Famous nihilists. What does the word "Nihilism" mean? What Nihilists in the West Deny

Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M .: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .

NIHILISM

(from lat. nihil - nothing), in a broad sense - the denial of generally accepted values, ideals, moral norms, culture, etc. Sometimes this denial was undertaken for the purpose of affirmation and exaltation. K.-L. other values (for example, the denial of culture in Russoism, accompanied by a call for the revival of natural morality)... V Russian culture of the 2nd floor. 19 v. nihilists called representatives of the radical trend of the commoners of the sixties, who denied the outdated social foundations of serfdom. Russia and religion ideology preached and atheism. Subsequently, the term "N." was used by the reaction to characterize all revoluts. forces 60-70s biennium, which were attributed, amoralism, anarchism. V app. philosophy, the concept of N. appeared in Jacobi, in the socio-cultural meaning was used by Nietzsche, who understood by N. the illusory and inconsistency of tradition. ideals bourgeois. society. Kierkegaard considered the source of N. Christianity and the spread of "aesthetic." attitude. Spengler's N. denoted a line modern Europ. culture, experiencing a period of "decline" and "senile" forms of consciousness, which in cultures dr. peoples supposedly inevitably followed the state of the highest prosperity. Heidegger considered N. to be the main movement in the history of the West, which could have a world catastrophe as the final result.

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. Ch. edition: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .

NIHILISM

NIHILISM(from lat. nihil - nothing) absolute negation ( cm. NEGATION). This term, introduced by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi in his "Sendschreiben an Fichte", became a common expression thanks to Ivan Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" (1862). Theoretical nihilism denies the very knowledge of truth ( cm. AGNOSTICISM). Ethical nihilism rejects values ​​and norms of behavior, and, finally, political nihilism opposes any social system, no matter how it was brought to life. Often it is only an extreme, a reaction against dogmatism, the lack of content of which has become apparent. Nietzsche denotes the word "nihilism", borrowed from Turgenev, associated with a reassessment of the highest values, precisely those values ​​that only give meaning to all the actions and aspirations of people. In this, Nietzsche puts the following meaning: there is nothing more to live in and to strive for. It becomes clear that all these aspirations are completely futile. Nihilism becomes especially widespread during the crisis epochs of social and historical development. cm. also NOTHING.

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .

NIHILISM

(from Lat. nihil - nothing) - in the broad sense of the word social and morality. a phenomenon that is expressed in the denial of generally accepted values: ideals, moral norms, culture, forms of society. life; in bourgeois. Western-European philosophy - awareness of the social and spiritual crisis of the bourges. society, as a crisis of all former ideals, resulting in a denial of the meaning of man. activities. Although the concept of "N." appears even in F. Jacobi (see "Sendschreiben an Fichte") in his truly cultural-historical. meaning first appears in Nietzsche, who defines N. as follows: "What does nihilism mean? That the highest values ​​lose their value. There is no goal. There is no answer to the question" why? " " (Complete collection of works, vol. 9, Moscow, 1910, p. 9). N., as Nietzsche rightly notes, acts as a reaction to the traditionally liberal form of the bourges. ideology, edges trying to preserve the illusion about the bourgeois. civilization, seeking to present it as the implementation - or towards the implementation - of those ideals that were proclaimed in the era of the bourges. revolutions. N. asserts the illusory nature of these ideals and their incompatibility with reality. "Christianity, the abolition of slavery, rights, philanthropy, peacefulness, truth: all these great words have a value only in the struggle, as banners, not as realities, but as great names for something completely different (even the opposite!) "(ibid., p. 53). Welcoming N., since the latter "destroys all illusions", Nietzsche tries to overcome him at the same time. Nietzsche called this attempt "the experience of re-evaluating all values." The immediate cause that caused N., is, according to Nietzsche, the "godlessness of the world", the decomposition of the Christian religion, the beginning of which coincided with the birth of bourgeois society and the complete completion of which marks its end. "God died," says Nietzsche (see "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", St. Petersburg, 1913, p. 329), his death immediately revealed that all that morality. world order, to-ry rested on religion. On the basis, he lost his support: it turned out that man himself created this world order, and therefore he himself can destroy it. However, the decay of religions. consciousness is, according to Nietzsche, only direct. the cause is nihilistic. mentality. Its deeper source is to be found in Christ itself. religion, which has split the paradise into the other-worldly - and the this-worldly - untrue. After the "artificial" of this "higher" world is revealed, we are left with only one "rejected" world, and this highest disappointment is put to it at the expense of its worthlessness (see. there). So, already the very emergence of Christianity was the potential emergence of N. Nietzsche's Christianity interprets broadly, linking its appearance with the era of Socrates and Plato, when the doctrine of two worlds for the first time arises - the moral, true world, and this worldly, transitory and untrue world - the doctrine, in the basis of which lies, according to Nietzsche, the desire to oppose fate. Thus, with Christianity, Nietzsche essentially identifies the entire worldview of modern times, since it only changed the old Christ. ideals, but left untouched the main thing: the desire to achieve the highest goal of mankind. Nietzsche speaks in this sense of "the continuation of Christianity French Revolution"(see ibid., p. 59), about the transformation of Christ. ideas into the doctrine of the progressive development of society, about the" modern form of Christianity "- socialism. To put an end to Christianity - with its" division of the world into and meaning "- means, according to Nietzsche , to put an end to N., which will lead to the triumph of a new era, the era of the "superman", for whom there is no more "good and evil", for there is no dichotomy of the world into "true" and "false" (immoral. Nietzsche later served as one from the origins of the ideology of German fascism.) The same spiritual phenomenon, which Nietzsche designated as N., was noted by Kierkegaard, calling it “despair.” Unlike Nietzsche, Kierkegaard expresses the impending crisis of the worldview of the new era in the form in which he is perceived by religious consciousness, and sees the source of N. not in the "spirit of Christianity", but, on the contrary, in the absence of a genuinely Christ. worldview. Characterizing "despair" as " fatal disease "era, for clarification, Kierkegaard compares it with" ... an intellectual illness - doubt ... Despair - something deeper and more independent ... It is an expression of the whole personality, but - only thinking "(" Entweder - Oder ", Köln, 1960, pp. 769–70) According to Kierkegaard, like N. in Nietzsche, "Despair" paralyzes a person, because in this state it is revealed that all of it has no meaning. However, unlike Nietzsche, Kierkegaard declares the source of "despair" is not a religious, but "" attitude, which he characterizes as: 1) natural in the moral (spiritual); 2) pagan as opposed to true Christian; 3) natural attraction as opposed to free choice; 4) preference for natures beginnings in man - reason, supernatural principle - will; 5) striving for a single goal - pleasure and the confession of a single religion - the religion of beauty. , the question of freedom cannot be raised (edges are the acquisition himself by choosing himself by the decision of the will), for the "esthetician", making the main. the motive of their behavior is aesthetic. , only loses himself and as a result comes to “despair” (ibid., pp. 747–48). Although the model is aesthetic. attitude to life Kierkegaard chooses the worldview of Jena romantics (see. Romanticism), essentially "aesthetic" he considers the entire modern. culture (new philosophy - see "Die Krankheit zum Tode", Fr./M., 1959, S. 76 - and even Protestant), including that historical. a tradition that led to its origin. The term "aestheticism", therefore, is the same symbol as the Nietzschean term "". (For example, Kierkegaard calls even a representative of the "ethical" direction in the ancient Greek philosophy of Socrates "an esthetician," since the latter did not understand that ethics should be based on "will, willfulness" introduced by Christianity). As, according to Nietzsche, the whole preceding. culture leads to N., and, according to Kierkegaard, "pagan aestheticism" always carries a "fatal disease" - despair. However, overcoming socio-political. and a spiritual crisis, both thinkers are looking in opposite directions: if Nietzsche calls for a return to "genuine paganism" ("eternal return"), interpreting it as a force, as a "worldview of inequality", tragic. "love of fate", then Kierkegaard suggests looking in "genuine Christianity", which has never been achieved and to which one can only come through the deepest despair. Attempts sovr. bourgeois. bringing Kierkegaard and Nietzsche closer together are justified only in the sense that both of them expressed the crisis of the bourges. culture and tragic. the position of a person who grew up in the bosom of this culture.

