The Key Figures in the Field

Studies in East European Thought -     

On the Philosophical Relevance of Marx＇s Views Today

This paper revisits some of Marx＇s central philosophical ideas with the attempt to understand the thinker＇s real place in the history of the Western philosophical tradition. It does not only show that the philosophical dimension is central to Marx＇s economic and political works, and therefore his contributions to philosophy merit special investigation, but it also argues that Marx is a descendant of classic German philosophy, and thus his views should be assessed in the context of the development of the philosophical ideas that emerged within that tradition.     

Editorial: Celebrating the centennial of the RAS Institute of Philosophy

Studies in East European Thought -     

Die Perestrojka in der Sowjetischen Philosophie: Mythos oder Realität?

Ohne ZusammenfassungDiese Arbeit wurde im Rahmen eines Stipendiums der A. v. Humboldt-Stiftung (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) erstellt.     

Lenin and the crisis of Russian Marxism

This article attempts to understand the philosophical significance of Lenin’s work, Materialism and Empiriocriticism (1909), by putting it in the historical perspective and context of the theoretical debates of the time. The author argues that Lenin’s decision to engage in philosophical discussion was motivated by the need to respond to the growing struggles of Marxism, and specifically to the dangerous consequences of positivism that spread to Russia, which thereby led to a crisis in theory and political practice. Lenin’s work is the first philosophical assault on positivism, and most notably on its specific form, Machism, which he criticizes from the position of dialectical materialism. Recognizing the damaging effects of the positivistic position for Marxism, Lenin attacks Alexander Bogdanov’s Empiriomonism as a form of Machism which undermines the materialistic foundation of Marxist philosophy.     

Note from the Editor in Chief

Studies in East European Thought -