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The Justification of the Good: An Essay on Moral Philosophy
After passing through deism, pantheism, and sundry atheistic visions of life, Vladimir Solovyov emerged as a Christian thinker of irrepressible conviction and uncommon genius. The Justification of the Good , one of Solovyov's last and most mature works, presents a profound argument for human morality based on the world's longing for and participation in God's goodness.
In the first part of the book Solovyov explores humanity's inner virtues and their full reality in Christ, weaving his moral philosophy with threads drawn from Orthodox theology. In the second part Solovyov discusses the practical implications of Christian goodness for such areas as nationalism, war, economics, legal justice, and family.
This edition of The Justification of the Good reproduces the English edition of 1918 and is the only new publication of this work since that date. The book includes explanatory footnotes by esteemed scholar Boris Jakim and a bibliography, compiled by Jakim, of Solovyov's major philosophical and religious works.
In the first part of the book Solovyov explores humanity's inner virtues and their full reality in Christ, weaving his moral philosophy with threads drawn from Orthodox theology. In the second part Solovyov discusses the practical implications of Christian goodness for such areas as nationalism, war, economics, legal justice, and family.
This edition of The Justification of the Good reproduces the English edition of 1918 and is the only new publication of this work since that date. The book includes explanatory footnotes by esteemed scholar Boris Jakim and a bibliography, compiled by Jakim, of Solovyov's major philosophical and religious works.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1897
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About the author
Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov
136 books136 followersVladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov (Russian: Владимир Сергеевич Соловьёв) was a Russian philosopher, theologian, poet, pamphleteer and literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century and in the spiritual renaissance of the early 20th century.
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December 31, 2016
The magnum opus of Vladimir Solovyov, a true philosopher in every sense of the word (including in the literal sense as a lover of wisdom), The Justification of the Good is a powerful and profound work of moral philosophy. Solovyov takes a tack which may be considered anthropological, tracing human moral impulses back to feelings of shame aimed at one's own physiological sexual nature, pity aimed at others with whom one identifies on equal grounds, and reverence for higher powers - starting with one's parents and ascending toward God.
This work is as broad and wide-ranging as it is deep; it is not only a moral anthropology, but also a history of morality and an outline of the ethical duties of Church and state and economy. Solovyov is a passionate defender of the first two, believing that the demands of human moral nature necessitate both - given that he is writing for a Russian audience, which at the turn of the century was flirting heavily with anarchism and nihilism, his defence of the state as collectively organised human altruism is a particularly meaningful one. It is from this standpoint as well, that his own just-war thinking emerges most strongly.
In this work, some of the opinions expressed will feel strongly dated. Solovyov's optimism with regard to a Christianising Europe proved, after the events of two world wars, somewhat naive; and his treatment of the Chinese in particular seems quite ignorant (though this is certainly more a mark of his time than of any personal animus on his part). The influence of Kant and Schopenhauer is keenly felt in many places, in spite of the pointed critiques Solovyov makes of each of his German tutors. On the other hand, his explorations of the questions of political economy, of proper governance, of altruism, of the true ends of legality, of gender relations, inheritance, education... all are still, a full century and more after he put pen to paper, very much à propos, even if his vision of a 'free theocracy' might not be too well-received in a secular society like ours. In his socially-Trinitarian Christian humanism, Solovyov very much mirrors, albeit from a philosophical rather than a literary point of view, the thought of the English Inklings (Lewis, Sayers, Williams).
Brilliant book, and ought to be near the top of the list for anyone serious about engaging the field of ethics seriously, from an apostolic Christian (Orthodox, Catholic or Anglican) point of view.
This work is as broad and wide-ranging as it is deep; it is not only a moral anthropology, but also a history of morality and an outline of the ethical duties of Church and state and economy. Solovyov is a passionate defender of the first two, believing that the demands of human moral nature necessitate both - given that he is writing for a Russian audience, which at the turn of the century was flirting heavily with anarchism and nihilism, his defence of the state as collectively organised human altruism is a particularly meaningful one. It is from this standpoint as well, that his own just-war thinking emerges most strongly.
In this work, some of the opinions expressed will feel strongly dated. Solovyov's optimism with regard to a Christianising Europe proved, after the events of two world wars, somewhat naive; and his treatment of the Chinese in particular seems quite ignorant (though this is certainly more a mark of his time than of any personal animus on his part). The influence of Kant and Schopenhauer is keenly felt in many places, in spite of the pointed critiques Solovyov makes of each of his German tutors. On the other hand, his explorations of the questions of political economy, of proper governance, of altruism, of the true ends of legality, of gender relations, inheritance, education... all are still, a full century and more after he put pen to paper, very much à propos, even if his vision of a 'free theocracy' might not be too well-received in a secular society like ours. In his socially-Trinitarian Christian humanism, Solovyov very much mirrors, albeit from a philosophical rather than a literary point of view, the thought of the English Inklings (Lewis, Sayers, Williams).
Brilliant book, and ought to be near the top of the list for anyone serious about engaging the field of ethics seriously, from an apostolic Christian (Orthodox, Catholic or Anglican) point of view.
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