The term "N." was used by the reaction to characterize all revolutionaries. forces of Russia 60-70-ies. 19th century, to-rum was attributed to vulgar materialism, anarchic. denial of civilization. In this sense, the term "N." used in the official. documents [reports of the 3rd department (see I. S. Turgenev, Central Archive, Moscow, 1923), materials of the Nechaev process], reaction. journalism ("Russian Bulletin"), in "anti-nihilistic" novels (Leskov, Krestovsky, Pisemsky, Dostoevsky). Since the 70s. the term "N." used in foreign bourgeois. historiography for the tendentious characterization of the advanced Rus. societies. thoughts (Oldenburg K., Der Russische Nihilismus von seinem Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, Lpz., 1888; Jarmolinsky Α., Road to revolution. A century of Russian radicalism, L., 1957).

Lit .: Lenin VI, Persecutors of the Zemstvo and Annibals of Liberalism, Soch., 4th ed., Vol. 5; his, About "Vekhi", ibid, v. 16; his, Another campaign for democracy, ibid, v. 18; [Katkov M.], About our N. Concerning the novel by Turgenev, "Rus. Vestn.", 1862,; Herzen A.I., Letter to I.S.Turgenev April 21. (1862), in the book: Complete. collection op. and letters, vol. 15, P., 1920; Alekseev A. I., On the history of the word "N.", in the book: Sat. Art. in acad. A.I.Sobolevsky. Art. on Slavic Philology and Rus. literature, M. - L., 1928; Saltykov-Shchedrin N., Street philosophy, Poln. collection op. in 20 vols., t. 8, M., 1937; Antonovich M., Asmodeus of our time, in his book: Izbr. articles, L., 1938; Kozmin BP, Two words about the word "N.", "IAN USSR. Separate literature and language." 4; Chernyshevsky N.G., Lack of money, Full. collection cit., t. 10, M., 1951; Batuto A. I., On the origin of the word "N." in the novel by I. S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons", "IAN USSR. Separate Literature and Language", 1953, vol. 12, no. 6; Belinsky V., [Rec. on] Provincial nonsense ..., Poln. collection cit., t. 2, M., 1953; Turgenev I., Lit. and everyday memories, Sobr. cit., t. 10, M., 1956; Pisarev D.I., Realists, Works, vol. 3, M., 1956; Pustovoit P. G., Roman I. S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" and the ideological struggle of the 60s. XIX century., M., 1960; Demidova N. V., D. I. Pisarev and N. 60-ies, "Vestnik LSU. Ser. Econom., Philosophy. And law", 1965, No 5; Cyževskyj D., Literarische Lesefrüchte, "Ζ. Für slavische Philologie", 1942–43, Bd 18, Η. 2.

A. Novikov. Leningrad.

Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. Edited by F.V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970 .

NIHILISM

NIGILISM (from Lat. Nihil - nothing) - in a broad sense - a mentality associated with the installation to reject generally accepted values, ideals, moral norms, culture. The term "nihilism" is found in European theological literature already in the Middle Ages. In the 12th century. one of the ecclesiastical heresies that spoke from the standpoint of denying the dogma of the divine-human nature of Christ was called "nihilism." In the 18th century. the concept of “nihilism” as an analogue of the denial of generally accepted norms and values ​​is fixed in European languages ​​(in particular, a similar term “nihilism” is recorded in the “Dictionary of New Words of the French Language”, published in 1801).

In Western philosophy, the term "nihilism" appeared in the 2nd floor. 19th century and became widespread thanks to the conceptual constructions of A. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche, O. Spengler and a number of other thinkers and philosophers. Schopenhauer created a nihilistically colored doctrine of "Buddhist" indifference to the world Spengler views nihilism as a distinctive feature of his contemporary era, characterized by the decline of European culture, which is going through a period of its own decline, its transformation into a standardized, impersonal civilization. In Nietzsche's philosophy of nihilism, it grows into an all-encompassing concept that summarizes all European historical and cultural development, starting with Socrates, who put forward the idea of ​​the values ​​of reason, which, according to the philosopher, was the first reason for zhhilism, which then developed on the basis of a “moral-Christian interpretation of the world ”. Nietzsche considers all the basic principles of reason, formulated in the European philosophical, to be “the most dangerous attempt on life,” goal, truth, etc. Under “slander against life” he sums up both Christianity and its entire history, leading to its self-denial through the development of a kind the cult of intellectual honesty. Thus, the stable nihilistic in the culture of Europe is formed due to the fact that the “true world” of traditional religions, philosophy and morality loses its vitality, but at the same time life itself, the earthly world do not find their own values, their real justification. Nihilism, corresponding to this global situation, is not, according to Nietzsche, an empirical phenomenon of culture and civilization, even if it is very stable. Nihilism is deep in the entire history of Europe, a kind of fatal “anti-life”, which has paradoxically become the life of its culture, starting from both its rational-Hellenic and Judeo-Christian roots. The incredible decline in the dignity and creative power of the individual in the modern mechanized era only radicalizes this logic and forces us to raise the cardinal question of overcoming nihilism. Nietzsche emphasizes that nihilism is not limited to the “death of the Christian God”, for all attempts to replace Him with the help of conscience, rationality, the cult of the public good and the happiness of the majority, or the interpretation of history as an absolute end in itself, etc., only reinforce the alarming symptomatology of nihilism, “this very eerie of all the guests. " I-biiiuie vigorously exposes an attempt to escape the “collapse” of the highest values ​​by restoring their secularized imitations, pointing to the “physiological” and vital-anthropological roots of nihilism. In this regard, the modern, according to Nietzsche, is only the apogee of the indicated crushing and fall of the type of person, bringing the nihilistic tendency to its extreme forms.

