Russian philosophical thought. Its emergence and development trends. General characteristics of Russian philosophy. Russian philosophical thought has long developed within the framework of religious ideas.
ABSTRACT
Philosophical thought of Russia
1. Formation and development Russian philosophy.
An integral part of the world historical and philosophical process is the centuries-old history of philosophy in Russia.
The national philosophy, which has gone through an original path of development, reflected the cultural and historical development of the country. Originating later than in neighboring countries, domestic philosophical thought was strongly influenced first by Byzantine and ancient thought, then by Western European philosophy.
Domestic philosophical thought has some common features.
Firstly , domestic philosophy is closely connected with social and political activity, with artistic and religious creativity. Hence the journalistic nature of many philosophical works, the authors of which are public figures, writers, and scientists.
Secondly , Russian philosophy does not specifically develop epistemological issues, knowledge becomes the subject of study in connection with the problems of being - this is the ontologism of Russian philosophy.
Third , Special attention is given to the problem of human existence, in this regard, domestic thought is anthropocentric.
Fourth , Socio-historical problems are closely connected with the problem of man: the problem of the meaning of history, the place of Russia in world history. Russian philosophy is historiosophical.
Fifth , Russian philosophical thought is ethically oriented, as evidenced by the moral and practical nature of the problems it solves, attention is paid to inner world person. In general, domestic philosophical thought is heterogeneous, these features are not equally represented in the teachings of various thinkers.
It should be borne in mind that some researchers single out, within the framework of Russian philosophy, the original Russian philosophy, in fact, religious and mystical. According to A.F. Losev, "Russian original philosophy is an ongoing struggle between the Western European ratio and the Eastern Christian, concrete, divine-human Logos."
There are several periods in the history of Russian philosophical thought: the first is philosophical thought Ancient Rus' X - XVII centuries; the second is the philosophy of the Enlightenment (XVIII - early XIX centuries); the third - the development of original Russian philosophy (the second third of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century); the fourth is the post-October period (most of the 20th century).
With the adoption of Christianity in Rus' (988) pagan mythology begins to be supplanted by the Christian worldview, which contributes to the emergence of philosophy and determines its character. The first period in the history of Russian philosophical thought is characterized by the complete predominance of religious thought. However, the formula of medieval Western thought “philosophy is the servant of theology” is of little use in Rus' due to the underdevelopment of theology. For the formation of thought medieval Rus' patristics had a noticeable influence, especially the teachings of the representatives of the Cappadocian school: V. the Great, G. Nyssa, G. Nazianzus. Translation literature played an important role in the formation of Russian philosophical thought. Of great importance was the work of the Byzantine thinker John of Damascus (675 - 750) "The Source of Knowledge" (especially the first part of "Dialectics"). The popular "Shestodnev" by John the Exarch of Bulgaria is also a creative processing of the work of V. the Great. Wide use in Rus' received the collections "Bee", "Dioptra", "Explanatory Palea", "Izborniki" of 1073 and 1076. Thus, the foundations for the formation of ancient Russian philosophy were laid.
In the 11th century, the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", "The Word on Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion, and "Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh appeared. Of the works of the XII century, the creations of Cyril of Turov should be noted. Metropolitan Hilarion presents a peculiar philosophy of history. He distinguishes two periods of law and grace, the first preparatory, the second is the era of freedom. Having adopted Christianity, Rus' became the “people of God”, before which there is a great future.
The formation and development of domestic philosophical thought was not interrupted during the years of the Mongol yoke, and in the XV - XVII centuries philosophical thought is on the rise. At this time, the influence of Orthodox, Byzantine and Western thought on it is increasing. An important component of the national culture of this period is hesychasm.
One of the largest representatives of hesychasm is Gregory Palamas, a Byzantine mystic of the 14th century. Contrasting God and the world, hesychasm understood the world as uncreated energy. Faith in God must be supplemented with the comprehension of energy through mystical experience, the union of soul and energy. Hesychasm influenced the largest representative of the "nonpossessive" movement, Nil Sorsky (1433-1508) and the 16th-century philosopher Maxim Grek (1470-1556). The influence of hesychasm can also be traced in the subsequent development of Russian philosophical thought, in its inclination towards mystical-intuitive knowledge.
IN Russia XVI- In the 17th century, social and political thought also developed. First of all, this is the concept of Elder Philotheus "Moscow - the third Rome" (the first half of the 16th century). In accordance with it, two "Romes" ( Ancient Rome and Byzantium) fell without accepting Christianity or betraying it. Moscow, the third and last Rome, became the bearer of the true faith. Hence follows the messianic role of Moscow. In the 17th century, Moscow became a center of attraction for thinkers from the Slavic countries. Croatian Yu. Krizhanich (XVII century) put forward the idea of an original Slavic world, opposing other cultures. Thus, the foundations of philosophical culture were laid in Ancient Rus', although the original philosophy had not yet received a developed systematic form.
