What is existentialism? (short and clear). The problem of human existence in existentialism

One of the prominent predecessors of existential philosophy was F.M.Dostoevsky(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 at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and at a later time on Western philosophical thought - especially existentialism.

As an existential thinker, he was concerned 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 down to, to whom to give the right to choose and to whom to assign responsibility for it, since “peace... is dearer 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 ON THE. 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. Solovyov, 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, those. 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, 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 Rus'. 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, having merged into Cosmic time, the kingdom of God, which is established on Earth in the form of “conciliarity” (“communitarianism”).

Close to Berdyaev in his existential-personalistic frame of mind 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. Rozanova(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.

End of work -

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The discipline is philosophy. Subject and specificity of philosophical knowledge

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ON THE. Berdyaev

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If we need to reflect the mood of the 20th century, then existentialism will be the best mirror. This direction in philosophy has left a clear mark on history and literature, and by carefully studying it, we can determine how close it is to each of us. This is not necessarily a gloomy feeling of life, there are many nuances here, so do not rush to be upset by the realization of the meaninglessness of existence (which is what the existentialists tell us). Maybe what you live for already surrounds you, all that remains is to give life a greater meaning.

In order to delve into the essence of the philosophy of existence, you can appreciate the contrast of eras, for example, the 16th and 20th centuries. Remembering such movements in art as Baroque, classicism, sentimentalism and so on, we will be even more impressed by the fact that after the darkened Middle Ages people smiled at life, and in the 1920s that same Renaissance greatness of man almost completely depreciated. Of course, history prepared people for this, and one should not be so categorical, because there were plenty of reasons for the emergence of existentialism over four centuries: wars and revolutions, economic instability, incurable diseases, human powerlessness in the face of natural disasters. All this explains our disappointment in the monumentality of an individual and pushes us to search for our place in the world.

Existentialists were the first to declare the absence of meaning in life. Previously, a person found the truth in faith, in love, in wealth, in enlightenment and self-development, but the cruel truth comes out: no one can avoid a death sentence. Thus, people began to lose themselves as individuals and slowly but surely came to the conclusion that there was no point. Existentialism is a philosophy that argues that it is becoming difficult not to lose yourself in the world. The essence of the philosophy of life lies in finding your purpose, your “I”. Everyone must find themselves.

Philosophy of existentialism

The philosophy of existentialism is full of basic concepts, for example, existence (existence) and essence (essence). Let us dwell in a little more detail on the main definitions of existentialism, explain their essence, and then it will be easier to let this unique philosophy pass through us.

• Borderline state is a situation in which a person almost looks death in the face. Why is it relevant for philosophy? After all, it is at such moments that the personality breaks through, and after acute, hard-to-bear moments, it turns out to be quite difficult to hide behind everyday life. Now, reading the article, we can think about what we would do if we were experiencing difficulties, and if we find ourselves in a situation where there is only time for action, then we will prove ourselves. It would be good not to find ourselves in such borderline situations, because war or a hungry faint, which can sever a person’s existence from being, are excellent examples of such. However, life presents people with unpleasant surprises under the guise of accidents or terrorist attacks, and then most people show themselves - some fear for their lives and run away, while others may turn out to be heroes. No one knows for sure, but it is precisely thanks to such an unpleasant state that a person can find his very essence.
• Essence– this, in other words, is the essence of man. Any creation has meaning, although the same existentialists claim that truth is not given to man from the beginning. This is true; not each of us is born with the same purpose. One representative may have a mission - to prove himself in a certain moment, when for another the true achievement will be completely the opposite. A person can search for himself and his role in the world all his life, and reveal his essence at a completely unexpected time. The philosophy of existence emphasizes the need for a person to quickly recognize his essence, because objects already have their own essence. The pen was created to write with, the telephone - to call, and a person - why? There is no answer, a person seeks it himself and will find it when his essence manifests itself. We'll talk about this in a little more detail, first understanding the rest of the important philosophical definitions.
• Existence- This is the direct existence of a person. A person has primary existence, that is, he already exists, and why - he is looking for an answer for himself. The whole philosophy is built on the substantiation of the existence of people, because since a person is in this world, it means it is necessary for something. Actually, for the essence that a person manifests during life, his existence, his existence.
• Absurd is an equally important term in the philosophy of existentialism. This word no longer sounds negative; on the contrary, it acquires a bright color. The absurd in art leads to an abundance of meanings, but in existentialism, on the contrary, it emphasizes the nonsense in life. In the same “myth of Sisyphus” the absurdity of existence comes to the fore, but we will return to this later. It is thanks to absurdity that the discord between human existence and the surrounding reality occurs.
• As a separate term, it is quite possible to mention existential « nausea». Sartre's novel of the same name intrigues with such a strange name. After reading it, we already understand that the most incomprehensible feeling experienced by the main character is an intensification of sensations with the awareness of existence. we wrote in a separate article.

