Page:The Spirit of Russia by T G Masaryk, volume 2.pdf/29

Rh Černyševskii's philosophical development closely resembled that of Herzen and Bakunin, for like both these writers he was a student of Hegel and Feuerbach. To him, however, Hegel was less congenial than to Herzen, and Černyševskii became far more definitely Feuerbachian. All that he took from Hegel was the idea of development, whereas Feuerbach's influence upon his mind was decisive. Once more, like Herzen and Bakunin, Černyševskii learned from Comte and the French socialists, his views being formed in especial by those of Louis Blanc, Fourier, and Proudhon. But far more than Herzen or Bakunin, Černyševskii had recourse to English writers, studying philosophers as well as socialists and political economists. His readings of Bentham and Mill confirmed him in his positivist outlook and made him a utilitarian; he was familiar with the writings of Owen; in economics, he recognised the authority of Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Malthus, and in addition that of John Stuart Mill. It must further be mentioned that Černyševskii was intimately acquainted with the works of Buckle, one of the writers on historico-philosophical topics by whom Černyševskii was ever greatly influenced. He had also read Vico, and many earlier and later historians and philosophers of history, among whom Guizot deserves special mention.

Černyševskii devoted more attention than did either Herzen or Bakunin to the literature of his native land, especially when still quite young. At the university he immersed himself in Bělinskii's writings, and Herzen's work likewise affected him during the years when his mind was still eminently receptive. Thus Černyševskii's mental physiognomy became very different from that of either Herzen or Bakunin. Russian literature (Gogol as well as Bělinskii and Herzen), English impressions, and the main derivation of his thought direct from Feuerbach instead of from Hegel, give Černyševskii his characteristic philosophical stamp. Far more than Herzen or even than Bakunin, he was a positivist in the Comtist sense, a "realist" as the term is used in Russia. He consistently carried out the disillusionment postulated by Herzen, turning away from German ideas to Russian facts. With Bělinskii he conceived realism as the opposite of romanticism, and he fought sentimentalism in all its forms, demanding an accurate interpretation of human motives. We have further to remember that Černyševskii remained in Russia, where