Lev Isaakovich Shestov (Russian: Лев Исаакович Шестов), born Yehuda Leyb Schwarzmann (Russian: Иегуда Лейб Шварцман)) was a Russian - Jewish existentialist philosopher. Born in Kiev (Russian Empire) on January 31 (February 13) 1866, he emigrated to France in 1921, fleeing from the aftermath of the October Revolution. He lived in Paris until his death on November 19, 1938. In the 18th century the philosophies of The Enlightenment would begin to have dramatic effect, and the landmark works of philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau would have an electrifying effect on a new generation of thinkers. ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Lev Shestov ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... Anthem: God Save the Tsar! Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq mi Population  - 1897... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... The philosophical movements of irrationalism and aestheticism were a cultural reaction against positivism that took place during the early twentieth century. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Nihilism (From the Latin nihil, nothing) is a philosophical position which argues that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ), a Prussian-born philosopher, began his academic career as a philologist and produced critiques of religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science. ... Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (May 5, 1813 - November 11, 1855), a 19th century Danish philosopher, has achieved general recognition as the first existentialist philosopher, though some new research shows this may be a more difficult connection than previously thought. ... D.H. Lawrence at age 21 (1906) David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an important and controversial English writer of the 20th century, with his output spanning novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, paintings, translations, literary criticism and personal letters. ... Nikolai Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (Николай Александрович Бердяев) (March 18 [O.S. March 6] 1874 – March 24, 1948) was a Russian-Ukrainian religious and political philosopher. ... Mikhail Nesterovs Philosophers, Pavel Florensky (left) and Sergei Bulgakov 1917 Fr. ... Albert Camus (pronounced ) (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was an Algerian-French author and philosopher. ... John Middleton Murry (August 6, 1889 - 1957) was an English author and writer. ... Jules de Gaultier (1858 — 1942), born Jules Achille de Gaultier de Laguionie, was a French philosopher. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individualism, individual freedom, and subjectivity. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... Anthem: God Save the Tsar! Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq mi Population  - 1897... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Red October redirects here. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Life

Shestov was born Lev Issakovich Schwarzmann in Kiev into a Jewish family. He obtained an education at various places, due to fractious clashes with authority. He went on to study law and mathematics at the Moscow State University but after a clash with the Inspector of Students he was told to return to Kiev, where he completed his studies. Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Equality and the balancing of interests under law is symbolised by a blindfold and weighing scales For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russian: Московский государственный университет имени Ðœ.Ð’.Ломоносова, often abbreviated МГУ, MSU, MGU) is the largest and the oldest university in Russia, founded in 1755. ...

Shestov's dissertation prevented him from becoming a doctor of law, as it was dismissed on account of its revolutionary tendencies. In 1898 he entered a circle of prominent Russian intellectuals and artists which included Nikolai Berdyaev, Sergei Diaghilev, Dmitri Merezhkovsky and Vasily Rozanov. Shestov contributed articles to a journal the circle had established. During this time he completed his first major philosophical work, Good in the teaching of Tolstoy and Nietzsche: Philosophy and Preaching; both authors mentioned in the title had a profound impact on Shestov's thinking. Nikolai Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (Николай Александрович Бердяев) (March 18 [O.S. March 6] 1874 – March 24, 1948) was a Russian-Ukrainian religious and political philosopher. ... Portrait of Sergei Diaghilev by Valentin Serov (1904) Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Russian: / Sergei Pavlovich Dyagilev), also referred to as Serge, (March 31, 1872 – August 19, 1929) was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes from which many famous dancers and choreographers would later arise. ... Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky (August 14, 1865, St Petersburg - December 9, 1941, Paris) was one of the earliest and most eminent ideologues of Russian Symbolism. ... Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (Василий Васильевич Розанов) (1856 - 1919) was one of the most controversial Russian writers and philosophers of the pre-revolutionary epoch. ...

Portrait of Lev Shestov by Leonid Pasternak, 1910

He developed his thinking in a second book on Dostoevsky and Nietzsche, which increased Shestov's reputation as an original and incisive thinker. In All Things Are Possible (published in 1905) Shestov adopted the aphoristic style of Friedrich Nietzsche. Shestov dealt with such issues as religion, rationalism, and science in this brief work, issues he would examine in later writings. Image File history File links Pasternak_shestov. ... Image File history File links Pasternak_shestov. ... Self portrait with the wife Leonid Osipovich Pasternak (Russian: , April 4, 1862 N.S. - May 31, 1945) was a Russian Impressionist painter. ... Fyodor Dostoevsky. ... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ), a Prussian-born philosopher, began his academic career as a philologist and produced critiques of religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey, 286). ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ...

