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The theme of the nihilist in Russian XIX literature century - Bazarov, Volokhov, Verkhovensky: experience of literary comparison

Introduction

Chapter 1. Nihilism as a sociocultural phenomenon in Russia in the second half of the 19th century

1.1 Historical and everyday aspects of nihilism

1.2 Russian nihilism as ideology and philosophy

Chapter 2. Bazarov as the first nihilist in Russian literature

2.1 A complex portrait of Evgeny Bazarov and his views

2.1.1 Evgeny Bazarov and the people. The essence of Bazarov's nihilism

2.1.2 Bazarov in relations with the surrounding society

2.2 Turgenev and Bazarov: a nihilist hero in the author’s assessment

Chapter 3. Goncharov’s version of nihilism: Mark Volokhov

3.1 "Precipice" as an anti-nihilistic novel

3.2 The image of Mark Volokhov in the final version of the novel

3.3 Volokhov and Bazarov: Goncharov’s nihilist compared to Turgenev’s nihilist

Chapter 4. Nihilist through the eyes of Dostoevsky: Pyotr Verkhovensky

4.1 “Demons” as a warning novel: Dostoevsky’s ideological position

4.2 Personality of Peter Verkhovensky. Verkhovensky as a “demon”-nihilist

4.3 Bazarov, Volokhov, Verkhovensky: general and different

Conclusion

List of sources and literature used

Application

Introduction

The second half of the 19th century is a special period in the history of Russia. This is a time of reforms that affected all public spheres of the country. One of the main transformations was the abolition of serfdom by Alexander II. After this reform, a wave of peasant uprisings took place across the country. Issues related to the reconstruction of Russia and its future worried everyone - conservatives, Westernized liberals and revolutionary democrats. This was a period of intensified social struggle, during which the main ideological directions were formed even more actively. By this time, the ranks of the Russian literary intelligentsia were replenished with representatives of the raznochintsy class. Among them are famous Russian writers and critics, for example F.M. Dostoevsky (a commoner on his mother’s side), N.G. Chernyshevsky, N.A. Dobrolyubov, N.N. Strakhov and others.

It is known that the literature of the second half of the 19th century was dominated by such a direction as realism, which required the most objective depiction of reality. Various magazines were published, which became the arena of political struggle between democrats, liberals and conservatives. The image of an active radical democrat, a “new man,” appears in literature, but it is interpreted differently depending on the position of the authors. In this work we turn to the works of such great Russian writers as I.S. Turgenev, I.A. Goncharov, F.M. Dostoevsky, who placed the image of a nihilist hero at the center of his famous novels - “Fathers and Sons”, “Precipice”, “Demons”.

Relevance And novelty The themes of our research are that, despite the repeated appeal of researchers to the images of nihilists in Russian literature, until now there has not been a comprehensive study in which three of the three nihilistic heroes named in detail and thoroughly, against a broad cultural and historical background, would be compared novels. Also in our work, we consider the ideological position of each of the novelists in relation to the nihilistic movement, identifying commonalities and differences in the way they depict this movement and its representatives.

A comparison of three nihilists from three great Russian novels, taking into account the ideological position of their authors, which dictated their approach to depicting this historical type, is the main thing purpose our work.

During the study, we were faced with the following questions: tasks:

To trace the history of the emergence and existence in culture of such a concept as nihilism;

To study the issue related to the emergence of the term “nihilism” in Russia and the evolution of its meanings until the writing of the novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons";

Describe with maximum completeness the history of the creation of the novels “Fathers and Sons”, “Precipice”, “Demons”, taking into account the ideological and political positions of Turgenev, Goncharov and Dostoevsky during the period of their writing.

An object our research - artistic ways of depicting nihilistic heroes by Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, dictated by their ideological position.

Many researchers, critics and philosophers have turned to these authors and their novels, analyzing their historical, philosophical and social significance. Accordingly, the degree of development of this topic is quite high. In the 19th century it was N.N. Strakhov, M.N. Katkov, D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, on whose works we largely rely and refer in our study. At the beginning of the 20th century, many Russian philosophers assessed the works of the second half of the 19th century from a different, “prophetic” point of view, and here, undoubtedly, the main source for us is the historical and philosophical work of N.A. Berdyaev "Spirits of the Russian Revolution". Over the next decades, the works of the writers we studied were addressed by N.K. Piksanov, A.I. Batyuto, Yu.V. Lebedev, V.A. Nedzwiecki. Among the authors of monographs and articles closest to us in time Special attention in our work we pay attention to the literary studies of L.I. Saraskina, a scientist who devoted her life to researching the work of F.M. Dostoevsky.

Practical significance The research is due to active interest in the topic of the Russian revolution and its prehistory in our time and the need to rethink in this regard the ideological and artistic constants of Russian literary classics, which in one way or another touched on this topic. The developments we propose can be used in the practice of both school and university teaching.

Work structure. The work consists of four chapters, each of which is divided into paragraphs. In the first chapter we examine the concept of “nihilism” and highlight this phenomenon from a historical and cultural perspective; in the second, we give a detailed description of the image of Yevgeny Bazarov, including in the context of the author’s political and ideological position; the third chapter is devoted to the novel “The Precipice” - its anti-nihilistic orientation and analysis of the figure of Mark Volokhov; in the fourth chapter we explore Dostoevsky’s ideological position in relation to nihilism and analyze the image of Peter Verkhovensky created by him in his anti-nihilistic novel “Demons”.

Chapter 1. Nihilism as a sociocultural phenomenon in Russia in the second half of the 19th century

1.1 Historical and everyday aspects of nihilism

The concept of “nihilism” would hardly be correct to consider a thing of the past forever; on the contrary, it is important to note that this is not just the ideology of Turgenev’s character from the well-known novel “Fathers and Sons”, which is discussed in high school classes; it is still relevant today. “In the culture of modern Russia, nihilism has become widespread and comprehensive. This is largely explained by social tension, economic turmoil, and the moral and psychological instability of society. However, we should not forget about the historical reasons: centuries-old serfdom, autocracy, administrative-command management methods, etc., which not only did not contribute to overcoming nihilism, but constantly reproduced and multiplied it.” However, the analysis of such a phenomenon as nihilism needs to abstract from those negative associations that arose around it in connection with the manifestation of nihilistic sentiments in Russian culture of the mid-19th century.

For the first time, “nihilistic” sentiments (not quite in the form in which many are accustomed to understanding this phenomenon) arose as an integral feature of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, which “declared” the meaninglessness of life. Human existence, according to this point of view, is a series of sufferings, and human salvation lies in salvation from life.

Thus, nihilism (disbelief in everything that exists or pessimism) in this case is an attempt to grasp the meaning with reason human life, and it (nihilism) acts as a negation of everything in general, having practically nothing in common with the fight against God or the thirst for destruction.

The term “nihilism” can be found in medieval theological literature: in particular, in the 12th century, this was the name given to heretical teachings that denied the divine-human nature of Christ, and supporters of this point of view were called, accordingly, “nihilists.” Much later, in the 18th century, this concept was consolidated in European languages and has the meaning of denying generally accepted norms and values.

In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, the concept of “nihilism” received special content thanks to the philosophical teachings of A. Schopenhauer, whose philosophy is close to the idea of ​​Buddhist indifference to the world, F. Nietzsche, who taught about the illusory nature of the world and the failure of the Christian faith, and O. Spengler, who called “nihilism” a characteristic feature of modern European culture, which is experiencing a period of “decline” and “senile forms of consciousness,” after which a state of highest flourishing should supposedly follow.

It is important to point out that nihilism in the broad sense of the word is only a designation for the denial of something. In certain periods of human existence, as well as in various spheres of social life, the word “nihilism” has a contextual meaning, sometimes practically uncorrelated with the one that will be discussed in this work. Nihilism can be considered as a sociocultural phenomenon, ontological phenomenon, way of thinking, orientation of human activity, ideology.

The history of the concept of “nihilism” is very rich and varied. “On the one hand, this story turned out to be inextricably linked with the German tradition, on the other hand, in the Russian cultural and speech consciousness the term took on a different life and appeared in a different context.” This term has been used by various philosophers and each has its own interpretation. The main purpose of this chapter is to consider nihilism as a phenomenon that came to Russia in the 19th century, and its influence on the consciousness of the Russian intelligentsia.

The term comes to Russia from the work of the German romantic writer Jean-Paul “Vorschule der Aesthetik” (in Russian translation “Preparatory School of Aesthetics”) of 1804, based on which “S.P. Shevyrev lectured on the history of poetry at Moscow University. “Nihilism,” like Jean-Paul’s, is opposed to “materialism.” […] by “nihilists” Jean-Paul (and after him Shevyrev) means idealists who believe that poetry does not depend on any external circumstances and is the creation of only the human spirit. By “materialists” we mean those who believe that the poetry of romanticism simply slavishly copies the real world. Thus, it turns out that by “nihilists” we mean extreme idealists. [...] the dispute about poetry is the result of a clash of opposing views on the world and, in particular, on man in European philosophy in the late XVIII - early. XIX century."

It is also important to mention that in 1829-1830. in the journal "Bulletin of Europe" philologist and literary critic N.I. Nadezhdin published several articles devoted to “nihilism” (for example, “The Host of Nihilists”), which, in his understanding, represents “the cemetery lyrics of the romantics, and the romantic eros of destruction - death, and Byronic skepticism, and secular emptiness. Ultimately, in exactly the same way as with Jean-Paul, we were talking about the self-destruction of subjectivity, divorced from reality, about the self-destruction of the self, withdrawn into itself.” Thus, already in the first half of the 19th century, the word “nihilism” appears in Russian culture, appears in lectures and reflections of Russian critics, however, the cultural and historical situation that developed in Russia at that time does not favor the use of the term “nihilism” identify the meaning with which it will be firmly associated in the future.

