Summary of PhD thesis: Le Thi Hong Nhung

HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

 

 

 

 

 

LE THI HONG NHUNG

 

 

 

 

NABERDYAEV'S IDEAS ON FREEDOM THROUGH THE WORKS "MAN IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD" AND "PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM"

 

 

Major: CNDVBC&CNDVLS

Code: 62 22 03 02

 

 

 

SUMMARYDOCTORAL THESIS: PHILOSOPHY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hanoi - 2020

 

INTRODUCTION

1.Urgency of the topic

Nowadays, in the conditions of modern civilized society and global cultural integration, especially the profound influence of Western culture, Vietnamese people and especially young people tend to enjoy life and pursue and worship material values, thereby forgetting and even disregarding spiritual values ​​as factors that determine their humanity. Many negative social manifestations of our people today originate from the value orientation of “materialism”, “worship of wealth”, “worship of money” and in general, the absolutization of the role of tangible, finite things, while forgetting the traditional spiritual and cultural values ​​of our nation such as ancestor worship, mother worship, fatherland worship, village love, mutual love... In other words, people lose themselves, lose their human side, or to be more precise, people become prisoners, slaves of things that do not belong to their humanity, forcing their humanity to obey material, mundane values ​​(in Buddhist language, people are “attached” to the Ego and Dharma). However, what is more dangerous is that many of them do not know that they have fallen into such a state of spiritual slavery. There are many reasons here, but one of the most important reasons is that they do not worry, worry and do not understand “what is freedom?”. Meanwhile, people are only truly happy when they are themselves, self-determined in their humanity, that is, they are free.

Furthermore, because they “listen to the call” not of conscience, but of the mundane, which represents not “humanity”, but “animalism” in humans, many people in our society today “treat” each other not as “Humans to Humans”, but as “animals to animals”, like animals treat each other, treat each other according to the “law of the jungle”. Social violence is increasing. Many people in our society today also increasingly show “deviation” in values ​​(indifference, lack of compassion are the most obvious manifestations). The shocks in life make them have to seek spiritual support. However, because they do not understand what spiritual freedom is, they are easily corrupted and tempted by mundane values, falling into superstition. This is also the “fertile ground” for a series of “evil religions” to appear and spread widely in our society in recent times.

All of the above shows the manifestation of the state of “spiritual crisis” of a significant part of our society today. Along with all other humanities, as well as educational and communication activities, philosophy has a special mission (“the owl flies out at dusk”) to play the role of “saving the world”, “liberating”, “liberating” people from that slavery. To fulfill its noble mission, philosophy first of all needs to explain to people what freedom is, how they live a true life, what their true “homeland”, “fatherland”, “kingdom” are, why they are enslaved, how slavery manifests itself and, finally, how to escape from that slavery. All of the above issues have always been topics of concern to philosophy and religion since ancient times. Therefore, to solve the mystery of spiritual freedom, it is necessary to return to the philosophical heritage of humanity, searching in it for valuable thoughts on this subject.

Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was going through a spiritual crisis. Many Russians succumbed to the temptation of Western material values. Russians suddenly lost their noble spiritual and humanistic values. A series of great Russian writers, especially M.F. Dostoevsky, wonderfully sketched a picture of Russian society as a “desert of humanity”. They tried to clarify the uniqueness of Russian culture, the historical path of the Russian people, but the most prominent theme in their works was the theme of freedom and slavery, the path to liberation from spiritual slavery.

NABerdyaev was born in such a historical and social context of spiritual crisis. He always wondered about the fate of man in this world. All his works focused on a central theme: human freedom, the causes that make man lose his freedom, become a slave, and the path to liberate man from the "magical forces" that shackle him. This thought of his is clearly expressed in his two works "Man in the Spiritual World" (another name is "The Problem of Freedom and Slavery") and "Philosophy of Freedom". In them, NABerdyaev clearly outlined his limited "Spiritual" path, exceeding which would only lead man to the state of slavery to forces that are outside of man, not belonging to man's humanity, causing man to be alienated from his Humanity.

Globalization creates many opportunities for us to develop society and ourselves comprehensively by absorbing the achievements of Western industrial civilization. However, it, along with the market economy, also brings many challenges and traps that threaten to destroy human nature, making people only follow "Matters" (directing all efforts to cognition and possession of things) and forget "Spirit" (noble spiritual values, constituting "Humanity" in the true sense of the word), falling into "materialism" (A.Einstein). Therefore, studying the topic of "freedom" in the philosophical heritage of NABerdyaev and thereby illuminating the problems of modern Vietnamese people becomes especially urgent both in theory and in practice.

For the above reasons, NCS decided to choose the problem“NABerdyaev's ideas on freedom through his works “Man in the Spiritual World” and “Philosophy of Freedom”as a research topic for my thesis.

2. Research purpose and tasksof Thesis:

Purposeof Thesis: clarifying NABerdyaev's thoughts on freedom through two works "Man in the Spiritual World" and "Philosophy of Freedom".

Thesis tasks:

The first, overview of research works related to the thesis topic, from which to evaluate the results and open issues in the research on NABerdyaev's ideology of freedom that the thesis will absorb and solve.

Second, study the socio-economic, political and cultural conditions, the theoretical premises for the emergence of NABerdyaev's ideology of freedom.

Tuesday, presents and analyzes the philosophical methodological position in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom.

Wednesday, sheds light on the basic contents of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom.

Thursday, pointing out the advantages and limitations of NABerdyaev's idea of ​​freedom.

