DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2023.7.38571

Abstract: In the article, through the prism of the philosophy of existentialism and social psychology, the prerequisites of the criminal behavior of the main characters of the novels by Mikhail Lermontov "Hero of Our Time" and Fyodor Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment" – Grigory Pechorin and Rodion Raskolnikov are investigated. The author of the article claims that the reasons for the criminal behavior of both Pechorin and Raskolnikov are intrapersonal. However, the personal characteristics of an individual are formed under the influence of the society in which he exists, which is demonstrated by the example of the main characters of the novels of Lermontov and Dostoevsky. Thus, the article clearly shows the main principle of the philosophy of existentialism in action: the existence of a person precedes his essence.   The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Pechorin and Raskolnikov have many similar character traits, and the main difference between them lies in the social status of the characters. In both novels, the writers decry the vices of Russian class society. The author of the article summarizes that from the point of view of religious existentialism, Pechorin's fate is much more gloomy than Raskolnikov's fate, since Pechorin's soul is taken away by an all-consuming nothingness, while Raskolnikov's soul gets a chance for salvation. Dostoevsky's heroes always have hope, because God shows them the way by which a person can come to grace. This is where the main difference between Lermontov and Dostoevsky lies.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2023.7.43479

Abstract: In the article, through the prism of the existential philosophy of S. Kierkegaard, K. Jaspers, G.-G. Gadamer and J.-P. Sartre, as well as the theory of ideology of K. Manheim, the personality of the main character of M. Y. Lermontov's drama "Masquerade" – Arbenin is analyzed. The author of the article claims that Arbenin is in a state of existential despair and finds himself in a borderline situation. At the same time, in the drama "Masquerade", the ideals of Romanticism are reduced to a post-Romantic ideology. Lermontov does this intentionally in order to condemn the ideological perversion of the ideals of romantic culture. The drama also focuses on the general cultural border situation: how to protect yourself from the temptations of ideology at a time when existing ideals and values are disappearing.   The author of the article comes to the conclusion that in "Masquerade" Lermontov praises the romantic ideals of rebellious spirit and will, transcendent love and insight, even when he shows the dangers of turning these ideals into ideology. But "Masquerade" is not a romantic drama. This is a drama about romanticism, that is, about how the ideals of romantic culture can be perverted into an ideology that deceives and destroys people, destroying their unique existence, instead of elevating them. "Masquerade" is a variant of Lermontov's reaction to the difficulties that arose in his post–romantic, transitional time. Conveying his admiration for the ideals of romantic culture, Lermontov embodies one of the types of reaction to the realization of the decline of these ideals – the stereotypical reduction of the romantic worldview and values to a set of ideological concepts. But by portraying Arbenin, Lermontov hints at the possibility of recognizing that the worldview and values of Romanticism are losing their authority and integrity and that turning them into an ideology does not compensate for this loss. We need to find a new worldview, new values, new ideals.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2023.6.40939

Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the existential paradigm of M. Lermontov's creativity in the light of the existential theories of S. Kierkegaard and K. Jaspers, which is considered in the context of the cultural transition in Russian literature of the 1830s-1840s. It is argued that Lermontov radically changed the nature of his literary activity by the mid-1830s, overcoming his own existential ambivalence and abandoning the subjective emotionality and exoticism of his youthful poetry in favor of objective observations and research of the surrounding world. Lermontov was aware of his existential ambivalence and sought to overcome this state in order to achieve cultural integrity, which should be considered as one of his main values. Lermontov's works reflect the concept of integrity as the integration of culture through a set of prevailing norms and ideals, as well as the feeling that this integrity was disintegrating in transitional times. This state of affairs caused a sense of disintegration in Lermontov, which is similar to the borderline situation of Jaspers. Lermontov's works illustrate the loss of cultural ideals with the decline of Romanticism. But rejecting the ideals of Romanticism, Lermontov conveys the feeling that post-Romantic disappointment generated cynicism and distorted thinking. The novel "The Hero of Our Time" has become the embodiment of such shortcomings. Lermontov's works do not belong to romanticism, nor to protorealism, nor to any combination of both. But Lermontov played his transitional role superbly. Not only did he raise questions about Romanticism that realism would later make its own, he also shed light on Romanticism itself and how it was fading. Lermontov showed how difficult it is for an artist who is aware of his own existential ambivalence to create and live in a transitional time devoid of a unifying sense of cultural integration and integrity, illustrating how badly a creative personality needs such integration and integrity.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2023.5.40774