However, Shestov's works were not met with approval, even by some of his closest Russian friends. Many saw in Shestov's work, a renunciation of reason and metaphysics, and even an espousal of nihilism. Nevertheless, he would find admirers in such writers as D. H. Lawrence. It has been suggested that reasoning be merged into this article or section. ... Plato and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome). ... Nihilism (From the Latin nihil, nothing) is a philosophical position which argues that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. ... D.H. Lawrence at age 21 (1906) David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an important and controversial English writer of the 20th century, with his output spanning novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, paintings, translations, literary criticism and personal letters. ...

In 1908 Shestov moved to Freiburg, Germany, and he stayed there until 1910, when he moved to a small Swiss village named Coppet. During this time the author worked prolifically. One of the fruits of these labours was the publication of Great Vigils and Penultimate Words. He returned to Moscow in 1915, and in this year his son Sergei died in combat against the Germans. During the Moscow period, his work became more influenced by matters of religion and theology. The seizure of government by the Bolsheviks in 1919 made life difficult for Shestov, and the Marxists pressured him to write a defence of Marxist doctrine as an introduction to his new work, Potestas Clavium; otherwise it would not be published. Shestov refused this, yet with the permission of the authorities he lectured at the University of Kiev on Greek philosophy. Freiburg city from Schlossberg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 214,000 inhabitants. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   8537. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... Classical (or early) Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. ...

Shestov's dislike of the Soviet regime led him to undertake a long journey out of Russia, and he eventually ended up in France. The author was a popular figure in France, where his originality was quickly recognized. That this Russian was newly appreciated is attested by his having been asked to contribute to a prestigious French philosophy journal. In the interwar years, Shestov continued to develop into a thinker of great prominence. During this time he had become totally immersed in the study of such great theologians such as Blaise Pascal and Plotinus, whilst at the same time lecturing at the Sorbonne in 1925. In 1926 he was introduced to Edmund Husserl, with whom he maintained a cordial relationship despite radical differences in their philosophical outlook. In 1929, during a return to Freiburg he met with Martin Heidegger, and was urged to study Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Blaise Pascal (pronounced ), (June 19, 1623–August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. ... Plotinus Plotinus (Greek: ) (ca. ... The Sorbonne, Paris, in a 17th century engraving The historic University of Paris (French: ) first appeared in the second half of the 12th century, but was in 1970 reorganised as 13 autonomous universities (University of Paris I–XIII). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (April 8, 1859, ProstÄ›jov – April 26, 1938, Freiburg) was a German philosopher, known as the father of phenomenology. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Freiburg city from Schlossberg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 214,000 inhabitants. ... Martin Heidegger (September 26, 1889 – May 26, 1976) (pronounced ) was an influential German philosopher, best known as the author of Being and Time (1927). ... Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (IPA:  ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian, generally recognized as the first existentialist philosopher. ...

The discovery of Kierkegaard prompted Shestov to realise that his philosophy shared great similarities, such as his rejection of idealism, and his belief that man can gain ultimate knowledge through ungrounded subjective thought rather than objective reason and verifiability. However, Shestov maintained that Kierkegaard did not pursue this line of thought far enough, and proceeded to continue where he thought the Dane left off. The results of this tendency are seen in his work Kierkegaard and Existential Philosophy: Vox Clamantis in Deserto, published in 1936, a fundamental work of religious existentialism. Idealism is an approach to philosophical enquiry that asserts that everything we experience is of a mental nature. ... This article is in need of attention. ... In science, the ideal of objectivity is an essential aspect of the scientific method, and is generally considered by the scientific community to come about as a result of strict observance of the scientific method, including the scientists willingness to submit their methods and results to an open debate by... One of Wikipedias rules to consider. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Despite his weakening condition Shestov continued to write at a quick pace, and finally completed his magnum opus, Athens and Jerusalem. This work examines the necessity that reason be rejected in the discipline of philosophy. Furthermore, it adumbrates the means by which the scientific method has made philosophy and science irreconcilable, since science concerns itself with empirical observation, whereas (so Shestov argues) philosophy must be concerned with freedom, God and immortality, issues that cannot be solved by science. Magnum opus (sometimes Opus magnum, plural magna opera), from the Latin meaning great work,[1] refers to the best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer, and most commonly one who has contributed a very large amount of material. ... It has been suggested that reasoning be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... Empirical is an adjective often used in conjunction with science, both the natural and social sciences, which means an observation or experiment based upon experience that is capable of being verified or disproved. ... Mohandas K. Gandhi - Freedom can be achieved through inner sovereignty. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For the Celine Dion song, see Immortality (Celine Dion song). ...

