Francis Berger
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​Berdyaev’s Metahistorical Framework Outlining Man’s Relationship to the Cosmos

10/10/2022

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Warning: This is one of those longish posts in which I run through a bunch of information from recent reading and study in an effort to explore it and get a handle on it. 

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In his final major work, The Realm of Spirit and the Realm of Caesar, Nikolai Berdyaev categorizes the movement of history into two realms– that of Spirit (subjectivity) and of Caesar (objectivity and authority).

The lengths of these historical periods vary and sometimes overlap; nevertheless, the stress Berdyaev places emphasis on particular fractures in history draw attention to shifts in human consciousness that changed how people perceived and understood spirituality and objectivity at different points in time.

These shifts in consciousness are historically rare, definite, and unique, and they change the trajectory of man’s relationship with the cosmos. 

Berdyaev’s major assumption about human nature was that people were both social and spiritual beings. Thus, at different points throughout history, people surrendered to and allowed themselves to become enslaved to differing levels of being.

The periods Berdyaev labels focus on a dichotomy of two realms – the realm of Spirit (subjectivity) and the realm of Caesar (objectivity). The latter refers to latent and varying large-scale political organizations such as empires or states. Berdyaev’s framework concentrates on the intersection of the two realms in the development of consciousness.
 
Berdyaev prophesied that in its later days, the Realm of Caesar would increasingly move toward enslaving totalitarianism but would eventually encounter a peak crisis and dissolve due to a dramatic shift in human consciousness.

During this dramatic shift, people will finally understand that freedom emanates from within (from the internal and the subjective) rather than from without (external authority, institutions and social objectification).

However, getting to this point would entail a period of intense darkness, during which people would experience an era of near-total despiritualization and enslavement to the Realm of Caesar, primarily through the dominance of technology wielded by technocrats.

Berdyaev’s five historical periods illustrate the past and future relationships that human beings have to nature and the cosmos: 

First Period – the longest period, encompassing early hunter-gatherer societies, right up to the peak of the Roman Empire. Before the appearance of Christ, human consciousness was largely immersed into and dependent upon its natural surroundings and deeply in touch with its cycles, movements, and patterns. Control over nature was limited and primitive. Man perceived everything as alive, yet his personality remained underformed. He was dependent on the group and nature determined dominated the range of his spiritual consciousness, which was paganistic, polytheistic, and pluralistic.
 
Berdyaev cites the appearance of Christ as the rupture that shifts human consciousness away from this spiritual pattern. According to Berdyaev, Jesus’s message revealed an unarticulated form of dualism, namely, the Kingdom of God (subjectivity) and the Kingdom of Caesar (objectivity).

The emergence of this radical awareness empowered human personality to develop at an intense spiritual level, separated from the natural and social forces that had dominated human personality up until that point. Put another way, Jesus marked a shift away from the spiritual dominance of the external in favor of the spiritual dominance of the internal. 

Nevertheless, Christ’s message of spiritual freedom, everlasting life, and the promise of Heaven eventually ran up against the problem of authority. Toward the end of the first historical period that Berdyaev outlines, social and authoritative forces slowly dilute and confuse the radical simplicity of Jesus’s message. In other words, Christ’s mission of spiritual freedom quickly becomes objectified. People begin seeking Christ in objectified, external forms. 

Berdyaev argues that Christ’s original message was intensely personalistic and spiritual (subjective), but it was slowly usurped and used to support and promote authority within the Realm of Caesar (objectivity). Instead of realizing freedom as spiritual beings, man surrenders his freedom to objectifying forces of external, centralized governments and organized religions, which set about “correcting” Jesus’s work, as Dostoevsky illustrates in the Grand Inquisitor chapter of The Brothers Karamazov.

Second Period – This era spans the spread of objectified Christianity from the peak of the Roman empire to the end of the Middle Ages in the 16th century. The emergence of Christianity as an objectified authoritative structure was not an entirely negative development because it helped disrupt the stultifying spiritual patterns of paganism.

