“The Concreteness of Metaphysics”: F.M. Dostoevsky in the Philosophy of N.A. Berdyaev and S.L. Frank

The article considers the influence of Dostoevsky’s thought to the philosophy of N.A. Berdyaev and S.L. Frank. The crucial concept and experience of “living knowledge” and its anticipation in Dostoevsky’s heritage are discussed. Given that the problem of “living knowledge” overpasses the boundaries of pure gnoseology, we examines themes of ethical ideal, the meaning of religious belief and its existential significance. Besides that, in the article are presented three interrelated projects of theodicy in the Russian philosophy of 20th century (by N.A. Berdyaev, B.P. Vysheslavtsev and S.L. Frank). All of these projects are grounded in Dostoevsky’s thought. The supplement to the article consists of the first Russian translation of N.A. Arsenyev’s lecture “The central inspiration of Dostoevsky”.

French Neo-Hegelianism in Four Acts

The review presents the recently published monograph of Ivan Kurilovich “French neohegelianism: J. Wahl, A. Koyré, A. Kojève and J. Hyppolite in search of a unified phenomenology of Hegel – Husserl – Heidegger”. The book is dedicated to the history of the reception of the Hegel’s ideas in France in 1920–1960s. I. Kurilovich suggests his overview of the development of neo-hegelianism in its interconnection with the phenomenology, he analyses different versions and interpretative strategies on Hegel’s legacy: the theory of “malheur de la conscience” by J. Wahl, the epistemological framework suggested by A. Koyré, the phenomenologically-oriented interpretation of “Hegel – Heidegger” by A. Kojève, and the historical-philosophical reconstruction of Hegelian philosophy by J. Hyppolite. I. Kurilovich demonstrates the significant results of the interference between the ideas of Hegel and Husserl, Hegel and Heidegger. He problematizes the historical and philosophical concept of neo-hegelianism as such and demonstrates its ambiguity, as well as the lack of the direct intellectual lineage of its representatives. The book provides an opportunity to work with well-structured and informative historical content, which includes biographies and philosophical views, and gives a sophisticated view on the “conflict of interpretations” of Hegelian philosophy, suggested by J. Wahl, A. Koyré, A. Kojève and J. Hyppolite.

Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār’s Mathnawī as Representation of Sufi Doctrine

The Persian didactic poem (mathnawī) served among the Sufis of the classical period as a popular form of presenting their doctrine. The article outlines and analyzes the Sufi poet Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār’s four main poems belonging to the end of XII – beginning of XIII centuries: “Book of Mysteries” (Asrār-nāma), “Book of Sorrow” (Muṣ ībat-nāma), “Divine Book”(Ilāhī-nāma) and “The Language of the Birds”(Mantiq al-ṭayr). The author examines systematically the composition, the plot and the content of them, showing the principle of their construction, which is the combination the “explicit” (narrative) and “hidden” (Sufi) levels of meaning. Taking this into account the author offers an interpretation of the general Sufi theme, that is the search for and knowledge of God.

The Place of Plato’s Cratylus in the Curriculum of Neoplatonic Philosophy

“Cratylus” is one of Plato’s twelve dialogues which Iamblichus had selected for the study of Platonic philosophy (Iamblichus’ canon). The author analyzes principles of curriculum on Plato’s dialogues, as set forth in “Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy”, among them: a) the unity of the topic, or purpose (σκοπός), b) the choice of dialogues, c) the order of reading, etc. Next, leaning on reconstruction by Leendert Westerink of “Prolegomena”, the author of the article shows why “Cratylus” was placed after “Phaedo”, but before “Theaetetus”. And then the purpose (σκοπός) of “Cratylus” is becoming clear owing to analysis of Proclus’ Commentary on the “Cratylus”.

Japanese Philosopher Seiichi Hatano (1877–1950) on the Problems of Time

The name of Seiichi Hatano (1877–1950) is still not so widely known outside of Japan. At the same time, he belongs to those outstanding Japanese thinkers of the first half of the twentieth century, who not only introduced to their compatriots the history of Western philosophy, but also acted as generators of original concepts created on the basis of deep critical understanding of the Western intellectual heritage. The article deals with the reconstruction of Seiichi Hatano’s theory of time, formulated in his monograph “Time and Eternity” (1943), which crowned his creative career. The starting point of Hatano’s philosophy of time were studies of the basic human experience, which he interpreted in terms of the flow of life and the interaction of the Self and the Other. The subject of the Japanese thinker’s special interest was the problem of overcoming temporality. Hatano’s original contribution to the theory of time was the creation of the three-fold scheme of temporality, considered on the main levels of life – natural, cultural, and religious, conclusions about the divergence of time at the natural and cultural levels, and the idea that the past in history is governed by the perspective of the future.