In 1858, a book by Professor V.V. was published in Russia. Bervy, "A Psychological Comparative View of the Beginning and End of Life," which also uses the word "nihilism" as a synonym for skepticism.

Thanks to the publication of the novel by I.S. Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons”, in 1862 the term “nihilism” entered Russian culture, becoming the subject of heated debate. What is especially interesting is that this word acquired a certain evaluative meaning, which was not clearly expressed until 1862; Moreover, this meaning turned out to be the opposite of the previous one. From now on, only “materialists” began to be called this way.

“The term “nihilism” acquires a “abusive” meaning and is used in a sharply polemical context.” “A term, functioning in the minds of the bearers of a certain ideology, breaks away from its genetic roots and becomes a source of new ideas that were not associated with it before.”

It is interesting that V.P. Zubov in his work “On the history of the word nihilism” draws attention to the suffix “ism”, which created the idea of ​​nihilism as a kind of school, but it soon became clear that the term began to “blur in scope”, and it turned out that the exact definition as a school As a doctrine, it is impossible to give nihilism. “Definitions gave way to an emotional-evaluative approach and, as a result, they began to talk more and more not about “nihilism”, but about “nihilists.” The term becomes a kind of “nickname,” and personal characteristics and a certain type of behavior come to the fore when describing and evaluating the so-called “nihilists.” Such people are assessed as “unpleasant”, with defiant manners and opinions. For example, “in 1866 in Nizhny Novgorod describe the appearance of the “nihilists” and order the guardians of public order to persecute them. This fact was immediately reflected in protest in the press. But the words “nihilist” and “nihilism” continue to be used in the 60–70s of the 19th century as a means of spiritual and ideological characterization and are applied first to one circle of people, then to another, as well as to various, often opposing, phenomena.”

Thus, in the 1860s, a situation arose in which the word “nihilism” was rather vaguely understood; and there was a certain paradox in the fact that those who were called “nihilists” for a certain number of characteristics did not consider themselves such, but there were those who, following fashion trends, without fully understanding the concept, voluntarily called themselves “nihilists,” denying absolutely everything (like Sitnikov and Kukshina in the novel “Fathers and Sons”). And yet, according to V.P. Zubova, if not for these people, it would be impossible to talk about nihilism as a special direction. “Strangely, the concept of nihilism was made up of real material and, nevertheless, nothing real corresponded to it.”

As has already been said, “nihilism” is, first of all, only a designation for the denial of something, the rest is “superimposed” meanings, meanings that are contextual. V.P. Zubov also notes that the word “nihilism” originally goes back to the Latin word “nothing” (nihil), i.e. to denial (accordingly, a “nihilist” is nothing more than a denier of something); and claims that it has retained its core during the evolution of the term. The kernel has not changed, but it has changed environment, i.e. historical conditions and specific cultural conditions. As a result of this, in Russia they began to use the word as a weapon, “smashing” certain groups, using this word as an accusation, as a kind of sentence.

According to A.V. Laiter, the ideology and psychology of “Russian nihilism” gave rise to “detachment from the inner life of the people, conviction of one’s superiority, pride of mind and reluctance to understand and accept the age-old values ​​of people’s life.” The scientist notes that “nihilism is a product of the Russian reality that existed at that time, a kind of social credo of the majority of the Russian intelligentsia, which took the path of naked denial, gross vulgarization of the past of their country, one-sided, often completely unmotivated rejection of the present, especially the political and legal realities and values ​​of their countries". “Nihilism in the history of Russia began as a movement for the “emancipation of the human personality” from ossified forms of thinking and life; it came to a complete disrespect for the autonomy of the individual - even to the point of murder. Evidence of this can be the experience of real socialism of the Soviet era. Lenin’s revolutionary tactics largely coincided with Bazarov’s program of total destruction.” Thus, A.V. Laiter gives a rather negative characterization of nihilism, which emerged in the second half of the 19th century, accusing the bearers of “nihilistic” views of pride and unwillingness to understand and accept popular values. Here it is very important to note a point that we will have to refer to more than once during the course of the study: nihilism and nihilists received both positive and negative assessments, depending on the position of the evaluator. It is known that at the time of the spread of nihilistic ideology there were both conservatives, who by definition could not accept nihilists, and liberals, who simultaneously opposed both conservatives and radicals, or, in other terminology, social democrats, who, like conservatives , they called them “nihilists” rather in a negative sense. For the radicals themselves, or social democrats, the concept of nihilism, on the contrary, was perceived, as a rule, in a positive way.

In general, in the cultural consciousness of the second half of the 19th century in Russia, the word “nihilist” had a rather negative, accusatory character. Denial is generally a characteristic feature that unites all Russian radical democratic concepts of the 19th century, whose adherents rejected the traditional way of Russian reality. That is why “Russian nihilism” is often identified with the theory and practice of the revolutionary movement in post-reform Russia. However, it is necessary to remember that the term “nihilism” had different interpretations in different cultures, countries and periods of human history, therefore, in this case we are talking about “revolutionary” nihilism, the representatives of which we meet on the pages of I. WITH. Turgeneva, I.A. Goncharov and F.M. Dostoevsky.

In connection with Russian nihilism of the second half of the 19th century, let us turn to specific radical movements and groups that advocated for a new political system and declared false the moral norms in force at that time and the generally accepted system of cultural and aesthetic values.

First of all, it is important to note that the so-called “revolutionaries” of the second half of the 19th century, participants in the radical direction of the social movement, came from different strata of society who sought to represent the interests of workers and peasants. The development of this movement was significantly influenced by the reactionary policies of the government, which consisted of the lack of freedom of speech and police brutality. Historians and cultural scientists usually identify three main stages in the formation and development of a radical movement. The first stage is the 1860s: the emergence of revolutionary democratic ideology and the creation of secret raznochinsky circles. The second stage is the 1870s: the formation of the populist movement and the activities of organizations of revolutionary populists. The third stage is the 1880-90s: the activation of liberal populists, the beginning of the spread of Marxism, which formed the basis for the creation of social democratic groups.

As already mentioned above, representatives of the democratic movement were mainly commoners (coming from such social strata as merchants, clergy, philistines, petty officials), who replaced the noble revolutionaries of the first half of the 19th century and were the most united group of opponents of tsarism in Russia. It was nihilism that served as the basis of their ideology, becoming the general direction of social thought in the 1860s. Thus, nihilism became an important and major phenomenon in the social life of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The main ideologists of nihilism at the turn of the 50s and 60s were considered N.G. Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobrolyubov, and in the mid-60s. - D.I. Pisarev.

When we talk about nihilism as a denial of foundations and values, it is not enough to limit ourselves solely to this characteristic. It is important to approach this issue more specifically and note that, in addition to moral norms and cultural values, nihilism also denied: the historical experience of Russia, which does not contain those principles that would become the basis for resolving issues important for the development of the country; the historical experience of the West, which led to a more severe crisis in social relations than in Russia. Nihilism advocated the abandonment of public service and the transition of citizens to the field of enlightenment and education; “free” and fictitious marriages; rejection of the “conventions” of etiquette (in other words, nihilists welcomed sincerity in relationships, even if sometimes rude in form). Denial of established cultural values, according to M.A. Itskovich, was due to the fact that “art, morality, religion, etiquette served the class, which lived off unpaid labor and the oppression of serfs. Since the entire system of social relations is immoral and has no moral right to exist, it means that everything that is in any way connected with it must be rejected.”

A.A. Shirinyants, the author of the article “Russian Society and Politics in the 19th Century: Revolutionary Nihilism,” examines this phenomenon in sufficient detail and deeply, and his work deals specifically with the revolutionary nihilism of the second half of the nineteenth century. As already mentioned, nihilism in the public consciousness was rather negative, radical in nature, and “nihilists” were those whose behavior and appearance were strikingly different from the generally accepted ones. Also A.A. Shirinyants draws attention to the following aspect: “In everyday life, much of the disorder and evil of Russian life began to be attributed to “nihilists.” A striking example-- the history of the St. Petersburg fires of 1862. Just as once in Rome (64 AD) Christians were blamed for the fires, in Russia... nihilists were blamed for the arson.” The scientist quotes I.S. himself. Turgenev: “... when I returned to St. Petersburg, on the very day of the famous fires of the Apraksinsky courtyard, the word “nihilist” was already picked up by thousands of voices, and the first exclamation that escaped from the lips of the first acquaintance I met on Nevsky was: “Look, What are your nihilists doing? They are burning Petersburg!”

It should be noted important point, related to the content of the article by A.A. Shirinyants: the scientist touches on the issue of identifying Russian nihilists with revolutionaries, arguing that “this […] should still be done carefully, with some reservations, focusing on the specific features of Russian “revolutionary” nihilism in comparison with European nihilism.” Here is another interesting remark from the researcher on this issue: The meaning and content of nihilism in Russia cannot be understood without clarifying and interpreting the essential features and specifics of the so-called “Russian revolutionary nihilism” as a social phenomenon generated by the realities of post-reform life in Russia, explained by Russian thought and peculiarly “fitted into "into the history of European nihilism."

