Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov

Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov
(1853–1900)

Solovyov on Fyodorov's “Common Task”

“I accept your ‘Project’ unconditionally and without any argument… Since the advent of Christianity, your ‘project’ has been the first forward movement of the human spirit along the path of Christ. For my part, I can only acknowledge you as my teacher and spiritual father…”

From a letter to N. F. Fyodorov, early 1882

Key Ideas

All-Unity. The central idea of Solovyov's philosophy: the world and humanity are originally rooted in divine unity, but have lost it and fallen apart. The goal of the world process is the free reunification of all that exists with God, the overcoming of chaos and fragmentation.

Godmanhood. The doctrine of the reciprocal movement of God toward humanity (the Incarnation of God in Christ) and of humanity toward God. Humanity is called to take an active part in its own salvation and deification, continuing the work of Christ on earth.

Sophia (Divine Wisdom). One of Solovyov's most difficult concepts. Sophia is ideal humanity, dwelling in God from all eternity; the eternal feminine principle uniting God and the created world. Closely linked with Sophia is the World Soul — the foundation of natural life, which fell away from God and strives to restore the lost all-unity.

Connection to Russian Cosmism

Solovyov is one of the key figures of the religious-philosophical branch of Russian cosmism. His metaphysics resonates with the practical designs of the cosmists, Fyodorov above all.

All-Unity and the “Common Task”. Fyodorov's project did not grow out of Solovyov's all-unity: Fyodorov (1829–1903) was nearly a quarter-century older than Solovyov and worked out his teaching independently. Solovyov learned of it from Dostoevsky in 1878, met Fyodorov in person in the autumn of 1881, and in early 1882 read his manuscript and wrote him the letter quoted above. The two thinkers' ideas are close: the restoration of the world's lost unity, which Solovyov described as a metaphysician, Fyodorov conceived as a practical task — to unite humanity for the victory over death and the resurrection of the dead.

Godmanhood and Active Evolution. In cosmism, the doctrine of Godmanhood is read as a call for the active role of humanity in evolution. Humanity must not passively await salvation: it is called to become God's co-worker — to transform the world, to govern the elemental forces (in Fyodorov this is “the regulation of nature”), and ultimately its own biological destiny, up to the attainment of immortality.

Transformation of the Cosmos. Solovyov wrote of the necessity of spiritual and bodily transformation not only of man but of the entire material world. Among the cosmists, Fyodorov above all, the same idea is expressed in concrete projects: from weather control to the exploration of other planets and the regulation of cosmic processes.

Parallel with the Noosphere. According to Solovyov, it is in humanity that the World Soul first attains consciousness. This idea can be compared with Vernadsky's teaching on the noosphere — a new state of the biosphere in which human reason and labour become a geological force. This is a matter of similarity between ideas, not of demonstrated influence: Vernadsky built his teaching as a natural-scientific one.

An Important Caveat

When Solovyov is discussed in connection with Russian cosmism, what is usually meant is his work of the 1870s–1890s — from the “Lectures on Godmanhood” to “The Meaning of Love”. But shortly before his death, in 1899–1900, he wrote “Three Conversations on War, Progress, and the End of World History”, which included “A Short Tale of the Antichrist”.

The Antichrist here is not a monster, but a benefactor of humanity, a tender-hearted philanthropist and vegetarian. He establishes a universal monarchy, puts an end to wars, and institutes “the equality of universal satiety”. Yet this is goodness without Christ and in place of Christ: the Antichrist “believed in God, but in the depths of his soul, involuntarily and unconsciously, preferred himself to Him”. What exposes him is not villainy but a simple request to confess Christ as the Son of God: this he cannot do. For the late Solovyov, universal peace and plenty are not in themselves yet salvation — even the Antichrist can provide them. His asceticism, selflessness, and charity are genuine. According to Solovyov, these, it seemed, were precisely what justified his self-love. But he understood his own superiority not as a duty before God and the world, but as a right — “above all, before Christ”. He considers himself the “final saviour”, and the Second Coming the replacement of “the provisional Christ by the definitive one — that is, by himself”. At the council he gives each church what it holds dearest. To the Catholics, a pope on the Roman throne; to the Orthodox, tradition; to the Protestants, the institution of free inquiry into Scripture. In return he asks to be recognised as leader “out of a feeling of heartfelt love”, and the majority agrees. Elder John replies: “What is dearest to us in Christianity is Christ himself… But from you too, Your Majesty, we are ready to accept any good”.