Russian philosophy is a distinctive section of world philosophical thought. We present 20 of the greatest Russian thinkers who had the strongest influence on the views of their contemporaries and descendants and on the course of Russian history.
The focus of attention of Russian philosophers, as a rule, is not on abstract metaphysical constructs, but on ethical and religious problems, the concepts of freedom and justice, as well as the question of the role and place of Russia in world history.
Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev (1794–1856)
"Basmanny Philosopher"
“We belong neither to the West nor to the East, we are an exceptional people.”
Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev in his youth was a socialite, a brilliant guards officer. Pushkin and other most remarkable people of the era were proud to know him. Having retired and having made a long trip abroad, he changed and began to lead a life close to a recluse.
Chaadaev spent most of his time in a Moscow house on Novaya Basmannaya, for which he received the nickname “Basmanny Philosopher.”
The publication of his “Philosophical Letters” aroused the wrath of Nicholas I: “Having read the article, I find that its content is a mixture of daring nonsense, worthy of a madman.” Chaadaev was officially declared crazy. Subsequently, the medical supervision was lifted, but on the condition that he “did not dare to write anything.” However, the philosopher wrote “Apology for a Madman,” which remained unpublished for a long time even after his death.
The main theme of Chaadaev’s philosophical works is reflections on the historical fate and role of Russia in world civilization. On the one hand, he was convinced that “we are called upon to solve most of the problems of the social order..., to answer the most important questions that occupy humanity.” On the other hand, he complained that Russia was excommunicated from the world-historical process. Chaadaev saw one of the reasons for this in Orthodoxy and believed that all Christians should unite under the auspices of the Catholic Church. The ultimate goal of history according to Chaadaev is the implementation of the kingdom of God on earth, which he understood as a single, just society. Both Slavophiles and Westerners relied on his concepts.
Alexey Stepanovich Khomyakov (1804–1860)
First Slavophile
“Every nation represents the same living face as every person.”
Alexey Stepanovich Khomyakov was a multifaceted thinker: philosopher, theologian, historian, economist, poet, engineer. Disillusioned with Western civilization, Khomyakov came to the idea of a special path for Russia, and over time became the leader of a new direction of Russian social thought, which was later called Slavophilism. Alexei Stepanovich died during a cholera epidemic, having become infected from the peasants whom he himself treated.
Khomyakov’s main (and, alas, unfinished) philosophical work is “Notes on World History,” nicknamed “Semiramis” by Gogol. In his opinion, every nation has a special historical mission, in which one of the sides of the world Absolute is manifested.
Russia's mission is Orthodoxy, and its historical task is to liberate the world from one-sided development imposed by Western civilization.
Khomyakov believed that every nation can deviate from its mission; this is what happened to Russia due to the reforms of Peter the Great. Now it needs to get rid of its slavish imitation of the West and return to its own path.
Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828–1889)
"Reasonable Egoist"
“People have nonsense in their heads, that’s why they are poor, and pitiful, evil and unhappy; we need to explain to them what the truth is and how they should think and live.”
Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky was born into a priest’s family and studied at a theological seminary. Contemporaries said of him that he was “a man close to holiness.” Despite this, his philosophical views were characterized by extreme materialism. Chernyshevsky was the recognized leader of the revolutionary democrats. In 1862, on an unproven charge, he was arrested, convicted and spent more than twenty years in prison, hard labor and exile. His main work is the novel “What is to be done?” written by him in the Peter and Paul Fortress. He had a huge influence on the youth of that time, in particular on Vladimir Ulyanov, who said that this novel “deeply plowed him.”
The basis of Chernyshevsky’s ethical concept is “reasonable egoism”:
“The individual acts as it is more pleasant for him to act; he is guided by a calculation that orders him to give up less benefit and less pleasure in order to obtain greater benefit and greater pleasure.”
However, from it he draws conclusions about the need for altruism. On the basis of this, Chernyshevsky substantiated the possibility of building a free and fair society on a voluntary basis, where cooperation and mutual assistance reign, not competition.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828–1910)
Non-resistance
“Be kind and do not oppose evil with violence.”
For Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, the greatest Russian writer, philosophical questions occupied his entire life. Over time, he practically abandoned literary creativity and devoted himself to resolving moral and religious issues. As a result, a new doctrine arose, Tolstoyism. Tolstoy himself believed that in this way he was purifying Christianity from historical distortions and contrasted the moral teaching of Christ with the official religion. His views led to conflicts with secular and spiritual authorities and ended in excommunication.
At the end of his life, Tolstoy made an attempt to live in full accordance with his teachings and secretly left home, but soon died.
The main point of Tolstoy’s teaching is non-resistance to evil through violence. It presupposes pacifism, refusal to perform any government duties and strict vegetarianism. Tolstoy denied the need for state institutions and agreed with the anarchists on this, but believed that the abolition of the state should occur in a natural, non-violent way.
Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov (1829–1903)
"Moscow Socrates"
“If there is love between sons and fathers, then experience is possible only on the condition of resurrection; sons cannot live without fathers, and therefore they must live only for the resurrection of their fathers - and this is everything.”
Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov worked almost his entire life as a humble librarian. He lived in a closet, ate bread and tea, and distributed the remaining money to poor students. Possessing encyclopedic knowledge, Fedorov could recommend the right book for almost any specialty. For his modest lifestyle, deep intelligence and extensive knowledge, he was nicknamed “Moscow Socrates.” People of various views spoke with enthusiasm about his personality and his ideas, including Leo Tolstoy, who was proud of the fact that he lived at the same time as Fedorov, and Dostoevsky.
Fedorov is considered the founder of Russian cosmism. His views are presented in a book with the telling title “Philosophy of the Common Cause.” He believed that the main goal of humanity should be the resurrection of all people who have ever lived.
He called his teaching “New Easter”. Moreover, Fedorov understood resurrection and subsequent immortality not only in the spiritual, but also in the physical sense, on the basis of scientific achievements.
To ensure eternal life, it will be necessary to regulate nature, and to resettle all the resurrected people, the exploration of outer space will be required. Apparently, these views influenced Tsiolkovsky, who knew Fedorov in his youth.
Pyotr Alekseevich Kropotkin (1842–1921)
Anarchist Prince
“If you want, as we do, that the complete freedom of the individual and his life be respected, you will inevitably be forced to reject the dominion of man over man, of whatever kind it may be.”
Prince Pyotr Alekseevich Kropotkin was a scion of one of the most noble Russian families. However, he decisively broke with his environment, becoming a revolutionary and the actual creator of the doctrine of anarcho-communism. Kropotkin did not limit himself to revolutionary activities and philosophy: he was a major geographer, and we owe him the term “permafrost.” He left his mark in other sciences. Kropotkin's lifestyle made him one of the highest moral authorities of his time.
Kropotkin dreamed of stateless communism reigning on Earth, because every state is an instrument of violence.
In his opinion, history is a struggle between two traditions: power and freedom. He considered the real engines of progress not competition and the struggle for existence, but mutual assistance and cooperation. Kropotkin accepted Darwin's theory, interpreting it in a unique way not as a struggle between individuals, but as a struggle between species, where the advantage is given to the species within which mutual assistance reigns. He supported his conclusions with numerous examples taken both from the animal world and from human history.
Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov (1853–1900)
Knight of Sophia
“To properly carry out good, it is necessary to know the truth; in order to do what you should, you need to know what is.”
Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov, the son of the famous historian, began studying at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, but quickly became disillusioned with the natural sciences and switched to philosophy. At the age of 22, he was already giving university lectures on it. However, the measured teaching life was not for him. Solovyov traveled a lot, lived, for the most part, with friends and acquaintances, dressed and ate as he pleased, and had many strange habits. Despite his amorousness and admiration for femininity, he never started a family. Several times he was visited by a vision of Sophia, divine wisdom, the Soul of the world, and these mystical experiences had a strong influence on him. Solovyov was not only a philosopher, but also a poet, and is considered the forerunner of symbolism.
Already the titles of Solovyov’s main philosophical works - “The Justification of Good”, “The Meaning of Love” best characterize the direction of his thought.
The main meaning of love, according to Solovyov, is the creation of a new person, and first of all, this refers to the spiritual, not the physical component.
The philosopher dreamed of the unification of humanity on the basis of Christianity (the path to this lay through the reunification of churches). The ultimate goal of history for him is God-manhood and the final victory of Good. He assigned the leading role in this process to Russia.
Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (1856–1919)
"The expositor is forever himself"
“Whatever I did, whatever I said or wrote, directly or especially indirectly, I spoke and thought, in fact, only about God.”
Vasily Vasilyevich Rozanov is one of the most controversial Russian thinkers. He believed that for each subject you need to have 1000 points of view, and only then can you grasp the “coordinates of reality.” Sometimes he wrote about the same event under different pseudonyms from opposing positions. This extremely prolific writer and journalist self-described as “an eternal exponent of himself” and loved to describe the smallest movements and fluctuations of his soul.
In his philosophy, Rozanov put himself in the place of a “little religious man” facing the most serious questions. One of the main topics of his thoughts was the problem of gender.
He believed that “the riddle of being is actually the riddle of being being born, that is, that it is the riddle of being being born.” Such attention to sexual issues caused ridicule from his colleagues, and Losev even called him “a master of sexual affairs.”
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935)
Cosmic Seer
“The earth is the cradle of reason, but you can’t live in a cradle forever.”
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is a great Russian self-taught scientist. As a child, he lost his hearing, but despite this, he continued his education and became a teacher of physics and mathematics. All his life he dreamed of flying into space, and devoted all his free time to experiments and theoretical work on aerodynamics and jet propulsion. He theoretically substantiated the possibility of space flights and indicated the path to their implementation. Konstantin Eduardovich achieved recognition of his ideas only towards the end of his life.
Tsiolkovsky is known primarily as the founder of cosmonautics, a pioneer of rocket technology, but the scientist himself noted that for him “a rocket is a means, not a goal.”
He believed that humanity should master all of outer space, spreading intelligence throughout the Universe. At the same time, higher forms of life “painlessly eliminate” lower ones in order to save them from suffering.
According to Tsiolkovsky, each atom is endowed with sensitivity and the ability to perceive: in inorganic matter it sleeps, and in organic matter it experiences the same joys and sufferings as the organism as a whole. Reason contributes to happiness, therefore, at a high level of development, “all these incarnations subjectively merge into one subjectively continuous beautiful and endless life.” According to Tsiolkovsky, the evolution of humanity continues, and over time it will move into the radiant phase, a purely energetic state, will live in interplanetary space, “know everything and desire nothing.” After this, “the cosmos will turn into great perfection.”
