Summary

Историко-философский ежегодник / Ин-т философии РАН. - М.: Наука, 2007.

Summary 

O. Chernyakhovskaya. Xenophon on Political Attitudes

In Xenophon’s Socrates’ opinion, the art of ruling is the greatest of all tekhnai because the task of any leader is to make the people he governs happy. First, the leader must possess specific knowledge so as to promote the material well-being of all the citizens and their peaceful life in the city. This necessary knowledge is only acquired through learning the art of ruling, as it is also the case with all other arts. On the other hand, since happiness lies in the moral perfection, so a good ruler can only be the one who is able to lead his subjects to virtue. This part of the ruler’s task in Xenophon’s Socratic works concerns only Socrates. In the Cyropaedia, however, qualities of both kinds concur in the figure of the ideal ruler. Even if the real Socrates had no political programme, then Xenophon conducts an experiment on his behalf: in the figure of Cyrus the Great, king of Persians, he attempts to combine Socrates’ purely speculative thought with the practical theory.

M. Khorkov. Unity, Plurality, Trinity: Some Aspects of Mediaeval Metaphysics in the Rhine Region in the XIV–XV Centuries

The object of this article is to examine, as thoroughly as possible, the continuity in the development the main topics and notions of the mediaeval metaphysics had in the Rhine region. This is achieved by choosing the two most distinctive metaphysical models of the Rhine Middle Ages: metaphysics of unity (unitas) as represented by Meister Eckhart (†1328), Dominican monk and theologian in Erfurt, Paris, Strasbourg and Cologne, and metaphysics of trinity (trinitas) as represented by Heymericus de Campo (1395-1460), who was professor of theology at the universities of Cologne and Leuven. In metaphysics, both thinkers were followers of Albert the Great, but the common Albertian positions are by no means the only major characteristic of their respective metaphysical systems. While concentrating on the analysis of the three key notions (unity, plurality, trinity), the paper aims at reconstructing the systematic differences between two thinkers; it seeks to demonstrate how the continuing adaptation of  Albert’s metaphysics in the works of Meister Eckhart and Heymericus de Campo makes it possible that an interference of their positions would eventually, in the thought of Nicholas of Cusa, give birth to the concept of coincidentia oppositorum, which has its origins in the metaphysical models offered by these two thinkers. The Russian translations (by Mikhail Khorkov) of the Latin sermon XXIX “Deus unus est” by Meister Eckhart and of “The Main Theorems Concerning the Universe” by Heymericus de Campo are published in the appendix to the article.

I. Boldyrev. Ernst Bloch and his Interpretation of Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Spirit”

The paper deals with the works of E. Bloch (1885-1977), one of the major German philosophers of the 20th century, and with his ideas with regard to Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Spirit”. Bloch developed a Marxist analysis of Hegel’s philosophy and a historical investigation intothe sources of “Phenomenology”.He also attempted to demonstrate that there exists a links between the philosophic development of consciousness in the “Phenomenology of Spirit” and the progressive changes and shifts in Faust’s personality as described in the 1st part of Goethe’s tragic poem. This comparative analysis, as well as Bloch’s philosophical stance in general, we argue, may form the basis for a new understanding of Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Spirit”.

I. Miourberg. My Friend and Colleague M. Abramov: “Just Take Me for What I Am”

This small in memoriam essay – dedicated to M. Abramov who devoted many years of his life to studies in the history of philosophy – introduces what was to become a post mortem publication of the deceased scholar.

M. Abramov. Three Answers to Hume

In his essay entitled “Three answers to Hume”, M.A. Abramov describes the historic circumstances of the creation of Hume’s “Treatise of Human Nature” (1739-1740) which proved to be a philosophical masterpiece, despite the fact that its appearance had scandalized many of his contemporaries. The author shows that the conceptual foundation of antihumean opposition (T. Reid being the most prominent exponent of this view) was the awareness its representatives had that Hume’s skepticism is not confined to the objects of material world alone and that it is aimed at God and the entire sphere of divine entities as well. On the other hand, the treaty enjoyed the full appreciation from someone as respectful as Kant. M. Abramov undertakes a comparative analysis of Humean and Kantian interpretation of antinomies.

L. Karelova. The Theories of Body in Contemporary Japanese Thought

The paper deals with the theories concerning the problem of body, one of the most important problems in contemporary Japanese philosophical research. The author analyzes the process of transformation of the Western phenomenological doctrines and concepts in Japanese philosophical discourse as well as the influence of the authentic local intellectual tradition.

V. Vizghin. Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Gabriel Marcel

The paper offers a comparative analysis of Merleau-Ponty`s phenomenologic philosophy, on the one hand, and Gabriel Marcel`s philosophical thought, on the other. The author considers the references to Marcel in the work of Merleau-Ponty and estimates the degree to which he may be dependent on the philosopher of “ontological mystery”. The conclusion is that in spite of the resemblance of subjects treated by both thinkers (body, incarnation, intersubjectivity, etc.) the divergence between them is more significant than any superficial resemblance might suggest.