So, the central idea of ​​the philosophy of existentialism becomes clear using the example of an ordinary object, say, a cup. It was created specifically to drink from, that is, its existence is justified and filled with meaning. This can be said about any object, which is why the main character of Sartre’s novel Nausea, Antoine, nervously reacts to material things, in this we are given a hint that each product around us already contains its own essence. Pick up any craft and see the meaning of its existence; it works with everything except God’s creation - man. A person was not born with his mission right away; he seeks his essence throughout his life. The whole point of existentialism lies in the search for truth. A characteristic feature of philosophy is the belief that there is no original meaning put into existence by someone, but at the same time it can be found in every little thing. This is not necessarily faith, love, and what else did previous eras proclaim? A person’s purpose can appear in the choice of type of activity, creativity, or in a seemingly insignificant moment. Each of us is capable of finding our own meaning of existence, what difference does it make if the end is the same?

The idea of ​​existentialism is that a person is unique, and his position in the world is important and valuable in itself, even when faced with the obviousness of death. The teachings of the philosophy of existence puts human life with its problems and worries in the first position.

Directions

Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, divided existentialism into religious and atheistic. If with religious existentialism the solution seems more obvious: God is behind all existing phenomena, then atheistic drives a person into a framework. It’s clearly not a matter of faith, but what then?

The categories of direction in philosophy can be recognized in the choice of further human actions after a collision with the absurdity of existence. Philosophers of the 20th century argued that there is no meaning, and this pressure is so pressing that many decide to end existence - in other words, they prefer to find a way out in suicide. This desperate step is presented as a recognition of the meaninglessness of existence, but the philosophy is not so gloomy that it cannot provide another solution.

Deviation from the truth is one of the likely ways. The inability to live with the awareness of meaninglessness can develop the ability to find meaning, for example, in creativity or in a single moment. Why can't the meaning of life be in enjoying a summer day or reading a decent book? Maybe. Everything can become meaningful, it’s all individual, you just need to be imbued with every moment of priceless life.

The characteristic of existentialism allows for one more way: acceptance. Yes, it’s difficult to live and at the same time understand that everyone is going towards the same thing, but despite this, you can come to terms with it and, moreover, become happy.

Problems

1. The problem of the meaning of life. Existentialism swept across Western Europe and pushed people to think about a new meaning in life. The problems of philosophy are quite acute, because coming to terms with the situation in society, when one is surrounded only by hopelessness, is quite difficult. The best example of an explanation of the philosophy of existence is the “myth of Sisyphus” by Albert Camus, where at the center of the work there is a hero who is doomed to eternally carry stones onto a cliff over and over again. The author raises the topic of the absurdity of life, and so we ask ourselves about its meaninglessness in general. Returning to the ways out of the predicament, the reader realizes that one can come to terms with and enjoy the existence of a monotonous reality in spite of itself. After the next ascent, Sisyphus again lifts the stone up the mountain, but at the same time he can look around and see something new for himself - even in this cyclicality there is a meaning, is there really no happiness for us? The meaning of life is in the process itself, in the very existence of a person. Camus's hero, for example, is happy that he retained his pride, for which the gods punished him. Although he suffers punishment for his insolence towards them, he realizes that he remained true to his convictions.
2. Problem of choice. The most important feature of existentialism is that a person is responsible for his choice. In a borderline situation, he can reveal his essence. As a rule, such situations are a moment before possible death, for example, a battle in a war. In ordinary life, a person can only imagine what he would do in the event of some kind of disaster, but all these mirages are shattered by cruel reality. When in trouble, the subject will not find time to think, but will immediately begin to act. How - already depends on the person’s responsibility for everything that happens. The main problem of existentialism is the individual’s exit from a borderline situation; this is how people show their heroism or, on the contrary, fear and cowardice. This is the moment of truth, the moment of phenomenal insight, when a person goes beyond himself and his routine experience, opening up new facets of reality.
3. Problems of the philosophy of existentialism clearly reflected in literature, but to understand it is not necessary to take on a philosophical essay. A work of art such as Sartre’s “” demonstrates the stupor of the individual in the face of the feeling of being useless in the world. Now, of course, psychology is at a high level, and the first piece of advice that persistently comes to mind is to turn to a specialist so that he can suggest a solution to the yearning character, but the reader will also be faced with a contradictory craving for loneliness, separating the hero from society. Antoine suffers from the meaninglessness of life and does not want to come to terms with it, so for himself he sees a way out in creativity.
4. Existentialism also puts forward the problem of human loneliness and the problem of internal choice. In addition, in the direction of philosophy, freedom occupies a significant place as a way of self-realization. By embodying one's potential one can cope with existence, and in doing so each person must truly find himself. Namely, to become the master of your own destiny, to be free, first of all, from the surrounding society.