Firstly, according to Shirinyants’ article, the bearer of nihilist ideology and psychology was an intellectual commoner (as mentioned above) or a nobleman, the first of whom occupied an “intermediate” status between the noble and peasant classes. The commoner's status was ambiguous : “On the one hand, like all non-nobles, [..] commoners did not have the right to own peasants - and until the manifesto of February 19, 1861. - and the earth. Not belonging to the merchant class or the philistinism, they were not engaged in either trade or crafts. They could have property in cities (be homeowners), but could not own factories, factories, shops, or workshops. On the other hand, unlike representatives of the lower classes, the commoner […] had a degree of personal independence that neither the merchant, nor the tradesman, much less the peasant had. He had the right of free residence, free movement around the country, the right to enter the public service, had a permanent passport and was obliged to teach his children. The last circumstance is important to emphasize, since Russia was the only country in the world where personal nobility was given “for education.” An educated person of “low” origin, as well as an unplaced nobleman, whose position was practically no different from that of a commoner, could find a livelihood only in the civil service or, from the 1830-1840s, in the field of free intellectual work, doing tutoring , translations, rough journal work, etc.” Thus, the bulk of the people who adhered to the ideology of negation and made up the revolutionary movement in Russia in the second half of the 19th century were raznochintsy, the essence of whose position is discussed in sufficient detail in the article cited above.

I would like to note that Shirinyants essentially calls representatives of this “class” “marginal”, which is quite fair, since, on the one hand, these are people who had more rights and freedoms than peasants, on the other hand, they felt all the disadvantages extremely keenly their position, having quite a lot of opportunities, but not having large funds and powers that would make their life more comfortable and prosperous. It is quite obvious that such a status is not enviable, because it does not provide a person with enough rights, freedoms and, in the end, a clearly defined and stable niche in life. And this is precisely what, perhaps, could become a fairly compelling reason for the struggle and rebellious ideas emerging in the minds of heterogeneous youth. In this regard, Shirinyants quotes the Russian radical political thinker P.N. Tkachev: “Our young men are revolutionaries not because of their knowledge, but because of their social status... The environment that raised them consists either of the poor, earning their bread by the sweat of their brow, or living on the grain of the state; At every step she feels economic powerlessness, her dependence. And the consciousness of one’s powerlessness, one’s insecurity, a feeling of dependence always leads to a feeling of dissatisfaction, to embitterment, to protest.”

An interesting remark is made by another Russian political thinker, social democrat of Marxist orientation V.V. Vorovsky, whom he quotes in his article “Roman I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”” by Yu.V. Lebedev: “Having come from an environment that could not tolerate any traditions, left to her own strengths, owing her entire position only to her talents and her work, she inevitably had to give her psyche a brightly individual coloring. The idea, thanks to which the common intelligentsia could only make its way to the surface of its own life and stay on this surface, naturally began to seem to it like some kind of absolute, all-permissive force. The commoner intellectual became an ardent individualist and rationalist.”

However, we repeat that the nobles were also carriers of the ideology of nihilism. And Shirinyants also speaks about this “to be fair.” Consciously breaking ties with their “fathers,” representatives of the aristocratic and noble environment came to nihilism and radicalism. If commoners “entered” radical movements because of their closeness to the people, then representatives of the upper class precisely because, on the contrary, they were very far from the lower class, but they did this out of a certain sympathy for the people and repentance for them many years of oppression and slavery.

Among the characteristic features of Russian nihilism, Shirinyants identifies the following: the cult of “knowledge” (“rationalistic character”; denial of metaphysical aspects and admiration for the natural sciences), as well as the “cult of action”, “service” to the people (not the state), the essence of which is the rejection of officials and wealth. As a consequence of such “isolation” from the generally accepted - not only new, opposite to the usual, views and beliefs, but also shocking (as they would now say, “freak”) costumes and hairstyles (bright glasses, bobbed hair, unusual hats). At the same time, the desire to somehow express oneself, rejecting the familiar and “ossified,” sometimes reached something similar to illness. So, S.F. Kovalik testified that in his circle “questions even arose whether it was fair to eat meat when people eat plant foods.” The main rule of the nihilists was the rejection of luxury and excess; they cultivated conscious poverty. All kinds of entertainment were denied - dancing, carousing, drinking.

Having examined and analyzed various sources, we have a fairly clear idea of ​​what the Russian nihilist of the second half of the 19th century was like. These were people in whom everything seemed to “scream”, loudly declaring their reluctance to resemble the “oppressive” class of society, that is, typical representatives of the nobility. Dreaming of the destruction of the old foundations, of ending the oppression of the lower strata of society, the nihilists turned from “new” people, bearers of “new” views, into real revolutionaries. This period of consistent and steady radicalization lasted from the 1860s to the 1880s and 1890s. The Russian nihilist, both internally and externally, “killed” in himself any signs of belonging to the “fathers”: a certain asceticism in life, a cult of work, shocking outfits and hairstyles, recognition of new rules and ideals in relationships - an open, sincere, democratic form of communication. Nihilists promoted a completely new view of marriage: a woman was now perceived as a comrade, and the official conclusion of a relationship was completely optional (cohabitation was completely acceptable). Every aspect of life was revised. The idea of ​​denial was motivated by the fact that in order to create a new, humane society, it is necessary to completely abandon the old norms.

So, in this paragraph we examined the origin and meaning of the concept of “nihilism”, the history of its appearance in Russia. We can make an unambiguous conclusion that the semantic core of the word “nihilism” is “denial,” and many scientists in different periods history interpreted this concept in their own way. In this study, we consider it in the context in which it existed in the second half of the 19th century in Russia, being the ideological basis for the “new” people who later became participants in the revolutionary movement. Taking as a basis “denial,” which is the main essence of the concept of “nihilism,” Russian nihilists founded an entire ideology that had specific characteristic features - the rejection of all cultural elements that make up the noble order and way of life.

Having touched upon the historical and ideological aspect of such a phenomenon as Russian nihilism of the 19th century, we cannot help but turn to the cultural and philosophical side of this issue and analyze how nihilism influenced the culture, literary and philosophical works of figures of that era.

1.2 Russian nihilism as ideology and philosophy

The purpose of this paragraph is to analyze such a phenomenon as Russian nihilism of the second half of the 19th century in its predominantly ideological aspect and in terms of the understanding of this ideology by Russian thinkers and philosophers of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The previous paragraph was more historical in nature. In this part of our study we will review historical, cultural and philosophical works related to nihilism. In Russia, M.N. wrote about nihilism in the 19th century. Katkov, I.S. Turgenev, A.I. Herzen, S.S. Gogotsky, N.N. Strakhov, F.M. Dostoevsky and others, at the beginning of the 20th century this topic was touched upon in one form or another by D.S. Merezhkovsky, V.V. Rozanov, L.I. Shestov, S.N. Bulgakov and took a special place in the works of N.A. Berdyaev and S.L. Frank.

The moment of publication of the novel by I.S. is considered to be a certain starting point for the existence of nihilism in Russian literature and culture. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" in 1862. Indeed, this date coincides with the period when the word “nihilist” acquired the context discussed in our study.

In Russian science, the opinion has been expressed more than once that, most likely, it was not nihilism that initially influenced literature, but, on the contrary, the second gave rise to the first: “The hero of I. S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons” Bazarov, who treated everything positive with excessive cynicism and stable, who spread extreme nihilistic views, became a symbol, a hero-ideal of revolutionary-minded people, mainly intelligent youth. It is no coincidence that in the West, from the 1870s to the present day, Russian revolutionary thought is characterized, as a rule, exclusively as nihilistic; all its provisions are assessed mainly from these positions and are recorded in the category of nihilism.” At the same time, it should be taken into account that the novel “Fathers and Sons” was created at a time when peasant reform was maturing, and even then there was a confrontation between conservatives, liberals and revolutionary democrats, who began to call themselves “nihilists” later; all this once again speaks in favor of the fact that a nihilist is, par excellence, a revolutionary, but a revolutionary is not always a nihilist.

Considering the phenomenon of Russian nihilism of the second half of the 19th century in a cultural aspect, let us turn to the article of a fairly well-known and influential critic and publicist at that time, M.N. Katkov “On our nihilism regarding Turgenev’s novel,” whose political position can be defined as average between conservatism and liberalism. In his article, Katkov calls nihilism, and, consequently, the ideas contained in it, the “new spirit”, which mainly “sits” in Bazarov. Both comrades, Bazarov and Kirsanov, are called “progressives” who brought the “spirit of exploration” to the village, into the wilderness. The critic, drawing our attention to the episode in which Bazarov, upon arrival, immediately frantically rushes to carry out experiments, argues that such a characteristic of a naturalist is exaggerated, that in reality the researcher cannot be so passionate about his work, rejecting other matters that do not concern this. Katkov sees this as “unnatural,” a kind of frivolity: “There is no doubt that science here is not anything serious and that it must be discounted. If there is real power in this Bazarov, then it is something else, and not science. With his science he can only have significance in the environment where he finds himself; with his science he can only suppress his old father, young Arkady and Madame Kukshina. He is just a lively schoolboy who learned his lesson better than others and who was appointed auditor for that.” According to Katkov, science for nihilists (in this case, for Bazarov) is important not in itself, but as a fulcrum for achieving goals that are not related to science. This is followed by a comparison with philosophers: “Poor young people! They didn't want to fool anyone, they only fooled themselves. They puffed up, tensed up and wasted their mental strength on the fruitless task of appearing to be great philosophers in their own eyes.<…>True, the sciences that Bazarov makes a claim to are of a different nature. They are generally accessible and simple, they school thought and accustom it to sobriety and self-restraint.<…>But he is not at all concerned about becoming a specialist in this or that part; it’s not important to him at all positive side Sciences; he deals with the natural sciences more as a sage, in the interest of the first causes and essence of things. He is engaged in these sciences because, in his opinion, they directly lead to the solution of questions about these first causes. He is already convinced in advance that natural sciences lead to a negative solution to these questions, and he needs them as a tool for destroying prejudices and for convincing people of the inspiring truth that there are no first causes and that a man and a frog are essentially the same thing.” .

