Paul W. Werth
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198826354
- eISBN:
- 9780191865305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198826354.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Among the stranger literary products of 1837 was an essay called Apology of a Madman. Together with companion Philosophical Letters, this text represents a fundamental moment in the history of ...
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Among the stranger literary products of 1837 was an essay called Apology of a Madman. Together with companion Philosophical Letters, this text represents a fundamental moment in the history of Russian thought and makes its author, Peter Chaadaev, a central figure in Russian intellectual history. For these texts not only played a major role in precipitating a grand debate between Westernizers and Slavophiles about Russia’s place in the world, but also laid the foundations for all subsequent philosophies of history in Russia. And by positing that Russia constituted a blank slate on which virtually anything could be inscribed, the Apology exerted a powerful influence on anyone contemplating Russia’s future. Chaadaev’s interventions in 1836–7 thus gave birth to a particular way of thinking about Russia’s past and future, and the country would not be the same without them.Less
Among the stranger literary products of 1837 was an essay called Apology of a Madman. Together with companion Philosophical Letters, this text represents a fundamental moment in the history of Russian thought and makes its author, Peter Chaadaev, a central figure in Russian intellectual history. For these texts not only played a major role in precipitating a grand debate between Westernizers and Slavophiles about Russia’s place in the world, but also laid the foundations for all subsequent philosophies of history in Russia. And by positing that Russia constituted a blank slate on which virtually anything could be inscribed, the Apology exerted a powerful influence on anyone contemplating Russia’s future. Chaadaev’s interventions in 1836–7 thus gave birth to a particular way of thinking about Russia’s past and future, and the country would not be the same without them.
Teresa Obolevitch
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198838173
- eISBN:
- 9780191874642
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198838173.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Chapter 4 examines the topic of the relationship between faith and reason in the thought of Peter Chaadaev, recognized as the first original Russian philosopher. He treated faith and reason as two ...
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Chapter 4 examines the topic of the relationship between faith and reason in the thought of Peter Chaadaev, recognized as the first original Russian philosopher. He treated faith and reason as two reliable paths representing feeling (of a temporary nature) and reasoning (which is more constant and stable) respectively, and both leading to God. Opposed to materialism and the newly found positivism, he tried to build a harmonious correlation between faith and natural science. It is argued that, according to Chaadaev, faith is the first stage of cognition but, on the other hand, it demands the confirmation of reason. Therefore, theology and science are complementary disciplines.Less
Chapter 4 examines the topic of the relationship between faith and reason in the thought of Peter Chaadaev, recognized as the first original Russian philosopher. He treated faith and reason as two reliable paths representing feeling (of a temporary nature) and reasoning (which is more constant and stable) respectively, and both leading to God. Opposed to materialism and the newly found positivism, he tried to build a harmonious correlation between faith and natural science. It is argued that, according to Chaadaev, faith is the first stage of cognition but, on the other hand, it demands the confirmation of reason. Therefore, theology and science are complementary disciplines.
Paul W. Werth
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198826354
- eISBN:
- 9780191865305
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198826354.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Historians often think of Russia before the 1860s in terms of conservative stasis, when the ‘gendarme of Europe’ secured order beyond the country’s borders and entrenched the autocratic system at ...
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Historians often think of Russia before the 1860s in terms of conservative stasis, when the ‘gendarme of Europe’ secured order beyond the country’s borders and entrenched the autocratic system at home. This book offers a profoundly different vision of Russia under Nicholas I. Drawing on an extensive array of sources, it reveals that many of modern Russia’s most distinctive and outstanding features can be traced back to an inconspicuous but exceptional year. Russia became what it did, in no small measure, because of 1837. The catalogue of the year’s noteworthy occurrences extends from the realms of culture, religion, and ideas to those of empire, politics, and industry. Exploring these diverse issues and connecting seemingly divergent historical actors, Paul W. Werth reveals that the 1830s in Russia were a period of striking dynamism and consequence, and that 1837 was pivotal for the country’s entry into the modern age. From the romantic death of Russia’s greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin, in January to a colossal fire at the Winter Palace in December, Russia experienced much that was astonishing in 1837: the railway and provincial press appeared, Russian opera made its debut, Orthodoxy pushed westward, the first Romanov visited Siberia—and much else besides. The cumulative effect was profound. The country’s integration accelerated, and a Russian nation began to emerge, embodied in new institutions and practices, within the larger empire. The result was a quiet revolution, after which Russia would never be the same.Less
Historians often think of Russia before the 1860s in terms of conservative stasis, when the ‘gendarme of Europe’ secured order beyond the country’s borders and entrenched the autocratic system at home. This book offers a profoundly different vision of Russia under Nicholas I. Drawing on an extensive array of sources, it reveals that many of modern Russia’s most distinctive and outstanding features can be traced back to an inconspicuous but exceptional year. Russia became what it did, in no small measure, because of 1837. The catalogue of the year’s noteworthy occurrences extends from the realms of culture, religion, and ideas to those of empire, politics, and industry. Exploring these diverse issues and connecting seemingly divergent historical actors, Paul W. Werth reveals that the 1830s in Russia were a period of striking dynamism and consequence, and that 1837 was pivotal for the country’s entry into the modern age. From the romantic death of Russia’s greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin, in January to a colossal fire at the Winter Palace in December, Russia experienced much that was astonishing in 1837: the railway and provincial press appeared, Russian opera made its debut, Orthodoxy pushed westward, the first Romanov visited Siberia—and much else besides. The cumulative effect was profound. The country’s integration accelerated, and a Russian nation began to emerge, embodied in new institutions and practices, within the larger empire. The result was a quiet revolution, after which Russia would never be the same.
