Abstract

This dissertation is about the philosophy of religion. Its purpose is to find a basis for the articulation of the reality of spirit. It considers Berdyaev's philosophy of spirit, aiming to answer four questions:- 1. How did Berdyaev come to this sense of the priority of spirit? 2. How did he verbalise the reality of spirit in his philosophy? 3. Can he help us to find ways in which we and others might grow in awareness of the spiritual realm? 4. Is his philosophy still of value today? I have surveyed Berdyaev's books as translated into English, and other relevant literature, and have attempted to present his ideas in a logical order. I offer an assessment of his philosophy, and give some account of its application to current issues. I conclude that his existential methods are still relevant today, that any philosophy of spirit must use methods comparable to them, and that we have much to leam from both his emphesis upon the manifestation of spirit in secular life, and his questioning faith. He represents an important but often forgotten strand within Orthodoxy.