In Nietzsche's concept of nihilism, one can distinguish features both of its formal similarity with the idea of ​​communism in Marx (even the metaphors of a “ghost” wandering around Europe coincide), and a meaningful echo of the theme of “oblivion of being” by Heidegger, who gave his reading of the concept of nihilism in Nietzsche ... Both the “oblivion of being” (Heidegger) and the decadence of the vital force (Nietzsche) in the same way begin with Socrates and develop in parallel in Platonism and in the tradition of metaphysics in general. In both cases, the prophetically preached return to mystic-Dionysian and pre-Socratic Greece is a common marker of overcoming this “fate of Europe”. Heidegger's originality in his interpretation of nihilism, this frightening “fate of Western peoples”, is that he views it in the light of the problem of nothingness as “the veil of the truth of the being of existence”. According to Heidegger, Nietzsche's interpretation of nihilism is that he “is not able to think about the being of Nothing” (European nihilism. - In his book: Time and Being. M., 1993, p. 74). And therefore, secularization, together with disbelief, is not the cause of nihilism, Heidegger believes, but its consequences. Nietzsche cannot understand nihilism regardless of the metaphysics he criticizes, because in his analysis he himself proceeds from the idea of ​​value, which thinks “the essence of being ... in its breakdown” (ibid., P. 75). As a result, he remains within the confines of nihilism and metaphysics, being, however, "the last metaphysician." Unlike Nietzsche, Heidegger associates nihilism with the project of the New Age with his idea of ​​an autonomous self-legislating subject, leading to the Cartesian mechanism necessary to assert the domination of a nihilistic person over the Earth.

According to Camus, modern nihilism begins with the words of Ivan Karamazov “everything is allowed” since there is no God. The concept of nihilism is analyzed by him in connection with the theme of “metaphysical rebellion” (la révolte), and milestones in its history are romantics, Stirner, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky. “Nihilism,” Camus emphasizes, “is not only despair and denial, but first of all towards them” (L “homme révolte. -“ Essais ”. P., 1965, p. 467).

A new stage in the interpretation of the concept of "nihilism" in the social and political thought of the West was discovered in the 1960s. and is associated with the names of G. Marcuse, T. Adorno and other followers of the Frankfurt school. In Western philosophy, in the worldview of the “new left” and the artistic avant-garde of the 1960s and 70s. the concept of nihilism turned out to be closely connected with the Freudian-inspired idea of ​​the potential independence of the natural “I” from its suppressing culture, with the anarchic protest of left-wing radical and avant-garde circles against the “repressive culture” and “one-dimensionality” of the individual. Nowadays, the concept of nihilism is widely used by critics of modern civilization as a whole or its individual aspects, for example. Austrian philosopher and publicist W. Kraus, who distinguishes between socio-political, psycho-neurotic and philosophical nihilism, and all its types mutually support each other, increasing their negative consequences and thereby creating something like a vicious circle of nihilism. Various shapes nihilism, according to Kraus, is associated with the decline of guilt and personal responsibility in the age of dominance of the scientific and technical picture of the world, as well as with the fact that in the structure of the inner world of a modern person, the influence of the super-“I” as a counterbalance to the unrestrained desires of the individual is not enough. Modern nihilism, according to Kraus, is the traditional nihilism described in the philosophy and literature of the 19th century, plus its neurotic manifestations, in many ways characteristic of today. New idolatry, ex. the market also leads to the strengthening of a variety of nihilistic tendencies that threaten human freedom, dignity and survival.

Lit .: Marciise H. One-dimensional Men. Boston, 1964; Idem. Essay on Liberation. Boston, 1969; Nihilismus. Die Anfange von Jacobi bis Nietzsche, hrsg. von D. Arendt. Köln, 1970; Der Nihilismus als Phänomen der Geistesgeschichte, hrsg. von D. Arendt. Darmstadt, 1974; Denken im Schatten des Nigilismus, hrsg. von A. Schwan. Dannstadt, 1975; Weier W. Nihilismus. Paderbom, 1980; Kraus W. Nihilismus heute oder die Geduld der Weltgeschichte. W, 1983.

NIGILISM IN RUSSIA. In Russia, the term “nihilism” was first used by NI Nadezhdin in an article “A host of nihilists” published in 1829 in the Vestnik Evropy. A little later, in the 30-40s. 19 century, it was used by N. A. Polevoy, S. P. Shevyrev, V. G. Belinsky, M. N. Katkov and other Russian writers and publicists, while using the term in different contexts. Both positive and negative moral connotations were associated with it. M. A. Bakunin, S. M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, P. A. Kropotkin, for example, put a positive meaning into the term “nihilism”, not seeing anything bad in it. The situation changed in the 2nd half. 19th century, when the term "nihilism" acquired a qualitatively new and quite definite meaning. Nihilists began to call representatives of the radical trend of the common people of the sixties, who preached a revolutionary worldview, denied social (inequality of estates and serfdom), religious (Orthodox Christian), cultural (“official philistinism”) and other official foundations of society in pre- and post-reform Russia, generally accepted canons of aesthetics and preaching vulgar materialism and atheism. A distinctive feature of Russian nihilism is the attempt in the field of understanding social phenomena to rely on the natural science theory of Darwinism and to extrapolate its methodology to the processes of the evolution of society (man is an animal; - the main organic world; the triumph of the species is valuable and important, but there is a value that does not deserve attention). The mouthpiece of a similarly understood nihilism in Russia at the beginning. 60s 19th century becomes a magazine “ Russian word”, In which DI Pisarev played the leading role. At the same time, however, Pisarev himself ignored the term “nihilism” and preferred to call himself and his associates “realists”.