Main representatives

• Ideological origins – Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Schelling
• Religious existentialism – Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel, Nikolai Berdyaev, Martin Buber, Lev Shestov
• Atheistic existentialism – Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus

The founder of existential philosophy is the Danish writer Søren Kierkegaard. Also, the status of the father of the philosophy of existence is attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche, but neither the Danish philosopher nor the author of the theory of the superman used the term “existentialism” itself, unlike the representative of the religious movement Karl Jaspers. It was he who first introduced a special scientific term for philosophy in his works.

Representatives of atheistic existentialism, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger, assumed, or rather insisted, that the meaning of human life does not lie in faith. This idea is emphasized in the work of Albert Camus, when the main character of the story, Meursault, violently pushes out the door of the priest, who urged him to trust in divine providence. By the way, the character’s position coincides with the worldview of his creator, the French writer. Camus believes that the meaning of life lies precisely in the acceptance of that very nonsense, therefore his hero Meursault accepts and resigns himself to circumstances that cannot be changed. Of course, in life we ​​are unlikely to meet such a truthful and at the same time indifferent person as Meursault, but this only confirms Camus’s idea that he is not a hero, but a philosophical idea.

Simone de Beauvoir, the wife of Sartre, who divided philosophy into religious and atheistic existentialism, would be correctly classified as a representative of the atheistic philosophy of existence. Among religious existentialist writers, domestic representatives can be distinguished, for example, Berdyaev and Dostoevsky.

Existentialism in literature

The classics of existential literature are the works of French writers who most clearly reflected themselves in the atheistic direction: and . However, in Russia there are also books filled with philosophical reasoning. You can find an example in our article ““.

Existentialism spread from Western Europe to Russian culture. The so-called “philosopher of freedom” Nikolai Aleksandrovich Berdyaev explored the direction in philosophy and analyzed the state of the individual during existential insight. Just like a person, the whole of Russia can find itself in a borderline situation and be reborn thanks to the same social catastrophes. Berdyaev also speaks about the relevance of creativity and man’s hope for salvation in faith in God. Help through religion is also glorified in the works of Dostoevsky, because if we remember the same “birds of a feather” - Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov, then the conclusion suggests itself: having lost faith in the Almighty, a person can lose himself. .

Existential characters are not only the contradictory Meursault Camus and the yearning Antoine Sartre, because even delving into the Russian classics, we will hit the mark, turning our attention to the same Eugene Onegin. The hero of the novel of the same name can also be called an existentialist: he is bored, he is tired of everything, he is looking for his place in life, but does not find it. You can find examples of existential literature on our website in the articles:,.

Modern existentialism

Despite its relatively long-standing appearance, existentialism is still relevant today. People have thought and will continue to think about the meaning of existence, which is why they are looking for options, sometimes relying on new versions. If we remember the reasons for the emergence of existentialism, we can understand why the development of this trend in philosophy is quite understandable. Man has become powerless in the face of technological progress. Living in an “advanced”, constantly changing world, willy-nilly you will wonder what your purpose is, because new gadgets are step by step ahead of you in development. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that each of us will be free from conflicting psychological situations. It would be great if the circumstances that awaken metaphysical “nausea” led us immediately to the answer to the eternal question, however, perhaps each person must go through his own path of personality development. That is why existentialism can be called a modern philosophy that arose at the beginning of the 20th century.

