SPIRITUAL AND MORAL MEANING OF ILLNESS AND HEALTH IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF I. A. ILYIN

Abstract

The article examines the spiritual philosopheme of I. A. Ilyin regarding the illness and health of a person, coming from a Christian anthropologist, from the standpoint of a practicing doctor. Comparing the ideas of the Russian philosopher, on the one hand, with Western existential philosophy, and on the other hand, with the radical hedonism of modern mass culture, the article reveals the spiritual core that allows us to understand the states of illness and health, based on the idea of the non-randomness of human existence. The disease is a kind of cipher that a person needs to decipher in order to comprehend its meaning. Such an interpretation of the disease is directly opposite to modern attitudes to reduce pain and suffering with the help of biotechnology. Particular attention is paid to the text “On the calling of a doctor”, which presents the traditional ethical canon of domestic medicine, which is so much needed by modern medical ethics and culture.