3. Theoretical basis and research methodology of the Thesis:

Theoretical basis and methodology:The thesis is based on the dialectical materialist concept of history, the Marxist philosophical perspective on the study of the history of ideas, and the viewpoint of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the reception and creative development of foreign culture.

Research methodrescue: The thesis is conducted based on the principles of unity between philosophy and the history of philosophy, using methods of research on the history of philosophy, such as exegesis, analysis and synthesis, unity between history and logic, comparison, generalization, cultural anthropology...

4. Subject and scope of the Thesis:

Object: The thesis studies the basic contents of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom through two works "Man in the spiritual world" and "Philosophy of freedom".

Scope of the Thesis: NABerdyaev's idea of ​​freedom is presented in his works “Man in the Spiritual World” and “Philosophy of Freedom”, as well as in his other works that directly deal with freedom.

5. New contributions of the Thesis:

The thesis points out the birth and basic contents of the existential ontological approach to the problem of individual freedom presented by NABerdyaev through his mystical realist and personalist philosophical thoughts in the works "Man in the spiritual world" and "Philosophy of freedom", thereby outlining the value and limitations of this thought.

6. Theoretical and practical significance of the Thesis:

-In theory: Through NABerdyaev's thoughts on freedom, the thesis contributes to clarifying the content of the philosophical concept of "freedom", the reasons that make people lose their freedom (become slaves) and the path to liberating people spiritually.

- In practice: the thesis can be used as a reference for teaching and research on Russian philosophical thought in general and NABerdyaev's in particular.

7. Structure of the Thesis:

In addition to the introduction, conclusion and list of references, the content of the thesis is presented in 4 chapters and 13 sections.

Csmell 1.

OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH STATE OF THE TOPIC

1.1. Research works on socio-economic, political and spiritual-cultural conditions, theoretical premises for the birth of NABerdyaev's ideology on freedom

1.1.1. Research works on socio-economic, political and spiritual cultural conditions

Researchers first point out the great changes that took place in Russian life in the second half of the 19th century - the early years of the 20th century. Those changes had a great impact on the development of Russian thought in general, Russian philosophical thought in particular, including NABerdyaev.

Researcher Nguyen Truong Lich pointed out that the most important socio-economic and political change in Russia during this period was the beginning of the capitalist development period after the serf reform (1861). However, researchers also agreed that Russian society after the serf reform did not seem to have improved, but on the contrary, it fell into a more serious comprehensive crisis, making social conflicts more intense, leading to the situation of Russian workers, mainly peasants, becoming more tragic than ever.

Lenin pointed out that the downside of capitalist development is that workers are exploited more and more.

Researcher Nguyen Kim Dinh emphasized that the oppression and exploitation of Russians in the early 20th century was the oppression of the bourgeoisie, landlords, and other ethnic groups.

Zenkovsky also pointed out another phenomenon in Russian cultural and spiritual life that appeared in the context of social crisis: the trends of finding gods, creating gods, the trend of returning to cultural and spiritual traditions, and NABerdyaev was a typical representative of this trend.

1.1.2.Research works on theoretical premises

NABerdyaev grasped and absorbed the ideas of many Russian and Western philosophers, but entirely in a critical spirit.

According to the famous Russian historian of philosophy VVZenkovsky, in his thought on freedom, NABerdyaev was first influenced by the criticism of Marxist philosophy, then by the transcendental idealism of I.Kant. Later, Berdyaev was influenced by the Russian religious romanticism of DS Merezkovsky: the thought of new religious consciousness and the criticism of secular civilization.

When forming the perspective of mystical realism, Berdyaev was influenced by VINesmelov: he absorbed the idea of ​​human self-determination in the world.

In the preface to his work “Philosophy of Freedom”, Russian philosopher AVGulýga emphasized: among those who had an important influence on Berdyaev's philosophical thought in general and his thought on freedom in particular, Dostoevsky must be mentioned.

In addition, Berdyaev also absorbed ideas from Jacob Bohme...

1.2. NABerdyaev's ideological research on freedom in his works "Man in the Spiritual World" and "Philosophy of Freedom"

1.2.1. Research works on philosophical methodological perspectives in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom

In the introduction to Berdyaev's first major work “The Philosophy of Freedom”, author AVGulýga emphasizes that this work has an important significance in terms of criticism of classical rationalism, specifically NABerdyaev's resolute rejection of Western European rationalist theology.

In the book "Existential Philosophy", the authors gave the most concise assessment of one of the important contributions in terms of reasoning about human existence in general and human existential freedom in particular by NABerdyaev, which was to criticize rationalist philosophy and pave the way for existential philosophy.

1.2.2. Research works on the basic contents of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom

Prominent among these are the studies of the famous Russian historian of philosophy VVZenkovsky.

Another document that mentions NABerdyaev's thoughts on spiritual freedom is the Introduction "NABerdyaev: biography and works" by author Nguyen Van Trong to the work "Man in the spiritual world".

In the book “The Face of Modern Western Philosophy”, the author deeply analyzed NABerdyaev's philosophical views of history from the perspective of individual freedom.

In the book “Outline of the history of philosophy. Modern Western philosophy”, the authors Do Minh Hop, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Nguyen Thanh. The authors emphasize NABerdyaev’s idea that spiritual transformation and creation are necessary conditions for humans not to fall into slavery to material values ​​associated with scientific and technical progress. In general, this is a very important document for the author to orient the research in his thesis.

The authors of the book “Existential Philosophy” delve into the second part of “Philosophy of Freedom” under the title “The Origin of Evil and the Purpose of History”. The authors point out that NABerdyaev sees the cause of human slavery as linked to the difficult way out of the psychological era – the era of subjectivism, of closed individualism, the era of moods and emotions that are not linked to any objective and absolute center.

