THE MEANING OF RUSSIAN NIHILISM
Keywords:
nihilism, atheism, values, doctrine, freedomAbstract
The Meaning of Russian Nihilism. The origins of nihilistic doctrine can be traced to Greek antiquity; but the spread of this term and shaping of its meaning belongs to eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a historical period nihilism came close to the uprising movements, to the negation of the old principles and the refusal of a world built on a conservative tradition. This meaning of nihilism transpires in Dostoyevsky’s writings, in which his characters deny the divine principle. Then why does nihilism stand out by negation, what is the relationship between nihilism and atheism? Which are the values nihilism puts forward instead? Can we talk about any values regarding this new phenomenon? These are some questions we seek to answer in the following lines, using Dostoevsky’s writings, who revealed nihilism in all its breadth.
References
Berdyaev, Nicolai, The Origins of the Russian Communism, Glasgow, Robert MacLehose and Company Ltd, The Glasgow University Press, 1948.
Camus, Albert, The Rebel, trans. by Anthony Bower, New York, Vintage Books, 1991.
Cristea, Valeriu, Dicţionarul personajelor lui Dostoievski [Dictionary of Dostoyevsky Characters], 2nd edition, Iaşi, Polirom, 2007.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor, Crime and punishment, Reprint edition trans. by Constance Garnett, New York, Dover Publications, 2001.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, The Possesssed, trans. by Constance Garnett with introduction by Elizabeth Dalton, New York, Barnes & Noble Classics, 2004.
Ianoşi, Ion, Dostoievski: Tragedia subteranei; Dostoievski şi Tolstoi: Poveste cu doi necunoscuţi [Dostoyevsky: Underworld’s Tragedy; Dostoyevsky and Tolstoi: A Tale with Two Strangers], Bucharest, Europress Group, 2013.
Volpi, Franco, Nihilismul [The Nihilism], trans. by Pavel, T., foreword by Ion Tănăsescu, European Institute Press, 2014.
Yannaras, Christos, On the Absence and Unknowability of God: Heidegger and the Areopagite, 2nd edition, trans. by Haralambos Ventis, New York, Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2004.
Enciclopedia Filosofica, III, LI-REI [Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, III, L-R], Center of Philosophical Studies of Gallarate, Institute of Cultural Exchange, Venice-Rome, 1957.
Enciclopedie de filosofie şi ştiinţe umane [Encyclopaedia of Philosophy and Human Sciences], trans. by Luminiţa Cosma, Anca Dumitru, Florin Frunză, Radu Gâdei, Cornel Mihai Ionescu, Mihaela Pop, Hanibal Stănciulescu, Sabin Totu, Bucharest, ALL Educational, 2004.
Filosofia de la A-Z. Dicţionar enciclopedic de filosofie [Philosophy from A to Z, Encyclopaedic Dictionary], Élisabeth Clément, Chantal Demonque, Laurence Hansen-Love, Pierre Kahn; trans. by Magdalena Cojocea-Mărculescu, Aurelian Cojocea, Bucharest, ALL Educational, 1999.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Philosophia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