2. Russian philosophy XVII – XIX centuries
With the reforms of Peter I begins the second period in the history of Russian philosophy. There is a process of demarcation of philosophy and theology. Secular, primarily political thought is developing. Representatives of the "scientific team" of Peter (Feofan Prokopovich, V. Tatishchev and others) theoretically substantiated the reforms of the state and the church, anticipating the ideas of future "Westerners". By the middle of the 18th century, liberal (D.I. Fonvizin) and conservative (M.M. Shcherbatov) directions of socio-political thought were taking shape.
A significant event in the cultural life of Russia was the opening of Moscow University in 1755. M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765) took the most active part in its creation. As a naturalist, he made a great contribution to the development of science and the promotion of natural philosophy. basis natural phenomena the scientist considered matter, which he understood as elements and groups of elements - corpuscles. Everything is filled with matter, there is no void. Changes in things are the essence of the movement of matter. Lomonosov distinguishes three types of motion: translational, rotational and oscillatory. Considering matter to be eternal, M. V. Lomonosov formulates the law of conservation of matter: “If a little matter decreases somewhere, it will multiply elsewhere.” Nature thus does not need divine intervention. Despite the fact that M.V. Lomonosov highly appreciates the dignity of reason, he separates the world of reason from the world of faith, although they are in agreement ("Truth and faith are two sisters"). M.V. Lomonosov is a deist. His teaching marks the emergence of secular natural philosophy in Russia.
The problem of man is in the center of attention of the writer and public and political figure A.N. Radishcheva (1749-1802). Based on the ideas of the French enlighteners: the theory of the social contract, natural law, the priority of law, A.N. Radishchev criticizes autocracy and serfdom. In Siberian exile, he wrote a treatise On Man, His Mortality and Immortality (1792). Position A.N. Radishchev in the treatise is ambiguous. On the one hand, he explores the problem of the natural origin of man, his mortality, based on contemporary philosophical and scientific ideas, on the other hand, he recognizes the immortality of the soul, failing to materialistically explain the origin of "thinking ability". In this regard, A.N. Radishchev complements the materialistic teaching with the traditional religious and philosophical one.
Thus, to early XIX centuries, the main ideas of Western philosophy are assimilated, a number of areas of philosophical knowledge are formed. At the same time, the process of formation of the original Russian philosophy has not yet been completed. The decisive role was played by the German classical philosophy, first of all, the teachings of F. Schelling, later - G. Hegel, which penetrated into Russia in the first decades of the 19th century. It was the philosophy of F. Schelling that was one of constituent parts creative synthesis, as a result of which the third, most productive period in the history of Russian philosophy begins.
The third period is associated with the formation of the first philosophical currents in Russia: Westernizers and Slavophiles. The difference between them is primarily on the issue of ways historical development Russia: Westerners saw the future of Russia in following Western Europe, highly appreciated the activities of Peter I; Slavophiles, on the contrary, accused Peter of violating the organic development of Russia, which has a cultural identity. Domestic culture requires the creation of Orthodox philosophy. There are also differences on questions of ontology and the theory of knowledge, but in the 1930s and 1940s the divergence was not yet deep.
The “Philosophical Letters” by P.Ya. Chaadaev (1793-1856), which raised the question of Russia's place in history. P.Ya. Chaadaev is a religious thinker who believed that history is guided by Divine Providence. Leadership catholic church corresponds to providence, Western Europe has achieved great success in the implementation of Christian principles. P.Ya. Chaadaev is a Westerner in this respect. Russia is neither a dynamic West nor a sedentary East; it seems to have fallen out of world history, providence has abandoned it. Russia exists, as it were, in order to teach the world some serious lesson. Later P.Ya. Chaadaev changes his assessment of the historical role of Russia, but he formulated the first original theme of Russian philosophy.
Russian philosophy is a phenomenon of world philosophical thought. Its phenomenality lies in the fact that Russian philosophy developed exclusively independently, independently of European and world philosophy, was not influenced by numerous philosophical trends in the West - empiricism, rationalism, idealism, etc. At the same time, Russian philosophy is distinguished by depth, comprehensiveness, a rather specific range of researched problems, sometimes incomprehensible to the West.
The characteristic features of Russian philosophy are:
strong exposure to religious influence, especially Orthodoxy and paganism;
a specific form of expression of philosophical thoughts - artistic creativity, literary criticism, journalism, art, "Aesopian language" (which is explained by political lack of freedom and strict censorship);
integrity, the desire of almost all philosophers to deal not with a separate issue, but with the whole complex of topical problems;
big role problems of morality and ethics;
concreteness;
widespread among the masses, understandable to the common people.
