Mir Books

In this post, we will see the book Fundamentals of Philosophy by Alexander Spirkin.

The book offers a systematic exposition of  foundations of dialectical and historical materialism. It begins with deliberations on the nature of  philosophical knowledge, the role of worldview, and the purpose of methodology. There is also a brief excursus into the history of philosophy. Relying on a wealth of theoretical and practical materials, the author gives an all-sided analysis of such fundamental concepts as being and consciousness, matter and motion, cognition and activity; step by step, he identifies the main principles, laws and categories of dialectics, and closely studies the socioeconomic, political and cultural aspects of society’s life against the background of the global problems of modern times. The book shows conclusively that a consistent scientific philosophy did not develop as a mechanical accumulation of previously discovered grains of the truth but through their critical analysis and creative elaboration under the changing historical conditions.

The book was awarded a prize at a competition of textbooks for students of higher educational establishments.

The book was translated from the Russian by Sergei Syrovatkin. And was published by Progress Publishers in 1990.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

Chapter I WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? 7

1. The Subject Matter and Nature of Philosophical Knowledge 7
2. Philosophy as the Theoretical Basis of Worldview 23
3. Philosophy as General Methodology 31

Chapter II. AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 37

1. A History of Pre-Marxian Philosophy 37
2. The Emergence and Development of the Philosophy of Marxism 60

BEING AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Chapter III MATTER: THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF THE FORMS OF ITS MANIFESTATION 66

1. The General Concept of Matter 66
2. Motion as the Mode of Existence of Matter 82
3. Space and Time 88

Chapter IV. CONSCIOUSNESS; ESSENCE AND ORIGIN 99

1. The General Concept of Consciousness 99
2. The Path from Animal Psyche to Man’s Consciousness 110
3. Consciousness. Language. Communication .114

AN OUTLINE THEORY OF DIALECTICS

Chapter V. CONNECTION AND DEVELOPMENT AS THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF DIALECTICS 119

1. On the Universal Connections and Interactions 119
2. The Idea of Development and the Principle of Historism 123
3. The Principle of Causality and Objective Goal-Directedness 132
4. The Systems Principle 141
5. Law and Regularity 147

Chapter VI, THE BASIC CATEGORIES AND LAWS OF DIALECTICS 152

1. On the Unity of and Differences Between the Categories and Laws of Dialectics 152
2. Essence and Phenomenon 154
3. The Individual, the Particular and the General 162
4. Necessity and Chance 165
5. Possibility, Reality and Probability 172
6. Part and Whole. System 178
7. Content and Form 184
8. Quality, Quantity and Measure 189
9. Contradiction and Harmony 196
10. Negation, Continuity and Innovations 203

KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY

Chapter VII. ON THE ESSENCE AND MEANING OF KNOWLEDGE 208

1. What Does It Mean to Know? 208
2. Practice as the Basis and Purpose of Cognition 216
3. What Is Truth? 220

Chapter VIII THE PHILOSOPHY OF THOUGHT 228

1. Intellectual-Sensuous Contemplation 228
2. Thought: Essence, Levels and Forms 230
3. The Creative Power of Human Reason 240
4. The Operations and Modes of Thought 246
5. The Empirical and Theoretical Levels of Scientific Cognition 254

QUESTIONS OF SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

Chapter IX. SOCIETY AND NATURE 267

1. A Historico-Materialist Conception of Society 267
2. Interaction between Society and Nature 277
3. Demography: Socio-Philosophical Problems 282

Chapter X. THE ECONOMIC SPHERE OF SOCIETY’S LIFE:

THE SOCIO-PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECT 286

Material Production: The Concept and the Main Elements 286

Chapter XI. THE SOCIAL SPHERE OF SOCIETY’S LIFE 298

1. Classes and Class Relations 298
2. Nations and National Relations 301
3. Family and Everyday Life 303

Chapter XII. THE POLITICAL SPHERE OF SOCIETY’S LIFE 309

Politics, the State, and Law .309

Chapter XIII. SOCIAL CONTROL 317

1. Social Information and Control 317
2. Types of Control and Their Impact on Social Development 321

Chapter XIV. A PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTION OF MAN 325

1. Man. Personality. Society 325
2. Man in the Flow of History 338

Chapter XV. THE SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL SPHERE OF SOCIETY’S LIFE 343

1. Social Consciousness: Essence and Levels 343
2. Political Consciousness 349
3. Legal Consciousness 352
4. Moral Consciousness 354
5. Aesthetic Consciousness 363
6. Religious Consciousness 375
7. The Scientific Perception of the Universe and the World of Science .380
8. The Philosophy of Culture 387

Chapter XVI. HISTORICAL PROGRESS AND THE GLOBAL PROBLEMS OF OUR TIMES 400

1. Progress as a Historically Necessary Direction of Society’s Development 400
2. The Dialectics of World Development in the Present Epoch 410

NAME INDEX 413

SUBJECT INDEX 417