In recent decades, memory has become one of the major concepts and a dominant topic in philosophy, sociology, politics, history, science, cultural studies, literary theory, and the discussions of trauma and the Holocaust. In contemporary debates, the concept of memory is often used rather broadly and thus not always unambiguously. For this reason, the clarification of the range of the historical meaning of the concept of memory is a very important and urgent task. This volume shows how the concept of (...) memory has been used and appropriated in different historical circumstances and how it has changed throughout the history of philosophy. In ancient philosophy, memory was considered a repository of sensible and mental impressions and was complemented by recollection-the process of recovering the content of past thoughts and perceptions. Such an understanding of memory led to the development both of mnemotechnics and the attempts to locate memory within the structure of cognitive faculties. In contemporary philosophical and historical debates, memory frequently substitutes for reason by becoming a predominant capacity to which one refers when one wants to explain not only the personal identity but also a historical, political, or social phenomenon. In contemporary interpretation, it is memory, and not reason, that acts in and through human actions and history, which is a critical reaction to the overly rationalized and simplified concept of reason in the Enlightenment. Moreover, in modernity memory has taken on one of the most distinctive features of reason: it is thought of as capable not only of recollecting past events and meanings, but also itself. In this respect, the volume can be also taken as a reflective philosophical attempt by memory to recall itself, its functioning and transformations throughout its own history. (shrink)

Zipf's law states that if words of language are ranked in the order of decreasing frequency in texts, the frequency of a word is inversely proportional to its rank. It is very reliably observed in the data, but to date it escaped satisfactory theoretical explanation. This article suggests that Zipf's law may result from a hierarchical organization of word meanings over the semantic space, which in turn is generated by the evolution of word semantics dominated by expansion of meanings and (...) competition of synonyms. A study of the frequency of partial synonyms in Russian provides experimental evidence for the hypothesis that word frequency is determined by semantics. (shrink)

Drawing from the works of Plato and more contemporary philosophers such as Bakhtin, Buber, Taylor, and Gadamer, On Dialogue explores the necessity of dialogue to being. Author Dmitri Nikulin argues that dialogue is not just a form of communication, but it is the very conditio humana. Nikulin provides a systematic account of dialogue and its role in philosophy, literature, and oral discourse.

The transition to the market economy, which began in Russia more than 30 years ago, has dramatically affected the performance of the Russian academic sphere. The market transformation in the country coincided with significant changes in the global academia. Bureaucratization and obsession with performance indicators have been very welcomed by the Russian system and have been incorporated in various academic excellence programs adopted in the country. A closer look at these programs reveals that the real driving force behind the initiatives (...) is not public spiritedness of the country’s policymakers but wishes of various groups to be engaged in the rent-seeking activities of contemporary Russia. The present paper focuses on the interplay between the predatory publishing industry and the apparent encouragement of fraudulent practices by some universities in Russia. It highlights the problem of “predatory universities” and explains the evolution of such strategies in the academic sphere of the country. The Russian case allows to look at the problems of the global academia from a new angle. It should be acknowledged that the predatory publishing industry is much greater than it seems within the initial “open access” model. It is clear that the authors are very often not less predators than the publishers, and this predatory ecosystem has been significantly expanded beyond the merely publisher-author interactions. Moreover, the noticeable players in these predatory markets are universities and governments that play with the systems designed by the leading citation databases and global ranking organisations, which apparently also benefit from these arrangements. (shrink)

The proper development of Marxist-Leninist ethics demands thorough analysis of its categories, and clarification of their nature and interconnections. These questions are still inadequately treated in our philosophical literature. The problem of the essence of ethical categories is actually bypassed, yet it is precisely here that one finds many disputes and much that is not clear. This problem requires the solution of questions such as the relationship between existing morality and ethical theory, between actual moral feelings, views and principles on (...) the one hand, and ethical categories on the other. In this article let us focus attention on these questions. (shrink)

В работе сделана попытка рассмотреть с позиции библейской, святоотеческой и научной антропологии общие аспекты психической жизни человека. Работа адресована широкому кругу читателей.

ch. 1. Vnitri cheloveka -- ch. 2. Vne cheloveka.