The foundations of the subject of Russian philosophy were:
human problem;
cosmism (perception of the cosmos as a single integral organism);
problems of morality and ethics;
problems of choosing the historical path of Russia's development - between East and West (a purely specific problem of Russian philosophy);
the problem of power;
the problem of the state;
the problem of social justice (a significant layer of Russian philosophy is "impregnated" with this problem);
the problem of an ideal society;
problem of the future.
The following main stages of Russian philosophy can be distinguished:
the period of the birth of ancient Russian philosophy and early Christian philosophy of Rus';
period philosophy Tatar-Mongol yoke, origin, formation and development of the centralized Russian state (Moscow Rus and Russia);
18th century philosophy ;
19th century philosophy ;
Russian and Soviet philosophy of the XX century.
1. The period of the birth of ancient Russian philosophy and early Christian
philosophy of Rus' refers to the IX - XIII centuries. (corresponds to the era from the appearance Old Russian state - Kievan Rus before time feudal fragmentation and the Mongol-Tatar conquest).
The main themes of early Russian philosophy were:
moral and ethical values;
explanation of Christianity, attempts to connect it with paganism;
state;
Among the most prominent representatives of the philosophy of this period are:
Hilarion (the main work - "The Word of Law and Grace", which popularizes and analyzes Christianity, its role in the present and future of Rus');
Vladimir Monomakh (the main work is "Instruction", a kind of philosophical moral code, where teachings are given to descendants, problems of good and evil, courage, honesty, stamina, as well as other moral issues are analyzed);
Kliment Smolyatich (main work - "Epistle to Presbyter Thomas", main topic philosophy - problems of reason, knowledge);
Philip the Hermit (the main work is Lament, which touches on the problems of the relationship between the soul and the body, carnal (material) and spiritual (ideal).
2. The period of the struggle for liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the formation and development of the centralized Russian state (Moscow Rus'), both in history and in philosophy, falls on the XIII - XVII centuries.
The main themes characteristic of this period of philosophy were:
preservation of Russian spirituality;
Christianity;
struggle for liberation;
the structure of the state;
knowledge.
Notable philosophers of this period include:
Sergius of Radonezh (XIV century - philosopher-theologian, whose main ideals were the strength and power, universality and justice of Christianity; consolidation of the Russian people, overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke;
Philosophy (XVI century) - also dealt with issues of Christian theology, defended the idea of the continuity of Christianity ("Moscow - Third Rome") along the line of Rome - Constantinople - Moscow;
Maximilian the Greek (1475 - 1556) - defended moral values, advocated modesty, asceticism, was the ideologist of the monarchy and royal power, the main goals of which were caring for the people and justice;
Andrei Kurbsky (1528 - 1583) - was the ideologist of oppositional socio-political philosophy, advocated limiting the despotism of royal power, freedom, law, a class-representative monarchy, conducted an absentee polemic with Ivan the Terrible;
Nil Sorsky, Vassian Patrikeyev - advocated the reform of the Church, the eradication of church idleness, splendor, the approach of the Church to the people, were ileologists of the so-called movement of "non-possessors" (they fought against the "Josephites" - supporters of the preservation of the old church foundations);
Avvakum and Nikon - also fought for the renewal of the Church, but in an ideological sense; Nikon - for the reform of rituals and the elevation of the Church to the level of another type of power along with the state, Avvakum - for the preservation of the old rites;
Yuri Krizhanich (XVII century) - opposed scholasticism and its spread in Russian theology; firstly, he dealt with issues of epistemology (cognition); secondly, he put forward rational and experimental (empirical) knowledge; He saw God as the source of all things.
3. Russian philosophy of the XVIII century. includes two main stages in its development:
philosophy of the era of Peter's reforms
This includes the work of Feofan Prokopovich, V. N. Tatishchev, A. D. Kantemir. The main focus of their philosophy was socio-political: questions of the structure of the monarchy; imperial power, its divinity and inviolability; the rights of the emperor (to execute, to pardon, to appoint an heir himself and others); war and peace.
materialistic philosophy of the middle and second half of the 18th century.
The main representatives of the materialist trend were M. V. Lomonosov and A. N. Radishchev.
MV Lomonosov (1711 - 1765) in philosophy was a supporter of mechanistic materialism. He laid the materialistic tradition in Russian philosophy. Lomonosov also put forward an atomic ("corpuscular") theory of the structure of matter, according to which all around objects and matter as a whole consist of the smallest particles ("corpuscles", that is, atoms) - material monads.
The attitude of M. V. Lomonosov to God is deistic. On the one hand, he allowed the existence of God the Creator, but, on the other hand, he did not endow Him supernatural power and opportunities.
In the philosophy of Lomonosov, ethics, morality, morality are also given a great role.
A. N. Radishchev (1749 - 1802) stood on consistently materialistic positions. In addition to substantiating the materialistic principles of being, Radishchev paid great attention to socio-political philosophy. Her credo is the struggle against autocracy, for democracy, legal and spiritual freedom, the triumph of law.
