The Faces of Russian Hegelianism: S.L. Frank Between Hegel and Nietzsche

Abstract

This article dwells on S.L. Frank’s philosophical views in the context of the crisis of European metaphysics and compares his ontological and religious views with the teachings of G.W.F. Hegel and F. Nietzsche. The author critically examines Frank’s attempt to synthesize Hegelianism and Orthodoxy. The methodology of this research is based on the key principles and attitudes of comparative philosophy and historical and philosophical reconstruction. The article substantiates the thesis that the reception of Hegel’s works by Frank is a product of the pseudomorphosis of Russian culture. The main conclusion of the study is that Frank’s intention to go beyond Hegelian dialectic leads to the convergence of his ideas with the philosophy of life, in particular with Nietzsche’s teaching. Within the framework of the comparative analysis of the teachings of Frank, Hegel and Nietzsche, the paper focuses on the problem of the border. It demonstrates that, according to both Frank and Hegel, the border acts as the main condition for the constitution of being as a certainty. At the same time, the border is an ontological condition for a certain and limited being to go beyond its limits. The author concludes that, in this regard, Frank follows the fundamental principles of Hegelian dialectic. At the same time, Frank goes beyond the philosophy of Hegel’s attitude towards the philosophical comprehension of the irrational, incomprehensible depths of being. In this sense, Frank comes close to the principles of Nietzsche’s teaching and turns to the study of the borderline phenomena of human existence.