Unity of everything

All aspects of being are not only connected, but also deeply united. This includes everything from the spiritual realm and everyday life to science and religion. To give us a full understanding of the universe, they have to be brought together. That’s how we can briefly summarize the theory of All-Unity (всеединство), developed by Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900).

But what is it that actually unites everything? Solovyov believed that the answer was Sophia, the divine wisdom. In his interpretation, the purpose of human beings is to seek this wisdom and reach real knowledge that encompasses all planes of being. 

Further reading: Lectures on Divine Humanity by Vladimir Solovyov

Creativity as a spiritual act

The act of creation, of creativity, reveals true human nature. It always has a spiritual element to it. In this process, one can find a real freedom that can’t be reached in the mundane. People should aim to rise above everyday life, free themselves from it, and discover their true selves. This is one of the key ideas of Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948).

At the same time, he understood the tragedy of choosing either path: the path of worldly affairs destroys one’s freedom, while the path of transcendent creativity is hard and dangerous. Still, for Berdyaev, the latter is the purpose of life.

Further reading: The Destiny of Man by Nikolai Berdyaev

Criticizing rationality

Real philosophy is the art of thinking. It can’t cling to rational ideas that become dogmatic. The whole point of thinking is not to avoid everything problematic and uncertain by putting rational labels on it, but to constantly question everything, even statements that seem truthful. “The objective of philosophy is not to console, but to confuse,” wrote Lev Shestov (1866-1938). In his works, he opined that there are limits to reason, and that real philosophers aren’t afraid to explore them.

Further reading: All Things Are Possible by Lev Shestov

As you can see even from this brief overview, much of Russian philosophical writing isn’t about abstract theories that have little to do with ordinary life. In truth, it actually touches on topics that are still relevant for those seeking meaning today.

Not in the mood for pondering and contemplation? Read our story on fun Russian books for lighter reading.