Such an interpretation of the term “nihilism” became widespread with the publication in 1862 of Ivan Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”, the protagonist of which, a “nihilist” student Bazarov, argued that “denial is most useful in the present time,” and made a destructive criticism of the social structure, public morality, the way of life of the ruling strata of Russian society. Subsequently, Russian literature gave a whole gallery of images of nihilists from Rakhmetov and Lopukhov in the works of Chernyshevsky (where the images of nihilist revolutionaries were written out with great sympathy) to explicit antiheroes in the novels of Dostoevsky, Pisemsky, Leskov, etc. In the 2nd half. 19th century the term “nihilism” was actively used by right-wing conservative journalism to characterize the representatives of the revolutionary populism of the 1860s and 70s. and the Russian liberation movement as a whole.

A new page in the history of the interpretation of the phenomenon of "Russian nihilism" was opened in the first decades of the 20th century. S. L. Frank and N. A. Berdyaev. In his article “Ethics of Nihilism” (collection Vekhi, 1909), Frank declared “nihilistic moralism” to be the main feature of the spiritual physiognomy of the Russian intellectual, called Peter I the first Russian nihilist, while describing the Bolsheviks as an expression of “universal denial”. In characterizing Russian nihilism, Berdyaev distinguished between its narrow (“emancipatory mental movement of the 1960s”) and broad (currents of thought denying “God, soul, norms and higher values”) meanings (“The origins and meaning of Russian communism”). Considering Russian nihilism as a religious phenomenon in its essence, Berdyaev, however, defines its origins in a contradictory way, considering them either Orthodox or Gnostic. The nihilistic, declared in the images of Bazarov, Rakhmetov and others, being transformed in the course of historical development, continues in Russian communism, where, in particular, it acquires some features of theomachism in the spirit of the vulgarized Nietzsche, for example. from M. Gorky.

Nihilism in Russia is not an ideology or a worldview; it is a specific socio-psychological, as unreflected, a special way of responding to a variety of phenomena public life characterized by hypertrophied categoricality, “totality” of denial, non-dialectical denial, when nothing positive, rational is recognized or accepted in the denied phenomena; nihilism, as a rule, is expressed in derogatory, accusatory and even abusive terms; he is hostile to any compromise. There were nihilists of one kind or another in the most diverse social movements and currents of thought, but Ch. O. nihilism was characteristic of extreme left- and right-wing radicals. In the left-wing radical and revolutionary circles of the 19th century. nihilism was most clearly manifested among the publicists of the "Russian Word" headed by Pisarev in the "anarchist" movement, in the 20th century in anarcho-syndicalism and in such an anti-intellectual movement as the "Makhaevshchina" (V. K. Makhaisky and others) , in the early years of Soviet power in the proletarian movement. On the right flank of the spectrum social movements in Russia, 19 V. clearly nihilistic were especially characteristic of the speeches and writings of the editor of the obscurant journal of the 1940s. “Lighthouse” by S. O. Burachek, publisher of no less obscurant journal of the 60s. "Home talk" V. I. Askochensky, for Konstantin Leontiev, ideologists of the Black Hundred movement early. 20th century.

Lot .: Katkov M. About our nihilism. Concerning the novel by Turgenev, - “Russian Bulletin”, 1862, No. 7; Gogotsky S. Nihilism - He is. philosophical lexicon, vol. 3. К., 1866; De-Poulet M. Nihilism as a pathological phenomenon of Russian life. - "Russian Bulletin", 1881, No. 11; Peony I. Nihilists and Nihilism. M., 1886; Strakhov I. N. From the history of literary nihilism 1861-65. SPb., 1890; Achekseev A. I. On the history of the word “nihilism.” - In the book: Collection of articles in honor of Acad. A.I.Sobolevsky. Articles on Slavic philology and Russian literature. M.-L., 1928; Borovsky V.V. Bazarov and Sanin. Two nihilisms. - Works, vol. 2. M., 1931; Stepnyak-Kravchinsky S. M. Nihilism. - He is. Underground Russia. M., I960; Novikov A.I. Nihilism and a nihilist. Experience of critical characterization. L., 1972; Dostoevsky F.M.Mister Shchedrin, or the Schism in the nihilists. op. in 30 t., t. 20. L., 1980; Kozychin BP Two words about the word "nihilism" - He. Literature and history. Sat. articles. M., 1982; Karlowisch N. Die Entwickelung des russischen Nihilismus. B., 1880; Oldenberg K. Der russische Nihilismus von seinen Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Lpz., 1888; Coquart A. Dmitri Pisarev (1840-1868) et idéologie du nihilisme rosse. P., 1946; Hi / igley R. Nihilists. Russian Radicals and Revolutionaries in the Reign f Alexander 11 (1855-81), 1967; Lubomirski J ". Le nihilisme en Russie. P., 1979.

Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Nihilism- Nihilism ♦ Nihilisme A Nihilist is a person who does not believe in anything (nihil), even in what really is. Nihilism is a kind of negative religion - God died, taking with him everything that was considered the fruit of his creation - being and value ... Sponville's Philosophical Dictionary

nihilism- a, m. nihilisme lat. nihil nothing. 1. Denial of social values ​​(any norms, principles, laws) created by humanity; complete skepticism. BAS 1. 2. Direction in the environment of rus. commoners of the sixties, sharply negative ... ... Historical Dictionary gallicisms of the Russian language

Nihilism- (Latin nihil - esteme) - қoғamdaғy zhpy қabyldanғan, biraқ bөgde (zhat), sociumde өmirdi ndirudin өzderinin kүnderі bitken formalars nemese zhazalaytyn (repressive) Philosophies

- (lat. nihil nothing) is originally one of the characteristic features of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy. According to their inherent N. (or pessimism), in the world of this world, in principle, there is no primordial reality, for it has no name and form; ... ... History of Philosophy: An Encyclopedia

- (from the Latin nihil nothing), the denial of generally accepted values, ideals, moral norms, cultural traditions, etc. It is especially widespread during the crisis epochs of social and historical development. In Russia, the term nihilism received ... ... Modern encyclopedia

Skepticism, denial Dictionary of Russian synonyms. nihilism n., number of synonyms: 3 denial of social values ​​... Synonym dictionary

Nihilism- (from the Latin nihil nothing), the denial of generally accepted values, ideals, moral norms, cultural traditions, etc. It is especially widespread during the crisis epochs of social and historical development. In Russia, the term "nihilism" has received ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (from Lat. nihil nothing) denial of generally accepted values: ideals, moral norms, culture, forms of social life. It is especially widespread during the crisis epochs of social and historical development. In Russia, the term has become widespread ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

NIHILISM, nihilism, many others. no, husband. (book). 1. The way of thinking of a nihilist (ist.). 2. Naked denial of everything, logically unjustified skepticism. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary


The word "nihilist" is literally translated from Latin as "nothing". This is a person who does not recognize any authority. This term was widely used in literature and journalism of the 60s of the 19th century.

