He is a representative of Russian existentialism. Basic ideas and representatives of existentialism

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In the process of socialization, a person is formed as...

Personality

Individuality citizen

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The central problem in modern philosophy is...

Development of the scientific method

The question of the relationship between faith and reason

Proof of the absence of a center in the Universe, the dialectic of absolute and relative truth

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Representatives of philosophical neorealism include...

B. Russell

A. Schopenhauer

E. Husserl K. Jung

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Topic: Ancient philosophy

The focus of ancient Greek natural philosophy is the question of (about) ...

Initially

The relationship between God and the world of human essence

relationship between nature and society

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The religious doctrine of history as the fulfillment of Divine destiny is called...

Providentialism

Theocentrism

Mysticism soteriologism

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Topic: German classical philosophy

A characteristic feature of German classical philosophy is...

Anthroposociocentrism

Irrationalism

Materialism theocentrism

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Topic: Domestic philosophy

The most prominent representative of Russian religious existentialism is the philosopher...

ON THE. Berdyaev

A.S. Khomyakov

V.S. Solovyov N.F. Fedorov

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Topic: Pictures of the world

The picture of the world determines...

Way of perceiving the world

23.10.12 index14.php.htm

Lack of causation

Going beyond the boundaries of consciousness intuitive idea

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Topic: Subject of philosophy

The subject of philosophy is...

Universal

Unit karma

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Topic: The structure of philosophy

A doctrine that recognizes reason as the source of universal and necessary truths is...

Rationalism

Empiricism

Intuitionism irrationalism

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Topic: Functions of philosophy

The methodological functions of philosophy include the _______ function.

Heuristic

Humanistic

Social cultural and educational

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Topic: Concepts of existence

The ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosophers identified being with...

Space

An ideal world

Objective reality by man

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One-dimensionality, asymmetry and irreversibility characterize such an attribute of matter as...

Space

Systematic movement

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Topic: Dialectics of existence

Dialectics

Metaphysics

Teleology ontology

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Topic: Systematicity of existence

Essence

Phenomenon

Matter by atom

Educational institution: Siberian State Geodetic Academy Specialty: 080502.65 - Economics and enterprise management (by industry)

Group: EM-31 Discipline: Philosophy

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Start of testing: 2012-10-10 13:01:22 End of testing: 2012-10-10 13:47:37 Duration of testing: 46 min. Test tasks: 30 Number of correctly completed tasks: 22

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Topic: Scientific and non-scientific knowledge

The main criteria of scientific knowledge are...

Objectivity

Systematicity

Subjectivity is commonplace

The main criteria for scientific character are objectivity and consistency. A characteristic feature of scientific knowledge is objectivity, which records the coincidence of knowledge with its object. The latter is impossible without a constructive-critical and self-critical attitude of the subject to reality and to himself.

An essential feature of scientific knowledge is its systematic nature, that is, the body of knowledge put in order on the basis of certain theoretical principles, which unite individual knowledge into an integral organic system.

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Topic: Methods and forms of scientific knowledge

A purposeful method of studying phenomena in precisely fixed conditions of their occurrence, which can be recreated and controlled by the researcher himself, is called ...

Idealization experiment

By observation by analogy

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Topic: Science and technology

The period of the birth of technical sciences is...

Second half of the 15th century – 70s. 19th century

XI – XII centuries

Mid-18th century, second half of the 20th century

The period from the second half of the 15th century to the 70s. The 19th century is characterized by the fact that scientific knowledge begins to be used to solve practical problems. At the intersection of production and natural science, scientific technical knowledge arises, designed to directly serve production. The principles and methods of obtaining and constructing scientific technical knowledge are formed. This is the period of the emergence of machine technology, associated with the formation of the capitalist mode of production.

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Topic: Development of science

An approach to the problem of the development of scientific knowledge, which asserts that the main driving forces of the development of science are in factors external to science (historical context, socio-economic conditions, etc.) is called ...

Externalism

Machism

Internalism positivism

An approach to the problem of the development of scientific knowledge that asserts that the main driving forces of the development of science are in factors external to science (historical context, socio-economic conditions, etc.) is called externalism.

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Topic: Systematicity of existence

The idea of ​​the universal connection and causality of phenomena is called...

Determinism

Materialism

Teleologism realism

The idea of ​​the mutual connection between the conditionality of phenomena is determinism (lat. determinatio - I determine). Determinism, as a doctrine of objective, natural relationships, is based on the existence of causality, that is, such a connection of phenomena in which one thing (cause), under certain conditions, necessarily gives rise to others (effect).

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Topic: Concepts of existence

The section of philosophy that considers being, existence is called...

Ontology

Epistemology

Anthropology and axiology

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Topic: Dialectics of existence

The doctrine of the most general natural connections and development of being is called...

Dialectics

Metaphysics

Teleology ontology

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Topic: Movement, space, time

The ability of a complex system to modify its structure is called...

Self-organization

Self-propulsion

Causal energy

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Topic: Man, individual, personality

The process of transforming the results of human activity into something that does not depend on him and dominates him is called...

Alienation

Production

Socialization humanization

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Topic: Man and culture

Man as the creator of culture is the focus of philosophy...

Renaissance

Antiquity

Middle Ages Enlightenment

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Topic: Values ​​and meaning of human life

The moral center of the individual is...

Will patriotism

The specificity of the philosophical approach is that a person is considered as a being striving for improvement. The peculiarity of man is the discrepancy between his biological and spiritual nature, as a result of which his essence is in constant development. Being an “incomplete” being, he acts in accordance with the ideal, with the idea of ​​​​what he should be, what is the perfect method or result of activity, an ideal model of behavior or an exemplary product.

