Topics Philosophers

Question Hello, I am reading Tolstoy's My Confession for my philosophy class and had a question about it. What does he mean when he says "What meaning has my finite existence in this infinite world"? I understand what he means by the 'finite', but what is the meaning behind the 'infinite'? Does he just mean the unknown? Thanks David

Accepted:
November 1, 2012

Comments

Good question. While it has been many years since I read Tolstoy's confessions, I suggest that in the passage you cite he is struggling with the apparent void or endless, apparent meaningless of life (and a universe) without God. I recall him claiming that if one really took seriously the idea that life was utterly void of meaning, the only way to live would be to be drunk most of the time! Many philosophers today disparage Tolstoy's position --they think life itself can have meaning, whether or not God exists or they reject questions about the meaning of life as somehow confused (sentences and language have meaning, but life itself?) But I think Tolstoy raises a vital, philosophically interesting set of questions and his reported discovery of meaning in relationship to God is profoundly deep and worth taking seriously. The famous 20th century Austrian philosopher Wittgenstein was very impressed by Tolstoy's thinking about life's meaning and values.

I might add that while Tolstoy's outlook evolved along Christian lines (this is perhaps most evident in his short stories which I highly recommend) and yet he was no conventional believer, but very much an advocate of internationalism rather than patriotism or nationalism, he championed a life of non-violence, he was a vegetarian on principle, he was an energetic, strident critic of the educational institutions of his time, he believed in serious land reform in Russia, and the like. He was something of a dramatic, charismatic radical in social, political, and religious matters. I highly recommend his short story about the meaning of life involving an angel who visits and stays with a poor tailer and his wife. There is a disarming charm to the stories which (unlike, say, War and Peace) might be described as fairy stories for adults (as well as children).