
Defense of the dissertation of Yunissov Yersin Abikulovic for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the educational program «8D03104 - Сultural studies»

L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, a dissertation defense for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Yunissov Yersin Abikulovic on the topic «The concept of “Conscience” in Kazakh and English texts» in the educational program «8D03104 – Сultural studies».
The dissertation was carried out at the «Philosophy education department» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University.
The language of defense is kazakh
Official reviewers:
Massalimova Aliya Rmgazievna – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Vice-Rector for Research at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan);
Abuov Aidar Parkulovich – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Director of the Etalon Research Institute (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan).
Temporary members of the Dissertation Council:
Aralbay Saken Mendillauly – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Associate Professor of the Department of History of Kazakhstan and Socio-Political Disciplines of the Karaganda Medical University (Karaganda, Republic of Kazakhstan);
Mukusheva Almagul Nauryzbaevna – Сandidate of philological sciences, leading researcher at the National Academy of Education named after Y. Altynsarin (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan);
Abdildina Khorlan Saduakasovna – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy of the S.Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan).
Scientific consultants:
Tursynbaeva Aigul Omirbekovna – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan);
Bulent Shenay – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Professor of Uludag University (Bursa, Republic of Türkiye).
The defense will take place on July 04, 2025, at 11:00 AM in the Dissertation Council for the training direction «8D031 – Social sciences» in the educational program «8D03104 – Сultural studies» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. Conducting a meeting of the dissertation council in a mixed (offline and online) format.
Link: https://clck.ru/3MPEbk
Conference ID: 678 160 9970
Access code: 12345
Address: Astana, A. Yanushkevich Street, Building No. 4, Room 106.
Abstract (English): General characteristics of the work. All mankind believes that adhering to the framework of conscience is the most important factor of mankind. The main criterion of duty and appearance of mankind is conscience. Despite the fact that time moves and everything around develops with it, daily human habits become easier, the field of science and education flourish, in the public culture the concept of “conscienceless” still remains. In the modern world, one can even notice the emergence of shadow and incorrect concepts that fundamentally contradict the above. Conscience is one of those advantages that separates mankind from animals, so this has become the reason for a wide discussion of the noble concept, its analysis through the linguistic picture of the world, to know its essence and meaning, to explore its etymology and current state. The relevance of the research topic is revealed as follows: Firstly, despite the fact that the concept of “conscience” is one of the main areas of linguacultural studies, it has not been studied fully and comprehensively. The concept of “conscience” has not been considered in comparison with the culture of the English people using the example of texts in English. It should be noted that conscience is one of the leading aspects of human life. But despite this, this concept has not been studied based on the analysis of the linguistic picture of the world and culture reflected in the texts, that is, in the linguaconceptual key. Secondly, the concepts of “ar” and “uyat” are used with the same semantic load, although the meaning of the concept of “ar” is much deeper. Moreover, in no source do we find how deep the differences between these concepts are. This means that in the assessment of a person’s actions, “ar” and “uyat” are perceived equally, since there are no manifestations of the differences between these two concepts in the linguistic picture. In this regard, we believe that a detailed study of the attitude of society to the concepts of “ar” and “uyat” is necessary. Thirdly, how is “uyat” perceived in the culture of humanity, which is mentioned in the works of Shakarim Kudaiberdiev, in general, how are the concepts of “ar”, “ujat”, “uzhdan” reflected in the consciousness of a person. In the Kazakh language, there are no clear distinctions between these three concepts. For the reasons indicated, it is necessary to find out whether the named concepts have the same meaning or imply different semantic loads in the linguistic picture of the Kazakhs. Fourthly, the concept of “uyat” in the Kazakh language corresponds to the concept of “conscience” in English, that is, the meaning of “ar”. This in turn actualizes the question of whether “there is no concept of “uyat” in English culture, or that our society perceives something different under the meaning of “uyat”? Moreover, the concept of “conscience”, which consists of “con” and “science”, requires special attention from the point of view of “uyat”. Exploring the works of S. Maugham, studying the concept of “uyat” in the works of Shakarim Kudaiberdiev, it is extremely important to perform a comparative analysis of artistic texts that reflect different linguistic pictures of the world. Fifthly, the contradictions between the perception of these concepts