Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Ivan Kireevsky" - New World
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
'''Ivan Vasilievich Kireevsky''' (3 April, 1806 — 23 June, 1856) was a [[Russia]]n literary critic and philosopher who, together with [[Aleksey Khomyakov]], co-founded the [[Slavophile]] movement. The Slavophile movement originated in [[Moscow]] in the 1830s. Drawing on the works of Greek [[Church Fathers|patristics]], the poet [[Aleksey Khomyakov]] (1804-60) and his devoutly [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] friends elaborated a traditionalistic doctrine that Russia has its own distinct way and doesn't have to imitate and mimic Western institutions. The Russian Slavophiles denounced [[Western culture]] and "[[westernization]]s" by [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]] and [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]], and some of them even adopted the traditional pre-Petrine dress. | '''Ivan Vasilievich Kireevsky''' (3 April, 1806 — 23 June, 1856) was a [[Russia]]n literary critic and philosopher who, together with [[Aleksey Khomyakov]], co-founded the [[Slavophile]] movement. The Slavophile movement originated in [[Moscow]] in the 1830s. Drawing on the works of Greek [[Church Fathers|patristics]], the poet [[Aleksey Khomyakov]] (1804-60) and his devoutly [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] friends elaborated a traditionalistic doctrine that Russia has its own distinct way and doesn't have to imitate and mimic Western institutions. The Russian Slavophiles denounced [[Western culture]] and "[[westernization]]s" by [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]] and [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]], and some of them even adopted the traditional pre-Petrine dress. | ||
| − | The doctrines of Khomyakov, Kireevsky, [[Konstantin Aksakov]] (1817-60) and other Slavophiles had a deep impact on Russian culture, including the [[Russian Revival]] school of architecture, [[The Five]] Russian composers, the novelist [[Nikolai Gogol]], the poet [[Fyodor Tyutchev]], the lexicographer [[Vladimir Dahl]], and others. Their struggle for purity of the [[Russian language]] had something in common with aesthetic views of [[Leo Tolstoy]]. | + | The doctrines of Khomyakov, Kireevsky, [[Konstantin Aksakov]] (1817-60) and other Slavophiles had a deep impact on Russian culture, including the [[Russian Revival]] school of architecture, [[The Five]] Russian composers, the novelist [[Nikolai Gogol]], the poet [[Fyodor Tyutchev]], the lexicographer [[Vladimir Dahl]], and others. Their struggle for purity of the [[Russian language]] had something in common with aesthetic views of [[Leo Tolstoy]]. |
== Early life and career == | == Early life and career == | ||
| − | Ivan Kireevsky and his brother Pyotr were born into a cultivated noble family of considerable means. Their father | + | Ivan Kireevsky and his brother Pyotr were born into a cultivated noble family of considerable means. Their father had read some Enlightenment philosophy, apparently enough to develop a strong distaste for French [[atheism]]. He felt so passionately that he would burn heaps of [[Voltaire]]'s books, acquired specifically for the purpose<ref>''Russia and Western Civilization: Cultural and Historical Encounters'' (ed. by Russell Bova). M.E. Sharpe Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7656-0976-2. Page 38.</ref>; his fatal disease was contracted while healing the wounded soldiers during the [[Napoleonic Wars|French invasion of Russia]]. The boy was just six at the time of his father's death. He was raised in an intellectual milieu, which included his maternal uncle, [[Vasily Zhukovsky]], his step-father, A. A. Yelagin who was also well-read in [[Romanticism|Romantic]] philosophy and the mother, Madame Avdotia Yelagina, an influential lady who held a brilliant salon in [[Moscow]]. Zhukovsky was Russia's foremost poet of the second decade of the 1800s, who was an important precursor to [[Alexander Pushkin]], and played a leading role in introducing Romanticism to Russia literature. Avdotia professed her disdain for [[Peter the Great]] for his treatment of his wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina and the Lopukhin family, to which she was related. The father's distaste for French culture and the mother's distrust of post-Petrine officialdom may have influenced Kireevsky's views on Russia and its history. |