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Topic: Domestic philosophy

The embodiment of the idea of ​​Russian identity, which combines a way of life and a set of moral standards built on the principles of Orthodoxy, autocracy and community, is, according to Slavophiles, the concept...

Conciliarity

Communism of the "third Rome"

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Topic: Modern Western philosophy

The main features of the irrationalist trend in modern Western philosophy include...

Skeptical attitude towards scientific achievements

Recognition of the value of scientific knowledge

Critical discussion of any issue, verification of the truth of knowledge using a posteriori data

I. Kant sees the positive content of metaphysical ideas (supernatural entities) in the fact that they are objects not of theoretical reason (scientific knowledge), but of practical reason. The metaphysical ideas of the soul, the world and God are internally contradictory; they can neither be proven nor disproved, since the mind, trying to comprehend them, falls into contradictions (antinomies). The concepts of the absolute and the infinite are applicable only to the world of noumena, and not to phenomena, where there is only the transitory and the finite. Thus, metaphysical ideas have not a constitutive, but a regulative application (in the sphere of practical actions, human behavior), stimulating the mind to endless improvement. These ideas, being objects of faith and expressing unconditional goals, carry a value meaning and are necessary for the affirmation of the unconditional dignity and freedom of the individual.

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Topic: Philosophy of Modern Times

As a truly scientific method of cognition, F. Bacon claims ...

Induction

Deduction

Enumeration axiomatic method

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Topic: Philosophy of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

The philosophical doctrine that identifies God and the world is called...

Pantheism creationism

EXISTENTIALISM IN RUSSIA ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CREATIVITY OF F.M. DOSTOEVSKY

Golysheva Ksenia Viktorovna

Gabidullina Regina Ramilevna

2nd year student, group 221, Faculty of Medicine, Org State Medical University, Russian Federation, Orenburg

E-mail:

Vorobyov Dmitry Olegovich

scientific supervisor, assistant at the Department of Philosophy of Orenburg State Medical University, Russian Federation, Orenburg

E-mail: dratsolonchack@ mail. ru

Existentialism, or “philosophy of existence” is a direction in philosophy that formed in the 19th century. This trend became most pronounced in Europe during the First World War. Then human existence was subjected to tragedy and catastrophe, which was reflected in ideas about the further existence of society and man as a whole. Existentialism focuses its attention on the uniqueness of human existence, and puts emphasis on man overcoming his own essence. At the beginning of the First World War, existentialism appeared in Russia. Further, this direction found itself in European countries.

This article was written with the aim of considering the history of the development of existentialism in Russia, and to analyze for this purpose the works of F.M. Dostoevsky. The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that this direction in philosophy can still be traced, and, especially, is acutely felt in the conditions of the crisis and unstable political situation in the country today. The following tasks are also noted, which will be covered in our article:

· Is there such a movement as existentialism in Russia?

· What problems does this philosophical trend raise?

· Connection between the creativity of F.M. Dostoevsky with Western existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophical movement that also took place in Russian philosophy. Its most prominent representatives were N. Berdyaev and L. Shestov. Russian existentialism was formed in conditions of growing social and spiritual crisis in the country. Common features characteristic of existentialism in Russia are its religious overtones, personalism, anti-rationalism, the struggle for freedom of choice and existence, etc.

Therefore, it must be said that existentialism arose in Russia as a self-evident phenomenon. The crises that developed into the First World War gave rise to philosophical thought about the future of human existence.

Berdyaev Nikolai Aleksandrovich is one of the first representatives of Russian existentialism, he outlined his views in his works: “Philosophy of Freedom”, “The Meaning of History”, “Philosophy of Inequality”, etc. He believed that existence filled with meaning is existence in truth, which is achievable by us on the paths of salvation or creativity. Creativity, namely the inherent human ability to do it, is divine and this is where its godlikeness lies.

The subject of existence is the personality as a qualitatively unique spiritual energy and spiritual activity - the center of creative energy. Personality, as N.A. believed. Berdyaev, is the unity of two natures - Divine and Human. Society, according to N.A. Berdyaev, is the dominance of the collective, where the position of a person is mediated by impersonal norms and laws, the relationship of a person to a person is determined through the relationship of a person to the collective.

Another representative of the existential-personalistic direction is L.I. Shestov. Existential philosophy, according to L.I. Shestov, this is a philosophy of life combined with a philosophy of faith or a philosophy of the absurd. At the center of existential philosophy L.I. Shestov is a man and his life. In this regard, he considered the main goal of philosophy to be the identification of the foundations of this life. The main role is played by the idea of ​​the orderliness of the world, the action of some “objective” laws in it that act as “irresistible”, thereby fettering a person. The focus of philosophy is L.I. Shestov is individual human existence. The path to personal salvation for a person L.I. Shestov considers it in creativity, and later in religion. It is Revelation that leads to real truth and freedom.

It turns out that existentialism in its early form arose on the eve of the 1st World War in Russia, after the war in Germany and during the 2nd World War in France. We can conclude that Russia had earlier embarked on the path of realizing the uniqueness of human existence.

The main place in the philosophy of existentialism is occupied by a lonely person with his split consciousness. Existentialist philosophy expresses the opinion of certain circles of the “elite”, which was concerned with the problems of culture, its development in a difficult age, saw a desire to explain the reasons for the unstable position of the “common man” in society, and revealed a protest against inattention to human suffering

The main characteristics of being are closedness and openness. The task of philosophy is to deal only with questions of human existence. Life is deeply irrational in its essence; suffering always prevails in it. Fear is a very important and necessary concept in the philosophy of existentialism. Troubles always await a person. Under the false slogan “for each other,” people harm each other.

