Vorozhikhina, K. V. Benjamin Fondane as the Follower of Lev Shestov

Abstract: The article is devoted to the intellectual biography and creative work of a poet and existential philosopher Benjamin Fondane. Lev Shestov thought of him as his student and follower. The author of the article describes the milestones in Fondane’s creative development. The author analyzes the Rumanian period of his creative work, the stage when he got closer to surrealism and the stage when Shestov’s images had quite an impact on Fondane’s works and when Fondane truly admired Gaston Bachelard. The author studies the derivation of Fondane’s creativity (Jules de Gaultier’s bovarism, dadaism, surrealism, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl’s anthropology and Shestov’s philosophy) and provides an insight into the main works published by the author. The author analyzes literary, critical, philosophical, drama and poetic works written by Fondance as well as the main topics and themes discussing in his works such as motives towards persecution, refrences, loneliness and fear, anxiety and dispair, absurdity of human existence, rebellion against unjustice, opposition between faith and mind, Jerusalism and Aphines. In Addition, the purpose of the article is also to trace back the influence of Shestov’s ideas on Fondane’s world view and ideology as well as to evaluate the contribution of Fondane’s works about Shestov to the distribution of the ideas of Russian philosophy.

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