Focusing on the Russian neo-Kantian movement, this comprehensive study reveals its international significance beyond Germany. It traces the movement's origins in late 19th-century Imperial Russia and its evolution, particularly influenced by young philosophers returning from German universities. These individuals brought diverse interpretations of Kant's philosophy, leading to intense debates over philosophical approaches and Kant's legacy. Ultimately, the promising Western-oriented neo-Kantianism faced insurmountable challenges, contributing to its decline after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Focusing on the later philosophical views of Vladimir Solov'ëv, this volume provides an in-depth analysis of his evolving thoughts during the last two decades of his life. It highlights his contributions to aesthetic philosophy and his engagement in the Russian discourse on free will. The author examines Solov'ëv's critiques of notable philosophers like Kant and Hegel, as well as his disagreements with contemporaneous movements such as positivism and materialism. The work culminates in a discussion of his final ethical philosophy articulated in his major treatise.
In addition, the book features two appendices: one that sketches the early Russian reception of French positivism against which Solov'ev reacted in the name of metaphysics and another that presents a fascinating look at the Solov'ev family background, which produced at once intellectual as well as dysfunctional members.
This work is a historical study of the philosophical writings emerging from Imperial Russia's theological „academies“ – Orthodoxy’s higher educational institutions that ran parallel to the secular universities – from their inception to the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. Unlike with nineteenth century Russian revolutionary thought, there are few secondary studies of the philosophical works stemming from the academies. These philosophical works focused on ontology and, as such, stand in sharp contrast to the shift toward epistemology in that century as happened in Germany. Another feature of the „academy“ philosophies was the continual and explicit attempt to set themselves apart from the pervasive „subjectivism“ of Western philosophical systems, although a largely unacknowledged influence persisted. At no time did the academy philosophers look to rational inquiry for more than an assist in understanding their theology. Instead they appealed to tradition and to an alleged direct insight into religious truths at the expense of logic and rational argument. The ultimate result was the pecular historical insularity of their community and concomitantly a subservience to the political state, traits that persist to this day.
This book presents a comprehensive study of the influence of Immanuel Kant’s Critical Philosophy in the Russian Empire, spanning the period from the late 19th century to the Bolshevik Revolution. It systematically details the reception bestowed on Kant’s ideas during his lifetime and up to and through the era of the First World War. The book traces the tensions arising in the early 19th century between the imported German scholars, who were often bristling with the latest philosophical developments in their homeland, and the more conservative Russian professors and administrators. The book goes on to examine the frequently neglected criticism of Kant in the theological institutions throughout the Russian Empire as well as the last remaining, though virtually unknown, embers of Kantianism during the reign of Nicholas I. With the political activities of many young radicals during the subsequent decades having been amply studied, this book focuses on their largely ignored attempts to grapple with Kant’s transcendental idealism. It also presents a complete account of the resurgence of interest in Kant in the last two decades of that century, and the growing attempts to graft a transcendental idealism onto popular social and political movements. The book draws attention to the young and budding Russian neo-Kantian movement that mirrored developments in Germany before being overtaken by political events.