4. Russian philosophy of the XIX century. included a number of directions: Decembrist; monarchical;
Western and Slavophile; revolutionary-democratic; atheistic; theological; philosophy of cosmism. These areas are discussed in more detail in question 58.
- 5. Russian (and Soviet) philosophy of the XX century. represented mainly by: the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism; philosophy of cosmism; natural science philosophy; philosophy of "Russian abroad".
- 16. Slavophiles and Westernizers. Unity and discord
Westerners: catch up with Europe, adopting culture, scientific achievements, political. and social device. Secularism, scientific character, independence of individuals.
Slavophiles: continue to develop as before (religion - Orthodoxy, absolutism - self-zherzhavie, community - nationality). Russia has its own way.
WESTERNING (EUROPEANITY)
The current of Russian social thought in the 40-60s of the 19th century, opposing the ideology of Slavophilism. Ideology 3. was formed in the circles of Stankevich (P. V. Annenkov, Bakunin, Belinsky, V. P. Botkin, Granovsky, etc.) and Herzen - N. P. Ogarev. The social composition of representatives of 3. is very diverse: nobles, merchants, raznochintsy, scientists, writers, journalists. 3., uniting a fairly wide range of thinkers, there has never been a single school formed on a clear, generally accepted system of views.
TO common features 3. ideology should include:
rejection of feudal serfdom in the economy, politics and culture;
the demand for socio-economic reforms along the Western lines;
suspicious attitude towards revolutionary methods of resolving social contradictions (a peaceful way - through education and propaganda to form public opinion and force the monarchy to bourgeois reforms);
high appreciation of the transformations of Peter I,
predominantly secular nature of philosophy.
SLAVOPHILISM (SLAVOY-LOVE)
Representatives of the C: "senior" Slavophiles - Khomyakov, I. V. Kireevsky, K. S. Aksakov, Samarin; "younger" - I. S. Aksakov, A. I. Koshelev, P. V. Kireevsky, D. A. Valuev, F. V. Chizhov and others; "late" Slavophiles - Danilevsky, Strakhov, to some extent, Leontiev. You can select a group of so-called. right (official) Slavophiles - MP Pogodin and SP. Shevyrev - who used the ideas of S. in order to approve official policy and ecclesiastical Russian Empire. Main magazines: "Moskvityanin", "Russian conversation". Formally, the emergence of S. and Westernism contributed to the discussion about the "Philosophical Letters" (1829-1831) Chaadaev, who set the theme - Russia and Europe. The essence of S. comes down to the postulation of the identity of Russia, its spiritual and social structure, which makes it possible to speak of its special (messianic) role in world history. Originality is seen in those aspects of Russian reality that have succumbed least of all to change since the transformation of Peter I. The originality of Russia is fixed in the nature of Christianity (Orthodoxy came to Rus' in its pure, original form from Byzantium, and not from the West, where the teachings of Christ were refracted by the rationalism of theologians and philosophers), in catholicity (its two aspects: firstly, communal land ownership and arteliya and, secondly, in the epistemology of "life-knowledge" (Khomyakov), when a person cognizes the world and God not through reason, but through the integrity of the spirit (mind, feelings and will). The West did not suit S. with its one-sided rationalism and state absolutism. Russia, on the other hand, had protection from this in the form of a well-known triad: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality. The development of these qualities gives Russia a chance to avoid the social cataclysms of the West, develop its own way of overcoming internal troubles, and become the spiritual and political center of the Slavs.
Criticized crepe. law (un-Christian) and capitalism (for rationalism, independence of people). For the community.
13. Specificity of Russian philosophical thought.
Russian philosophy has a thousand years of existence, ten centuries - from the tenth to the twentieth.
The development of world philosophy is a single process, the laws of which are determined by the course of history and are associated with the identification of new problems that require philosophical reflection.
The historical and cultural development of Russia has always been unpredictable, did not fit into traditional patterns and models: very often long periods of decline and stagnation in its history were replaced by periods of economic, political and cultural prosperity.
This was reflected in the development of philosophy.
On the development of Russian socio-philosophical thought .(S. Frank's article "The Essence and Leading Motives of Russian Philosophy", published for the first time in Germany in 1925.):
Russian philosophy is "super-scientific intuitive teaching and worldview".
Therefore, Russian philosophy is fiction, imbued with a deep philosophical perception of life (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Tyutchev, Gogol), this is also a freely written article on a philosophical topic,
Truth can be comprehended completely optionally in "logical connections and a nice systematicity."
Frank said directly: "Philosophy of history and social philosophy ... - these are the main themes of Russian philosophy."
Features of the national identity of Russian philosophical thought:
Interest in society and the person in it is organically inherent in Russian philosophy, moreover, in the very essence of the people's worldview.
