Мысли для беспокойного континента: некоторые российские взгляды на общечеловеческие вопросы
Аннотация
What does it mean to be human? Th is is a question about which Europeans today are divided. In this article the author seeks to conceptualize this issue with reference to Russia’s intellectual heritage. What do Russian thinkers say about the nature of our common humanity? The paper turns initially to the work of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, focusing on his ideas about moral responsibility and truth-telling. The author then discusses the moral thinking of some of the Russian dissidents, contrasting it with the ethics of the Soviet regime and the moral passivity of the population in the Soviet era. The paper goes on to explore the ideas of such thinkers as S. L. Frank and Fyodor Dostoevsky in the context of searching for new approaches to understanding our common humanity. Russian monasticism is also considered. According to the author, there are resources in Russian philosophy and spirituality which could enable the West to rediscover its religious heritage and understand human nature more deeply—as well as helping Russia itself. In conclusion, he calls for a religious, Christian humanism to help bring unity to our troubled world.