The philosopher Frank is known mostly as a follower of the Russian thinker Vladimir Solovyov. The contribution of this religious person to Russian philosophy is difficult to overestimate. Literary figures who lived and worked in the same era with Semyon Ludwigovich said that even in his youth he was wise and reasonable beyond his years.
Role in Russian philosophy
Frank was spoken of as a man who was unhurried and a little slow in words, requiring a thorough approach in judgments and opinions, calm and completely unperturbed, with amazing radiant eyes, from which light and kindness flowed. The eyes of the philosopher Semyon Ludvigovich are remembered by everyone who knew him during his lifetime.
This is a famous Russian philosopher, psychologist, religious thinker. His biography and creative path are the actual subject of scientific articles, abstracts and reports. All the works of the Russian philosopher Frank have been translated into many languages of the world. The main essence of his works lies in the search and analysis of the unity of spiritual life with bodilyshell. Man, in his opinion, is an inseparable mysterious and incomprehensible substratum. Semyon Ludwigovich Frank had a sharply negative attitude towards collectivism, considered it "fetters" for the individual. Any dictate is the opposite of freedom, without which unity with the Almighty is impossible.
Biography: childhood
Semyon Ludwigovich Frank (1877-1950) was born into a Jewish family. The philosopher's father was a doctor who graduated from Moscow University in 1872 (1872). Ludwig Semenovich spent all his youth in Poland, but during the Polish uprising of 1863 he decided to move to Moscow, where he met his future wife, the mother of the philosopher Frank, Rozalia Moiseevna Rossiyanskaya.
When the boy was born, his father participated in the Russian-Turkish war, and died five years later. Almost nine years after the death of her husband, Rozalia Moiseevna married a second time. Father S. L. Frank was replaced by his stepfather V. I. Zak, who worked as a pharmacist. Shortly before the wedding, Zak returned from exile in Siberia.
Frank received his education at home. The issue of home schooling was approached with all seriousness by his maternal grandfather, Moisei Mironovich Rossiyansky. This man in the 60s of the last century headed the Jewish community in Moscow. From him, Frank took over an interest in the philosophical problems of religion. The Russian taught his grandson the Hebrew language, together they read the Bible, the history of the Jewish people.
The second person who had a noticeable influence on Semyon Frank's worldview was his stepfather V. I. Zak. A man spent all his young yearsin a revolutionary populist milieu. Under Zack's guidance, Frank learned about the work of the democrats of that time, N. K.
University studies
In 1892, the family left Moscow for Nizhny Novgorod, where the future philosopher S. L. Frank was educated at the gymnasium. During his studies, he joined the Marxist movement and became close to a group of revolutionaries.
In 1894, the thinker entered the law faculty of Moscow University. Frank often skipped lectures, carried away by visiting political economy circles. The seventeen-year-old youth was obsessed with questions of socialism and propaganda views. He personally participated in the agitation of the workers for the revolution.
This went on for some time, until Semyon Ludwigovich made a conclusion about the scientific failure of Marxism. At the age of 19, Frank abandoned his revolutionary activities, but he needed time to fill the gap in knowledge. In 1898, having received a certificate of completion of eight semesters of the university, he decided to postpone the exams to the next year.
However, due to student unrest that began in the spring of 1899 throughout the country, he failed to pass the exams. A new stage began in the biography of Semyon Ludwigovich Frank: he was arrested for participating in the protest movement, and then expelled from Moscow with deprivation of the right to live in university cities. Nothing isthe young philosopher had to do how to return to his mother in Nizhny Novgorod. But he didn't stay there long either. Decided to go to Berlin to take a course of lectures on philosophy and political economy.
Years of study and wandering
This is how the philosopher himself called the period in his biography from 1905 to 1906. At the end of the exile period in 1901, Frank was able to return to Russia, where he successfully passed the final exams in Kazan and received a Ph. D. The main way of earning for Frank was translations. Frequent trips abroad were caused by interest in the French magazine "Liberation", which was edited by his friend Peter Struve. In this edition, the thinker published his first works.
In 1905, after the revolution, Frank moved to St. Petersburg, where he worked as an editor in the weekly "Polyarnaya Zvezda", "Freedom and Culture", "New Way". There have been changes in the political views of the author. Now he took a more conservative position in relation to the state-political system of the Russian Empire, began to criticize socialist ideas, considering them utopian.
Private life, family, children
In 1906, his teaching and academic career began. In the gymnasium of M. N. Stoyunina, Frank lectured on social psychology, among the audience of which he met his future wife, Tatyana Bartseva. In 1908, young people got married. Frank himself believed that from the moment of his marriage, “the era of youth andteachings. Having created a family, he stopped looking for his inner and outer ways, calling. Four heirs were born in a marriage with Tatyana Sergeevna: Victor (1909), Natalya (1910), Alexei (1912), and in 1920 a son, Vasily Semenovich Frank, was born.
