Motherland: A Philosophical History of Russia

by Lesley Chamberlain

An introduction to key Russian thinkers from the past two centuries offers insight into regional philosophical belief systems about happiness, society, and morality, in an account that challenges popular conceptions while depicting an alternate perspective on period intellectual history.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Russia, Nonfiction, Russian History

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jay Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intellectually intimidating but superbly written. One or two value judgements slip in that give away Chamberlain's own beliefs and which I wish hadn't been included (mostly because I don't share them) but otherwise this is a weighty and fairly wide-ranging overview of Russian philosophy that I would happily recommend to anyone with an interest in the field.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit to skimming much of this book. First, it angered me from the beginning with Chamberlain’s condescension to Russia and Russian philosophy. Second, as part of the condescension, she constantly talks as if Russia was a monolith, even as she discusses differing thinkers. Third, the book was dry and extremely abstract. Here are some examples of the first and second problem: “a typical Russian mistake,” “its [Russia’s] deliberate choice of backwardness,” “Russia’s Pascalian endeavour,” “the tragedy…of Russian culture,” “Russian culture was riddled with intellectual weakness,” “a typically bizarre Russian project.” It is not a particular thinker’s or thinkers’ Pascalian endeavour but all of Russia’s.

“In conclusion it seems possible to say that the last two hundred years in Russia have been an intellectual disaster but not an imaginative or a moral failure. Russia is its own place, by turns primitive, non-rational, powerful, careless with human lives and deeply humane.” One can’t be “careless with human lives” and “deeply humane.” Maybe she thinks she’s proved you can, but not to me. Russia is a huge and diverse country and you can’t summarize “its” thought. Can you imagine saying “France’s Pascualian endeavour”? You can’t because there is a diversity of French thought, some of which can be grouped into schools but not summed up in two words. There are particular thinkers and “France” is not one of them—neither is “Russia.”

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A difficult read but wonderful overview of the history of Russian thought. Not a book for one who has not studied a lot of Russian history.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really became quite shocked, as I made my way through the beginning chapters of this book, that it had actually been published. Had I kept it, I would be able to entertain you with examples of what this author attempted to pass off as sentences. But for once in my life I had no illusions about perhaps needing to keep a book because I might want to take another look at it down the road. I resold this one quite quickly.

[Chris Coffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so cross with myself for buying this book . . a waste of money.

Anyone interested in the subject should get Andrezej Walicki's A HISTORY OF RUSSIAN THOUGHT: FROM THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO MARXISM, which is frequently footnoted in this book.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

There has to be a more engrossing history of Russian thought than this out there, but it was still an interesting read.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited by the subject matter, and have liked other books by Lesley Chamberlain, but this book left me cold and I don’s think I absorbed very much from this.

[Dylan Siebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about a hundred pages into this one, then decided I was looking for something different. The author gives an overview of the nineteenth-century intellectual conversation in Russia as to what constitutes 'the moral man', a conversation that gradually shaded into a conversation about what constitutes 'the moral society' and how that gave rise to political action in the name of socialism.

This was interesting to me because as far as I can tell, a similar shift in philosophical emphasis occurred in eighteenth-century Europe and in fifth-century ancient Greece. The result, according to Plato, is invariably a powerful temptation to totalitarianism. France in 1799 and Russia in 1917 offer compelling evidence for this theory.

I thought it was strange that a book about Russian philosophy would intentionally omit discussion of Russian religious thought. Reading philosophy without understanding the religious context with which philosophy is always in dialogue is kind of like reading a book but skipping all the even-numbered pages. An odd practice. If I return to this topic I will take this author's tip and look up Nikolai Lossky's History of Russian Philosophy instead.

[g · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Informs us of an Eastern philosophical perspective and an alternate view of the West.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are better books out there.