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Russia's Modern Reflections about Humanism

김은실 1

1성신여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Modern society is continuing a fierce battle over limited goods. Moreover, material civilization and industrial development are replaced by other material things in humans' realm. Such problems faced by modern society is nothing different from the circumstances of the time when Russian intellectual circles were agonized in the 19th century. Modern society expected they could achieve universal social prosperity and happiness through the development of material civilization. However, the development of capitalism brought about the phenomenon of unequal distribution of riches by a few, but rather, it repeated conflicts and division in the midst of the poverty and deficiency of the many. Thus, the intellectual circles in modern Russia, with the aim of resolving such a social phenomenon, tried to seek for the possibility from the potential of human reason. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, the writers of great literature that Russia has ever produced, tried to surmount political and social circumstances faced by then Europe and Russia from the sincere conviction of Russia's humanistic ethics. Russia's humanism is aiming for Russian-style ethical community on the basis of firm confidence in human reason and self-rehabilitation ability. Though such humanism might face with the criticism that it is idealistic and ideological from the viewpoint of modern society, Russia's research on ethical community based on humanism could be a motive of examining the reflections about modern society and essence of a man and ethical directivity in relation to the future society.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.