Starting in 1821, Kireevsky attended [[Moscow University]], where he became interested in contemporary German [[philosophy]] and joined the circle of "wisdom-lovers" (or ''Lyubomudry''), led by Dmitry Venevitinov and Vladimir Odoevsky. He was particularly impressed by the teachings of [[Schelling]], whose representation of the world as a living organism was in tune with Kireevsky's own intense dislike of European [[rationalism]] and fragmentedness. Kireyevsky's original literary works do not give him a place in the history of [[Russian literature]], but he did gain a measure of fame by publishing the penetrating analyses of contemporary authors. His 1828 review of [[Alexander Pushkin|Pushkin's]] poetry, written in "purple prose" and entitled "Some Observations about the Character of Pushkin's Poetry", contained the first in-depth assessment of Pushkin's singular achievement, the Romantic novel in verse ''Eugene Onegin''. Later, Kireevsky would exchange letters with Pushkin and publish his works in his short-lived periodical ''Evropeets'' (''The European''). | Starting in 1821, Kireevsky attended [[Moscow University]], where he became interested in contemporary German [[philosophy]] and joined the circle of "wisdom-lovers" (or ''Lyubomudry''), led by Dmitry Venevitinov and Vladimir Odoevsky. He was particularly impressed by the teachings of [[Schelling]], whose representation of the world as a living organism was in tune with Kireevsky's own intense dislike of European [[rationalism]] and fragmentedness. Kireyevsky's original literary works do not give him a place in the history of [[Russian literature]], but he did gain a measure of fame by publishing the penetrating analyses of contemporary authors. His 1828 review of [[Alexander Pushkin|Pushkin's]] poetry, written in "purple prose" and entitled "Some Observations about the Character of Pushkin's Poetry", contained the first in-depth assessment of Pushkin's singular achievement, the Romantic novel in verse ''Eugene Onegin''. Later, Kireevsky would exchange letters with Pushkin and publish his works in his short-lived periodical ''Evropeets'' (''The European''). | ||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
Ivan Kireevsky died at the age of 50 during a [[cholera]] epidemic. His brother Pyotr outlived him by several months. They were buried side by side in the Optina Monastery, the first laymen to be so honored. | Ivan Kireevsky died at the age of 50 during a [[cholera]] epidemic. His brother Pyotr outlived him by several months. They were buried side by side in the Optina Monastery, the first laymen to be so honored. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===The Slavophile Movement=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Slavophile movement was a loose association of primarily philosophers who rejected the [[rationalism]], [[individualism]] and [[secularism]] of the West. | ||
| + | "Following Chaadayev, all the Slavophiles were were philosophers of history and culture. Whereas the Westernizing philosphers emphasized the catastrophic retardation of Russia, its social backwardness, its lack of a developed literary culture, and the consequent need for Russia to catch up with the West and to take her place in Europe, the Slavophiles emphasized and attempted to orchestrate the specific virtues and values of Russian culture. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
| Line 34: | Line 42: | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | + | *Billington, James H., ''The Icon and the Axe: an Interpretive History of Russian Culture'', Vintage Books, 1970. ISBN 978-0394708461 | |
| − | + | *Russia and Western Civilization: Cultural and Historical Encounters (ed. by Russell Bova). M.E. Sharpe Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7656-0976-2. | |
| + | *Nineteenth-Century Religious Thought in the West. Cambridge University Press, 1988. | ||
| + | *Alexei S. Khomiakov, Ivan Kireevskii, Boris Jakim, Robert Bird. On Spiritual Unity. SteinerBooks, 1998. ISBN 0-940262-91-6. | ||
| + | *Philosophical Imagination and Cultural Memory. Duke University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8223-1307-3. | ||
| + | *Ian Buruma, Avishai Margalit. Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies. Penguin, 2004. | ||
| + | *Susanna Rabow-Edling. Slavophile Thought And the Politics of Cultural Nationalism. SUNY Press, 2006. ISBN 0-7914—6693-0. | ||
| + | *Edie, James M., Scanlan, James P., and Zeldin, Mary-Barbara, ''Russian Philosophy, Volume 1: the Beginnings of Russian Philosophy, the Slavophiles, the Westernizers'', The University of Tennessee Press, 1976. ISBN 0-87049-200-4. | ||
[[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]] | [[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]] | ||
Revision as of 05:45, 23 June 2007
Ivan Vasilievich Kireevsky (3 April, 1806 — 23 June, 1856) was a Russian literary critic and philosopher who, together with Aleksey Khomyakov, co-founded the Slavophile movement. The Slavophile movement originated in Moscow in the 1830s. Drawing on the works of Greek patristics, the poet Aleksey Khomyakov (1804-60) and his devoutly Orthodox friends elaborated a traditionalistic doctrine that Russia has its own distinct way and doesn't have to imitate and mimic Western institutions. The Russian Slavophiles denounced Western culture and "westernizations" by Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, and some of them even adopted the traditional pre-Petrine dress.
