Classic Author of the Russian Philosophy
Evald Vasilievich Ilyenkov (1924-1979) takes special place in the Russian philosophy: he largely influenced the character of the movement, which may be regarded as “philosophical Renaissance” of the second half of the 20th century originating in our country. Evald introduced a number of ideas that were ahead of their time and could only be truly appreciated nowadays. In particular, it concerns the understanding of how to ascend from the abstract to the concrete when building a scientific theory. In his understanding of the problem of the ideal, Evald Ilyenkov anticipated the central problem of the modern complex of cognitive sciences: “enactivistic” approach and the idea of “broadened cognition”. The objective of the study was to introduce a number of previously unknown texts of the 60s and the 70s by Evald Ilyenkov into scientific circulation, as well as to provide extensive commentaries thereto, develop references, and describe the social and political context of the philosopher’s work. To do so, the author uses materials of personal, public and academic archives. During Evald Ilyenkov’s lifetime, his works were severely edited, censored and abridged; the goal of the study was to restore the original version of the works and publish manuscripts that had never been released in the Soviet times. By the end of 2020, four volumes of Evald Ilyenkov’s collected works have been published. The publisher brings these works to the new level, setting a high standard of translation and studies of the philosopher’s global heritage.