The course of public thought

In Russia, this trend gained maximum distribution after the novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". Nihilism manifested itself as the public mood of the commoners who denied the established norms of morality. These people refuted everything that was customary. Accordingly, a nihilist is a person who does not recognize anything. Representatives of this movement rejected religious prejudices, despotism in society, art, literature. Nihilists advocated the freedom of a woman's personality, her equality in society, and also to a certain extent promoted selfishness. The program of this movement was very schematic, and those who promoted it were too straightforward.

If we talk about nihilism as a worldview, then it cannot be called integral. A nihilist is a person who differed only in the expression of rejection of the surrounding reality. The ideas of this social movement at that time were expressed by the magazine "Russkoe slovo".

Nihilism before Fathers and Sons

As mentioned above, the term itself became widespread after the novel "Fathers and Sons" was published. In this work, the nihilist is Evgeny Bazarov. He had followers, but more on that later. It was after the publication of the novel that the term "nihilism" spread. Prior to that, in magazines, such ideas were called "negative direction", and its representatives were called "whistlers."

For opponents of a social movement, a nihilist is one who sought to destroy moral foundations and promoted immoral principles.

"What is Bazarov?"

This is the question that P.P. Kirsanov to his nephew Arkady. The words that Bazarov is a nihilist, Pavel Petrovich's brother amazed. For representatives of his generation, life without principles is impossible.

It should be noted that nihilists in literature are, first of all, the heroes of Turgenev. The most striking, of course, is Bazarov, who had followers, Kukshina and Sitnikov.

Nihilist principles

For representatives of this trend, the main principle is characteristic - the absence of any principles.

Bazarov's ideological position is most vividly reflected in disputes with Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.

Heroes have different attitudes towards the common people. Bazarov considers these people "dark", Kirsanov touches the patriarchy of the peasant family.

For Eugene, nature is a kind of pantry in which a person can manage. Pavel Petrovich admires her beauty.

The main nihilist in Fathers and Sons has a negative attitude towards art. Reading literature for Bazarov is an empty pastime.

Evgeny and Pavel Petrovich are representatives of different social strata. Bazarov is a commoner. This largely explains his attitude towards the people and indifference to everything beautiful. He imagines how hard life is for those who cultivate the land. Russian nihilists, as a rule, were really commoners. This is probably due to their revolutionary attitude and rejection of the social system.

Bazarov's followers

When asked which of the heroes was a nihilist in Fathers and Children, one can, of course, answer that Arkady Kirsanov considered himself Bazarov's disciple. Kukshina and Sitnikov also pretend to be his followers. However, can they be considered nihilists?

Arkady, although he tries to imitate Bazarov, has a completely different attitude towards art, nature, and relatives. He adopts only Bazarov's cold manner of communication, speaks in a low voice and behaves cheekily. Arkady is a well-mannered young man. He is educated, sincere, intelligent. The younger Kirsanov grew up in a different environment, he did not have to earn money for his studies.

However, when Yevgeny Bazarov falls in love with Anna Odintsova, it seems that his behavior also carried a tinge of pretense. Of course, he is much firmer than Arkady, he shares the ideas of nihilism deeper, but at the same time he still could not reject all values ​​with his soul. At the end of the novel, when Bazarov is awaiting his own death, he recognizes the power of parental love.

If we talk about Kukshina and Sitnikov, then they are portrayed by Turgenev with such irony that the reader immediately understands that one should not perceive them as “serious” nihilists. Kukshina, of course, is “springing”, trying to appear different from what she really is. The author calls her "a creature", thereby emphasizing fussiness and stupidity.

The writer pays even less attention to Sitnikov. This hero is the son of an innkeeper. He is narrow-minded, behaves cheekily, copying, probably, the manner of Bazarov. He has a dream to make people happy, using the money earned by his father for this, which expresses a disrespectful attitude towards other people's work and towards parents.

What did the author want to say with such an ironic attitude towards these characters? Firstly, both heroes personify the negative aspects of the personality of Bazarov himself. After all, he does not show respect for the established values ​​that were laid down many centuries ago. Bazarov also shows disdain for his parents, who live only in love for their only son.

The second point that the writer wanted to show is that the time of the "bazaars" has not yet come.

The history of the origin of the term "nihilism"

Thanks to Turgenev, the concept of nihilism became widespread, but he did not come up with this term. There is an assumption that Ivan Sergeevich borrowed it from N.I. Nadezhin, who in his publication applied it to negatively characterize new literary and philosophical movements.

Nevertheless, it was after the spread of the novel "Fathers and Sons" that the term received a socio-political connotation and began to be widely used.

It must also be said that the literal translation of this word does not convey the content of this concept. Representatives of the current were not at all devoid of ideals. There is an assumption that the author, having created the image of Bazarov, expresses condemnation of the revolutionary democratic movement. At the same time, Turgenev says that his novel is directed against the aristocracy.

So, the term "nihilism" was originally conceived as a synonym for the word "revolution". However, the word gained such popularity that a seminarian who preferred university studies and abandoned a spiritual career, or a girl who chose her husband at the behest of her heart, and not at the behest of relatives, could consider herself a nihilist.

Nihilists

Nihilism(from Lat. nihil - nothing) - a worldview position, expressed in denying the meaningfulness of human existence, the significance of generally accepted moral and cultural values; non-recognition of any authorities. In Western philosophical thought, the term "N." introduced by the German writer and philosopher F.G. Jacobi. This concept was used by many. philosophers. S. Kierkegaard considered the crisis of Christianity and the spread of the "aesthetic" worldview to be his source. F. Nietzsche understood by N. the awareness of the illusory and inconsistency of both the Christian idea of ​​a supra-worldly God (“God is dead”) and the idea of ​​progress, which he considered a version of religious faith. O. Spengler N. called a feature of modern European culture, experiencing a period of "decline" and "senile forms of consciousness", which in the cultures of other peoples supposedly inevitably followed the state of the highest prosperity. M. Heidegger viewed N. as a mainstream movement in the history of the West, which could lead to a global catastrophe.

History of appearance

The word itself has existed for a long time. In the middle ages there was a teaching nihilism, anathematized by Pope Alexander III in 1179. The doctrine of nihilism, falsely attributed to the scholastic Peter Lombard, rejected the human nature of Christ.

Ideology

Nihilists hold some or all of the following statements:

No reasonable evidence of a supreme ruler or creator

- "real morality" does not exist

Objective secular ethics is impossible, therefore life, in a certain sense, has no truth, and no action is objectively preferable to any other.

