SOVIETICA PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF EAST-EUROPEAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF FRIBOURG /SWITZERLAND Edited by J. M. BOCHENSKI SOVIET PHILOSOPHY THOMAS J. BLAKELEY Department of Philosophy. Boston College SOVIET PHILOSOPHY A General Introduction to Contemporary Soviet Thought I D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY DORDRECHT-HOLLAND ISBN-13: 978-94-010-3608-5 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-3606-1 001: 10.1007/978-94-010-3606-1 © 1964 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm or any other means, without permission from the publisher TABLE OF CONTENTS Introductory Note VI I Contemporary Soviet Philosophy: Definitions and Description 1 II Dialectical Materialism 11 III Matter 22 IV The Dialectic 27 V Thought 35 On Philosophy of Science. A Note 41 VI Psychology 42 VII Logic 47 VIII Historical Materialism 54 IX Ethics 66 X Esthetics 69 XI Atheism 71 XII History of Philosophy 76 On Ordering Soviet Books. A Note 79 Name-Index 80 V INTRODUCTORY NOTE This volume is intended as a general introduction to a relatively unkown - at least in the United States - area of Soviet studies. We do not intend to take up the question of the utility of such studies. It has competently been dealt with elsewhere. * Suffice it to say that both those who reject Marxist-Leninist philosophy out of hand as being irrelevant to the more 'essential' aspects of Soviet life and those who maintain that its influence is marginal, can validly do so only if they have more than a superficial knowledge of this peculiar philosophic system, i.e. they must know what they are talking about. Our purpose is double. First, this introduction will allow the student to profitably plan and easily pursue his studies in Soviet philosophy, whether this be his major field of study or an adjunct to studies in Soviet history, sociology, politics, etc. Second, the general reading public will - it is hoped - find this book useful as a guide to profitable reading on one of the more significant aspects of contemporary Communism. The division into chapters follows, wherever possible, that used by the Soviet philosophers themselves. In each chapter, the first section is a thematic outline of the Soviet views on the question at hand. This is followed by a bibliographical section in two parts: the basic Soviet texts in the field; and Western works discussing the Soviet views. English-language sources have been cited where such exist. Wherever other books are used, these are cited in English in the text and in the original language in the references. * Cf. J. M. Bochenski: 'Why Studies in Soviet Philosophy?' Studies in Soviet Thought III (1963) 1-10. VI CHAPTER I CONTEMPORARY SOVIET PHILOSOPHY: DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTION Contemporary Soviet philosophy is a part of the contemporary philo sophic scene. As such, it has roots in the philosophic tradition and stands in a certain relationship to other movements in contemporary philosophy. More immediately, contemporary Soviet philosophy is an integral part of contemporary Communism. We will, therefore, begin with a series of definitions designed to situate philosophy within the over-all world view of Communism, followed by a consideration of the remote - or "classical" - sources of this philosophy, and its more immediate deriva tion from Soviet philosophy prior to 1947. I. Definitions 1.1 Communism is a social-ideological system espousing collectivism, nationalization, materialism and atheism. Two elements of this definition are to be stressed. "Social-ideological" indicates that Communism is basically a specific form of social organiza tion, combined with and inspired by a distinctive theoretical apparatus. "Espousing" is used here, instead of "teaching" or "believing" to indicate that each of the four elements is both a theory and a practical program. I.ll Collectivism is a point of view - based on Hegel's "the true is the whole" and Marx' idea of man as a "generic being" - which sees man's reality as consisting in his total integration into and identification with the diverse "collectivities" of which he is a member. As a practical policy it consists in systematically subordinating the traits, interests and pursuits of the individual to those of the collectivities. 1.12 Nationalization is a postulate of 'practical reason', according to which the realization of the collectivist ideal is best achieved on the economic level, which is the "basic" level, through state-ownership of the means of production. The practical policy is the acquisition by the state of such ownership. 