About life | Tolstoy

The seed of this book appeared in an article published by Tolstoy titled "An Essay on Life" in the magazine "Russian Wealth," and Tolstoy's friend, Obolensky, had urged him many times to write it. Tolstoy says in one of his letters to him: "I am now writing ideas about life and death and rephrasing what I read, and this subject seems very important to me..." After a conversation between Tolstoy and J. Groth, a professor at Moscow University, about the concept of life, and reading a report titled "The Concept of Life" at the Moscow Psychological Society on March 14, 1887, Tolstoy had the idea to write a special book on the matter: "It started with me writing about life and death, but when I finished, it became clear to me that I should remove the second half of the title because this word – at least for me – has completely lost its meaning." The article was finally published in 1888 in the magazine "Moscow Psychological Society" under another title, "Questions of Philosophy and Psychology," and was discussed by Moscow University professors and society members. The book "On Life" is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of life, characterized by simple and clear language despite addressing deep philosophical issues. Tolstoy never ceased to think about the meaning of his life and human life in general, and in this book, the reader encounters Tolstoy the thinker and anxious philosopher who constantly reviews and revises his ideas, just as he kept reviewing his drafts. This dynamic mental process that never stops is one of the most important features of this mighty mind.