Nihilism in Russia. Russian literature.

In Russian literature, the word "nihilism" was first used by NI Nadezhdin in the article "A host of nihilists" Vestnik Evropy "1829 in the meaning of deniers and skeptics. In 1858, a book by Kazan professor VV Bervi, "A Comparative Psychological View of the Beginning and End of Life", was published. It also uses the word "nihilism" as a synonym for skepticism.

The term stuck in articles and novels that were directed against the movement of the 1860s. At best, the new people who figured in anti-nihilistic literature were shaggy, unkempt, dirty men and women who had lost all maiden femininity; but quite often, to these qualities, fierce portrayers of nihilists added blackmail, theft, and sometimes even murder. By the late 1860s and early 1870s. the word nihilist almost disappears from Russian polemical literature, but resurrects in Western European literature as a designation for the Russian revolutionary movement; some Russian emigrants who wrote in foreign languages about the Russian revolutionary movement.

Russian nihilism

Russian nihilism is Russian maximalism, it is the inability to establish steps and gradations, to justify the hierarchy of values. This kind of nihilism easily flourishes on completely Orthodox soil. In no other nation can one find such contempt for cultural values, for human creativity, for knowledge, for philosophy, for art, for law, for the relative and conditional forms of society, as among the Russian people. The Russian person is inclined to consider everything as nonsense and decay, except for one thing that is needed - for one it is the salvation of the soul for eternal life and the Kingdom of God, for the other it is a social revolution and the salvation of the world through a perfect social order. Nihilism was developed in the 19th century. Nihilists opposed the remnants of serfdom.

Notes (edit)

see also

  • Denial negation

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Nihilists" are in other dictionaries:

    NIGILISTS. Nihilist (from Latin nihil "nothing": a person who does not recognize anything, denier) is a social, political and literary term widely used in Russian journalism and literary literature of the 60s. In the novel by I. S. Turgenev ... ... Literary encyclopedia

    - (from the Latin nihil nothing), people who deny generally accepted spiritual values, moral norms, forms of social life. In Russia, the term became widespread after the appearance of Ivan Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons (1862). Publicists ... ... Russian history

    People who deny the historical foundations of modern life (family, religion, etc.). This nickname, launched by Turgenev, soon lost its original meaning and vulgarized. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    Nihilism (nihilists) Cf. What is (nihilism)? In the rejection of the providence of God and the benefits that are brought by the powers that be ... in disrespect, disrespect, destruction and disobedience. They deny the existence, revered the strong, shaky, and the bearing and weak for ... ...

    Nihilists- (Latin nihil - nothing), in Russia from the 2nd half of the 19th century. people who denied generally accepted values: ideals, moral norms, culture ... Russian statehood in terms. IX - early XX century

    Nihilists. (Deniers)- The political trend prevalent in Russia in the 1860s. Many supporters of nihilism resorted to methods of terror against the tsarist reaction and entered the populist movement of the 1870s ... Historical reference book of the Russian Marxist

    - (English Vera; or, The Nihilists) the first melodramatic play by Oscar Wilde in 1880. The play was dedicated to the Russian terrorist and revolutionary Vera Zasulich. The performances The premiere took place in 1881 at the Adelphi Theater, but on December 17 of that ... ... Wikipedia

    Wed What is (nihilism)? In the rejection of the providence of God and the benefits that are brought by the powers that be ... in disrespect, disrespect, destruction and disobedience. They deny the existence, revered the strong, shaky, and give out the carrier and the weak for the existing and strong ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

The dictionaries are 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 Psychological Research
  • 5 See also
  • 6 Notes
  • 7 Literature
  • 8 References

The history of the appearance of the term

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

In Western philosophical thought, the term "Nihilism" was introduced by the German writer and philosopher FG Jacobi. This concept has been used by many philosophers. S. Kierkegaard considered the crisis of Christianity and the spread of the “aesthetic” attitude to the source of nihilism. F. Nietzsche understood by nihilism the awareness of the illusoryness and inconsistency of both the Christian idea of ​​a supra-worldly God (“God died”) and the idea of ​​progress, which he considered a version of religious faith. O. Spengler called nihilism a feature of modern European culture, experiencing a period of "decline" and "senile forms of consciousness", which in the cultures of other peoples supposedly inevitably followed the state of highest prosperity. M. Heidegger viewed nihilism as a mainstream 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 (undisputed) reasonable evidence 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

  • Philosophical worldview position that calls into question (in its extreme form, absolutely denies) generally accepted values, ideals, norms of morality, culture;
  • Mereological nihilism is a philosophical position according to which objects consisting of parts do not exist;
  • Metaphysical nihilism is a philosophical theory according to which the existence of objects in reality is optional;
  • Epistemological nihilism - 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 duties 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 NI Nadezhdin in his article "A host of nihilists" (journal "Vestnik Evropy", 1829). In 1858, the book of the Kazan professor VV Bervi "A Comparative Psychological 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. the views of the "fathers". The tremendous impression made by the novel "Fathers and Sons" made the term "nihilist" winged. In his memoirs, Turgenev said that when he returned to Petersburg after the publication of his novel - and this happened during the famous Petersburg fires of 1862 - the word "nihilist" had already been picked up by many, and the first exclamation that escaped the lips of his first acquaintance , met by Turgenev, was: "Look what your nihilists are doing: they are burning Petersburg!"

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

By the late 1860s and early 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; he was also accepted by some Russian émigrés who wrote in foreign languages ​​about the Russian revolutionary movement. In 1884 Sophia 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 the legal life of Russian society. Its structure-forming component is an idea that denies legitimate social attitudes and carries a significant ideological burden, due not only to trends in social development and corresponding values, but also to a number of psychogenic factors.

Nihilism in Psychological Research

Erich Fromm suggested approaching nihilism as one of the mechanisms of psychological defense. He believed that the central problem of man is the inherent contradiction of human existence between being "thrown into the world against his will" and the fact that he transcends nature due to the ability to be aware of himself, others, the past and the future. Fromm argues that the development of a person, his personality occurs within the framework of the formation of two main tendencies: the desire for freedom and the desire for alienation. Human development follows the path of increasing "freedom", but not every person can adequately use 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 himself, nihilism, automatic conformism.

