ANTHROPOLOGICAL MOTIVES IN A.N. RADISHCHEV'S BOOK "ABOUT MAN, HIS MORTALITY AND IMMORTALITY"

ABSTRACT

The article examines various stages of human existence, which are compared with the work of A. N. Radishchev "About man, his death and immortality" (1792–1796). A person begins his existence from the womb of his mother, where he receives his initial formation. Then he appears directly into the physical world, in which he adapts to reality. In adolescence, he will have to face different protest moods of his inner self, in adolescence he will be overwhelmed by the predominance of the sensual over the rational, in adulthood he will give his fruits from everything that was laid in him and developed before, and in old age he will pass on all the initiatives to other generations. A person is different from the world around him, namely, from the animal and vegetable worlds. It has many advantages, unlike other animal creatures. Man is a multifaceted being, and can both develop and safely degrade. The author highlights the moral principle in man and emphasizes his exclusivity. To understand the topic of morality, it is necessary to touch upon the topic of the existence of God. The article presents an understanding of this issue from the perspective of the Christian worldview as fundamental for the entire Russian world.

Keywords: man, world, personality, development, animal world, life, laws of development, anthropology.

The XVIII century is rich in outstanding personalities. One of them is A.N. Radishchev. He was a great man who can be called both a thinker and a writer of the highest level of Russia of the XVIII century. He was born into a noble family, received a home education, and then was taken by his father from the village of Nemtsovo to the city of Moscow. In the future, he will be lucky enough to work in the Senate, and that's when he will begin his creative activity. One of his most important works is rightfully called the philosophical treatise "About man, his mortality and immortality." It was created not in simple conditions, but in a link. Perhaps that is why author touches on theme of the soul, its mortality and immortality, because it is in such conditions that a person thinks about the real values of his being.

It is not difficult to guess that if the title of the work is connected with the soul, then it will certainly contain a story about man and his anthropology. A.N. Radishchev was convinced that man is highest manifestation of physicality, "the most perfect of creatures" [1, p. 46]. His connection with the surrounding living environment is immediately emphasized. The animal, plant and human worlds are interconnected, one cannot survive without other. In particular, a human world can help and support the animal and plant kingdom, otherwise everything will perish. But the author is more interested in revealing here differences between the human principle and all others. In particular, it indicates upright posture of people, presence of more rational feelings, principles of morality, morality and, of course, religion. Man is an intelligent being, which means that he has not only instinctive feelings inherent in all mammals, but also goes beyond a animal world. His main difference is in his mental ability, which can change his life, lives of others and whole world.

The philosopher emphasizes individual development of personality for a reason, thereby he emphasizes peculiarity and difference of people from all other beings. At beginning of his existence, a person is born without possessing any acquired qualities and character traits. In his further development, he will socialize, respectively, while gaining new knowledge, skills, qualities and character traits. Eventually, he will have to face death and leave this world bodily, leaving everything acquired to other generations. The author calls this process sequential neoplasms, leading ultimately to "unfolding" of social mind in a person.

In fact, beginning of human existence can be called not the fact of his birth, but the fact of his conception and development in the womb. A person is born from the love of two people for each other, or in another way from the free "union of soul and flesh." After birth, a person does not receive all the skills at once, he only enters a large phase of development, starting with the development of his organs, growth, knowledge of the world around him, and so on. The infant "feels, but does not think" [1, p. 67]. However, "feeling precedes reason" [1, p. 54], and due to intensive development of the brain, "an infant becomes a child" [1, p. 68].

After infancy, the stage of adolescence begins. This is a very interesting stage at which an individual can already form a personality. It is this phase of human development that lays in him the basic, fundamental personality qualities that distinguish him from others. The boy is inclined to show independence, he already wants to break out of his home nest and go on a free journey. With all this, he still remains a child internally, but outwardly wants to show everything opposite to this, that is, a struggle is taking place.

A.N. Radishchev notes that a boy inclined to independent thinking, like a child, follows, first of all, "sensuality", and most of all his imitative nature: "Passions in him they open up; the mind begins to gain support either in what it has heard or in what it has experienced" [1, p. 69].

Human maturity is considered as a period in which everything should be strengthened, starting from the mind and ending with the body and at the same time give certain fruits: "The time of achieving greatest truths and misconceptions; the time in which a person becomes like the almighty or falls below the lowest degree of animals" [1, p. 69].

If we turn to the Christian religion, it is not difficult to notice its focus on human perfection. He needs to give up various vices that distort his gut, created by God, that is, he needs become a moral person. To begin with, it is necessary competently monitor actions, set goals, how harmful or useful they are for a person, and at the same time compare them with the moral law. The most important thing is that a person needs remain unselfish at the same time, because if morality is ostentatious, then it easily turns into hypocrisy, and any praise from people will be dishonest. It is still possible deceive people, but it will definitely not work deceive God. The connection of our actions with their purpose was noted by the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church. According to St. Gregory the Theologian, one "one who practices goodness out of his personal selfish goals is not firm in virtue, because main goal has not been achieved, and he leaves the good deed, just as a person sailing for profit does not continue sailing if he does not see profit" [2, p. 173]. It is morality that becomes the basis of human consciousness, according A.N. Radishchev.

Thus, analyzing different human stages of life in the context of reading the work of A.N. Radishchev, we can conclude about man as a supreme being. He is not only subject to reason and rational thinking. A person can change the life of both his own and whole of humanity, because any person is endowed with unique abilities.

References:

1. Radishchev, A. N. About man, his mortality and immortality // Radishchev A.N. Complete Collection of works : in 3 vols. 2. M. ; L. : USSR Academy of Sciences, 1941. pp. 39–145.
2. Gregory the Theologian, set. Creations: In 6 volumes, 1889. Vol. 3. p. 173.