Vladimir Soloviev and the Spiritualization of Matter [Hardcover]

While he is widely acknowledged as the most important Russian thinker of the nineteenth century, Vladimir Solovievs place in the landscape of world philosophy nevertheless remains uncertain. Approaching him through a single synoptic lens, this book foregrounds his unique envisioning of the interaction between humanity and the material world. By investigating the development of a single theme in his workhis idea of the spiritualization of matter, the task of humanitySmith constructs a rounded picture of Solovievs overall importance to an understanding. If nineteenth-century thought, as well as to modern theology and philosophy. The picture that emerges is of a writer whose contribution to a Christian philosophy of matter resonates with many of the religious debates of modernity.This brilliant study of Russias greatest religious philosopher delivers much more than its title suggests...It encompasses the whole of Solovevs philosophy; the spiritualization of matter is a part. Smiths book, despite its modest claim to being about one part, is really about the whole. It conveys that whole effectively and powerfully. This book is a welcome contribution to a growing body of literature on Russian sophiology. Weaving his narrative around Solovievs spiritual and intellectual biography, Oliver Smith offers a nuanced and erudite account of Solovievs metaphysics of all-unity. Smith successfully shows that at the core of Solovievs metaphysical project was a consistent integration of spiritual and material aspects of reality, epitomized in the incarnation. Oliver Smiths Vladimir Soloviev and the Spiritualization of Matter is one of the best recent works in English about Soloviev, indeed about Russian philosophy in general. It tackles complex philosophical concepts with unusual clarity, lucidity and cohesion, exploring the evolution of Solovievs philosophical system, and offering detailed and nuanced analyses of the relationships of Soloviev's ideas with those of hislÓ.