Christianity preserved enough of Christ’s original message to allow human beings to spiritually liberate themselves from external, natural forces and the limitless power of society and the state. Nevertheless, Berdyaev describes the period as tainted by the failure of Christ’s original message via its objectification and merging with the authoritative power structures of the Roman state and later monarchical power structures, which were then declared to be invested with authority via God.

Simply put, the second period signified the sanctification of external authority. Though humans were liberated from many external cosmic forces attributed to nature, their personal freedom was severely curtailed by the development of economics and serfdom and the elevation of the “virtues” of obedience, authority, submission, servitude, and a herd mentality. 

Third Period – the era of enlightenment, industrialization, humanism, and revolution marked by man’s increasing mechanized control over nature through science. The Realm of Caesar reconfigures itself and shifts away from rural, landowning aristocracy to urban captains of industry. A universalizing streak appears.

Organized Christianity as a temporal power is eclipsed by and merged with the controlling state apparatus. Man enjoys a level of unprecedented freedom over nature and is presented with the opportunity to revisit the inherent meaning of Christ’s original message. Instead of embracing Christ’s message of subjectivity with God, man strikes out his own and tricks himself into believing that he has no need of spirituality or can be spiritually self-sufficient.

This approach meets its ultimate limit in nature. Though he has liberated himself from the dominance of external, natural forces, man’s turning away from God traps him within that dominance. The personal freedom he enjoys is eventually reabsorbed by the Realm of Caesar and its increasing dominance over individuals within society. 

Fourth Period – the continuation of the modern era in the 20th century, which Berdyaev describes as the “disruption of cosmic order”. The technological advancements that liberated man from natural forces loop back and ensnare him. Berdyaev experienced the totalitarianism of communism and prophesied that such totalitarian tendencies would become eventually encompass the globe.

External power would work to completely obliterate all traces of internal freedom. Put another way, objectivity would aim to effectively extinguish subjectivity. Lacking the spiritual resources required to repel this onslaught of external, objectified forces, people would sink to an almost slave-like form of consciousness in which they could not think beyond the boundaries imposed by the Realm of Caesar.

Fifth Period – an eschatological revolution that Berdyaev terms “the eighth day of creation”. During this period, Berdyaev predicts man will re-embrace Christ’s original message in a reinvigorated and creative manner, thereby ushering in the decline of the realm of Caesar, the dissolution of state power, and the rise of the Realm of Spirit.
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I believe Berdyaev’s metahistorical framework offers some clear insights into the development of human consciousness through time. Moreover, I believe the periods he denotes are largely accurate.

It is easy to determine that we are presently in the final stages of Period Four and – perhaps – on the cusp of Period Five.

Having said that, I must confess that I do not share Berdyaev’s belief concerning the transfiguration of this world – at least not in the sense that he describes it. The spiritual transformation Berdyaev prophesizes will occur at the level of individuals, and, perhaps, at the level of families and small communities, but I cannot conceive of a world in which the Realm of Caesar has been purged and vanquished.
 
As far as I’m concerned, the creative divine-human activity Berdyaev foresees occurs primarily in Heaven and not in the world for the simple reason that Berdyaev’s realm of subjectivity cannot exist in the world at any large scale. If it could, Jesus’s message and mission would have been accomplished; the world would be transformed.

But perhaps I’m being too pessimistic . . . 
9 Comments
Ted link
10/10/2022 13:29:19

I agree the transfiguration in this world could never happen on a large scale. If anything, humans are turning more and more away from Christ, losing their religion, and embracing materialism. A shift in the other direction would need a catalyst that would go "viral", however, our "software" is less than ever prepared to receive it.

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William Wildblood
10/10/2022 15:07:32

I agree with Berdyaev's analysis and your departure from it. As ted says we are too far gone, too deeply embedded in the material, too spirit rejecting, to return in the way he predicts or the present generation is anyway. Individuals may do but then not all seeds fertilize an egg and produce a new creation.

