Emblematic Forms of Moral Concepts in the Epoch of Enlightenment in Russia

Abstract

The article is devoted to Russian moral philosophy in the Enlightenment. The author notes the complex structure of Russian society and, as a consequence, co-existence of several philosophical and ethical models. There were three intellectual networks in relation to three important elite institutions: academics, the Orthodox Church, and the nobility. Inside the academic milieu, ethics was studied in the metaphysical context as the problem of the immortality of the soul, the pre-established harmony, theodicy, etc. The problems of “practical philosophy”, for example, moral aspects of law, were also studied at academic institutions. The Orthodox Church and noble societies often used metaphorical forms of abstract ideas and their visual forms for illustrations. Moral theory was represented by oppositions of virtues and vices as well as accentuations of civic virtues. Emblems were used as visual codes to represent philosophical and moral concepts with their conventional content. The author analyzes ways of virtues and vices visualization using examples from emblem books, Orthodox editions, and civil ceremonies which demonstrated samples approved by the ruling elite. Elisabeth Petrovna’s and Catherine II’s coronations are carefully studied. Many sources are used for the first time in the context of history of philosophy and the moral thought. It is concluded that the visual communication was an important way to create “texts of culture” with emblems as their semantical units.