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863–1945)
Discoverer of the noosphere
“A thinking and working person is the measure of everything. He is a huge planetary phenomenon."
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was a type of universal scientist. His scientific interests were extremely broad, from geology to history. Not content with this, he created a new science, biogeochemistry. Vernadsky was no stranger to political activity: he was a prominent member of the Cadet Party, was a member of the State Council, and later of the Provisional Government, was at the forefront of the creation of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and was its first president. Despite his non-communist views, he enjoyed great authority in the Soviet Union.
Vernadsky's main achievement as a philosopher is the doctrine of the biosphere, the totality of all life on Earth, and its transition to the stage of the noosphere, the kingdom of reason.
The prerequisites for its emergence are the settlement of humanity throughout the planet, the creation of a unified information system, nationwide governance and the involvement of everyone in scientific activities. Having reached this stage, humanity will be able to control natural processes. These ideas are presented in his work “Scientific Thought as a Planetary Phenomenon.”
Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky (1870–1965)
"Ideal-realist"
“The evil that reigns in our lives can only harm those individuals who are themselves stained with the guilt of selfishness.”
Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky, a famous religious philosopher, was at one time expelled from the gymnasium... for promoting atheism. In his youth, he traveled a lot, studied abroad and even served for some time in the French Foreign Legion. Subsequently, Lossky came to Christianity, and after the revolution, along with many colleagues, he was expelled from Russia for his views. He led a fairly prosperous life abroad, teaching at various universities and enjoying international recognition.
Lossky, one of the founders of intuitionism, called his teaching “ideal-realism.”
According to his concept, the world is a single whole, and man, as an organic part of this world, is able to directly contemplate the object of knowledge “in its inviolable authenticity.”
Formally remaining an Orthodox Christian, Lossky, nevertheless, adhered to the theory of the pre-existence of the soul before birth and its posthumous reincarnation. In addition, he believed that all beings (including the Devil) were subject to resurrection and salvation.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924)
Philosopher-practitioner
“Human thinking by its nature is capable of giving and gives us absolute truth, which consists of the sum of relative truths.”
There is no point in dwelling in detail on the biography of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin), it is known to everyone. One has only to note that he was not only a revolutionary and statesman, but also a major philosopher, and his activities stemmed from his philosophical views.
The basis of Lenin's philosophy is dialectical materialism. All our knowledge is a reflection of reality of varying degrees of reliability, and natural sciences and philosophy are inextricably linked. Marxism, in his opinion, is “the legitimate successor of the best that humanity created in the 19th century in the person of German philosophy, English political economy, French socialism.”
The main theme of his philosophical works is the transition from one historical formation to another and the possibility of building a just communist society.
Lenin formulated the classic condition for revolution: “Only when the “bottoms” do not want the old and when the “tops” cannot do the old things, only then can the revolution win.” The most important role in such transitions, in his opinion, belongs not to individuals, but to the advanced class as a whole.
Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (1871–1944)
"Religious materialist"
“Faith is a completely independent ability of the spirit, which is unequally distributed among people. There are talents and geniuses of faith.”
Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was interested in Marxism in his youth. Subsequently, he switched to the position of Christian socialism, and in this capacity he was even elected to the State Duma. During the revolutionary years, Bulgakov came to traditional Orthodoxy and became a priest. However, then, already in exile, he created within the framework of Orthodoxy his own teaching about Sophia, the wisdom of God, condemned by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Bulgakov defined his worldview as “religious materialism.”
At the center of his philosophy is the doctrine of Sophia. The Divine Sophia, through a mystical act, becomes the Created Sophia, the basis of the material world.
The Earth - “all matter, for everything is potentially contained in it” - becomes the Mother of God, ready to receive the Logos and give birth to the God-Man. In this Bulgakov saw the true purpose of matter.
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich (1874–1947)
Russian Maharishi
“The heart beats incessantly, and the pulse of thought is also constant. Man either creates or destroys. If thought is energy and it does not decompose, then how responsible humanity is for every thought!”
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich in the first half of his life was known mainly as an artist and archaeologist. Over time, he became increasingly interested in the culture and religion of the East. After meeting with a mysterious spiritual teacher, whom Roerich called the “Mahatma of the East,” he began to create his teaching “Agni Yoga.” Roerich became the author of a pact for the protection of cultural property (known as the Roerich Pact), which later formed the basis of the Hague Convention. Roerich spent the last years of his life in India, where he was deeply revered.
In his writings, Roerich tried to combine Western and Eastern esoteric traditions and teachings.
There is a constant struggle in the world between the Hierarchy of Light and the Hierarchy of Darkness. Great philosophers, founders of religions, spiritual teachers are the incarnations of the hierarchs of Light.
A person must strive to move to higher forms of existence, the path to which lies through spiritual self-improvement. Roerich’s teachings pay special attention to the renunciation of not only evil deeds, but also thoughts. The most important means of education is art, which, according to Roerich, will unite humanity.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1874–1948)
Philosopher of freedom
“Knowledge is forced, faith is free.”
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Berdyaev, who came from a wealthy family, in his youth adhered to Marxist philosophy, was close to revolutionary circles and even ended up in exile. However, then he returned to Orthodoxy, and the direction that his philosophical thought took can be called religious existentialism. After the revolution, to which he was sympathetic, Berdyaev was expelled from Russia on the “philosophical ship”. Abroad, he was the editor of the philosophical magazine “Put” and united around himself left-wing Christian youth, who, like him, dreamed of combining communist and Christian ideas. Because of such views, he broke up with most of the Russian emigrants. Berdyaev was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, but never received it.
Berdyaev himself called his philosophy “the philosophy of freedom.”
According to his views, Freedom is a manifestation of primary chaos, and even God, who created the ordered world, has no power over it.
That is why a person himself is responsible for his actions, and evil comes from himself, and not from God. Another important theme of his quest is the historical path of Russia. He outlined his thoughts about it in the book “Russian Idea”.
Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky (1882–1937)
Priest-scientist
“Man is the sum of the World, an abbreviated summary of it; The world is the revelation of Man, his projection.”
Pavel Aleksandrovich Florensky harmoniously combined studies in natural sciences and deep religious faith. He received a physics and mathematics education, but after graduating from university he decided to become a priest. After the revolution, he had to remember his natural science knowledge and skills. He took part in the development of the GOELRO plan. True, some of his research was of a curious nature: in his work “Imaginaries in Geometry,” he tried to return to the geocentric system of the world and even determined the boundary between heaven and Earth. In 1933, Florensky was arrested. Already in prison, he conducted research on construction in permafrost conditions, and on Solovki he studied the possibilities of using seaweed. Despite his important scientific achievements, Florensky was executed by firing squad in 1937.
Florensky's main philosophical work is “The Pillar and Ground of Truth.” He saw his task as a philosopher in “paving the way to a future integral worldview” that unites science and religion. An important part of Florensky’s philosophical views is name-glorification. He believed that “The Name of God is God; but God is not a name,” and generally gave words a special, sacred meaning.
Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin (1882–1954)
White ideologue
“The meaning of life is to love, create and pray.”
Ivan Aleksandrovich Ilyin was among those expelled from Russia on the “philosophical ship” in 1922. Abroad, he began to be active politically, and became one of the ideologists of the odious Russian All-Military Union, which set the goal of “liberation of Russia.” Ilyin, who had a negative attitude towards both Bolshevism and bourgeois democracy, openly sympathized with fascism. “What did Hitler do? He stopped the process of Bolshevisation in Germany and thereby rendered the greatest service to Europe,” he wrote in 1933.
After the war, he admitted that Hitler and Mussolini “compromised fascism,” but continued to sympathize with the Francoist and related regimes.
Interest in Ilyin's writings was revived in Russia in the 1990s. His ideas are popular in conservative and religious circles. In 2005, Ilyin’s ashes were transported to their homeland and buried in the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.
According to Ilyin, philosophy is an empirical science. According to his concept, a person, cognizing the objective world, also cognizes the ideas embedded in it, and, thus, cognizes God. Philosophy and religion are also ways of knowing God through abstract concepts or images. God for Ilyin is the embodiment of truth, love and beauty.
Alexey Fedorovich Losev (1893–1988)
Ancient sage
“It’s not enough for me to live. I also want to understand what life is.”
Alexey Fedorovich Losev was the most prominent Soviet specialist in antiquity. This area of scientific interest was relatively safe at a time when a careless word could be very costly. However, after the publication of the book “Dialectics of Myth,” he ended up on the White Sea Canal for several years.
Losev, a student and follower of Florensky, was a deeply religious man; Together with his wife, they took secret monastic vows.
The philosopher was almost blind, he distinguished only between light and darkness, but this did not stop him from creating about 800 scientific works.
Losev began to speak openly about his philosophical views only towards the end of his long life. Following Florensky, he was a supporter of name-glorification. The name, Logos for him was “the original essence of the world.” Losev’s multi-volume “History of Ancient Aesthetics” forced specialists to take a fresh look at antiquity and classical Greek philosophy.
Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev (1922–2006)
Eternal dissident
“We need a dream, hope, utopia. Utopia is a great discovery. If people do not invent a new, seemingly unnecessary utopia, then they will not survive as people.”
Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev was a dissident from a young age. While still a student, he joined an anti-Stalinist underground organization and miraculously escaped arrest. Subsequently, when he was already a famous logician and philosopher, he published in the West a satirical book “Yawning Heights,” ridiculing the Soviet system, and was forced to leave the USSR. Once abroad, Zinoviev soon became disillusioned with Western values and began to criticize capitalism, consumer society and globalization no less harshly than socialism in his time. He experienced very hard the processes that began to occur in our country after perestroika, and saw in them, in part, the fault of the dissidents: “They aimed for communism, but ended up in Russia.” At the end of his life, Zinoviev returned to his homeland, considering that he could not “be in the camp of those who are destroying my people and my country.”
In academic circles, Zinoviev is known primarily as an outstanding logician and methodologist of science. However, real fame was brought to him by his artistic and journalistic works, in which he studies the patterns of functioning and development of human society. To describe it, Zinoviev introduced the concept of “human being”: on the one hand, it constitutes a single whole, and on the other, its members have a certain freedom. The human race evolves from pre-society through society to super-society.
The "ideal" Marxist
Evald Vasilievich Ilyenkov (1924–1979)
“True reason is always moral.”
Evald Vasilyevich Ilyenkov was a Marxist by his convictions, but throughout almost his entire scientific career he was criticized for idealism. His book “Dialectics of the Ideal” still causes fierce controversy. He paid a lot of attention to the problems of education and upbringing, believing that school does not teach children to think enough.