Semyon Ludwigovich Frank, having created a family, revised his attitude to life and religious values, as a result of which he decided to accept the Orthodox faith in 1912. In the same year, he took the position of Privatdozent at St. Petersburg University, and a year later he was sent to Germany, where he wrote the first work, The Object of Knowledge, which glorified him as a thinker. By the way, the same work formed the basis of the master's thesis, which Frank successfully defended in the spring of 1916. Semyon Lyudvigovich never managed to get a doctorate degree, despite the fact that the dissertation work was ready. The reason for everything was the revolution of 1917.
Dean of the Saratov University
In the period from 1917 to 1921, Frank took the post of dean of the Faculty of History and Philosophy of Saratov University. And although he did not consider this work profitable or promising, there was no choice: it was almost impossible to continue to engage in scientific activities in Moscow. But even in Saratov, living conditions during the Civil War seemed unbearable to Frank. The philosopher returned to Moscow, where he was elected a member of the "Philosophical Institute". In the same place, together with Berdyaev, he creates the Academy of Spiritual Culture, where he lectures, covering general cultural, humanistic, religious and philosophical issues. In the period 1921-1922, books were publishedFrank Semyon Ludwigovich "Essay on the methodology of social sciences" and "Introduction to philosophy in a concise presentation."
Leaving the Motherland…
The political situation in Russia did not become more stable. In 1922, by decision of the Soviet government, representatives of the intelligentsia were massively expelled from Russia. Scientists, writers, philosophers, among whom was Frank, left St. Petersburg in late autumn on German ships. "Prussia" and "Oberburgomaster Haken" left the St. Petersburg harbor. This event was a turning point in the biography of Semyon Lyudvigovich Frank, who, alas, will not have the opportunity to return to his homeland in the future.
He was 45 at the time of the deportation. At first glance, it seems that the continuation of his work is impossible. However, as the son of Semyon Ludwigovich Frank, Vasily Semyonovich Frank, writes, his father created his best works in forced emigration. The pain he experienced in a foreign land and complete spiritual loneliness pushed him to write new treatises.
…What should I and others do to save the world and thereby justify my life for the first time? Before the catastrophe of 1917, there was only one answer - to improve the social and political conditions of the people. Now - the overthrow of the Bolsheviks, the restoration of the past forms of life of the people. Along with this type of response in Russia there is another, related to it - Tolstoyism, preaching "moral perfection", educational work on oneself …
Together with his family, the philosopher arrived in Germany. The Frank couple settled in Berlin. Fluency in Germanlanguage gave a lot of advantages, but still making a living in a foreign land was not easy. At first, the philosopher worked at the Religious-Philosophical Academy, which later, becoming one of the centers of Russian migrants, was transferred from Berlin to Paris. In addition, Frank lectured at the Russian Scientific Institute, where visitors from Russia were trained according to the university program.
Reclusive Jew life
With the coming to power of Hitler, many Jews were left without work. The family of the Russian philosopher Frank was also in distress. In addition, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he was repeatedly called in for interviews by the Gestapo. Anticipating the danger, he hastily left Nazi Germany for France, and some time later his wife and children came to him.
During the entire period, while Frank lived in Germany, he had to hide, be a recluse, which could not but be reflected in his work. For 1924-1926 the philosopher wrote several treatises for Russian students. Among the works of that period, the most popular books were The Crash of Idols, The Foundations of Marxism, and The Meaning of Life. Semyon Ludwigovich Frank tried to convey his state of confusion and misunderstanding, pain for the defeat of the Russian people. His books excited the mind, leading to legitimate questions.
In general, the author openly demonstrates his skepticism towards all the changes taking place in Russia of that period. The plan of salvation outlined by the Bolsheviks, he calls utopian, erroneous and completely unsuitable. The failures of the social coup suggesthim at the thought of having to save his life.
About The Meaning of Life
Philosopher Frank in this work tries to argue his opinion about the meaninglessness of life as such. The minimum condition for achieving meaning in life is the presence of freedom. Only being free, a person has the opportunity to live the way he wants, to act meaningfully, to strive for a specific goal. But every member of modern society is shrouded in duty, necessity, traditions, customs, responsibility.
Besides, a person cannot be free because of his physicality. All people without exception are subject to the mechanical laws of matter. In the book The Meaning of Life, S. L. Frank describes the paradoxical nature of being. While some spend the time allotted to them on revelry and entertainment, others abstain from pleasures and lead an ascetic lifestyle. Someone, mired in everyday problems, regrets that he did not save his freedom and got married, and someone is in no hurry to start a family, but in old age he suffers from loneliness and lack of love, family warmth, comfort. But one way or another, at the end of their lives, all of them come to understand that life was lived wrong, not the way they see it now.
