Intellectuals: Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Socio-Philosophical Research

Introduction . The aim of the study is to analyze theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of intellectuals as a cultural community and social phenomenon. The task is to compare the research possibilities of various sociophilosophical, sociological, and cultural concepts related to the understanding of this term, the essence, social role, and functions of intellectuals in modern society. It is interesting to analyze the differences and similarities between the functions of the intelligentsia and the functional and cultural specifics of the intelligentsia and intellectuals with the degree of completion of modernization processes in society, as well as changes in the functions of intellectuals in modern information society, in the context of distinguishing between related concepts “intellectuals” and “intelligentsia”. Materials and Methods . The comparative analysis method is applied, and general theoretical methods of scientific research are used: analysis, synthesis, analogy, dialectical and functional approaches. Results . It has been shown that the social functions, influence, and value orientations of intellectuals as a cultural and educational community have long been the subject of active study in social and political philosophy, but there is still no unified concept of this phenomenon due to both terminological ambiguity and the diversity of approaches to research. Moreover, the semantic distinction between the concepts of “intellectuals” and “intelligentsia” is not sufficiently clear. Substantive definitions of the term need to be supplemented with functional definitions that allow for the necessary social specificity and enable us to trace the phenomenon of intellectuals in its historical and cultural dynamics. Discussion and Conclusion . Intellectuals are regarded as an ideal type that meets the conditions of the Western cultural world, being coherent, free from internal contradictions, integrated into a developed civil society, benefiting from an established system of institutional mechanisms that ensures freedom of expression and cross-border professional communication, a high level of material security, and social comfort. Nevertheless, modern society still needs intellectuals to participate in the process of producing and promoting values and ideas, including political ones, in order to overcome the vacuum of values and cultural disintegration that arose during the reforms. There is also a continuing need for the legitimizing function of intellectuals in their expert role, not only in their professional activities, but also in the civic sphere. This determines the necessity and prospects for further research on intellectuals as a contemporary Russian and global reality, their functionality in changing social conditions of interaction with society, the state, and the ruling elites.