The Singing Heart

This present edition includes three of the most significant works by the well-known philosopher and political thinker of the Russian diaspora, I. A. Ilyin (1883–1954), which together provide a complete view of his philosophical, ethical, and political ideas.

The significance of philosophy lies in the fact that it enables the fullest and most direct immersion into genuine spiritual reality. Everything else in life and in spiritual culture contains the experience of immersion into higher reality only in a partial, obscured, and distorted form—and therefore inevitably requires “illumination,” deepening into philosophical experience. In this connection, along with the concept of the act of evidence, Ilyin will use as equivalent the notions “philosophical act” and “philosophical experience.” Only in the works of his later creative period will these concepts be replaced by the notions “religious act” and “religious experience.” Especially detailed, the act of evidence is analyzed in three works (which are texts of speeches) brought by Ilyin into the book “The Religious Meaning of Philosophy.”

Age restriction: 12+