Again on Tumanyan’s philosophy of life
Aram C. Alexanyan
Hovhannes Tumanyan’s philosophy of life has never become a separate theme for investigation. This issue was partly touched upon in the written voluminous monographs and articles but has never been studied completely and comprehensively.
Moreover, the Tumanyan studies of the Soviet years evaluated the literary heritage of the poet by value-based forms deriving from ideology (realism, the expresser of social protest, writer of village life, the singer of the nation’s desires, hopes and feelings, popularity, etc.). To this was added the irrelevant and simplified apologetics, that is, the praise that the contemporary Tumanyan studies are flooded with. Tumanyan’s views and artistic heritage have never been considered in the context of European philosophy. Whereas, this is the most effective research method of studying his oeuvre. We believe that this research method will create a scientific environment for a more comprehensive scientific research of Hov. Tumanyan’s worldview, as well as his artistic heritage.
From this viewpoint, in our previous article Hov. Tumanyan’s radical insights deriving from W. Wundt’s doctrine were revealed: a) theory of evolution, b) the necessity of perceiving the nations’ psychology, c) classification of the world as a spiritual reality, d) universal voluntary unity of mankind and ideals, etc. The abovementioned is supplemented with the accentuations on the geographical deterministic and cultural-historical method.
The given article discusses the nature of the poet’s learning and determination of philosophy of life. Tumanyan’s learning, in fact, has never been a constant assimilation of any doctrine or idea. To the extent that his worldview is characterized by its analytical-comparative nature, Tumanyan’s philosophy of life cannot be viewed as an adequate follow-up to the teaching, but as a qualitatively independent eclectic combination.
This article examines his transcendental thinking towards the absolute knowledge of existence and the world. Tumanyan’s versions of the ideas on rationalization of evolution are presented. Reasons for becoming a subject of cosmic evolution of the Armenian ethnos are revealed with references to historical and cultural musicology (creative genius of the Armenian ethnos, a culture of preserving ethnic identity, the fact of living cultures of different eras, the strong moral potential of Armenian culture, etc.).