1 A CONCEPTION OF MAN

Berdyaev's entire thinking is anthropocentric. The structure of his existential philosophy is erected on the foundation of his philosophical anthropology. His preoccupation with the problem of freedom arises out of his deep interest and personal involvement in man's predicament and destiny. Man is the chief object of his concern. At the heart of his thought lies a persistent attempt to understand what it means to be a person. Berdyaev's philosophy of freedom begins and ends with man.

The essential and fundamental problem is the problem of man—of his knowledge, his freedom, his creativeness. Man is the key to the mystery of knowledge.

Berdyaev's philosophical anthropology is thoroughly existential. It deals with man not as a concept but as a living person. The stress on man as an existing entity often leads Berdyaev to switch suddenly to the first person singular as in the...