Leo Tolstoy's moralizing in context of ethical and aesthetic synthesis

Svetlana A. Simonova; Tatiana V. Shvetsova; Marina A. Shtanko; Denis G. Bronnikov; Alexei A. Mikhailov

doi:10.34069/AI/2021.43.07.25

Svetlana A. Simonova Moscow State University of Psychology & Education (MSUPE). Moscow, Russia. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4506-1248
Tatiana V. Shvetsova Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (NarFU). Arkchangelsk, Russia. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9637-6958
Marina A. Shtanko Taganrog Institute of Management and Economics, Taganrog, Russia. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2665-2552
Denis G. Bronnikov The Kosygin State University of Russia. Moscow, Russia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0382-4414
Alexei A. Mikhailov Ivanovo State University, Ivanovo, Russia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2222-5708

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.43.07.25

Keywords: moralism, art, didactics, ethical and aesthetic synthesis, Christian values.

Abstract

The article examines the moralizing of Leo Tolstoy on the example of his theoretical ideas. The authors, examining their genesis, come to the conclusion that the writer formed his ideas under the influence of French enlighteners and sentimentalists, on the one hand, and absorbed the ethical dominant of Russian culture, on the other hand. The article analyzes the idea of absolutizing good, which runs through Tolstoy's entire aesthetic theory as a leitmotif. As a result of the study of the aesthetic views of the writer, it is concluded that Tolstoy understood the role of art solely as a translation of feelings and a means of communication. The writer deprives art of its aura of mystery and does not recognize the latter as a source of aesthetic pleasure and spiritual enrichment. The article analyzes the worldview of the writer, reveals the influence on him of the experience acquired by Tolstoy in childhood and adolescence. Tolstoy's works of art and theoretical views are another example of the fact that the artist's worldview does not always coincide with his work.

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Author Biographies

Svetlana A. Simonova, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education (MSUPE). Moscow, Russia.

Doctor of Philosophical Science, Professor, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education (MSUPE). Moscow, Russia.

Tatiana V. Shvetsova, Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (NarFU). Arkchangelsk, Russia.

Candidate of Philology, docent, Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (NarFU). Arkchangelsk, Russia.

Marina A. Shtanko, Taganrog Institute of Management and Economics, Taganrog, Russia.

Taganrog Institute of Management and Economics, Taganrog, Russia.

Denis G. Bronnikov, The Kosygin State University of Russia. Moscow, Russia.

The Kosygin State University of Russia. Moscow, Russia.

Alexei A. Mikhailov, Ivanovo State University, Ivanovo, Russia.

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Director of Shuya Branch of Ivanovo State University, Ivanovo, Russia.

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