The Emergence of the 'Lichnost' Concept in Russian Public Thought in the 1830s-1860s: the Influence of Church and Philosophical traditions / Lecture by Fyodor Gaida

On October 24, 2023, within the framework of the regular seminar "West and East: Universalism of Culture", the leading research fellow of the Laboratory, Doctor of Historical Sciences Fyodor A. Gaida gave a lecture

The report examined the formation of the concept of 'lichnost' (personality) in Russian public thought in the 1830s and 1860s. The author argumented that this process took place under the influence of two different traditions: the ecclesiastical, associated with the reception of Philokalia, and the philosophical, which was based on the German classical tradition (I. Kant, G. F. V. Hegel). Based on the patristic tradition, the concept assumed the need for human self-realization in spirit and love, and the ultimate task of the 'personality' was deification (M. M. Speransky, I. V. Kireevsky, F. M. Dostoevsky). 'Lichnost' was revealed in God and through God, and assumed dialogicity. The second meaning was related to self-awareness and the experience of one's own Self (M. A. Bakunin, V. G. Belinsky, K. D. Kavelin, Yu. F. Samarin). The self-realization of such a 'personality' took place through the service of a 'saving idea.' Within the framework of this approach, the 'personality' was revealed in itself and through itself.

You can watch a fragment of the video recording of the seminar on the Laboratory YouTube channel.