by representatives of different generations indicate that there is a problem in the functioning of the concept of “uyat”, which acquires some semantic shades according to the passage of time. The question arises whether all human actions depend on “uyat” or there are actions that go beyond the lexical-semantic field of this concept. At present, the causes and consequences of changes, as well as the acquisition of negative meanings of “uyat” in artistic texts in Kazakh and English are not indicated. Sixthly, the question of how the modern concept of “uyat” is reflected in artistic texts is an attempt to form a new concept on the basis of a new artistic picture, that is, through a comparative analysis of the English (individualistic) culture, based on individual consciousness, with the Kazakh collective culture. The purpose of the dissertation research is to reveal the essence and function of the concept of conscience, analyzing the world picture of the concept of conscience through Kazakh and English texts. To achieve the goal of the dissertation research, the following tasks are set: - To create an artistic and linguistic picture of the concept of “conscience” through the obtained results. - To study the linguo-artistic picture of the world of the concept of “conscience”. - To determine the prerequisites for the formation of the concept of “conscience” in the Kazakh and English-speaking cultural space. - To study the meaning of the doctrine of “conscience” in the works of Shakarim Kudaiberdiev. - To reveal the meaning of the concept of “conscience” in the works of William Somerset Maugham. - To consider the picture of the concept of “conscience” in the modern English-speaking cultural space. - To explore the features of the acceptance of conscience in the social context of modern culture. The object of the dissertation research is the meaning of the concept of conscience. The subject of the dissertation research are interpretation and conceptualization of the concept of conscience in Kazakh and English texts. Methodological basis of the dissertation. To solve the tasks set in the dissertation, complex methods are used, including the hermeneutic method, the linguacultural method (the method of narrative analysis), the interpretative method, the cross-cultural method, the comparative method, the diachronic method, the functional method, the systemic method, and the retrospective methods. The level of research of the dissertation topic. It is known that the use of the concept of “ұят” depends on the cultural characteristics of each ethnic group. It is also important to emphasize that there are universal spiritual and moral values. The preservation and development of culture is based on the understanding of the value of “uyat”. The lack of awareness of the value of “ar” and “uyat” in society hinders the development of a cultural society. Science, being a system of continuously developing knowledge about man and society, is aimed at improving the quality of life. It is for this reason that scientists turn to the study and analysis of these concepts, which are considered as the basis of human consciousness, as a condition for its development. This concept, which appeared on the path of religion, was assessed in that century as a powerful phenomenon that saves a person from sin, and in the works of philosophers it was distinguished as the “voice of God”, i.e. an unknown force affects the mind of a person when he does something wrong, and a person refuses to do bad things [2]. Socrates was one of the first philosophers to touch upon the topic of human dignity of conscience. Socrates said that a person’s actions cannot be separated from his knowledge, that an inner voice leads us to virtue. In the Kazakh language texts, Anacharsis reveals the main meaning of the concept of “uyat” as follows: “A free person is a person who lives at his own discretion, according to his own laws” [3]. “Uyat” is the inner voice of a person. This statement in some way denotes the similarity of the concept of conscience in English and Kazakh texts. Let us turn to the question of the origin of the concept of "conscience" through the concept of “synderesis” in the texts of church scripture. Synderesis is the understanding of the difference between good and evil, bad and good, weighing every step of a person's life. Having appeared in religion, conscience was perceived as a powerful factor saving a person from sin, and in the works of philosophers, conscience was distinguished as the “voice of God”, i.e. an unknown force affects the mind of a person when he does something wrong, and the person refuses to do bad things. In the Middle Ages, the Italian philosopher Thomas Aquinas made changes to the concept of synderesis. F. Aquinas highly valued the power of synderesis, and examined it in detail in his treatises. If synderesis has the voice of God, then why a person commits evil, why God or a person make a mistake. The philosopher connects conscience with human consciousness [4]. Similar texts in the Kazakh language by Khoja Akhmed Iassawi demonstrate the path of improving “ar” and “uyat” in a person as the development of morality, as the basis of faith in God. Phrases such as “Fear of sin”, “If you love, love the truth”, “The devil excludes God” means that a person’s faith plays a large role in preserving “ar” and “uyat” [3]. Despite the high assessment of the concept of “uyat”, which was perceived as a gift from God, the inner faith of a person, this concept, starting from medieval texts, began to distinguish two meanings. In English texts: Benedict de Spinoza (Ethics and Treatise on the Correction of the