God, Man, and Tolstoy

​This book examines Leo Tolstoy’s struggle to understand the relationship of God and man, in connection with his attempt to answer questions regarding the meaning of life. Tolstoy addressed such issues in a systematic way and with great concerns for the future of humanity. Predrag Cicovacki approaches Tolstoy both as a thinker and as an artist, and examines various sides of his intellectual and artistic engagement: his social criticism, his ambiguous relationship to nature, his understanding of art, and his attempted reconstruction of the true religion. By combining philosophical, religious, and literary analysis, Cicovacki undertakes an interdisciplinary study, showing much can be learned from Tolstoy's insights, as well as from his mistakes.

"In a secular age, this fascinating book focuses on Tolstoy’s Christian thought as elaborated in nonfiction works and illustrated in fiction. Philosophy professor Predrag Cicovacki, who specializes in issues of good and evil and war and peace, applies Tolstoyan solutions to them.  While not always agreeing with Tolstoy, he takes him seriously, placing him in dialogue with other thinkers. This side of Tolstoy is often neglected today; Professor Cicovacki gives us an up-to-date response to it." (Donna Tussing Orwin, Professor and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto, Canada)

“Predrag Cicovacki, a professor of peace and conflict studies, is perfectly situated to guide us through Tolstoy’s powerful, often infuriating practical ethics. Blending theology with anthropological argument, he suggests that Tolstoy insisted above all that we cease to mutilate: ourselves, the world, the resources of the present and the meaning of love. Not an easy task and Tolstoy can be a stubborn mentor, but Cicovacki makes a subtle, respectful, even-handed case.” (Caryl Emerson, A. Watson Armour III University Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University, USA)

“God, Man, and Tolstoy is the kind of book that needs to exist. Academic questions about authors and their texts, when approached in a vacuum, can end up feeling trivial, even frivolous, for readers in times of societal disruption and uncertainty. But Cicovacki’s work leads the reader to a better understanding of why those questions matter. Tethering academic content to the big questions we all ask about survival and meaning, Cicovacki reminds the reader why we do philosophy and seek out literature in the first place. Whether you are discovering Tolstoy for the first time, or the tenth time, this book is a necessary companion that will help you better appreciate the enduring relevance of Tolstoy’s legacy.” (Rebecca Bratten, writer, eco-grower, and independent scholar)

“Combining the resources of a trained philosopher with an ear for a great writer, Predrag Cicovacki has produced an insightful and panoramic evaluation of Tolstoy the God-driven man who found meaning in becoming a “slave” – of God, not of man, of the divine truth, not of the fictions of humankind. An impressive achievement.” (John D. Caputo, Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University; author of In Search of Radical Theology: Expositions, Explorations, Exhortations and Cross and Cosmos: A Theology of Difficult Glory.)

“Tolstoy was a man of exquisite extremes. And he worked out the dissonant chords of his fierce concupiscence and towering spiritual aspirations through writing. He could fabricate astounding and complex emotional worlds like War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878). His writing on peace, love, and non-violence in The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894) influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. And his Gospel in Brief (1902) greatly influenced the young Wittgenstein. He wrote with an unusual dexterity and diversity in timbre and tone. Tolstoy was a genius of spirit who found consonance at last in the presence of the divine both within and all around him as outlined in his A Confession (1882). 

Tolstoy overwhelms and intimidates. Approaching him leaves readers with the feeling of Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. His person and oeuvre is an uneven and sprawling mountain range. Where does one start? And can one finish?

 Predrag Cicovacki is an expert guide through the ranging mountain that is Tolstoy. Perhaps there are scholars of Tolstoy and Russian literature who could produce a rival contextualizing of Tolstoy’s place in both literature and humanity’s spiritual pilgrimage. But Cicovacki captures the Tolstoy’s genius of spirit with enviable clarity and sensitivity. A fine philosopher of religion and spirituality in his own right, Cicovacki has produced a fantastic text not simply on Tolstoy and his prodigious life, but on the fantastic failures and soaring sensations of the human experience. We owe Professor Cicovacki a debt of gratitude for this fine book.” (Michael J. Thate, Princeton University; author of The Godman and the Sea and Remembrance of Things Past?) 

Predrag Cicovacki is Professor of Philosophy at the College of the Holy Cross, USA. He is the author of eleven books, including Dostoevsky and the Affirmation of Life (2012), Gandhi’s Footprints (2015), The Luminosity of Love (2018), and The Meaning of Life. A Quick Immersion (2021).