Mother Russia: A Philosophical History of Russia is an introduction to the major Russian thinkers of the last two centuries and addresses central themes of Russian thought, seeking to understand how Russia can be a “motherland” to its own people, but a strange land to outsiders.
Mother Russia is a historical analysis of Russian philosophy, its relationships and clashes with Western philosophy over the last two centuries. During this period, two fundamental questions were asked by Russian philosophers: "What makes a good man?" and "What is the right way to live?" The search for the 19th-century ideal of a happy man in a just society became, in Russia, an effort to completely transform society through philosophy and literature.
Amid so many complex topics about Russia, Lesley Chamberlain focused on the experience of philosophy, which lies at the heart of Russia's encounter with the West. In this bold exploration of a complex and little-explored topic, the author synthesizes two hundred years of knowledge developed by some forty Russian thinkers, who radically opposed a Western perspective—Hegelian knowledge, Cartesian individualism, and liberal economic policy—incapable, in their view, of understanding Russian culture and society.
With challenging and compelling writing, Mother Russia introduces the major Russian thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries, offering a glimpse into their philosophical thought on topics such as happiness, belief, hope, society, and morality, building a radical new interpretation of the country's intellectual history.
“ Mother Russia is a valuable, fascinating and intellectually rigorous attempt to articulate an extremely complex subject.” - TJ Binyon, Sunday Telegraph
“Ambitious, challenging, and persuasive... Chamberlain convincingly excavates entire generations of thinkers... Meticulously researched and clearly argued.” - Scotland on Sunday