Abstract: The article examines the historiosophical reflections of F. I. Tyutchev, presented in his treatises, letters, poems, and substantiates the idea that Tyutchev does not proclaim slogans of either Slavophil or Westernist doctrines, but creates an original imperial ideology. Tyutchev views Russia as an equal and integral part of Europe, linking the existence of the empire with the development of the European spirit in Russia. The main criterion for the existence of the empire is unity. If it does not exist, then the state as an empire cannot exist. Tyutchev treated Orthodoxy as a historiosophical category. He bases his concept of the historical process on the traditions of Eastern Christianity and the legacy of the Byzantine Empire. In the idea of an empire based on Christian principles, Tyutchev sees the best system of statehood. For Tyutchev, the Russian people and Orthodoxy play a major role in the transformation of the world.   In the concept of state and power, the categories of Christian ethics are especially important for Tyutchev, which, in his opinion, were not really relevant for the upper strata of society and representatives of the Russian government. The poet calls power "godless", claiming that it does not come from God, but is based on its material power, without recognizing a higher Divine authority over itself. The reason for the "godlessness" of the authorities was the separation from the Russian people and their national traditions and the departure from the historical past of "Holy Russia". This, from Tyutchev's point of view, is the main existential problem of Russia. Tyutchev's concept of empire was not a reproduction of the realities of the political life of Russia in the XIX century, but was an attempt to answer how the state should be built. Tyutchev's ideal of the Russian state is based on a society united by a single Christian faith.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0749.2023.1.38574

Abstract: The article examines the work of F. Tyutchev in the light of aesthetic phenomena of Russian literature of the XIX century. A comparison of the works of Tyutchev and lyubomudrov is made. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the generation of creators to which Tyutchev and Lyubomudry belonged has developed a kind of type of Russian philosophy, whose specificity consists in the fact that it is expressed through art, and primarily through literature. Tyutchev's poetry reveals a number of unique existential-philosophical concepts: the prerequisites of the borderline situation described in the existential theories of K. Jaspers in the twentieth century, as well as analogies with reflections on the death of the founder of the religious trend of existentialism – S. Kierkegaard. The author of the article concludes that Russian philosophical thought tends to be expressed through the language of art, in particular, the language of poetry. Tyutchev and the Moscow idealists create a new type of hero – thinker. He is faced with such existential problems as the place of man in the universe, the meaning of human life, understanding of the psyche and human feelings. He asks questions about the higher powers that rule the world. He faces "damned problems" that will worry Russian writers of the second half of the XIX century. It was poetic thought that contributed to the development of such a great psychologism in the second half of the XIX century.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2022.7.38449

Abstract: The article examines the phenomenon of conformism in the context of socialist realism, which for a long time was the main direction for the Soviet art sphere. Conformism is interpreted as an effective way for the artist to optimize relations with the authorities and society, giving the opportunity for social self-preservation. Conformism is a kind of strategy for artists, thanks to which they manage to achieve their creative goals and successfully exist within the established cultural framework. The author of the article argues that conformism helped artists who put their creativity at the service of socialist realism to find some basis for their activities, because socialist realism did not initially have such a basis. The author comes to the conclusion that in the conditions of constant transformation of cultural requirements and the need to fully comply with them, conformism becomes for the artist not just a tactic in achieving creative goals, but also a kind of self-defense mechanism that allows to preserve mental and physical health. The most successful Soviet artists were able to realize their talent by creating many bright works of art due to the fact that they created precisely in the mainstream of socialist realism, and if it were not for it, perhaps the world would never have known about some outstanding Soviet artists, as well as not seen their works of art, since the realization of Soviet artists in another cultural environment might well not have taken place.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2022.7.38487

