Russian Religious Philosophy at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

The Philosophy of All-Unity by V. Solovyov

One of the defining features of Russian religious philosophy can be considered its mystical ontologism. The very idea of the divine, as it developed within the Russian Church, foregrounds elements of corporeality, which P. Florensky identified as a specificity of Russian Orthodoxy in contrast to Byzantine thought. Subsequently, due to the degeneration of mysticism, this "Sophiological" philosophy gradually loses its religious essence. Even by the late 19th century, Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900) pointed to "religious materialism" and the "idea of holy corporeality," which allows for the affirmation not only of a universal divinity but also of the maximal energy of all material existence, particularly of pure human will and action. Nonetheless, in the comprehensive work of E. M. Trubetskoy, "The Worldview of V. S. Solovyov," the author emphasizes the exclusively mystical orientation present throughout all periods of Solovyov's creative output. His multidimensional concept of All-Unity, as a synthesis of the rational and the mystical, became the first systematic philosophical conception in Russia. An insurmountable boundary between the Supreme Substance and the world is abolished, and this metaphysical synthesis sets the tone for the further development of religious thought in Russia.

Vladimir Solovyov was the first Russian philosopher to create a system encompassing all traditional branches of philosophical knowledge—ontology and epistemology, ethics and aesthetics, anthropology and social philosophy. This is why Solovyov emerged as a pivotal figure in the history of philosophy; all subsequent thinkers inevitably had to begin their creative endeavors by grappling with Solovyov's system and defining their positions in relation to it.

The concept of All-Unity serves as the central tenet present in all parts of his doctrine. It signifies the all-encompassing nature of being; holistic knowledge; the sobornost (communal essence) of humanity (i.e., its generic, socio-historical, and universal nature). The idea that emanates from the Divine and fertilizes the world is the Logos. Born from this act of creation is unity—Sophia, the soul of the world, Divine Wisdom, the eternal femininity of the Mother of God.

Solovyov's doctrine of God is intertwined with the principle of trinity. He continues the tradition of understanding the Trinity as the highest spiritual symbol of Russian philosophy. In his teachings, the Trinity represents God as absolute unity existing in three persons: 1) Spirit as the subject of will and bearer of goodness, 2) Reason (Logos) as the bearer of truth, and 3) Soul as the subject of feeling, bearer of beauty. Thus, the three absolute values—Truth, Goodness, and Beauty—correspond to the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity. These three values represent different forms of Love, which serves as the principal unifying force that brings the world together.

According to Solovyov, All-Unity embodies the ideal order of the world, presupposing the Reconciliation and harmonization of all empirically discordant and conflicting elements and forces of existence. "I call such All-Unity true or positive," Solovyov wrote, "in which the One exists not at the expense of all or to their detriment, but for the benefit of all. False, negative unity suppresses or engulfs the elements that enter into it, and thus proves itself to be vanity, while true unity preserves and enhances these elements, manifesting itself in them as the fullness of being. If 'positive All-Unity' potentially encompasses humanity as well, pointing it toward purpose and meaning in life, then the essence of humanity cannot be reduced or confined to any of its particular definitions, and so forth. Hence, the true essence of humanity is the living realization of such All-Unity, which is not only contemplated by reason but itself acts in the world as a fully concrete—'new spiritual man.' The realization of 'living All-Unity,' according to Solovyov, occurred in the person of Christ. The philosophical architecture of the ideas of God-manhood and All-Unity in Solovyov's concept is theurgy—a mystical ascent to the First Unity, God. Striving for a universal synthesis of science, philosophy, and religion, Solovyov creates the possibility of "holistic knowledge," which, together with "holistic creativity," constitutes "integral life." One of the means to achieve this is the magic of love, aesthetic creativity as "communication with the higher world through inner creative activity."

As already mentioned, Solovyov's philosophy is anthropocentric—humanity stands as the pinnacle of creation within the system of nature, and the individual is a wholly "natural phenomenon." However, within each individual lies "something quite particular, absolutely undefined externally"—the essence of humanity, its idea. The ideal man is the highest manifestation of Sophia, Divine Wisdom, embodied in the image of Christ; thus, the God-man represents the unity of Logos and Sophia. The improvement of humanity, according to Solovyov, is the path toward the state of God-manhood, intrinsically linked to moral development.

The doctrine of God-manhood occupies a significant place in Solovyov's religious system. It aims to interpret the history of humanity and social life. For Solovyov, the God-man is both an individual and a universal being that encompasses all humanity through God. In him is expressed the unity of goodness, truth, and beauty.

In pursuit of the goal of human improvement, God manifested Himself in the earthly historical process in the form of the God-man—Jesus Christ. The God-man is an individual manifestation of the Kingdom of God. Yet humanity as a whole also strives for a universal manifestation of the Kingdom of God, which constitutes its own trial. In the world, all things yearn for unity, which is an indispensable condition of absolute perfection. All this is the result of the evolution of nature.

Previously, it was noted that for Solovyov, the absolute is All-Unity that exists within the world, while the world is All-Unity that is in a state of becoming. The world is All-Unity in potency; that is, it contains All-Unity only as an idea, as a divine element. However, the world also contains a material element that is not All-Unity; it is also not a divine element. This element yearns for All-Unity and becomes it when it unites itself with God. The becoming of All-Unity is the development of the world. The divine principle of All-Unity can be embodied in the historical process of God-manhood. Indeed, history itself, in the thinker's view, is a God-manly process. The ultimate result of this developmental process is the triumph of the Kingdom of God.

At the stage of the evolution of nature, the preliminary foundations of the unity of the world are formed, of which there are five: mineral, plant, animal, human, and Divine. The gradual evolution of nature constitutes the development of universal unity. The highest degree of universal unity is achieved at the final point in human history—the stage of God-manhood.

For Solovyov, humanity serves as a certain link between the divine and natural worlds due to its moral nature. Human life possesses a moral character because it consists in serving Good—pure, all-encompassing, and omnipotent. Those who strive for perfection in moral goodness are on the path to absolute perfection, for goodness is invariably a form of welfare.

The God-manly connection, as the embodiment of divine All-Unity, must be established in everything, that is, it must become the beginning of organization in both the spiritual and the corporeal; achieving this ultimate ideal of humanity, which defines the content of the historical process following the first manifestation of Christ, becomes possible only within a society of "free theocracy"—a faithful representation of the Divine Trinity (society + state + church). The prerequisite for such a society of "free theocracy" must be a socio-religious reform of reality.