In 1938, Shestov contracted a serious illness whilst at his vacation home. During this final period, he continued his studies, concentrating in particular on Indian Philosophy as well as the works of his contemporary Edmund Husserl, who had died recently. Shestov himself died at a clinic in Paris. Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The term Indian philosophy may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought, including: Hindu philosophy Buddhist philosophy Jain philosophy Sikh philosophy Carvaka atheist philosophy Lokayata materialist philosophy Tantric religious philosophy Bhakti religious philosophy Sufi religious philosophy Ahmadi religious philosophy Political and military philosophy such as that of Chanakya... Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (April 8, 1859, Prostějov – April 26, 1938, Freiburg) was a German philosopher, known as the father of phenomenology. ...

Philosophy

The Philosophy of Despair

Lev Shestov

Shestov's philosophy is, at first sight, not a philosophy at all: it offers no systematic unity, no coherent set of propositions, no theoretical explanation of philosophical problems. Most of Shestov's work is fragmentary. With regard to the form (he often used aphorisms) the style may be deemed more web-like than linear, and more explosive than argumentative. The author seems to contradict himself on every page, and even seeks out paradoxes. This is because he believes that life itself is, in the last analysis, deeply paradoxical, and not comprehensible through logical or rational inquiry. Shestov maintains that no theory can solve the mysteries of life. Fundamentally, his philosophy is not 'problem-solving', but problem-generating, with a pronounced emphasis on life's enigmatic qualities. Image File history File links Shestov_Lev. ... Image File history File links Shestov_Lev. ...

His point of departure is not a theory, or an idea, but an experience. Indeed, it is the very experience described so eloquently by James Thomson in The City of Dreadful Night: James Thomson may be James Thomson poet of the eighteenth century, author of The Seasons James Thomson poet of the nineteenth century, author of The City of Dreadful Night James Thomson, brother of William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin James Thomson, noted cell biologist at UW-Madison This is a disambiguation...

The sense that every struggle brings defeat

Because Fate holds no prize to crown success;

That all the oracles are dumb or cheat

Because they have no secret to express;

That none can pierce the vast black veil uncertain

Because there is no light beyond the curtain;

That all is vanity and nothingness.

It is the experience of despair, which Shestov describes as the loss of certainties, the loss of freedom, the loss of the meaning of life. The root of this despair is what he frequently calls 'Necessity', but also 'Reason', 'Idealism' or 'Fate': a certain way of thinking (but at the same time also a very real aspect of the world) that subordinates life to ideas, abstractions, generalisations and thereby kills it, through an ignoring of the uniqueness and livingness of reality.

'Reason' is the obedience to and the acceptance of Certainties that tell us that certain things are eternal and unchangeable and other things are impossible and can never be attained. This accounts for Shetov's philosophy being a form of irrationalism, though it is important to note that the thinker does not oppose reason, or science in general, but only rationalism and scientism: the tendency to consider reason as a sort of omniscient, omnipotent God that is good for its own sake. It may also be considered a form of personalism: people cannot be reduced to ideas, social structures, or mystical oneness. Shestov rejects any mention of "omnitudes", "collective", "all-unity." As he explains in his masterpiece Athens and Jerusalem:

"But why attribute to God, the God whom neither time nor space limits, the same respect and love for order? Why forever speak of "total unity"? If God loves men, what need has He to subordinate men to His divine will and to deprive them of their own will, the most precious of the things He has bestowed upon them? There is no need at all. Consequently the idea of total unity is an absolutely false idea....It is not forbidden for reason to speak of unity and even of unities, but it must renounce total unity - and other things besides. And what a sigh of relief men will breathe when they suddenly discover that the living God, the true God, in no way resembles Him whom reason has shown them until now!"

Through this attack on the "Self evident", Shestov implies that we are all seemingly alone with our suffering, and can be helped neither by others, nor by philosophy. This explains his lack of a systematic philosophical framework.

Penultimate Words: Surrender versus Struggle

But despair is not the last word, it is only the 'penultimate word'. The last word can't be said in human language, can't be captured in theory. His philosophy begins with despair, his whole thinking is desperate, but Shestov tries to point to something beyond despair - and beyond philosophy.

