The original text of this work was published in the French journal Revue d’Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses. This English translation presents Kojève’s attempt to unify the religious philosophy of Vladimir Solovyov into a metaphysical system that Solovyov strived for but was never able to fully articulate in his lifetime.
While he is widely acknowledged as the most important Russian thinker of the nineteenth century, Vladimir Soloviev's place in the landscape of world philosophy nevertheless remains uncertain. Approaching him through a single synoptic lens, this book foregrounds his unique envisioning of the interaction between humanity and the material world. By investigating the development of a single theme in his work--his idea of the "spiritualization of matter", the "task" of humanity--Smith constructs a rounded picture of Soloviev's overall importance to an understanding. If nineteenth-century thought, as well as to modern theology and philosophy. The picture that emerges is of a writer whose contribution to a Christian philosophy of matter resonates with many of the religious debates of modernity.
The Oxford Handbook of Russian Religious Thought is an authoritative new reference and interpretive volume detailing the origins, development, and influence of one of the richest aspects of Russian cultural and intellectual life - its religious ideas. After setting the historical background and context, the Handbook follows the leading figures and movements in modern Russian religious thought through a period of immense historical upheavals, including seventy years of officially atheist communist rule and the growth of an exiled diaspora with, e.g., its journal The Way. Therefore the shape of Russian religious thought cannot be separated from long-running debates with nihilism and atheism. Important thinkers such as Losev and Bakhtin had to guard their words in an environment of religious persecution, whilst some views were shaped by prison experiences. Before the Soviet period, Russian national identity was closely linked with religion - linkages which again are being forged in the new Russia. Relevant in this connection are complex relationships with Judaism. In addition to religious thinkers such as Philaret, Chaadaev, Khomiakov, Kireevsky, Soloviev, Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdyaev, Shestov, Frank, Karsavin, and Alexander Men, the Handbook also looks at the role of religion in aesthetics, music, poetry, art, film, and the novelists Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Ideas, institutions, and movements discussed include the Church academies, Slavophilism and Westernism, theosis, the name-glorifying (imiaslavie) controversy, the God-seekers and God-builders, Russian religious idealism and liberalism, and the Neopatristic school. Occultism is considered, as is the role of tradition and the influence of Russian religious thought in the West.
This book is the seminal work in which Solovyov developed his religious philosophy. In it, he undertakes a stunning critique of positivism, by which he understands the entire philosophy of Western rationalism, which he sees as setting up a conflict between reason and faith, and reason and nature. In the modern period, he finds abundant evidence for reason's war against nature in Western philosophy from Descartes to Hegel. "Positivism," the leading philosophy in his time, Solovyov also finds repugnant. In its place, he proposes his great theme of total unity--which was to become the dominant theme in Russian philosophy. This is the work that launched Russian religious philosophy and is a must for anyone interested in the subject. From the Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy.
The philosopher and poet Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900) is largely unknown to English readers, though translations of his works do exist. This book presents his central teachings and analyses his treatment of the non-Christian religions, Buddhism and Taosim in particular. This now makes it more possible to reassess his religious philosophy as a whole. The book will be of interest to students of comparative religion, theology, philosophy and Russian intellectual history.
These lectures, given by Solovyov in St. Petersburg in 1878, mark a seminal moment not only in Russian but also in world philosophy. Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and other luminaries were in the audience. It was recognized by everyone that something astonishing had occurred.The young philosopher, mystic, and visionary, Solovyov, had given unexpectedly concise, intellectual expression to the reality of the evolution of consciousness and religion. He had spoken movingly of the actualization of Divine Humanity in eternity and time, of the divine world and the fall of spiritual beings into sin, of the origin and meaning of the natural world, and the incarnation of Christ, leading to the redemption of the visible and invisible worlds in the full revelation of Divine Humanity. Sophia, whom Solovyov experienced three times in his life, inspires this great work. He conceives Sophia in a variety of ways: as the eternal ideal prototype of humanity, as the world soul actively engaged in actualizing this idea, and as the fully developed divine-human being. This Sophia is both the active principle in the process of creation and its realized goal: the kingdom of God. From the Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy.
Considered one of Russia’s greatest philosophers, Vladimir Soloviev (1853–1900) was also a theologian, historian, poet, and social and political critic. His works have emerged to enjoy renewed attention in post–Soviet Russia, and his concerns echo in contemporary discussions of politics, law, and morality. In this collection of Soloviev’s essays—many translated into English for the first time—the philosopher explores an array of social issues, from the death penalty to nationalism to women’s rights. Soloviev reacts against the tradition of European rationalist thought and seeks to synthesize religious philosophy, science, and ethics in the context of a universal Christianity. In these writings he reveals the centrality of human rights in his Christian worldview, not only as an abstract theory but also as an inspiration in everyday life. In a substantive introduction and copious annotations to the essays, Vladimir Wozniuk points out distinctive and often overlooked features of Soloviev’s works while illuminating his place within both the Russian and Western intellectual traditions.
Eight important early writings by twentieth-century Russian Orthodox theologian Pavel Florensky-Most of them presented in English translation for the first time. Splendidly interweaving religious, scientific, and literary themes, these essays showcase the diversity of Florensky's broad learning and interests and include his reflections on the sacraments, Russian monastic culture, and other topics. The volume concludes with "The Salt of the Earth," arguably Florensky's most spiritually moving work. Book jacket.
Vladimir S. Soloviev (1853–1900), moral philosopher, social and literary critic, theologian, and poet, is considered one of Russia’s greatest philosophers. But Soloviev is relatively unknown in the West, despite his close association with Fyodor Dostoevsky, who modeled one of his most famous literary characters, Alyosha Karamazov, on Soloviev. In The Heart of Reality, Vladimir Wozniuk offers lucid translations, a substantive introduction, and careful annotations that make many of Soloviev’s writings accessible for the first time to an English-speaking audience. Soloviev worked tirelessly in the name of the mystical body of the Universal Church. The vast bulk of his writings can be construed as promoting, in one way or another, the cause of ecumenism. His essays also display the influence of Platonic and German Idealism and strands of Thomistic thinking. Wozniuk demonstrates the consistency of Soloviev’s biblically based thought on the subjects of aesthetics, love, and ethics, while at the same time clarifying Soloviev’s concept of vseedinstvo (the unity of spiritual and material), especially as applied to literature. Containing many previously untranslated essays, The Heart of Reality situates Soloviev more clearly in the mainstream of Western religious philosophy and Christian thought.