In Russian philosophy, neither abstract-logical constructions nor individualism have been widely developed.
A very important distinguishing feature of Russian philosophy is the promotion of the moral assessment of people, their deeds, as well as events, including social and political ones, to the fore.
It is typical for Russian thinkers that in addition to the concept of "truth", which exists in all languages, they also use such an untranslatable word as "truth". It contains the secret and meaning of national Russian philosophy.
The Russian thinker is always looking for the "truth". After all, "truth" is not only truth, a theoretically correct image of the world. "Truth" is the moral foundations of life, it is the spiritual essence of being. "Truth" is sought not for the sake of abstract knowledge, but in order to "transform the world, purify and be saved."
The search for "truth-truth" also determined the forms in which Russian philosophical thought was denounced. It is always a dispute, a dialogue. In them, the "truth-truth" was born. Indeed, non-possessors and Freemasons, materialists, Pushkin and Chaadaev, Slavophiles and Westernizers, Marxists and Narodniks - there was no end to the disputes in Russian socio-philosophical thought.
Features of Russian philosophy
The main feature of Russian philosophy is the religious and mystical nature, the interweaving and opposition of the pagan and Christian origins of Russian culture.
Russian philosophy, unlike Western European philosophy, did not have a pre-Christian period and, therefore, could not rely on the cultural heritage of antiquity. It evolved in pagan forms. (Orientation towards Western culture was determined only with the adoption of Christianity by Russia).
The ancient pagan admiration for nature, attachment to the current material existence, combined with the Christian sense of a higher (other) world, with the desire for direct union with God.
The same was observed in the understanding of man. Russian man: on the one hand, directly belongs to material existence; on the other, directly, spiritually connected with God (rooted in eternal, spiritual being).
The consciousness of the inevitability of death prompted us to think about the “meaning” of life, about what is important and essential in it, about what will happen “after death” or “after life”.
Russian Philosophy is the desire of man, as a rational, thinking being, to overcome his finiteness, his limitations and mortality, his imperfection, and to comprehend the absolute, "divine", perfect, eternal and infinite.
In Russia, unlike the advanced European countries, the emergence of a religion-free philosophy is 200-300 years late. Philosophy penetrated into Russian educational institutions only in the 17th century, when the West already had full-blooded philosophical systems.
The separation of philosophy from religion and its establishment as a theoretical science began in the 18th century, thanks to the scientific achievements of M. V. Lomonosov (1711-1765), the founder of the materialistic tradition in Russian philosophy. Russian philosophy separated from religion in 1755, when Moscow University opened, where the secular teaching of philosophy began.
As a second distinguishing feature Russian philosophy, it is necessary to note the specifics of the Russian style of philosophizing.
Christianity came to Rus' from Byzantium in its Eastern version, in the form of Orthodoxy. (This act showed a desire to maintain a certain distance from Western Europe from its cultural and religious traditions).
For several centuries, Russia was fenced off from Western European countries by religious intolerance between the Western and Eastern churches.
The deepening of ties with the West was also hampered by almost 300 years of Tatar-Mongolian yoke, its negative consequences.
As a result, Russian thought until the 17th century. developed in a closed fashion.
In Western philosophy since the 17th century. the purely rationalistic, "scientific" method of presentation became dominant, reaching its apotheosis among the representatives of German classical philosophy.
In Russian philosophy, the rationalistic method has never been the main one, moreover, for many thinkers it seemed to be false, making it impossible to get to the bottom of the main philosophical problems.
In Russian philosophy, the emotional-figurative, artistic style of philosophizing turned out to be leading, giving preference to vivid artistic images, intuitive insights, rather than strict logical reasoning.
Third, a feature of Russian philosophy:
Russian philosophy is more characterized by communal consciousness, catholicity, "sophia" ("word-wisdom" - deed"), which involves the formulation of quite earthly, human questions.
In Russia, philosophy, detached from life, closed in speculative constructions, could not count on success.
Therefore, it was in Russia - earlier than anywhere else - that philosophy was subordinated to the solution of practical problems that confronted society.
Comparison of the conditions of Russian life with the life of the advanced European countries gave rise in our philosophy to one of the most acute problems of social thought - the relationship "Russia - the West".
Contrasting "Russia - West". The search for Russian philosophical thought took place in the confrontation of two directions: 1) Slavophiles , 2)Westerners .Slavophiles focused attention on the originality of Russian thought and associated this originality with the unique originality of Russian spiritual life. Westerners expressed the desire to include Russia in the process of development of Western (European) culture. They believed that since Russia embarked on the path of development later than other European countries, it should learn from the West.
Russian philosophers persistently overcame the "inferiority complex" - a false, belief about the lack of independence of Russian philosophical thought, defended its originality.
