Vladislav Lektorsky, Marina F. Bykova (eds.): Philosophical Thought in Russia in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century: A Contemporary View from Russia and Abroad. London, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019 ISBN: 9781350040595

About Philosophical Thought in Russia in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

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 Russia's 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.

Table of contents

List of Contributors
Acknowledgements

Philosophy in Soviet Russia. A Brief Overview, Marina F. Bykova (North Carolina State University, USA) and Vladislav A. Lektorsky (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia)

PART I: RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHY OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IN THE CONTEXT OF CULTURE AND SCIENCE1. The Russian Philosophy of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century as a Socio-Cultural Phenomenon, Vladislav A. Lektorsky (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia)
2. Main Configurations of Russian Thought in the Post-Stalin Epoch, Mikhail N. Epstein (Emory University, USA)
3. Punks versus Zombies: Evald Ilyenkov and the Battle for Soviet Philosophy, David Bakhurst (Queen's University, Canada)
4. On Soviet Philosophy: A Philosophical Reflection, Karen A. Swassjan (Forum fur Geisteswissenschaft, Basel, Switzerland)
5. The Philosophy of the Russian Sixtiers in the Humanist Context: A Philosophical Reflection, Abdusalam A. Guseynov (Institute of Philosophy, RAS Moscow, Russia)
6. Philosophy From the Period of “Thaw” to the Period of “Stagnation”: A Philosophical Reflection, Vadim M. Mezhuyev (Institute of Philosophy, RAS Moscow, Russia)

PART II: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE7. The Russian Philosophy of Science in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century, Vyacheslav S. Stepin
8. Systemic Analysis of Science: Ideas of Equifinality and Anthropo-Measurement, Alexander P. Ogurtsov (Institute of Philosophy, RAS Moscow, Russia)
9. Soviet Philosophy and the Methodology of Science in the 1960s-1980s: from Ideology to Science: A Philosophical Reflection, Boris I. Pruzhinin (Inst. of Philosophy, RAS / Journal Voprosy Filosofii, Moscow, Russia)

Part III: PHILOSOPHY AS THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY10. Spinoza in Western and Soviet Philosophy: New Perspectives after Postmodernism, Vesa Oittinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)
11. On the Perception of German Idealism, Marina F. Bykova (North Carolina State University, USA)
12. Ilyenkov's Hegelian Marxism and Marxian Constructivism, Tom Rockmore (Beijing State University, China)
13. The West Reception of Alexei Losev's Philosophical Thought in the Late Twentieth and the Early Twenty-First Century, Maryse Dennes (Universite Bordeaux Montaigne, France)

PART IV: THE PROBLEM OF ACTIVITY IN PHILOSOPHY, METHODOLOGY AND HUMAN SCIENCES14. The Activity Approach in Soviet Philosophy and Contemporary Cognitive Studies, Vladislav A. Lektorsky (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia)
15. The Activity Theory in Soviet Philosophy and Psychology in the 1960s-1980s, Peter G. Schedrovitsky (Moscow Engineering and Physical Institute, Russia)
16.Activity and the Formation of Reason, David Bakhurst (Queen's University, Canada)
17. Georgy Shchedrovitsky's Concept of Activity and Thought-Activity, Vadim M. Rozin (Institute of Philosophy, RAS, Moscow, Russia)

PART V: DIALOGUE AND COMMUNICATION18. Between “Voice” and 'Code”: Encounters and Clashes in the Communication Space, Natalia S. Avtonomova (Institute of Philosophy, RAS/ Russian University of Humanities, Moscow, Russia)
19. A Belated Conversation, Vitaly L. Makhlin (Moscow State Pedagogical University, Russia)
20. From Historical Materialism to the Theory of Culture: The Philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin as a Cultural Phenomenon, Maja E. Soboleva (Phillips-University of Marburg, Germany)
21. On the Role of the Communication Topic in the Discussions of the 1980s-1990s: A Philosophical Reflection, Victor A. Malakhov (Independent scholar, Israel)

PART VI: PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY22. Human Ontology: On Discussion in the Soviet Philosophy in the Late Twentieth Century, Alexander A. Khamidov (Biisk Pedagogical University, Biisk, Russia)
23. On the Problem of Morality in Soviet-Era Philosophy, Yuri V. Pushchayev (Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences, RAN, Moscow)
24. The Individual and the Problem of Responsibility: Merab Mamardashvili and Alexander Zinoviev, Daniela Steila (University of Turin, Italy)
25. Alexander Zinoviev's Teaching on Life, Abdusalam A. Guseynov (Institute of Philosophy, RAS Moscow, Russia)

A Chronology of Key Events in the Russian Philosophy (1953-1991)
Selected Bibliography (1954-1991)
Index of Terms
Index of Names

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