In his book, Frank concludes that human addictions are deceptive. What seems to be important and precious doesn't really matter. People are often disappointed when they realize their mistakes, but nothing can be corrected. To the question of the search for the meaning of life, the philosopher approaches moreglobally, suggesting that it may be hidden somewhere in the universe. But after drawing a number of conclusions, he comes to the conclusion that the life of mankind as a whole is just a set of meaningless accidents, a chaotic string of circumstances, facts and events that lead nowhere, do not pursue any goal.
In his philosophy, Semyon Ludwigovich Frank perceives history as an attempt to present humanistic ideals. Technological progress is an illusion of success that has inspired entire generations. It did not lead to a happy life for people, but turned into the invention of deadly weapons and terrible wars. According to the author, humanity does not evolve. On the contrary, it goes back in its development and at the moment stands even further from the goal than it did thousands of years ago. Thus, the life of each person only illusory seems to be happy against the background of the existence and development of all mankind.
Further Semyon Lyudvigovich writes that the meaning of life as a perfect object cannot be found once and for all. It is not given to a person from the outside, but is inside him, is embedded in life itself. But even if it were possible to find a ready and understandable meaning of life, a person would not accept it as a gift from above or would remain dissatisfied with it. The meaning of life must be worked out by the efforts of each of us, which is a kind of justification for our own existence.
Philosophizing on this topic, Frank touches on the issue of religion. According to the definition of the thinker, a person is a creature that belongs to the divine and earthly worlds, and his heart is at the intersectionthese two worlds. Each person should strive for God, but constantly and inevitably sin because of their spiritual weakness and limitations. In this context, the meaning of life is to find a way to overcome one's personal sinfulness.
The position of the philosopher Frank on this issue is unequivocal: a person is arranged in such a way that a priori cannot be sinless, but he can live a less sinful life. The shortest way to overcome sinfulness is chosen by hermits and monks who renounce the outside world and devote themselves to God. However, this is not the only path available.
The Russian philosopher S. L. Frank supports the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, who allowed participation in the affairs of the sinful world, but to such an extent that actions were aimed at overcoming or at least reducing not only personal, but also world sinfulness.
As an example, Frank cites the situation with the war, because this, no doubt, is a sinful matter. A believer who renounces the outside world and refrains from participating in war does everything right: he does not enjoy the fruits of war and does not accept anything from the state waging war. If we consider ordinary people, then the position of the one who, taking part in the war, shares responsibility for what he did together with the state, will be less sinful. In turn, a person who does not take a direct part in the battles, but at the same time enjoys the fruits of war, is more sinful.
Good is created only by good. The philosophy of Semyon Ludwigovich Frank says that the real goodimperceptibly, it always quietly lurks in the souls of people, hidden from the noise and fuss. Thus, the meaning of life a person should seek in limiting the evil in the world and manifesting good.
Spiritual Foundations of Society
A few years later, in 1930, Frank wrote on social philosophy, which today is considered one of his most significant works - The Spiritual Foundations of Society. In this work, Frank for the first time included the term "all-unity", which he used in his study of the social life of Russians. The philosopher argued that the state of society equally reflects the connection of each individual with God.
In the first half of the last century, many authors attempted to revise the foundations of political liberalism. One of those who supported liberal ideas was S. L. Frank. "The Spiritual Foundations of Society" contains not just a philosophical interpretation. The author believed that spiritual values are of paramount importance, and freedom and law should serve them. Franca wanted to bring together the ideas of personal freedom and the unity of religion with the state. Such a trilogy was supposed to form the basis of a versatile interpretation of the world.
During the war
The most famous work of Frank is the book "Incomprehensible". He devoted a lot of time to writing it, began work on it while in Germany, but under the current political conditions he could not complete the book. For a long time, Frank could not find a publisher who would publish his work, and eventually translated it into Russian. The work was published in Paris in 1939.
By the way, since 1938 Russianthe philosopher lived in France. His wife also migrated here from Germany. Frank's children were in England. First, the Franks settled in the south of France in the resort town of Lavière, but soon moved to the capital, settling in an area inhabited mainly by Russian migrants. When the Second World War was in full swing, the thinker's family had to move again to the southern part of France, to the small village of Saint-Pierre-d'Allevard, not far from Grenoble. But even there, it would seem, in a quiet and remote place, the Gestapo often rounded up Jews. Then Frank and his wife had to hide in the forest for several days.
In 1945, when Soviet troops liberated the world from the Brown Plague, the family moved to Grenoble, and in the autumn they left for England, where they were reunited with their children. The entire period of his stay in France, the Russian philosopher Frank was painstakingly working on the book “God is with us” and “Light in the Darkness”. Both of these works were published in 1949.
