Dialectical Materialism: A Historical and Systematic Survey of Philosophy in the Soviet Union

628 Pages·1958·22.92 MB·English

by  Gustav A. Wetter

Praeger University Series 3.50
$
Dialectical
Materialism
A historical and
systematic survey
of philosophy in
the Soviet Union
Gustav A. Wetter

DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM

DIALECTICAL
MATERIALISM
A Historical
and Systematic Survey
of Philosophy in the
Soviet Union
h
GUSTAV A. WETTER
TrandLated from the German by
PETER HEATH
FREDERICK A. PRAEGER, Publisher
New York • London
Publisher
Frederick a. PRAEGER,
64 3,
UNIVERSITY PLACE, NEW YORK N.Y., U.S.A.
49 1,
GREAT ORMOND STREET, LONDON W. C. ENGLAND
Published in the United States of America in 1958
by Frederick A. Pràeger, Ine., Publisher
Third printing, 1963
This is a revised edition, translated with the author’s additions,
of the book first published in the German language in 1952 by
Herder Verlag, Vienna, as Der Dialektische Materialismus.
All rights resei-ved
© 1958 by Routledge 8c Kegan Paul Ltd.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 58-10116
Nihil obstat ANDREAS MOORE, L.C.L.
Censor deputai us
Imprimatur ►*< GEORGIUS L. CRAVEN
Epüs. Sebastopolis
Vie. Gen.
Westmonasterii, die 30a Junii 1958
Cum lieentia superiorum ordinis
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Contentò
Preface ix
Translator''s Note xii
PART ONE Historical
I The Philosophical Roots of Marxism 3
1 HEGEL 4
2 THE ‘HEGELIAN LEFT’ 7
3 LUDWIG FEUERBACH 10
4 MARXISM AND POSITIVISM 15
II Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 17
1 KARL MARX 17
2 FRIEDRICH ENGELS 41
III Revolutionary Movements in Russia: The Origins
of Russian Marxism 58
1 ORIGINS: RUSSIAN NIHILISM 59
2 NARODNICHESTVO 62
3 RUSSIAN MARXISM 68
IV Philosophical Tendencies in Russian Marxism
before the Revolution 73
1 THE PHILOSOPHICAL CONFLICT BETWEEN
MARXISM AND NARODNICHESTVO 73
2 CRITICISM IN RUSSIAN MARXISM 83
3 THE ‘GOD-SEEKERS’ AND THE ‘GOD-
BUILDERS’ 90
4 BOGDANOV’S EMPIRIO-MONISM 92
5 PLEKHANOV 100
V
vi Contents
V Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 110
1 LIFE AND PHILOSOPHICAL ACTIVITY 111
2 126
LENINISM
VI Philosophical Developments in the U.S.S.R. up to
1931 128
VII Mechanism 137
1 GENERAL CHARACTER OF MECHANISM 138
2 BUKHARIN 143
3 axel’rod (ortodox) 149
VIII Menshevik Idealism 154
1 GENERAL OUTLINES 155
2 DEBORIN 159
3 TROTSKY 166
IX Developments since 1931 175
1 CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECREE OF THE
CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF 25TH JANUARY
1931 175
2 THE PHILOSOPHICAL INSTITUTE OF THE
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 181
3 THE ‘PHILOSOPHICAL DISCUSSION’ OF 1947
AND ITS AFTERMATH 183
4
FROM THE ‘PHILOSOPHICAL DISCUSSION’ TO
THE DEATH OF STALIN 189
X Stalin as a Philosopher 209
XI Since the Death of Stalin 231
PART TWO The System of Soviet Philosophy
I Conception of Philosophy 249
1 PHILOSOPHY AND THE SPECIAL SCIENCES 249
2 254
INDIVIDUAL PHILOSOPHICAL DISCIPLINES
3 256
THE UNITY OF THEORY AND PRACTICE
4 268
THE PARTISAN CHARACTER OF PHILOSOPHY
5 THE PHILOSOPHICAL ‘ATMOSPHERE’ IN THE
U.S.S.R. 274
Contents vii
The Theory of Matter 280
1 MATERIALISM OR REALISM? 281
2 THE LENINIST CONCEPT OF MATTER 286
3 MATTER AND MOTION 296
4 SPACE AND TIME 304
The Materialist Dialectic 310
1 STALIN’S ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST TWO
‘PRINCIPAL FEATURES’ OF THE MARXIST
DIALECTICAL METHOD 312
2 THE LAW OF THE TRANSITION FROM
QUANTITY TO QUALITY 319
3 THE LAW OF THE UNITY AND STRUGGLE OF
OPPOSITES 333
4 THE LAW OF THE NEGATION OF THE
NEGATION 355
The Theory of Categories 366
1 APPEARANCE, ESSENCE AND LAW 371
2 CAUSALITY AND FINALITY 375
3 NECESSITY AND CONTINGENCY. THE PROBLEM
OF FREEDOM 381
4 POSSIBILITY AND ACTUALITY 396
5 FORM AND CONTENT 402
Dialectical Materialism and Modern Science 405
1 QUANTUM PHYSICS 406
2 RELATIVITY THEORY 416
3 MASS AND ENERGY 424
4 CHEMISTRY 432
5 COSMOGONY 436
6 THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 442
7 THE ‘NEW CELL-THEORY’ OF O. B. LEPESHIN-
SKAYA 451
8 THE ‘NEW THEORY OF INHERITANCE’. I. V.
MICHURIN, T. D. LYSENKO 455
9
ANTHROPOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. I. P.
PAVLOV 469
viii Contents
VI The Dialectical Materialist Theory of Knowledge 488
1 THE PRIORITY OF MATTER OVER CONSCIOUS¬
NESS 490
2 the ‘copy-theory’ 498
3 PRACTICE AS THE FOUNDATION OF KNOW¬
LEDGE AND CRITERION OF TRUTH 507
4 OBJECTIVE, RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE TRUTH 512
VII Logic 51g
1 THE MATERIALIST DIALECTIC AS LOGIC AND
AS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE 518
2 THE CONTROVERSY OVER FORMAL LOGIC 523
3 INDIVIDUAL LOGICAL OPERATIONS 535
Conclusion 54g
Bibliography 562
Index of Names 595
Index of Subjects 602