Being, Time, and Art: Solzhenitsyn's Reflections on Heidegger's Question

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Most commentators maintain that Solzhenitsyn was a Christian writer, whose primary concerns were exposing the inhumanity of Communist ideology, toppling the Soviet Union, restoring the Russia to its rightful place in world politics, and reviving the Russian nation through a religious and moral reawakening. While these are accurate, they are not comprehensive. Solzhenitsyn's writing were also a response to the philosophy of one of the most profound and controversial writers of our time, Martin Heidegger. Heidegger maintained that the reality is enframed and established by speech. Great writers create the "truth," Solzhenitsyn agreed with Heidegger that the written word, especially the works of great literature, shape our understanding of the world. Writers bring out and clarify experience. However, Solzhenitsyn also showed that the phenomena of daily life ground reality and even establish a foundation for moral judgment.