Russian philosophy - not a distant page of the distant past, which is already absorbed by the flow of time. This philosophy is a living thought. We find in the works of Illarion of Kiev, Lomonosov, Slavophiles and Westerners, in the philosophical searches of F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy, in the philosophical and historical concept of N. Ya. Danilevsky, in the socio-philosophical views of I. A. Ilyin, in the philosophical work of E. V. Ilyenkov answers to many modern questions.
Philosophy - this is what distinguishes a person from an animal. Animals do not philosophize. Like man, they are mortal, their idea of the world is also imperfect, but they are not aware of this. They are unaware of their existence and their finiteness. The ability to realize one's existence, one's finiteness and one's imperfection is the basis and source of Russian philosophy.
Russian philosophy is a phenomenon of world philosophical thought. Its phenomenality lies in the fact that Russian philosophy developed exclusively independently, independently of European and world philosophy, was not influenced by numerous Western philosophical trends - empiricism, rationalism, idealism, etc. At the same time, Russian philosophy is distinguished by depth, comprehensiveness, a rather specific circle researched problems, sometimes incomprehensible to the West.
The characteristic features of Russian philosophy are:
strong exposure to religious influence, especially Orthodoxy and paganism;
a specific form of expression of philosophical thoughts - artistic creativity, literary criticism, journalism, art, "Aesopian language" (which is explained by political lack of freedom and strict censorship);
integrity, the desire of almost all philosophers to deal not with a separate issue, but with the whole complex of topical problems;
the big role of problems of morality and ethics;
concreteness;
widespread among the masses, understandable to the common people.
The foundations of the subject of Russian philosophy were:
human problem;
cosmism (perception of the cosmos as a single integral organism);
problems of morality and ethics;
problems of choosing the historical path of Russia's development - between East and West (a purely specific problem of Russian philosophy);
the problem of power;
the problem of the state;
the problem of social justice (a significant layer of Russian philosophy is "impregnated" with this problem);
the problem of an ideal society;
problem of the future.
The following main stages of Russian philosophy can be distinguished:
the period of the birth of ancient Russian philosophy and early Christian philosophy of Rus';
the philosophy of the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the origin, formation and development of the centralized Russian state (Moscow Rus and Russia);
philosophy of the 18th century;
philosophy of the 19th century;
Russian and Soviet philosophy of the XX century.
1. The period of the birth of ancient Russian philosophy and early Christian
philosophy of Rus' refers to the IX - XIII centuries. (corresponds to the era from the emergence of the Old Russian state - Kievan Rus to the time of feudal fragmentation and the Mongol-Tatar conquest).
The main themes of early Russian philosophy were:
moral and ethical values;
explanation of Christianity, attempts to connect it with paganism;
state;
Among the most prominent representatives of the philosophy of this period are:
Hilarion (the main work - "The Word of Law and Grace", which popularizes and analyzes Christianity, its role in the present and future of Rus');
Vladimir Monomakh (the main work is "Instruction", a kind of philosophical moral code, where teachings are given to descendants, problems of good and evil, courage, honesty, stamina, as well as other moral issues are analyzed);
Kliment Smolyatich (the main work is "The Epistle to Presbyter Thomas", the main theme of philosophy is the problems of reason, knowledge);
Philip the Hermit (the main work is Lament, which touches on the problems of the relationship between the soul and the body, carnal (material) and spiritual (ideal).
2. The period of the struggle for liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the formationand development of a centralized Russian state (Moscow Rus) both in history and in philosophy, it falls on the XIII - XVII centuries.
The main themes characteristic of this period of philosophy were:
preservation of Russian spirituality;
Christianity;
struggle for liberation;
the structure of the state;
knowledge.
Notable philosophers of this period include:
Sergius of Radonezh (XIV century - philosopher-theologian, whose main ideals were the strength and power, universality and justice of Christianity; consolidation of the Russian people, overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke;
Philosophy (XVI century) - also dealt with issues of Christian theology, defended the idea of the continuity of Christianity ("Moscow - Third Rome") along the line of Rome - Constantinople - Moscow;
Maximilian the Greek (1475 - 1556) - defended moral values, advocated modesty, asceticism, was the ideologist of the monarchy and royal power, the main goals of which were caring for the people and justice;
Andrei Kurbsky (1528 - 1583) - was the ideologist of oppositional socio-political philosophy, advocated limiting the despotism of royal power, freedom, law, a class-representative monarchy, conducted an absentee polemic with Ivan the Terrible;
Nil Sorsky, Vassian Patrikeyev - advocated the reform of the Church, the eradication of church idleness, splendor, the approach of the Church to the people, were ileologists of the so-called movement of "non-possessors" (they fought against the "Josephites" - supporters of the preservation of the old church foundations);
Avvakum and Nikon - also fought for the renewal of the Church, but in an ideological sense; Nikon - for the reform of rituals and the elevation of the Church to the level of another type of power along with the state, Avvakum - for the preservation of the old rites;
Yuri Krizhanich (XVII century) - opposed scholasticism and its spread in Russian theology; firstly, he dealt with issues of epistemology (cognition); secondly, he put forward rational and experimental (empirical) knowledge; He saw God as the source of all things.
