DOI: 10.25136/2409-8728.2021.4.35114

Abstract: The object of this research is the heritage of the leading representatives of Medieval philosophy, while the subject is the philosophical ideas of the prominent representatives of Patristic and Scholastic philosophy upon the nature of evil. The goal of this work lies in giving holistic assessment to the philosophical ideas on the phenomenon of evil in the Middle Ages, and is achieved by solving the following tasks: 1) assessment of the concept of “the first sin” as the foundation for understanding the phenomenon of evil in Medieval philosophy; 2) determination of the genesis of philosophical ideas of the Middle Ages pertaining to the nature of evil in the logical-historical aspect; 3) description of the impact of such ideas upon further development of the Western European philosophy. The scientific novelty consists in comprehensive examination of the Medieval philosophical concepts dedicated to the phenomenon of evil. In Christianity, evil is viewed as essentially historical phenomenon, stemming from the event of the first sin and being conquered by the will of God. Medieval philosophers underlined the need for determining the ontology of evil, which is called to answer the question on the nature of evil and the role of evil in the universe. Medieval philosophers were also concerned with the problem of Theodicy, i.e. why a good God permits the manifestation of evil. The representatives of Patristic and Scholastic philosophy reasoned over the moral aspect in interpretation of evil, trying to correlate the phenomenon of evil with the free will of a human. The ideas of evil as the absence of good prevailed in the Christian philosophy, which viewed the phenomenon of evil as opposite to being, nothingness. Medieval concepts on the phenomenon of evil had a considerable spiritual and sociocultural impact upon the views of the leading representatives of German idealism, who have embraced not so much the assuredness of Medieval Christian philosophers that evil is the absence of good, but the idea on the equality of good and evil as the fundamentals of the universe and the components of human nature.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2020.10.33126

Abstract: The subject of this research is the existence of philosophical representations on the phenomenon of evil in antique culture and its perennial dialectical correlation with the good. This goal is achieved by interrelated solution of the following tasks: 1) determine the sources of antique philosophical perceptions of good and evil; 2) extract the essence of views of pre-Socratians, thinkers of the high classical period and certain representatives of Hellenistic philosophy upon the problems of good and evil; 3) assess the impact of antique ideas on good and evil upon the medieval philosophical views and modern philosophy. The scientific novelty consists in the first within the national historical-philosophical literature comprehensive assessment of the representations of antique philosophy upon the nature of evil. The author explores the genesis of these representations and their spiritual impact upon further development of world philosophy. Ancient Greece along with Ancient Rome, which absorbed its intellectual heritage, did not form the conceptually clear definition of evil; but the reviewed in this article philosophers, in diverse aphoristic forms of pre-philosophical knowledge and extant writings, left a number of paramount observations and reasoning that allow determining the establishment and advancement of the theory of evil in Middle Ages and Modern Age.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2019.6.29563

Abstract: The subject of this research is the philosophical image of the devil as the progenitor and carrier of all evil, personified in the characters of Mephistopheles (Goethe’s “Faust) and Woland (Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”). For achieving the set goal, the author determines the dialectics of internal and external in images of the devil; separates the common and peculiar in artistic depiction and philosophical interpretation of evil in the works of J. W. Goethe and M. A. Bulgakov; describes the role of devil’s forces in the Universe, as well as the problem of good and evil in both oeuvres. Research methodology contains the historical-philosophical analysis for objective completeness of the study; culturological and comparative approaches for establishing spiritual connection of the writers from historical eras. Throughout the XVIII-XX centuries, the image of the Duke of Darkness has experienced significant metamorphoses, substantiated by cultural, philosophical and moral changes. In Goethe’s perception, good and evil are absolutely equal in their power, but completely opposite to each other potentialities. He created a unique conceptual reality, which set the scale for philosophical and culturological interpretation of Satan in the XX century. The author traces an apparent correlation between the images of Mephistopheles and Woland. Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel, depicted the devil as power that often objectively doing good and punishing the unworthy, having developed a philosophical interpretation of evil applicable to the realities of Soviet Russia.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8728.2018.7.25743

Abstract: The subject of this research is the historical-philosophical reconstruction of representations of M. A. Bulgakov concerning the paramount questions of the philosophy of history. The author particularly analyzes the writer’s views upon the following historicophilosophical problems: 1) meaning of history and the causes of historical catastrophes; 2) coincidences and regularities in the historical process; 3) physical and social death in history; 4) relationship between people and government, politics and ethics; 5) possibility of creating a new human during the turning periods in history; 6) role of personality in history. Mikhail Bulgakov expressed the original philosophy of history in his works. Not being systemically formulated, the historical representations of Bulgakov capture the paramount ontological questions of the historical process, among which are: the specificity of historical process and correlation between evolution and revolution within it; meaning and purpose of history; problem of freedom and must in history; possibility of creating a new human in the turning historical epochs; role of personality in history. Bulgakov interlinks the historiosophical reasoning and philosophical-anthropological, ethical and axiological thoughts, creating the syncretic concept that is based on a distinct socio-philosophical anthropology. The key element in this concept is life, sufferings and death of a human, who desires to live, develops in accordance with the laws of evolution, rather than revolution – the social cataclysm that destroys the religious-ethical and value foundations in a human.