Ilyenkov became one of the developers of a methodology for teaching deaf-blind people, using which these people can lead a full life.
In his work “Cosmology of the Spirit,” Ilyenkov gives his own version of the answer about the meaning of life. In his opinion, the main task of intelligent beings is to resist entropy and world chaos. Another important theme of his thoughts was the study of the concept of “ideal”. According to his concept, we study the real world to the extent that it is ideally expressed in our thinking.
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Lecture questions:
1. Features of Russian philosophy.
2. Slavophiles and Westerners.
3. Philosophy of unity by V. Solovyov.
4. Problems of faith and reason. (P. Florensky, L. Shestov, S. Frank).
5. Philosophy of N. Berdyaev.
6. Philosophical views of I.M. Sechenov. I. P. Pavlova, I. I. Mechnikova, V. M. Bekhtereva.
General characteristics of Russian philosophy
§ Russian philosophy is one of the directions in world philosophy. Russian philosophy, like other national philosophies, expresses the self-awareness and mentality of the people, their history, their culture and spiritual quests.
§ The basis of the spiritual self-awareness and mentality of the people in Russian philosophy is Russian idea. Russian idea- this is a question about the existence of Russia in world history.
§ Russian philosophy, being an integral part of world philosophy, has, together with the latter, general questions and problems of research (metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, social philosophy, etc.), a common categorical apparatus, etc. At the same time, Russian philosophy also has a number of characteristic features that are unique to it. This is a religious philosophy, where the focus is on issues of spiritual and value orientation of a person, problems of philosophical and religious anthropology. The distinctive features characterizing the problems of Russian philosophy include the concept of global unity, Russian cosmism, Russian religious ethics, Russian hermeneutics, the idea of conciliarity, etc. The main question of Russian philosophy- this is a question about truth - the meaning of human existence, its cosmic and earthly purpose. This issue is resolved in the spiritual and religious theory of truth.
§ The formation of Russian philosophical thought was determined by two traditions : Slavic philosophical and mythological tradition and Greek-Byzantine religious and philosophical tradition.
§ Russian philosophy has gone through a long path of development, in which a number of stages are distinguished:
1) the formation of Russian philosophical thought (XI - XVII centuries);
2) Russian philosophical thought of the Enlightenment (philosophical and sociological ideas of Russian enlighteners of the 18th century);
3) the formation of Russian philosophy (the philosophy of revolutionary democrats, Slavophiles and Westerners, populism - the beginning and middle of the 19th century);
4) Russian spiritual renaissance, the “Silver Age” of Russian philosophy (the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries), which together formed Russian classical philosophy.
1. Features of Russian philosophy
Philosophical thought in Russia originates in the 11th century. influenced by the process of Christianization. Kyiv Metropolitan Hilarion creates “ A Word on Law and Grace", which welcomes inclusion " Russian land"in the global process of the triumph of divine Christian light.
The further development of Russian philosophy took place in substantiating the special purpose of Orthodox Rus' for the development of world civilization. During the reign of Vasily III, the teaching of the abbot of the Elizarovsky monastery Philotheus about “ Moscow as the third Rome».
Russian philosophy during the XVI-XIX centuries. developed in the confrontation of two trends. First emphasized the originality of Russian thought and connected this originality with the unique originality of Russian spiritual life. Second the same tendency sought to include Russia in the process of development of European culture and invite it to follow the same historical path.
The first tendency was represented by the Slavophiles, and the second by the Westerners. The idea of Westerners was supported in the 19th century. V. G. Belinsky, N. G. Chernyshevsky, A. I. Herzen. The works of “Westerners”, to a greater extent, reproduce ideas; Chernyshevsky - Feuerbach. Belinsky - Hegel, Herzen - French materialists, etc..
Slavophiles were represented I. V. Kireevsky, A. S. Khomyakov, Aksakov brothers- original Russian philosophers.
Features of Russian philosophy:
1. I was not involved in the processes of understanding the world. These questions were posed only in relation to man.
2. Anthropocentrism. The problems of proving God boiled down to the question “why does a person need this?”
3. Addressing problems of morality.
4. Addressing the social problem “How to make a person better?”
5. Practical orientation.
6. Connection with national culture.
Problems of Russian philosophical thought:
1. Problems of freedom.
2. Religious cosmologism.
3. Problems of humanism.
4. Problems of life and death (Ivan Ilyich in Tolstoy).
5. Problems of creativity.
6. Problems of good and evil.
7. Problems of power and revolution.
XVIII century - religious and idealistic views on life prevailed.
19th century - Westernism and Slavophilism.
2. Westerners and Slavophiles
The original Russian philosophical and ideological movement is Slavophilism: I. V. Kireevsky (1806 - 1856), A. S. Khomyakov (1804-1860).
Ivan Vasilievich Kireevsky
The Slavophiles relied on " originality", on the Orthodox-Russian direction in social thought in Russia. Their teaching was based on the idea of the messianic role of the Russian people, of their religious and cultural identity and exclusivity. The initial thesis is to affirm the decisive role of Orthodoxy for the development of the entire world civilization. According to the Slavophiles, it was Orthodoxy that formed “ those primordially Russian principles, that “Russian spirit” that created the Russian land».
I. V. Kireevsky received home education under the guidance V. A. Zhukovsky. Already in his youth he develops “ true patriotic movement program».
In Kireevsky’s philosophy, 4 main blocks of ideas can be distinguished.
First block includes issues of epistemology. And here he advocates the unity of faith and reason. Only through a combination of thinking, feeling, aesthetic contemplation, conscience and the selfless will to truth does a person acquire the ability of mystical intuition. Faith becomes with a living, unified vision of the mind».
A mind not enriched by faith is poor and one-sided. Western European enlightenment recognizes only personal experience and one’s own reason as a source of knowledge; as a result, some thinkers get formal rationality, i.e. rationalism, while others have abstract sensuality, i.e. positivism. And only the Orthodox faith provides “ serene inner integrity of spirit».
Second block includes features of Russian culture. Russian spiritual culture is characterized by the integrity of being internal and external, constant memory of the relationship of the temporal to the eternal; human to divine. A Russian person always keenly feels his shortcomings and the higher he climbs the ladder of moral development, the more demanding he is of himself and therefore the less satisfied with himself.
Third- the idea of conciliarity. The integrity of society, combined with personal independence and individual identity of citizens, is possible only under the condition of the free subordination of individuals to absolute values and their free creativity, based on love and respect for the church, people, and state.
Fourth- the relationship between church and state. The state is a structure of society with the goal of earthly, temporary life.
The Church is a structure of the same society, with the goal of heavenly, eternal life.
The temporary must serve the eternal. The state must imbue itself with the spirit of the church. If a state has justice, morality, sanctity of laws, human dignity, etc., it serves not temporary, but eternal goals. Only in such a state is personal freedom possible. On the contrary, a state that exists for a petty earthly purpose will not respect freedom.
Therefore, the free and legitimate development of the individual is possible only in a state governed by religious faith.
Alexey Stepanovich Khomyakov
A. S. Khomyakov conducts research in which he evaluates the role of various religions in world history. He divides all religions into two main groups: Cushitic And Iranian. Kushiticism built on the principles of necessity, on subordination, turns people into executors of a will alien to them. Iranism- this is a religion of freedom, it turns to the inner world of a person, requires him to consciously choose between good and evil.
According to A. S. Khomyakov, the essence of Iranianness was most fully expressed by Christianity. But Christianity split into three major directions:
Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. After the split of Christianity, the “beginning of freedom” no longer belongs to the entire church. In different areas of Christianity, the combination of freedom and necessity is presented in different ways:
Catholicism accused by Slavophiles of the lack of church freedom, since there is a dogma about the infallibility of the Pope.
Protestantism but it goes to the other extreme - into the absolutization of human freedom, the individual principle, which destroys churchliness.
Orthodoxy, believes A. S. Khomyakov, harmoniously combines freedom and necessity, individual religiosity with church organization.
The solution to the problem of combining freedom and necessity, individual and church principles is solved by the key concept - conciliarity. Conciliarity manifests itself on the basis of spiritual community in all spheres of human life: in the church, in the family, in society, in relations between states. It is the result of the interaction of the free human principle (“ human free will") and the divine principle (" grace"). Sobornost is based on “unconditional” truths that do not depend on external forms of expression. These truths are not the fruit of man’s rational cognitive efforts, but the fruit of people’s spiritual quests.
The core of the conciliar consciousness is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which underlies the doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church (12 dogmas and 7 sacraments). The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creeds were adopted at the first seven Ecumenical Councils and developed by the conciliar consciousness. Conciliarity can only be learned by those who live in the Orthodox " church fence", that is, members of Orthodox communities, and for " alien and unrecognized» it is not available. They consider participation in church rituals and religious activities to be the main sign of life in the church. In the Orthodox cult, in their opinion, the most important “ feelings of the heart" The cult cannot be replaced by a theoretical, speculative study of faith. Orthodox worship in practice ensures the implementation of the principle “ unity in plurality" Coming to God through the sacraments of baptism, communion, confirmation, confession and marriage, the believer realizes that only in church can he fully enter into communion with God and receive “ the rescue" This is where the desire for “ live communication"with other members of the Orthodox community, a desire for unity with them. Every member of the church, while in its " fence”, can experience and feel religious actions in his own way, due to which “ plurality».
Philosophy is called upon to serve the deepening of the conciliar principle. Slavophiles view the people as a set of ideal qualities, highlighting in them an unchanging spiritual essence, the substance of which is Orthodoxy and communalism. The purpose of great personalities- to be representatives of this national spirit.
Monarchy- the best form of government for Russia. But the king received his power not from God, but from the people by electing him to the kingdom ( Mikhail Romanov); the autocrat must act in the interests of the entire Russian land. Western states, according to Slavophiles, are artificial creations. Russia was formed organically, it “ not built", A " grew" This natural organic development of Russia is explained by the fact that Orthodoxy gave birth to a specific social organization - rural community and "peace".
The rural community combines two principles: economic And moral. In the economic sphere, the community or “world” acts as the organizer of agricultural labor, decides issues of remuneration for work, enters into transactions with landowners, and is responsible for the fulfillment of state duties.
The dignity of a rural community lies in the moral principles that it instills in its members; willingness to stand up for common interests, honesty, patriotism. The emergence of these qualities in community members does not occur consciously, but instinctively, by following ancient religious customs and traditions.
Recognizing the community as the best form of social organization of life, the Slavophiles demanded that the communal principle be made universal, that is, transferred to the sphere of urban life, to industry. The communal structure must also be the basis of state life and be capable of replacing “ the abomination of administration in Russia».