The doctrines of Khomyakov, Kireevsky, Konstantin Aksakov (1817-60) and other Slavophiles had a deep impact on Russian culture, including the Russian Revival school of architecture, The Five Russian composers, the novelist Nikolai Gogol, the poet Fyodor Tyutchev, the lexicographer Vladimir Dahl, and others. Their struggle for purity of the Russian language had something in common with aesthetic views of Leo Tolstoy.
Early life and career
Ivan Kireevsky and his brother Pyotr were born into a cultivated noble family of considerable means. Their father had read some Enlightenment philosophy, apparently enough to develop a strong distaste for French atheism. He felt so passionately that he would burn heaps of Voltaire's books, acquired specifically for the purpose[1]; his fatal disease was contracted while healing the wounded soldiers during the French invasion of Russia. The boy was just six at the time of his father's death. He was raised in an intellectual milieu, which included his maternal uncle, Vasily Zhukovsky, his step-father, A. A. Yelagin who was also well-read in Romantic philosophy and the mother, Madame Avdotia Yelagina, an influential lady who held a brilliant salon in Moscow. Zhukovsky was Russia's foremost poet of the second decade of the 1800s, who was an important precursor to Alexander Pushkin, and played a leading role in introducing Romanticism to Russia literature. Avdotia professed her disdain for Peter the Great for his treatment of his wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina and the Lopukhin family, to which she was related. The father's distaste for French culture and the mother's distrust of post-Petrine officialdom may have influenced Kireevsky's views on Russia and its history.
Starting in 1821, Kireevsky attended Moscow University, where he became interested in contemporary German philosophy and joined the circle of "wisdom-lovers" (or Lyubomudry), led by Dmitry Venevitinov and Vladimir Odoevsky. He was particularly impressed by the teachings of Schelling, whose representation of the world as a living organism was in tune with Kireevsky's own intense dislike of European rationalism and fragmentedness. Kireyevsky's original literary works do not give him a place in the history of Russian literature, but he did gain a measure of fame by publishing the penetrating analyses of contemporary authors. His 1828 review of Pushkin's poetry, written in "purple prose" and entitled "Some Observations about the Character of Pushkin's Poetry", contained the first in-depth assessment of Pushkin's singular achievement, the Romantic novel in verse Eugene Onegin. Later, Kireevsky would exchange letters with Pushkin and publish his works in his short-lived periodical Evropeets (The European).
After his proposal was refused by his cousin, Kireevsky set out for Europe, where he attended the lectures of Schelling, Schleiermacher, Hegel, and the French historian, Michelet. During his travels, he perceived the rotten foundations of Western society, based on individualism, which he would later contrast with the integrality (sobornost)[2] of Russian society. Back in Moscow by 1832, he "united all the literary aristocracy" (as Pogodin said) under the aegis of "Evropeets". The journal was banned after two issues, but not before Kireevsky published his large article The Nineteenth Century, his first extended critique of Western philosophy and values.
The failure of "Evropeets" exacerbated Kireevsky's disappointment with Russian intellectuals and elites. He married and applied himself whole-heartedly to family life. Many critics, starting with Herzen, tended to attribute the twelve-year hiatus in Kireevsky's literary career to his Oblomovian inclination to indecision and inaction[3]. Indeed, his whole literary output consists of a dozen full-length articles and may be collected within a single volume.
