Enlightenment or Education? Ideological Trends in Russian theology in the beginning of the 19th century

Abstract

The article approaches the dispute between supporters of mysticism and supporters of scholasticism in Russian theology in the beginning of the 19th century. During this epoch the ancient opposition between mysticism and scholasticism got new aspects of interpretation. Moral education was approached by the supporters of scholasticism as a paradigm of the Enlightenment, while the supporters of mysticism argued in favour of a paradigm of romanticism. The central notion of doctrines of mysticism is the notion of “Education” (Formation, Bildung,) which was originally developed in the medieval mysticism and meant cultivation of the Image of the God in a soul of a person. During the Romantic Era the notion of “Education” (Formation) began to be used to designate the progress of natural inclinations and abilities of a person and was opposed to the concept of the “enlightenment” which designated training of the “natural man” who is not predisposed to anything in advance. The author of the article is convinced that opposition of the Enlightenment and Education is of current interest today.

Keywords:

mysticism, scholasticism, theology, Enlightenment, education, formation