Translated from the Latin language, the word "personalism" means "personality." Personalism is a theistic trend in modern philosophy. Based on the name itself, it is not difficult to guess that it is the person (that is, the person himself) that acts as the basic creative reality and is the highest spiritual value. This direction appeared at the end of the last century, when its main principles were formed, which we will discuss today.
Brief information
In Russia, the first ideas of personalism were formulated by Nikolai Berdyaev and Lev Shestov. Further ideas of personalism were reflected in the works of N. Lossky, S. Bulgakov, A. Bely, V. Ivanov. The development of personalism in France is considered to be a special stage, the work for Emmanuel Mounier began to form this direction in the country.
By personalism is meant the existential-theistic trend in philosophy that was formed in the twentieth century. For this trend, it is typical to perceive a person as an acting person, and not just an abstract subject capable of thought formation.
Personalism is the direction that the first recognized the personality as the highest spiritual value and creative reality, and the world around it is a manifestation of the creativity of a higher mind (God, the Absolute, etc.). In the foreground, personalists have a human personality in all its manifestations. A personality becomes a fundamental ontological category, where will, activity and activity are combined with the constancy of existence. However, the origins of this person are not in the man himself, but in the only divine principle.
Christian creeds and its modifications
The main reason for the development of personalism is the severe economic crisis in the 1920s and 1930s. last century. At that time, totalitarian and fascist regimes were being established in Europe and Asia, and specific issues of the person’s personal being and the meaning of his existence became visible in all its acuteness.
Other philosophical schools that existed long before the advent of personalism also tried to answer these questions, but only here scientists are trying to answer these questions mainly within the framework of the theistic tradition. Mostly the answers to these questions were formed within the framework of Christian dogma and its modifications. Catholic traditions can be traced in the writings of Karol Wojtyla, left-Catholic moods can be seen in the works of E. Mounier and representatives of the French direction. Various Protestant and Methodist views are traced in the writings of American personalist philosophers.
True, personalists study the problem of being and human existence not only within the framework of historical, philosophical and theological traditions. Often they turn to the texts of fiction, which simultaneously reveals the concrete historical and universal nature of human life.
Schools and Christian Personalism
In general, it is customary to distinguish four schools of personalism: Russian, German, American and French. The main subject of research in all directions is creative subjectivity, which is explained only through involvement in God.
A man is a separate person, a unique person with a soul, in which he focuses divine energy in himself. The human soul is self-conscious and self-directed, but since spirituality is not peculiar to people, they fall into the first extreme that is caught - into egoism.
But there is another extreme collectivism, in which the personality is leveled and merged with the mass. Personalism - this is exactly the approach that allows you to get away from these extremes and to reveal the true essence of man and to revive his individuality. You can come to individuality only by understanding yourself and realizing your essence as a unique, unique subject.
Freedom and morality
Also the main problems of personalism are issues of freedom and morality. It is believed that if a person strives for God or goodness and perfection (which, in essence, is the same thing), he is on the right track. Moral improvement, morality and religiosity will create a society of harmonious personalities.
The philosophy of personalism also considers religious and ethical issues. Personalists believe that in order not to injure the divine omnipotence, it is necessary to self-limit the divine will and join it. Each person has the right to choose, it is this right that makes it possible to participate in the implementation of a charitable cause in the world. It can be said that divine self-restraint is part of a personalistic ethic, where God's will is limited through human freedom. But if you look at the problem from the other side, it becomes obvious that self-restraint performs the function of theodicy, that is, God’s justification from evil, which reigns in a world granted by freedom of choice.
Personality
Personalism in philosophy is, first of all, the doctrine of the personality, recognition of its highest value. And as Paul Ricoeur said , such a position for philosophy is more promising than the knowledge of philosophical thought through the concepts of consciousness, subject and individual.
Studying the philosophy of personalism, E. Mounier comes to the conclusion that the formation of a person as a person completely coincides with the movement of historical progress towards a civilized existence, culture and spirituality.
Personalists, although they believe that the idea of multiple "existences", "consciousnesses" and "wills" is the basis of their teaching, they uphold the basic idea of personalism, according to which God is the supreme person who created all things.
Personalists consider personality to be the most important ontological category, because it is a manifestation of being, the continuity of which is determined by human activity. Personality is characterized by three interdependent characteristics:
- Externalization. Self-realization of man in the world.
- Interiorization. Deep self-reflection, that is, a person analyzes the world around him.
- Transcendence. The focus on comprehension of supercategorical being, that is, an understanding of what is revealed only in the act of faith.
Most representatives of personalism in philosophy distinguish between the concepts of “individual” and “personality”. They are sure that a person who is a representative of the human race and part of society can be called an individual. That is, this is a kind of social cog. In turn, a personality is called a person who possesses free will and can overcome all social barriers and internal difficulties. A person is constantly trying to realize himself, has moral values and is not afraid to take responsibility.