Abstract: The philosophical nature of Tyutchev's poetry was noted by researchers of his work during the poet's lifetime. The study of Tyutchev's work makes it possible to trace the origin of a unique direction of philosophical thought in Russian poetry of the XIX century – religious existentialism. The research carried out within the framework of this article allowed us to trace the genesis of the original direction of religious existentialism in the poetry of F. Tyutchev, who interpreted Nature in his work in philosophical categories. In his poetic works, Tyutchev does not just depict the splendor of Nature, but shows his own idea of the essence of the universe and tries to solve the riddle of human existence through the knowledge of the secrets of Nature, which is presented as proof of the existence of God. Thus, Tyutchev's poetry of Nature is regarded as existential poetry, since it gives a person an answer to the question of the meaning of his existence. In Tyutchev's poetry, the tragedy of human existence correlates with a similar theme developed in the philosophical treatises of the founder of existentialism, S. Kierkegaard, and subsequently continued in the works of the German existential philosopher K. Jaspers. Kierkegaard imagined a gloomy reality where a person is doomed to exist, plunged into the abyss of despair. At the same time, the founder of existentialism offered man a way out of tragic existence through the process of self-improvement, that is, the formation of his own personality, and striving for God. However, the process of becoming a personality is also a path to the tragedy of being, as it leads to a violation of harmony between man and Nature. It is this existential problem, which is related to the borderline situation of Jaspers, that lies in the focus of Tyutchev's attention, who described in poetic form the relationship between man and Nature and showed the only possible way out of this situation through making an existential choice in favor of accepting faith in the true God.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2022.4.37521

Abstract: The article traces the origins of existentialism on the examples of writers and philosophers of the XIX century. The history of the study of the category «artistic consciousness» and the category «existential consciousness» is considered. The theoretical substantiation of the concepts of «artistic consciousness» and «existential consciousness» is proposed. The terms «existential» and «existentialist» are distinguished. The term «existential» is applied to writers and philosophers of the XIX century. S. Kierkegaard, M. Lermontov, F. Tyutchev, A. Schopenhauer, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov, F. Nietzsche are represented as existential writers. It shows the path that existential consciousness took in literature in the XIX century from Kierkegaard's «Knight of Faith» to Nietzsche's «Antichrist». The author makes an assumption about the existence of an existential type of artistic consciousness, considered as a type of artistic and aesthetic interaction of a person with the world, expressed in artistic creativity. It is suggested that in the twentieth century, the existential consciousness of a free person who found himself in a world where «God died» fell into an enchanted circle of absurdity. The opposite approach, considering human freedom as a gift from God, suggests using it in the name of creative improvement. Such a path leads to harmony with God, elevating the human creator to the role of a co-author of Divine creativity. Only this way is able to bring existential consciousness out of the dead end of the absurd.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0749.2022.4.37743

Abstract: The article examines the existential paradigm in fiction through the prism of the literary theory of the French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre. The author explores the relationship between the writer and the reader in their social context. It is argued that the task of a literary critic is mainly to study the writer's technique. The task of a philosophical critic can be defined as the study of the metaphysics of a writer. Writers need the freedom of the reader for their work to exist authentically. Without this, they will cease to exist as authors, and their works will be in obscurity. Literature is an ideal means for both the writer and the reader to realize their own freedom and each other's freedom.   The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Sartre's ideas are still relevant today. As the concepts of nationality and belonging are being revised and changed, the process of globalization is underway, Sartre's theories allow critics to contextualize writers beyond such obvious boundaries. Today it seems interesting to find out whether Sartre's ideas about existentialism and literature can be applied to writers and their work in such a way that the "critic" can analyze both the metaphysics of the novelist and his artistic technique, and, moreover, assess his role in society and beyond. In the light of Sartre's theories, literature is the most appropriate way by which a person can realize and change society. The theories of literature and existentialism of Jean Paul Sartre can be applied to identify and analyze existential concepts in a wide variety of works of fiction, including retrospectively, which is demonstrated in this article by the example of Russian writers – M. Y. Lermontov and F. M. Dostoevsky.

DOI: 10.25136/1339-3057.2022.3.37530

Abstract: Based on the theoretical developments of the scientific philological school of the Ural Federal University (UrFU), the article analyzes the category of "artistic consciousness" and identifies an existential paradigm within this category. Special attention is paid to tracing the history of the study of the category "artistic consciousness" by UrFU scientists from the Soviet period to our time. The author of the article explores the origins of existentialism using the examples of writers and philosophers of the XIX century. As existential writers and philosophers of the XIX century, S. Kierkegaard, A. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche are represented among Western European thinkers and M. Lermontov, F. Tyutchev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov are among Russian writers. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the Russian literature of the XIX century is the bearer of unique ideas of religious existentialism. The author assumes the existence of an existential type of artistic consciousness, considered as a type of artistic and aesthetic interaction of a person with the world, expressed in artistic creativity, and suggests that in the twentieth century the existential consciousness of a free person who found himself in a world where "God died" fell into an enchanted circle of absurdity. The opposite approach, considering human freedom as a gift from God, suggests using it in the name of creative improvement. Such a path leads to harmony with God, elevating the human creator to the role of a co-author of Divine creativity.