Existentialism tells us that a person lives by emotions: he reacts to everything that surrounds him not logically, but first emotionally. The problem of freedom has a large place in this direction of philosophy, it is defined as a person’s choice of his own path: a person is the path he chooses for his life. Freedom matters in existentialism (for example, in J.P. Sartre) in the spirit of complete indeterminism, i.e. without any causal relationship. Because of this, the term freedom means: the independence of the present time from the past, and the future from the present.

Modern existentialism is unthinkable without a sense of crisis, loss, hopelessness. Existentialists find a way out of the crisis in the individual path of a person, in limiting communication to a small circle of the spiritual elite. The religious part of the existentialists seeks to overcome the problem of the meaninglessness of their existence in communication with God.

Existentialism - everything that exists around leads to an understanding of the existence of a person’s personality, and life - to the process of life’s path. “Existence” (existence) is determined by the uniqueness of human life: individual destiny, incomprehensible “I”. Every person faces the question: “To be or not to be as one is?” This tells us about a high level of self-development.

J.P. Sartre, in one of his public lectures to students, called Dostoevsky the founder of existentialism. According to the French philosopher, the Russian writer in his work formulated many of the fundamental points of this philosophical trend. Indeed, F.M. Dostoevsky had a significant influence on many representatives of both atheistic and religious existentialism. For example, in the philosophical works of A. Camus quite often there are quotes from the works of F.M. Dostoevsky, moreover, Zh.P. Sartre conducted a kind of dialogue with F.M. Dostoevsky all his life. A. Camus argued that, having first read the work of F.M. Dostoevsky at the age of twenty, experienced a huge shock, the influence of F.M. Dostoevsky's influence on this philosopher was of great importance.

After establishing such a powerful influence of F.M. Dostoevsky on representatives of existential philosophy, I would like to call him the predecessor of this entire philosophical movement, but this would not be entirely correct. In our opinion, F.M. Dostoevsky is considered to be existential only in the formulation of his questions, and not in their development. It is necessary to identify significant differences in the views of F.M. Dostoevsky and other representatives of atheistic existentialism. On the other hand, many philosophers of religious existentialism interpret the writer’s work, confirming their concepts, and not objectively reconstructing the ideas of F.M. Dostoevsky.

Firstly, it must be said about the civilizational differences between Dostoevsky’s work and the works of most representatives of existential philosophy. European thinkers constructed a specific “model” of man; if medieval society was traditional, social ties were strong, then bourgeois society considered it necessary for these interpersonal ties to disintegrate. Many nuances of the work of F.M. Dostoevsky contain this problematic, but, unlike the existentialists, for the Russian writer such loneliness of a person is a social “pathology”, something abnormal.

Secondly, if in the existentialism of the atheistic Western direction social alienation cannot be eliminated, since “others” are always something secret and alienated from us, then in religious existentialism there is hope in God. But the main difference between Dostoevsky’s views and the existentialists as a religious and atheistic movement is that the Russian writer understood that without changing the interpersonal relationships dominant in society, it is impossible to overcome the alienation of one person from another.

Thirdly, another main problem of existential philosophy is the issue of man’s loss of the meaning of his own existence. A person of our era is influenced by an “existential vacuum”; he is unable to understand why it is necessary to exist. There are similar problems in the works of F.M. Dostoevsky, in almost all the writer’s works there are people who think about the meaning of life. But F.M. Dostoevsky insisted that the Russian thinker believed in the irreducibility of God, on the contrary, Zh.P. Sartre and A. Camus believed that only in dialogue with God can one find the true meaning of one’s existence.

Dostoevsky is a writer who examines the sick aspects of his contemporary society. His views are clearly shown in the novel Crime and Punishment, which was conceived by F.M. Dostoevsky in hard labor. Then he called it “Drunk,” but gradually the meaning of the novel transformed into “a psychological report of a crime.” F.M. Dostoevsky in a letter to the publisher M.N. Katkovu describes the plot of the future work as follows: “A young man, expelled from university students and living in extreme poverty, ... succumbing to some strange unfinished ideas ..., decided to get out of his bad situation at once by killing and robbing an old woman...” In this letter, F.M. . Dostoevsky would like to especially emphasize two phrases: “a student living in extreme poverty” and “succumbing to some strange, unfinished ideas.”

It is these two statements that are fundamental to understanding the cause-and-effect relationship of the novel. F.M. Dostoevsky does not describe the moral resurrection of the hero, because this is not what this novel is about. The goal was to show what power an idea can have over a person, even if it is criminal. The main character's idea about the right of a strong man to commit a crime turned out to be absurd. Life has defeated theory.

Over the long history of research by F.M. Many called Dostoevsky’s work a “prelude” to existentialism. Some considered his works existential, but F.M. Dostoevsky is not an existentialist. We agree that not a single idea that F.M. Dostoevsky, cannot be considered as definitive. F.M. Dostoevsky is a dialectician, he shows the interaction of different ideas. The writer has his own antithesis for each statement.

In the course of our research, we tried to reveal the history of the development of existentialism in Russia and consider this development with the help of the works of F.M. Dostoevsky and came to the conclusion that the complete identification of the writer with the existentialists is incorrect.

We can say that F.M. Dostoevsky gave a lot to existentialism and its formation, posing “damned questions” to himself and his readers and not always giving his answer to them.