1.3. The results achieved in the study of NABerdyaev's ideology of freedom and the problems that need to be solved

1.3.1. The results achieved in the study of NABerdyaev's ideology of freedom

The first, researchers have pointed out that, NABerdyaev lived and created in a turbulent period of Russian history, when the feudal regime had entered a period of decline, the bourgeois regime was emerging. Russian people lived in a context of severe social crisis, they had to endure oppression and exploitation from both the landlord class and the bourgeoisie. Therefore, uprisings occurred continuously, the problem of liberating the working people became more urgent than ever.

Monday, a number of research works on the philosophical thought of NABerdyaev have clarified his attitude towards the socio-political and philosophical trends that appeared to seek and justify the path to the liberation of the Russian people. NABerdyaev initially followed the Marxist doctrine of social liberation, then he turned to the position of religious philosophy as a method of spiritual liberation of the individual.

Tuesday, referring to the theoretical premises for the emergence of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom, the authors listed the philosophers who had the most significant influence here. They were Dostoevsky, Rozanov, Soloviev, Kant, Bohme, Nietzsche. They also partly clarified the content of that influence on NABerdyaev's thought on freedom.

Wednesday, some researchers have presented NABerdyaev's criticism of the rationalist philosophical position in general and rationalist epistemology in particular in the issue of human freedom. According to the authors, NABerdyaev found their fundamental mistake in only perceiving human freedom in relation to nature, to the laws of nature and society, while ignoring the inner spiritual world of man.

Thursday, all authors have clarified to a certain extent the basic contents of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom and the way to overcome human slavery. According to researchers, NABerdyaev absolutized the spiritual ego, considering freedom as the only possible thing only in the spiritual realm. Therefore, everything outside the spirit eliminates human freedom. The only way to gain freedom is spiritual creation.

1.3.2. Issues to be addressed in the thesis

The first, although it has been pointed out by researchers, the premises for NABerdyaev's thought on freedom need to be analyzed more carefully and deeply. NABerdyaev was influenced by many Russian and Western philosophers, but it is necessary to clarify which ideological contents on freedom of each specific thinker he positively or negatively absorbed. The PhD student will try to solve this problem in his thesis.

Monday, some researchers of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom commented that his thought originated from a new methodological perspective, opposed to the rationalist philosophical perspective and rationalist epistemology. However, that comment is only general and has not been comprehensively analyzed. The thesis will fill this gap.

Tuesday, it seems that all the research works on NABerdyaev's thought on freedom have not paid adequate attention to clarifying and defining NABerdyaev's philosophical methodological viewpoint (mystical realism and personalism) on this issue. This is a very important content to understand NABerdyaev's thought on freedom. Therefore, the thesis will devote a considerable amount of space to clarifying this issue.

Wednesday, researchers have outlined some forms of human slavery, but have not systematically and consistently analyzed their content. Therefore, they have not yet clarified the essence of the path to overcoming slavery proposed by NABerdyaev based on his unique personalism and religious philosophy (transcendental realism). The author will try to analyze and present this content in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom.

Chapter Summary 1

Thus, through the systematic analysis of research works studying the socio-economic, political and spiritual-cultural conditions, the theoretical premise for the birth of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom, we see that researchers first pointed out the great changes that took place in Russian life in the second half of the 19th century - the first decades of the 20th century. According to them, those changes had a great impact on the development of Russian thought in general, Russian philosophical thought in particular, which of course included NABerdyaev's thought. Russian society after the feudal reform had great changes, especially the emergence of the seeds of capitalist society, however, researchers also pointed out that in that society, people were exploited more severely, people's lives were more suffocating and darker. Those economic, social and political changes will inevitably lead to changes in the fields of ideology, spiritual culture, from which great ideas appear aiming at human liberation and freedom, including NABerdyaev.

In their research on the philosophical methodological viewpoint in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom, the authors firmly affirm NABerdyaev's critical attitude towards "epistemology". N.Berdyaev asserts that existence itself precedes cognition and, moreover, the theory of cognition. Epistemologists want to separate existence from cognition, want to turn it into judgment, want to make it dependent on the category of the subject. This is a root cause of human slavery to cognition, and this is also the basis for NABerdyaev to put forward his views on freedom. However, the authors have clarified to a certain extent the basic contents of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom and the way to overcome human slavery. According to the researchers, NABerdyaev absolutizes the spiritual ego, considering freedom as the only possible thing only in the spiritual realm. Therefore, everything outside the spirit eliminates human freedom. The only way to gain freedom is spiritual creation. Therefore, the above research works are only the basis, the foundation for the PhD student to research and continue to clarify the philosophical thought of freedom of NAberdyaev.

CHAPTER 2

CONDITIONS AND PREMISES FOR THE FORMATION OF NABERDYAEV'S IDEA OF SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

2.1. Economic, political - social and cultural conditions 

2.1.1. Economic, political and social conditions

NABerdyaev was born, grew up and created in a very special historical period of Russia. First of all, it was the abolition of serfdom (1861), a historical event that brought Russia to the starting point of bourgeois civilization. It was this society that caused contradictions that made Russian people face many human problems, and they were also reflected in the diverse and unique flow of Russian philosophical thought in the late 19th century - first half of the 20th century.

Russian industry has developed significantly. The Russian economy has partially transformed its structure towards industrialization, and business methods have begun to change. However, the specific elements of the industrial economy still do not allow Russia to overcome its economic, technical and technological lag compared to developed Western European countries.

