On Sat, 22 Oct 2005 21:25:38 +0200 "Victor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Whatever the specifics of his system, Deborin appears to be the > historical > link between Lenin's more dialectical-philosophical works and those > of > Vygotsky and of Ilyenkov (or at least of those who were Ilyenkov's > immediate > predecessors and in some cases mentors.) Any serious consideration > by > non-Russian reading researchers of the place of Vygotsky and > Ilyenkov in the > development of materialist theories of social life and of history > demands > much more information in English on Deborin and his school? > factions? than > is available today.
I think we are hampered because of relevant material remains untranslated from Russian. Also, people in the Soviet Union were not always candid about revealing who their influences were, especially if that involved people who had fallen into disfavor. I am sure that Deborin is the link between Lenin's later more Hegelian work and the later Hegelianized Marxism of Ilyenkov. Deborin appears to have been an adroit player of the Soviet academic game. In the 1931 conference at which Mitin prevailed, Deborin made a show of giving support to Mitin's position over his own. Despite having been condemned as a a "menshevizing idealist," he seems to have managed to regain his academic equibrium several years later, when he re-emerged as one of the lead Soviet point men against Lukacs. He remained on the presidium of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and he lived to see, under Khruschchev, all of his works republished in the Soviet Union. When one considers that lots of Soviet philosophers, including some of his own disciples, were killed in the great purges of the 1930s, all of this was no mean accomplishment. > Victor Friedlander-Rakocz > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ralph Dumain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[email protected]>; > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2005 16:48 > Subject: [Marxism-Thaxis] Deborin > > > > Abram Moiseevich Deborin (Ioffe) (1881-1963) > > http://www.sovlit.org/amd/index.html > > > > This is a terrific project. I was interested in Deborin in the > 1980s and > > early '90s. Not knowing that much, I wrote an article in the > perestrojka > > period advocating his rehabilitation. But apart from summaries in > > > historical works (Wetter, etc.) on Soviet philosophy, the > substance of his > > philosophy was not readily apparent, given lack of translations. > So it's > > also possible that I overestimated him at the time. > > > > During the perestrojka period a number of scholars from the USSR > appeared > > in Washington to work on research projects and deliver talks. I > met one > > Russian mathematician-philosopher who gave me a copy of a 1975 > book on > > Soviet philosophy with a treatment of Deborin--in Russian. He > warned me > > that there was nothing of value in Deborin and ridiculed this > stuff as > > 'naturphilosophie'. He only explained Deborin in generalities, > that > > Deborin had a master plan for organizing scientific research and > the > > philosophy of science, seeking out the contradictions in any > natural > > phenomenon as the master key to his project. > > > > Like many intellectuals chafing under the Stalinist system, this > > mathematician, now interested in analytical philosophy, game > theory, etc., > > wanted to never hear anything about Marxism again. He mentioned > that he > > visited Lenin's study in the Kremlin and noted the lack of > mathematical > > works (or was it scientific?) in his library. > > > > There are scattered English translations of various articles and > they > > should be collected and uploaded to the site. For example, there > is a > > 1935 article in Bukharin's MARXISM AND MODERN THOUGHT that could > be used. > > You are probably also aware that Deborin was one of the hatchet > men used > > against Lukacs and Korsch. > > > > I was once interested in collecting this stuff and now that > someone is > > working on it and the web exists, it's a natural way to go. > > > > Many years ago a friend in Latin America told me about an > anthology of > > Deborin's works in Spanish that he has. Presumably, someone took > the > > trouble of translating some of Deborin's work into Spanish, that > does not > > exist in English translation. This is another avenue to pursue. > > > > Whether of any intrinsic value or not, a historical investigation > into > > Deborin's work is surely of importance. Yippee! > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Marxism-Thaxis mailing list > > [email protected] > > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Marxism-Thaxis mailing list > [email protected] > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis > _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [email protected] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
