The metaphor of the organic in Slavophilism

Abstract

The article considers the views of the representatives of different generations of Slavophilism in connection with the metaphor of organic characteristic for them. The emphasis is made on the fundamental concepts in the socio-philo­sophical worldview of the followers of Slavophilism, for the justification of which this me­taphor was used. The author describes the development of I.V. Kireyevsky's philosophical views in connection with A.S. Khomyakov's doctrine of the Church in the context of philo­sophical organicism. Through analyzing the metaphor of organic the views of I.S. Aksakov and Yu.F. Samarin on the conjugation of nationality and state are examined. The organic as a metaphor expresses the romantic notion of world unity, which opposes some destructive external forces. In the socio-philosophical doctrines of the Slavophiles, the "organic" is identified with the people's being, and the "violent" and "external", as a rule, with the state bureaucracy. A special place is occupied by the academic trend associated with St. Petersburg Slavophilism (V.I. Lamansky, O.F. Miller, K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin), where the emphasis is placed on the theme of language and civilisation. The kinship of languages, according to their conviction, means belonging to a single civilisational organism. It is important to note that when speaking of the organic origins of the people, this should not be understood in the context of biological racism, which was not typical of both the Romantic era and the views of the Slavophiles. The conclusion is made about how literally the metaphor of the organic was interpreted by the Slavophils.