Intellect), Joseph Butler (“Sermons” in The Works of Joseph Butler), Henry Sidgwick (Outlines of the History of Ethics), Arthur Schopenhauer (The World as Will and Idea), John Plamenatz Rousseau (Man and Society), John Locke (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding), Thomas Hobbs (Leviathan), William Godwin (Enquiry Concerning Political Justice), John Stewart (Considerations on Representative Government), Josiah Royce (The Philosophy of Josiah Royce), as well as in the Kazakh texts of Tole Alibekuly, Kazybek Keldibekuly, Syrym Datuly, Shokan Ualikhanov (Soz maegi, Kazaqtyn makaldary men matelderi), Abai Kunanbaev (Kalyn elim kazagym), the differences between the “inner worlds” and the “external worlds” of man began to appear. Friedrich Nietzsche was critical of traditional concepts of conscience, suggesting that they often serve as a means of social control rather than a real inner voice [5]. This means that everything good and bad, everything right and wrong depends on a person’s consciousness. He concluded that all understandings of good and evil depend on a person’s environment, and that what is good and bad is formed by one’s outlook. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, agreeing with Friedrich Nietzsche, separated “ar” and “uyat” from God and introduced the concept of “superego” [6]. According to him, a person is born with good and bad qualities. The development of good qualities shapes a person’s personality. People live the way they consider wrong what they have been doing since birth. Many scholars have contributed either to this theory or to its rejection: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Ethics), Hannah Arendt (The Life of the Mind), (Crises of the Republic), Albert Einstein (Philopher-Scientist), Simone Weil (The Need For Roots), Emile Durkheim (The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life), George Edward Moore (Principia Ethica), Simone de Beauvoir (A Very Easy Death), Ronald Dworkin (Life's Dominion: An Argument About Abortion, Euthanasia, and Individual Freedom), Edward Conze (Buddhism: Its Essence and Development), Peter Singer (Democracy and Disobedience), Roger Scratch (Modern Philosophy: An Introduction and Survey), Garrett Hardin (The Tragedy of the Commons). In Kazakh texts, the work of Shakarim Kudaiberdiev (Ysh anyk) [7] play a key role. The above-mentioned works of scientists have shown three versions of the concept of conscience. Socrates began with the fact that knowledge and human action are synchronized. Thomas Aquinas came to the idea that human actions are controlled by reason, and conscience by human knowledge. Friedrich Nietzsche linked these meanings with human action. In modern texts, psychologist Martha Stout assesses the superego according to Freud as human cowardice, saying that it is not a clear conscience, but a pure feeling of guilt and love. A clear conscience is not “shame if you do this”, a clear conscience is an action through a feeling of compassion. The coverage of the concept of “conscience” in the book on neurophilosophy by Canadian philosopher Patricia Smith Churchland “Conscience; The origin of moral intuition” has made a great contribution to the study of this issue. The reason for human conscientiousness is associated with the membrane of his brain. The presence of a large number of neurons or signals in the human brain depending on the thickness of the human brain membrane indicates that man differs from animals and gives such signals as “ar” and “uyat”. Similar statements are found in the works of Susan Sontag (Regarding the Pain of Others), Jonathan Glover (I: The Philosophy and Psychology of Personal Identity), Robert Wright (The moral animal). This suggests that in the English text this concept is based on medical factors. For the Kazakh ethnic group, the concept of conscience is associated with nobility. For the preservation and development of society, this concept is necessary as a path to a civilized progressive society. In a society where the sense of conscience has not been preserved, there is no point in thinking about culture, therefore, life in a society where the main value is conscience is the main dream of humanity. Modern writers and scientists Skakbayev Maral (The Legend of Shame), Garifolla Yesim (Adam-zat, Gulama-Name), Zira Naurzbayeva (Eternal Sky of Kazakhs), Burbayev Toleugali (Mentality of the Nation), Kemel Myrzageldi (The Most Important Principle of Life is Shame), Babazhanuly Bauyrzhan (“Shame will be, there will be a disaster” - a saying left by my grandfather), Nusip Almas (Dying from the Desert and Dying from Shame), Oynarov Ryskul (As if we have lost our shield like shame), Altaybayev Zhusip (Shame on you), Mamet Suleimen (In Front of conscience), Tumenbai Kuandyk (conscience and Gift), Kerimbay Sanzhar (Beisen and Being human)contribute to the versatile coverage of this concept. Based on the analysis of modern works of art, it can be stated that the concept of “uyat” in texts in the Kazakh language has already begun to be considered from the point of view of psychology. Initially, the concept of “ar” and “uyat”, consisting of human cognition and action, was highly valued by the English culture from an individualistic point of view, considering human cognition is human desire and human behavior seems to remain under human cognition. If we consider human cognition as “ar” and actions as uyat”, then the concept of “ar” has a deeper meaning than the concept of “uyat”. However, English texts do not differentiate “ar” and “uyat”, claiming that human behavior is beyond cognition. “Uyat” is included in the concept of “ar” or is implied by it. Since Kazakh texts belong to a collective culture, human activity is predominant than human cognition. Such concepts as “for the country, for the land, for your environment” have overestimated the meaning of “uyat” from generation to generation. English texts consider the concept of “uyat” under the concept of “ar”, and Kazakh texts, on the contrary, consider “ar” under the concept of “uyat”. Only the meaning of “uyat” is high in proverbs and sayings. Scientific novelty of the research topic. The concept of conscience is first studied in the field of linguistic culture with a comparison of English and Kazakh texts. 