Thus, Katkov is talking about the fact that the interest of nihilists in the natural sciences is not an interest in science as such; it is, rather, a kind of tool with which, according to their assumption, one can “clear” consciousness in order to come to something simple and unified, which would become the starting point of a new life with its new rules and laws. Art and various sublime manifestations and concepts, apparently, alienate people from the essence, are unnecessary elements of social life that do not allow one to reach the true essence, humanity. And if a person is identified with a “frog,” then this is where it is easier to start “building” something new. Also, according to N.M. Katkov, this moment is typical for our fatherland, where natural sciences as such are not developed, and everything that “chemists” and “physiologists” do is the same philosophy, but under the guise of natural sciences.

“The spirit of dogmatic negation cannot be a general feature of any world era; but it is possible at any time to a greater or lesser extent as a social disease that takes possession of certain minds and certain spheres of thought. As a private phenomenon, it occurs in our time, to a greater or lesser extent, in some social environments; but, like any evil, it finds counteraction everywhere in the powerful forces of civilization.<…>But if in this phenomenon one cannot see common feature of our time, then we undoubtedly recognize in it a characteristic feature of mental life in our Fatherland at the current moment. In no other social environment could the Bazarovs have a wide range of action and seem like strongmen or giants; in any other environment, at every step, the deniers themselves would be constantly subjected to denial<…>But in our civilization, which does not have any independent strength in itself, in our small mental world, where there is nothing that stands firmly, where there is not a single interest that is not ashamed and embarrassed of itself and has any faith in its existence - the spirit of nihilism could develop and acquire meaning. This mental environment naturally falls under nihilism and finds its truest expression in it.”

In the 1880s, during the period of intensification of the revolutionary movement in Russia, philosopher and critic N.N. Strakhov in “Letters on Nihilism” (in “Letter One”) wrote that it is not nihilism that serves anarchists and those who “gave money or sent bombs” to the former; on the contrary, they are its (nihilism’s) servants. The philosopher sees the “root of evil” in nihilism itself, and not in the nihilists. Nihilism “is, as it were, a natural evil of our land, a disease that has its long-standing and constant sources and inevitably affects a certain part of the younger generation.” Characterizing nihilism, the philosopher writes: “Nihilism is a movement that, in essence, is not satisfied with anything other than complete destruction.<…>Nihilism is not a simple sin, not a simple villainy; This is not a political crime, not the so-called revolutionary flame. Rise, if you can, one more step higher, to the most extreme level of opposition to the laws of the soul and conscience; nihilism, this is a transcendental sin, this is the sin of inhuman pride that has seized the minds of people these days, this is a monstrous perversion of the soul, in which crime is a virtue, bloodshed is a good deed, destruction is the best collateral life. Human imagined that he is the complete master of his destiny that he needs to correct world history, that he needs to transform the human soul. Out of pride, he neglects and rejects all other goals other than this highest and most essential, and therefore has reached the point of unheard-of cynicism in his actions, to a blasphemous encroachment on everything that people revere. This is a seductive and deep madness, because under the guise of valor it gives scope to all the passions of a person, allows him to be a beast and consider himself a saint.” . It is easy to see that N.N. Strakhov evaluates nihilism from the position of a conservative, sees in nihilism more than just a destructive and sinful phenomenon; the philosopher points out the monstrous, super-dimensional sinfulness of nihilism.

Now let us turn to a fairly well-known and extremely informative article by the philosopher N.A. Berdyaev “Spirits of the Russian Revolution” (1918), in which the philosopher reflects on the theme of the revolution that took place in Russia.

The author of this article, first of all, points out that with the onset of the revolution, Russia “fell into a dark abyss,” and the engine of this catastrophe was “nihilistic demons that have been tormenting Russia for a long time.” Thus, Berdyaev sees in nihilism the cause of almost all the troubles in Russia that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, and this position is similar to the position of N.N. Insurance stated above. “...In Dostoevsky one cannot help but see the prophet of the Russian revolution,” asserts Berdyaev. “The Frenchman is a dogmatist or a skeptic, a dogmatist at the positive pole of his thought and a skeptic at the negative pole. The German is a mystic or critic, a mystic at the positive pole and a critic at the negative. The Russian is an apocalyptic or a nihilist, an apocalyptic at the positive pole and a nihilist at the negative pole. The Russian case is the most extreme and most difficult. A Frenchman and a German can create culture, because culture can be created dogmatically and skeptically, it can be created mystically and critically. But it is difficult, very difficult, to create culture in an apocalyptic and nihilistic way.<…>Apocalyptic and nihilistic feeling overthrows the entire middle of the life process, all historical stages, does not want to know any cultural values, it rushes towards the end, towards the limit.<…>Russian people can carry out a nihilistic pogrom, as well as an apocalyptic pogrom; he can expose himself, tear off all the covers and appear naked, both because he is a nihilist and denies everything, and because he is full of apocalyptic forebodings and awaits the end of the world.<…>The Russian search for the truth of life always takes on an apocalyptic or nihilistic character. This is a deeply national trait.<…>In Russian atheism itself there is something of an apocalyptic spirit, which is not at all similar to Western atheism.<…>Dostoevsky revealed to the depths the apocalypse and nihilism in the Russian soul. Therefore, he guessed what character the Russian revolution would take. He realized that revolution means something completely different here than it does in the West, and therefore it will be more terrible and more extreme than Western revolutions.” As we see, Berdyaev points out that nihilism is inherent specifically in Russian people in the manifestation in which it took place in our history, gradually developing into a “bomb” that caused the eschatological explosion in 1917. Among the writers who anticipated the Russian revolution,

Berdyaev calls those who “touched” Russian nihilism L.N. Tolstoy and N.V. Gogol (although the latter’s presentation of this topic is not so transparent and can be questioned). According to this article, the holiness of the revolutionary lies in his godlessness, in his conviction in the possibility of achieving holiness “by man alone and in the name of humanity.” Russian revolutionary nihilism is the denial of everything sacred, not subject to the power of man. And, according to Berdyaev, this denial is inherent in the nature of Russian people. This statement is very similar to how nihilism is presented by N.N. Strakhov, who also saw the destructiveness and evil of this trend in the pride of a person, in whose mind the idea arose of his ability to influence fate, the course of history.

The first chapter of our research was devoted to nihilism as a cultural phenomenon. We examined this phenomenon in historical, everyday, ideological and philosophical aspects, drawing on the statements of a number of modern researchers who were directly involved in this problem, and some of the most significant, in our opinion, thinkers late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century, which gave expressive characteristics of this phenomenon in relation to the fate of Russian culture as a whole.

Chapter 2. Bazarov as the first nihilist in Russian literature

2.1 A complex portrait of Evgeny Bazarov and his views

In the previous chapter, we analyzed nihilism as a cultural phenomenon, pointing to its origins in Russia and how this concept became the name of the ideology of revolutionary youth in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. We also reviewed various scientific works, related to how nihilists manifested themselves in Russia, what constitutes the essence of nihilistic teaching and what goals its followers set for themselves.

If we talk about nihilists in Russian society of the second half of the 19th century, then we cannot help but note the fact that the image of Yevgeny Bazarov, the main character of the famous novel by I.S., is primarily associated with nihilists. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons".

In this chapter we intend to analyze the image of Yevgeny Bazarov in various aspects. We are faced with the task of considering the biography of the hero, his portrait and image in the assessment of Turgenev himself, as well as the relationship of this character with his environment, with other heroes.

Work on the novel “Fathers and Sons” was carried out by Turgenev from August 1860 to August 1861. These were the years of a historical turning point; preparations were underway for the “peasant reform”. During this historical period, the ideological and political struggle between liberals and revolutionary democrats took on a particularly acute form, which made the topic of “fathers” and “sons” relevant, not in the literal sense, but in a much broader sense.

The reader is presented with various images in the novel: the Kirsanov brothers (Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich), belonging to the camp of the “fathers”, Nikolai Kirsanov’s son Arkady (who, however, ultimately also ends up in their camp, despite the initial imitation of Bazarov and admiration for his ideas), the widow Anna Odintsova, who is generally difficult to attribute to one camp or another, her sister Katya, with whom Arkady gradually became close. There are also caricatured double heroes - Sitnikov and Kukshina, whose “nihilism” lies solely in shockingness and very superficial inconsistencies with previous social foundations and orders.

Regarding the image of Bazarov, Turgenev wrote the following: “The main figure, Bazarov, was based on one personality of a young provincial doctor that struck me. (He died shortly before 1860.) This remarkable man embodied - to my eyes - that barely born, still fermenting principle, which later received the name of nihilism. The impression made on me by this person was very strong and at the same time not entirely clear; At first, I myself could not give myself a good account of it - and I listened intensely and looked closely at everything that surrounded me, as if wanting to believe the veracity of my own feelings. I was embarrassed by the following fact: in not a single work of our literature did I even see a hint of what I saw everywhere; Involuntarily, a doubt arose: am I chasing a ghost? I remember with me on the island

White there lived a Russian man who was very gifted delicate taste and remarkable sensitivity to what the late Apollo Grigoriev called the “trends” of the era. I told him the thoughts that were occupying me - and with silent amazement I heard the following remark:

“But, it seems, you’ve already introduced a similar type... in Rudin?” I remained silent: what could I say? Rudin and Bazarov are the same type!

These words had such an effect on me that for several weeks I avoided any thought about the work I had undertaken; however, having returned to Paris, I began to work on it again - the plot gradually took shape in my head: during the winter I wrote the first chapters, but finished the story already in Russia, in the village, in the month of July.

