Gregoriy Skovoroda: from the Discourse of Nature to the Discourse of Ethics

Abstract

Grigoriy Skovoroda (1724–1794) belongs to both Russian and Ukrainian philosophical traditions. His philosophical doctrine was reactualized only at the turn of 19–20 centuries due to the fact that philosophical searching of the “Silver Age” thinkers resembled the religious teachings of G. Skovoroda. We can consider Skovoroda’s work to be a milestone in the history of philosophy as it marks the transition from the Middle Ages to the culture of the New Times. The article discusses the ethical teaching of the thinker. Moralism was the main goal of most of Skovoroda’s works. Skovoroda’s ethical teaching is closely related to his understanding of nature. His main categories are will, desire, cognation, true person. The main goal of Skovoroda’s moralizing is to find the way to a happy life. Skovoroda’s ethics comprises the main themes of his work: the doctrine on the three worlds (microcosm, macrocosm, and symbolic world – the Bible), the exegetical method of knowledge, symbolism, teaching about nature, the category of cognation, the principle of self-knowledge, the doctrine of heart, anthropology. However, in its ethical teachings Skovoroda remains a representative of religious consciousness. According to the canons of symbolism Skovoroda criticizes the material, real side of the world to prefer its semantic side.