“Mystics” and “God’s fools” in Russian philosophy (polemical notes)

Abstract

The article provides a polemical review of the latest approaches to understanding the specific features and perspectives of the development of Russian philosophy. First of all, the three main variants are stressed: 1) neglecting the originality of Russian philosophy and insisting on the necessity to follow “the Western models” (V. I. Krasikov), in particular, the late medieval mysticism (I. I. Yevlampiev); 2) taking into consideration the principle of “heartiness” rather than logic or rationality (V. V. Varava, V. P. Fetisov), demanding to rely upon the “Platonic-Philaretian philosophical school” implying “God’s foolery” and “tongue-tie” (P. V. Kalitin). According to these authors, it is the way that Russian philosophy should develop to achieve perfection and say “a new word” to the West. However, as it is proved in the article, the mentioned positions demonstrate the serious crisis of the latest historiography of Russian thought, its degradation as compared with the works of the previous researchers. Refs 15.