Historical tragedy and questions of morality: Mikhail Lifschitz on good and evil

Abstract

In the history of classical thought, the question of the nature of good and evil was inextricably dealt with the problem of human action and its consequences. It is enough to analyze ancient mythology, ancient Greek tragedies, Aristotle's Poetics, G. Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of History to make sure that each epoch solved this problem in its own way. Developing the preceding tradition, Marxist philosophy, according to Mikhail A. Lifshitz, was able to present an original, concrete solution that cannot be fit into either the framework of historicist relativism or metaphysical dogmatism. Drawing on the theory of mimesis, developed by German classical philosophy and finally formalized in Marxism, the Soviet philosopher analyzes the way in which nature, after having reached the relative fullness of being, reveals its own voice in man. As a result, the so called speaking situations, or Aristotle's objective fabulae, become capable of expressing themselves subjectively, both in the realm of history and on the pages of works of fiction. The possibility of relying on these situations and their reflection open up the space of free historical action for man. The author describes the situation of historical tragedy, when the acting subject is confronted not just with the unexpected but rather with the opposite consequences of his actions, to stress that it provides us with a chance for a more harmonious resolution. The movement towards this more favorable to humanity form of historical action, when people do not have to learn from their own sad experience any more, is the actual content of the concept of "progress". Anything that promotes conscious human action should be regarded as a historical rather than abstract good, and anything that prevents it should be regarded as evil.