Symptoms of "secondary simplification mixing" in the historiography of K. N. Leontyev

The article examines the key symptoms of the "ultimate universal mixing" in the socio-political thought of K. N. Leontiev. It establishes how individualism, scientific progress, and technology accelerate the onset of "universal mixing." All three factors are considered through the lens of his eschatological views, which formed the core of the original hypothesis of the "trinitarian process" (according to which, every phenomenon undergoes stages of primary simplicity, flourishing complexity, and secondary simplification). The study reveals how individualism, the development of science, and progress in technology lead to the erosion of the foundations of cultural-historical types, their "undermining" and "dilution," resulting in a mixing that occurs not only within specific types but also at the level of civilizations as a whole. The latter represents a kind of "post-beat" of Leontiev's hypothesis of "trinitarian development." The work is based on the principles of analysis and synthesis, credibility, and objectivity, with a methodological foundation rooted in a systemic approach, in which the object is considered as a holistic complex of interrelated elements. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the most comprehensive examination of the symptoms of "secondary simplification mixing" from the perspective of Leontiev's eschatology as a crucial component of his historiography. The "Optina hermit" noted that the principles of individualism negatively affect religious consciousness, enhancing "mobility" (horizontal and, subsequently, vertical, that is, class-based), destroying class distinctions, and undermining the political foundation of the state. Leontiev viewed the rapid scientific progress negatively. He considered the desire for consciousness and the predominance of the conscious over the unconscious as signs of "profound obsolescence." As a result, the Church as an institution is weakened, and the religious foundation of the state, as well as civilization as a whole, is undermined. Science justifies social progress and thus appears not as national but as "cosmopolitan." For all these reasons, science should develop "in contempt of its utility." Leontiev envisioned technology as an antithesis to all organic life. It is only beneficial to the bourgeoisie, the bearer of "Pan-European" and "universal humanitarian" values. Moreover, rapid technological development poses a danger because it could lead to a universal catastrophe, due to which, Leontiev prophesied, "the air will roll up like a scroll."

K. N. Leontiev, the history of Russian thought, conservatism, technic, Eschatology, the civilizational approach, Historiosophy, I. I. Fudel, V. V. Rozanov, progress