Intelligent Materialism: Essays on Hegel and Dialectics

by Evald Ilyenkov, Evgeni Pavlov (Editor)

Overview

CBSD Description:

Evald Ilyenkov is a unique figure among the many Soviet thinkers that have recently been introduced to English-speaking readers. Although a thoroughly academic philosopher (both in the choice of his subject matter and in his institutional locations), Ilyenkov's ideas are communicated in a manner not often found in academic discourse. The texts presented here are not exhaustive of Ilyenkov's extensive engagement with Hegel and dialectics, but they are representative of the main themes and interests which pervade his writing on that subject. It is hoped that this collection will continue to draw interest to the Soviet engagement with Hegel and dialectics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642590609
Publisher:	Haymarket Books
Publication date:	03/24/2020
Series:	Historical Materialism
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Evald Ilyenkov (1924–1979) was an important Soviet Marxist thinker who worked on a number of topics related to materialist dialectics and philosophy as a science of laws and categories of thinking. In 1953 Ilyenkov defended his dissertation on the issues of materialist dialectics in Marx's Grundrisse where he investigated matters that gave rise to a new direction in Marxist philosophy – dialectical logic. In the 1960s Ilyenkov published several original studies dedicated to the categories of 'the abstract and the concrete' in Marx's Capital as well as works related to dialectics, nature of thinking, art and communist ideal.

Evgeni V. Pavlov, Ph.D. (2009), University of Denver, teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note Evgeni V. Pavlov

1 Hegel Today

2 Hegel and the Problem of the Subject Matter of Logic

3 The Peak, the End and the New Life of Dialectics (Hegel and the End of Old Philosophy)

4 Hegel's Science of Logic

5 Hegel and Hermeneutics: the Problem of the Relationship between Language and Thinking in Hegel

6 The Problem of the Ideal in Philosophy

7 Understanding of the Abstract and the Concrete in Dialectics and Formal Logic

8 The Logical and the Historical

9 Lenin's Idea of the Coincidence of Logic, Theory of Cognition and Dialectics

10 Materialism Is Militant and Therefore Dialectical

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Intelligent Materialism: Essays on Hegel and Dialectics (edited and translated by Evgeni V. Pavlov), adds another ten translated essays that focus largely on the relevance of Hegel's dialectics to Marxism, often challenging the official interpretation of Marxism in Russia, diamat. Given the inherent difficulty of Hegelian Marxism, Pavlov's translation is both elegant and accessible, while also conveying the vitality, sardonic wit and, where warranted, forceful polemical style of Ilyenkov's writings. [...] This book has further solidified Ilyenkov's significance within the canons of both Hegel and Marx scholarship, but more importantly has direct relevance in clarifying ongoing debates in Marxist circles regarding what is meant by 'materialism'." - Dom Taylor, in: Marx & Philosophy Review of Books

“In sum, this is an important collection which makes a major addition to Marxist philosophy. The main articles in it are substantial scholarly pieces that make original and thought-provoking contributions to Marxist philosophy and to the Marxist interpretation of Hegel’s thought. They provide an excellent overview of some of the main themes of Ilyenkov’s work and enable one to appreciate its importance in a number of areas”. Sean Sayers, in Reviews Science & Society, 2020.

From the Publisher