At the same time, Russia's backward agriculture seemed to stagnate.

After the reform of serfdom, Russia began to develop the first seeds of capitalist production. However, Lenin also pointed out the negative side of that development: workers were exploited more and more.

The above mentioned socio-economic conditions of Russia make the fate of the Russian people more tragic, the poor make up the majority of the Russian population, they live a miserable life, they are turned into slaves of spirit, of the very distinction and raise them above their materialism and animality.

At the end of the 19th century, the capitalist mode of production dominated in England, France, other Western European countries, including Germany. The internal contradictions of bourgeois society became acute. In Russia, after the abolition of serfdom, new productive forces continued to develop within post-feudal Russia. The reform of the economic system in Russia led to important consequences. Wage labor began to replace serf labor. The feudal economic foundation disintegrated, and the capitalist form of land ownership emerged. However, social contradictions originating from the autocratic monarchy caused the Russian agricultural economy to stagnate and decline. Russia's defeat in the Crimean War showed that the Russian autocratic monarchy was rotten and powerless, backward in technology and economy, military and politics.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Russian working class was still weak and dependent, not yet politically independent. Russian workers were also deprived of all freedoms, factory owners, police and officials not only forbade them from meeting but also from music, singing, dancing...

In that extremely dangerous “human” situation of the Russian people, NABerdyaev devoted all his heart and mind to the cause of liberating the Russian people from the state of spiritual slavery. He devoted his whole life to analyzing the state of spiritual slavery of the Russian people, pointing out its causes and searching for the way to liberate them.

2.1.2. Cultural and spiritual conditions

The bourgeois lifestyle appeared in Russia from the end of the 19th century and quickly left many cultural and spiritual consequences on the Russian people.

It was the "spirit" of early capitalism, of the barbaric "market" economy that gave rise to a lifestyle of self-interest and money-interest, causing human personality to become distorted, degenerate, and degenerate. People fell into many passions and were faced with the problems of love, anxiety, freedom, slavery, and human responsibility.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the ideology and aspiration for freedom, the fight for freedom, equality and fraternity of the peoples of Western Europe spread widely and left deep echoes on Russian land.

However, the introduction of Western culture in general and philosophy in particular into Russia also raises questions about their influence on Russian spiritual culture, about the future of Russian culture and Russian philosophy.

In that spiritual and cultural context, NABerdyaev warned of the immense danger of such a hypocritical form of spiritual slavery. And, it was in the field of religious philosophy that NABerdyaev left behind invaluable philosophical works.

2.2. Theoretical premises

2.2.1. The influence of Christian Philosophy

Freedom is the soul of Christian philosophy. The Christian God is a personality.

God of man is the center

2.2.2. The influence of Russian philosophers

M. Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was the person who had the greatest influence on NABerdyaev's ideas about freedom.

The second great Russian philosopher who influenced NABerdyaev's ideas about freedom was NOLossky(1870 - 1965).

Like most Russian philosophers of his time, NABerdyaev was influenced by the thought of the most famous Russian philosopher SVSoloviev and further developed it, especially the themes of freedom and love, slavery to eros and personality.

It is also in the theme of spiritual freedom and temptation, slavery to eros, that we see NABerdyaev influenced by the thought of another Russian philosopher, V.Rozanov.

2.2.3. The influence of Western philosophers

Among the Western philosophers who had a strong influence on NABerdyaev's idea of ​​freedom, first of all we must mention Jakob Bohme (1575-1624).

Another philosopher who had a significant influence on NABerdyaev was B.-F.-K.Baader (1765-1841) - a German Catholic philosopher.

As a fierce critic of extreme rationalist philosophy, whose main embodiment was Hegel's philosophy, it is understandable that NABerdyaev sympathized with and was deeply influenced by the philosophical thoughts of A.Schopenhauer.

Another philosopher who was very close in thought to NABerdyaev because they lived in the "era of crisis of rational philosophy" and had a great influence on him was F. Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) - a great German philosopher and writer.

2.2.4.The idea of ​​freedom in the history of philosophy before NABerdyaev

Ancient philosophical concepts of freedom go hand in hand with the idea of ​​destiny and fate.

In the ethics of stoicism, man is free to use his powers of reason and will to resist fate as it does not submit to it.

In developed monotheistic religions, the notion of freedom is linked to grace.

The concepts of freedom were generalized by Th.Hobbes, B.Spinoza, and Hegel in the concept of freedom as necessarily perceived.

Concept of Marxist philosophy: Freedom in Marx's view is first of all linked to the social nature of human beings, that is, the relationship between people. The issue of freedom is linked to the issue of eliminating alienation and liberation from alienation.

Viewpoint of Marxist-Leninist philosophy: Freedom is necessarily perceived.

2.3. NABerdyaev: man and work

2.3.1. NABerdyaev: life and career

NABerdyaev (1874-1948) was born in Kiev, a member of an old aristocratic family. His father, an officer, wanted his son to become a soldier and sent him to a military academy. However, his son did not stay there long. He was fascinated by philosophy. By the age of 14, he had read not only Schopenhauer but also Kant and Hegel. His next passion was Marx. Berdyaev became a Marxist.

After returning to Kiev from the Vologod prison camp, where he had been exiled in 1898-1901, NABerdyaev became friends with SNBulgakov. Together they went through a new spiritual crisis - a return to the Church. In 1904, NABerdyaev married Lidia Truseva, who, like him, had participated in the revolutionary movement and was then imbued with Orthodox ideas. In the same year, he moved to Petersburg to become editor-in-chief of the magazine “New Way”, and later of the magazine “Problems of Life”.

