Part 3, Section 3 Summary and Analysis

"Historical Rebellion - Individual Terrorism"

The author introduces this section with commentary on the eager Russian acceptance and manipulation of Hegel and other German philosophers.

"The Renunciation of Virtue"

The author describes how pre-revolutionary Russian philosophers embraced French revolutionary philosophy, realized its flaws, and then even more eagerly embraced the German philosophies of Hegel. They came to believe, the author suggests, that what was wanted "was not the absolute of reason but the fullness of life," the destruction of reality in order to affirm the value of individual experience.

"Three of the Possessed"

In this chapter the author explores the philosophies and actions of three Russian philosophers exploring the boundaries of revolutionary nihilism - Pisarev, Bakunin, and Nechaiev (see "Important People"). He writes that eventually the influences of these three radicals waned, and attention returned to the re-valuing of...