1. When analyzing the linguistic and artistic picture in English, a model of the concept of “conscience” in the historical and cultural context is created. 2. The differences and features of the concept of “shame” (uyat) and “conscience” (ar) in English and “uyat” and “ar” in Kazakh are established. In comparison with English culture, artistic pictures of the expression ar, uyat, uzhdan in the Kazakh language are designated. A difference between the concepts of “ar” and “uyat” in individualistic culture and collective culture is proposed. 3. An analysis of the definition and an assessment of the concepts of “ar” and “uyat” in the works of Shakarim Kudaiberdiev is made, a model of correct human behavior in a cultural society is identified. 4. It is analyzed how the concept of “conscience” is described in the works of Maugham in human culture. 5. Cultural features of the concept of “conscience” in the 20th and 21st centuries are reflected. 6. Existential meaning of the concept of “conscience” and its place in human relations is defined. It is suggested which actions are not mandatory in the culture of society, which actions are uncultured. The paths of human actions, consisting of cognitive, actionable, cognitive-actionable and stupid actions, are fixed. It is suggested how the concept of conscience should serve in human culture. Scientific findings submitted for defense: 1. Initially, it has been established that the concept of “uyat”, which originated in religion, changed depending on time and environment. The evolution of this concept can be traced in its movement from religion to philosophy, from philosophy to psychology, from psychology to its understanding as a separate aspect of medicine. The existential form of “uyat” is manifested in the relationships of people, the basis of which is love, including such qualities as honesty, friendship, respect. While English culture evaluates the concept of conscience as a manifestation of the egocentric “I”, in Kazakh culture it is presented as a collective “we”. 2. The concept of “uyat” when converting into English should be considered not as “Shame”, but as “Conscience”, since in English “ar” and “uyat” are interpreted only under the concept of “Conscience”. The concept of uyat is inseparable from the concept of ar. Uyat is an act of a person, and ar is the knowledge of a person. Uyat is the external world of a person, ar is the internal world of each person. “Uyat” is formed through the upbringing of a person, “ar” is through his own vision of life. Ar is when a person is ashamed in front of himself, and uyat is when he is ashamed in front of society. By “uzhdan” is meant the combination of “ar” and “uyat” or the unity of human knowledge and actions. Based on these conclusions, it was established that for the development of the culture of society, it is necessary to pay equal attention to the upbringing and education of a person. 3. Exploring the concept of “uyat” in the works of Shakarim Kudaiberdiev, actions performed through love are not related to “uyat”, then the concept of “love” has entered into “uyat” in collective culture. In this regard, in Kazakh culture the concept of “love” is manifested through the concept of “human responsibility or human duty”. 4. The concept of conscience is manifested in human culture in different ways. 1. People who live by the principle of “uyat”. (A person exceeds the desires of others when performing his actions. He lives by the desires of others. Human consciousness does not accept the concept of “I”. 2. People living by the principle of “Ar”. (A person’s actions are performed at his own discretion, without taking into account the opinion of society and others) 3. People living by the principle of “without Uyat and without Ar” (Shameless, unscrupulous). (Since a person is formed neither in education nor in upbringing, he lives by cunning and evil) 4. People living by the principle of “Uzhdan” (with Uyat and with Ar) (in combination with knowledge and upbringing, a person’s actions go beyond the environment of society and his desire). 5) English culture elevates human knowledge, establishing that conscience is the choice and desire of the individual. The concept of “ar” has surpassed the concept of “uyat”, as a result of which it is believed that egoism has arisen in human culture. Modern texts in English point to the sense of conscience as an invisible, flexible organ of a person and say that it suffers in the same way as other organs. Therefore, indecency in human behavior is not associated with the concept of conscience. In public culture, the concept of conscience consists of two ideas: firstly, a person performs his functions according to conscience, secondly, the awareness and manifestation of conscience is based on love. If the simple performance of a person’s duties is assessed as hypocrisy and bad conscience, then a person’s actions performed with love are assessed as a clear conscience. 