In the fall, I read it to some friends, corrected and supplemented a few things, and in March 1862, “Fathers and Sons” appeared in the “Russian Messenger.”

2.1.1 Evgeny Bazarov and peopleod. The essence of Bazarov's nihilism

The reader knows practically nothing about Bazarov’s childhood, about how his youth passed, about his studies at the Medical-Surgical Academy. However, according to Yu.V. Lebedeva, “Bazarov did not need a backstory because he had by no means a private, non-class (noble or purely raznochinsky) fate. Bazarov is the son of Russia; all-Russian and all-democratic forces play in his personality. The whole panorama of Russian life, primarily peasant life, clarifies the essence of his character, his national meaning.” .

The following is known about the origin of the hero: Bazarov with arrogant pride declares that his grandfather (a serf) plowed the land; his father

A former regimental doctor, his mother is a noblewoman with a small estate, a very pious and superstitious woman.

Thus, Bazarov is a commoner, and, as already mentioned in the first chapter of our study, representatives of this particular class made up the majority of the revolutionary democratic movement, which proclaimed nihilism as its ideology. Bazarov is proud of his origin, and therefore of a certain closeness to the people, and in discussions with Pavel Kirsanov he says: “Ask any of your men which of us - you or me - he would rather recognize as a compatriot. You don’t even know how to talk to him.” Eugene claims that his “direction,” that is, the nihilistic outlook, is caused by “that same national spirit.”

In the first chapter, we mentioned that one of the principles of the nihilists was a fairly simple, democratic style of communication (not burdened with many pleasantries and conventions), and we see this feature in Bazarov. “Everyone in the house got used to him, to his casual manners, to his unsyllabic and fragmentary speeches.” Bazarov quite easily makes contact with the peasants, manages to win Fenichka’s sympathy: “Fenichka in particular became so comfortable with him that one night she ordered him to be woken up: Mitya was having convulsions; and he came and, as usual, half joking, half yawning, sat with her for two hours and helped the child.”

In Turgenev’s works, the psychological portrait of the hero plays a significant role, and we can form an idea of ​​​​Bazarov based on the description of his appearance. He is dressed in a “long robe with tassels,” which speaks of the hero’s unpretentiousness. The finished portrait of Eugene (a long and thin face “with a wide forehead, a flat upward, pointed nose downwards”, “sand-colored” sideburns, “large bulges of a spacious skull” and an expression of intelligence and self-confidence in his face) reveals in him a plebeian origin, but at the same time calm and strength. The hero's speech and manners also contribute to the revelation of the image. At the very first conversation with Pavel Kirsanov, Bazarov insults his opponent not so much with the meaning of the words spoken, but with the abruptness of his intonation and a “short yawn”; there was something rude, even impudent, in his voice. Bazarov also tends to be aphoristic in his speech (this directly indicates the manner of nihilists to speak to the point, without pompous preludes). Evgeniy emphasizes his democracy and closeness to the people by using various popular expressions: “Only the grandmother said in two,” “The Russian peasant will eat God,” “From a penny candle... Moscow burned down.”

...

Analysis of the historical fact of the emergence of a new public figure - a revolutionary democrat, his comparison with the literary hero Turgenev. Bazarov's place in the democratic movement and private life. Compositional and plot structure of the novel "Fathers and Sons".

abstract, added 07/01/2010

Features of love lyrics in the work "Asya", analysis of the plot. Characters of the "Nobles' Nest". The image of Turgenev's girl Lisa. Love in the novel "Fathers and Sons". The love story of Pavel Kirsanov. Evgeny Bazarov and Anna Odintsova: the tragedy of love.

test, added 04/08/2012

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev wanted to reunite Russian society with his novel Fathers and Sons. But I got exactly the opposite result. Discussions began: is Bazarov good or bad? Offended by these discussions, Turgenev left for Paris.

essay, added 11/25/2002

Evgeny Bazarov as the main and only exponent of democratic ideology. The anti-noble line of the "Fathers and Sons" plan. Characteristics of liberal landowners and commoners-radicals in Turgenev’s novel. Political views of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.

abstract, added 03/03/2010

The relationship between the characters in the novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". Love lines in the novel. Love and passion in the relationship of the main characters - Bazarov and Odintsova. Female and male images in the novel. Conditions harmonious relations heroes of both sexes among themselves.

presentation, added 01/15/2010

Consideration of “nihilism” in journalism of 1850-1890. in social and political aspects. Blocks of issues during the discussion of which the nihilistic tendencies of the 60s most clearly manifested themselves. Statements by M.N. Katkov about Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons".

presentation, added 03/18/2014

The idea and the beginning of the work of I.S. Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons". The personality of a young provincial doctor as the basis of the main figure of the novel - Bazarov. Finishing work on the work in my beloved Spassky. The novel "Fathers and Sons" is dedicated to V. Belinsky.

presentation, added 12/20/2010

Displaying the image of Bazarov in the novel with the help of articles by critics D.I. Pisareva, M.A. Antonovich and N.N. Strakhov. The polemical nature of the lively discussion of the novel by I.S. Turgenev in society. Disputes about the type of new revolutionary figure in Russian history.

abstract, added 11/13/2009

Historical background of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Demons". Character Analysis characters novel. The image of Stavrogin in the novel. Attitude to the issue of nihilism in Dostoevsky and other writers. Biography of S.G. Nechaev as the prototype of one of the main characters.

nihilism is nihilism
Nihilism(from Latin nihil - nothing) - an ideological position that questions (in its extreme form absolutely denies) generally accepted values, ideals, moral standards, and culture. in dictionaries it is also defined as “denial”, “absolute denial”, “social and moral phenomenon”, “mentality”, i.e., obviously, the definition of nihilism and its manifestation at different times depended on the cultural and historical era, subjectively and contextually dependent .

• 1 History of the term
• 2 Varieties of nihilism
• 3 Nihilists in Russia
• 4 Nihilism in psychologists' research
• 5 See also
• 6 Notes
• 7 Literature
• 8 Links

History of the term

In the Middle Ages there was a doctrine of nihilism, anathematized by Pope Alexander III in 1179. The doctrine of nihilism, falsely attributed to the scholastic Peter of Lombardy, rejected the human nature of Christ.

In Western philosophical thought, the term “Nihilism” was introduced by the German writer and philosopher F. G. Jacobi. This concept has been used by many philosophers. S. Kierkegaard considered the crisis of Christianity and the spread of an “aesthetic” worldview to be the source of nihilism. F. Nietzsche understood nihilism as an awareness of the illusory nature and inconsistency of both the Christian idea of ​​a supra-mundane God (“God is dead”) and the idea of ​​progress, which he considered a version of religious faith. O. Spengler called nihilism a feature of modern European culture, which is experiencing a period of “decline” and “senile forms of consciousness,” which in the cultures of other peoples supposedly inevitably followed a state of highest prosperity. M. Heidegger considered nihilism as a main movement in the history of the West, which could lead to a global catastrophe.

Nihilists hold some or all of the following statements:

• There is no (indisputable) reasonable proof of a supreme ruler or creator;
• There is no objective morality;
• Life, in a certain sense, has no truth, and no action is objectively preferable to any other.

Varieties of Nihilism

• A philosophical worldview position that questions (in its extreme form absolutely denies) generally accepted values, ideals, moral standards, and culture;
• Mereological nihilism is the philosophical position that objects made of parts do not exist;
• Metaphysical nihilism is a philosophical theory according to which the existence of objects in reality is not necessary;
• Epistemological nihilism is the denial of knowledge;
• Moral nihilism is the metaethical view that nothing is moral or immoral;
• Legal nihilism is an active or passive denial of the responsibilities of the individual, as well as the norms and rules established by the state, generated by the social environment.

Nihilists in Russia

Main article: Russian nihilism

In Russian literature, the word “nihilism” was first used by N. I. Nadezhdin in the article “Host of Nihilists” (magazine “Bulletin of Europe”, 1829). In 1858, the book of Kazan professor V.V. Bervi “A Psychological Comparative View of the Beginning and End of Life” was published. She also uses the word “nihilism” as a synonym for skepticism.

The critic and publicist N. A. Dobrolyubov, ridiculing Bervy’s book, picked up this word, but it did not become popular until I. S. Turgenev, in the novel “Fathers and Sons” (1862), called Bazarov a “nihilist”, who denied the views of the "fathers". The enormous impression made by the novel “Fathers and Sons” also made the term “nihilist” popular. In his memoirs, Turgenev said that when he returned to St. Petersburg after the publication of his novel - and this happened during the famous St. Petersburg fires of 1862 - the word “nihilist” was already picked up by many, and the first exclamation that escaped from the lips of his first acquaintance , met by Turgenev, was: “Look what your nihilists are doing: they are burning St. Petersburg!”

Thus, in the second half of the 19th century, nihilists in the Russian Empire began to be called young people who wanted to change the existing state and social system in the country, denied religion, preached materialism and atheism, and also did not recognize the prevailing moral norms (advocated free love, etc.) . P.). in particular, this was the name given to the populist revolutionaries. The word had a clear negative connotation. Nihilists were portrayed as shaggy, unkempt, dirty men and women who have lost all femininity.

By the end of the 1860s and beginning of the 1870s. the word “nihilist” almost disappeared from Russian polemical literature, but began to be used in Western European literature as a designation for the Russian revolutionary movement; it was also accepted by some Russian emigrants who wrote in foreign languages ​​about the Russian revolutionary movement. In 1884, Sofia Kovalevskaya’s story “The Nihilist” was published.

