Russian philosophy before the beginning of the XIX century

Russian philosophy was born in the context of Eastern Slavic Christian theological thought. It is customary to divide it for the period from the 11th to the 17th century, after which the era of Russian enlightenment (XVII-XVIII century) and, finally, the nineteenth century, the most famous and presented to the world many outstanding names. Previous centuries have remained undeservedly forgotten or, at least, do not attract such attention. Nevertheless, this period is very interesting.

Although Russian philosophy was initially heavily influenced by Byzantine theology, it nevertheless managed to develop its own conceptual language and practical conclusions. Examples include the famous "Word of the Law and Grace" of Metropolitan Hilarion, dated to the 11th century - the interpretation of the Old Testament, containing the concept of the triumph of "light" over "darkness"; And also "Teachings" of Vladimir Monomakh of the 12th century, which is an ethical code of conduct for lay people (good deeds, repentance and charity). The foundations of the "house-building" were developed. In the Middle Ages, as the world was recognized as the creation of God, history and the surrounding reality were perceived as an arena of struggle of grace and diabolical intrigues.

Russian religious thinkers responded to the Greek hesychasm with their own reflections on "silent, intelligent prayer." It was then that the problem of man in Russian philosophy was first raised. There appeared the doctrine of the integrity of a person who is recognized through ecstasy, about the analysis of his passions and sins, about "essences" and "energies," that "how God is known through creation, so man through mentality." There were also unorthodox Christian philosophers in Russia, and even entire movements called "heretical" - strigolniki, who are compared to Western European catarrhs and Waldenses, and non-possessors, who in turn became brothers in the reformatory European currents.

Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, Russian philosophy has acquired a political character. This can be seen even from the correspondence of the Tsar himself with his friend-enemy Prince Kurbsky. Its representatives begin to talk about the technologies of government and the art of management, the need to "patronize" the people through the (secret) state council. His geopolitical apogee this direction reached in the writings of the hegumen Philotheus, where it is said of Rus as the third Rome, "and the fourth is not being." There were also secular philosophers, justifying an unlimited autocracy, like Ivan Peresvetov and Ermolai Erasmus. Patriarch Nikon tried to present spiritual power above secular, "in the Latin manner", and Yuri Krizhanich called for the unification of the Slavs against the Greek and German threat.

Russian philosophy, undoubtedly, was influenced by the West European and even was fond of fashionable at that time problems, for example, about the attitude to the Greco-Roman ancient culture. This is especially characteristic of the end of the XVII and XVIII centuries, when there is a real renaissance of secular thinking. First of all, for this time it is necessary to create and flourish the Moscow University, where in teaching they began to switch from Latin into Russian. A whole pleiad of philosophers-educators such as Theophanes Prokopovich, Stephen Yavorsky, Shcherbakov, Kozelsky, Tretyakov, Anichkov, Baturin, made their own attempt to synthesize elements of ancient and Christian culture.

The philosophy of the Russian Enlightenment can rightly be proud of such a representative as Mikhailo Lomonosov. Being a man of simple origin, he graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy and became a real encyclopedist, writing many works, ranging from mechanics, physics and mining and ending with political notes on "the preservation and multiplication of the Russian people." He shared many progressive views on science, including the principle of "noninterference" in theology in physics, about natural philosophy, about matter and attraction, not dependent on the divine will, on the "laws of nature" and on the structure of the material world "from corpuscles" (Which was an anticipation of the atomic-molecular theory of the structure of the universe), and so on. Lomonosov admired the ideas of Giordano Bruno about the multiplicity of worlds and recognized the law of conservation of matter and energy. Being a man of uncommon mind, he left to his descendants a wonderful instruction: "Experience is more than a thousand opinions, but for those who do not use mind, experience is useless."