Soviet Philosophers and Religion: Case of Il’enkov (Marxism as Philosophy of Life and Blank Spot of Death)

Abstract

In this article the author analyzes the religious views of prominent Soviet philosopher E. V. Il`enkov and to demonstrates some ambivalent moments in his attitude to religion, for example, quasi-religious character of some of his ideas and deeds. Those were, for example, his engagement in studies of deaf-blind students in Moscow State University and his views on some philosophical and psychological aspects of education and teaching of deaf-blind children. Il’enkov’s interpretation of these aspects and the history of teaching deaf-blind students in MSU were named “Zagorsky experiment”. Also it is claimed that Marxism belongs to the philosophy of life and pointed out the latent favorable treatment of suicide in Marxism as atheistic philosophy. The article demonstrates that this latent favorable treatment of suicide was generated mainly because the death was not the subject of reflection and analysis for Marxist philosophers. Putting out of philosophy of life the phenomenon of death and connected aspects is the reason of some tragedies, as in the case of Il’enkov.

Keywords

• Je. V. Il’enkov
• Marxism
• religion
• Soviet philosophy
• philosophy of life
• life
• death
• suicide