1.13 Materialism is a philosophic point of view based on such prin ciples as "all is matter or a function of matter", "the unity of the world SOVIET PHILOSOPHY consists in its materiality", etc. The practical policy said to follow from it is contained in such maxims as "see reality as it is", "think concretely", etc. (cf. Chapter VII, 3f.) 1.14 Atheism is the denial of the existence not only of a personal, Christian-type God but of any type of supreme being (cf. Chapter XI, 2) with the exception of eternal, self-moving matter, the "Absolute". In practice, atheism is organized and militant opposition to any form of religion and to any form of philosophy which could be construed as favorable to or neutral toward religion (cf. Chapter XI, 1.2). 1.2 Marxism-Leninism is the theory of Communism. First, Marxism-Leninism is not equivalent to Marxist-Leninist philo sophy (see 1.3 below). Second, Marxism-Leninism is distinct from Marxism. Use 'Marxian' for indicating the thought of Karl Marx him self. Use 'Marxist' to indicate the thought of someone who took one or more doctrines of Marx as the basis of his own thinking (including, therefore, Lenin). Use 'Marxist-Leninist' for those who dogmatically follow Lenin in his interpretation of Marx. 1.3 Marxism-Leninism is made up of philosophy, political economy and scientific socialism. 1.31 Marxist-Leninist political economy is the analysis of the political structures and economic relations existing in the five major historical periods recognized by Marxian historicism. The five periods are: primitive society, ancient society, feudal society, capitalist society and socialist society. However, in actual practice, Marxist-Leninist theoreticians assimilate the ancient and feudal periods to capitalism under the heading 'class-society'. And, the very ambiguous term 'socialism' has been superseded by a socialism-Communism dis tinction wherein the former is a transitional phase leading to the latter (cf. Chapter VIII, 6.221 if.). Whence, Marxist-Leninist political economy analyzes capitalist society, socialist society, Communist society, and the various transitional periods. 1.32 Marxist-Leninist scientific socialism is the study of contemporary Soviet society as the realization of Marxism-Leninism. Although this sector of Marxism-Leninism has only recently begun to receive serious attention in the Soviet Union, it seems to be developing into a type of ex post facto justification of Marxist-Leninist theory in terms of what has actually happened in the Soviet Union since 1917. 2 DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTION 1.4 Marxist-Leninist philosophy is made up of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. 2. Sources Marxist-Leninist philosophy stems from the philosophic views of Marx, Engels and Lenin - views which were, in turn, derived from the philosophy of Hegel and from that of the eighteenth and nineteenth century scientific materialists. Other elements came from the thought of Feuerbach and from the Russian revolutionary traditions. 2.1 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) exercised the strong est and most long-lasting influence on Marxist-Leninist philosophy. This influence was both direct and indirect. Marx, Engels and Lenin each ,studied the philosophy of Hegel. In addition, each was influenced by the Hegelianism of his predecessor. Marxist-Leninist philosophy has inherited from Hegel its dialectical evolutionism, fundamentalist rationalism, and syncretist monism. 2.11 A most valuable and readable introduction to Hegel's philosophy in English is J. N. Findlay's Hegel: A Re-examination1• 2.12 As a general rule, contemporary Soviet works on Hegel tend to be colored by extra-philosophic considerations. An example of the better work of which they are capable is K. S. Bakradze's System and Method of the Philosophy of Hegel2• 2.2 J. o. La Mettrie (1709-1751), P. H. D. d'Holbach (1723-1789), D. Diderot (1713-1784), J. Moleschott (1822-1893), L. Buchner (1824- 1899) and C. A. Helvetius (1715-1771) are among the 'scientific mate rialists' who have had a direct or indirect influence on contemporary Marxist-Leninist philosophy. In reality, however, it was the materialistic interpretation of Darwin's Origin of the Species (by Marx and Engels) which has had the most permanent influence. This line of thought has contributed to contemporary Marxist-Leninist philosophy its bent for concentration on the sciences, its underlying sensualism, and its chronic difficulties with the mechanicist aspects of materialism. 2.3 Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) belonged to the radical left-wing Hegelians (also called the 'young Hegelians'), so called because they ignored the conservative personal views of Hegel and developed the dialectical, 'revolutionary' side of his doctrine (others in the group: D. F. Strauss, Max Stimer and Karl Marx). Feuerbach's The Essence of 3 SOVIET PHILOSOPHY Christianity provided the essentials of Marx' doctrine on alienation. 