From Russian Theurgical Aesthetics to the Utopian Theurgy of Beauty and Art in the Russian Diaspora Philosophy

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the analysis of theurgic aesthetics in relation to the concept of utopia that initiates a different understanding of the philosophy of the Russian diaspora representatives through the prism of utopian theurgy of beauty and art. Introducing the idea of utopian theurgy of beauty and art the authors emphasize its meaningful, axiological component. The authors interpret the utopian theurgy of beauty and art in the Russian diaspora philosophy of the first third of the 20th century as an aesthetically mystical experience of the imperfection of human earthly existence that causes a gap with socio-historical reality with direct co-existence of the creative individual with God who is considered to be the true Beauty, the cosmic Harmony, and the universal Love. The meaning of the utopian theurgy of beauty and art is in achieving the goal of possible union with the deity, as well as in affirming person’s actions as a co-creator of the world process. The utopian theurgy of beauty and art of an optimistic nature, associated with the light of hope directed to the transformation of earthly existence is reflected in N.S. Arsenyev's idea of spiritual joy achievable in the mystical experience of "longing for Beauty in God"; in B.P. Vysheslavtsev's reflections about the artistic and creative embodiment of eros as thirst, the birth of the God-Man in beauty, as well as in I.A. Ilyin's philosophy, in which, despite disappointments in social changes, the faith in art as the Mystery, as "a service and a joy" always following sacred traditions is preserved. The aesthetic and pessimistic foundations of utopian theurgy are realized in the aesthetic views of V.V. Weidle, according to which art has lost its orientation to high objective spirituality; in S.L. Frank's idea of unrealized Beauty as a dream of the ultimate transformation of the world that is opposed by the bitter reality of the split of being; as well as in the philosophy of N.A. Berdyaev, who postulates the tragedy of earthly existence caused by the unattainability of the full realization of the cosmic Beauty that considers as the goal of the world process. N.O. Lossky's metaphysics, intuitionism and value system are of particular importance, as the utopian theurgy of beauty and art consists in the following: there always remains a share of the absolute truth in art that is the world of illusions and artist’s imagination; the absolute value of beauty universally valid for all substantial personalities is affirmed.

About the authors

Galina G. Kolomiets

Orenburg State University

Author for correspondence.
Email: kolomietsgg@yandex.ru
Doctor of Sc. in Philosophy, Professor 13, Pobedy avenue, Orenburg, 460018, Russian Federation

Pavel V. Lyashenko

Orenburg State University

Email: lyashenkopavel@rambler.ru
Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor 13, Pobedy avenue, Orenburg, 460018, Russian Federation

References

  1. Adorno T. Aesthetic Theory. Moscow: Respublika; 2001. (In Russian).
  2. Ueding G. Utopie in dürftiger Zeit. Studien über Ernst Bloch. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann; 2009.
  3. Bloch E. The Tübingen Introduction to Philosophy. Ekaterinburg: Ural University Press; 1997. (In Russian).
  4. Bychkov VV. Russian Theurgic Aesthetics. Moscow: Ladomir; 2007. (In Russian).
  5. Ogurcov AP. Theurgy. In: The New Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Moscow: Mysl'; 2010. (In Russian).
  6. Losev AF. History of ancient aesthetics. The last centuries. Vol. 1. Moscow: AST; 2007. (In Russian).
  7. Chalikova V. Utopia is Born by Utopia. London: Overseas Publications Interchange; 1992.
  8. Horacio Cerutti-Gulberg Fernando Ainsa. Soñador irredento, siempre Adelante. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana, 2016;(21):163—177. (In Spanish).
  9. Fernando Ainsa. Los senderos de la Utopía también se bifurcan. 45 años de viaje buscando llegar a alguna parte. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana. 2016;(21):139—154. (In Spanish).
  10. Frank SL. The meaning of life. In: Frank SL. Spiritual foundations of society. Moscow: Respublika; 1992. (In Russian).
  11. Zenkovsky VV. Features of Utopianism in the history of Russian thought. In: Сollected works. Vol. 1. Moscow: Russkij put'; 2008. (In Russian).
  12. Weidle VV. The Dying of Art: reflections on the fate of literary and artistic creativity. Saint-Petersburg: Aksioma; 1996. (In Russian).
  13. Valitsky A. A Different View of Russia. Letters from the "Russian Archive". Translated and commented by MA Maslin. Philosophy Journal. 2021;(2):67—195. (In Russian).
  14. Arsenyev NS. Of the abundant life. Brussels: Living with God; 1966. (In Russian).
  15. Kolomiets GG. Jacques Maritain: "mousikë" in poetic intuition and poetry. In: Aesthetica Universalis. Moscow: Lomonosov Moscow State University Publishing House; 2021. (In Russian).
  16. Arsenyev NS. About beauty in the world. Madrid: Educiones Castilla.; 1974. (In Russian).
  17. Vysheslavtsev BP. Paradoxes of communism. Put', 1926;(3):110—118. (In Russian).
  18. Vysheslavtsev BP. Ethics of the transformed Eros. Moscow: Respublika; 1994. (In Russian).
  19. Kolomiets GG. Philosophy of music in the picture of the world: from Antiquity to Modern times. RUDN Journal of Philosophy. 2021;(1):139—155. (In Russian).
  20. Frank SL. The Incomprehensible. In: SL Frank. Sochineniya. Moscow: AST; 2000. P. 601—614. (In Russian).
  21. Frank SL. The Heresy of Utopianism. Sociologicheskie issledovaniya. 1994;(1):126—127. (In Russian).
  22. Obolevich T, Rezvykh TN, Tsygankov AS. S.L. Frank: Lectures on Dostoevsky's Anthropology (To the 200th Anniversary of the Writer's Birth). Philosophy Journal. 2021;(3):110—130. (In Russian).
  23. Maslin MA. Diversity and unity of Russian philosophy. Saint-Petersburg: Izdatel'stvo Russkoj hristianskoj gumanitarnoj akademii; 2017. (In Russian).
  24. Ilyin IA. Lonely artist. Moscow: Iskusstvo; 1993. P. 243—249.
  25. Levitsky S. N.O. Lossky. In: N.O. Lossky. God and the world evil. Moscow: Respublika; 1994. (In Russian).
  26. Lossky NO. God and the world evil. Moscow: Respublika; 1994. (In Russian).
  27. Lossky NO. The world as realization of beauty. Basics of aesthetics. Moscow: Tradiciya; 1998. (In Russian).
  28. Berdyaev NA. New Middle Ages. Moscow: Nauka; 2002. (In Russian).
  29. Berdyaev NA. The Kingdom of the Spirit and the kingdom of Caesar. Epistemological introduction. In: Berdyaev NA. The Russian Idea. Moscow: Izdatel'stvo V. Shevchuk; 2000. (In Russian).
  30. Berdyaev NA. Philosophy of freedom. The meaning of creativity. Moscow: Pravda; 1989. (In Russian).
  31. Lyashenko PV. The category of «holiness» in the aesthetic views of NA. Berdyaev. Bulletin of the Orenburg University. 2011;(16):505—507. (In Russian).
  32. Mauricio Beuchot Puente. En viaje hacia Utopía. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana. 2017(22): 33-40. (In Spanish).
  33. Berdyaev NA. About the orientation of a person. Moscow: Respublika; 1993. (In Russian).
  34. Berdyaev NA. Dialectics of the divine and human. Moscow: AST; 2003. (In Russian).

Copyright (c) 2022 Kolomiets G.G., Lyashenko P.V.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies