The fruit of the Paradise tree: the problem of cognition in the works of Yu.P. Kuznetsov

The analysis of the epistemological and axiological aspects of Yu.P. Kuznetsov's poetry in general and when implementing the biblical intertext in it in particular is presented. The purpose of the work is to study the peculiarities of the realization of the theme of cognition in the works of Yu.P. Kuznetsov in the context of spiritual search and religious exploration of the world. The main goal is to determine, considering the specifics of the type of thinking of the lyrical hero, a set of artistic images of biblical nature, which the author uses while discussing the theme. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the consistent consideration of images and motives of biblical nature related to the problems of gnoseology. Special attention is paid to the consideration of Old Testament images-symbols dating back to the myth of the fall. The main directions of the development of the author's poetic thought regarding the issues of the consistency of scientific knowledge and the idea of progress and related problems of the interaction of rationalistic and intuitive-religious types of thinking are analyzed. It is established that the author prefers a non-rationalistic method of cognition of truth based on the concept of co-creation of man and God, which leads to the sacralization of the creative process and the image of the artist (in the broad sense of the word) as a mediator of the will of God. Kuznetsov uses the religious symbol in order to show the universality and necessity of the intuitively religious approach to cognition that does not depend on specific historical conditions. The poet's interpretation of the biblical image is close to the canon and folk tradition.