Русские философы о музыке (исторический экскурс)

The question of Russian philosophy is not an easy one. Let us try to figure it out.

Initially, it is significant to say that Russian philosophy is inextricably linked with Orthodoxy. Russian philosophers constantly emphasized this connection. Let us at least refer to the statement of V.V. Zenkovsky: “Russian thought has always (and forever) remained connected with its religious element, with its religious soil; here was and remains the main root of the originality... of Russian philosophical thought” [30, p. 18].

Today, in Russian philosophical literature, there is a clear idea that the connection of Russian philosophy with Orthodoxy (“with its religious element”) does not indicate its originality: Russian philosophy is permanently connected with Western philosophy, and is a stage of its development (1). On what basis is this point of view put forward?

Authors who adhere to this approach believe that Russian philosophy interacts not with canonical, strict Orthodoxy but with its innermost deep core, which is Gnosticism. For example, as I.I. Evlampiev stated, “the constant attraction of Russian philosophy and all Russian culture to the Gnostic worldview does not raise any doubts. This fact has not received due recognition in the literature for a long time only due to the established tendency characteristic of church and Orthodox-oriented authors” [3, p. 9].

Such scientists believe that the Gnostic mentality was intensively strengthened in the West, starting from the late Middle Ages: Bernard of Clairvaux, Meister (Johann) Eckhart, etc., and hence, Russian philosophy is connected with Western philosophy. But what is Gnosticism?

Gnosticism is a complex and not fully defined phenomenon. According to the German-American philosopher Hans Jonas, an authority in this field, “we can speak of Gnostic schools, sects and cults, Gnostic works and teachings, Gnostic myths and speculations, and even of Gnostic religion” [7, pp. 47–48]. Jonas concludes that Gnosticism is a kind of fusion of Hellenistic philosophy and Eastern sources while noting that “in general, ...the thesis about the Eastern (Oriental) origin of Gnosticism has an advantage over... that is Hellenic” [7, p. 49].