Russian Religious Philosophy as a Theoretical Basis for the Formation of Bioethical Knowledge in Russia

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleРусская религиозная философия как теоретическая основа формирования комплекса биоэтических знаний в России
3. Language term Russian
4. lemma author Asliturk, Miriam
5. lemma category Ethics - Philosophy of science/epistemology - History and philosophy of science - Westernism and anti-westernism
6. Publication date 30-07-2018
7. lemma work Засухина, Виктория Николаевна [Author]. Русская религиозная философия как теоретическая основа формирования комплекса биоэтических знаний в России
8. lemma manifestations Гуманитарный вектор. Серия: Педагогика, психология
9. Keywords bioethics - Russian philosophy - Philosophy - materialism - anti-Westernism - religious philosophy
10. Url Click Here
11. Citations
    1. <p>Засухина, В. Н. (2011). Русская религиозная философия как теоретическая основа формирования комплекса биоэтических знаний в России.<em> Гуманитарный вектор. Серия: Педагогика, психология</em>, (2), 24-30.</p>
12. Lemma body

    1. The article argues that the way bioethics was developed and exists in the United States and Europe is unlikely to take root or to function efficiently in Russia. Therefore, one must look for opportunities for its development within the framework of Russia’s cultural and religious traditions. One tradition was developed by religious philosophers such as A.S. Khomyakov, V.S. Soloviev, P.D. Yurkevich, N.F. Fedorov, V.V. Rozanov, and P.A. Florensky. These authors can be described as the founders of “life ethics.” Life ethics is defined by the author as a moral philosophy aimed at substantiating the fundamental provisions of bioethics: the absolute value of human life; the freedom and dignity of the individual; the belief in the victory of life over death; the recognition of man as an integral being that has not only a body but a spiritual soul; the desire to protect a person from everything that carries the danger of destroying his health and well-being, etc.

       In the author’s view, Russian thinkers have always considered any issue – religious, epistemological, aesthetic, economic, etc. - primarily through the prism of social and ethical relevance. Russian philosophy never liked speculative or purely theoretical questions but sought instead to have a real impact on the life of man. Russian religious philosophy tried to help form a worldview that made a person capable of resisting everything that carried a real or potential threat to his life and well-being. Russian philosophy is also anti-bourgeois, making it a good theoretical basis for bioethics. Bourgeois consciousness, in the understanding of Russian thinkers (whether they were radical, liberal or conservative), is philistinism: mercantilism, slavish dependence on external conditions, proprietary instincts. Bourgeois and petty-bourgeois in their view made a person incapable of compassion and selfless help. For such a person the life of another human being loses its absolute value and acquires the market value of a more or less high-quality product.

       Russian Orthodox philosophers were also critical of such western philosophical concepts as rationalism and individualism. By contrast they theorised the concept of sobornost (collective existence and decision-making), which sees as a person as a generic being. In the sobornost perspective, a human must feel and realize himself/herself as an integral part of the human community and not focus on selfish interests and problems. All these characteristics as well as the non-materialistic character of Russian religious philosophy turn it into a relevant theoretical basis for the formation of efficient and viable bioethical theory and knowledge for Russia.