Abstract

The main thesis of the article concentrates on the fundamental issues concerning the category of ‘alienation’, by presenting its popular, philosophical and scientific connotations, and shedding some light on the highlights of its history. According to the author’s opinions, contemporary man is a mixture of two antagonistic systems of values: the western one, which forms the essence of openness, and the Russian one, seen as being rather of the closed type. There are several forms of alienation a contemporary man can fall victim to. They are mainly: political, economic, social, moral, psychological, religious, philosophical and artistic kinds of alienation. As the author concludes, alienation which constitutes the inherent element of the contemporary lifestyle, cannot be wholly left out. However there are ways of limiting its influence.