Berdyaev outlines his philosophical journey & describes the influences which brought him to his intellectual position. In his view, the only way of escape from the many forms of slavery--spiritual, economic, political--which shackle & improverish the spirit lies in the fuller realization of personality, as he defines it. Berdyaev turned to religious views & played a large part in the renaissance of religious & philosophical thought in Russian intellectual life early in the 20th century. In 1922 he & a number of other intellectuals were expelled from the USSR. His writings most often deal with the problem of freedom & human relations to the world in light of this problem.
In Place of an Introduction
Part 1
Personality
Master, slave & free man
Part 2
Being & freedom. The slavery of man to being
God & freedom. The slavery of man to God
Nature & freedom. The cosmic lure & the slavery of man to nature
Society & freedom. The social lure & the slavery of man to society
Civilization & freedom. The slavery of man to civilization & the lure of cultural values
The slavery of man to himself & the lure of individualism
Part 3
The lure of slavery & sovereignty. The 3fold image of the state
The lure of war. The slavery of man to war
The lure & slavery of nationalism. Nation & people
The lure & slavery of aristocracy. The 2fold image of aristocracy
The lure of the bourgeois spirit. Slavery to property & money
The lure & slavery of revolution. The 2fold image of revolution
The lure & slavery of collectivism. Enticement of utopia. The 3fold image of socialism
The erotic lure & slavery. Sex, personality & freedom
The aesthetic lure & slavery. Beauty, art & nature
Part 4
The spiritual liberation of man. Victory over fear & death
The lure & slavery of history. The three kinds of time. The 2fold interpretation of the end of history. Active-creative eschatology