Bibliography:

  1. Gritsanov A.A. The latest philosophical dictionary / Comp. A.A. Gritsanov. Mn.: Ed. V.M. Skakun, 1998. - 896 p.
  2. Dostoevsky F. M. Crime and punishment / Intro. Art. G. Friedlander; Note G. Kogan. M.: Fiction, 1978. - 463 p.
  3. Dostoevsky F.M. Articles and notes, 1862-1865. Complete collection: In 30 volumes. T. 20. L., 1984.
  4. Kashina N.V. man in Dostoevsky's works. M.: Artist. lit., 1986. - 318 p.
  5. Latynina A.N. Dostoevsky and existentialism // Dostoevsky - artist and thinker: collection. articles. M.: Publishing house. “Fiction”, 1972. - 688 p.
  6. Sartre J.P. Being and nothingness: the experience of phenomenological ontology. M.: Republic, 2000. - 639 p.

(1821 - 1881) - writer, publicist, one of the ideological leaders of pochvennichestvo. He developed his philosophical, religious, psychological ideas mainly in his works of art. He had a significant influence on the development of Russian religious philosophy of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, and at a later time on Western philosophical thought - especially existentialism.

As an existential thinker, he was concerned with the theme of the relationship between God and man, God and the world. According to Dostoevsky, a person cannot be moral outside the idea of ​​God, outside religious consciousness. Man, according to him, is a great mystery: there is nothing more significant than man, but there is nothing more terrible. For: man is an irrational being, striving for self-affirmation, that is, for freedom.

But what is freedom for a person? This is the freedom to choose between good (life “according to God”) and evil (life “according to the devil”). The question is whether a person himself, guided by purely human principles, can determine what is good and what is evil. According to Dostoevsky, having embarked on the path of denying God, a person deprives himself of a moral guideline, and his conscience “can get lost to the most immoral”: there is no God, no sin, no immortality, no meaning of life. Whoever loses faith in God inevitably takes the path of personal self-destruction, like the heroes of his novels - Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov, Ivan Karamazov, Kirillov, Stavrogin.

But in the reasoning of the Grand Inquisitor (“The Brothers Karamazov”), the idea is conveyed: the freedom preached by Christ and human happiness are incompatible, because only a few strong-willed individuals can endure freedom of choice. Everyone else will prefer bread and material goods to freedom. Finding themselves free, people will immediately look for someone to bow to, to whom to give the right to choose and to whom to assign responsibility for it, since “peace... is more valuable to a person than freedom of choice in the knowledge of good and evil.” Therefore, freedom is possible only for the chosen ones, who, having taken responsibility, will control the huge mass of weak-spirited people.

Yes, real history does not coincide with the high Christian ideal, but the view of humanity offered by the Grand Inquisitor is essentially anti-Christian, containing “disguised contempt for it.” In fact, when choosing evil, every person acts quite freely and consciously, he knows whom he serves - God or Satan. This often leads Dostoevsky’s heroes to the brink of mental illness, to the appearance of “doubles” who personify their sick conscience.


Essentially, the image of the Grand Inquisitor personifies Dostoevsky’s plan for a godless socialist structure of society (“the devil’s idea”), for which the main guideline is the forced unity of humanity on the basis and in the name of universal material well-being, without taking into account the spiritual origin of man. Dostoevsky contrasts atheistic Western socialism with the idea of ​​an all-unifying Russian socialism, which is based on the Russian people’s thirst for a universal, nation-wide, all-brotherly unification.

One of the first versions of existential philosophy was developed in Russia by N.A. Berdyaev (1871-1948), who is called the “philosopher of freedom”; Existentialism - a philosophical doctrine that analyzes a person’s experience of his existence (existence) in the world.

Developing his teaching, Berdyaev adopted the philosophy of the German classics, as well as the religious and moral quest of V.S. Solovyova, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, N.F. Fedorov. His main works: “Philosophy of Freedom”, “The Meaning of Creativity”, “Philosophy of Inequality”, “The Meaning of History”, “Philosophy of the Free Spirit”, “Russian Idea”, “The Fate of Russia”, “The Origins and Meaning of Russian Communism”, “Self-Knowledge” " and etc.

The main feature of Berdyaev's philosophical teaching is his dualism, i.e. the idea of ​​internal duality, the split of the world and man. According to him, everything is based on two principles: spirit, which finds expression in freedom, subject, creativity, and nature, which finds expression in necessity, materiality, and object.

Initially, there is only one inseparable being, in which subject and object merge - irrational, groundless freedom, which is comprehended as a fact of mystical experience and in which the Birth of God takes place (Berdyaev: “Freedom is more primary than being”).

Man, having received creative freedom from God, “fell away” from him through the Fall, through the desire to establish his world as the only one. As a result, he (the person), following the path of “evil” creativity, plunged into the kingdom of unfreedom - the social kingdom of mechanical groups (state, nation, class, etc.), where he loses his individuality, the ability for free creative self-affirmation. As a result, human consciousness is objectified, i.e. determined and suppressed by the massiveness and heaviness of the world, subject to circumstances.

Therefore, says Berdyaev, our life bears the stamp of unfreedom, which is revealed to a person through his suffering (“I suffer, therefore I exist”). A person turns out to be internally bifurcated in his existence: in him there is a genuine “I” (spiritual, divine - an impulse towards freedom; determined “from within”) and an inauthentic “I” (social, impersonal, objective).

However, man has hope - in God, who “descends” into social history through Christ. The appearance of Christ, says Berdyaev, transforms negative (creativity against God) freedom into positive (creativity in the name of God and with God) freedom. But the outcome of the struggle between these two aspirations (freedoms) depends on the person.

The affirmation of “positive freedom” will mean, according to Berdyaev, the onset of an existential (creative) time, when the dialectical unity of the divine and human is established in history, and man in his free creativity becomes like God. As a result, the social world is being transformed on the basis of “conciliarity” or “communitarianism”. By this Berdyaev understood the religious variety of collectivism developed by Russian advanced life and the philosophical culture of Russia, coming from the Slavophiles. It is here that a person will cease to be only a means (“manure”) for future progress (future generations) and will turn into something valuable in itself (everyone is equal before God), into a free creative individuality.