The intellectual development of NABerdyaev began with his youthful passion for Marxism, but his study of philosophy soon led him to reconsider the philosophical content and aspect of Marxism. NABerdyaev, along with other Russian Marxists, became a disciple of transcendental idealism, which, however, he remained united with the social program of Marxism for a long time.

In 1922, NABerdyaev, together with other philosophers and idealists, was expelled from Russia and settled in Berlin. Here he founded the Institute of Religious Philosophy (moved to Paris in 1925), became editor-in-chief of the journal “The Path” and headed the publishing house of Religious Philosophy “IMCA-PRESS”. In Paris, NABerdyaev’s creative career flourished, his main works were completed here. Before coming to Paris, during the years of living in Berlin.

It is very difficult to present the philosophical ideas of NABerdyaev, and not only because he was full of contradictions, and he himself had a rather contemptuous attitude towards the systematization of philosophy, but also because, as he himself remarked, his thinking was “metaphorical” and scattered. The most systematic works of NABerdyaev are completed in such a way that a certain idea (usually chosen arbitrarily) is used as the basis for the whole work, he analyzes certain philosophical topics in the light of it.

To summarize NABerdyaev's basic theses on fundamental philosophical topics, it is possible to roughly divide his entire creative career into four periods, but these periods do not necessarily mark (chronologically) different stages in the development of NABerdyaev's philosophy, but mainly represent different aspects of his philosophy.

2.3.2. The works “Philosophy of Freedom” and “Man in the Spiritual World”

The work “Philosophy of Freedom” was completed and published by NABerdyaev in 1911. This work is the result of his reflections during his imprisonment in prison. Its content reflects NABerdyaev’s attitude towards the whole Western rationalist culture in general and its core, rationalist philosophy, as the source of the modern spiritual crisis. It was this purpose that determined the “rebellious” direction of its author’s thought. The work consists of a preface, 7 chapters and an appendix.

The work “Man in the Spirit World” is originally titled “On the Slavery and Freedom of Man”. It was first published in 1939 in Paris, and reprinted in 1972. In his homeland, it was first published in 1995, and then reprinted many times. The work consists of 4 chapters along with a Preface.

Chapter 2 Summary

According to the basic principle of historical materialism, no ideological movement or philosophical doctrine can be formed and developed apart from social material life and the nature of social activities. The birth of NABerdyaev's thought on freedom was not a random appearance or a purely speculative product, but its formation and development were determined and deeply reflected the economic, social, cultural and spiritual conditions of Russia. This philosophy is partly an inevitable product of objective conditions and subjective factors. In other words, NABerdyaev's philosophy of spiritual freedom was formed due to the impact and influence of the specific historical and social conditions of the Russian people and of the era in which he lived.

As a form of social consciousness, NABerdyaev's philosophical thought on freedom is not only a reflection of the historical, economic, political and social conditions of contemporary Russia but also the result of inheriting previous philosophical, religious and cultural thoughts. As a religious existentialist philosopher, NABerdyaev's liberal thought was first of all deeply influenced by the ideas of Russian philosophers and writers such as Dostoevsky; Lossky; V.S.Soloviev; V.Rozanov. In particular, the profound influence of Dostoevsky's thought on him is noteworthy. On the other hand, in addition to Russian philosophers, NABerdyaev was also influenced by the liberal thoughts of Western philosophers such as: Bohme; Jakob; BFKBaader; A.Schopenhauer; F.Nietzsche.

CHAPTER 3

BERDYAEV'S CRITICISM OF RATIONALISTIC COGNITIVENESS AND PHILOSOPHICAL METHODOLOGY IN NABERDYAEV'S THOUGHT ON FREEDOM

3.1. Critique of rationalist epistemology-wrong philosophical methodological basis in the problem of freedom

NABerdyaev points out the cause that led to the tragic state of philosophy, to the philosophy of slavery, to modern slave life. It is the disease called “rational epistemology”.

Rational epistemology is a philosophical stance that characterizes the culture of modern philosophical thinking. Its essential characteristic is that it solves all philosophical problems based on the achievements and methodologies of contemporary science, mainly natural science.

Rational cognitivism holds that everything that is scientifically rational is true, so human freedom consists in perceiving those rationalities and acting in accordance with them. Berdyaev considers such a view to be unfounded.

To shed light on the current malady of rationalist cognitivism, Berdyaev delves into a deep analysis and criticism of philosophical rationalism in its methodological variants, empiricism and rationalism in the narrow sense and criticalism.

The criticism of rational cognitivism is a necessary first step, a premise for Berdyaev to build his philosophical methodology on the issue of freedom.

3.2. Mystical realism and personalism - philosophical methodology in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom

3.3.1. Mystical realism

According to NABerdyaev, the methodological basis of rationalism does not allow to approach the problem of freedom correctly, on the contrary, transcendental realism, concrete personalism, the philosophy of freedom allow to correctly pose and correctly solve the problems of freedom, to perceive the great mystery of freedom.

Realism is a philosophical view that acknowledges reality beyond consciousness, explained either as the existence of mental objects (Plato, medieval scholastic philosophy), or as objects of cognition independent of the subject.

Realism in NABerdyaev is a philosophical methodological viewpoint whose task is to restore vitality to philosophy, to bring it into contact with the spirit of life, that is, to make the spirit of life triumph over speculative rationalism. According to him, the spirit of life, of authentic human existence, is freedom, therefore realist philosophy must originate from freedom.

