The phenomenon of philosophy is discussed in the context of the global crisis of a modern type of culture, civilization. The structure of the human way of living is shown, the mechanism of its development in the historical process is revealed. The question of the conditions for the formation of consciousness in general, as well as theoretical consciousness (philosophy) in particular, which determine its essential characteristics, is studied. The functional purpose of the philosophical consciousness, its place in the system of the human way of living is analyzed. It is argued that an adequate form of the current crisis perception can only be a dialectical version of philosophy.
Keywords: human way of life; culture; consciousness; theoretical consciousness; philosophy; science; contradiction; dialectics.