Hryhorii Savych Skovoroda's outdated language and literary style make it difficult to grasp his philosophical thought. He expresses his ideas mostly through images, symbols, proverbs, and stories instead of philosophical concepts and propositions, and he does not organize them logically into a system. Because of this he has been subject to many conflicting interpretations: He has been called both an eclectic and a strict rationalist, a mystic and a materialist, a theologian and a moral teacher. While some of his doctrines are obscure (the heart in man, personal immortality, the nature of matter), his ideas do fall into a logically coherent system that is intended to serve a practical purpose.

The aim of philosophy, according to Skovoroda, is to show people the way to happiness. This is why his moral teachings are articulated more fully than the other...