3. Russian philosophyXVIII V. includes two main stages in its development:
philosophy of the era of Peter's reforms
This includes the work of Feofan Prokopovich, V.N. Tatishcheva, A.D. Cantemir. The main focus of their philosophy was socio-political: questions of the structure of the monarchy; imperial power, its divinity and inviolability; the rights of the emperor (to execute, to pardon, to appoint an heir himself and others); war and peace.
materialistic philosophy of the middle and second half of the 18th century.
The main representatives of the materialistic trend were M.V. Lomonosov, A.N. Radishchev.
M.V. Lomonosov (1711 - 1765) in philosophy was a supporter of mechanistic materialism. He laid the materialistic tradition in Russian philosophy. Lomonosov also put forward an atomic ("corpuscular") theory of the structure of matter, according to which all around objects and matter as a whole consist of the smallest particles ("corpuscles", that is, atoms) - material monads.
The attitude of M.V. Lomonosov to God - deistic. On the one hand, he admitted the existence of a Creator God, but, on the other hand, he did not endow Him with supernatural power and capabilities.
In the philosophy of Lomonosov, ethics, morality, morality are also given a great role.
A.N. stood on consistently materialistic positions. Radishchev (1749 - 1802). In addition to substantiating the materialistic principles of being, Radishchev paid great attention to socio-political philosophy. Her credo is the struggle against autocracy, for democracy, legal and spiritual freedom, the triumph of law.
4. Russian philosophyXIX V. included a number of directions: Decembrist; monarchical;
Western and Slavophile; revolutionary-democratic; atheistic; theological; the philosophy of cosmism. These areas are discussed in more detail in question 58.
5. Russian (and Soviet) philosophyXXV. represented mainly by: the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism; philosophy of cosmism; natural science philosophy; philosophy of "Russian abroad".
Russian philosophical thought has long developed within the framework of religious ideas. Metropolitan Hilarion's "Sermon on Law and Grace" (11th century) was the first known monument of religious and philosophical thought. This work is addressed to the future of Rus'. The theme of the "Word" is the theme of the equal rights of peoples, sharply opposed to the medieval theories of God's election of only one people, theories of a universal empire or universal church. Hilarion points out that by the Gospel and baptism God "saved all peoples", glorifies the Russian people among the peoples of the whole world and sharply polemicizes with the doctrine of the exclusive right to "God's election" of only one people.
In the 15-16 centuries, the rise of the Russian state with its center in Moscow was facilitated by a theory that proclaimed Moscow the third Rome, according to which the entire history of Christianity was reduced to the history of three Romes - the first, destroyed by Catholicism, the second Constantinople, which fell victim to Uniatism, and the third Moscow, which was declared inaccessible to heresy stronghold of Orthodoxy. Thus, the task of creating the Russian state became world-historical, put in connection with the task of saving all mankind, the redemptive mission of Christianity. This theory arose at the end of the 15th century (Metropolitan Zosima, 1492), and it was substantiated by Philotheus, an elder of the Pskov monastery. In a letter to the Grand Duke Vasily III Philotheus wrote: "Keep and listen, pious king, to the fact that all the Christian kingdoms have converged into one of yours, that two Romes have fallen, and the third stands, but there will be no fourth." (// Monuments of literature of Ancient Rus': The end of the XV - the first half of the XVI century. M., 1984. S. 441).
Until the 19th century, secular philosophizing in Russia was a sporadic phenomenon: individual philosophizing minds (for example, M.V. Lomonosov, G.S. Skovoroda, A.N. rain.
Actually, Russian philosophy as a cultural phenomenon arose and developed only in the 19th century.
Compared with the philosophy of other European countries, Russian philosophy is a later phenomenon. This, in particular, is due to the fact that Russia joined the world channel of culture and civilization later than other peoples of Europe. Only in early XVIII V. Peter I opened a "window" to Europe. After long time Russia digested various influences from Holland, Germany, France, England, and only in the 19th century did it begin to free itself from foreign influence and spoke with its own voice, became completely independent. Russian poetry appeared (A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov), prose (Gogol, Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy), music (Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rachmaninov, Scriabin), painting (Repin, Surikov, Vasnetsov ). Great scientists appeared (N. I. Lobachevsky, D. I. Mendeleev), inventors (Yablochkov, A. S. Popov). And it all appeared in the 19th century. If we take specifically the philosophy of Russia, then in this area there were no outstanding successes, as in science or in art. For almost the entire 19th century, Russian philosophers did not speak with their own voice, but tried to reproduce various Western philosophical concepts and teachings, mainly Germans. There was an adoration for Hegel, a fascination with Schopenhauer...
