Gurevich P.S. Can N. M. Karamzin be considered a philosopher?

Abstract: Thus article is dedicated to N. M. Karamzin as a philosopher. Indeed, first and foremost, he was a historian, as well as writer. However, he did not hesitate to refer to him as a philosopher. And in the author’s opinion, he has all the reasons to call himself a philosopher. N. M. Karamzin introduced the word “identity” into the Russian speech. It does not quite seem like a big achievement. In the XVIII – early XIX centuries many humanitarians were fascinated with creation of words. But the word “identity” invented by Karamzin, met the in-depth demands of the Russian, as well as European philosophy. The categorical discourse already contained the words “individual” and “individuality”. And now, it was the time to signify a person as a specific, highest measure, carrier of the high spiritual and social qualities. For the first time in history, Karamzin is characterizes as a philosopher. He did not just introduced a new word into philosophy, but the definition of “identity” reflected a drastic turn not only in Russian, but also European philosophy. After Karamzin, the Russian philosophy has referred to the topic of personality, which led to establishment of the personalist philosophy in Russia.

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