Proofs for God’s existence in natural theology of V. D. Kudryavtsev-Platonov, professor of Moscow Theological Academy (1828-1891)

The article is devoted to studying the rational theology heritage of Viktor Dmitrievich Kudryavtsev-Platonov, professor of philosophy of Moscow Theological Academy (1828-1891). It has been found out that the philosophical system of “transcendental monism” developed by KudryavtsevPlatonov (being, from the epistemology point of view, rationalistic realism, and from the ontology point of view, moderate dualism) turned out to be the most fruitful for his creating a system of natural theology whose centre of gravity was the doctrine of proofs for God’s existence. It is shown that developing the latter, Kudryavtsev-Platonov paid special attention to analyzing Kant’s criticism of the proofs, which in the end contributed to developing his own forms of ontological and moral proofs. The advantages and disadvantages of Kudryavtsev-Platonov’s doctrine of proofs for God’s existence are examined in detail. It is concluded that the defense of theism, rationally based and built on criticism of various philosophical teachings, which was proposed by the professor of Moscow Theological Academy, had a noticeable impact on further development of the Russian school of rational theology in theological academies.