Pavel Florensky and the uniqueness of man

Abstract

Pavel Florensky’s On the Watersheds of Thought1 represents a major work written at a time of very rapid change in Russia. It signalled a change of direction in Florensky’s writing, moving away from his justification of God and leaning towards the role played by Man in building the “Kingdom of God” on Earth. In Part II of this work, “The Embodiment of Form – Action and Tool,” Florensky advances the notion that the principal trait separating humans from other animals is not reason, but the use of tools, referring to Man as Homo faber. The real question is, however, deeper. Why was Florensky—the philosopher, priest, and scientist—inclined to search for differences between Man and other animals, and why did he indicate “tool-use” rather than “reason” as the principal distinction? The answer is probably not simplistic, but his search for the uniqueness of Man may be a reaction to the scientific climate of the time.