Sociology and Philosophy: Inseparable and Non-Merged. The Birth of Marxist Sociology from the Spirit of Bolshevism. Part 1

Abstract

This article discusses the problem of the relationship between sociology and philosophy in 1920’s Soviet Russia, the result of which was the birth of “Marxist sociology” and its approval in the 1930’s. In the first part of the article, the problem becomes more acute in the question of whether there was any sociology in the USSR during those years. It is argued that the answer to it cannot be unconditional and unequivocal, because much depends on what was considered to be “sociology” at the time. In this regard, the thesis about the existence of “empirical sociology” in the 1920’s is questioned. The article briefly highlights the original meaning of the concept of “sociology”, the history of its existence in the Russian Empire. It analyzes how the trends of “philosophical nihilism” in the early years of Soviet government were reflected in its interpretation. The task is set not only to describe the historically and socio-culturally conditioned changes in the meaning of the term “sociology” in the 1920’s, but also to determine the factors that influenced them from the perspective of sociology of knowledge. In this regard, the key yet negative role of Vladimir Lenin in the history of domestic social thought is considered.

Keywords

• sociology
• philosophy
• positivism
• marxism
• philosophical nihilism
• historical materialism
• secularism
• the spirit of bolshevism
• ideology