Last years of life
From 1945, Frank lived in London with his daughter Natalia. The woman raised two children without her husband - he died in the war. Also, Frank's son Alexei lived with them, who was seriously wounded at the front. During this period, the philosopher worked on a book that would later turn out to be his last. The work "Reality and Man" was completed in 1947, but it was published much later - almost 10 years later.
It is worth noting that Semyon Ludwigovich never had good he alth. In addition, in the mid-30s, he suffered a heart attack. The hardships of the war and the persecution of the Jews could not but affect his he alth. And in August 1950, doctors discovered he had a malignant tumor of the lung. Four months later, on December 10, 1950, Frank passed away.
During an illness accompanied by unbearable physical torment, the philosopher experienced deep religious experiences. Semyon Ludwigovich perceived his suffering as a feeling of unity with God. Frank shared his thoughts with his half-brother Leo Zach. In particular, he said that by comparing his torment and the suffering of Christ, he endured pain more easily.
The ideology followed by the philosopher
Frank is considered a follower of the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov. The main idea of Semyon Ludwigovich's philosophy is also the idea of unity. But unlike Solovyov, Frank considers her external surrounding world and the inner experience of the individual. In his work, there is a critique of materialistic ideas and a philosophical justification for alternative views on the world, the social order. The Russian philosopher considered this creation of such a justification the work of his life.
The main conclusions of the thinker are present in three books, conceived as a trilogy: "The Subject of Knowledge", "The Spiritual Foundations of Society" and "The Soul of Man". Semyon Ludwigovich Frank considered his most difficult work to be the blade “The Subject of Knowledge”. In it, he tried to prove the existence of two types of knowledge - rational theoretical and direct practical. For absolute being, both types have the right to exist. In The Soul of Man, Frank sought to distinguish between the soul andbody shell, while he positioned a person as a creature with a deep inner world, formed as a result of the impact of the surrounding material environment.
Semyon Ludwigovich managed to prove that not only individuals, but entire nations have a soul. Moreover, this argument was used for further interpretation of the Bolshevik movement. The philosopher believed that it was caused by the spiritual disintegration of the self-consciousness of Russians, the loss of national unity. How Semyon Ludwigovich Frank understands nihilism can be understood from his statements:
… The Russian intellectual does not know any absolute values, no criteria, no orientation in life, except for the moral differentiation of people, deeds, states into good and bad, good and evil. The moralism of the Russian intelligentsia is only an expression and reflection of its nihilism. By nihilism I mean the denial or non-recognition of absolute (objective) values…
Frank criticized the liberalism of the time. This concept was invested in the interpretation of the Bolshevik revolution, which arose, as the thinker believed, due to the spiritual limitations of the conservative and liberal oppositionists. Both conservatives and liberals should have united in the fight against the Bolsheviks, but instead they all abandoned their religious origins. And even the availability of technical knowledge and experience did not allow to resist the Social Democrats of the Russian People's Party.
At the same time, democracy, according to Frank, is a far from ideal political regime. First of all, democracy implies the possibility of making mistakes, but at the same timetime it provides an opportunity to correct them, allows you to make a choice in favor of another option. Frank explains this by saying that one can only know the truth within oneself. Outside of people and outside of collective self-knowledge, it is impossible to determine the truth, therefore the imperfection of human essence is an undoubted argument in favor of democratic views. This political regime presupposes the freedom of the people from persons who, as Frank believed, "imagined themselves to be the saviors of mankind." Democracy is wrong to be considered a belief in justice, but it is a kind of guarantee of the denial of any kind of infallibility, recognition of the rights of minorities and every person to take part in matters of national importance.
The passivity of Russian religious culture also had a negative impact on the state of the state-political system, according to Frank. In his works, he lamented the decline of humanistic traditions in Europe and Russia, which led to the decay of national sentiment and patriotism.
Revolutionary experience and emigration forced Frank to look for answers to his questions in religion. More and more often he turned to the Bible. This can explain why the creativity of the mature period acquired confessional features. Frank argued that Jesus is incomprehensible unless one keeps in touch with religion. The philosopher was sure that compassion is a direct opportunity to get closer to God.
Characterizing his own philosophy, Frank writes about his religious and social views, defined by them as manifestationsChristian realism. The philosopher recognized the divine basis and the positive religious value of everything that exists and is combined with empirical experience.
Finishing
Summing up, let's try to identify the main directions of Frank's philosophical thought. The works of the philosopher are based on the desire to comprehend the unknown, to combine the personal and the public, the religious and the state. The main theoretical problem that the thinker is trying to solve in his writings is to know himself, the meaning of life and sinfulness, by minimizing which a person has the opportunity to become happy.
He spoke about the fact that the world needs time to focus on the ongoing changes in the social order, even if these changes are paradoxical. In this sense, the justification of the objectivity of the object of knowledge is an important result of Frank's theory.