Currently, the term “legal nihilism” is widely used - disrespect for the law. It reflects a widespread phenomenon in legal life Russian society. Its structure-forming component is an idea that denies legitimate social attitudes and carries a significant ideological load, determined not only by trends in social development and corresponding values, but also by a number of psychogenic factors.

Nihilism in psychologists' research

Erich Fromm proposed approaching nihilism as one of the psychological defense mechanisms. He believed that the central problem of man is the inherent contradiction in human existence between being “thrown into the world against one’s will” and being transcended by nature through the ability to be aware of oneself, others, the past and the future. Fromm argues that the development of man and his personality occurs within the framework of the formation of two main trends: the desire for freedom and the desire for alienation. Human development follows the path of increasing “freedom,” but not every person can adequately take advantage of this path, causing a number of negative mental experiences and states, and this leads him to alienation. As a result, a person loses his self (or I). A protective mechanism of “escape from freedom” arises, which is characterized by: masochistic and sadistic tendencies, destructivism, a person’s desire to destroy the world so that it does not destroy him, nihilism, automatic conformism.

The concept of nihilism is also analyzed by W. Reich. He wrote that bodily characteristics (restraint and tension) and characteristics such as constant smiling, dismissive, ironic and defiant behavior are remnants of very strong defense mechanisms in the past that have separated from their original situations and turned into permanent character traits . They manifest themselves as “character neurosis”, one of the reasons for which is the action of the defense mechanism - nihilism. “Character neurosis” is a type of neurosis in which a defensive conflict is expressed in individual character traits, modes of behavior, that is, in the pathological organization of the personality as a whole.

see also

• Atheism
• Agnosticism
• Worldview
• Point of view
• Denial of denial
• Anarchism
• Libertism
• Mereological nihilism
• Nirvana

Notes

1. Zryachkin A. N. Legal nihilism: causes and ways to overcome them (monograph). - Saratov: SGAP, 2009. - 128 p. - 500 copies. - ISBN 978-5-7924-0753-4.

Literature

• Baboshin V.V. Nihilism in modern society: phenomenon and essence: abstract. dis. doc. Philosopher n. Stavropol, 2011. 38 p.
• Tkachenko S.V. The myth of legal nihilism as one of the methods of information warfare.
• Tkachenko S.V. Reception of Western law in Russia: problems of interaction between subjects: monograph. – Samara, 2009.
• ROSSINSKAYA E.R. ANTI-CORRUPTION EXAMINATION OF REGULATIVE AND LEGAL ACTS AND THEIR PROJECTS. Compiled by E.R. ROSSINSKAYA, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.
• Gulyaikhin V.N. Legal nihilism in Russia. Volgograd: Peremena, 2005. 280 p.
• Gulyaikhin V.N. Psychosocial forms of human legal nihilism // NB: Questions of law and politics. 2012. No. 3. P. 108-148.
• De-Poulet M. F. Nihilism as a pathological phenomenon of Russian life. M.: University type. M. Katkova, 1881. 53 p.
• Klevanov A. S. Three modern issues: About education - socialism, communism and nihilism - about the nobility on the occasion of the centenary of the nobility charter. Kyiv: type. P. Barsky, 1885. 66 p.
• Kosykhin V.G. Critical analysis of the ontological foundations of nihilism: dis. doc. Philosopher n. Saratov, 2009. 364 p.
• Pigalev A.I. Philosophical nihilism and the crisis of culture. Saratov: Publishing house Sarat. Univ., 1991. 149 p.

Links

• Nihilism // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
• M. Insarov. Nihilism of the 1860s and populism of the 1870s
• definition of the term in the Dictionary of Ethics by I. S. Kohn (1981)
• nihilism in Russia in the 19th century
• article “Nihilists” in the Literary Encyclopedia (vol. 8, 1934)
• Rybakova E. A. The origin and spread of nihilism in Russia
• Filatov V.V. Omnia ex nihilo. Fragment from the book “Dreams of the Warriors of the Void” // Nezavisimaya Gazeta. No. 58, 25.03. 2010
• Ilya Ovchinnikov. Nihilism: a literature review.
• S. L. Frank. Ethics of nihilism // “Milestones. Collection of articles about the Russian intelligentsia", Moscow, 1909
• N. A. Berdyaev. Spirits of the Russian Revolution. 1918
• Ruchko Sergey Viktorovich. Lightnings of nihilism.
• Nihilist - APPLE

Directions	Mereological nihilism · Metaphysical nihilism · Epistemological nihilism · Moral nihilism · Legal nihilism · Russian nihilism
Figures	Ivan Pryzhov · Sergey Nechaev
In literature	“Fathers and Sons” (1862, see also Bazarov) “On Knives” (1870-71) “Demons” (1972) “Nihilist” (1884)
Explored nihilism	Jean Baudrillard · Søren Kierkegaard · Friedrich Nietzsche · Wilhelm Reich · Erich Fromm · Martin Heidegger · Oswald Spengler · Friedrich Jacobi
Related Ideas	Anarchism · Atheism · Vulgar materialism · Machiavellianism · Skepticism
see also	"Catechism of a Revolutionary" · Society of Popular Retribution · Nothing

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Nihilism Information About

Ivan Turgenev belongs to the category of writers who made a significant contribution to the development of Russian literature. The most famous of his major works is the novel “Fathers and Sons,” which provoked heated controversy in society immediately after its publication. Turgenev foresaw such a reaction from the reading public and even desired it, specially dedicating a separate publication to Belinsky (thus challenging the liberal intelligentsia): “I don’t know what success will be, Sovremennik will probably shower me with contempt for Bazarov - and will not believe that “during the whole time I was writing, I felt an involuntary attraction to him,” the author wrote in his diary on July 30, 1861. Exactly main character and his views caused fierce debate among Turgenev's contemporaries.

The main idea of ​​many of Turgenev's novels is the expression of the characteristics of time through typical characters. The focus is on the socio-historical type that represents the dynamic beginning of the era. The hero comes into a traditional conservative society and destroys its stereotypes, becoming a victim of the mission that is entrusted to him due to circumstances. Its historical task is to shake the established routine of life, introduce new trends and change the existing way of life. Bazarov is a commoner (from the family of an ordinary rural doctor) who rises up the social ladder thanks to his intellectual abilities and personal achievements, and not to title, origin or wealth. Thus, the conflict in the novel can be described as “a commoner in a noble’s nest,” that is, the opposition of a working man to an idle noble society. Such a hero is always alone, his path is gloomy and thorny, and the outcome is certainly tragic. He alone cannot turn the world upside down, so his good intentions are always doomed, he is seemingly helpless, inactive, even pitiful. But his mission is to snatch the next generation from the pool of indifference of their grandfathers, from their moral and mental stagnation, and not to change his generation overnight. This is a realistic novel, the plot develops according to the laws of life itself.

If Bazarov is the bearer of historical progress, why does he deny everything? Who is a nihilist? Nihilism is a worldview position that questions generally accepted values, ideals, moral and cultural norms. The hero denies even love, so his nihilism can be called grotesque. Turgenev deliberately exaggerates the colors in order to enhance the drama of the work and lead Bazarov through the “copper pipes” - a mutual feeling for Odintsova. This is how he tests the hero (this is his favorite technique) and evaluates the whole generation. Despite his total denial, Bazarov is capable of experiencing strong passion for a woman, he is real, his impulses and thoughts are natural. Unlike the secondary characters, who fake and hide behind nihilism in order to impress, Bazarov is sincere both in his hatred of the old order and in his love for Odintsova. He contradicts himself, falling in love, but discovers new facets of existence, learns its fullness. He passed the test. Even Turgenev (a nobleman, an official, a representative of a more conservative camp than Belinsky, for example) developed sympathy for his hero.

This is how the author wrote about Bazarov: “... if he is called a nihilist, then it should be read: a revolutionary.” That is, in Turgenev’s understanding, a nihilist is a revolutionary, a person who opposes himself to the existing social order. The hero really rejects the institutions and ideological concepts approved and sanctified by the state. He is a materialist who sets himself the goal of serving the progress of society and, to the best of his ability, clearing it of prejudices. Truly a revolutionary feat! Bazarov dooms himself to misunderstanding and loneliness, causes fear and alienation in people, and limits his life to service. The fact that he so persistently denies everything is just a desperate protest of a man who is “alone in the field.” Excessive radicalism is like a loud cry crying in the desert. This is the only way he will be heard, the only way the next generation will understand him. He will have to implement everything that Bazarov will not have time to do. As befits a mission, he will die young, leaving a kind of “apostles” to instill new ideas and lead people to the future.

“I dreamed of a gloomy, wild, large figure, half grown out of the soil, strong, evil, honest - and yet doomed to death - because it still stands on the threshold of the future...” - this is how Turgenev described his hero, which has invariably interested the reader for more than one hundred and fifty years. Many critics rightly note that the image of the nihilist Bazarov is an innovative and very successful author’s discovery, included in the gallery of “superfluous people” of Russian literature.

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In our area, the word nihilism is still perceived incorrectly. This began with Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons,” where he did not call Bazarov a “nihilist,” who denied the views of the “fathers.” The enormous impression made by the work “Fathers and Sons” made the term “nihilist” popular. In his memoirs, Turgenev said that when he returned to St. Petersburg after the publication of his novel - and this happened during the famous St. Petersburg fires of 1862 - the word “nihilist” was already picked up by many, and the first exclamation that came out of the mouth of the first an acquaintance Turgenev met was: “Look what your nihilists are doing: they are burning St. Petersburg!”

