On Job's Scale -- Schostakovich Collection (Volume 2)

Author: [Russian] Chestov, translated by Dong You and others
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: In Job's Scale (Wandering in the Soul) is one of Chestov's important representative works. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is his commentary on the two great masters, the Russian thinker and writer Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Chestov points out that Dostoevsky possesses dual vision, namely "natural vision" and the "supernatural vision" bestowed upon him by angels. Natural vision perceives what is necessarily existent, what is self-evident, while supernatural vision sees freedom, aiming to overcome self-evident truths. Therefore, when a person views life as life and death as death, it does not exclude the possibility that another life is death, and another death is life. Chestov believes that when Tolstoy faced the moment of the Last Judgment, he had to abandon everything from his great past because he had come to realize that death is actually not frightening, what is frightening is living as if dead. The second part is a collection of essays by Chestov on daring to think and act versus submitting passively. It discusses topics such as revelation, philosophical standards, the relationship between science and philosophy, the Last Judgment, the illusion of existence, the secret of existence, what is beauty, know thyself, the current task of philosophy, metaphysical truth, the path to truth, and the irony of death. Each section is thematically clear, linguistically concise, and profoundly meaningful. The third part is a collection of essays by Chestov on famous philosophers such as Spinoza, Pascal, and Plotinus. Chestov argues that Spinoza inherited Descartes' ideas of "doubting everything" and "I think, therefore I am," believing that only substance and mathematical methods are the sole means of exploration. In reality, this amounts to denying the Bible, thereby killing God. Pascal, on the other hand, differs from most philosophers in that he does not sing the praises of reason but explores and seeks truth in the Bible through groans. Plotinus, while not denying reason, has lost faith in it and has become an enemy of reason. The last essay is an article by Chestov in response to Professor Hering's critique, discussing the nature of truth. This essay is related to Husserl and should be read together with Chestov's other works on Husserl.