In the state, the leading principle of social relations should be “ self-denial of each for the benefit of all" The religious and social aspirations of people will merge into a single stream. Will happen " enlightenment of the people's communal beginning with the beginning of the community, church».
Fedor Dostoevsky
The successor of the ideas of the Slavophiles became F. M. Dostoevsky (1821-1881), L. N. Tolstoy (1828-1910).
Dostoevsky created his system of “true philosophy”, in which he divided the history of mankind into three periods:
1) patriarchy (natural collectivity);
2) civilization (painful individualization);
3) Christianity as a synthesis of the previous ones.
He opposed socialism as a product of capitalism and atheism. Russia must have its own path, connected, first of all, with the expansion of Orthodox consciousness to all spheres of life. Capitalism is by its nature unspiritual, Socialism- the path of the external structure of humanity. The basis of any sociality, Dostoevsky believed, should be the moral self-improvement of man, and this is possible only on the basis of the Orthodox faith. L. N. Tolstoy creates his own “ rational philosophy", including everything valuable from Orthodoxy. Morality occupies a central place in it. It is in the sphere of morality that the basic relationship between the individual and society is resolved. The state, church and all official organizations are carriers of “ evil" And " violence" People must unite within the framework of non-state forms, on the principles of love for their neighbor, and then new conditions for Christian life will form by themselves.
Nikolai Chernyshevsky
Westerners and their successors in the 19th century. V. Belinsky, A. Herzen, N. Chernyshevsky:
criticized Orthodoxy (P. Chaadaev “Philosophical Letters”);
focused interest on the personal beginning;
were critical of Russian identity;
stood on the positions of materialism, atheism and positivism.
N. G. Chernyshevsky (1828-1889)
The reign of Nicholas I is a period of reaction. New ideas are coming from the West, which in Russia were perceived as utopian (religion without Christ), faith in a new society, in science, in man.
Chernyshevsky shared the views of Hegel and then Feuerbach. Job " Anthropological principle in philosophy».
Man is a natural nature, " having muscles, nerves, stomach». His whole life- a complex chemical process. Love, hate- peculiar chemical reactions. Against Darwin, because in a natural struggle the degenerates would win. Against idealism. Morality must be formed by its own laws, but they have not yet been derived. Religion is nonsense. Studied Fourier (utopian communism).
Man is kind by nature and in the conditions of a rural community, “peasant socialism” he will be happy. Beauty is in nature. " Man is a product of nature" Dreams of a new person - a worker. Nihilism.
3. Philosophy of unity by V. Solovyov
Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900). It marks the beginning of an important period in Russian history. Born in Moscow, his father is the rector of Moscow University, historian S. Solovyov. His grandfather is Skovoroda, a Ukrainian philosopher. From the age of 13, he became interested in the philosophy of materialism, entered the Faculty of Natural Science, argued a lot with his father, and threw out all the icons from his room.
Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov
At 21, he already denies all materialism. He believed that everyone should go through this stage, that the truth is in religion. Defending a dissertation for a master's degree. He is interested in mysticism, he often had visions, they guided his philosophical development. In 1881 he gave a lecture where he was opposed to the death penalty. This is after the assassination attempt on Alexander II and the upcoming trial of terrorists. By doing this he turns the government against himself. He is prohibited from giving public lectures. Writing and church activities become the main activities.
The theories of Kant, Hegel, Plato and others had a great influence on him.
Works: " History and future of tecracy», « The Great Controversy and Christian Politics», « Justification of good», « Three conversations».
The central idea of Solovyov's philosophy is the idea of unity. Soloviev starts from the Slavophil idea of conciliarity, but gives this idea an ontological coloring, an all-encompassing, cosmic meaning. According to his teaching, existence is one, all-encompassing. The lower and higher levels of being are interconnected, since the lower reveals its attraction to the higher, and each higher reveals, “ absorbs"inferior. For Solovyov, the ontological basis of unity is the divine Trinity in its connection with all divine creations and, most importantly, with man. The basic principle of unity: “ Everything is one in God». All-unity- This is, first of all, the unity of the creator and creation. Solovyov's God is devoid of anthropomorphic features. The philosopher characterizes God as “ cosmic mind», « superpersonal being», « a special organizing force operating in the world».
The world around us, according to V. S. Solovyov, cannot be considered as a perfect creation, directly emanating from the creative will of one divine artist. For a correct understanding of God, it is not enough to recognize an absolute being. Soloviev was a supporter of the dialectical approach to reality. And Solovyov’s direct subject of all changes in the world is the world soul. Its main feature is a special energy that spiritualizes everything that exists. God gives the world soul the idea of unity as a certain form of all its activity. This eternal divine idea in Solovyov’s system was called Sophia - wisdom.
World- this is not only the creation of God. The basis and essence of the world is “ soul peace a" - Sophia, as a connecting link between the creator and creation, giving community to God, the world and man.
Mechanism of bringing God closer, the world and humanity is revealed in the philosophical teaching of God-manhood. The real and perfect embodiment of God-manhood, according to Solovyov, is Jesus Christ, who, according to Christian dogma, is both full God and full man. His image serves not only as an ideal to which every individual should strive, but also as the highest goal for the development of the entire historical process.
The goal of the entire historical process is the spiritualization of humanity, the union of man with God, the embodiment of God-manhood. Christ revealed universal moral values to man and created conditions for his moral improvement. By joining the teachings of Christ, a person follows the path of his spiritualization. This process occupies the entire historical period of human life. Humanity will come to the triumph of peace and justice, truth and virtue, when its unifying principle will be God embodied in man, who has moved from the center of eternity to the center of the historical process.
In the epistemological aspect, the principle of unity is realized through the concept of the integrity of knowledge, which represents an inextricable relationship between three varieties of this knowledge: empirical (scientific), rational (philosophical) And mystical (contemplative-religious). As a prerequisite, a fundamental principle, integral knowledge presupposes belief in the existence of an absolute principle - God. Solovyov's statement about true knowledge, as the unity of empirical, rational and mystical knowledge, is the basis for the conclusion about the need for the unity of science, philosophy and religion. This kind of unity, which he calls " free theosophy", allows us to consider the world as a complete system, conditioned by unity or God.
The main ideas of V. Solovyov:
I. 1) Ideas of searching for social truth.
2) Affirmation of faith in progress.
3) Establishment of truth on earth.
II. An attempt to give a new direction to Christianity . Link science and religion.
III. The search for human integrity . Find the source of its integrity. To give a person harmony, unity between faith and the search for truth. He believed that it was necessary to create a new philosophy.
IV. Consideration of history as the progressive development of humanity. Reuniting the history of God and man.
V. The idea of Sophia (wisdom)
. This is the highest form of existence. The highest quality is love. Sofia is femininity. Many images of the Virgin Mary. Degrees of love:
1. Natural love.
2. Intellectual love (for family, friends, humanity, God).
3. Synthesis of the first and second - absolute love. Solovyov does not recognize incorporeal love.
Absolute- this is something that is free from any definitions. It is nothing and everything at the same time. The Absolute always exists. It is established by an act of faith.
God, which expresses the essence of the absolute, generates a triad: spirit, mind, soul.
Being- this is a single nature. Every organism has an idea of integrity.
In addition, there is unity of the second kind. It comes from Sophia and represents the world soul. The soul of the world “fell away” from the absolute. The desire to approach the absolute through Sophia. When man appeared on earth, profound changes occurred in the history of the world. A person begins a new action. Man is capable of understanding the world.
Love- the essence of man. Only love can give a person the strength to realize his death. Love- this is victory over death. Morality does not depend on religion. Progress must lead to good. Creating new things is not the idea of progress. Sometimes the Antichrist comes into the world. Soloviev says that the Antichrist is very handsome, smart, and inventive. Only through this can he lure many people to himself, and at the same time he leads humanity away from the desire for good.
Three types of morality:
1.Shame.
2. Pity.
3. Reverence.
Belief in the obligatory nature of good. Reverence for the people, for society.
The story goes through two stages:
1. The movement of a person towards Christ.
2. From Christ to the church.
It will come on earth theocracy. Unity of spiritual, royal and internal (spiritual) power.
There are many forces in history: 1. East. 2. West. 3. Slavic world. Both the first and second forces will soon exhaust themselves. The West disperses the unity due to the development of egoism in people. The Slavic world can unite everyone in unity.
Solovyov owns the universal formula “ Good-Truth-Beauty", expressing the unity of morality, science and art.
What is Truth? That which is Good and Beauty.
What is Good? That which is Truth and Beauty.
What is Beauty? That which is Good and True.
This formula has not lost its relevance today, during a period of acute spiritual crisis.
Lev Isaakovich Shestov
4. Problems of faith and reason in Russian religious philosophy (L. Shestov, S. Bulgakov, P. Florensky, S. Frank)
L. Shestov (1866-1938). The defining moment of his teaching is the thesis of the opposition of faith and reason. Faith- the most complete, highest plane of human existence, in which the laws of human society and reasonable arguments do not apply. Faith is the willingness to break out of the circle of ideas in which a person lives.
In his theological research, L. Shestov moves to the position of orthodox Protestantism. Faith, in his opinion, is given not to the one who sought it, not to the one who sought it, but to the one whom God chose before he showed himself in any way.
The idea of limitation, inferiority of the mind, its inability to reflect the diversity of existence, the innermost part of human life. Abstract thinking, Shestov argues, exists only so that a person has the illusion of perfect knowledge. In fact, abstract concepts of reason not only do not provide knowledge about reality, but, on the contrary, lead away from reality. Reality is irrational, completely unknowable. Both logic and reason, in his opinion, are all means that hide reality from us. To know the truth, we need the ability to get rid of all control imposed on us by logic, we need an impulse, admiration. Simply put - mystical intuition.
Philosopher S. N. Bulgakov (1871-1944). Logical thinking, according to him, corresponds to the present, sinful man; it is a disease, a product of imperfection. A sinless person is characterized by metalogical thinking, a kind of clairvoyance, therefore the highest religious task for humanity is to rise above the mind, to become above the mind. From the point of view of anti-intellectualists, these two opposite types of mastery of reality correspond to two opposite theoretical forms of expression - rationalism and Christian philosophy. " Rationalism, i.e. the philosophy of concept and reason, the philosophy of things and lifeless immobility"- according to the description of the Orthodox theologian P. Florensky (1882-1943)- is entirely connected with the law of identity - this is a flat philosophy. On the contrary, Christian philosophy, that is, the philosophy of idea and reason, the philosophy of personality and creative achievement, therefore rests on the possibility of overcoming the law of identity - this is a philosophy of spirituality" ( Florensky P. A. “The Pillar and Ground of Truth”). Rationalism asserts self-identity " I"and therefore self-sufficiency" I" And this, in turn, gives rise to selfishness and atheism.
