S.L. Frank's Religious Quests in Exile. The First Article: from True Christianity of I.G. Fichte to Church Orthodoxy
Publication Title:
S.L. Frank's Religious Quests in Exile. The First Article: from True Christianity of I.G. Fichte to Church Orthodoxy
Abstract:
The article traces the changes in S.L. Frank's religious views after his expulsion from Russia, during his emigration. It examines the pre-revolutionary period of Frank's work, with his orientation toward I.G. Fichte's concept of true Christianity, based on the idea of the immanent presence of the God-Absolute, who lacks personal definition, in the human soul. Frank's philosophical system, as expounded in The Object of Knowledge (1915) and The Soul of Man (1917), is presented as an original version of the philosophical tradition of mystical pantheism. An analysis of Frank's early émigré views shows that the philosopher revised his religious worldview and truly deeply embraced Church Orthodoxy, which led to the contradictory nature and far less substantive character of his first émigré works, The Fall of Idols (1924) and The Meaning of Life (1926), in comparison with his earlier writings. A careful analysis of his reasoning suggests that this critique of the ideals of inner spiritual development and the creative construction of culture in The Fall of Idols is merely formal, and that in reality Frank's views changed little. Obvious contradictions are noted in The Meaning of Life regarding Frank's explicit condemnation of Tolstoy's position of “moral idealism” and his simultaneous implicit repetition of this position in his own views. It is concluded that, having recognized these contradictions, Frank, in his later religious and ethical works God with Us and Light in the Darkness, returns to the views of his youth, including a sharp critique of ecclesiastical Christianity.
References:
(Sources)
Collected Works
1. Fikhte, I.G. Osnovnye cherty sovremennoy epokhi [The main features of the modern era], in Fikhte, I.G. Sochineniya v 2 t., t. 2 [Works in 2 vols., vol. 2]. Saint-Petersburg: Mifril, 1993, pp. 358–617.
2. Frank, S.L. [Retsenziya na:] Fritz Medicus. J.G. Fichte. Dreizhn Vorlesugen [[Review:] Fritz Medicus. J.G. Fichte. Dreizhn Vorlesugen], in Frank, S.L. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy. T. 2. 1903–1907 [Complete Works. Vol. 2. 1903–1907]. Moscow: Izdatel′stvo PSTGU, 2019, pp. 309–313.
3. Frank, S.L. Krushenie kumirov [The Fall of Idols], in Frank, S.L. Sochineniya [Works]. Moscow: Pravda, 1990, pp. 111–180.
4. Frank, S.L. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy. T. 5. Predmet znaniya [Complete Works. Vol. 5. The Subject of Knowledge]. Moscow: Izdatel′stvo PSTGU, 2023. 824 p.
5. Frank, S.L. Smysl zhizni [The meaning of life], in Frank, S.L. S nami Bog [God with us]. Moscow: AST, 2003, pp. 18–130.
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Individual Works
7. Fikhte, I.G. Nastavlenie k blazhennoy zhizni [Instructions for a Blessed Life]. Moscow: Kanon, 1997. 400 p.
(Articles from Scientific Journals)
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(Monographs)
15. Alyaev, G.E., Antonov, K.M., Rezvykh, T.N. Predislovie. S.L. Frank: «Predmet znaniya» [Preface. S.L. Frank: “The Object of Knowledge”], in Frank, S.L. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy. T. 5. Predmet znaniya [Complete Works. Vol. 5. The Object of Knowledge]. Moscow: Izdatel′stvo PSTGU, 2023, pp. 5–108.
16. Bubbayer, F. S.L. Frank. Zhizn' i tvorchestvo russkogo filosofa. 1877–1950 [Frank. The Life and Works of the Russian Philosopher. 1877–1950]. Moscow, ROSSPEN, 2001. 328 p.
17. Evlampiev, I.I. Istoriya russkoy metafiziki v XIX–XX vekakh. Russkaya filosofiya v poiskakh Absolyuta [The History of Russian Metaphysics in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Russian Philosophy in Search of the Absolute]. Saint-Petersburg: Izdatel′stvo RHGA, 2020. 920 p.
Key words:
Gnosticism, Fichte's true Christianity, Neo-Hegelianism, mystical pantheism, S.L. Frank's religiosity, Russian emigration, Neo-Kantianism
The DOI index:
10.17588/2076-9210.2026.3.114-130
Publication file:
