Abstract

The main idea of this paper is a reflection on two types of individualization, “ascending” and “descending”, a classification done in accordance to two basic forms of Christian Modernity: the Russian and the European one. Christian and post-Christian Modernity were initially based on two types of Antique-Christian synthesis: western, associated with the name of Saint Augustine; and Eastern, associated with the name of Dionysius Areopagita. Therefore, this paper is particularly focused on the phenomenon of “ascending individualization”, which is considered to be a basic one in the Eastern Antique-Christian synthesis. It shows the role of this kind of individuation in the development of the European and of the Russian types of Modernity. As a conclusion we can suggest a possible way out of the crisis of Modernity through the synergy of the two types of individualization.