In fact, nihilism is the denial of the existence of independent “meanings” in any form: including the denial of the special meaningfulness of human existence, the significance of generally accepted moral and cultural values, and the non-recognition of any authorities. Nihilism is close to realism and is based only on a factual basis. In essence, nihilism is close to critical thinking and skepticism, but has a broader philosophical interpretation. For me, classical nihilism is the theoretical basis of minimalism and mindfulness. Therefore, I offer you for reflection the following text by Vijay Prozac, “Faith in Nothing.”

Faith in Nothing

Nihilism confuses people. “How can you care about anything, or strive for anything, if you believe that nothing matters?” they ask.

In turn, nihilists point out the assumption of inherent meaning and the problems with this assumption. Do we need existence to mean anything? In any case, existence remains as it is, no matter what we think about it. We can do what we want with it. Some of us will desire more beauty, more efficiency, more functionality and more truth, and others will not. This leads to conflict.

Nihilists who are not some kind of "baby anarchists" tend to make a distinction between nihilism and fatalism. Nihilism says that nothing matters. Fatalists say that nothing matters and nothing matters to them personally. It's the difference between not having an authority figure telling you what's right and giving up on the idea of ​​doing something because no one will tell you that what you're doing will be right.

What is nihilism?

As a nihilist, I understand that meaning does not exist. If we disappear as a species and our beautiful world evaporates, the universe will not cry for us (this state is called pathetic delusion). No gods will interfere. It will just happen, and the universe will continue on. We won't be remembered. We will simply cease to exist.

In the same way, I accept that when I die, the most likely outcome will be that I cease to exist. At this moment I will cease to be the source of my thoughts and feelings. These feelings existed only inside me, being only electro-chemical impulses, and they will no longer exist when I leave.

Further, I recognize that there is no gold standard for living. If I make the comment that living in a polluted wasteland is stupid and pointless, others may not see it. They might even kill me when I mention it. Then they will move on, and I will no longer be there. Being indifferent to their polluted place, they will continue to live there, regardless of the other existing option.

A tree falling unnoticed in the forest makes a sound. The forest cannot recognize it as sound because the forest is the interaction of many forms of life, not the organization of some central principle or consciousness. They just do what they do. Likewise, playing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony elicits no response from the plate of yeast. Insensitivity remains inattentive, just like the universe itself.

Many people feel “marginalized” when they think about this. Where is the Great Father who will hear their thoughts, test their feelings, and tell them exactly what is right and what is wrong? Where is the finished proof, the word of God, written on the wall? How do we know for certain that this is true, and if it is true, does it really matter?

Meaning is the human attempt to shape the world in our own imagination. We need a reason for existence, but we feel doubtful when we try to claim it as our own creation. So we expect some external meaning that we can show to others and they will agree that it exists. This causes us to condemn all ideas we encounter as threats or confirmations of projected external meaning.

This distanced mentality further confirms our tendency to view the world as alienated in the mind. In our minds, causes and effects are one and the same; we use our will to formulate an idea, and there it is, in symbolic form. When, however, we try to apply an idea to the world, we can estimate how the world will react to it, but we are often wrong and doubtful.

As a result, we want to separate the world from consciousness and live in a world created in consciousness. In this humanistic point of view, every person is important. Every human emotion is sacred. Every human choice deserves respect. Trying to impose your own projected reality wherever possible, out of fear of the inhumanity of the world as a whole, means going against the world.

Nihilism cancels this process. It replaces external meaning with two important points of view. First, there is pragmatism; questions are consequences of physical reality, and if the spiritual world exists, it must function in a reality parallel to the physical. Secondly, this is preferentialism; Instead of "proving" the meaning, we choose what is attractive - and recognize that biology determines our needs.

By rejecting pathetic anthropomorphic delusions, such as our inherent “meanings,” we allow ourselves to free ourselves from anthropomorphism. The meaning of morality (or any other meaning in human life) is discarded. Such entities are consequences. Consequences are not determined by their impact on people, but by their impact on the world as a whole. If a tree falls in a forest, it makes a sound; if I exterminate a species and no human sees it, it happened anyway.

The dictionary will tell you that “nihilism is a doctrine that denies the objective basis of truth and especially moral truths.” But this is not a doctrine, but a method ( scientific method), which begins to crawl out of the ghetto of our minds. This will quiet the part of our mind that says that only our human perspectives are real and the universe should adapt to us, instead of thinking straight and adapting to the universe ourselves.

From this point of view, nihilism is the gateway and basis of philosophy, and not philosophy in itself. This is the end of anthropomorphism, narcissism and solipsism. This is when people finally evolve and gain control over their own minds. This is the starting point where we can return to philosophy and re-examine everything that our point of view is closer to the reality beyond our mind.

Spiritual Nihilism

Although many consider nihilism to be a rejection of spirituality, a clear statement of nihilism is the absence of inner meaning. This does not exclude spirituality, except perhaps the feeling of its inalienability. This means that the spirituality of nihilism is exclusively transcendentalist, i.e. By observing the world and finding beauty in it, we discover a spirituality that goes beyond its boundaries; we do not require separate spiritual authority or lack thereof.

It would be wrong to say that nihilism is characterized by atheism or agnosticism. Atheism is inconsistent: attributing meaning to the denial of God is false objectivity, as is the claim that one can prove the existence of God. Agnosticism makes spirituality revolve around the concept of uncertainty regarding the idea of ​​God. Secular humanism replaces God with idealized individuals. All this is meaningless to a nihilist.

According to the nihilist, any divine essence exists like the wind - it is a force of nature, without moral balancing, without any internal meaning of its existence. A nihilist might point out the existence of God and then shrug and move on. After all, there are many things. For a nihilist, the most important thing is not the meaning, but the structure, character and interconnection of elements in the Universe. By observing this, you will be able to discover the meaning through interpretation.

This, in turn, allows us to make unforced moral choices. If we seek support in another world, where we are rewarded for what is not rewarded here, we do not sacrifice anything. If we believe that there must be a good God outside the world, we slander the world. Even if we think there is a way to do the right thing and that we can get a reward for doing it, we are not making moral choices.

Moral choice occurs when we understand that there is no irresistible force above us forcing us to make a particular decision, other than our inclination to care about the consequences. That being said, we should be intellectually tough enough to honor nature, the cosmos, and everything that consciousness has brought to us. In fact, we can only show our respect to the world if we perceive life as a gift, and therefore choose to strengthen and replenish the natural order.

In a nihilistic worldview, the question of whether we will live or die as a species has no inherent value. We can stay, or we can be blown away like a dry leaf - the Universe doesn’t care much about that. Here we must separate judgment or concern for consequences from the consequences themselves. If I shot someone and he died, the consequence here is his death. If I have no judgment about it, it means no more than that person's permanent absence.

If the Universe also has no judgment, then all that remains is the permanent absence of that person. There are no cosmic conclusions, no judgment from the gods (even if we choose to believe in them), and no shared emotions. This event and nothing more, like a tree falling in the forest, the sound of which no one hears.

Since there are no inherent judgments in our universe, and there is no absolute and objective sense of judgment, these matters are our preferences regarding consequences. We can choose not to exist as a species in which madness and sanity have the same level of meaning, since survival no longer matters to us. Our survival is not intrinsically assessed as good; it depends on us whether to do it or not.

In nihilism, as in any other developed philosophy, the ultimate goal is to make “things simply as they are” or to sufficiently explain to oneself that one should not confuse the instrument (consciousness) and the object (the world). For the nihilist, the greatest problem is solipsism, or the confusion of mind with the world; our decision shows that the human values ​​that we consider “objective” and “intrinsic” are just a pretense.

Nihilism sets conditions for us instead of realizing us. He does not deny anything about the inner meaning of existence, and does not create a false “objective” reality based on what we would like to see in reality. Instead, he invites us to choose the desire to exist and work with what happens in reality.

A fully actualized person can say: I have explored how this world works; and I know how to predict his responses with reasonable success; I know that the action will cause some effect. That is, we can say that when I want to cause a certain result, I coordinate it with the organization of our world, and then everything works out.

This brings us back to the question of discovering beauty and ingenuity; some believe that beauty is inherent in some approaches to the organization of form, while others believe that we can create it of our own free will. A nihilist might say that the laws that define beauty are not conventional and therefore have roots in the superhuman cosmos, and that artists create beauty through the perception of the organization of our world, then bringing it into a new, human form.

By perceiving "ultimate reality" (or physical reality, or abstractions that directly describe their organization, as opposed to opinions and judgments) as the exclusive inherent permanent property of life, nihilism pushes people towards a final moral choice. In a world that requires both good and evil to survive, do we choose to fight for what is good, even knowing that it may require using bad methods and facing unpleasant consequences?

The ultimate test of spirituality in nature is not whether we can celebrate universal love for all human beings or declare ourselves pacifists. It lies in what we can do to survive and improve ourselves, since this is the only way to approach the world with a reverent attitude - to accept its methods, and through unforced moral preferences, choose to climb and try not to fall.

We must take a leap of faith and choose to believe not in the existence of the divine, but in its ability to merge our imagination and our knowledge of reality. The search for the divine in a corrupt and material world requires a heroically transcendental point of view, which is in the working order of holiness, for this order provides the grounding that gives us our own consciousness. If we love life, we find it sacred and are filled with awe of it, and thus, as nihilists, we can quickly discover transcendental mysticism and transcendental idealism.

From this perspective, it is easy to see how nihilism can be compatible with any faith, including Christianity. As long as you don't confuse our interpretation of reality ("God") with reality itself, you are a transcendentalist who has found our source of spirituality in the organization of the physical world around us and our mental state, which we can view as a parallel (or analogous) function. When people talk about God, the nihilist thinks about tree models.

