Western European Intellectual Practices of a New Type in Russian Everyday Life in the Early 18th Century (the Case of Feofan Prokopovich)
https://doi.org/10.24833/RJWPLN-2023-2-4-13
Abstract
This study focuses on the views of Feofan Prokopovich, a unique Orthodox thinker whose world outlook was shaped by the obvious influence of the ideas of the Protestant and Catholic Enlightenment. Talking about the Enlightenment, modern historiography focuses on the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon, preferring to talk about the Enlightenment, including the religious or confessional Enlightenment, aimed at rethinking the role of religion and the church. The Religious Enlightenment was a pan-European phenomenon that embraced Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, and Orthodoxy, and grew out of the desire to create an intelligent religion free of superstition and serving society. The intellectual movement of the religious Enlightenment sought to reconcile the natural philosophy of the 17th–18th centuries with a religious view of the world, while at the same time trying to overcome the extremes of religious fanaticism, on the one hand, and nihilism and godlessness, on the other. The process of forming a new intellectual environment is marked by the coexistence and mutual influence of a variety of (sometimes poorly compatible) traditions, their transformation and modification. Comprehensively arguing the need for unlimited autocracy in Russia, Feofan Prokopovich, nevertheless, actively used the discourse of the Enlightenment in his writings, discussing the problem of the origin of the state, the mode of government, the boundaries of the power of the monarch, the rights and duties of subjects. Using the example of Feofan Prokopovich, we can talk about the emergence and rooting of intellectual practices of a new type in Russian everyday life. The integration of Western European ideas and practices into Russian culture was ambiguous, multifaceted and depended on their adaptation to the socio-political space of Russia. Being well acquainted with the works of European authors of the 17th and early 18th centuries, he rather took on the formal side of their discussions on socio-political topics, and adapted a conceptual glossary that was new for the Russian educated public, which opened up opportunities for talking about politics in a new way.
About the Author
I. Y. Khruleva
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Irina Y. Khruleva – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Modern and Contemporary History, School of History
27-4 Lomonosovskiy Prospect, Moscow, 119192
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Review
For citations:
Khruleva I.Y. Western European Intellectual Practices of a New Type in Russian Everyday Life in the Early 18th Century (the Case of Feofan Prokopovich). Russian Journal of World Politics and Law of Nations. 2023;2(2):4-13. https://doi.org/10.24833/RJWPLN-2023-2-4-13
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