One of the important elements for understanding NABerdyaev's mystical realist methodological stance on the issue of freedom is that he distinguishes between emergent and derivative consciousness, in which human freedom is present in emergent consciousness.

3.3.2. Personalism

Personalism is a theological movement in Western philosophy that recognizes the individual and his spiritual values ​​as the ultimate meaning of secular civilization.

One of the main ideas in the concept of personality is the idea of ​​a fascinating existence understood as an active dialogue between Christians and the present day, attracting believers to participate in social movements of progressive forces where the religious worldview must play a constructive role in the transformation of the world on a humanistic basis.

In Russia, personalism originated with Dostoevsky, who raised a series of ethical-psychological and religious-philosophical issues: human freedom and responsibility, power and violence, patience, suffering.

NABerdyaev's doctrine of man received the name “post-humanism”. His humanism continued to develop the mystical realist approach to freedom, requiring an approach to freedom as an ontology.

Berdyaev asserts that human personality exists only in the spiritual world, in the world of freedom, expressing the positive, subjective essence of human beings, and freedom is the prerequisite of personality.

Thus, mystical realism and personalism are the philosophical methods in NABerdyaev's thought of freedom.

Chapter 3 Summary

To understand the methodological viewpoint in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom, we must first grasp the previous concepts of freedom, so that we can have a more complete and objective view of the concept of freedom. Specifically, the ancient philosophical concepts of freedom are associated with the idea of ​​fate and destiny; in the ethics of Stoicism, free people use their power of reason and will to fight against fate as something that does not obey it; in the developed monotheistic religions, the concept of freedom is associated with grace; and the concepts of freedom of Th. Hobbes, B. Spinoza, Hegel are generalized in the concept of freedom as a perceived necessity; or as C. Marx emphasized the social nature, the social nature of human existence: "In his reality, man is the sum of social relations". Therefore, freedom in his concept is first of all linked to the social nature of human beings, that is, to the relationship between people...

As for NABerdyaev, in order to satisfactorily solve the problem of freedom, he asserted that the problem of freedom is the essential problem of life itself, of existence itself, and of philosophy as a constituent part of human existence, a function of human existence. This is the problem of human being, not the problem of human cognition. He pointed out the cause leading to the tragic state of philosophy, to the philosophy of slavery, to modern slave life. That is the disease called "rational epistemology". Rational epistemology is a philosophical stance that characterizes the culture of modern philosophical thinking. Its essential feature is that it solves all problems of philosophy based on the achievements and methodology of contemporary science, mainly natural science. Critique of rationalist epistemology was the necessary first step, the premise for NABerdyaev to build his philosophical methodology on the problem of freedom.

Mystical realism and personalism are the philosophical methodologies in NABerdyaev's thought on freedom. According to NABerdyaev, philosophy is a function of life, and life is mainly religious (spiritual, spiritual) in nature, so religion is the vital basis of philosophy, religion nourishes philosophy through real existence, and NABerdyaev's personalism in its approach to freedom requires the recognition of the triadic structure of human existence: spirit, psyche (soul) and body, and the leading role of spirit in it.

Chapter 4.

BASIC CONTENTS OF NABERDYAEV'S THOUGHT ON FREEDOM

4.1. Freedom is associated with “humanistic” ethics.

Standing on the position of mystical realism and personalism, NABerdyaev of course had to be interested in the ethical sphere.

Berdyaev started from freedom as the basis of spiritual creativity, as the only authentic expression of human personality and morality. In other words, freedom is the foundation, the ontological basis of true morality.

All these arguments are presented very clearly by Berdyaev in his work “Philosophy of Freedom”.

Berdyaev's criterion of moral evaluation is the relationship between God's freedom and human freedom. This thesis clearly reveals the idea of ​​transcendental freedom to God, which serves as the starting point for his entire moral theory.

To clearly perceive the nature of true human freedom, Berdyaev identifies three steps in moral development: legal morality (Old Testament); atonement morality (New Testament); creative morality.

According to Berdyaev, human freedom in the religious and spiritual realms also requires submission, obedience, and creativity. In other words, freedom is the original essence, the "way", so the basic "virtue" of human beings is creativity.

4.2. Freedom is freedom in the Church

In his work “Philosophy of Freedom” Berdyaev asserts: Philosophy cannot exist without religion, it must also play the role of “an inherent function of religious life” and even needs to be the philosophy of the Church.

According to Berdyaev the Church is the soul of the world, united with the “Spirit” (logos).

Berdyaev believes that freedom is closely linked to the spirit, freedom is the result of self-analysis, self-digging, self-understanding of one's inner world. When people understand that their "Ego" is essentially spirit, then it can become its own master, that is, freedom.

The sublime spiritual value (the Church) is the necessary condition for individual self-determination and freedom.

According to Berdyaev, to become an authentic personality, that is, to become a free human being, one needs to transcend to God, because God is free from universality, worldly necessity, objectivity.

4.3. Human slavery and the way to overcome it

4.3.1. Human slavery

Discussing the state of human slavery, NABerdyaev spoke of 15 forms of human slavery. These are “slavery to existence”, “slavery to God”, “slavery to nature”, “slavery to society”, “slavery to civilization”, “slavery to oneself”, “slavery to the state”, “slavery to war”, “slavery to nationalism”, “slavery to aristocracy”, “slavery to property and money”, “slavery to revolution”, “slavery to collectivism”, “slavery to eros” (sex) and “slavery to beauty”.

