Linguistic and Cognitive Tactics of Representing Religious Ideas in Leo Tolstoy’s Journalistic and Artistic Works

Abstract

The article deals with the linguistic and cognitive tactics of objectification of Leo Tolstoy's ideas on faith and religion. Keywords for categorizing these ideas are religion, faith, God, the church. Conceptualization tactics can be divided into scientific and common. On the one hand, the thinker provides a scientific basis for religion and, on the other, forms a personal understanding of God. In Tolstoy's worldview, these approaches are integrated. The linguistic and cognitive tactics of scientific conceptualization include etymologization, definition, metaphorization, and the tactics of naive conceptualization — a change in the interpretation of a traditional symbol, direct assessment, and open author’s commentary. In the course of knowledge of religion, the writer identifies a number of features of this category: human submission to God, ensuring equality between people, meaningfulness, comprehensibility, and relevance. Its main function is a regulatory one. Tolstoy distinguishes the categories of religion and faith. The first tends to the outer beginning, the second — to the inner one. Both categories are related to the category of good. Faith is opposed to the church as a religious social institution. The leading means of presentation objectification is an indirect nomination. One of the tactics for expressing your understanding of religion and faith is to debunk existing stereotypes. Leo Tolstoy positions his point of view as the closest to the teaching of Christ.