A Confession by Leo Tolstoy

Straight talk from a seeker of meaning

Published in 1879, A Confession was Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s first work of philosophy. By this time he had already achieved fame through his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Around the age of 50, Tolstoy underwent an existential midlife crisis. After living a morally dissolute life, he began to question whether life has any meaning at all when all one’s accomplishments and experiences are wiped away by inevitable death. Is there a purpose to evolution, or is humanity merely random assortments of atoms, just animals struggling to feed themselves while living in fear of poverty, privation, illness, and death? Tolstoy contemplated suicide but didn’t have the courage to go through with it (his view, not mine). Instead, he began a deliberate quest for the meaning of life, seeking answers from scientists, sociologists, and philosophers and studying the religions of the world. A Confession is Tolstoy’s memoir of this personal quest for meaning.

In his rational examination of metaphysics, Tolstoy takes nothing for granted, and the book can get pretty dark when he contemplates the possible pointlessness of existence. This would not be a good read for someone with suicidal thoughts. Tolstoy is incredibly honest and forthright in his discussion of his moral failings, his loss of faith in God and life, and his attempts to find answers and become a better person. There isn’t a trace of egotism or intellectual arrogance in his narrative; he is merely a humble supplicant seeking knowledge, relating his findings, and admitting his ignorance when applicable in hopes of helping others with their spiritual quests. While some of the text can be philosophically dense, for the most part Tolstoy’s prose is very accessible to the general reader. When necessary, he constructs vivid metaphors and parallels that illustrate the ideas he’s trying to convey, thereby aiding the reader in understanding complex concepts.

The ending of A Confession is rather inconclusive, with Tolstoy still searching for answers. He mentions that he will continue the narrative of his quest in a later work. Tolstoy would follow A Confession with The Gospel in Brief (1881) and What I Believe (1884), in both of which he further elaborates on his religious and philosophical beliefs. The latter two books are mainly defenses of Christianity (or the aspects of Christianity that Tolstoy feels are worth defending) and therefore will appeal mostly to theists. A Confession, however, is an account of spiritual searching that can inspire both believers and heretical freethinkers alike. Tolstoy takes a critical view of organized religion, and when he does express a belief in God, it resembles a rational theism similar to Spinozan pantheism. As a freethinker and skeptic myself, I have never encountered a more reasoned and rational discussion of faith than that which Tolstoy presents here. Even so, from a nonbeliever’s perspective, his argument still seems to rest on faith as a last resort or faith by the process of elimination, rather than on a positive embracing of theism.

A Confession is a very candid and detailed account of Tolstoy’s thought process in searching for the meaning of life. While he talks about how he turned away from a parasitic life of wealth and status to admire the simpler life of the peasantry, I wish he had given more practical insight into the changes he made towards a life of asceticism—how did he go from Tolstoy the rich and famous author to Tolstoy the wise man who looks and lives like a monk? Perhaps he discusses that further in another essay, but he doesn’t delve too deeply into such matters in A Confession. Nevertheless, there is much food for thought and ethical lessons to be learned from this enlightening book. It may be one of the most depressing and one of the most inspiring books you’ll ever read.
If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.