Relationship between the principles of personal freedom, nationality and sobornost in Slavophil social philosophy

The article is devoted to clarifyingthe specifics of the concept of individual freedom in the philosophy of the classical ("early") Slavophilism. In Slavophil philosophy thepublic, no doubt, prevails over the personal and, moreover, appears as a condition for the existence of the latter. The author points outthat this interpretation is fundamentally contrary to the classical liberal understanding of freedom of the individual in a civil society, butit argues against the view that there is no such value as freedom in Slavophil teaching. The Slavophil look at the freedom of the individual and its social function is based on the intrinsic qualities, which, according to the Slavophils Western and Russian types of personshave. According to the teaching of Slavophiles, the Western society and the state are built on personality, which set itself an absolutemeasure of everything, so they are artificial associations. For a real social cohesion in its progress towards moral perfection, the societyneeds the absolute norm, the law obligatory for everyone. If the society recognizes the need in higher law, according to which it mustcoordinate all its life, then, the Slavophiles emphasized, we must admit that before this law, the person should lose its absolute value.This consciousness is incompatible with the typical liberal sense of sovereignty of the individual and his/her values as a measure foreverything. This provision of Slavophilism differs from the conservative philosophical and political tradition in the aspect that Slavophilesextend the absolute moral law to all members of any nation, without distinction of classes, education and personal qualities andabilities. The position of the existence of higher spiritual law, ruling in the life of the person, and in the life of a people, gives origin tothe Slavophil theory of nationality in science, art, and politics - in all the areas of human activity. Unlike the Westerners, who considereda people as a collection of autonomous individuals, the Slavophils perceived a people as an inseparable organic whole. In theirunderstanding, each individual can find his/her own inner integrity, only by being a living, integral part of a people. The Slavophilescalled the organic unity of the individual and the public "sobornost" (conciliarism). The idea of sobornost, put forward in opposition tothe liberal idea of individualism is the main originality of the Slavophil philosophy. According to their theory, the society is a kind ofcongregational identity, a single organism. The person, in accordance with these views, renouncing some of his/her rights, just exaltsoneself. The author concludes that in their socio-philosophical concept the Slavophiles did not consider personal liberty in isolation fromthe principles of nationality and sobornost. Thus, preserving the idea of freedom, they sought to completely "overcome" individualism.

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