Themes in Soviet Marxist Philosophy, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1975 Selected Articles from the ‘Filosofskaja Enciklopedija' Coll. Sovietica, Vol. 37

The Soviet philosophical scene has experienced remarkable growth since the innovations of the 50's and the renovations of the 60's. This volume of Sovietica is intended by the editors as a finger on the pulse of the Marxist-Leninist corpus philosophicum as we enter the 1970's. Published in the years between 1960 and 1970, the Filosofskaja en­ ciklopedija (FE) has replaced the Kratkij filosofskij slovar' (Short Philo­ sophic Dictionary: 1939, 1941, 1951 and 1954) and the Filosofskij slovar' (Philosophic Dictionary: 1963). It is an impressive work - 2994 pages in five volumes (I, 1960, 504 pp.; II, 1962, 575 pp.; III, 1964, 584 pp.; IV, 1967, 591 pp.; V, 1970, 740 pp.), with the editors and authors representing all the contemporary Soviet philosophers of note. The FE has been extensively reviewed in Kommunist (1972, 5, 119-127) and in Studies in Soviet Thought [beginning with SST 12 (1972) 4]. Restrictions of space have forced us to omit much that was originally to be included. The same limitations have obliged us to deviate from the initial methodological rule which was 'to include only complete, un­ abridged articles' - in order to avoid distortion by selection. Only two articles have been shortened: only the basic portion of 'science' has been included; we have dropped 'natural science', 'sciences on man and society', and 'classification of sciences' (a total of thirteen pages in Russian) - this last with regret and with apologies to Professor Kedrov.

The Basic Question of Philosophy.- Dialectical Materialism.- I. The Object of Dialectical Materialism.- II. The Origins of Diamat.- III. The Leninist Stage in the Development of Diamat.- IV. Matter and Consciousness.- V. The Dialectic of the Cognitive Process.- VI. The Dialectic as Logic and Theory of Knowledge.- VII. The Categories and Laws of the Dialectic.- VIII. Dialectical Materialism and Modern Science.- IX. The Unity of Diamat and Histomat.- X. Diamat and Histomat as Conceptual Tools of the Marxist Party.- XI. Diamat and Contemporary Bourgeois Philosophy.- XII. Diamat and the Present.- Matter.- Consciousness.- I. The History of Views on Consciousness.- II. The Material Base and the Ideal Essence of Consciousness.- III. The Activity of Consciousness. Consciousness and Reality.- IV. The Structure of Consciousness. Psyche and Consciousness. Consciousness and Self-Consciousness.- V. The Emergence of Consciousness and Its Biological Prerequisites.- VI. The Social Essence of Consciousness. Individual and Social Consciousness.- Dialectical Logic.- I. The Object of Dialectical Logic and Its Tasks.- II. The History of Dialectical Logic.- III. Dialectic Logic in Bourgeois Philosophy at the Turn of This Century.- IV. Dialectical Logic in Soviet Philosophy.- V. The Basic Principles and Laws of Dialectical Logic.- VI. On the System of Dialectical Categories.- VII. On the Dialectic of Categories.- Psychology.- I. The History of Foreign Psychology.- II. The History of Soviet Psychology.- Science.- I. The Concept of ‘Science’.- II. The General Characteristics of Science.- III. The Object, Methods and Structure of Scientific Knowledge.- IV. The Social Essence of Science.- V. The Laws of the Development of Science.- VI. Conditions and Tendencies in the Development of Contemporary Science.- Historical Materialism.- I. The Social-Economic Presuppositions of the Emergence of Histomat.- II. The Conceptual Presuppositions of the Emergence of Histomat.- III. Diamat and Histomat. Specificity of the Laws of Social Life.- IV. The Social-Economic Formation.- V. The People as Creator of History.- VI. The Historical Laws and Conscious Human Activity. Necessity and Freedom.- VII. The Leninist Stage in the Development of Histomat.- VIII. Histomat’s Partisanship. Histomat and Modern Bourgeois Sociology.- IX. The Idealist and Reactionary Character of Bourgeois Sociology.- Political Economy.- Ethics.- I. The Origin of the Term and the Notion.- II. The Object and Tasks.- III. The Basic Problems of Ethics and Types of Ethical Theory.- IV. Marxist Ethics.- Esthetics.- I. The History of Esthetics.- II. Esthetics in Russia.- III. Emergence and Development of Marxist Esthetics.- IV. The Esthetic as Object of Esthetics.- Index of Names.