REFLECTIONS ON READING A BOOK TERESA OBOLEVICH “SEMYON FRANK IN EUROPEAN AND EMIGRANT CULTURE” (ZIELONA GORA: UNIWERSYTET ZIELONOGÓRSKI, 2023. 531 P.)

Abstract

The article presents reflections prompted by the acquaintance with the new book by the Polish researcher of works by S.L. Frank Prof. Teresa Obolevich, who set herself the task of justifying his definition as “the most European” of Russian thinkers. Attention is drawn to the extensive empirical material through which the author demonstrates the philosopher’s involvement in European cultural spheres, as well as his integral connections with the emigrant environment. The researcher’s innovative methods of work, with the help of which she performs the task, as well as the innovative sources of information on which she relies are subject to analysis. It is emphasized that Obolevich’s newest book, using the example of Frank’s lecture tours in Western Europe, helps to comprehend such an “unconventional” form of expression of philosophical thinking as a public lecture. The question is raised about how legitimate it is to use the philosopher’s epistolary heritage as a source of information. The inevitability of interdisciplinary interaction is pointed out for the purpose of its meaningful involvement in historical and philosophical research. Clarifying the phenomenon of emigration serves as a proof for the legitimacy of the author’s thesis that inclusion in the emigrant environment is a demonstration of integration of S.L. Frank into the Western European cultural context