Author: Vladislav A. Lektorsky
File Type: pdf
Philosophical Thought in Russia in the Second Half of the 20th Century is the first book of its kind that offers a systematic overview of an often misrepresented period in Russias philosophy. Focusing on philosophical ideas produced during the late 1950s early 1990s, it reconstructs the development of genuine philosophical thought in the Soviet period and introduces those non-dogmatic Russian thinkers who saw in philosophy a means of reforming social and intellectual life. Covering such areas of philosophical inquiry as philosophy of science, philosophical anthropology, the history of philosophy, activity approach as well as communication and dialogue studies, the volume presents and thoroughly discusses central topics and concepts developed by Soviet thinkers in that particular fields. Written by a team of internationally recognized scholars from Russia and abroad, it examines the work of well-known Soviet philosophers (such as Mikhail Bakhtin, Evald Ilyenkov and Merab Mamardashvili) as well as those important figures (such as Vladimir Bibler, Alexander Zinoviev, Yury Lotman, Georgy Shchedrovitsky, Genrich Batishchev, Sergey Rubinstein, and others) who have often been overlooked. By introducing and examining original philosophical ideas that evolved in the Soviet period, the book confirms that not all Soviet philosophy was dogmatic and tied to orthodox Marxism and the ideology of Marxism-Leninism. It shows Russian philosophical development of the Soviet period in a new light, as a philosophy defined by a genuine discourse of exploration and intellectual progress, rather than stagnation and dogmatism. In addition to providing the historical and cultural background that explains the development of the 20th-century Russian philosophy, the book also puts the discussed ideas and theories in the context of contemporary philosophical discussions showing their relevance to nowadays debates in Western philosophy. With short biographies of key thinkers, an extensive current bibliography and a detailed chronology of Soviet philosophy, this research resource provides a new understanding of the Soviet period and its intellectual legacy 100 years after the Russian Revolution. **Review Three decades ago, the edifice of Soviet philosophy crumbled the Marxist-Leninist ideology that it was supposedly underpinned and its alleged philosophical basis, historical and dialectical materialism, disappeared almost overnight. The result was a major crisis of academic philosophy in (post-)Soviet Russia. This volume, jointly written by some of the best scholars in the field, both Russian and non-Russian, could hardly be more timely finally, we can look at what really happened in the field of philosophy in the former USSR. Evert van der Zweerde, Professor of Social and Political Philosophy, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands This comprehensive and wide-ranging volume makes available in English translation important work originally published in Russian in 2014. The editors introduction and their decision to include Evald Ilyenkov and Valentin Korovikovs theses, as well as other seminal research material, render this collection even more valuable it should become a major reference point in the field. Galin Tihanov, George Steiner Professor of Comparative Literature, Queen Mary University of London, UK Those Western philosophers who attempted to investigate the state of philosophy in the USSR in any detail, often came away with a lingering suspicion that something more, and different, might be going on beneath the surface of officially promoted or tolerated publications. Such suspicions were usually based on no more than occasional hints in published works of a thinking that seemed potentially orthogonal to the accepted orthodoxy, or from personal conversations clearly intended to be off the record. Now, in the present volume, we have before us a serious effort to bring to light the central themes of significant philosophical conversations that were indeed underway during the latter part of the Soviet period, but until now not readily available for proper appreciation. The editors are to be thanked for their energetic efforts to rectify the historical record. Philip T. Grier, Thomas Bowman Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion, Dickinson College, USA About the Author Vladislav A. Lektorsky is Professor and Principle Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia titular member of the International Institute of Philosophy, Paris, France and full member of the International Academy of Philosophy of Science, Brussels, Belgium. His research interests lie in Epistemology, philosophy of consciousness and philosophy of cognitive science. He has authored 6 books and over 500 articles. His works have been published in English, German, French, Chinese, Turkish, Bulgarian, Polish, and Czech. Marina F. Bykova is Professor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University, USA and the Editor of the journal Russian Studies in Philosophy. Her research interests lay in the history of nineteenth century continental philosophy, with a special focus on German idealism and theories of subject and subjectivity developed by Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. She has authored three books and numerous articles on classic German philosophy and edited a new Russian edition of Hegels Phenomenology of Spirit (2000) with a new commentary. Her works have been published in Russian, German, and English.