Volodymyr Vynnychenko: in Search of European Understanding of the Human Psyche

Abstract

Writer Volodymyr Vynnychenko aimed to depict a human being as a unique, independent, self-sufficient, self-contained, autonomous world and to reveal its inner potential (according to the writer: “The world – it’s me, my desires”). This world was energised by the strength of the will, an individual’s desire to conquer all facets of life. Volodymyr Vynnychenko masterly interpreted Nitzschean ideas, especially in portrayal of individuals whose will was directed towards rejection of traditional values and replacing them with the new ones. Volodymyr Vynnychenko bravely experimented with the ideas of Nitzsche, Freud, constructed new ontological models of an individual, and deepend it, foremost in the moral-ethical sphere.