Pavel Florensky and Sergei Bulgakov
The dogma of the trinity of God, according to Florensky, abolishes the main law of logic - the law of identity and affirms contradiction as the main principle of thinking. God is one in three persons, in his opinion, this is an embodied contradiction. The consubstantiality of the persons of the Divine Trinity indicates both their real unity and their less real difference. Religious experience, faith, is not knowledge in the strict sense of the word, but a direct connection between a person and God, an inner feeling arising from the need for God.
« Religious experience, - according to S. Frank (1877-1950), contains the consciousness of the absolute power of the divine shrine, despite its empirically limited power. The experience of the omnipotence of the shrine is so immediate, so self-evident to our hearts, that it cannot be shaken by any “facts”, by any empirical truths."(S. Frank " The light in the darkness"). Religious experience is interpreted as a direct merging of the human soul with God, the translation of human experiences and feelings into the transcendental, transcendental dimension.
The fate of a people is determined by two factors:
1. By the power of the collective way of life, general historical conditions.
2. The power of faith, rooted in the people's consciousness.
Positivism, materialism, socialism- functional, not organic approaches, they deaden the people.
Supreme realism- creative idealism of spiritual improvement.
The unity of the state and nation grows from the people's will and faith. The people's will is the ideal of democracy, Political activity is humble service.
S. Frank rejects pure liberalism. The meaning of human life cannot lie in selfishness, it lies in serving God and people. Serving Truth, Good, people is the justification of life.
Freedom is necessary for a Christian to fulfill his duty of service (“Spiritual Foundations of Society”).
I. A. Ilyin (1882-1954). « Our tasks», « The idea of rank" - popular works.
IN " Our tasks» Ilyin analyzes the causes of the revolution in Russia and tries to predict the future of the Russian people. Bolshevism is doomed. The people will emerge from the revolution poor, but renewed.
Personal freedom is not opposed to the political foundations of society. They can mutually support each other if they are imbued with a spiritual and religious principle.
"The Idea of Rank." Two worldviews:
1. People of equality (egalitarians) do not tolerate any superiority. “Everyone should do what everyone can do.” But, Ilyin believes, this is unnatural and anti-spiritual (people are not equal, since each is a unique “son of God”). As people improve, their uniqueness grows.
2. People who understand the meaning of rank do not believe in either natural equality or forced equality. Society must create equal opportunities, but how they will be realized is an individual matter.
There are two sides to the idea of rank:
1. Quality inherent in a person.
2. Exceptions and rights that are recognized for it.
These sides may not coincide (a sore point), which gives rise to revolutionism in souls and the desire for equality.
The idea of rank in Russia is based on religious grounds and patriotic feelings.
5. Philosophy of N. Berdyaev
Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1874-1948) went through a difficult path of spiritual trials, so characteristic of the Russian intelligentsia.
Nikolay Berdyaev
Understanding social life in Russia and the West led him to Marxism. In his views, N.A. Berdyaev belonged to the moderate wing - “ legal Marxists" However, the materialist doctrine on which Marxism is based seems to Berdyaev to be simplified, giving a coarsened picture of the world. Delving into the problems of the possibilities of knowledge, Berdyaev is carried away by the neo-Kantianism that spread during this period. Neo-Kantians were sympathetic to materialism as one of the oldest and most well-founded systems. Materialism, in their opinion, has rendered a great service to science in that it requires consideration of processes and phenomena from the point of view of conditionality and causality. However, as a philosophical system, from the point of view of neo-Kantians, it is flawed, since it ignores “ supersensible“- for materialists there is no concept of soul. The neo-Kantians did not set themselves the task of creating their own “world system”; they only outlined the path to follow in building a worldview.
The 20th century was marked for Berdyaev by a movement from neo-Kantianism to God-seeking. Based on ideas Chaadaev, Dostoevsky, V. Solovyov and, Berdyaev is looking for the meaning of life in the organization of human society on religious foundations. In 1902 he, together with P. Struve And S. Bulgakov publishes a collection " Problems of idealism", which criticizes materialism.
For Berdyaev, the spirit of class struggle that permeates Marxism at first evoked only a critical attitude, which then turned into complete rejection, which was greatly facilitated by the revolution of 1905-1907. in Russia.
An event in Berdyaev’s spiritual evolution was the publication of the program collection “ Milestones"(1909). Vekhi contrasted the Russian religious and philosophical tradition with materialism and atheism. The collectivist principle of class struggle by “Vekhi” is denied in the name of protecting the individual on the paths of his internal spiritual liberation. Naturally, Vekhi was greeted with hostility by revolutionary Marxists. “Vekhi” was subjected to fierce criticism by V.I. Lenin, who described it as “an encyclopedia of liberal renegadeism.”
In his works " Philosophy of freedom"(1911), " The meaning of creativity"(1916) Berdyaev proves that Marxism, which has replaced man with a class, is not able to solve the problem of individual activity and freedom.
« Truth is spiritual conquest, he wrote in Self-Knowledge. - Truth is known in freedom and through freedom. The truth imposed on me, in the name of which they demand that I renounce freedom, is not the truth at all, but a damn temptation».
The gloomy impressions of the February and October revolutions are reflected by Berdyaev in his work “ Spirits of the Russian Revolution"(1921), written by him shortly before his exile. In 1922, N.A. Berdyaev was arrested and sent on a ship to Germany, then moved to Paris.
He becomes a prominent representative of existentialism - the philosophy of existence. Berdyaev stands for the internal freedom of the human person. He opposes opportunism and conformism. For him, both Marxism with its class consciousness and the anti-humanism of bourgeois society are still unacceptable. The main thing for him is the existence of a person whose creativity is based on absolute freedom.
Berdyaev considers each person as a specific, unique personality for whom freedom is the highest value. But a person is not always aware of it. After the Middle Ages, a person is freed from religion, but plunges into unfreedom (from technology, politics, other people).
God does not completely control the world. The world has fallen away from God and is sinking into evil. In a collision with evil, a person begins to realize Freedom. " Freedom is God" Freedom manifests itself to the highest degree in creativity. Creation- the internal state of a person, which is given to everyone.
Human freedom is linked to the destiny of humanity. The lack of freedom of a person in society (history) leads to loneliness and unhappiness. This happens because the story has two layers:
1) heavenly history
2) earthly history (facts, chronology).
Man often discards heavenly history and acts according to earthly circumstances.
Love- opening a person to God, for this he needs freedom.
Berdyaev highly values Christianity, but speaks of a new religion (creative anthropology), emphasizing creativity, in which he makes a revelation.
The crisis of humanity. In work " Man and machine" speaks of technocratic ideology. Man is killing religion and humanism. What remains is faith in reason and technology - man's last love.
The new religion is an increase in wealth, but it does not affect the soul. Technology does not coincide with culture. Man is a complex creature. Culture is symbolic, therefore closer to man than technology.
Three stages in the development of culture.
Stage I- natural-organic.
Stage II- cultural (the emergence of Christianity). Christianity teaches that man is a spiritual being. Paganism - man is a particle of the cosmos.
Stage III- technical and machine.
Symbolic culture ( looks at one thing, but sees several in it). The technique is realistic. Technology does not live according to the principle of an organism. She's organized. Man becomes a slave to technology. The technicization of the spirit arises: thinking quickly, rationally, is useful. Technology kills communication with other people.
But there is hope for the subordination of technology to spirit.
6. Philosophical views of I. M. Sechenov, I. P. Pavlov, I. I. Mechnikov, V. M. Bekhtereva
Sechenov Ivan Mikhailovich
Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov (1829-1905)- an outstanding doctor, the founder of the Russian physiological school, had a significant influence on the development of philosophy.
One of Sechenov’s first far-reaching dialectical conclusions was the conclusion that “ an organism without an external environment that supports its existence is impossible, therefore the scientific definition of an organism must include the environment that influences it».
Sechenov was the first to begin doing experiments on the brain, thereby overcoming the barrier that existed before him about the impossibility of experimentally invading the brain and studying such subtle problems as consciousness, feeling, will. The experiments carried out made it possible to understand how the human will is regulated with the help of physiological mechanisms, under what conditions it can be induced or suppressed.
Sechenov discovered " braking"in the brain.
In his work " Brain reflexes“Sechenov expressed the idea of reflexes that underlie all types of conscious and unconscious activity. And all these processes are carried out through the central nervous system.
The origin of consciousness became clearer: the sense organs of a living organism, reacting to internal or external stimuli, transmit signals through a branched system to the brain, which embodies them into a mentally meaningful reaction.
From an analysis of mental acts, Sechenov came to the conclusion that “all conscious movements, usually called voluntary, are reflected in the strict sense.” Thus, Sechenov explained the psyche of the functions of the brain as an organ that connects a person with the environment.
I.M. Sechenov refuted the theory of racism. He believed that a person’s mental activity, his mental outlook and level of cultural development are determined not by this or that race, but by the conditions in which a person lives.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936)- an outstanding scientist-physiologist who made a great contribution to the development of philosophy. Pavlov’s great merit is that he did his scientific experiments in “ pure form", studying the physiology of a particular organ under normal conditions of functioning of the body. These experiments simultaneously allowed him to understand the essence of the so-called mental activity, which was based on the phenomenon of psychic secretion. All this is connected with a new word in the science of conditioned reflexes, i.e., about various stimuli as a temporary connection in the life of an individual. Pavlov associated their occurrence with the influence of the external environment on the body.
He firmly connected man with nature: “ The constant connection of an external agent with the body’s activity in response to it, he wrote, can legitimately be called an unconditioned reflex, and a temporary connection - a conditioned reflex.».
Studying the higher nervous activity of man, Pavlov created the doctrine of two signal systems. The first signaling system is inherent in humans and animals and is represented by the senses. The second signaling system is inherent only to humans and is the result of his reaction to a word he hears or influence in another way.
All issues of human life are objectively justified and interconnected, believed I. P. Pavlov.
Pavlov wrote; " Mental activity is the result of the physiological activity of certain masses of the brain" Thus, Pavlov, like Sechenov, conducted his experiments in such a way that for him the mental was always in close connection with the physical.
Based on his scientific conclusions, Pavlov made far-reaching philosophical generalizations about the connection of the entire animal world with the environment. At the same time, he clearly understood the peculiarities of the connections between living beings and the environment, which are carried out according to a different “formula” than what happens with ordinary physical bodies and chemical substances.
