Slavophile - Old Russia.
Russian literature and thoughts were
transmitted through letters that were published. The content of the letters
formed a large part of the Russian intelligentsia. This was the communication
system that is referenced in Marc Raeff "Russian
Intellectual History".
The question of how to develop
Russia to keep up with the West was a concern of the Czar. The Russian press
was censored by the czar. Russian writers then had to patronize " hinlassen abholden " the czar to continue the work. Writers had
to publish for their works to be read. If a writer offended the czar his works
would not be published. In some cases the czar could exile or arrest the
writer. The tendency to patronize the czar did not always pay off. The Slavophile philosophy writing could and did backfire, with
the czar taking offence to the philosophical discussions in the publication. He
would perceive the writings a counter to the reforms of Peter the great to
liberate the serfs.
Kireevski, Khomiakov
and Aksakov were three authors that published
letters, and to a degree, were punished by the czarist censors for their views.
The authors to be discussed fell
into this category. The czar did not appreciate the Russianess
of their writings. The Slavophile past and the subject
of the landless serfs was not a subject upon which to change the future of
Russia.
In the west, rational thinging included social constructs, which established
logical patterns of thought which could be applied to social studies. Russians
thought that the peasants could not use these higher levels of philosophy,
because of their lack of education. Russian writers rejected constructs.
Instead they appealed to authority figures.
Paper\SUMMARY-1.html Monday, December 12, 2011