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The article analyzes the relation to Cartesian philosophy in Orthodox academic thought. It shows that interest in Descartes’ rationalism manifested itself among Russian Orthodox philosophers at the beginning of the 18th century. Significant attention was paid to Descartes legacy in Russian academic theism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The main importance was placed on Descartes’ religious ontology and cosmology. Among other representatives of Cartesianism, Orthodox authors drew attention to N. Malbranche, in particular, to his theory of seeing everything in God. The article notes the high assessment of Malbranche’s heritage by individual spiritual and academic researchers, who considered his philosophical views to be quite original. Notably, spiritual and academic scholars saw much in common between the teachings of Malbranch and I. Kant's “critical philosophy” (especially in understanding the nature of experimental knowledge and the reception of space and time).

Key words: spiritual-academic philosophy, Cartesianism, rationalism, Descartes, Malbranche, religious ontology, immortality of the soul, theocentrism

DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2024-4-136-142

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About the author

Sergey V. Pishun – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of the School of Arts and Humanities of the Far Eastern Federal University; build. 10, FEFU, the village of Ajax, Vladivostok, 690922, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.