An American Philosopher at Moscow State University, 1964–1965

For an American philosopher participating in a cultural exchangeprogram with the Soviet Union in 1964–65, a year spent in thePhilosophy Faculty of Moscow State University, studying and doingresearch in the history of Russian philosophy, provided manyinteresting insights – some of them surprising – into the theoryand practice of Marxism-Leninism and the nature of philosophicaleducation in Russia in the 1960s.     

The Documents of the Council of Crete

This document is the translation of a report given on 29 November 2017 by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk to the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. It presents the results of the study by the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church of the documents adopted by the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church at its meeting in Crete from 19 to 26 June 2016. This report is followed by the decisions of the Bishops’ Council concerning the Council of Crete.     

Biology as Politics: The Direct and Indirect Effects of Lewontin and Levins

Lewontin and Levins's contributions are viewed from four angles: a more vigorous culture of science criticism; a visible college of Marxist scientists in the USA; inquiries into the diverse social influences shaping science; and motivating readers who want to pursue their science as a political project. Indirect contributions—influences on and appropriations by other actors in the wider realm of biology as politics—are discussed as well as the more direct effects.     

Fifteen minute stories about training

This panel presentation at the Journal's conference in St Petersburg responded to the conference theme of 'Ancestors in Personal, Professional and Social History' by relating it to the experience of training and being trained on the IAAP 'router' programme in Russia. The two organizers of the programme (JW and CC) have worked in Russia for over 12 years, bringing analysts from Britain to Moscow and St Petersburg on a 'shuttle' basis as supervisors and personal analysts. A few months after handing over the router programme in December 2010 to the Russian colleagues they had trained, they invited four analysts, three Russian and one Belarusian, to tell a short personal story about their training, linking it to the theme of 'the Ancestors'. The resulting four stories are very different but complement each other, using imagery to illustrate issues concerning both value and ambivalence. JW and CC jointly wrote their story about the programme in response to the four stories, reflecting on some of their themes and from them, giving consideration to the flexibility and limits of such a model of cross-cultural training. Themes in the stories included the possibility of mutual adaptation to another culture without losing tradition and identity; moving on from doctrinaire Soviet attitudes in education to embrace 'not knowing'; both organizers and routers learning from mistakes and from joint experience without guilt or shame; the need to protect reflective space amidst the constraints of time and geography. All Russian and UK contributors could finally acknowledge their shared luck to find themselves in the right place at the right time to respond to the collective revival of psychoanalytic practice in Russia.     

西方马克思主义宗教论说的六个问题领域

宗教在当代社会的"私人化",使基督教不仅作为一种信仰传统、也作为一种文化叙事引起诸多学科的关注,进而在基督教与马克思主义的关系方面形成了新的论说模式。马克思主义与基督教神学是否存在着可能交合的问题领域?这应该对中国目前的宗教学研究具有重要的借鉴价值。本文作者就此归纳为六个方面,并提出相关讨论。     

西方心理学的马克思主义研究取向评述

当今国外心理学研究的各流派中涌现出了马克思主义新取向。这显示了马克思主义思想要素的影响力及其对心理学科发展的积极贡献,体现出马克思主义新的生命活力和科学创新精神。但同时,心理学的马克思主义取向研究也遇到了巨大的阻抗力量,马克思主义也面临着严峻的考验。当前,如何认识心理学研究中马克思主义的理论资源,在辩证唯物主义精神的指引下推动心理学的研究,是中国心理学界需要进一步研究和解决的重大问题之一。     

Philosophy in Post-Soviet Russia (1992--1997)

The author argues that the decline of philosophical thought and research in Russia is over. He describes the state of present-day philosophy in Russia, its background, and prospects for development citing concrete examples and little known facts.Any survey of the state of the philosophy in post-Communist Russia is a complicated task requiring accuracy and completness. Whether I succeed in this task remains to be seen, although I shall be content if I manage to present a clear picture. It will of course be subjective and reflect my interests and preferences, remaining in this sense quite incomplete. But I aim to present a concise survey, identifying the most important trends, personalities, and topics of discussion.I shall focus on changes with respect to the following issues: 1) the state of research in philosophy, in particular noticeable shifts in problematics, geography, and management; 2) philosophical education, i.e., noticeable development in problematics, approaches, geography, and management. Moreover, I shall examine the origin of these shifts and assess whether they are of a qualitative character.     

STALIN AND MARXISM: A RESEARCH NOTE

This article concerns the research done by the author in Stalin's private library. The notes made in the works of Marx, Engels and Lenin suggest that until the end of his life Stalin felt himself in general agreement with these "classics." The choice of books and the notes support the thesis that, despite his historical interest and his identification with some of the tsars as powerful rulers, Stalin always continued to consider himself a Marxist, and that he was uninterested in other systems of thought, including those of traditional Russia.     

Cosmology of Mind

In Il’enkov’s “Cosmology of mind,” written in his younger days in the tradition of Spinoza and Engels, the thinking mind appears as a necessary attribute of matter. Like all other main forms of matter in motion, the mind has its cosmic purpose and predestination. Il’enkov argued that it has to close the beginning and the end of the Big Cycle in order to return the dying Universe to its fiery youth. Il’enkov believed that this is the sole way to save the Universe from “thermal death” following the inevitable increase in entropy.