Personalism in Russia
As already mentioned, this philosophical trend developed in four separate schools. In Russia, Nikolai Berdyaev played a major role in the development of personalism. Trying to define this new direction, he wrote the following:
I define my philosophy as the philosophy of the subject, the philosophy of the spirit, the philosophy of freedom, the dualistic-pluralistic philosophy, the creative-dynamic philosophy, the personalistic philosophy, and the eschatological philosophy.
Domestic personalists liked the idea of opposing the means of existence, which elevated the ideal to the principles of predetermination, predetermination and static. Russian personalists believed that personality is freedom, a breakthrough, spiritual strength. Here, dualism was considered the preceding philosophy, the distinction between being: the world and the person who is forced to adapt to it. Berdyaev’s personalism in this case states that:
Man was transformed into an epistemological subject only in relation to the object, to the objectified world for this objectification. Outside of this objectification, out of standing in front of being, which has turned into an object, the subject is a person, a person, a living being, who himself is in the depths of being. Truth is in the subject, but not in the subject, which opposes objectification and therefore distinguishes itself from being, but in the subject, as existing.
It was believed that a person is able to learn world riddles only by turning to his own spiritual experience, because all the secrets of life can be understood through self-observation. By his calling, a person has unlimited possibilities, she is able to create the world and give it meaning.
Russian personalists believed that the meaning of the individual, the individual is in complete drama, and not in happiness. Thanks to this approach, the concept is considered to be deeply religious, this distinguishes it from other currents that have spread in the West. It is worth noting that Russian personalism had a huge impact on the development of this trend in Germany and France. So what are the main points of personalism in these countries?
Philosophical Current in Germany
Some elements of the teachings of the idealist philosopher F. Jacobi later began to develop in existentialism and the philosophy of life, although initially it was precisely he who could be called a pioneer in personalism. In Germany, many scientists have worked on this paradigm. For example, M. Scheller was the first to develop the concept of ethical personalism; he considered the value of personality to be the highest axiological level. W. Stern talked about critical personalism, and H. Tillike developed theological ethics, which became the basis of personalism in German philosophy.
Of particular importance in the German direction of the development of personalism is the problem of the inclinations and abilities of the individual, the deep spheres of individual being. Here the “personality method" was declared universal for the knowledge of not only a person, but also all reality.
American personalism
In America, this philosophical trend began to develop at about the same time as in Russia. Its founder was B. Bone. In addition to him, representatives are R. Fluelling, E. Brightman, J. Howison and W. Hawking. In American personalism, a person is understood as a unique, unique subjectivity, projected to create a social world.
Here, philosophers consider the history of the world as a one-sided process of development of a person’s personal principle. According to their position, a person reaches the peak of bliss in union with God. Here religious and ethical issues play a key role in teaching. Also, attention is paid to issues of free choice and morality. It is believed that moral self-improvement of a person can lead to the creation of a harmonious society.
France
In this country, personalism was formed as a teaching in the 30s. last century. The founder of this trend was E. Mounier. Together with him, this doctrine was developed by D. de Rougemont, J. Isard, J. Lacroix, P. Landsberg, M. Nedoncel, G. Madigne. In these "dashing" 30s, the left-Catholic followers of French personalism proposed creating a philosophical doctrine of the human person as the main problem of modern civilization and assigning this significance to the world.
In France, the concept of personality has passed a long period of formation. It began to take shape when philosophers began to comprehend all the known humanistic traditions that came from the time of Socrates. In personalism, they attached great importance to the concepts of man that were developed in the twentieth century. Naturally, among them were existential and Marxist teachings.
The followers of personality philosophy interpreted in their own way the problems of the Christian doctrine of man. They tried to weaken the dogmatism characteristic of theology and introduce a new content that was more suitable for the modern world.
Mounier said that personalism appeared in order to protect the personality, because it is the peak from which all paths begin, therefore, it is actively testing against totalitarianism. Man is engaged in the world, that is, is present in him as an active, meaningful and responsible creature that is in the world "here and now." The person constantly improves himself in interactions with the world, but only when he correlates himself with the Absolute does he receive the right life guidelines.
Stream in stream
Personalism can be called a specific form of social utopia, it is interesting and unusual for its time, because then a person was just a cog of the social system, and not a person with high potential and unlimited possibilities. But that is not all. In this philosophical trend, another direction was formed - dialogic personalism. This direction puts the problem of communication (social dialogue) at the heart of the study. It is believed that dialogue is the basis for the formation of personality. That is, without communicating with oneself like himself, a person cannot become a full-fledged personality.
This direction is exploring new categories, such as “I”, “You” and “We”, trying to overcome the I-centrism of classical philosophical teachings. Here, knowledge is brought to a new ontological level, where spirituality and creativity reign, and the concepts of "I", "You", "We" become new existential categories. The most prominent representatives of this trend include Martin Buber, Mikhail Bakhtin, Emmanuel Levinas and others.
Personalism in philosophy is a direction in the center of which a person stands, and only he can solve all social problems and conflicts if he can become a real person. Otherwise, society will remain the usual mechanism that is programmed for a faceless existence, because creation and creativity are unthinkable without real personalities.