On Spiritual Unity: A Slavophile Reader (Library of Russian Philosophy.) (Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy) [Paperback]

Ivan Vasilevich Kireevskii (Author), Boris Jakim (Author), Aleksey Khomiakov (Author), Robert Bird (Author)

Book Description

Series: Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy | Publication Date: October 1, 1998

This unique volume gathers together for the first time the religious and philosophical writings of the founders of Russian religious philosophy, Aleksei Khomiakov and Ivan Kireevsky. Both began their intellectual careers in the literary world during the 1820s. Khomiakov was for many years best known as a poet of the Pushkin school, while Kireevsky was well known as an original literary critic. The texts collected here make available to Western readers two of Russia's great gifts to world thought: the philosophical concepts of sobornost (community, universality, wholeness, ecumenicity) and integral knowledge, which overcomes the subject/object dichotomy, making sobornost possible. Based on the primacy of the heart, the spiritual wholeness of the human being, and the cognitive will, integral knowing moves beyond rationality to union with the object of knowledge in knowing. On Spiritual Unity provides not only a fascinating introduction to Russian religious philosophy, but more than that a profound, meditative text for anyone concerned with human and spiritual unity. Also included in this collection are two responses to Slavophile ideas by the prominent Russian philosophers Pavel Florensky and Nikolai Berdiaev.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940262916
• ISBN-13: 978-0940262911
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,442,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars POPULAR THEOLOGICAL CLASSIC, June 4, 2008

By 

Alexei Fyodorovich (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: On Spiritual Unity: A Slavophile Reader (Library of Russian Philosophy.) (Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy) (Paperback)

Khomiakov and Kireevsky are seminal thinkers for Russia's first thoughtful encounter with the West. They think well about the Orthodox Faith and its critics and compromisers. This book is one of the best introductions possible to the Russian Faith for outsiders (who will need several readings to get the point). It should also be read by every Orthodox Christian, and especially by every Russian Orthodox, if he wants to understand who he is and why he should not compromise with the alien culture now nearly worldwide.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pioneers of Russian theology and philosophy, January 30, 2009

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N. Wood "lover of wisdom and beauty" (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Spiritual Unity: A Slavophile Reader (Library of Russian Philosophy.) (Esalen-Lindisfarne Library of Russian Philosophy) (Paperback)

Khomiakov and Kireevsky are the founders of the so-called "Slavophile" movement and two of the most important early figures in both Russian theology and philosophy (a distinction which has often been blurred in Russia). Unfortunately, finding English translations of their works can be pretty hard to find, and that's why this volume is so important. If you are just getting interested in Russian thought or in Orthodoxy, or if you are interested in later Russian thinkers like Solovyov or Bulgakov, it's essential to pick this up if you can find it in stock. Herein lies the origins of ideas like sobornost, integral knowledge, and other vastly influential concepts in Russian theology, philosophy, and culture.