This is what he calls 'faith': not a belief, not a certainty, but another way of thinking that arises in the midst of the deepest doubt and insecurity. It is the experience that everything is possible (Dostoevsky), that the opposite of Necessity is not chance or accident, but possibility, that there does exist a god given freedom without boundaries, without walls or borders. Shestov maintains that we should continue to struggle, to fight against Fate and Necessity, even when a successful outcome is not guaranteed. Exactly at the moment that all the oracles remain silent, we should give ourselves over to god, who alone can comfort the sick and suffering soul. In some of his most famous words he explains: Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

"Faith, only the faith that looks to the Creator and that He inspires, radiates from itself the supreme and decisive truths condemning what is and what is not. Reality is transfigured. The heavens glorify the Lord. The prophets and apostles cry in ecstasy, "O death, where is thy sting? Hell, where is thy victory?" And all announce: "Eye hath not seen, non ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Furthermore, although acknowledged as a Jewish philosopher, Shestov saw in the resurrection of Christ this victory over necessity. He courageously proclaimed the incarnation and resurrection to be a transfiguring spectacle in which god was showing humanity that the purpose of life is indeed not "mystical" surrender to the "absolute", but ascetical struggle:

"Cur Deus homo? Why, to what purpose, did He become man, expose himself to injurious mistreatment, ignominious and painful death on the cross? Was it not in order to show man, through His example, that no decision is too hard, that it is worth while bearing anything in order not to remain in the womb of the One? That any torture whatever to the living being is better than the 'bliss' of the rest-satiate 'ideal' being?"

Likewise, the final words of his last and greatest work, Athens and Jerusalem, end: "Philosophy is not Besinnen [surrender] but struggle. And this struggle has no end and will have no end. The kingdom of God, as it is written, is attained through violence."

Influence

Shestov was highly admired and honored by Nikolai Berdyaev and Sergei Bulgakov in Russia, Jules de Gaultier, Lucien Lйvy-Bruhl and Albert Camus in France, and D. H. Lawrence and John Middleton Murry in England. Nikolai Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (Николай Александрович Бердяев) (March 18 [O.S. March 6] 1874 – March 24, 1948) was a Russian-Ukrainian religious and political philosopher. ... Mikhail Nesterovs Philosophers, Pavel Florensky (left) and Sergei Bulgakov 1917 Fr. ...

Shestov isn't very well known, in fact he is so much as nearly forgotten, even in the academic world. This is partly due to the fact that his works aren't readily available anymore (which has changed with The Lev Shestov homepage), partly also to the specific themes he discusses (unfashionable and "foreign") and the sombre and yet ecstatic atmosphere that permeates his writings, but mostly perhaps to his quasi-nihilistic position and his religious outlook - an unsettling and incongruous combination at first sight.

He did however influence writers like Albert Camus (who wrote about him in Le Mythe de Sisyphe), Benjamin Fondane (his 'pupil'), and notably Emil Cioran, who writes about Shestov: "He was the philosopher of my generation, which didn't succeed in realizing itself spiritually, but remained nostalgic about such a realization. Shestov [...] has played an important role in my life. [...] He thought rightly that the true problems escape the philosophers. What else do they do but obscuring the real torments of life?" (Emil Cioran: Oeuvres, Gallimard, Paris 1995, p. 1740, my translation.) Shestov also appears in the work of Gilles Deleuze (Difference & Repition, p. 130). Albert Camus (pronounced ) (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was an Algerian-French author and philosopher. ... Benjamin Fondane (1898-1944) was a poet and literary critic. ... Emil Cioran Emil Cioran, known in French as Émile Michel Cioran (April 8, 1911, Răşinari, Sibiu—June 20, 1995, Paris), was a Romanian-French philosopher, writer, and essayist. ... Gilles Deleuze (IPA: ), (January 18, 1925 – November 4, 1995) was a French philosopher of the late 20th century. ...

More recently, alongside Dostoyevskys philosophy, many have found solace in Shestovs battle against the rational self-consistent and self-evident; for example Bernard Martin of Columbia University, who translated his works now found online [link below]; and the scholar Liza Knapp, who wrote "The Annihilation of Inertia: Dostoevsky and Metaphysics." This book was an evaluation of Dostoyevskys struggle against the self-evident "wall", and refers to Shestov on several occasions.

Main Works

These are Shestovs most important works, in their English translations, and with their date of writing:

• The Good in the Teaching of Tolstoy and Nietzsche, 1899
• The Philosophy of Tragedy, Dostoevsky and Nietzsche, 1903
• All Things are Possible (Apotheosis of Groundlessness), 1905
• Potestas Clavium, 1919
• In Job's Balances, 1923-29
• Kierkegaard and the Existential Philosophy, 1933-34
• Athens and Jerusalem, 1930-37

References

• Martin, Bernard (1966) Lev Shestov - Introduction. Retrieved 02 January, 2006.

External links

• The Lev Shestov homepage, all his books in Russian and English
• The Lev Shestov Society homepage