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (1845 - 1916). I was interested in natural science. Due to personal tragedies - two suicide attempts. After all this, he becomes convinced that he is an optimist. Writes works " Sketches of Optimism», « Sketches about human nature».
The main interest is in man and his relationship with nature. A person constantly experiences disharmonies in his interaction with nature. You can't fight nature. From a natural point of view, “Man is an abnormal being.”
A person should strive for a joyful worldview. Suffering is not a goal, it must be avoided (I do not agree with Christianity). But he believes, like Christianity, that man is corrupt (sinful). Comes to the concept of orthobiosis - the theory of the scientific basis of life. A person must be conscious about how he lives.
The problem of old age and death. Why does a person get old? He should not grow old so early, that is, the old age of most people is premature. A person should be healthy for a longer period of life. A person is not prepared for death. If old age is healthy (no illness), a person gets tired of living and wants to die. And death is perceived as a natural end, and not as a result of illness. Talks about the death instinct. In nature you can find phenomena that are not compatible with the instinct of self-preservation (a butterfly flies towards a fire, old animals leave people and want to die). The death instinct would only appear if it was necessary to live correctly. Young people are characterized by pessimism (optimism for the second half of life). In youth, reproductive activity is strong and conflicts arise about this, that is, dissatisfaction. Then the person no longer wants to continue the family line, but to live for himself, hence optimism.
Disharmonies in youth lead to disharmonies with nature. You need to regulate your needs. When a person is saturated with life, there is no need to believe in his immortality. But we need to do everything to prolong life, not disease. The disharmony of human existence must be removed. There are two reasons for disharmony:
1. The contradiction between a completely unextinguished instinct and the human condition.
2. Between the thirst for life and the ability to live (due to a painful condition).
Disharmony increases pessimism and vice versa. The relationship between science and morality. Any science is moral. Scientific advances should improve human relationships.
Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev
Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev (1857-1927)- was a talented researcher in many fields of knowledge.
They left a significant mark on the study of neuropathology, psychiatry, morphology and physiology of the nervous system. His works are also of interest to philosophy.
In his morphological works, he reports the results of studying the structure of all parts of the central nervous system. His scientific works were distinguished by the novelty of his ideas about the conduction pathways and the structure of nerve centers. He was the first to describe previously unnoticed nerve bundles, which are conductive pathways for transmitting information received by the body.
Bekhterev's work on the physiology of various parts of the nervous system is of great importance for science and philosophy. Bekhterev, studying the central nervous system, established that each of the body systems has its own centers in the cerebral cortex.
Bekhterev argued that mental disorders are directly dependent on disorders in the body. His work in the field of psychology is based on experiments in the motor areas of the cerebral cortex.
RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHY- in a broad sense, a set of philosophical ideas, images, concepts present in the entire context of Russian culture, from its inception to the present day. There are narrower interpretations of Russian philosophy: as expressed in purely verbal ways and associated primarily with the literary tradition; as a function of religious thought; as a product of professional activity; as a reflection of developed Western philosophy, therefore dependent and formed no earlier than the 18th century; as a unique soil phenomenon associated with the activities of the Slavophiles, Vl.Solovieva and their followers; as part of European philosophy, which became an equal partner of Western thought at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, etc. There can be as many definitions of Russian philosophy as there are definitions of philosophy in general. Each of them highlights a certain aspect of the phenomenon called Russian philosophy, so it is advisable to consider it from the perspective of the broadest interpretation, which implicitly includes and implies all the others.
BACKGROUND OF RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHY. The genesis of Russian culture and the proto-philosophical thought that arose in its bosom goes into the depths of pre-Christian Rus', where it is difficult to establish the starting point. The pagan model of the universe, which was the result of a centuries-long preceding path, adopted by the 10th century. final forms. Its principles are as follows: indissolubility with natural cycles, worship of the elements, non-distinction between material and spiritual principles, the cult of totems and veneration of ancestors as methods of social determination. The most ancient universal human mythologies such as the “marriage of heaven and earth” and archetypes of consciousness such as the “world tree” served as a figurative and symbolic interpretation of existence. The triple vertical structure of the universe (heaven, earth, underworld), the fourfold horizontal division of space (north, east, west, south), binary oppositions (top-bottom, male-female, day-night) contained non-verbal models of explanation of the world and man, which will subsequently be transformed into verbalized and rationalized concepts. With external primitivism, the elements of philosophical understanding of existence, present in the depths of mythological consciousness, play an important role. Sources for the reconstruction of the archaic type of thinking are historical chronicles (records about the Magi in the “Tale of Bygone Years”), fragments of pagan sanctuaries (Peryn temple in Novgorod), the tetrahedral and three-tiered Zbruch idol (a three-dimensional model of the universe), semiotic studies of language (V.V. Ivanov, V.N. Toporov), distinguished pre-Christian layers of culture (B.A. Uspensky, G.A. Nosova), systematization of heterogeneous ethnographic and archaeological material (B.A. Rybakov).
INITIAL PERIOD. The development of Russian philosophy began after the baptism of Rus'. Christianity, instead of the balanced naturalistic pantheism of paganism, introduces a tense confrontation between spirit and matter, a dramatic conflict of good and evil, God and the devil; the idea of an eternal cycle is replaced by the concept of a vector, eschatological, finalistic type. Yesterday's pagan, who lived in a limited tribal consciousness - now a neophyte - is called to personal moral responsibility, his life is connected to the world universe, the fate of his native ethnic group becomes part of human history. The main paradigms of the Old Russian worldview are embodied in a variety of verbal (chronicles, collections, lives, teachings, epistles), non-verbal (architecture, icon painting, sculpture), and mixed (singing art, illuminated manuscripts) sources. The temple was not only a place of prayer, but also a three-dimensional model of the cosmos and society with a special system of painting and organization of space. If the Western medieval genius created the verbal Summa theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas, then the ancient Russian one created a unique high iconostasis, a non-verbal analogue of such a creation, expressed by aesthetic means. At the same time, veneration of Sophia the Wisdom of God arose, reflected in the diversity of cultural and national creations. sophiology . Gradually, on the basis of the autochthonous heritage and transplanted Byzantine samples, a local type of Orthodox culture and the corresponding philosophical thought are being developed, which are both part of the pan-European civilization in its Eastern Christian version. The conceptual basis of philosophical constructions were ideas borrowed from Greek translated literature: the Bible, the exegetical and apocryphal works surrounding it, the works of the Church Fathers, historical chronicles, and hagiographic literature. From the “Source of Knowledge” by John of Damascus, the reader learned about the definitions of philosophy: “The mind of beings (knowledge of what exists)... the mind of the divine and human... the teaching of death... likening to God... cunning with cunning and artistry with artistry... love of Wisdom" (Manual of the RSL, Trinity, f. 304. I., No. 176, l. 36–37). At the same time, the natural philosophical treatise “The Six Days” of John, Exarch of Bulgaria, the “Collection of Tsar Simeon” (known as the “Isbornik of 1073”) and the “Life of Cyril the Philosopher”, which contains the first definition of philosophy in the Slavic language: “things for God and men”, came to Russia reason, as far as a person can draw closer to Bose, as Detelius can teach a person, in the image and likeness of being who created him” (Manager of the RSL, MDA, f. 173, no. 19, l. 367 vol.). Later, these definitions were supplemented by Maxim the Greek, Andrei Kurbsky, and Metropolitan Daniel. Among the original works, it is worth highlighting: “The Discourse on Law and Grace” by Hilarion, with which Russian historiosophy begins; “The Tale of Bygone Years,” containing a complex of aesthetic, natural-philosophical, philosophical and historical ideas; “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk” by the chronicler Nestor as an expression of the ethics of monastics and “The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh” as an example of secular ethics; “Message from Metropolitan Nicephorus to Vladimir Monomakh” is the first epistemological treatise on the three parts of the soul and five types of sensory knowledge; “The Prayer of Daniel the Imprisoner” is a monument of aphorism. In Kievan Rus, the foundations of domestic philosophizing were laid, currents of thought were formed, a range of ideas was defined, the terminology of abstract thinking was developed, the main intentions of development were outlined, and the typological features of Russian philosophy were formed (panetism, historiosophicity, anthropologism, anti-scholasticism, sophistry, dispersal in the context of culture).
MIDDLE AGES. After the Mongolian devastation, the single ancient Russian culture and with it philosophical thought turned out to be divided into three branches: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. There are connections between them; in the 17th–18th centuries. they will be united on the territory of a single state until the end of the 20th century. will not again be divided into independent entities. The typological differences that have arisen and, at the same time, the consanguinity of the three currents of East Slavic philosophy require careful analysis and a balanced assessment, especially when studying such thinkers of the transitional type as Simeon of Polotsk, Feofan Prokopovich, Grigory Skovoroda, Alexander Potebnya. New phenomena arose in the political and spiritual life of Muscovite Rus': Eurasian geopolitical thinking, hesychasm that came from Athos, the pro-imperial doctrine “Moscow is the Third Rome,” book printing as the beginning of a new civilizational stage. From the Balkans come translations of the works of Dionysius the Areopagite, “Dioptra” by Philip Monotrope; glossaries of the encyclopedic type are being compiled, like Azbukovniki, the Bible is completely translated in Novgorod and published in print by Ivan Fedorov in Ostrog in Ukraine. Icon painting, chronicle writing, and hagiography reached their highest peak. Disputes about the paths of development of the country and methods of government are reflected in the polemics between Ivan the Terrible and Andrei Kurbsky. An opponent of the “Russian Nero” flees to Lithuania, paving the way to the West for many subsequent dissidents. In the circle he created, new translations of John of Damascus are being made, the prince himself writes the first works on logic in Russian. The greatest thinker of the High Middle Ages in Russia was Maxim Grek . He brought the art of philological analysis, philosophical dialogue, and theological hermeneutics. Together with non-covetous people, he defended the principles of “spiritual work,” but the Josephites won, proposing a symphony of the state and the Church. Gradually, a conflict arises between the growing imperial power and the ideal of Holy Rus', which in modern times is transformed into a conflict between the authorities and the thinking part of society that defends moral ideals. The maximalism of power will give rise to the maximalism of ways to resist it, which will activate destructive tendencies that will subsequently blow up the Russian Empire. A wide range of ideas is contained in the works of Epiphanius the Wise, Joseph Volotsky, Nil Sorsky, Artemy Troitsky, Ivan Peresvetov, Zinovy Otensky, Vassian Patrikeev and other thinkers of the 15th–16th centuries.
