Polylogue of religion, culture and philosophy: interpretation by D.S. Merezhkovsky
Abstract
The article is devoted to the analysis of the creative activity of Dmitry Merezhkovsky (1865–1941), the “literary source” of the time of the “spiritual turning point” (N. Berdyaev). It is pointed out that Merezhkovsky, being one of the initiators and theorists of Russian symbolism and a well-known representative of the Russian religious renaissance, did not want to limit himself to either “symbolist” or national frameworks, as he always “claimed more: leadership, literary and artistic, religious and philosophical, social and political” (M. Vishnyak). This kind of attitude to creative work initially assumed an intercultural approach, which obviously implied a polylogue of religion, culture and philosophy. Beginning with the justification of a “new direction” in art – symbolism, or “subjective-artistic criticism” regarded as a genuine method of philosophizing and searching for the religious meaning of culture, Merezhkovsky widely developed in his works the themes of the conjunction of culture and revolution, the contradictions of culture and civilization, “religious community”, the need for religious, moral and cultural revival of society by forming the Universal Church. These and other themes were immediately included by him in a wide cultural and historical-philosophical contexts, which enabled Merezhkovsky to make a deeper analysis and provide a more interesting interpretation. It is suggested that intercultural philosophical position of Merezhkovsky was formed as a result of his recognition of uniqueness and importance of each philosophical system and tradition. A conclusion is made that this helped the Russian thinker to reach an essentially new level of philosophical dialogism, which can be regarded as an example of intercultural polylogue.
