Introduction

In his biography of the eminent Orthodox theologian Georges Florovsky, Andrew Blane recounts a conversation in which Florovsky reminisced about one of his mentors at the University of Odessa, the experimental psychologist N. N. Lange (1858–1921). A convinced positivist, Lange offered the budding religious thinker the following advice:...

The Project of Russian Cosmism

Chapter 13 describes the original project of Russian Cosmism, as exemplified especially by Nikolai Fedorov, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and Vladimir Vernadsky, in the context of the relation between science and theology. Although they had a somewhat critical attitude toward the official doctrine of the Orthodox Church, the representatives of scientific cosmism professed a faith based on universal Reason, Order, and Harmony. The cosmists drew scientists’ attention to moral responsibility, the aims of scientific progress, and problems of ecology. For this reason, this concept is of particular importance nowadays. The chapter also discusses the limitation of Russian Cosmism, especially its speculative and esoteric character.

Philosophy from the Perspective of Language

Chapter 12 is dedicated to the analysis of the problem of the relationship between faith and science through the prism of language, as in the thought of Sergius Bulgakov and Alexei Losev. Their reflection on the nature of language of science and theology was provoked by the religious-philosophical movement of onomatodoxy, according to which the name of God is not something conventional, dependent on the possibility of human language, but is real par excellence. This perspective determined the methodological questions concerning the possibility of theological discourse on God and its relation with scientific knowledge. Both fields use symbolical language, although the priority belongs to the first one.

Fr. Pavel Florensky

Chapter 9 considers the philosophy of Fr. Pavel Florensky, “the Russian Leonardo da Vinci” who presented the most impressive attempt at the reconciliation of faith and science. Florensky was skeptical about the possibility of the rational expression of the content of revelation and maintained that a rational system violates the one religious Truth. At the same time, he tried to create a fusion of science and faith in the spirit of concordism. Emphasizing the antinomic character of the universe, he nevertheless believed in the possibility of overcoming the antinomy between science and religion, and of creating religious science and scientific religion.

Nikolai Lossky

Chapter 8 considers the project of Nikolai Lossky who tried to “justify” the truths of faith by means of philosophical terms. It shows his attempt to reconcile physics and metaphysics. The chapter presents the original metaphysical concept of the “substantival agent” of Lossky which is the base for physical phenomena. It also presents his attempt to reconcile scientific knowledge (especially the theory of evolution) and Christian dogmas. For Lossky evolution is a way into the Kingdom of God since the final stage of evolution is the achievement of unity with God. The chapter also discusses some shortages of Lossky’s concept, especially its highly speculative character.

Faith and Science in Russian Literature

Chapter 6 shows the presence of the topic of the relationship between faith and science in the thought of the most influential literature figures, such as Fedor Dostoevsky and Lev Tolstoy. Although Dostoevsky stressed the role of faith, his account by no means was a mere fideism. Dostoevsky respected natural science, even if he definitively marked the limits of the scientific explanation. Hence, he strove for an integral attitude embracing faith and reason in a single spiritual unity. By contrast, Lev Tolstoy was concerned about the absolute comprehensibility and rational obviousness of Christian truths, yet denied the significance of natural science.

Peter Chaadaev

Chapter 4 examines the topic of the relationship between faith and reason in the thought of Peter Chaadaev, recognized as the first original Russian philosopher. He treated faith and reason as two reliable paths representing feeling (of a temporary nature) and reasoning (which is more constant and stable) respectively, and both leading to God. Opposed to materialism and the newly found positivism, he tried to build a harmonious correlation between faith and natural science. It is argued that, according to Chaadaev, faith is the first stage of cognition but, on the other hand, it demands the confirmation of reason. Therefore, theology and science are complementary disciplines.

Russian Academic Philosophy

Chapter 3 is dedicated to the so-called academic philosophy which was a unique Russian phenomenon. Russian theological academies were the place of the development of philosophical investigations, including those connected with the question of the role of science for theology. The proponents of this way of philosophizing elaborated the interesting project of the so-called scientific and natural apologetics which enabled them to protect religion from atheist attacks. Academy professors interpreted particular scientific theories in the spirit of the reconciliation between faith and reason, which they broadcast, although that position often existed at the expense of not abiding by the competence of science and subordinating its facts to the unbending dogmas of Christianity.

Religious Thought in Medieval Rus

Chapter 1 explores the beginning of Russian religious thought in light of the relationship between faith and reason, Christian revelation and ancient philosophy. Two tendencies in Eastern Christian cosmology, reflecting two of the aspects (the transcendent and the immanent ones: the divine essence and the divine energies) of God are analyzed. The first one is typical for, and supposes that there is a clear-cut borderline between, the divine essence and creation and, respectively, between theology and science. Consequently, the task of philosophy is nothing other than to expose the limits of human reasoning and especially scientific knowledge. The second tendency claims that since the divine energies penetrate the empirical realm, therefore, cosmology is considered a part of theology. In Medieval Rus both approaches concerning the possibility of cognition of God through creation and, as one of the consequences, a link between theology and science, were adopted.

Neopatristic Synthesis and Science

Chapter 14 presents the current state of the discussion on this topic by paying attention to one of the most influential philosophical and theological movements in contemporary Orthodox thought—the Neopatristic synthesis. The Neopatristic synthesis is an approach to the development of patristic thought in the contemporary world and its application to different branches of knowledge, including science. According to Fr. George Florovsky, science has an imperfect character because knowledge of the empirical world is possible only from the theological point of view. The chapter also discusses some contemporary proposals of the Neopatristic synthesis, including from Alexei Nesteruk, Sergey Khoruzhy, and others.