In general, Russian philosophy of the pre-October period was characterized by human-centrism or ethicocentrism. She discussed issues human being, life and human relationships, by what standards a person should live. This is her strength and weakness at the same time. The weakness is that its subject was limited (remember: philosophy consists of three parts: the doctrine of the world; the doctrine of man and society; and the doctrine of various forms-methods of human activity).
The strength, the value of Russian philosophy is that it built its ideas about man and society on the basis of literary criticism, analysis of artistic culture, literature, painting, music, i.e. Russian artistic culture was the empirical basis of Russian philosophy. This is her main merit. Western philosophy has focused primarily on natural Sciences, and Russian philosophy - on Russian literature, on the analysis of situations, images that Russian artistic culture gave. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, two titans of Russian culture, were philosophizing writers, and their literary creations provided food for thought for many philosophers.
The main discussions unfolded between materialists and idealists, Slavophiles and Westernizers.
It must be borne in mind that in tsarist Russia the church was not separated from the state and the law of God was taught as compulsory in all gymnasiums and schools. The rejection of religion for a Russian person was tantamount to a moral feat. Therefore, few dared openly break with religion and the church. Nevertheless, in nineteenth-century Russian philosophy, science-oriented materialism became a powerful mental movement. V. G. Belinsky, A. I. Herzen, N. A. Dobrolyubov, N. G. Chernyshevsky, D. I. Pisarev, G. V. Plekhanov are the pillars of Russian materialism.
Nevertheless, state support for religion and the church has done its job. In philosophy, the religious-idealistic direction prevailed, that is, there were much more idealist philosophers than materialist philosophers. These are P. Ya. Chaadaev, and Slavophiles, and V.S. Solovyov, and N. A. Berdyaev, and many others.
It is necessary to mention one more philosophical direction, very peculiar, non-traditional. This cosmism (N. F. Fedorov, N. A. Umov, K. E. Tsiolkovsky, V. I. Vernadsky, A. L. Chizhevsky).
These are the general considerations concerning Russian philosophy of the 19th and first decades of the 20th centuries.
Westernizers and Slavophiles
30s - 40s XIX century were marked by a discussion between Westerners and Slavophiles . The dispute is about the ways of Russia's development, about whether Russia should develop as an original country with its own culture, or should it absorb the achievements of European culture and focus on Western values. In this dispute, both sides were right and wrong. Of course, Russia must preserve its originality, there should not be a common "standard". But the fear of the Slavophiles that Russia will lose its peculiarity is not justified. On the other hand, Westerners absolutized the moment that Russia is part of humanity and should be like everyone else. Imitation of Western models is not good in all cases. This is one of the shortcomings of the Westerners' position. The dispute between Slavophiles and Westernizers is historically resolved by a synthesis of both approaches. Slavophiles were I.V. Kireevsky, A. S. Khomyakov, Aksakov brothers; Westerners - P.Ya. Chaadaev, V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen.
Differences between the Slavophiles and the Westernizers were also in their views on the relationship between collectivity and individuality. The Slavophils represented the people as an organism, as a single being. For them, every Russian is a part of the people and must subordinate his interests and desires to the interests of the people. The Slavophiles were then replaced by populists. The Slavophils preached collectivism, communal life, Orthodox ideology, which should underlie the national life of Russian society. This eventually resulted in the Bolshevik doctrine. There, too, collectivism was put in the first place. Everything should be shared. And the Westerners were individualistic. They argued that Russian society should move towards the development of liberal values.
P.Ya. Chaadaev
The first Westerner, Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev (1794-1856), subjected the social system of Russia to crushing criticism, arguing that the Russians had not made any contribution to the development of mankind. The tsar declared Chaadaev crazy and for 7 years the philosopher was observed by a psychiatrist. (Remember: Chaadaev was friends with our great poet Pushkin was not just friends, but dedicated his poems to him and wrote poetic messages). Chaadaev's first philosophical letter, published in 1836, contained an extravagant interpretation public life that time. Chaadaev absolutized its shortcomings. "About us," he wrote in the first philosophical writing- one can say that we constitute, as it were, an exception among the peoples. We belong to those of them, which, as it were, do not enter integral part into humanity, but exist only to teach a great lesson to the world. And, of course, the instruction that we are destined to give will not pass without a trace, but who knows the day when we will find ourselves among humanity, and who will calculate the disasters that we experience before the fulfillment of our destinies? ”He proposed changing Orthodoxy to Catholicism , believing that Catholicism brings culture and progress ... In many ways, Chaadaev was right - at that time, Russia still did not really give the world anything. Until the 19th century, it really did not show itself on the world stage, except in the military field. At the end of his life, Chaadaev softened his position.
