VOLODYMYR SAMIILENKO’S PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE: NATIONAL, ARTISTIC, AND UNIVERSAL DIMENSIONS

Abstract

The article examines the philosophy of language of Volodymyr Samiilenko, a 19th-century Ukrainian writer and thinker, through the interconnected dimensions of language as a basis for national identity, its relation to the fine arts, and its role as a form of consciousness and an expression of human essence. Samiilenko regarded language as a constitutive condition of both individual and collective existence. It functions as a foundation of national identity, particularly under conditions of cultural suppression, and as a medium that connects linguistic meaning with aesthetic form. His thought also presents language as inseparable from consciousness and as an expression of human essence. At the same time, Samiilenko’s philosophy of language reflects a broader intellectual trajectory in Ukrainian thought, where language is understood as a component of both national and universal existence. This universality is grounded in his vision of the Universe as a reflection of the God-Cosmos, which shapes his interpretation of language and human activity. Samiilenko’s linguistic and philosophical ideas thus constitute an original and insufficiently studied contribution to the philosophy of language, requiring further analysis within wider literary and intellectual contexts.