Practical Nihilism

The essence of nihilism is transcendence through the elimination of unnecessary “properties” that are projections of our mind. When we move beyond illusion and can look at reality as a continuum of cause and effect, we can learn how to adapt to that reality. This puts us above the fear of it, which causes us to retreat into our own minds - a condition known as solipsism.

This in turn leads to primary realism, which rejects everything except the methods of nature. This is inherent not only in biology, but also in physics and the patterns of our thoughts. What we need is not inherent meaning; we only need to adapt to our world, and choose what we want from the palette of offered options. Do we want to live in dugouts, or, like the ancient Greeks and Romans, do we strive for a society with advanced learning?

Most people confuse fatalism with nihilism. Fatalism (or the idea that things are the way they are, which is unchangeable) relies on the inherent "meaning" of existence, denying it any emotional power. The fatalist shrugs and wishes things were different, but since this is impossible, he ignores it. Nihilism represents the opposite principle: a reverent recognition of nature as functional and truly brilliant, filled with determination to comprehend it.

This is not a philosophy for the weak of heart, mind or body. It requires us to look with clear eyes at truths that most find irritating, and then we need to force ourselves to move beyond them as a means of self-discipline towards self-realization. It is similar to the fact that nihilism removes false internal meanings, and self-realization removes drama from the outside and replaces it with a sense of purpose: what search will give meaning to my life?

Unlike Christianity and Buddhism, which seek to destroy the ego, nihilism aims to destroy the foundations that lead to the ego's mirage that everything belongs to us. He denies materialism (or living for physical comfort) and dualism (or living for a moral god in another world that is not functionally parallel to us). Any spiritual reality will be parallel to this one, since matter, energy and thoughts exhibit parallel mechanisms in their structure, and any other force will have the same characteristic.

Moreover, ego-denial is a false form of inherent meaning. A meaning defined in negative terms is as flattering as its positive equivalent; to say that I am not a rat is to assert the need for rats. The ultimate and true freedom from the ego is to find the replacement of the object or consciousness with reality, replacing the voice of the personality that we often confuse with the world.

Our human problems on Earth are not the kind of descriptive simplifications offered in the popular press; we are exceptional people, except when we are oppressed by kings, governments, corporations or fine people. Our human problems begin and end in our inability to recognize reality and remake it for ourselves; instead, we can choose pleasant illusions and create the negative consequences that can be expected.

If we don't get rid of fear, it will control us. If we create a false antidote to our fears, such as a false sense of inner meaning, we doubly enslave ourselves to our fears: first, the fears continue to exist because we have no logical answer to them; and secondly, we are indebted to the dogmas that supposedly dispel them. This is why human problems have remained relatively unchanged over the centuries.

As a philosophical foundation, nihilism gives us a tool with which we can approach and understand all parts of our lives. Unlike purely political and religious decisions, it underlies all our thinking, and, removing false hopes, gives us hope in working with our own two hands. Where others rage against the world, we rebel for it - and thus ensure a reasonable future.

The word nihilism is familiar to many people, but only a few know its true meaning. Literally translated, nihilists are “nothing” from the Latin language. From here you can understand who nihilists are, that is, people in a certain subculture and movement who deny norms, ideals and generally accepted norms. Such people can often be found in the crowd or among creative individuals with unconventional thinking.

Nihilists are widespread everywhere; in numerous literary publications and sources of information they are spoken of as a complete denial, a special state of mind and a social and moral phenomenon. But historians say that for each era and time period, nihilists and the concept of nihilism denoted slightly different trends and concepts. Few people know, for example, that Nietzsche was a nihilist, as do a large number of famous writers.

The word nihilism comes from the Latin language, where nihil translates as “nothing.” It follows that a nihilist is a person who is in the stage of complete denial of concepts, norms and traditions imposed by society; in addition, he may exhibit a negative attitude towards some and even all aspects of social life. Each cultural and historical era implied a special manifestation of nihilism.

History of origin

For the first time, people encountered such a cultural trend as nihilism back in the Middle Ages, then nihilism was presented as a special teaching. Its first representative was Pope Alexander III in 1179. There is also a false version of the doctrine of nihilism, which was attributed to the scholastic Peter, this semblance of a subculture denied the humanity of Christ.

Later, nihilism also touched Western culture, for example, in Germany it was called the term Nihilismus; it was first used by the writer F. G. Jacobi, who later became known as a philosopher. Some philosophers attribute the emergence of nihilism to the crisis of Christianity, accompanied by denial and protests. Nietzsche was also a nihilist, recognizing the flow as an awareness of the inconsistency and even illusory nature of the Christian supermundane God, as well as the idea of ​​progress.

Expert opinion

Victor Brenz

Psychologist and self-development expert

Nihilists have always been based on several statements, for example, there is no substantiated proof of a higher power, creator and ruler, there is also no objective morality in society, as well as truths in life, and no human action can be preferable to another.

Varieties

As mentioned earlier, the meaning of the word nihilist in different times and eras could be slightly different, but in any case it was about a person’s denial of objectivity, the moral principles of society, traditions and norms. As the doctrine of nihilism emerged and developed, its modifications over the course of eras and different cultures, today experts distinguish several types of nihilism, namely:

• worldview philosophical position that doubts or completely denies generally accepted values, morals, ideals and norms, as well as culture;
• mereological nihilism, which denies objects consisting of particles;
• metaphysical nihilism, which considers the presence of objects in reality to be completely unnecessary;
• epistemological nihilism, which completely denies any teachings and knowledge;
• legal nihilism, that is, the denial of human duties in active or passive manifestations, the same denial of established laws, norms and rules by the state;
• Moral nihilism, namely a metaethical idea that denies moral and immoral aspects in life and society.

Based on all types of nihilism, we can conclude that people with such concepts and principles deny any norms, stereotypes, morals and rules. According to most experts and specialists, this is the most controversial and sometimes conflicting ideological position that exists, but does not always receive approval from society and psychologists.

Preferences of nihilists

In fact, a modern nihilist is a person based on spiritual minimalism and a special theory of mindfulness. The preferences of nihilists are based on the denial of any meanings, rules, norms, social rules, traditions and morality. Such people do not tend to worship any rulers; they do not recognize authorities, do not believe in higher powers, and deny laws and public demands.

Do you consider yourself a nihilist?

YesNo

Psychologists note that nihilism is actually a close movement to realism, but at the same time it is based solely on a factual basis. This is a kind of skepticism, thinking at a critical point, but in the form of an extended philosophical interpretation. Experts also note the reasons for the emergence of nihilism - a heightened sense of self-preservation and human egoism; nihilists recognize only the material, denying the spiritual.

Nihilists in literature

A well-known literary work that touches on the concept of nihilism is the story “Nihilist” from the author Sofia Kovalevskaya about the Russian revolutionary movement. The denunciation of “nihilism” in the form of crude caricature can be traced in such well-known literary works as “The Cliff” by Goncharov, “On Knives” by Leskov, “The Troubled Sea” by Pisemsky, “The Haze” by Klyushnikov, “The Fracture” and “The Abyss” by Markevich and many other works .

"Fathers and Sons"

Nihilists in Russian literature are, first of all, the memorable heroes from Turgenev’s books, for example, the reflective nihilist Bazarov, and Sitnikov and Kukushkin followed his ideology. Bazarov’s atypical ideological position can already be seen in dialogues and disputes with Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, showing different attitudes towards the common people. In the book "Fathers and Sons" the nihilist shows a pronounced denial of art and literature.

Nietzsche

It is also known that Nietzsche was a nihilist; his nihilism consisted in the devaluation of high values. A philosopher and philologist, Nietzsche connected human nature and values, but immediately emphasized that man himself devalues ​​everything. The famous philosopher insisted that compassion is a destructive quality, even when it comes to loved ones. His nihilism is nothing more than the idea of ​​a superman and a Christian ideal that is free in every sense.

Dostoevsky

In the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky there are also nihilistic characters. In the writer's understanding, a nihilist is a type of tragic thinker, a rebel and a denier of social norms, as well as an opponent of God himself. If we consider the work “Demons”, the character Shatov, Stavrogin and Kirillov became a nihilist. This also includes Dostoevsky’s book “Crime and Punishment,” where nihilism reached the brink of murder.

What kind of nihilist is he today?

Many philosophers are inclined to think that modern man himself is already a nihilist to some extent, although the modern trend of nihilism has already branched into other subspecies. Many people, without even knowing about the essence of nihilism, throughout their lives sail under the sail of a ship that is called nihilism. A modern nihilist is a person who does not recognize any values, generally accepted norms and morals, and does not bow to any will.

List of famous nihilists

To provide a clear example of behavior, experts conducted research and then compiled a list of the most memorable personalities from different eras who promoted nihilism.

Famous nihilists list:

• Nechaev Sergei Gennadievich - Russian revolutionary and author of the "Catechism of a Revolutionary";
• Erich Fromm is a German philosopher, sociologist and psychologist who deals with the term nihilism;
• Wilhelm Reich - Austrian and American psychologist, the only student of Freud who analyzed nihilism;
• Nietzsche is a nihilist who denied the existence of material and spiritual values.
• Søren Kierkegaard is a nihilist and Danish religious philosopher and writer.
• O. Spengler - propagated the idea of ​​the decline of European culture and forms of consciousness.

Based on all the interpretations and movements, it is difficult to clearly characterize the essence of nihilism. In each era and time period, nihilism proceeded differently, denying either religion, the world, humanity, or authorities.

Conclusion

Nihilism is a radical movement that denies everything valuable in the world, from the spiritual to the material benefits of humanity. Nihilists adhere to absolute freedom from power, state, prosperity, faith, higher powers and society. Today, the modern nihilist is significantly different from those who appeared in the Middle Ages.