The philosopher contrasted such an ideal society with both Russian socialism and Western soulless individualistic civilization (“Socialism and capitalism are two forms of slavery of the human spirit to the economy”).

The “Russian idea” in Berdyaev’s work also bears the stamp of dualism. According to him, a split and dualism runs through Russian history. Russian history is discontinuous and catastrophic. Through social catastrophes (riots, wars, revolutions - “the fate and cross of Russia”), each time a new Russia is born (Kievan Russia. Rus' during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Moscow Rus', Petrine Rus', Soviet Russia, which will become a thing of the past, when the Russian people realize the religious essence of their character). Here each period is opposed to another.

This corresponds to the split within Russia: between society (the people) and the state, within the church, between the intelligentsia and the people, within the intelligentsia (“Slavophiles - Westerners”). Dual also Russian culture and the nature of the Russian people, in which feminine(humility, renunciation, compassion, pity, propensity for slavery) and masculine(riotousness, rebellion, cruelty, love of freethinking) principles form the basis of the Russian soul, which knows no measure in anything: natural, pagan elements and Orthodox humility.

These contradictions, according to N. Berdyaev, are due to the fact that in Russia two streams of world history collide and come into interaction: East and West. But on the whole, the Russian people were not the people of a culture that was based on rational, orderly, averaged Western European principles. He is a people of extremes, inspirations and revelations. And, nevertheless, Berdyaev believes, Russia will overcome its dualism by joining Cosmic Time, the Kingdom of God, which is establishing itself on Earth in the form of “conciliarity” (“communitarianism”).

Close to Berdyaev in his existential-personalistic mindset, L. I. Shestov (1866 - 1938) in his works “The Apotheosis of Groundlessness”, “Athens and Jerusalem” and others substantiates the idea of ​​​​the tragic absurdity of human existence; puts forward the image of a doomed person - a subject immersed in a world of chaos, domination of the elements, and chance.

Philosophizing, in his opinion, should come from the subject, focusing not on thinking, reason (rationality), but on the experience of existence with his world of deeply personal truths.

Philosophical speculation, i.e. He contrasts the rationalistic “spirit of Athens” with revelation, trust in the foundations of life, which have a Divine source (“spirit of Jerusalem”). In general, Shestov draws the main conclusion for his system - true philosophy follows from the fact that God exists.

The work of another idealist philosopher V.V. Rozanov (1856 - 1919), conditionally comparable to existentialism, is distinguished by great originality and literary brilliance (works: “People of Moonlight”, “Fallen Leaves”, “Solitary”, etc.). Criticizing orthodox Christianity for its asceticism and “genderlessness,” but believing in God at the level of intuition, he affirmed the religion of sex, love, and family as the primary elements of life, the source of human creative energy and the spiritual health of the nation.

Raising the topic of Russia, Rozanov spoke out against the dark, self-destructive principles in Russian nature, including against nihilism, which creates the ground for revolutionary upheavals. In the revolution he saw only the destruction of national life. While deeply loving Russia, he, at the same time, did not accept not only the revolution of 1917, but also the idea of ​​a socialist state of Russian society.

Existentialism. The philosophical reaction to positivism was the philosophy of existence - existentialism. This philosophy emerges as anthropological in its orientation. Its central problem is the problem of man, his existence in the world.

Existentialism arises as a pessimistic philosophical worldview, which posed a question that worries people in the conditions of modern civilization: “How can a person live in a world of acute contradictions and historical catastrophes?”

Existentialists try to answer this question, for which they turn to previous philosophical thought and to the study of modern forms of human existence, culture, to the study of the experiences of the subject, his inner world.

Many researchers of existentialism consider the origin of this movement to be the “philosophy of life” (F. Nietzsche, W. Dilthey, O. Spengler). Today we have the opportunity to read the most interesting works of F. Nietzsche, which testify to him as a philosopher and poet who explored man and his existence through myths and philosophical aphorisms, metaphors, artistic images and philosophical generalizations. Life as a stream of intuitively comprehended reality, the merging of man with the elements of life were perceived in the 20s from the philosophy of Nietzsche by German existentialism.

Existentialism attracts with its concern, deep sincerity of feelings and hard-won assessments of the world in which an individual finds himself, as well as with an analysis of the well-being of a person placed in various social situations, including “borderline” ones between life and death, health and illness, finding loved ones and their loss, freedom and lack of freedom, etc.

Among the existentialists there are not only professional philosophers, but also writers, artists, film directors, and representatives of the creative intelligentsia; Humanitarian students are also interested in existentialism.

In the philosophy of existentialism, there are two main schools - the German one, which laid the foundation for this movement in the 20s. and represented by Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), and the French one, which arose during the Second World War and is associated primarily with the names of Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980), Albert Camus (1913-1960), Gabriel Honore Marcel (1889-1973).

Existentialism arose during the period of world wars (German - in the First World War, French - in the Second World War) not by chance: it is a philosophical reflection of the drama of the era of the 20th century, the well-being of a person placed between life and death, existence and non-existence. Its main problem is the alienation of the individual from society. Existentialism understands alienation in many ways: both as the transformation of an individual’s activity and its products into an independent force that dominates him and is hostile to him; and as opposition to the person of the state, the entire organization of labor in society, various public institutions, other members of society, etc.

Existentialism analyzes especially deeply the subjective experiences of alienation of the individual from the outside world: a feeling of apathy, loneliness, indifference, fear, perception of the phenomena of reality as opposing and hostile to man, etc. According to Heidegger, fear, anxiety, care, etc. constitute the subjective human being or “being-in-the-world”, which he considers “primary”. This primacy of “being-in-the-world” is determined, according to Heidegger, by the very “mood” of the individual, his consciousness.

