The concept of a form of life in the ontology of the XIX - early XX centuries

The article examines the formation and evolution of the concept of life forms in philosophy of the XIX - early XX centuries. The author points out the ambivalence of the form of life as a biological and socio-cultural phenomenon. In the first section, the author shows how the concept of forms of life was understood in biology and philosophy. The author comes to the conclusion that in non-classical thought, the concept of a form of life biologically means a living organism placed in a habitat, and in philosophy - a lifestyle, habits, customs, human character, as well as some background consisting of tacit agreements, assumptions. The second section delves into Oswald Spengler’s conception as an example of understanding form of life in philosophy of the XIX - early XX centuries. O. Spengler considers various types of cultures as forms of life, and his research proceeds from the duality of this concept. The thinker identifies common characteristics specific to each culture, describing them in biological terms, yet simultaneously underscores their uniqueness and irreducibility to the particularities of other cultures.