University Philosophy During the Reign of Alexander I: From Vigorous Development to Persecution

Abstract

The article analyzes the development of university philosophy during the reign of Alexander I, which went from vigorous development at the beginning of his reign to persecution in the second half of his reign. At the beginning of his reign, Alexander I continued the line in the field of education that was laid by his grandmother Catherine II. But gradually fears of a possible revolution in the Russian Empire and a new great war in Europe prompted the emperor and his entourage to be wary of secular philosophical thought. They believed that the ideas of the thinkers of the Enlightenment, their philosophical constructions, which were based not on the Holy Scripture, provoked the revolution in France, the consequence of which was bloodshed in France itself and a great war in Europe. The final part of the article shows the role of representatives of the Ministry of Education, in particular D. P. Runich and M. L. Magnitsky, in the persecution of rationalistic philosophy and university teachers of that time.