Collection
Valentin Asmus and Soviet Philosophy
Valentin Asmus (1894–1975) was regarded as one of the most prominent Soviet historians of philosophy, a logician, aesthete, literary scholar and educator. In 1937, Asmus, a professor at Moscow State University; in 1958 he was elected full member of the International Institute of Philosophy in Paris. He is the author of more than 200 publications (about 20 of them are monographs and textbooks) and a large number of articles for the Philosophical Encyclopedia (Filosofskaia entsiklopediia), the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Bol’shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia), and the Literary Encyclopedia (Literaturnaia entsiklopediia). His works have been translated into a number of European languages. V.F. Asmus (1894-1975) is a prominent Soviet philosopher, major historian of Western philosophy, logician, aesthetician, literary critic, and teacher. Since 1937, he has been professor at Moscow State University, and full member of the International Institute of Philosophy in Paris since 1958. Asmus was educated at Kiev University in 1914-1918. However, all his work were written after the Russian revolution of 1917. He is a renowned specialist in ancient and New Age philosophy. Today, his own works has become a subject matter of historical and philosophical research. His ideas of the early Soviet period and his work in the first Soviet philosophical institutions and journals becomes increasingly interesting. The proposed special issue examines Asmus’ thought in the broader context of Soviet philosophy and as the philosophical historian. The authors approach Asmus’ and Soviet history of philosophy from various points of convergence. The reception of his work is examined not only in Soviet but also in Western criticism, analysing his articles in the journal Under the Banner of Marxism (Pod znamenem marksizma), presenting his approach to the concept of intuition, to various problems of aesthetics and literature. The special articles on Asmus’ treatment of the philosophy of Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, and Hegel are planned in the issue. This issue is a unique case study in the intellectual history of Soviet philosophy. The pivot of the issue is an interview with Asmus’ son Valentin Valentinovich, the Rector of the Russian Orthodox Church. It reveals little-known aspects of the biography and worldview of the prominent Soviet philosopher.
Editors
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Svetlana M. Klimova
Svetlana M. Klimova – Dr.Sc., Professor in Philosophy of Faculty of Humanities / School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University, Moscow). Her area of research is Russian and Soviet philosophy. She is the author of several articles on the formation of philosophy in the Soviet period, on Asmus, Lifshits and Ilyenkov. Her scholarly interests involve religious and philosophical teaching of Leo Tolstoy and its reception in the world philosophy. sklimova@hse.ru