The concept of nihilism is also analyzed by W. Reich. He wrote that bodily characteristics (restraint and tension) and features such as a constant smile, dismissive, ironic and defiant behavior are remnants of very strong defense mechanisms in the past, which have become detached from their original situations and turned into permanent character traits. ... They manifest themselves as a "character neurosis", one of the causes of which is the action of a protective 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 negation
  • Anarchism
  • Libertism
  • Mereological nihilism
  • Nirvana

Notes (edit)

  1. Zryachkin A. N. Legal nihilism: reasons and ways of overcoming 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: author. dis. doc. Philos. 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 of subjects: monograph. - Samara, 2009.
  • ROSSINSKAYA E.R. ANTI-CORRUPTION EXAMINATION OF REGULATORY 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: Change, 2005.280 p.
  • Gulyaikhin V.N. Psychosocial forms of human legal nihilism // NB: Questions of law and politics. 2012. No. 3. S. 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 questions: About education - socialism, communism and nihilism - about the nobility on the occasion of the centenary of the noble charter. Kiev: type. P. Barsky, 1885.66 p.
  • Kosykhin V.G., Critical analysis of the ontological foundations of nihilism: dis. doc. Philos. 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 // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb., 1890-1907.
  • M. Insarov. Nihilism of the 1860s and populism of the 1870s
  • definition of the term in the Dictionary of Ethics by J.S. Cohn (1981)
  • nihilism in 19th century Russia
  • article "Nihilists" in the Literary Encyclopedia (v. 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. The year is 1918.
  • Ruchko Sergey Viktorovich. The blaze of nihilism.
  • Nihilist - APPLE

nihilism, nihilism bazarov, nihilism wikipedia, nihilism meaning, nihilism meaning of the word, nihilism to the right examples, nihilism is, nihilism

Nihilism Information About

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Western philosophical thought, the term "nihilism" (German. Nihilismus) 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 the “aesthetic” attitude to the source of nihilism. F. Nietzsche understood by nihilism the awareness of the illusoryness and inconsistency of both the Christian idea of ​​a supra-worldly God (“God died”) and the idea of ​​progress, which he considered a version of religious faith. O. Spengler called nihilism a feature of modern European culture, experiencing a period of "decline" and "senile forms of consciousness", which in the cultures of other peoples supposedly inevitably followed the state of highest prosperity. M. Heidegger viewed nihilism as a mainstream 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 (undisputed) reasonable evidence 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

  • Philosophical worldview position that calls into question (in its extreme form, absolutely denies) generally accepted values, ideals, norms of morality, culture;
  • Mereological nihilism is a philosophical position according to which objects consisting of parts do not exist;
  • Metaphysical nihilism is a philosophical theory according to which the existence of objects in reality is optional;
  • Epistemological nihilism - 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 duties of the individual, as well as the norms and rules established by the state, generated by the social environment.

Nihilists in Russia

In Russian literature, the word "nihilism" was first used by NI Nadezhdin in his article "A host of nihilists" (journal "Vestnik Evropy", 1829). In 1858, the book of the Kazan professor VV Bervi "A Comparative Psychological View of the Beginning and End of Life" was published. It also uses the word "nihilism" as a synonym for skepticism.

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

Nihilism in Psychological Research

The concept of nihilism is also analyzed by W. Reich. He wrote that bodily characteristics (restraint and tension) and features such as a constant smile, dismissive, ironic and defiant behavior are remnants of very strong defense mechanisms in the past, which have become detached from their original situations and turned into permanent character traits. ... They manifest themselves as a "character neurosis", one of the causes of which is the action of a protective 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

Portal "Philosophy"
nihilism in Wiktionary
Nihilism in Wikiquote
Project "Philosophy"

Write a review on the article "Nihilism"

Notes (edit)

Literature

  • Friedrich Nietzsche - .
  • Friedrich Nietzsche -
  • Baboshin V.V. Nihilism in modern society: phenomenon and essence: author. dis. doc. Philos. n. Stavropol, 2011.38 p.
  • Tkachenko S.V.
  • Tkachenko S.V.: monograph. - Samara, 2009.
  • E.R. Rossinskaya Compiled by E.R. Rossinskaya, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.
  • Gulyaikhin V.N. Legal nihilism in Russia. Volgograd: Change, 2005.280 p.
  • Gulyaikhin V.N.// NB: Legal and Political Issues. 2012. No. 3. S. 108-148.
  • De-Poulet M.F. Nihilism as a Pathological Phenomenon of Russian Life. M .: University type. M. Katkova, 1881.53 p.
  • A. S. Klevanov Three contemporary questions: About education - socialism, communism and nihilism - about the nobility on the occasion of the centenary of the noble charter. Kiev: type. P. Barsky, 1885.66 p.
  • V. G. Kosykhin A critical analysis of the ontological foundations of nihilism: dis. doc. Philos. n. Saratov, 2009.364 p.
  • A. I. Pigalev Philosophical nihilism and the crisis of culture. Saratov: Publishing house Sarat. Univ., 1991.149 p.

Links

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

Excerpt Characterizing Nihilism

“It’s all the same now,” Pierre said involuntarily.
- Eh, you dear man, - objected Plato. - Never give up money and prison. - He sat down better, cleared his throat, apparently preparing for a long story. “So, my dear friend, I was still living at home,” he began. - Our patrimony is rich, there is a lot of land, the peasants live well, and our house, thank you God. Father himself went out to mow this. We lived well. Christians were real. It happened ... - And Platon Karataev told a long story about how he went to a strange grove behind the forest and got caught by the watchman, how he was flogged, tried and given away by the soldiers. “Well, the falcon,” he said in a voice changing from a smile, “they thought grief, but joy! My brother would have to go, if it was not my sin. And the younger brother himself has the heels of the guys - and, look, I have one soldier left. There was a girl, and even before the soldiery, God cleaned up. I came on leave, I tell you. I look - they live better than before. The yard is full of bellies, women are at home, two brothers are working. One Mikhailo, the youngest, is at home. Father says: “All children are equal to me, he says: no matter you bite your finger, everything hurts. And if Plato hadn’t been shaved then, Mikhaila would have gone. ” He called us all - believe me - he put us in front of the image. Mikhailo, he says, come here, bow at his feet, and you, woman, bow, and your grandchildren bow. Got it? is talking. So that, my dear friend. Rock is looking for a head. And we are all judging: sometimes it is not good, sometimes it is not okay. Our happiness, my friend, is like water in delirium: if you pull it out, it puffs up, and when you pull it out, there’s nothing. So that. - And Plato sat on his straw.
After a pause for a while, Plato got up.
- Well, I have tea, do you want to sleep? - he said and quickly began to be baptized, saying:
- Lord, Jesus Christ, Nikola the pleaser, Frol and Lavra, Lord Jesus Christ, Nikola the pleaser! Frola and Lavra, Lord Jesus Christ - have mercy and save us! - he concluded, bowed to the ground, got up and, sighing, sat down on his straw. - That's it. Lay it down, God, with a stone, lift it up in a ball, ”he said and lay down, pulling on his overcoat.
- What prayer did you read? - asked Pierre.
- As? - said Plato (he was already asleep). - Read what? I prayed to God. Don't you pray?
“No, and I pray,” said Pierre. - But what did you say: Frola and Lavra?
- And what about, - Plato answered quickly, - a horse festival. And you need to feel sorry for the cattle, - said Karataev. - You see, rogue, curled up. Got sick, daughter of a bitch, ”he said, feeling the dog at his feet, and, turning again, immediately fell asleep.
Outside could be heard crying and screaming somewhere in the distance, and fire could be seen through the cracks of the booth; but the booth was quiet and dark. Pierre did not sleep for a long time and with open eyes lay in the darkness in his place, listening to the measured snoring of Plato, who was lying next to him, and felt that the previously destroyed world was now with a new beauty, on some new and unshakable foundations, erected in his soul.