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bruce charlton
10/10/2022 20:06:04

(Sorry Bruce - this comment ended up under another post for some reason - FB).

I agree that prophecies of a future golden age are all mistaken when they assume that this can/ will happen-to people. Free agency is a central fact of this world; and mortal-earthly life operates within such 'entropic' constraints that a genuinely satisfying golden age is anyway impossible.

But if considered at the level of future *possibilities*, rather than what Will happen, then this schema (as with Steiner's broadly similar one) has some potentially interesting and valuable aspects. In particular, it correctly sees history as overall linear and 'eschatological' - rather than cyclical, or an arc-like rise and fall back to the origin; which have both been more popular models among intellectuals.

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Carol
10/11/2022 23:10:03

"As far as I’m concerned, the creative divine-human activity Berdyaev foresees occurs primarily in Heaven and not in the world for the simple reason that Berdyaev’s realm of subjectivity cannot exist in the world at any large scale. If it could, Jesus’s message and mission would have been accomplished; the world would be transformed."

But isn't that just the point of the whole 'Book of Revelation'...that there would come a time when God's plan for this world would be fulfilled - through the 'eventual' accomplishment of "Jesus's message and mission" thus initiating transformation of the world (and Christ's return)?

What if, as 'co-creators' with God, we are meant to participate in that transformation by 'believing, desiring and praying' for it?

Last May, I was reading an article which contained the following quote from William Hendriksen's book, "More Than Conquerers: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation":

"Then the world, under the leadership of Satan, anti-Christian government, and anti-Christian religion — the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet — is gathered against the Church for the final battle, and the need is greatest; when God’s children, oppressed on every side, cry for help; then suddenly, Christ will appear on the clouds of glory to deliver his people."

I was particularly struck by the fact that in Hendriksen's interpretation, Jesus doesn't come back 'until' we "cry for help"...

What if God is waiting for us "Romantic Christians" to want a better world for our children, badly enough to ask Him for it?

(Apparently, it takes more than one of us - because, I ask every day and so far...still waiting.)

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Francis Berger
10/12/2022 20:36:55

@ Carol - One of my main heresies is that I don't believe in the second coming. I don't believe in it because it implies Jesus's work on earth was incomplete. I don't believe it was. I believe Jesus accomplished what he set out to accomplish. Thus, there is no reason for him to return.

That aside, you are right -- what happens on earth is largely up to us and our motivations. Our thinking and agency (and actions) can make conditions more hellish or more heavenly, and we should strive to make things in the world more heavenly.

At the same time, I think we should admit that this world will never become Heaven -- nor should it because if it could, there would be no need for Heaven. Bruce wrote a post about heaven being a state rather than a place. That puts it well. We should focus on being in a "heavenly" state rather than trying to make the world a "heavenly" place. If we are in a heavenly state, our immediate world will be better for our children and those around us, regardless of what happens in the world beyond that.

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Carol
10/16/2022 21:43:16

Frank,
Don't you ever worry about what happens to the world your son lives in, 'after' you have gone on to your 'reward in Heaven'?
Given the 'metaphysics of; 'God is not "Omni", and 'Jesus is not coming back'...
...how does it 'not' disturb you to know that, without some kind of miraculous 'something' our children will eventually experience a world where the demonic powers gaining increasing influence, are causing greater & greater corruption and horrendously evil depravity?

Honestly, I don't care about 'Heaven on Earth' (or a new 'Golden Age'), and my "immediate world" is (like yours, I imagine) quite nice enough a place for any child...
....My concern is that without some degree of 'Heavenly intervention' - just about the time you and I are headed 'safely off to Heaven' -

- the world our children will be left to navigate on their own, will have almost literally, become 'Hell'.

And honestly, I don't believe God wants that any more than I do, which was really the point of my initial comment.

I mean, for years now, I'm reading posts from 'Romantic Christians' about being "co-creators" and "participation in creation" and even working 'Christian Magic'....
...and it just keeps coming in to my mind, that 'we' are meant to be 'doing something'!
Like maybe, figuring out a way to 'help' God (since He's not 'omni') here in this world, so that the 'side of the Angels' can at least gain a foothold toward winning the spiritual war and begin defeating 'The Fallen' powers once and for all.

