Search and identification of philosophical and anthropological bases of spiritist communities in the modern world

The various peoples of the earth described in detail cases of contact and communication with forces, whose names sometimes correspond to a number considered sacred in individual occult and religious systems. Despite the closed nature of some systems, the possibility of personal recording of the action of invisible forces in written, oral or in another form in the XIX–XX centuries. It was not considered the property of the initiates only. This was persistently confirmed by a colossal surge of allegations of phenomena of a psychological nature, which some individuals took on as an anthropomorphic hypothesis regarding the existence of spirits. Taking transcendental creatures as agents of phenomena of a psychological nature, the anthropomorphic hypothesis contributed to the construction and development of spiritist statements, which later became separate in a specific philosophical and moral construction. The assertions of this construction, although contradicting the scientific paradigm that existed at that time, but this did not serve as a clear obstacle to the creation and dissemination of the spiritist movement with various internal branches.

Elements of the spiritist movement are still reproduced in various stands of real and digital space, which directly indicates the presence of interest and indignation in its positions. An analysis of the virtual pages of the spiritist communities of France, the USA, Brazil, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium, Italy, and Japan reveals that in all the countries listed above, spiritism is preached mainly as a philosophical and moral teaching with religious consequences, since spiritualistic philosophy reaches the roots of all religions: God, soul and future life. The Spiritualists National Union (SNU), which supports spiritual communities in the UK through charity, defines spiritualism as a religion [2] .

When comparing spiritist and spiritualistic (SNU) communities, two fundamental components of their activity are highlighted. The first is the theoretical and methodological basis of communities. In the case of spiritist communities, their support is the work, first of all, of the French systematizer of spiritism – H. L. Denizard Rivai (A. Kardek). Kardec in 1858 founded the Paris Society for Psychological Research, whose president was until his death. Similar associations quickly formed around the world, transmitting messages received from mediums to the Paris Society. A. Kardek studied, compared them for fifteen years. From the materials delivered to him in this way from all over the globe, he expanded and supplemented the book, which, as he himself indicated, belonged to spiritual beings [1].

A particularly outstanding pioneer for spiritualistic communities is the medium Mrs. E. H. Britt, who laid the foundation of the spiritualistic system in the form of seven principles, which she wrote in 1854, as the key to establishing a spiritualistic way of life: the fatherhood of God; brotherhood of people; fellowship of spirits and ministry of angels; the continuous existence of the human soul; personal responsibility; retribution in the future for all good and evil deeds done on Earth; eternal progress is open to every human soul [3] . Within the spiritualistic membership of the national union of spiritualists, they are not intended to be binding rules or the basis of dogma, but to provide each person with the basis for the development of personal philosophy.

It is noteworthy that A.K. Doyle donated £  5 in 1923 to the

Eltham spiritualistic Church, sending a letter wishing good luck in the efforts of its creators. Currently, he is also recognized as a pioneer of spiritualism for his extensive contribution to its development [4] .

The second component of the activity of spiritist and spiritualistic communities is various forms of work with visitors, among which are: study of literature on the doctrine, conducting prayer, medium and magnetic practices. Educational and professional courses (of a virtual and real nature) for the study of mediumism and spiritism (spiritualism) are being implemented, the duration of which can reach 3-4 years of study. In addition to the above forms of work, fundraising measures are being implemented to help those in need.

The difference between spiritist and spiritualistic organizations regarding the forms of activity with visitors lies in the presence of the first such forms as public worship and the ceremony of initiation into spiritualists (optional), but it should be noted that in the structure of the ideologies of spiritualism and spiritualism there are no rituals, dogmas and none of its adherents received the title of priest or high priest. Defining the sphere of spiritualistic and spiritist organizati ons, the spiritualistic (spiritist) doctrine here can be studied, analyzed and practiced in all major aspects of life, such as: scientific, philosophical, religious, which only preserves its balance. In Russia, spiritist organizations exist mainly on a virtual basis, preaching the spiritist system of A. Kardek. However, there is a research and educational organization called the Russian Association for Instrumental Transcommunication (RAIT), which, as described on its page, has developed methods for interacting with the subtle levels of Being using publicly available hardware and software [5]. But this organization, despite the whole range of signs that conditionally attribute it to a spiritist one, does not position itself as such.

Thus, the current spiritualistic (spiritist) movement is a system of scientific observation, and at the same time philosophical-moral and religious doctrine. By applying personal philosophy in all areas of everyday life, as well as by developing and learning through life experience, spiritualism and spiritualism is now becoming a living personal philosophy, which, despite the colossal attacks from its opponents, does not stop its rapid development.

The activity observed on electronic spiritist sites confirms that even if «the development of modern science expelled spirits from the picture of the world» [6] , this became a limiting point for a designated science, but not for people who daily find motives in studying the spiritual system. In this regard, it seems necessary to study the philosophical and anthropological foundations of spiritism in order to understand what attracted and attracts a person in a teaching that claims to have knowledge, which can be checked and understood in various interpretations, depending on the mood and motives of the researcher and the information navigation tools.

Sources used:

• 1.    Allan Kardek [Online], available at: URL: https://spiritismwinnipeg.wordpress.com/allan-kardec/ (Accessed 26 November 2019).

• 2.    History of the Church [Online], available at: URL: https://www.sites.google .com/site/elthamspiritualistchurch/history (Accessed 23 November 2019).

• 3.    On the association of the RAIT [Online], available at: URL: http://www.rait . airclima.ru/ (Accessed 29 November 2019).

• 4.    Spiritualism [Online], available at: URL: https://www.snu.org.uk/Pages/FA Qs/Category/spiritualism-qa (Accessed 28 November 2019).

• 5.    Seven principles [Online], available at: URL: https://www.snu.org.uk/7 prin ciples (Accessed 27 November 2019).

• 6.    Turchin, V. F. Cybernetic ontology of action [Online], available at: URL: ht

  tps://scisne.net/a-1611(Accessed 2 December 2019)