Representatives of modern existentialism:

• A. Glucksman,
• L.Althusser,
• M. Guerin,
• J. Derrida,
• M. Foucault
• R. Bart,
• J. Deleuze,
• J.-F. Llotard
• U. Eco

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A term used to identify a set of philosophies. teachings, as well as (in a broader sense) spiritually related literary and other artistic movements, the structure of categories, symbols and images of which is grouped around the concept of “existence”, explicitly or implicitly accepted as central. The origin of E. is usually traced back to the irrationalism and agnosticism of S. Kierkegaard with his criticism of the absolutization and ontologization of reason and the universal (om. Rationalism, Panlogism), although he himself dates back. the thinker is not always included in the composition of E. The theoretical sources of E. are considered phenomenology (E. Husserl) and philosophy of life. There is a significant ideological influence of F Dostoevsky. Classic Philosophers are recognized as examples of E. Heidegger's concepts, J.-P. Sartre, (atheistic E.), K. Jasperva, G. Marcel (religious E.), lit. creativity of A. Camus, ideas of Ortega y Gasset. In a broad sense, existential philosophy (prose, poetry, art, theology, etc.) is a consciousness that is focused on revealing the meaning of people. life in its ultimate dimension, i.e. coupled with such realities as absurdity, death, freedom, loneliness, etc.

The peak of E.'s popularity in Europe is associated with the end of the First and Second World Wars and the awareness of the shocks they caused. Since the 1960s E. is gradually giving way to more rationalistic ones. and epistemologically oriented (and therefore close to the spirit of modern times moving towards its completion) hermeneutics, phenomenology, structuralism, “organically” complemented by updated psychoanalysis, which is able to provide practically useful recipes for existential diseases. In the USSR, the popularity of E., which came in the 1970s and 80s, was, as usual, late.

In its ideological content, E.. is the final metaphysics of humanism (perhaps in its purest expression), which is built from within the humanistic itself. worldview. The spiritual core of the ideological and mythological complex of humanistic. culture - man as a free creative individual - is comprehended within the framework of E. at the limit of the possible. Hence - a unique range of topics that sharply distinguishes E. from the classical ones. metaphysics: freedom, creativity, evil, the meaning of life and the meaning of death, etc.. some traditions. are the subject of Christ. theology. It is significant, however, that these problems are considered by E. not in the paradigm of God-Man-World (with a semantic center in God), but in the horizon of Man-Culture-(and, possibly, God), or in the light of the triad of Being-Man-Nothing (in any case, the person is the starting point and the main subject of analysis). In this regard, E.'s style of thought is characterized, firstly, by a set of new ones that are not applied to the classics. philosophy and theology of categories called existentials (absurdity, illness-to-death, being-towards-death, borderline situation, etc.), as well as the use and rethinking of the most important in apophatic. theology and mysticism of the concept of “Nothing”; secondly - extremely emotional and volitional tension, when the above realities are interpreted speculatively, as is typical in classical literature. theology, esp. scholasticism, but as a result of personal experience and experience. Hence the metaphor. The naming of E. any person who is personally oriented, focused on the ultimate semantic problems. the existence of a worldview.

The vital nerve of E., at least the religious one, can be seen in the biblical myth of the return of the prodigal son. - Freedom begins to be felt as a right, but as a heaviness, burden and responsibility (before Man or before God), creativity is felt not only as joy and the opportunity for self-expression, but as salvation and need, the source of evil and good is seen in the groundlessness of people. will and consciousness, rooted in Nothing and therefore free to self-determine both for good and for evil.

Abs. human freedom, leading to the tragedy of his existence in the world, however, is difficult to compatible with the well-organized life of Europe. civilization. Therefore, the latter puts forward the idea of ​​a game as a quality of life value and existentiality. surrogate religion. ideas of salvation.