This is sort of a "golden thread" thing (as Dr. Charlton writes about) in my life...
I mean, years of synchronous patterns from before I had ever even discovered authors like Berdyaev, or Owen Barfield, or Romantic Christian blogs...so, I get that it's a big, crazy sounding concept...

But then, in the world I actually live in (locally), no one else (whether Christian or not) even believes that 'demons' or 'Evil' or 'fallen angels' exist - so, "crazy"(?) is a conjecture I'm accustomed to.

It's the loneliness I could do without...

lea
10/13/2022 11:37:51

Caesar in this context makes me think of PKD's iron prison and his remarks about how 'the empire never left'.
If this place is a school, that implies directly the potential of progression and regression. So the lack of transformation would imply staying/ coming back right here, or somewhere very similar. Regression would mean a less complex lifeform but i am probably running out of heresies, and anti-gnostic already wants to punch me, maybe? ;)
We are rewarded for striving towards a Christ like state and perhaps in this realm, approximation is the best possible, for some that is not good enough, i am still so many lightyears removed that it will do ;)

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NLR
10/15/2022 17:47:05

The idea of a Golden Age, whether in the distant past or the future is powerful and evocative. I think there is some reality behind it, but I don't have any detailed understanding of what that is.

As far as Golden or Dark Ages, one way to think of them is what else besides individual human effort is going on. In a Golden Age, good forces (I'm not sure exactly what, there's probably a lot of things that could be under this heading) help human effort be stronger and cohere. While in a Dark Age, evil forces corrupt and frustrate human efforts towards the good.

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Francis Berger
10/17/2022 08:15:23

@ Carol - "I mean, for years now, I'm reading posts from 'Romantic Christians' about being "co-creators" and "participation in creation" and even working 'Christian Magic'....
...and it just keeps coming in to my mind, that 'we' are meant to be 'doing something'!
Like maybe, figuring out a way to 'help' God (since He's not 'omni') here in this world, so that the 'side of the Angels' can at least gain a foothold toward winning the spiritual war and begin defeating 'The Fallen' powers once and for all."

Yes, exactly, but this entails a clear understanding of what "do something" means within this context.

One way or another, we are all doing and thinking things that influence Creation. Sadly, most of what we do is not aligned with God's creative purposes -- hence, not co-creation.

This applies especially to the "positive" external things we believe we are engaging in like voting or forming committees or supporting charities or worshiping in some System Christian church that has been converged and is fully opposed to God and Creation, etc.

Bruce recently touched upon what "do something" means from a romantic perspective:

https://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2022/10/having-romantic-mystical-spiritual.html

As to worrying and our children inheriting hell and all of that, I resist the temptation to wade into that sort of thinking whenever possible.

For beginners, I've learned that this sort of thinking can often lead to the baited hooks evil uses all the time to lure well-meaning people in to committing to some agenda or program to make everything better for the future and "the kids' sake", etc. The Second Coming may not occur, but we have the Holy Spirit; hence, we are not bereft of Christ. The Holy Spirit exists to guide us toward what we "should be doing". We need to focus on that and take it from there.

Secondly, I believe it is crucial to remember that our children -- like us -- are eternal spiritual beings. We can shield them but ultimately not save them from the entropy inherent in this world. We also cannot save them from their inevitable physical deaths. But we can guide them and encourage them to choose Jesus and the side of good. If they do that from their own freedom and agency, they will overcome the world regardless of what state the world happens to be in.

These actions may not lead to perceptible changes in the temporal world, but they do reinforce and influence Creation where it counts most, eternally. These eternal changes may improve worldly conditions and lead to overarching temporal conditions that are closer to God, but even if they don't, they can lead to massive improvements in the worldly conditions within families and small communities (I mean this from a spiritual rather than merely material perspective).

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