Cry in the wilderness, praise without foundation

Author: (Russian) Chestov
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: This volume includes two parts: "Wild Plea (Kierkegaard and Existential Philosophy)" and "Hymn of the Ungrounded." In "Wild Plea," Chestov consistently uses Kierkegaard's plea of self-losing into despair as a guide for his own thinking, or as a backdrop. Chestov always compares Kierkegaard's philosophical reflections to "a wild plea," precisely because he recognizes a thinking realm that deviates from the orthodox path of philosophy. They stand bare in the wilderness, wandering and hesitating, becoming beggars of thought. Despair is their crutch. "Hymn of the Ungrounded" is Chestov's early work, written around 1903 and published in St. Petersburg in 1905. It once caused a sensation with its aphoristic form and sharp perspectives. This book is a break from the appearance of a book presented with logical coherence and a mature system, emphasizing the whimsicality of human thought. No logical consistency, no foundation, no concepts—what is presented to the reader are contradictions and the destruction of tradition.