M. О. GERSHENZON ON PUSHKIN'S “IMMANENT PHILOSOPHY” AND “THERMODYNAMIC PSYCHOLOGY”. METAPHOR AND NON-METAPHORICAL MEANING
The article is devoted to the interpretation of Pushkin's “immanent philosophy” and “ther- modynamic psychology” by M. O. Gershenzon. M. O. Gershenzon developed his theory of poetry, based on the study of Pushkin's poetic language. He found a holistic theoretical view of the fiery nature of being, a view commensurate with ancient ideas about the world. Pushkin's poetry was a revelation for Gershenzon, from which, he believed, one should draw knowledge for the new world of transfiguration. Developing the concept of the “mystery of the word”, Gershenzon found out Pushkin's “immanent philosophy”. He based his assumptions on the Pushkin's reflections on the limits of literary convention, on whether a true poetic word can exist outside of metaphorical meanings. In the book “The Wisdom of Pushkin” (1919) Gershenzon concluded that Pushkin's “thermodynamic psychology” must have a practical life meaning, otherwise truth is incomplete. And in “Gulfstream” (1922), four years later, Gershenzon sets the task to close the circle of knowledge (ancient, Pushkin's poetic insight and the achievements of modern sciences). Such research tasks inevitably involve a transition of generally accepted disciplinary boundaries, and a change in the language of description. Metaphorical meanings in the works of Gershenzon close to terminological ones; that is the attempt to present synthetic knowledge in the language of science as a model of ancient syncretism. According to Gershenzon, in this holistic knowledge should be combined the achievements of the modern sciences and humanities and the knowledge of primitive mankind, embodied in mythology, and subsequently remaining as traces in all natural languages. From this point of view, the philologist's task is to revive the mythological knowledge, petrified in the word, and thereby join the most important part of the humankind. Pushkin's poetic word was chosen by Gershenzon as the most important part of humankind heritage that contains roots of the myth.