History, Sophia and the Russian Nation

Beschreibung

In this study, the work of the philosopher, publicist, poet, mystic and activist Vladimir Solov’ëv (1853-1900) is addressed from a new, interdisciplinary perspective. The author explores the connections between Solov’ëv’s views on history and his attempts to change the course of affairs in Russia. Firstly, the theological and philosophical aspects of Solov’ëv’s conception of history are unravelled. Most importantly, the central role of Sophia (Divine Wisdom) in his self-perception as the guiding prophet of Russian society is highlighted. Then, the author examines how Solov’ëv’s views on history prompted him to intervene in the following affairs: the crisis following the murder of tsar Alexander II in 1881, the famine of 1891-1892, and the condition of three religious minorities in Russia, namely the Old Believers, the Jews and the Catholic Poles.
This two-fold analysis shows that Solov’ëv departed from the ambition to cast Christian tradition in a modern mould by various means, speculative as well as practical. Characteristic for his attitude toward history is a tension between his professing an eternal truth and responding to a crisis in Russia. He emerges as a prodigiously erudite thinker, capable of synthesising various intellectual traditions ranging from Jewish mysticism to German idealism, and as a committed and independent intellectual in late tsarist Russia.

Autor*in

Manon de Courten

Themen in »History, Sophia and the Russian Nation«

Commitment History Nation Reassessment Religionsphilosophie Russian Social Solov’ëv’s Solov'ëv the Translator Solov'ëv, Vladimir Solov'ev, Vladimir S. Solov'ëv's Sophiology of History Sophia The Famine of 1891-1982 The Jewish Question

Stimmen zu »History, Sophia and the Russian Nation«

«‘History, Sophia, and the Russian Nation’ is an excellent place to start, and it should be recommended to anyone who wants to make sense of Solovyov's intricate, erudite, and vatic work.» (Timothy Langen, Slavic and East European Journal)
«Manon de Courten is to be warmly congratulated on her sustained and admirably thorough work on the philosopher Vladimir Solov'ev, which focuses on his very complex understanding of history.» (Jonathan Sutton, Slavonic and East European Review)
«De Courten's book is a major contribution to our knowledge of Solov'ev and his time. As such, it is required reading for students of Russian theology, philosophy, intellectual history, and the Silver Age, the latter because of Solov'ev's influence on it.» (Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, Slavic Review)
«...‘History, Sophia and the Russian Nation’ will take its place among the important studies of Solov'ev now available in English. [...] Her [Manon de Courten's] scope of research is immense, and I know that I and other scholars will rely on de Courten's study for years to come.» (Judith Deutsch Kornblatt, The Russian Review)
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