In general, through the above mentioned forms of human slavery, we can clearly see that NABerdyaev's reasoning about human freedom and loss of freedom (slavery) is completely based on his general philosophical premise: humans become slaves when they "leave the spiritual kingdom" and are dominated and "tempted" by things outside that kingdom ("mystical realism"). Moreover, in the reasoning about human freedom and slavery.

Starting from such analysis, the author will try to generalize the mystical realism and personalism of NABerdyaev about human slavery. The author will stop at the common forms of human slavery and highlight the essence of that slavery, clearly showing their urgency in modern social conditions.

4.3.2. The way to overcome human slavery

After a comprehensive analysis of the basic forms of human slavery, NABerdyaev pointed out the way to overcome human slavery. Here, we can summarize the basic methods he proposed as follows.

The first is mental concentration.

The second is the orientation of transcendent spiritual values.

The third is against visible religion.

The fourth is to have the courage to live and die as a human being.

The fifth is to never stop living creatively.

The sixth is to always engrave in your mind the mood and mentality “I love, therefore I exist.”

In short, living in an objectified and finite world, in order to achieve spiritual freedom, according to NABerdyaev, man must do so that the “Kingdom of Heaven” will come not only in heaven, but also on earth. Achieving this goal requires not only the atonement and return to the original state, but, importantly, the “creation of a new world” as this world is transformed. Man has the task of “rebelling against the slavery of its universality, of the object, against the false sacredness”. This is liberation from the illusions of consciousness “attached” (bound) to the network of objects, losing its internalization. This spiritual slavery can only be overcome by the active work of all the creative forces present in man. When man fulfills his mission as a free and loving spiritual being, then there will be a new kingdom of heaven and a kingdom of freedom.

4.4. Evaluation of NABerdyaev's ideas on freedom

4.4.1. NABerdyaev's contributions to the thought of freedom

The first is philosophical methodology.

The first contribution is the view of “mystical realism” as the philosophical methodological principle of NABerdyaev's departure in the problem of spiritual freedom.

The next contribution is the “personalist” perspective but the second philosophical methodological principle of NABerdyaev in the thought of spiritual freedom.

The second is the concept of freedom and the path to freedom.

Before evaluating NABerdyaev's idea of ​​freedom, it is necessary to emphasize that this is a philosophical concept that runs through the entire history of humanistic thought, especially religious and philosophical thought, because in the end, all religions and philosophies have the same orientation and purpose: to liberate, to save, to free people from forces that are alien to humanity, but enslave humanity, causing people to lose their humanity. This is a simple truth, but it is often forgotten when people discuss freedom. NABerdyaev's merit is first of all that he reiterates and emphasizes that truth: human freedom is spiritual freedom, inner freedom, freedom where there is humanity.

NABerdyaev sharply criticized the shallow, superficial conception of freedom as freedom to escape from something, as freedom to destroy, as freedom that does not take into account existing realities. According to him, this is not only an illusion of freedom, but it also shows the complete slavery of man to this illusion, and therefore it can have the greatest destructive consequences due to man's complete loss of spirit and spiritual love as his original essence.

NABerdyaev devoted much effort to depicting the nature of spiritual freedom as the freedom to choose one's own personality and humanity by looking up to "God".

In the thought of freedom, another important contribution of NABerdyaev is that he outlined the way to overcome slavery through creativity. This can be said to be existential freedom.

4.4.2. Limitations in NABerdyaev's idea of ​​freedom

The first is the concept of freedom.

Here, Berdyaev's idea of ​​freedom is purely individual freedom. In fact, freedom is also a social category, expressed in the relationship between people.

Berdyaev's freedom lacks concrete historical character, and is mainly existentialist in tone.

The second is the concept of the path to freedom.

Only see the way to overcome slavery, to achieve freedom in the spiritual realm.

Chapter 4 Summary

NABerdyaev's ideological content on freedom was gradually formed through his writings and works, especially through his two works "Philosophy of Freedom" and "Man in the Spiritual World". In his opinion, freedom must first of all be linked to "human-god" morality. NABerdyaev started from freedom as the basis of spiritual creation as the only true expression of human personality and morality; secondly, freedom is in the Church. According to him, human freedom is only present in the Church. Man only becomes a Man when he "understands the Church from within". In other words, man freely perceives and opens the "Kingdom of Heaven", "Christ" in the depths of his mind, internalizing it before entering the "Kingdom of the world". NABerdyaev conceived freedom as linked to the spirit, freedom is the result of self-analysis, self-digging, self-understanding of one's inner world. When people understand that their "ego" is essentially spirit, then it can become its own master, that is, free.

From there, NABerdyaev put forward his views on human slavery and proposed a way to overcome that slavery. He presented 15 forms of human slavery. Through the forms of slavery he presented, we can clearly see that NABerdyaev's reasoning on human freedom and loss of freedom (slavery) is completely based on his general philosophical premise: humans become slaves when they "leave the spiritual kingdom" and are dominated and "tempted" by things outside that kingdom ("mystical realism"). Discussing the overcoming of human slavery, that is, the liberation of the human spirit, NABerdyaev immediately emphasized that, on the one hand, this is not only a difficult task because people are accustomed to living in slavery, fearing freedom because freedom is a burden, requiring responsibility, but on the other hand, this task is completely related to the inner world of man, that man has the ability to become a free person because he carries within himself the innate spiritual origin.

NABerdyae's thoughts on freedom are truly worthy of being a legacy he left to humanity. Besides the many positive aspects, specifically his contributions to philosophical methodology, his contributions to the concept of freedom and the path to freedom, there are still significant limitations. However, the thoughts he left to humanity are truly worthy of respect and appreciation.

