The value method in literary studies (on the interpretation of N.A. Nekrasov's work in the axiological aspect)

Abstract

Nekrasov's work presents a certain problem for studying from the point of view of the value system expressed in it. Despite the fact that quite a large number of works were devoted to this problem in Soviet times, it does not seem to be solved. The most productive approach to solving the question of the ethical foundations of Nekrasov's poetry seems to be the reconstruction of the understanding of the connection between aesthetics and ethics, characteristic of the socio-philosophical thought of his time. Throughout the 1830s and 1850s, the Russian liberal intelligentsia turned to German classical philosophy in search of answers to the question of the place of art in the world. From the philosophy of Kant, who sharply divided ethics and aesthetics and denied the possibility of art's direct impact on the world and society, she moved on to Schelling's "system of transcendental idealism". Not satisfied with the potential "immoralism" of this system, Russian liberal thought accepted Hegel's philosophy, on the one hand, recognizing the need for the philosopher to "accept" reality, on the other – reserving the artist the right to criticize this reality as not corresponding to his "concept". In the 1850s, the thinkers of the circle of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov made additions based on Feuerbach's philosophy, but in fact it remains unchanged. These concepts allow us to truly understand Nekrasov's axiology, to truly approach his specific "poetry of reality", combining the pursuit of aesthetic perfection, philosophical acceptance of the world in its entirety and sharp criticism of modern society.