In the booth, into which Pierre entered and in which he spent four weeks, there were twenty-three prisoners of war, three officers and two officials.
All of them then seemed to be in a fog to Pierre, but Platon Karataev remained forever in Pierre's soul the most powerful and dear memory and the personification of everything Russian, kind and round. When the next day, at dawn, Pierre saw his neighbor, the first impression of something round was fully confirmed: the whole figure of Plato in his French overcoat belted with a rope, in a cap and bast shoes, was round, his head was completely round, his back, chest, shoulders, even the arms that he wore, as if always about to hug something, were round; a pleasant smile and large brown tender eyes were round.
Platon Karataev should have been over fifty years old, judging by his stories about campaigns in which he participated as a longtime soldier. He himself did not know and could not in any way determine how old he was; but his teeth, bright white and strong, which all rolled out in their two semicircles when he laughed (which he often did), were all good and whole; not a single gray hair was in his beard and hair, and his whole body had the appearance of suppleness, and especially firmness and endurance.
His face, in spite of the fine, round wrinkles, had an expression of innocence and youth; his voice was pleasant and melodious. But the main feature of his speech was spontaneity and controversy. He apparently never thought about what he said and what he would say; and from this there was a special irresistible persuasiveness in the speed and fidelity of his intonations.
His physical strength and agility were such at the beginning of his captivity that he did not seem to understand what fatigue and illness were. Every day in the morning and in the evening he, lying down, said: "Lay down, Lord, with a stone, lift it up with a ball"; in the morning, getting up, always shrugging his shoulders in the same way, said: "I lay down - curled up, got up - shook myself." And indeed, as soon as he lay down to immediately fall asleep with a stone, and it was worth shaking himself so that immediately, without a second of delay, to take up some business, as children, getting up, take up toys. He knew how to do everything, not very well, but not bad either. He baked, steamed, sewed, planed, made boots. He was always busy and only at night allowed himself to talk, which he loved, and songs. He sang songs, not like songwriters who know that they are being listened to, but he sang like birds sing, obviously because he needed to make these sounds as it is necessary to stretch or disperse; and these sounds were always subtle, gentle, almost feminine, mournful, and his face was very serious at the same time.
Having been captured and overgrown with a beard, he apparently threw away from himself everything that was put on him, alien, soldier's and involuntarily returned to the old, peasant, folk way.
- A soldier on vacation - a shirt made of trousers, - he used to say. He was reluctant to talk about his time as a soldier, although he did not complain, and often repeated that he had never been beaten throughout his service. When he spoke, he mainly recounted from his old and, apparently, dear memories of the "Christian", as he pronounced, peasant life. The sayings that filled his speech were not those mostly indecent and glib sayings that the soldiers say, but they were those folk sayings that seem so insignificant, taken separately, and which suddenly acquire the meaning of deep wisdom when they are spoken by the way.
Often he said the exact opposite of what he had said before, but both were true. He loved to speak and spoke well, adorning his speech with affectionate and proverbs, which, it seemed to Pierre, he himself invented; but the main charm of his stories was that in his speech the events were the simplest, sometimes the very ones that Pierre saw without noticing them, acquired the character of solemn goodness. He loved to listen to fairy tales that one soldier told in the evenings (all the same), but most of all he loved to hear stories about real life. He smiled happily, listening to such stories, inserting words and asking questions that tended to grasp the goodness of what he was told. Affection, friendship, love, as Pierre understood them, Karataev did not have any; but he loved and lived lovingly with everything with which life brought him, and especially with a person - not with some famous person, but with those people who were before his eyes. He loved his mongrel, loved his comrades, the French, loved Pierre, who was his neighbor; but Pierre felt that Karataev, in spite of all his affectionate tenderness towards him (with which he involuntarily paid tribute to Pierre's spiritual life), would not for a moment be upset at being separated from him. And Pierre began to feel the same feeling for Karataev.
Platon Karataev was an ordinary soldier for all the other prisoners; his name was Sokolik or Platosha, they good-naturedly mocked him, sent him for parcels. But for Pierre, as he presented himself on the first night, an incomprehensible, round and eternal personification of the spirit of simplicity and truth, so he remained forever.
Platon Karataev knew nothing by heart, except for his prayer. When he spoke his speeches, he, starting them, did not seem to know how he would end them.
When Pierre, sometimes struck by the meaning of his speech, asked to repeat what he had said, Plato could not remember what he had said a minute ago, just as he could not in any way tell Pierre his favorite song in words. There was: "darling, birch and nauseous to me", but the words did not come out any meaning. He did not understand and could not understand the meaning of words taken separately from speech. His every word and every action was a manifestation of an activity unknown to him, which was his life. But his life, as he himself saw it, had no meaning as a separate life. It made sense only as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt. His words and actions poured out of him as evenly, necessary and immediately, as the smell is separated from the flower. He could not understand either the price or the meaning of a single action or word.

Having received from Nicholas the news that her brother was with the Rostovs in Yaroslavl, Princess Marya, in spite of her aunt's admonitions, immediately prepared to go, and not only alone, but with her nephew. Whether it was difficult, not difficult, possible or impossible it was, she did not ask and did not want to know: her duty was not only to be near her, perhaps, her dying brother, but also to do everything possible to bring him a son, and she got up drive. If Prince Andrey himself did not notify her, then Princess Marya explained either by the fact that he was too weak to write, or by the fact that he considered this long journey too difficult and dangerous for her and for his son.
In a few days Princess Marya got ready for the journey. Her carriages consisted of a huge princely carriage, in which she arrived in Voronezh, chaise and carts. With her rode m lle Bourienne, Nikolushka with the tutor, an old nanny, three girls, Tikhon, a young footman and a haiduk, whom her aunt let go with her.