Later life and ideas
It was not until the early 1840s that Kireevsky reappeared on the intellectual scene of Moscow to take the side of Khomyakov in his controversy with Herzen, Granovsky and other young "Westernizers". Since the reactionary reign of Nicholas I was not favorable for journalistic activities, Khomyakov and Kireevsky relentlessly castigated "one-sided, superficial, analytical rationality" of the West in salons and soirées of Moscow.[4]
In his few written works, Kireevsky contrasted the basically irrational philosophy of Plato and Greek Church Fathers (notably Maximus the Confessor) with the rationalism of Aristotle and medieval Catholic Doctors of the Church. He blamed Aristotle "for molding the mind of the West in the iron cast of reasonableness", which he defined as timid prudence (as opposed to true wisdom), or the "striving for the better within the circle of the commonplace"[5]. Hegel's doctrines were seen as the latest emanation of Aristotle's analytical approach, which divorced mind from soul, thoughts from (religious) feelings.
Kireevsky aspired to retrieve the lost wholeness of Man in the irrational teachings of Eastern Orthodoxy. His devout wife introduced him to the elders (startsy) of the Optina Monastery, which he frequented in the declining years of his life. Although he did not share Yuri Samarin's radical enthusiasm for all things pre-Petrine, Kireevsky did extol the spiritual treasures of medieval Russia. According to him, the monasteries of ancient Rus' "radiated a uniform and harmonious light of faith and learning" to disparate Slavonic tribes and principalities. The net of churches and monasteries covered Russia so thickly, that these "bonds of spiritual community" unified the country into "a single living organism".[6]
Ivan Kireevsky died at the age of 50 during a cholera epidemic. His brother Pyotr outlived him by several months. They were buried side by side in the Optina Monastery, the first laymen to be so honored.
The Slavophile Movement
The Slavophile movement was a loose association of primarily philosophers who rejected the rationalism, individualism and secularism of the West. "Following Chaadayev, all the Slavophiles were were philosophers of history and culture. Whereas the Westernizing philosphers emphasized the catastrophic retardation of Russia, its social backwardness, its lack of a developed literary culture, and the consequent need for Russia to catch up with the West and to take her place in Europe, the Slavophiles emphasized and attempted to orchestrate the specific virtues and values of Russian culture.
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Russia and Western Civilization: Cultural and Historical Encounters (ed. by Russell Bova). M.E. Sharpe Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7656-0976-2. Page 38.
- ↑ Kireevsky's definition of sobornost: "The sum total of all Christians of all ages, past and present, comprise one indivisible, eternal living assembly of the faithful, held together just as much by the unity of consciousness as through the communion of prayer". Quoted from: Ninian Smart, John Clayton, Patrick Sherry, Steven T. Katz. Nineteenth-Century Religious Thought in the West. Cambridge University Press, 1988. Page 183.
- ↑ Alexei S. Khomiakov, Ivan Kireevskii, Boris Jakim, Robert Bird. On Spiritual Unity. SteinerBooks, 1998. ISBN 0-940262-91-6. Page 18.
- ↑ Philosophical Imagination and Cultural Memory. Duke University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8223-1307-3. Page 179.
- ↑ Ian Buruma, Avishai Margalit. Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies. Penguin, 2004. Page 91.
- ↑ Susanna Rabow-Edling. Slavophile Thought And the Politics of Cultural Nationalism. SUNY Press, 2006. ISBN 0-7914-6693-0. Page 90.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Billington, James H., The Icon and the Axe: an Interpretive History of Russian Culture, Vintage Books, 1970. ISBN 978-0394708461
- Russia and Western Civilization: Cultural and Historical Encounters (ed. by Russell Bova). M.E. Sharpe Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7656-0976-2.
- Nineteenth-Century Religious Thought in the West. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
- Alexei S. Khomiakov, Ivan Kireevskii, Boris Jakim, Robert Bird. On Spiritual Unity. SteinerBooks, 1998. ISBN 0-940262-91-6.
- Philosophical Imagination and Cultural Memory. Duke University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8223-1307-3.
- Ian Buruma, Avishai Margalit. Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies. Penguin, 2004.
- Susanna Rabow-Edling. Slavophile Thought And the Politics of Cultural Nationalism. SUNY Press, 2006. ISBN 0-7914—6693-0.
- Edie, James M., Scanlan, James P., and Zeldin, Mary-Barbara, Russian Philosophy, Volume 1: the Beginnings of Russian Philosophy, the Slavophiles, the Westernizers, The University of Tennessee Press, 1976. ISBN 0-87049-200-4.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
