Abstract
The correlation between the philosophies of Vladimir Solovyov and Lev Shestov is a rich research theme. Despite the fact that Solovyov has been strongly criticised by Shestov, recent studies show that the two philosophers have much in common. The aim of this article is to analyse the correlation between the two main concepts propounded by Solovyov and Shestov: All-Unity and self-will. This article argues that both concepts are actually expressions of ultimate freedom, which is achieved when one is saved from primordial sin. Although the two philosophers refer to primordial sin using different terms and suggest different ways of achieving salvation, they are actually moving in the same direction. In other words, Solovyov and Shestov speak about the same concept but emphasise different aspects of it. Solovyov describes the state of freedom in terms of ontology, while Shestov uses epistemological (gnoseological) terminology for the same purpose. Thus, the two doctrines move in the same direction but in different ways.
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English translation by V. Solovyof. (1918). The Justification of The Good [tr. Nathalie A Duddington, M.A.]. London: Constable and Company LTD.
The prefix διά means ‘through, in different directions, between’, and the verb βάλλω means ‘to throw’. Διάβολος is one who throws things in different directions, who separates them. In this case, the word abstractus indicates the consequences of the work of Διάβολος, i.e., abstractus is state of things that ‘have been drawn away from something’.
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Murašov, T. Correlation between the concepts of All-Unity and self-will: Vladimir Solovyov and Lev Shestov as philosophers of freedom. Stud East Eur Thought 73, 425–434 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-021-09429-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-021-09429-y