6) Since Kazakh culture belongs to a collective culture, it has elevated the concept of “uyat” to instilling a sense of duty “for the sake of the people, for the sake of the country”. As a result, the concept of one’s own “I” disappeared. In Kazakh culture, the concept of “ar” is given great importance, but in fact, “uyat” is still a priority. The priority of uyat is manifested in a person's performance of this or that action as the main goal, as a duty, regardless of whether this action is performed with shamelessness or sincerity. From modern texts, it turns out that a person's desire is explained by the aspiration of his superego to rise higher. Justification of the novelty and significance of the obtained results. The concepts of “uyat” and “ar” cannot be considered in isolation from each other. “Uyat” implies the formation and development of a person through upbringing, and “ar” assumes the formation of a personality based on self-education and self-improvement. A personality develops through persuasion, the formation of values and norms of behavior through the influence of various educational institutions and interaction with other people. A personality is a product of this society, at the same time it is endowed with individual spiritual and moral qualities. In this regard, the concepts of “ar” and “uyat”, which in this study are considered for the first time using the example of literary texts, are interdependent in the linguistic picture of the world of the Kazakhs. The paradigm of artistic paintings, illuminated through the concept of “conscience”, changes over time. A feature of the English language picture of the world is that the concept of "conscience" devalues such qualities as duty, obligation, and this in turn - such qualities as brotherhood, compassion. For comparison, we emphasize that these qualities are idealized in the language picture of the Kazakhs. Analyzing texts in English, we emphasize that human actions are conditioned by love, and not by duty or any obligations. Society, its life, based on the postulates of love, according to the English, develops progressively. Human stupidity is considered as a sickness and is considered separately from the concept of “conscience”. Recognition of the importance of love in human life makes a great contribution to the development of society. In the analysis of literary texts, we observe that in the culture of the English, knowledge is placed above upbringing. In this case, we emphasize the simple truth that the development of a society oriented toward education without relying on upbringing slows down. In Kazakh culture, there is a substitution of values, as society is focused on the priority of upbringing based on duty, while missing the importance of true knowledge. The main shortcomings in understanding such qualities as conscience, duty, love, etc., identified on the basis of the analysis of artistic texts, are that a person must perform certain actions expected by society, despite the conditions of its commission. Due to the insufficient level of education of a certain category of people, the development of society slows down. It turned out that a modern person strives for higher education, while ignoring upbringing. For this reason, human stupidity is viewed through the prism of the concept of “uyat”, discrediting the entire meaning of this concept. In addition, the concept of “love” in the linguistic picture of the world of the Kazakhs is losing its significance. Practical significance of the research. Since linguaculturalism is a large area of linguistics, distinguished by its goals, methods, studying cultural values manifested through language, the system of their application, formed in the combination of issues of language and cultural studies, the conclusion of norms and principles of humanity, the problem of moral impoverishment in the development of modern society through language are especially significant. Although moral principles are things that have been studied for many years, it is necessary to determine the model of modern comparison of the concepts of "ar", "uyat" and “uzhdan” from the point of view of a developed country. The results of this work can be used in courses on cultural studies, intercultural communications, philosophy and ethics, linguistic philosophy, special courses in the field of language and cultural studies. Theoretical significance of the research. Concepts related to moral values make a certain contribution to the development of linguacultural science. Since the concept of "conscience" is based on the inner world of humanity, it is a complex concept and is a universal meaning that masters the basic reality of life. Linguistic analysis of this concept allows us to reveal its linguocultural basis, since this concept differs in the ways in which national cultural values are formed. Approbation and publication of the research results. The results of the dissertation research work are reflected in 13 scientific articles: including 6 articles in special journals recommended by the Committee for Control in the Sphere of Science and Higher Education of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan; 5 articles in the collection of republican and international scientific conferences; and 2 articles in a journal with a non-zero impact factor indexed in the Scopus database. The structure and volume of the dissertation. The structure of the dissertation consists of an introduction in accordance with the goals and objectives of the research work, three main sections: the first and second sections of two subsections and also the third section of two subsections, conclusion, list of references. The total volume of the dissertation is 158 pages, the list of references is 147.
