Citation

Soloviev EY. Russian Studies in Philosophy 2018; 56(4): 296-322.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018)

DOI

10.1080/10611967.2018.1473679

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article represents a paradoxical attempt to read Leo Tolstoy from the perspective of Kant studies. The article subjects Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina to the criteria and explanatory mechanisms of the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. The author shows that Kant and Tolstoy, both the creators of extremely demanding moral doctrines, strongly condemn the imperative interpretation of the feelings of benevolence and love; they act as opponents of paternalism, authoritarianism, and the compulsory demand to make others happy. The author traces the history of Tolstoy's acquaintance with Kant's ethical works and points to the similarity between the decree of Friedrich Wilhelm II forbidding Kant to speak on religious issues and the excommunication of Tolstoy from the Russian church a century later. Special attention is devoted to the discussion of how both authors' works cultivate the same themes of the simulation of feelings and aggressively conformist culture. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Anomie; Nihilism; “strong” and “weak” moral universals; Normative priorities; Respect for the dignity of another; The categorical imperative; The commandment to love one’s neighbor; The proverb “you cannot order your heart”