The Worldwide Famous and Unknown to Us Philosopher Dieter Henrich (a brief Overview of His Creative Path)

The review briefly examines the main milestones of the creative path of the outstanding German philosopher Dieter Henrich (b. 1927), who in Germany is considered the greatest thinker of the post-war period, along with H.G. Gadamer and Yu. Habermas. Henrich is not only a deep researcher of German classical philosophy, but also the creator of his own original theory on the problem of subjectivity. This review pays special attention to this problem. Henrich had a great influence on many fields of knowledge – sociology, psychology, literary studies, and others. His works have been translated into many languages around the world; in July 2020, an international colloquium dedicated specifically to his work was held in Bielefeld. However, in Russia, due to historical and socio-political reasons, Henrich was almost unknown to the Russian reader. Only in 2018, one of his books, “Thinking and Self-Existence”, was published in Russian. In addition to this book, the review also mentions major works of recent years – “Being and Nothing” (2016), “This is Me and this is all said. Reflections on Fichte’s Insight" (2019). They develop the ideas contained in many of his previous works, but also present a new argument that presents the problem under study from an unexpected, sometimes opposite side. The purpose of this review is to introduce the reader to this philosopher and to arouse interest in further research of his work.

From the History of French Spiritualism: The Philosophy of Jules Lachelier

The article examines the philosophical concept of Jules Lachelier – one of the leading representatives of French spiritualism and neo-Kantianism of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Lachelier's teachings were largely associated with the ideas of his predecessors – Maine de Biran and F. Ravaisson. At the same time, it was marked by the strong influence of Kant's philosophy, which determined the originality of this form of spiritualism. Like Biran and Ravaisson, Lachelier relied on “pure psychology”, exploring the facts of consciousness, but highlighted thinking as the only ability to achieve reliable knowledge. Using the method of reflection, thanks to which thinking directly comprehends its own nature and its relationship with phenomena, Lachelier in his work “On the basis of induction” undertook the substantiation of spiritualist realism (Ravaisson's term) as a true philosophy of nature, emphasizing the importance of the law of finite causes, which explains nature and thinking. This concept was developed in the work “Psychology and Metaphysics”, which describes the process of constituting reality by thinking, a process driven by the striving of thinking for ever more complete self-realization and self-knowledge. Thus, the views of Lachelier, who followed his own theoretical path, in the late period turned out to be close to the ideas of the German post-Kantians.

Apollonian and Dionysian: the Life and Fate of a Famous Metaphor

The article examines the genesis, development and historical fate of the famous Nietzschean antithesis “Apollonian and Dionysian”. The content and consequences of the discussion on the “Birth of Tragedy” by F. Nietzsche between U. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff and E. Rohde are analyzed. The heuristic potential of this metaphor is evaluated. The author draws attention to the fact that the opposition between the “cult of Apollo” and “the cult of Dionysus” was never practiced in Ancient Greece itself. At the same time, Nietzsche's scheme turned out to be extremely long lived; not only for numerous writers and publicists, but also for scientists of various specializations who used it liberally.

Whether Vladimir S. Solovyov Became a Catholic (Historical and Philosophical Analysis)

In the article, the author examines the religious and philosophical views of Vladimir Solovyov during the period of his appeal to the Roman Catholic Church as a rock and center of unification of Christian humanity. Based on materials from the Vatican archives and periodicals of the Holy See, it was reconstructed how Catholic world perceived Solovyov’s project of ecclesiastic union. In particular, the question of Solovyov’s conversion in Catholicism was studied. The author points to unknown document on the preparation of special instructions for Solovyov by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In addition, the author analyses the reception of the idea of the Universal Church by Russian religious philosophers of the early 20th century. It is emphasized that they did not accept the idea of Solovyov’s conversion to Catholicism and pointed to the fundamental religious and philosophical significance the idea of the Universal Church as a mystical unity of the Eastern and Western Churches. Thus, the article shows that the religious and philosophical ideas of Solovyov were closely related to his sociocultural and political views. He was a person who adopted Christianity as a fundamental principle of being and a key driving force of history.

From Pan-Anarchism to Social Engineering and Interindividualism: the Human Being Problem in the Work of the Gordin Brothers

The article analyzes the evolution of the philosophical views of the pananarchism-theorists A.L. and W.L. Gordin through the prism of human being problem. The study involved not only the collective work of thinkers, but also their solo-creative work in the period 1909–1924. Based on the study of such conceptual phenomena as pananarchism, the AO language, social engineering and interindividualism, the conclusion is drawn: being inspired by the philosophy of M. Stirner, A.L. and W.L. Gordin explored the human being problem using one of the most eclectic conceptual devices in the history of Russian intellectual culture. At the same time, the authors of the article consider that eclecticism in this case should be evaluated positively – as an attempt at a comprehensive philosophical and anthropological study, which is based on the ethical and aesthetic views of thinkers, closely related to their socio-political views.