N.A. Berdyaev’s Epistolary Archive: The Persona of the Philosopher in Intellectual History (Reflections on Book)

Abstract

The article considers the publication of Nikolai Berdyaev’s archival correspon­dence in the context of intellectual history methodology and related approaches, as well as their turn to the persona of the philosopher. The publication is analyzed as the implementation of Tatiana Shchedrina’s research project based on the concept of the “archive of the epoch”. It is demonstrated that Shchedrina’s project can be attributed to a “family” of strategies aimed at combining the con­sideration of the theoretical content of philosophy with a broader historical con­text and, consequently, integrating the methods and approaches of humanities into research in history of philosophy. This “family” also includes the Cam­bridge School methodology and other approaches, which, as the author shows, can be applied to the history of Russian philosophy research without contrasting its epistemological style. Referring to Berdyaev’s published correspondence, the author reveals its significance for the reconstruction of both the contexts of Russian philosophy and the authors’ intentions. The latter shows that Russian philosophers interacted with institutional and political contexts, while maintain­ing the autonomy of philosophical reflection and aiming at the development of Russian philosophy. The author analyzes the sections of correspondence clari­fying Berdyaev’s theoretical claims, shedding light on his attitude to Marxism, the USSR and the prospects of spiritual revival in Russia, to church politics and theology. In conclusion, the author emphasizes the relevance of understanding Berdyaev’s life strategies as an expression of his philosophy, characterized by Tatiana Shchedrina as “light personalism”.