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philosophy is understood as a way of comprehending the truth through mystical
unity with God, proving the relevance of the spiritual values of the princely age,
expressing mystical-ascetic ideas. This actively advocates the idea of using the Old
Slavonic language, which is given almost miraculous power and sacred meaning.

As for understanding the meaning and trends of cultural development by the
representatives of fraternal schools of this time, the ideas of the transformation of
the Old Testament, taken over by the earthly passions and desires of a person to a

person new - spiritual, or "internal", type, prevail. Such ideas are inspired by the
works of Gerasim Smotrytsky, Isaiah Kopinsky, Klirika Ostrozhsky, Ivan
Vyshensky, Yov Knyaginitsky, Vitaliy from Dubna and others.

Around 1615, in a brotherly tradition, a clearly negative attitude to the
cultural heritage of the Latinized Catholic West was traced. But with the
foundation of the Kyiv Brotherhood, whose members were graduates of Western

European universities and colleges, the situation was slowly changing. There were
growing tendencies towards the development of typical western humanist ideas, a
rising interest in natural philosophical problems, logic. The priority of devotion
was increasingly replaced by the priority of education and reason. The awareness

of the necessity of synthesizing the achievements of domestic and European
theoretical thought came about. At this stage of the development of the

philosophical culture of fraternal schools, Meletiy Smotrytsky, Yov Boretsky,
Kasiyan Sakovich, Cyril Tranquillion-Stavrovetskii, Khoma Evliveich and others
actively presented their ideas. They viewed a human not only from am ethical
perspective but also from gnoseological and natural perspectives. A philosopher,

writer and prominent figure in cultural and educationl life Kasiyan Syakovych
believed that self-cognition is the greatest wisdom, deepest philisophy and the
most necessary theology.

A new stage in the formation of Ukrainian cultural thought began with the
foundation of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 1632. It was this educational
establishment that initiated not only the tradition of Ukrainian higher education,

but also the traditions of domestic science in its modern sense. The development of
philosophical thought within the walls of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy contributed
to a significant elevation of natural philosophy, psychology, law and, in general,

the rising level of theoretical thinking. Famous representatives of the Kyiv-
Mohyla Scientific School include Yosyp Kononovich-Gorbatsky, Innocent Giselle,
Joasaphe Krokovsky, Stefan Yavorsky, George Konysky, Ambrose Dubnevich,
George Shcherbany, Ioannik Galyatovsky, Lazar Baranovsky, Grigory Skovoroda

and many other well-known figures in the Ukrainian culture.
The typical display of spiritual quest of that time can be found in the
writings of the historian and philosopher Innocent Pzelya (1600-1683), who

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