Losskii, Nikolai

Usloviia absoliutnogo dobra: osnovy etiki [The Conditions of Absolute Good: Foundations of Ethics]

Paris: YMCA-Press, 1949. Item #1500

381 p.; 19 × 14.5 cm. Text in Russian. First edition. Publisher’s printed wrappers. Some light foxing to the cover and to the fore-edge.

A major ethical work by Nikolai Onufrievich Losskii (1870–1965), a prominent Russian idealist philosopher and one of the key figures in the émigré intellectual tradition. Expelled from the Soviet Union in 1922 along with Berdiaev and others, Losskii continued his philosophical work in exile, where he developed the doctrine of “intuitive personalism” (also referred to as “mystical empiricism”). This volume synthesizes his lifelong moral philosophy and offers a rigorous examination of ethical categories, the origin of moral law, the concepts of good and evil, and the nature of moral progress. Of particular interest is Losskii’s exploration of the psychological and spiritual character of the Russian people, their historical mission, and their fate.

Price: $100.00