Philosophy of Space and Time by P.N. Savitsky and L.N. Gumilev

#5. Longstanding Generation
Philosophy of Space and Time by P.N. Savitsky and L.N. Gumilev

The article analyzes the philosophy of space and time attempting to show the difference in approaches to the problem of time among Western and Russian philosophers. Western philosophy sought to understand time through psychologism. The extreme expression of the Western psychological are manifest in the concepts developed by St. Augustine and Kant. Augustine believed that time exists only in the human soul, while Kant believed that time and space are forms of perception of reality that cannot fully be grasped. Russian philosophy, in contrast, has aspired to ontologism. In the 20th century the Eurasians conceived of an original concept of a transformed ontology, thus creating their own version of a philosophy of space and time. This outlook had direct links to the discovery of quantum physics. Pyotor Savitsky believed that time absorbs and releases energy and that energy triggers the process of history. Based on this concept of energy, Lev Gumilev developed a historical concept and theory of ethnogenesis, the formation of national identity.