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In the preceding chapters we saw the frequency to which Russian philosophers turn to literature for philosophical inspiration. We also saw some problematic associations that arise from the union of these two disciplines. One such association falls under the mythologized rubric of the "Russian idea," whereby true Russian philosophy is said to be essentially literary and religious, as opposed to having an analytic or secular character. In this chapter, I look at the intersection of philosophy and literature ">outside the essentialism of the "Russian idea," specifically in the work of two of Russia's best-known contemporary philosophers — Sergey Horujy and Valery Podoroga. While Horujy and Podoroga differ starkly in their philosophical styles and conclusions, both consider their philosophical approaches as representing alternatives to the hyperreligiosity of the 1990s, whereby the legacy of prerevolutionary Russian religious philosophy was reappropriated in the newly postcommunist Russian Federation. Podoroga has called the religious turn of the 1990s the 'sacralization" of Russian philosophy, while Horujy points to the "methodological sloppiness' of Russian religious thought in this period.¹

DOI: 10.1057/9781137409904_6

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