BAROQUE CENTURY. The 17th century became a transition from the medieval type of thinking to the new European one. Within the framework of the Baroque style, there is a typological rapprochement of domestic culture with European culture through Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Polish mediation. The soft Europeanization of Russia on the model of Catholic Slavic Poland is replaced under Peter the Great by hard Westernization of the Protestant type. The first to shake the foundations was Patriarch Nikon, who wanted to become the “Russian pope.” The first split occurred (which would be followed by Peter's and Soviet), destroying the integrity of Russian society. The conservatism of the Old Believers helped preserve ancient Russian values right up to our time. In the growing Western influence, the leading role was played by Latinists, led by Simeon of Polotsk. They were opposed by Grecophiles: Epiphanius Slavinetsky, who left a number of translations, incl. from Erasmus of Rotterdam, and Karion Istomin, who played on the coincidence of the names of Princess Sophia and Sophia the Wisdom in verses. A lot of literature is translated from Polish, Latin, German: “The Economy of Aristotle” by Sebastian Petrici, “Problemata” by Andrzej Glyaber, “Selenography” by Jan Hevelius, which expounded the ideas of Copernicus, “Lucidarius”, “The Tale of Aristotle” (from Diogenes Laertius). An important event was the founding of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in 1687, where the Likhud brothers first began to teach ethics, metaphysics, and logic in the spirit of late scholasticism. The bearer of European education, the concept of enlightened absolutism, and the idea of Slavic unity was the Croatian Yuri Krizanich. In the treatise “Politics”, he gave a new, in the spirit of the Latin scheme septem artes liberalis, systematization of knowledge, which distinguishes wisdom (comprehension of God, the world, man), knowledge (understanding of the nature of things), philosophy (“the desire for wisdom”, which is inherent in each individual, but among philosophers it becomes an all-consuming attraction).
NEW TIME. In modern times, Russian philosophy experienced the strongest influence of Western philosophy. There was a synchronization of cultural evolution, domestic thought became part of the pan-European intellectual universe. However, this accelerated process was not without costs. Peter's reforms, which turned Russia into an absolutist monarchy of the European type (with Eurasian characteristics), contributed primarily to the development of those forms of social life, science, education, and secular culture that corresponded to imperial strategic interests. A second split in society occurred and the emergence of a small pro-Western noble elite, separated from the bulk of the population. The center of power, wealth, and influence was St. Petersburg, strikingly different from other cities of the ever-growing empire. The antipode of the built vertical of power appears to be a small man, about whom Russian intellectuals will grieve since the times of Gogol and Dostoevsky. The ideologist of Peter’s reforms was the head of the “scientific squad” Feofan Prokopovich, the author of the “Spiritual Regulations”, who carried out the reform of the Church in the Protestant spirit and became the first chief prosecutor of the Synod. Having received a good education in Kyiv, Lvov, Krakow, Rome, critical of Thomistic scholasticism, he adopted a number of ideas of Spinoza, Descartes, Leibniz and put forward a plan for changing spiritual education in the spirit of “scientific theology”, which, using textbooks translated from German, taught Russian youth up to before the reforms of Metropolitans Platon (Levshin) and Philaret (Drozdov), who created a national theological school. His opponent Stefan Yavorsky wrote the anti-Protestant “Stone of Faith,” which was banned in Russia and published by the Jesuits in Europe in Latin. It asserted the superiority of Divine laws over human ones and protested against the forced secularization of society.
For the 18th century. characterized by opposition and complementarity of various trends: scientism and mysticism, Voltairianism and elderism, pro-Westernism and patriotism, Normanism and anti-Normanism. The largest representative of scientific consciousness was M.V. Lomonosov , combining respect for European knowledge with love for national history and culture. Considered in Soviet times the founder of natural-scientific materialism in Russia, he was a deist of the Newtonian type, and his enthusiastic odes about God's greatness were inspired by the lines of the Psalter. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, trying to escape synodal tutelage, founded a monastery near Voronezh and wrote “Spiritual Treasure Collected from the World” as an experience of ascetic asceticism. St. Paisius Velichkovsky compiled the Philokalia and became the spiritual father of the eldership, the center of which would be Optina Pustyn, which attracted the best minds of Russia in the 19th century. An expression of extra-church mysticism was Freemasonry, opposing both the official Church, which seemed to be a bureaucratic, inert institution, and the spread of Voltairianism, a secularized intelligentsia ideology with a cult of a critically thinking individual. The conductors of European Rosicrucianism and Martinism were the German professors of the Moscow University founded in 1755 I. Staden and I. Schwartz, its adherents were Prince I.V. Lopukhin, the author of the essay “On the Inner Church,” enlightener N.I. Novikov, architect V.I. .Bazhenov and many others who believed in the union of “brotherhood and love” for the sake of creating a new global faith and the formation of a higher “hidden man”. Mystical and social utopianism were one of the products of the philosophy of the Enlightenment, adopted in Russia from its French ideologists. Another product was revolutionism, which found fertile soil in our Fatherland. Its prominent representative was A.N. Radishchev, from whom they fashioned an idol of the revolutionary movement and materialism. In reality, he appears as a restless, contradictory personality, typical of a courtly mind, captivated by the ideas of the mind and inclined to the worldly delights of the brilliant age of Baroque and Rococo. Having written his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” under the influence of Stern’s “Sentimental Journey”, he was exiled to Siberia, where, thinking about the meaning of life, he created a treatise “On Man, On His Mortality and Immortality” of semi-materialistic, semi-idealistic content, ending with a pathetic phrase : “...believe, eternity is not a dream.” The physical and spiritual death of the first Russian revolutionary is tragic: having become disillusioned with the ideas of the French Enlightenment, which led to the bloody revolution and the establishment of Napoleon's tyranny, as well as in the work of the imperial commission to create new civil legislation, where he was involved after returning from exile, he commits suicide. Radishchev's drama became a significant warning for future generations of Russian revolutionaries about their own fate, the shock and destruction of the foundations of social existence. Radishchev’s opponent appears to be Catherine II, as the ideal of a “philosopher on the throne”, once realized in our history, who personified the concept of an enlightened government striving for stability and prosperity of the state. The smart German woman understood what was beyond the minds of many Russian statesmen and cultural figures by blood - Russia cannot be understood and it cannot be governed without knowledge of traditions, history, and a special geopolitical position between the West and the East. It is significant that V.N. Tatishchev And M.M.Shcherbatov create the first multi-volume “Russian Histories”, in which modern research methods are combined with the ancient Russian chronicle tradition. For the first time, professional philosophy is emerging into an increasingly broad movement, represented by university professors N.H. Popovsky, D.S. Anichkov, S.E. Desnitsky, A.A. Barsov and others, as well as professors of theological academies Feofilakt Lopatinsky, Gavriil Buzhinsky, Kirill Florinsky and others. Their literary and teaching activities are mainly educational in nature; they actively introduce the achievements of Western thought, which reveals the student nature of Russian philosophy of the new European type, which bore mature fruits in the next century. According to the old tradition, talented self-taught people, unconstrained by official and corporate frameworks, dominated. A typical representative of them was G. Skovoroda, sometimes called the “Russian” and sometimes the “Ukrainian Socrates.” A wandering poet, musician, teacher, despising the delights of the world, he strives to “philosophize in Christ.” In his anthropology and epistemology, the secret knowledge of the heart appears as a secret way of knowing the world and oneself. In his symbolic works, created under the influence of Catholic Baroque style, the Ukrainian philosopher, who wrote in Russian, appears as one of the most talented thinkers of the Sofian artistic style, characteristic of the East Slavic region. Overall 18th century. was an important stage in the development of Russian philosophy, preparing for its rise in the next century.
STRUGGLE OF CURRENTS. Early 19th century illuminated the “Alexandrovskaya spring” - a short-term period of liberal projects, the soul of which was M.M. Speransky. Along with supporters of the legitimate, evolutionary transformation of Russia into a country of the bourgeois type, radicals appeared who united in secret societies and longed for a decisive breakdown of the entire economic, political, and legal structure. The movement known as the Decembrists is heterogeneous. Its leaders were P.I. Pestel, who dreamed of republican rule and developed the “Russian Truth” (an appeal to the ancient Russian code of the same name, as well as the terms “veche” and “duma”, were supposed to recall the pre-monarchist past of Russia), and N.M. Muravyov, wrote 3 draft Constitutions, which provided for the liberation of peasants, the preservation of private property, the introduction of the principle of separation of powers and federalization of the state. In conditions of ideological polarization, protective movements arise. The head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, A.S. Shishkov, publishes “Discourses on Love for the Fatherland,” where he condemns “harmful Western mentalities” and insists on the closure of philosophy departments at universities, which happened during the police reign of Nicholas I. A well-known triad is developed: “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality." Even the head of the sentimentalists, N.M. Karamzin, wrote a “Note on Ancient and New Russia,” which argued for the need for a monarchical system. “Columbus of Russian Antiquities” substantiated this in the multi-volume “History of the Russian State.” The monarch, as God's anointed one, stands above the classes and is the guarantor of the unity and prosperity of society. The thunderstorm of 1812 awakened national consciousness in all spheres of creativity, incl. in philosophy. How did the reaction to Westernization come about? Slavophilism , whose extremes were balanced Westernism , and together they formed a two-faced Janus, facing the past and the future, the original and the foreign. In the history of Slavophilism, we can conditionally distinguish its forerunners (M.P. Pogodin, S.P. Shevyrev), early classics (I.V. Kireevsky, A.S. Khomyakov, K.S. Aksakov), representatives of the official nationality (Yu. F. Samarin, S.S. Uvarov), late apologists (N.Ya. Danilevsky, N.N. Strakhov), neo-Slavophiles of the early 20th century. and their modern successors (V.I. Belova, V.G. Rasputin, A.I. Solzhenitsyn), if the term “Slavophilism” is replaced by the more adequate “Russophilism”. In contrast to German philosophy, which was based on the Protestant and partly Catholic spirit, the Slavophiles sought to create philosophy, historiosophy and anthropology in the Orthodox interpretation. Kireyevsky in his work “On the Necessity of New Beginnings for Philosophy” anticipated the development of the concepts of integral knowledge and unity. Khomyakov advocated conciliarity as a free unity within the Orthodox Church, for the communal nature of Russian life, the reconciliation of classes and the great mission of Russia, called upon to replace the decrepit Europe in the world process. From the standpoint of religious personalism, the principle of which is a substantial connection with God, Samarin denounced Western individualism. A thinker of the religious-soil type is N.V. Gogol, the prophet of the Christian transformation of culture and the sacred service of art. The philosopher who provoked the Controversy between Slavophiles and Westerners was P.Ya. Chaadaev. “A shot in the night” (A.I. Herzen) sounded his “Philosophical Letters”. In contrast to the official optimistic ideology, he spoke about the dark past, the meaningless present and the unclear future of a country that risks falling hopelessly behind dynamic Europe. He extended his Christian philosophy beyond the boundaries of Orthodoxy and noted the civilizational merit of Catholicism, which forged the spiritual core of Western self-awareness. The “Basmanny Philosopher” was highly declared to be crazy, but in a country where the official characterization is perceived with the opposite sign, he was ensured enormous success, especially among Westerners. Ardent admirers of German philosophy, united in the circles of philosophers and Stankevich, in Western-type salons, were fond of Hegelianism, Kantianism, and Schellingism. Among Westerners, a radical wing (V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen, N.P. Ogarev), a moderate center (T.N. Granovsky, P.V. Annenkov), liberals (V.P. Botkin, K. D. Kavelin, E. Korsh), a wide range of concepts is being developed - from “Russian socialism” to progressivist theories of development. Under their influence, a “state school” arose in the person of B.N. Chicherin, S.M. Solovyov, V.O. Klyuchevsky.