Thus. Heidegger believes that the existence of the external world is formed through the existence of the inner, personal world. According to Heidegger, time creates external being. In Being and Time, Heidegger introduces the term “existential” to designate various expressions of states of being. He builds a whole system of existentials: “being-in-the-world”, “being-with-others”, “being-here”, etc. In order to understand the meaning of any form of being, a person must renounce all practical goals, realize his mortality, "frailty". Finding the meaning of personal existence is possible only because the acquisition of existence comes from a person, through the search for his own Self.

For Jaspers, this personal existence is associated with a person’s heightened search for his individuality, which is revealed in communication and communication. A person, according to Jaspers, must be treated as an existence, which means the deepest level of a person’s personality, something that cannot become an object not only of study, but also of philosophical contemplation.

According to Jaspers, existence manifests itself in freedom, which in turn is associated with transcendence, that is, a sphere that is beyond the boundaries of human consciousness and knowledge and where human behavior is dictated by God, the immortal soul and free will. Jaspers creates a version of religious existentialism. A person’s acquisition of essence, freedom, and knowledge of things in the external world arises in “borderline situations”: in the face of death, in suffering, through a feeling of guilt, in struggle, that is, when a person finds himself on the border between being and non-being. Finding himself in a “borderline situation,” a person is freed from prevailing values, norms, and attitudes. And this liberation, “purification of the Self, gives him the opportunity to comprehend himself as existence. It is existence that helps a person understand the illusory nature of his existence and come into contact with God.

Existentialism justifiably proceeds from the fact that “borderline situations” really force people to think about the meaning and content of their lives and to reassess their values.

Problems of personal existence and “borderline situations” also arise in French existentialism. Among the French existentialists were writers, playwrights, and artists who examined existential problems in artistic form. For example, J. P. Sartre wrote not only his own philosophical works, such as “Imagination”, “Imaginary”, “Being and Nothingness”, “Existentialism is Humanism”, “Situations” - in 6 volumes, but also literary works - “Flies”, “Words”, “Nausea”, “Dead Without Burial” and others.

A. Camus in his works of art: “The Plague”, “The Righteous”, “State of Siege”, “The Myth of Sisyphus”, “Exile and the Kingdom”, “The Fall” - raises the question, is life worth living? And the writer comes to the conclusion that human life is absurd. The only truth in life is disobedience. Thus, Sisyphus, well aware of the absurdity of his work, turns his hard work into an accusation to the gods: he brought meaning into the nonsense with his challenge.

Later, Camus will come to the conclusion that there is another way out of the absurd - suicide. During World War II, when Camus took part in the French Resistance, he believed that “something” still made sense in the world. For example, in saving a person. However, the situation of suffocation in society does not cease to worry him in all other years. This is what he expressed in his work “The Plague”. In it, Camus warns against the dangers that threaten man: after all, the plague-trouble sleeps for the time being, but never completely disappears. “And perhaps the day will come when, on the mountain and as a lesson to people, the plague will again awaken the rats and send them to kill them on the streets of the happy city.” Camus constantly carries the thought: life is a prison, and death is its warden: “Why look for a substitute for the lost meaning of life, the only one capable of illuminating all other values ​​- family, religious, civil?” – Camus is perplexed in “The Stranger”. “Why indulge yourself with tales of the victories of Reason, while, being next to the volcano of History, it is ready to plunge the Earth into tragedy,” he sounds the alarm in “The Plague.” “Why strive for good, people follow the path of deception and murder.” “Why, wallowing in dirt and lies, do they pass it off as being in the truth?” - the writer reproaches in “The Fall”. We see that Camus writes about the loneliness and hopelessness of man in an “absurd world.” Camus, Sartre, Marcel apply existential concepts not only to an individual, but also to all of humanity: all of humanity is in a “borderline situation”, gripped by a sense of fear of global catastrophes. The task of the philosophy of existentialism is to help man, who is inseparable from humanity. By revising value orientations, including one’s thinking (as Russell and Einstein wrote about in their “Manifesto”), a person must create such historical conditions that will provide solutions to all the most pressing problems.

The Latin word "existence" means existence, so existentialism is translated as "Philosophy of Existence." The center of this philosophy is man. Existentialists take the experiences of man, his contradictory attitude towards objective existence, as the basis of being. They see the meaning of life either in rebellious opposition to reality, or in avoiding it (suicide, passivity). Existentialism finds its footing among young people, students, and the artistic intelligentsia.

The founder of this philosophical movement is SørenKierkegaard(1811-1855). He was born in Copenhagen, the son of wealthy parents; his upbringing was carried out in the spirit of strict Christian canons of the Protestant sense. A frail and sickly boy, Søren was subjected to numerous ridicule from bullies during his school years. After leaving school, seventeen-year-old Kierkegaard was enrolled as a student at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen, but theology did not interest him. He was more interested in aesthetics, and ultimately his studies lasted for ten years.

At this age, Kierkegaard tended to lead a disorderly, bohemian lifestyle. A serious episode in his biography was his unexpectedly disrupted engagement to a young girl for whom he had tender feelings. The death of his father, mother, all his sisters and two brothers soon followed. As a result of these life's adversities, he withdrew into himself and led a purely solitary life, although he was wealthy, having received an inheritance. All this suggests that Søren Kierkegaard had personal experience of mental discomfort and deep experiences, which perhaps predetermined his heightened sense of loneliness and uncertainty, expressed in the philosophy of existentialism.

