N. BERDJAEV AND M. SCHELER ON RUSSIAN ETHOS

Annotation

The article is written in honor of the 150th anniversary of Nikolai Berdyaev and Max Scheler, which falls in 2024. The text notes both personal and philosophical relations of two major philosophers of the 20th century, who were close on many issues of axiology and personalistic philosophical anthropology. But the central theme of the article is the study of how both philosophers understood the problem of national ethos, primarily the Russian ethos. The author believes that N. Berdyaev presented the deepest and most extensive understanding of the Russian soul, primarily in his books “The Fate of Russia” and “The Russian Idea”, which are mainly considered. The special relevance of the study of the Russian ethos, as the essential foundation and basis of a holistic national worldview, is emphasized in our difficult times, and the special significance of the German philosopher is highlighted here. The author dwells separately on how Max Scheler understood and assessed Russia, Russian thought and Russian Orthodox Christianity, trying both to recognize the depth and insight of his assessments and to critically highlight his limitations, problems and shortcomings (the main subject of the analysis is Scheler’s article on Eastern and Western Christianity, as well as his research on European nations). The philosophy of N. Berdyaev and M. Scheler, including their understanding of man, values, Russia, can actively contribute to the development of modern philosophy and a genuine patriotic worldview.

Keywords

Berdyaev, Scheler, ethos, Russia, national essence, soul, psychology and worldview

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The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation № 25–28–00841,
https://rscf.ru/en/project/25–28–00841/; Тhe Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities
named after Fyodor Dostoevsky