POLYPHONY OF THOUGHT. In the 2nd half. 19th century several actively self-propagating philosophical and social movements are emerging, which partially carried over into the next century; For the first time, a situation of polyphony of thought arises that is not persecuted by the authorities, which led to its true flourishing. Anarchism (M.A. Bakunin, P.A. Kropotkin), populism (rebellious, educational, conspiratorial), positivism (P.L. Lavrov, E.V. De-Roberti, V.V. Lesevich), materialism (N G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov, D. I. Pisarev), neo-Kantianism (Alexander I. Vvedensky, G. I. Chelpanov, I. I. Lapshin), Marxism (G. V. Plekhanov, V. I. Lenin, A. Bogdanov) in mutual polemics raised the general tone of philosophical thinking and created the diversity of ideas necessary for its vibrant development. Separately from political passions, philosophy developed in theological academies (F.A. Golubinsky, F.F. Sidonsky, V.N. Karpov, S.S. Gogotsky, P.D. Yurkevich). Among the philosophizing writers were F.M. Dostoevsky with his tragic pre-existentialism, L.N. Tolstoy with his symphonies of human life and religious rationalism. N.Ya. Danilevsky in the sensational “Russia and Europe” developed the concept of cultural and historical types, anticipating Spengler and Toynbee and influencing future Eurasians. Byzantine apologist K.N. Leontiev noted the petty-bourgeois idolatry of the bourgeois West, anticipating the emergence of totalitarian regimes. “Common cause” (patrification) was put forward by N.F. Fedorov, who laid the foundations of Russian cosmism. If the pinnacle of poetic gift in the literature of the 19th century. A.S. Pushkin appeared, then the pinnacle of the philosophical spirit became Vl. Soloviev, the first original Russian philosopher on a pan-European scale. In it, Russian thought, having undergone Western training and turned to its own roots, gave a magnificent synthesis of them. He criticizes positivism and the abstract principles of rationalism, which corresponded to the latest trends in Europe and, even more so, to the Slavophile tradition. He puts forward the concept of integral knowledge, dreams of combining national truth with universal truth, mysticism with exact knowledge, Catholicism with Orthodoxy, calling to overcome the temptation of the West (“godless man”) and the temptation of the East (“inhuman deity”). A prophetic philosopher, inspired by the image of Sophia, created fundamental teachings about God-manhood, unity, and the justification of good. Died in 1900, he completes Russian philosophy of the 19th century. and anticipates her ascent, full of tragic vicissitudes, in the new century.
FLOOR AND TRAGEDY. Originally 20th century brought a further rise in Russian thought against the backdrop of the general flourishing of the culture of the “Silver Age”, which became “golden” in terms of the abundance of bright names and creative achievements for Russian philosophy. In the pre-storm situation of the collapse of the empire, consciousness worked intensely, in the existential shocks of wars and revolutions, at the cost of cruel suffering, unique experience was accumulated and comprehended, and that insight of truth came that cannot be found in any universities and academies. At the beginning of the century, a developed infrastructure was created in the form of religious and philosophical societies, magazines, and associations; collections were published, which especially excited the Vekhi society; The delights of the symbolists seemed alluring, among whom A. Bely, Vyach. Ivanov, D. S. Merezhkovsky worked with equal success in aesthetics, philosophy, and literature. The inimitable philosophical impressionism of V.V. Rozanov, who moved from an unsuccessful scientific style in the treatise “On Understanding” to a paradoxical and confessional way of expressing an elusive thought. The dominant trend is the evolution characteristic of many from Marxism to idealism and further to Orthodoxy as the spiritual foundation of national self-awareness. The followers of Vl. Solovyov were the brothers S.N. and E.N. Trubetskoy; the first to develop the doctrine of Logos; the second, who had an artistic nature, influenced by the music of Beethoven, ancient Russian icon painting, sophiology - the doctrine of the Absolute and summed it up in the confessional “Meaning of Life”, written in hungry Moscow in 1918. Personalists, or panpsychists, A.A. Kozlov and L.M. .Lopatin, under the influence of Leibniz's monadology in the interpretation of Teichmüller, created the concept of the subjective perception of the space-time continuum and the substantiality of the personality cognizing the world. The philosophy of law was substantiated by P.I. Novgorodtsev, who exposed the harmful influence of Marxism on Russian society in his Book “On the Social Ideal.” “The religious meaning of philosophy” was defended by I.A. Ilyin, who was considered the ideologist of the white movement; he wrote a number of brilliant works about Russia and Russian culture, in which he called for repentance and “the path of spiritual renewal.” The philosophy of L. Shestov is pre-existential, through the tragedy of existence and the horrors of the era, an individual striving for spiritual freedom, “on the scales of Job” realizing his union with God. S.L. Frank devoted his life to the creation of “living knowledge”, combining the theoretical power of European thought and the “philosophy of life” addressed to people. The doctrine of intuitionism in the harmony of ontological and epistemological aspects of being was thoroughly developed by N. O. Lossky. His son V.N. Lossky became a prominent theologian who examined the mystical theology of the Eastern and Western Churches. The concept of personality, closely related to the problem of the Absolute, understood as coinsidentia oppositorum (coincidence of opposites), and Christian historiosophy were developed by L.P. Karsavin. Christian Neoplatonism, denial of Western ratio, glorification of the divine Logos are present in the philosophy of V.F. Ern. Russian thought 1st half. 20th century is so varied and rich that it is impossible to list all the names, but the three most significant deserve mention. N.A. Berdyaev, a popular apologist in the West for the “philosophy of freedom”, who created a number of fascinating works on personalism, eschatological metaphysics, the meaning of creativity, inspired by the pathos of anthropodicy as the justification of man, in 1946 published the book “Russian Idea” in Paris, where he gave his interpretation a hot topic discussed since the time of Vl. Solovyov. S.N. Bulgakov underwent an evolution from Marxist economism to the Orthodox Church. His spiritual odyssey is instructive in many respects, and his varied creativity belongs to the apogee of Russian thought of the 20th century. The “non-evening light” was revealed in the truth of the Gospel, the search for the “City of God” led him as a prodigal son to the Father’s threshold, his sophiology and philosophy of the name caused a contradictory attitude, even to the point of church condemnation, which does not detract from the importance of Father Sergius Bulgakov for Russian philosophy. The creativity of Father P. Florensky is varied. His “Pillar and Ground of Truth” is dedicated to Orthodox theodicy. In the spirit of Christian Platonism, he strove for the universal embrace of existence and the identification of the spiritual fundamental principle in it. Truth is revealed in divine love, creativity is inspired by Sophia. The doctrine of consubstantiality connects ancient, Christian and modern European philosophy. Subtle linguistic observations, revealing the meaning of the iconostasis, the philosophy of symbol, and the outlined features of “concrete metaphysics” attract the attention of researchers to this day. During the Soviet period, another split occurred, separating the old traditions from communist titanism, which dreamed of a new society, a new man and even a new nature. Russian philosophy, however, did not disappear, although they sought to either destroy it or integrate it into Marxist ideology. It was divided into three directions: implicitly contained within the framework of official science (an example of this is the work of A.F. Losev, artificially squeezed into the framework of aesthetics), dissident (the witty exposure of A. A. Zinoviev) and emigrant, which preserved the intentions of pre-revolutionary philosophy and, having reached the West, enriched European thought and saved the reputation of the Russian one. Now, “after the break,” a complex process is taking place to restore lost unity, revive forgotten names and teachings, and create infrastructure for the future development of Russian philosophy.
HISTORIOGRAPHY. The historiography of Russian thought is extensive and varied, it includes a wide range of judgments - from excessive praise of existing or imagined merits to the complete denial of them. The first special study belongs to Archim. Gabriel Voskresensky (1840), who began counting from the Old Russian period and noted the influence of the Platonic tradition as a characteristic feature. Ya.N. Kolubovsky, who collected “Materials for the History of Philosophy in Russia,” spoke reservedly about its level. E.A. Bobrov was more optimistic. “The fate of Russian philosophy” was attempted to be clarified by M. Filippov, who believed that it could only be discussed with the advent of Westerners and Slavophiles. Many have written about the coincidence of Russian philosophy and literature. S.N. Bulgakov defined Russian philosophy as “life understanding”; Berdyaev saw great potential in her; O. G. Florovsky considered the “philosophy of integral knowledge”, which first arose on domestic soil; I. Ilyin derived her birth “from suffering”; B.P. Vysheslavtsev symptomatically called his work “Eternal in Russian Philosophy”; Ern thought it “essentially original”; Frank rejected "nationalist conceit"; Losev believed that Russian philosophy presents a “super-logical, super-systematic picture of philosophical trends.” E.S. Radlov and G.G. Shpet compiled essays on Russian philosophy; the first - with a moderate assessment of its merits, highlighting Vl. Solovyov, the second - with a sarcastic one, noting that the development of ideas in it is “impure, pre-scientific, primitive, un-Sophical.” Abroad, B.V. Yakovenko wrote about the “unoriginality of Russian philosophy,” S. Levitsky created popular essays based on the major works of V.V. Zenkovsky and N.O. Lossky. Soviet historiography, which tendentiously and selectively interpreted Russian philosophy from the standpoint of materialist dialectics, is represented by several multi-volume series and individual publications of limited significance; The post-Soviet one is just developing. In Western literature, Russian philosophy is assessed mainly in Eurocentrist terms, in Eastern literature - in relation to its models of philosophizing.
Literature:
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2. Filippov M. The fate of Russian philosophy. St. Petersburg, 1904;
3. Ivanov-Razumnik R.V. History of Russian social thought, vol. 1–2. St. Petersburg, 1907;
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