S. Kierkegaard draws attention to the spiritual side of our existence.

Kierkegaard's works: “Fear and Trembling”, “The Concept of Fear”, “The Sickness unto Death”, “Either-Or”, etc. are based on the ideas of Protestant dogmatics and have an anti-Hegelian orientation, although they borrow a lot from Hegel, for example, the dialectical vision of the spiritual peace.

The starting point in Kierkegaard's reasoning is the Biblical story of original sin. Adam and Eve, as you know, violated God's prohibition and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Kierkegaard sees in this a kind of qualitative leap, a transition from ignorance to knowledge.

Adam and Eve, like our distant ancestors, gained freedom and independence from God.

This leap should be considered as a turning point in the fate of humanity (and man), as the beginning of world history.

The transition from ignorance to knowledge is based on the erotic principle: original sin is a violation of an ethical prohibition and voluntary submission to an epistemological prohibition. Now, after the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, everything that defies reason is considered untrue and must be discarded as such. Instead of the “old” God, a “new” God appeared - rational truth.

So, original sin marked the transition from the tree of life (its symbol is Jerusalem) to the tree of knowledge (its symbol is the capital of Ancient Greece, Athens, the birthplace of rational philosophy).

But Adam and Eve were deceived. Having escaped one framework of necessity - submission to the will of God, they fell “into the trap” of another framework of even more stringent necessity, for reason reduces everything to the search for laws and final causes. Man turns out to be a toy in the hands of nature and society , where these laws and reasons dominate over him. In other words, newfound freedom turns into a new sense of unfreedom.

This is the tragedy of human existence. Kierkegaard believes that the beginning of philosophy (existentialism) not a surprise, as it was with Socrates, but despair. It occurs when a person realizes a lack of opportunity. Original sin, generated by the desire for freedom, turns into fear of “Nothing,” since God is no longer with man, but far from him. This is why Kierkegaard calls fear “the swoon of freedom.” It is at this point of spiritual loneliness and insecurity of a person that despair arises as an awareness of one’s doom. The search for salvation gives birth to philosophy.

Despair can only recede if a ray of hope flashes in the distance. But this will happen only when, through endless self-denial and awareness of his guilt, a person returns to Faith. Unbelief dooms a person to death. Thus, in order to overcome despair, we must reject Reason and accept Faith, from the tree of knowledge back to the tree of life.

To think within the framework of existence, according to Kierkegaard, means face a situation of personal choice. In real life, each of us is in this situation. The choice is made in the presence of alternative possibilities. Kierkegaard called for distinguishing the “spectator” in man (according to Hegel, man is only a toy in the hands of universal necessity) from the “actor”, who, by playing his role, thereby creates a performance (real life). Only the “actor” is involved in existence.

Choice always involves making a decision. This procedure can be based on scientific, mathematical knowledge, ethical and aesthetic ideas. But there is always a specific human life behind it, and therefore abstract reasoning is of little help when choosing.

Ultimately, Kierkegaard sees the cause of the existential situation as the alienation of man from God. The further this happens, the more the feeling of despair grows in a person.

Each person, Kierkegaard believes, is endowed with an essence that he must bring into action within himself. And this can be done by him only through coming to God.

S. Kierkegaard was the first to draw attention to the complex spiritual world of man. The ideas of S. Kierkegaard were developed in the philosophy of existentialism of the 20th century.

Representatives of existentialism of the 20th century: M. Heidegger, K. Jaspers, J. P. Sartre, A. Camus. General ideas: there is a distinction between genuine and inauthentic human existence. True being is a person’s fulfilled life, in which his individuality was developed and manifested. Inauthentic being is a life lived according to standards in accordance with generally accepted norms. True being is not given initially. A person must find a way to it. The state that leads a person to the search for true existence is a borderline situation, the fear of losing one’s Self. The biggest obstacle to achieving true existence is the rejection of everything unusual, a negative reaction to any atypical assessments of actions.

Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976) argued that the world in which a person lives arises anew in his human activity. The life and activity of a person presupposes losing oneself, which can turn into tragedy, self-betrayal. M. Heidegger proposes to carry out a “turn” - a person’s turning to himself, creating a new spiritual atmosphere for the whole world. He believes that such a turn will prevent humanity from catastrophe, free it from the power of technology and thereby bring man closer to a state of natural behavior.

Existentialists argue that by making a choice, a person finds himself and at the same time gains freedom. His freedom lies in the fact that he does not act as a thing formed under the influence of natural or social necessity, but “chooses” himself through his actions. A free person is responsible for his actions, for his life, and does not justify them by external circumstances.

Jean Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980) The Frenchman argued that the actual existence of a person is accidental. A person can freely choose himself in any era. Freedom is the foundation of history. Consciousness is synonymous with freedom.

Albert Camus (1913 – 1960), French, Nobel Prize winner. He argued that in this world a person is always an outsider, earthly existence is absurd and the lot of every person is infinitely sad. This world has no higher meaning. The call to being is rebellion. This is a form of self-awareness as a person. There are several types of rebellion: historical (or metaphysical) and artistic. The revolt of man against the entire universe is a historical revolt. The historical rebel rejects God, changes history, rebels against the authorities. Artistic rebellion makes adjustments to the real world. Camus believed that it was necessary to help a person become conscious, free from ideological and other doctrines. Beauty will save the world. Beauty and communication will bring people out of isolation and lead to social justice.

The Problem of Human Existence

in existentialism

Existentialism

  • (from Latin existentia - existence)
  • philosophy of existence;
  • philosophical movement that claims
  • the uniqueness of human existence,
  • and its inexpressibility in the language of concepts

existentialism

  • “existence precedes essence” (J.-P. Sartre)
  • interest in anthropological issues
  • an attempt to philosophize not from the position of an observer, but from the position of a doer
  • an attempt to philosophize in a state of alienation
  • “What is a person and what is true existence?”

