The problem of the interrelation of the individual, society, and culture in the works of P. A. Florensky

Abstract

The study aims to identify the role of P. A. Florensky’s systemic methodology in examining the interaction among the individual, society, and culture as mutually conditioning elements of a unified system. The author focuses on the significance of the anthropocosmic principle, which the philosopher applied to reveal the essence of the individual through their attributive properties – freedom, creativity, and fraternal love – to understand society as an institutional system connecting heterogeneous social actors, and to interpret culture as a totality of spiritual and material means for embodying values and norms. The specific features of Russian culture preserved within its core are identified. The scientific novelty lies in synthesizing P. A. Florensky’s socio-philosophical ideas regarding the systemic nature of the interaction among the individual, society, and culture as a harmonizing principle of social interaction. Consequently, the paper emphasizes the relevance of these ideas for strengthening social solidarity in Russian society and preserving the country’s cultural and political sovereignty in the face of external threats.