3 Man magnifies and purifies his own nature and sets it up as an objec tively existing being, to be revered and worshiped; this is God. Marx agreed with Feuerbach but maintained that the latter had not gone far enough, i.e. had not discovered all the alienations, and the cause of them. 2.31 Feuerbach's influence on contemporary Soviet philosophy is completely channeled through Marx4• 2.4 Karl Marx (1818-1883) wrote his doctoral dissertation on The Distinction between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophies of Nature (1841)5, but his main influence on contemporary Sovietphi'losophycame from his philosophy of society and of history, as exposed in The Critique of the Hegelian Theory of Constitutional Law6, Criticism of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right 7, and the Economico-Philosophical Manuscripts of the Year 18448• The essential elements of Marx' views are (I) his concep tion of man as a generic being who 'realizes' himself through productive work, (2) his notion of the alienated existence of man in present circum stances, wherein the economic alienation (of man from his work, from the fruits thereof, and from his fellow men) is basic to the civic (man as private and public), political (man as a social being and as an individual) and religious (man against 'himself as God') forms of alienation - all of which preclude the achievement of genericity, and (3) his 'materialist conception of history' which provides - on the basis of his analysis of society into 'base' and 'superstructure', and of history into five major periods (cf. Chapter I, 1.31) - for the 'de-alienation' of man and his 'generalization' by correcting the economic base through social revolution, hegemony of the proletariat and establishment of an ultimate societal state called Communism. 2.41 In contemporary Soviet philosophical writings, works explicitly on the doctrine of Marx - as distinct from Marxism-Leninism - are relatively rare since the two doctrines are purported to be identical. Marx is thus given credit not only for historical materialism but also for dialectical materialism. A classic and readily available example of this point of view is to be found in M. M. Rozental' 's Marxist Dialectical Method9 and, more recently, in E. V. Il'enkov's Dialectic of the Abstract and Concrete in Marx' 'Capital'lO. 2.42 Tucker's Philosophy and Myth in Karl Marxll provides an English-language coverage of Marx' philosophical views. 4 DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTION 2.5 Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) worked closely with Marx in the development of historical materialism. In his Anti-Dilhring12, Ludwig Feuerbach13 and Dialectics of Nature14, Engels concentrated on the dia lectical character of nature and thought, thereby giving rise to dialectical materialism in general and dialectical logic in particular. The fact that Engels - and Lenin after him - was interested in the scientific questions of his era and more influenced than Marx by the 'scientific materialists', served to contribute to contemporary Marxist-Leninist philosophy its scientific bent. 2.51 For contemporary Soviet philosophy, Engels is philosophically indistinguishable from Marx, except as regards the history and philo sophy of science. The leading contemporary Soviet writer on Engels in this latter role is B. M. Kedrov25• 2.6 Vladimir Il'ic Lenin (real name: Uljanov) (1870-1924) - the founder of Marxism-Leninism - was influenced in the formation of his social philosophy and revolutionary ideology by Marx (through G. V. Plekhanov) and the Russian revolutionary tradition (principally the nihilists: N. G. Cernysevskij, N. A. Dobroljubov, D. 1. Pisarev, etc., and the popUlists: S. G. Necaev, P. Tkacev, and M. Bakunin), and in the formation of his philosophic views by Engels, by his own readings in Aristotle, Hegel, etc., and by his running fights with the Russian Machists (A. A. Bogdanov, V. A. Bazarov, N. V. Valentinov, etc.) and the 'God builders' (Lunacarskij and others). Lenin's contributions to historical materialism, scattered throughout his works on revolution 16, include (1) inversion of Marx' 'economic determinism' (the economic base determines the ideological superstructure) and its replacement by 'poli tical voluntarism' (the resolute activities of a doctrinaire revolutionary group decisively influence the course of historical events), and (2) the extrapolation of Marx' doctrine on classes and class-war to the in ternational scene, in the form of 'imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism' (according to which, just as the progressive and reac tionary classes fight each other in the context of one society, the pro gressive and reactionary nations fight each other on the international scene). Lenin wrote two philosophic works: Materialism and Empirio-Criti cism17 where he takes issue with the Russian Machists and develops a Marxist-Leninist epistemology, and Philosophical Notebooks18 which is 5