A. Rutkevich. A Manuscript of Kojève from 1940-1941

The paper is the preface to the first publication of Alexandre Kojève’s manuscript “Introduction. Sophia – Philosophy and Phenomenology”. It presents the historical context (German occupation of France) and the place of this text in the evolution of Kojève’s ideas. As this text is the last one written by Kojève in Russian, there is a short description of his style and a comparison of work with his main oeuvre “Introduction into the Reading of Hegel”. 

A. Pavlenko. The Possibility of Technique. Part Three: Friedrich Dessauer’s Technical Project

The paper continues the ongoing project under the common title ‘The Possibilty of Technique’ (Сf., e.g.: Pavlenko A., The possibility of Technique’s Existence: Outlook from Lavra and Voice from Marburg// History of Philosophy Yearbook’ 2002. M.: Nauka. 2003). The work analyses the views of the German thinker Friedrich Dessauer (1881 – 1963) on the essence of technology. Dessauer sees the source of the engineering approach to the world as a “union of virtue and knowledge”. It is shown that the human realm of technology is determined by aims (Ziel), whereas the realm of mechanisms – by purposes (Zweck), the aims going first. According to Dessauer, the “real” technical world is preset in the realm of the “possible” world – by some predetermined objects (prästabilierte Objecte). The extent of the possible is given by the “lawfulness” of technologies and gears. Dessauer also supposed that modern technology goes in full conformity with the spirit of Biblical values, in no way conflicting with it.

L. Makeeva. Dummett on Realism

Michael Dummett, one of the most important and influential British philosophers of the latter half of the 20th century, proposed a conception of realism according to which this metaphysical position concerning a given subject matter (physical bodies, abstract mathematical and theoretical entities, time and so on) is best cast as a semantic thesis about the meaning of sentences concerning that subject matter. The debate between realists and their various opponents – anti-realists – thereby becomes an issue in the philosophy of language. The paper discusses the arguments for and against this semantic conception of realism advanced in contemporary analytical philosophy.

A. Pavlov. Martin Malia against Alexander Herzen and the Russian Socialism

Alexander Pavlov’s article "Martin Malia against Alexander Herzen and the Russian Socialism" is dedicated to one of the most provocative biographies of the famous Russian political thinker and writer published under the title "Alexander Herzen and the Birth of Russian Socialism". The paper contains a wealth of information about the book, which appeared in 1965 but to this day has lost none of its original topicality, as well as about its author, the well-known Slavic scholar Martin Malia, a convinced liberal who devoted his life to debunking the ideas of socialism. One finds an extract from the book "Alexander Herzen and the Birth of Russian Socialism" dwelling on the basic elements of Herzen’s political theory appended to the article.

O.F. Nazarova. An Overview of the Conference

Papers of the International Conference “Culture through the Prism of Dialogue and Private Opinion. In Memory of Fedor Stepun and Simeon Franck”

(Dresden, July 7-8, 2006) 

The conference took place in Dresden from 7 to 8 July 2006, organized by the Institute of Slavistics of Dresden Technical University and by the “Group of Researchers in Russian Philosophy”. 22 scholars from Germany, Russia, the Netherlands and Ukraine gave their papers in German and Russian. The first day of the conference was dedicated to Stepun, the second to Franck.

R. Goldt. Demons of Masquerade. The Problem of Mask, Countenance and Personality in the Work of Fedor Stepun and Vjacheslav Ivanov

Through a comparative analysis of the views expressed by Stepun and some of the leading figures in the literature of the Russian ‘Silver Age’, the paper argues the Stepun, alongside with Fedor Sollogub and Maximilan Voloshin, was one of the few intellectuals of his time who recognized the human striving for existential masquerade as something with the right to exist.

Peter Elen. Philosophy of Culture and Philosophy of Life in Early S. Frank

The paper argues that the basic principles of Franck’s philosophic outlook were first formulated already in his papers of 1904-1912, where such topics appear as the God-manhood of man, personality as the highest principle of being, the reality of the ideal, being as spiritual life and so on. The author traces down the various philosophic influences in the early work of Framck, such as Kant, Fichte, Rickert, Goethe, Stern, Spinoza.

K. Hufen. An Unfinished Puzzle. Towards a Completion of the Intellectual Biography of Fedor Stepun

According to the author, the main reason why in the German university milieu there has been hitherto little interest for Stepun’s work is the fact that it is difficult to relate his output exclusively to the camp of either philosophy or sociology. This approach is a sign of dilettantism, and, therefore, a detailed analysis of Stepun’s legacy remains a task for future scholars. The problems we face today indicate that it is necessary to offer a new classification of the notions, axioms and maxims by the Russian thinker.

O. Nazarova. The Problem of Crisis of European Humanism in S. Frank

A detailed analysis of Franck’s articles published in German from 1926 to 1937 shows that regards the Russian Revolution of 1917 not as a purely Russian phenomenon, but rather as a direct consequence of the world view dominating in the West since the Renaissance. The significance of the Revolution, according to the philosopher, is in that it has demonstrated to the West a probable scenario of development. While rejecting the notion that bolshevism is the expression of the Russian national soul, Franck defines the essence of the Russian spirit as being with God and “in God”.