Understanding the Incomprehensible (on the 125th anniversary of the publication of the first volume of “The Science of Man”)

This article is devoted to the work of the Russian philosopher and theologian, professor at the Kazan Theological Academy, V. I. Nesmelov, “The Science of Man”, an attempt to construct a unique philosophical system of Christian theism. It explores the origins of Nesmelov’s interests in anthropology — his study of the legacy of St. Gregory of Nyssa, which prompted him to address the problem of rational comprehension of divine revelation and the search for human foundations for its truth. Seeking to substantiate the possibility of rational faith, Nesmelov outlined a number of fundamental features of a theistic worldview. His insight into the religious meaning of self-awareness is noted: a person perceives themselves as a person only because God exists. This allows us to speak of a new personalistic (psychological) proof of God’s existence. Another of Nesmelov’s achievements is the establishment of the semantic core of the philosophy of Christian theism, in resolving the riddle of man, which leads to the enigma of the God- Man. An analysis of the thinker’s works reveals a third mystery: Nesmelov’s work itself, which can be understood and comprehended only in attempts to go beyond its limits, to continue and develop it in independent thought.