Throughout the 20th century, the theory and history of performing arts repeatedly attempted to systematize various phenomena in the field of interpretation of works of academic music. The number of performing styles and types in various researches has risen dramatically, until the beginning of this century when it was reduced to a single concept - to the category of an individual style. This topic was discussed mainly in research papers devoted to the theory of pianism. The results of their observations (...) and conclusions can be applied to the performing arts in general. The article mentions the works of K.A. Martinsen, D.A. Rabinovich, V.P. Chinaeva, A.V. Malinkovskaya and others. The topic of musical perception is addressed both in musicology and in musical psychology. This research offers a new vector for studying of musical perception, linking the features of musical imagery created by the performer and the nature of perception. The following aspects are revelated: patterns that allow us to talk about the types of musical image, the principles of its construction and the types of perception. This is an affective image created on the principle of contrast. It corresponds to the psychophysical type of perception. The contextual image is guided by the principle of connections. It corresponds to the aesthetic type of perception. The integrative image is formed, focusing on the principle of the whole. It corresponds to the symbolic type of perception. A hermetic system of typology is considered to be impossible; artistic practice will largely oppose it. However, these tendencies are able to shed light on the nature of musical perception and allow to continue the scientific discussion of the current topic of musical performance. (shrink)

From the editors of Voprosy filosofii:From August 17 to 22, the Eighth International Congress on the Logic. Methodology, and Philosophy of Science will convene in Moscow. The theme of this congress is "Man, Science, Humanism."The work of the congress will be organized in the following sections: 1. Foundations of mathematical reasoning. 2. The theory of models. 3. Foundations of calculability and recursion theory. 4. The theory of sets. 5. General logic. 6. The general methodology of science. 7. Foundations of probability (...) and statistical inference. 8. Foundations of the physical sciences. 9. Foundations of the biological sciences. 10. Foundations of psychology and the cognitive sciences. 11. Foundations of the social sciences. 12. Foundations and philosophy of linguistics. 13. The history of logic, methodology, and the philosophy of science.Two symposia are planned for the congress: "Science and Ethics" and "The New Style of Scientific Thinking in Natural Science." In addition to the main sections, several round tables will be organized at the congress on the following topics: J. The methodology of solving global problems of the modern epoch: a systems approach. 2. Methodological and social problems of computerization. 3. Factors in the development of modern scientific knowledge. 4. Methodological problems in the all-around development of man.The journal Voprosy filosofii has published a number of articles related to these problems over the past year . Soviet scholars are taking an active part in the preparation and organization of this congress. The journal plans in subsequent issues to publish materials for the congress under the most varied rubrics. In this issue, with D. P. Gorskii's article "The Concept of Real and Ideal Types," we are opening a special section in which we shall publish basic materials devoted to the Eighth International Congress on the Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to consider critically the humanistic potential of Olympism. We consider the concepts ‘human’ and ‘humanism’ from an existential perspective. Existentialism argues that human beings exist in a state of freedom. Freedom, as the basis of being human, holds a human fully responsible for his or her own existence. This responsibility assumes an active mode of behaviour, predicated on human effort. It can also include the making of specific artifacts such as creating creations. According to (...) Mamardashvili, creating creations are unique cultural mechanisms that remain in the boundaries of morality, beauty, thought and so on, adding quality to human existence. The article argues that the desire to be fulfilled as a human being is the moral basis to which Olympism directs Olympic athletes. Moreover, Olympism expresses the human’s need of self-overcoming, constant self-perfection which is necessary aspect of the humanity. Thus, the humanistic potential of Olympism lies in the fact that it allows for the creative space in sport which is itself a place for human realization. Therefore, Olympism can be characterized as opera operans, creating creation. (shrink)

В монографии рассматривается влияние философии Платона на русскую философию и культуру в целом. Для студентов, аспирантов, преподавателей гуманитарного направления, специалистов в области истории русской философии, философии культуры, педагогики.

В монографии рассматриваются различные аспекты проявления философии Платона в русской культуре. Существенное значение имеет уточнение в названии монографии - это очерки русской философской мысли. Для тех, кому небезразлична судьба истории русской философии.