CONCLUDE

Currently, our society is going through a period of great changes. Our people are rising to the heights of civilization. Our country has achieved many, many great achievements in the process of social modernization. Vietnamese people have received rich abilities and potentials to express and realize their creativity and intelligence (high IQ). All of these are great resources for us to confidently move forward, believing in a bright future. However, we have been and are witnessing many manifestations of barbarism, of unculturedness, of animalism in a large number of Vietnamese people. This is the truth and the common "suffering" of Vietnamese people who are truly worried and truly responsible for the future of our beloved Vietnamese people. Together, they ponder the cause of that "immoral" situation. Many solutions have been and are being given and they are all reasonable and accurate in their own way. However, the cultural traditions of all Humanity, of our Nation, of all Religions, of all Philosophies and Humanities clearly state that only humans have spiritual needs and live and die for those needs. No animal has spiritual needs. Many sages have taught humans about the meaning of life, about the most precious things for human life, about happiness, but humans still seem not to be aware of that simple truth. It is time to recall the thoughts of the sages to awaken humans. This is the problem of human "misunderstanding" and "misunderstanding" about freedom, about happiness, about the meaning of life in this life. In other words, this is the problem of choosing the meaning of life and lifestyle, the problem of seeking wisdom. NABerdyaev, his thoughts are truly in harmony with the current spiritual context of our society and our people.

NABerdyaev discusses freedom and slavery, how to understand them and the way to eliminate slavery and bring freedom to people. The core of his thought is the search for wisdom in this life of man. People always face the dilemma: Materialism and Spirituality, "Kingdom of Heaven" (Church) and "Kingdom of the world", they must choose one of the two (as S. Kierkegaard said: "Either - or", not "and"). The search for wisdom requires people to be restless in finding it, to experience, to taste the bitterness of life. However, the important thing is that they must not be discouraged, on the contrary, they must be patient and go in the right direction. NABerdyaev shows us wisdom, the right direction to find it is to know how to discern, because life brings us all kinds of values, from the best to the worst. We must know how to distinguish between those values ​​(in the philosophical language of NA, Berdyaev, we must adhere to personalism and mystical realism in the issue of slavery and freedom). We, our human nature is spiritual, so we must choose noble, good, eternal values, must turn them into a source of nutrition for our souls, into our “Church”, and eliminate bad, profane values, associated with “materiality” and “animality” (“the animal part”) in each of us.

The next step that NABerdyaev recommends to us is that in order to become wise, we must know how to commit ourselves. We commit ourselves to pursuing the “Kingdom of Heaven” to the end, giving up all other worldly things in exchange for the spiritual treasure, in exchange for the “Kingdom of Heaven”, in order to live a perfect life in the pure “Church”. We commit ourselves resolutely because we give up all the “Kingdom of the world”, so there is no way back to the “old place”, we are only attached to the new homeland, the “spiritual kingdom”. Such commitment is an attitude of love, passion, and a strong desire to create. This is the attitude that is needed in the quest for the “Kingdom of Heaven”. In Buddhist terms, it is to seek and return to one’s “true Self” (Atman), to escape from the “Akosha” that makes one “ignorant” and “immoral”. In Confucian terms, it is to seek “Minh Duc"(Conscience) is like an innate, bright ability that is inherent in humans. Living a secular life, humans are dominated by the worldly way for a long time, so their virtue is buried in darkness like a precious gem scattered on the ground, like a lamp wick surrounded by a dim light bulb, unable to spread its light outwards. To clarify their virtue, one must first "know when to stop”. People must know how to stop before their selfish material ambitions, do not go too deep into the material world. Immersing too deeply in the material world, the passion for material things will completely bury the virtue of enlightenment. After stopping the passion, the human soul is no longer controlled by material wealth, people will feel the joy of “happy"spiritual, supernatural, independent of any external object, the enlightened one gradually reveals itself like the bright moon in the clear blue sky.

NABerdyaev emphasized that giving up is unwise, giving up everything you have is a great renunciation. However, according to him, giving up, giving up what you are attached to is even more painful. Leaving a safe place to embark on an uncertain future is truly adventurous to the end. However, there is no other way to become a free person. One must invest one's whole being with all one's intellectual talent, strength, and time in order to hope to possess the "Kingdom of Spirit", "Kingdom of Heaven", "True Homeland", "Kingdom of Freedom". A little regret and it will fail. A little hesitation and it will fail. A little delay and the opportunity will be missed.

After giving up with ease and grace, people feel joyful. Their hearts and minds are deeply attached to the newly found treasure. That is the wise attitude that NABerdyaev recommends to us on the path to finding the Kingdom of Heaven. That is: Knowing how to search diligently, Knowing how to discern values, Knowing how to give up quickly, Knowing how to enthusiastically commit to the end, Knowing how to create new spiritual values. How precious are these thoughts in the context of "black and white mixed together", in the life of "the tyranny of the world", "money can buy anything", "the winner is the most cunning, the most violent". That is also the thought for every person who is searching for the meaning of life in this life.

LIST OF AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS

1. Le Thi Hong Nhung (2019), “Different views on God and the issue of human philosophy”,Religious Work Magazine,No. 11 (159), pp. 4-7.
2. Le Thi Hong Nhung (2019), “Theoretical premises for the formation of Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev's ideology on freedom”,Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 5, No. 2b, pp. 350-361.
3. Le Thi Hong Nhung (2020), “Spiritual crisis from the perspective of modern Western philosophers”,Journal of Human Resources and Social Sciences, No. 04 (83), pp. 38-46.