The Works of I.A. Bunin: Philosophical Interpretations

Abstract

The article examines the interpretations of I.A. Bunin’s literary works in Russian philosophy. The author discusses the contradictions between the interpretations of the philosophers I.A. Ilyin, F.A. Stepun, and V.N. Ilyin. Philosophical interpretations make possible the conceptual comprehension of I.A. Bunin’s works. Difference in opinions and assessments derives from the difference of their philosophical views because philosophers project their own philosophical ideas on I.A. Bunin’s works. In the book On Darkness and Enlightenment , I.A. Ilyin reduced Bunin’s narrative to the image of external and sensual experience. I.A. Ilyin demonstrated that Bunin ignored spiritual life. On the contrary, F.A. Stepun found spirituality and metaphysics in Bunin’s works (article “Ivan Bunin”). V.N. Ilyin did not propose any complete concept in relation to I.A. Bunin’s works. He drew attention to some religious-philosophical motives in I.A. Bunin’s works and their connection to world wisdom. On the example of the novel The Life of Arseniev the author of article shows that Bunin has “philosophy of creativity” and creative method, which can be defined as the “phenomenology of spiritual life.” Bunin most often does not describe separately the mental states of literary characters and the surrounding nature, but unites them into a single world in which one penetrates into the other. For Bunin’s description of life phenomena, it is characteristic to “bracket out” reflection, moral and religious assessments (what in philosophy is called “phenomenological reduction”). However, Bunin looked for the ideal of supreme wisdom behind the world of human feelings. He described this ideal in the work The Liberation of Tolstoy . The article proves that Bunin not only described external and sensual experience, but he looked for supreme spiritual unity and saw the way to spiritual liberation in the laws of beauty and harmony.