L. N. Tolstoy's concept of non-resistance to evil by violence and its spiritual orientation

• Main Author: Viacheslav Kuzmenko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Publishing House "Grani" 2020-08-01
• Series: Granì
• Subjects: social philosophy; social psychology; non-classical thinking; post-non-classical thinking; methodology; interdisciplinarity; singularity; experimentalism
• Online Access: https://grani.org.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/1520
• ISSN: 2077-1800; 2413-8738

According to L. Tolstoy, the essence of human being consists in the realization of the contradiction between his inherent thirst for life and the inevitability of death. In "Confession", L. N. Tolstoy writes that the possibility of a spiritual search for a way out of the existing dilemma consists in comprehending the Orthodox faith. However, many people do not immediately come to "faith". A person’s approach to the realization of this contradiction is the highest spirituality. It is precisely in "faith" that a person is able to get rid of thoughts about the corruption of the soul, and accordingly, stop committing evil, and is able not to resist evil with violence. According to L. Tolstoy, to whom he comes, love is enclosed in the heart of man. This provision was understood not only by theologians, but also by philosophers, it is bright, life-affirming, as the thinker states, the position of love in the human heart is revealed in the commandments of Christ. In "Confession", L. N. Tolstoy writes that he came to the problem of non-resistance to evil after fifty years. I would like to note that, implicitly, he solves it both in the novel “War and Peace” and in the novel "Anna Karenina". The indicated problem is always relevant for him. Recall the images of captain Tushin and Anatol Kuragin. The author does not oppose, but completely breeds them. Contradictory, however, living in "love" is represented and the image of Bezukhov. The same can be said about Vronsky, and about Anna Karenina, and about her husband. But the thinker turned directly to the problem of non-resistance to evil after fifty years. This is clearly evidenced by his religious, journalistic and artistic works. Can a person, living in a state of non-violence, in a state of love for his neighbors, be engaged in solving private life problems, or does faith need this for sure. The thinker answers this question in Confession. Note that L. N. Tolstoy solves the problem of non-resistance to evil in its entirety, as he claims, under the influence of knowledge and life experiences, under the influence of everything that has been given to him since childhood.