In Russia, the philosophy of E. is associated with the names of N. Berdyaev and L. Shestov. The metaphysics of the latter is very similar to the views of Kierkegaard, whose work, however, he became acquainted with later, already as a mature thinker. Berdyaev himself did not consider himself a complete existentialist, distinguishing E., so defined. flow into Western Europe. thoughts, from existential philosophizing. By the latter, he understood such knowledge of the Truth, in which the fate of the world is experienced by the cognizing subject as his personal spiritual destiny, and included in it such thinkers who do not belong to historical Ethics as Boehme, Baader, Ibsen, Nietzsche, Scheffler. Berdyaev very harshly contrasted his metaphysics with Heidegger’s, as eschatological ontological (aimed at the end of the world - rooted in the world), considering phenomenological. a method recognized by most existentialists as fundamental and unfavorable for existential philosophizing. Although Berdyaev was extremely popular in Europe during the period of general enthusiasm for Ethnicism, his worldview is not classical Ethnicism in the very structure of the symbols and images of meaning that make up its content. At its center is the concept of spirit, according to rel. to which existence, among other concepts, is secondary. In this Berdyaev very characteristically expresses the tendency, generally. for plural representatives of Russian religious philosophy. The last one, in plural. its ideas, intuitions, images, humanistic, is not classical metaphysics. humanism, being ideologically rooted in the Orthodox tradition. thinking, rather, on the contrary, is its criticism. She examined E.'s themes in the spirit of Orthodox (with a certain influence of Gnostic and Germanic) mysticism, taking the meaning of knowledge as love, creativity as theosis. In this regard, Russian religious Philosophy as a whole is existential, but is not E. in the exact historical sense. meaning of this word.

Articles

Existentialism is a philosophical movement 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. The common features of existentialism in Russia are its religious overtones, personalism, anti-rationalism, the struggle for the freedom of human existence, etc.

Berdyaev Nikolai Aleksandrovich is one of the main representatives of Russian existentialism. One of the main problems of Berdyaev’s philosophy is the problem of human existence and, in connection with this, the meaning of existence in general. The solution to this problem can only be anthropocentric; the meaning of existence is revealed in the sense of one’s own, human existence. An existence filled with meaning is an existence in truth, which is achievable by man on the paths of salvation or creativity. Creativity, the inherent ability of man, 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, according to Berdyaev, is the unity of two natures - Divine and human. That is, at this stage, the subject of existence is the dual unity of God and man. To express the changed role of the personal spirit, he uses the methodology of existential philosophy. The spirit becomes the main subject of existence. An object is the interaction of two intentions of the spirit: 1) the spirit’s focus on itself (interiorization); focus on the objective world (exteriorization).

Society, according to Berdyaev, represents 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.

Considering the concept of “freedom,” he defined it as unconditional creative power, the possibility of novelty.

Speaking about epistemology, Berdyaev believed that there are two types of knowledge - free, non-objectified (faith) and forced, objectified (science). The highest community of people is achieved in God. It represents conciliarity as the internal spiritual society of people. Philosophical anthropology is based on the idea of ​​the godlikeness of man and the incarnation of God. Berdyaev divides the chronicle, earthly and heavenly, metahistory. Consideration of the meaning of history is connected with the problem of historical time. By viewing time as infinite, one can understand it as meaningless. Berdyaev’s historiosophy introduces a fundamental thesis about the end of history. But the end of his story is the overcoming of objectification, that is, alienation, hostility and impersonality. In history, Berdyaev's attention is drawn to two turning points: the emergence of Christianity and the emergence of humanism. Christianity introduced into consciousness the concept of freedom as creative good or evil. The humanistic direction brought faith in the “original powers” ​​of man.

Shestov Lev Isaakovich is one of the representatives of Russian existentialism. Existential philosophy, according to Shestov, is a philosophy of life combined with a philosophy of faith or a philosophy of the absurd. The focus of Shestov’s existential philosophy is man and human life. In this regard, he considered the main task of philosophy to be the identification of the foundations of this life. He observes a contrast between “living life” in its real essence and certain “abstract principles” - an abstract system of world order and morality, that is, principles imposed on man by reason and science. The dominant role is played by the idea of ​​the orderliness of the world, the action in it of some “objective” laws that act as “irresistible”, fettering a person. At the same time, real human existence does not obey any laws, since thinking is spontaneous and irrational. The focus of Shestov's philosophy is individual human existence. He sees the path to personal salvation for the man of poles in creativity, and later in religion. It is Revelation that leads to real truth and freedom.

Philosophy of “Russian diaspora”.