PHILOSOPHY OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP: THE ROLE OF THE ELITE IN THE FORMATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

Abstract

Consciousness is a fundamental philosophical category that expresses the spiritual dimension of human existence.In the age of globalization, consciousness becomes the key sphere where the destinies of national identity and cultural awareness are decided.Spiritual leadership represents a special form of social responsibility,in which the elite acts not merely as a bearer of power but as the voice of the nation’s conscience, ideals, and historical memory.The current global transformations require a rethinking of the role of the elite  from political and economic dominance to moral and spiritual leadership, where leadership is understood as service to meaning, not authority. In this regard, the article explores the interrelation between the philosophy of consciousness and the concept of spiritual leadership, reveals the role of intellectual and moral elites in shaping national self-awareness, and provides a comparative analysis of the ideas of Plato, Hegel, and Berdyaev, as well as classical Eastern thinkers — Ahmad Yassawi, Imam Maturidi, and Alisher Navoi in the context of defining the spiritual mission of the modern Uzbek elite.