A Guide To The Thought Of Nicholas Berdyaev

Author : Tsoncho Tsonchev
Publisher : Independently Published
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 440 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (431 download)

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Download or read book Person and Communion written by Tsoncho Tsonchev and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-06-16 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This study, in contrast to mainstream scholarship, interprets Nikolai Berdyaev's religious philosophy specifically as political theology. I argue that this twentieth-century Russian thinker created a political theology based on four elements: freedom, creativity, person, and communion. None of these four elements, I contend, could stand alone without reference to the others and represent Berdyaev's general philosophical outlook. In my research, I argue that freedom, creativity, personhood, and communion are interrelated, mutually supporting and mutually confirming. I propose that to be understood properly, these four basic elements of Berdyaev's thought have to be discussed in their unity and proper order. The proper order, I suggest, is the following: in Berdyaev everything, whether divine or human, begins with a consideration, first, of freedom; then, everything has value and meaning if it is capable, second, of creativity. Freedom and creativity, however, are just abstract and empty ideas if not, third, accomplished concretely in the person. On the other hand, the person is a person not simply because of its capacity for freedom and creativity but, fourth, because of its actually free and creative communion with God, neighbour, and creation (nature). By marshaling Berdyaev’s criticism of modern political ideologies—socialism, communism, monarchism, anarchism, liberalism, democratism, nationalism, and conservatism—and exploring the "quadrilateral" structure of his underlying religious and political philosophy, I attempt to demonstrate that the culmination of his thought lies neither in the often-discussed concept of freedom nor in his idea of creativity, but rather in his concepts of personhood and communion. I also attempt to show that the social and practical element in these two presiding concepts requires us to understand him as a political theologian. Finally, my study challenges the common perception of Berdyaev as a radical philosopher, describing him instead as a conservative thinker, albeit one with innovative ways of developing and sustaining his conservatism. Viewed as what we might call a “communitarian personalist," however, his established image as a defender of liberty and human dignity is not only affirmed but strengthened"--