MENTALITY AND THE PROBLEM OF IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERNITY

INTRODUCTION The relevance of the chosen topic is attributed to the fact that in modern conditions, along with the tendency of integration, there is another one – disintegration, which is manifested in the country’s ethnic, confessional and civilization crisis. The last few decades were characterized by the two differently directed processes: the process of globalization and the process of particularization, that is, separation, individualization. Unfortunately, “the world history shows that civilizational identity is not able to prevent conflicts originating from national, tribal or community identities, and its unifying role, as well as national identity, has often been punctuated by the disintegrating influence of class, social, ethnic, clan, denominational and other identities, although their mobilization value is now significantly diminished” 1 . Today, the destruction of major social institutions related to the process of social and self-identification of the individual leads to the loss of meaning in life, disorientation and de-identification of the members of society. In such a situation, the citizens of any country continue to question the very basics of the ontological authenticity of anything in the world, subconsciously realizing that they lack deep and reliable relationships and values. Not only the surrounding world ceased to be transparent and familiar to a man, but also a man to himself. Therefore, it is important to understand the common and distinctive features of the Ukrainian society that lead to conflicts or their resolution. Undoubtedly, the category of “mentality” opens the way to understanding the various aspects of spiritual life, the secrets of individual and collective consciousness, the peculiarities of the national spirit of the people, their character, habits and primal interests. The very concept of mentality, according to the researchers, shows that collective emotions and typical reactions of ethnos affect social relations no less than rational motives. Indeed, the peculiarities of worldview and consciousness play a prominent role in the history of any nation, state. That is, we are talking about the