Directions:

  • Religious, theistic, Christian
  • Atheistic, secular

Religious existentialism

Representatives of religious existentialism

  • Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
  • Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
  • Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948)
  • Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973)

Kierkegaard Soren (1813-1855)

  • Danish theologian, philosopher
  • views developed into polemics with the philosophy of Hegel and romantic theology
  • works:
  • "Or or",
  • "Fear and Trembling"
  • "Disease unto death"
  • "Philosophical crumbs"
  • “Life Path Stages”, etc.

The essence of the position

  • the subject of philosophy is human individuality (“Single”)
  • the existence of the “Single” - the realization of individual existence through free choice

existence

  • something internal, constantly transforming into external objective existence, which is an inauthentic expression of the internal
  • Finding true existence presupposes the path of “existential dialectics”

stages of ascent to authentic existence - “existential dialectics”:

  • aesthetic
  • ethical (“knight of reason”)
  • religious (“knight of faith”)
  • the condition for transition is despair

Problems

  • fall from grace
  • “What is fear?”
  • “What is true Christianity and what does it mean to be a Christian?”

Jaspers Karl (1883-1969)

  • German philosopher
  • works:
  • "General psychopathology"
  • "Psychology of worldview"
  • "The Origins of History and Its Purpose"
  • "Spiritual situation of the time"
  • “Modern technology”, etc.

Main themes, issues and concepts

  • philosophy - the art of thinking
  • the goal of philosophy is to illuminate existence and bring a person closer to transcendence (indicate the stages of transcendence)
  • man and his story
  • communication problem
  • concepts
  • "philosophical faith"
  • "axial time"
  • criticism of pantragism

There are four “slices” in history:

  • the emergence of languages, the invention of tools, the beginning of the use of fire;
  • the emergence of high cultures in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and later in China in 3-5 thousand BC.
  • the “spiritual foundation” of humanity, which occurred in the 7th-2nd centuries. BC. simultaneously and independently in China, India, Palestine, Persia, Greece - the “world time axis”
  • the birth of the scientific and technological era, prepared in Europe since the end of the Middle Ages, ... is rapidly developing in the 20th century.

"axis of world history"

  • the formation of human history as world history (before the “axial time” there were local histories)
  • the emergence of modern man with his own ideas about responsibility, capabilities and boundaries
  • the idea of ​​​​the possibility of moving towards a new “axial time”, the condition of which is the rule of law and the rejection of any forms of totalitarianism

"totalitarianism"

  • first introduced into the political lexicon in the 1920s. ideologists of Italian fascism (B. Mussolini)
  • desire for centralization of power and statism
  • The reasons include the advancing process of formation of mass society compared to the formation of civil society
  • classic analytical works are:
  • H. Arend “The Origins of Totalitarianism” (1951)
  • Friedrich C., Brzezinski Z.K. Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy.

Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948)

  • Russian philosopher, publicist
  • in 1922 expelled abroad for anti-revolutionary activities
  • in 1947 awarded the title of Doctor of Theology from the University of Cambridge
  • works:
  • "Philosophy of Freedom"
  • "The meaning of creativity"
  • "Philosophy of Inequality"
  • "Philosophy of the Free Spirit"
  • “On the appointment of a person”, etc.

The essence of the position

  • philosophy is not reduced to a system of concepts (“knowledge-discourse”), but represents “knowledge-contemplation”, i.e. involves a language of symbols and myths
  • the main symbols of philosophy are freedom and creativity

N. Berdyaev:

“You need to choose between two philosophies - a philosophy that recognizes the primacy of being over freedom, and a philosophy that recognizes the primacy of freedom over being... Personalism must recognize the primacy of freedom over being. The philosophy of the primacy of being is the philosophy of impersonality"

Marcel Gabriel (1889-1973)

  • French philosopher, playwright, critic, founder of Catholic existentialism
  • works:
  • "Towards Tragic Wisdom and Beyond"

The essence of the position:

  • contrasted two radically different ways of being:
  • “possession” is a form of personality degradation, the pursuit of worldly goods
  • “being” - insight into “divine truth”
  • human existence is unthinkable without communication
  • “inauthenticity” of interpersonal relationships is not a product of social circumstances, but the result of forgetting the religious and moral dimension of the existence of the individual

Secular existentialism

the position of a person for whom, according to Nietzsche, “God is dead”

an attempt to show the consequences of atheism

Representatives of secular existentialism

  • Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
  • Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
  • Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Heidegger Martin (1889-1976)

  • German philosopher
  • Professor at the University of Marburg and Rector of the University of Freiburg
  • works:
  • "Being and Time"
  • "What is metaphysics"
  • "Question about technology"
  • "Plato's Doctrine of Truth"
  • “Technique and rotation”, etc.

M. Heidegger:

“A man who does not philosophize is a man who sleeps”

Periods of creativity: main themes and problems

  • Early (before 1930)
  • phenomenology of E. Husserl
  • the task is to build a “fundamental ontology”
  • Late (1930-1960), problems:
  • true
  • events being
  • technique

The essence of the position

  • the goal is to become the “Aristotle of our days”, because considers the problem of existence
  • The first step to finding the meaning of being is the question of the questioner’s being, because the problem of being is the mode of human existence
  • man is existence
  • human existence cannot be defined, because there is potential existence
  • modes of existence:
  • man is being-in-the-world
  • man is a being occupied and interested in “others”
  • man is a being-in-the-world, interested in things as available means for the realization of his own possibilities

Analysis of man as a being that is open to being (existential analytics)

  • "inauthentic" existence
  • - obediently agree with one’s membership in the “other” to the point of dissolution in the consciousness of the crowd
  • "true" existence
  • come to discover oneself as an individual subject