvation. God gives everyone freedom to choose, and therefore nobody makes a person do what he does not want to do. In order to confirm his ideas, A. Radilovsky presents the biblical parables, legends or histories of ancient gods or rulers. So, A. Radilovsky refers to the problem of freedom of the will because the society of that time required a different interpretation of some religious concepts through rationalistic worldview. Accord- ing to the preacher, the will is the path to the Highest Blessed Peace, a special gift from God. Such an interpretation differs from the ideas of philosophers of the first half of the 20th century. A. Radilovsky emphasizes that even doing it unconsciously a person still has to make a choice in favor of God. That is, having noted that everyone has a right to make their own choice, the preacher unknowingly denies this fact. The concept of the will plays an important role in the sermon since it gives us an idea of the contemporary understanding of the notion and its place in the religious texts.