“Philosophical Traditionalism” and Overcoming the Crisis of Modern Civilization

Abstract

The article shows that European history of the last two centuries should be understood as a struggle between two paradigms of the civilization development: paradigm of Enlightenment and paradigm of Romanticism. The first paradigm is based on the XVIIIth century philosophy (empiricism and French materialism); it denies the man’s indefinite spiritual essence and considers him as a mechanical automate subjected to the natural laws. This paradigm was fully realized in history of the USA, and after WWII it has been forming the development of the Western Europe. Along this way, the civilization has achieved a considerable material progress, but at the same time it is accompanied with the simplification of personality; the man’s orientation to the mere external and material aims leads to the extreme restraints of his inner freedom, something which leads to the decline and crisis of culture. The paradigm of Romanticism, which was the main European achievement of the XIXth century, now only exists in Russia. XIXth century European philosophy serves as its basis; the aims of social development are understood here as revelation of the man’s indefinite spiritual essence, developing of its inner, creative freedom and creating of culture. In this sense, «philosophical traditionalism» can be conceived as a tendency to restore the traditions of the great European philosophy of the XIXth century and at the same time as a criticism of philosophical empiricism which denies the abovementioned traditions and, being unable to understand human essence correctly, has led the Western civilization to crisis.