Synthesis and syncretism: the arrangement principles of the Russian culture of the "eve" era

The turn of the XIX-XX centuries in the history of Russian culture is a discontinuous transitional era which is first and foremost characterized according to G. Florovsky, a contemporary, by the "pass of consciousness". The culture of this period was not unified or holistic; it reached the peaks in the phenomenon of the spiritual (cultural) Renaissance. The extraordinary creativity in different areas of culture and the intense interpenetration of the areas became a peculiarity of the epoch. The center of the cultural creativity was philosophy distinguished by its close connection with religion and interaction with the world of art. The culture of the transitional era was pervaded by the search for a holistic worldview and a synthetic world outlook. The integrating principle for the culture of the transitional era was the doctrine of V.Soloviev which can be regarded as an expression of the transitional consciousness of the epoch. It was a kind of "program of thought" for the followers, both in the field of philosophical reflection and in the artistic sphere. At the heart of Solovyov's doctrine of unity is the idea of synthesis, which is understood as a methodological principle and as a principle of the worldview - the search for universal grounds for the creative transformation of the world overcoming destructive principles. Synthesis of the arts, the combination of science and religion, bridging the gap between heaven and earth, the transformation of the world - this whole "program" of the transitional era's creators could only arise in the specific context of the world-feeling, the context of the transitional, "eve" culture. However, synthesis claimed by Solovyov generated a number of contradictions. The pursuit of universal synthesis capable of solving all social, cultural, philosophical, religious and aesthetic problems reflected the dream of the era, but this aspiration was utopian. Solovyov's idea of synthesis professed by religious philosophy, by the supporters of the "new religious consciousness" and by the aesthetics of symbolism did not become a reality. Bringing the synthesis to life was problematic due to the fact that it was seen as an immense and all-inclusive one, connecting the unconnected things. The aspiration to synthesis and the real conformity of culture to the principle of syncretism constitute the fundamental contradiction of the "eve" epoch. The "plurality" did not become a unity, and this situation contained the danger of separation-disintegration. The great synthesis turned out to be a utopia. The cultural creation of the epoch remained within the boundaries of syncretism; the culture appeared as a "crossroads of contradictions" in the heterogeneity and discrepancy of the individual elements, which corresponded to the transitional, "discontinuous" period.

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