The Main Trends in Philosophy:
A Theoretical Analysis of the History of Philosophy

by Theodore Oizerman

CONTENTS

                                                                                                                                          Page

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Part One. THE BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION AS A PROBLEM OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

I. THE SENSE AND MEANING OF THE BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19

1. The Basic Philosophical Question and the Problematic of Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2. Self‑Awareness and the External World. The Epistemological Necessity of the Basic Philosophical Question . . . . .  22

3. On the Origin and Development of the Basic Philosophical Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33

4. The Basic Philosophical Question: Objective Content and Subjective Form of Expression.
         The Real Starting Point of Philosophical Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

II. THE TWO SIDES OF THE BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

1. The Ontological Aspect: the Materialist Answer to the Basic Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

2. The Ontological Aspect: a Contribution to the Delineation of the
                Idealist Answer to the Basic Philosophical Question . . . .�. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

3. The Epistemological Aspect. The Principle of Reflection and the
                Idealist Interpretation of the Knowability of the World . . .�. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

4. The Epistemological Aspect. The Principle of the Knowability of the World and Philosophical Scepticism . . . . .  104

Part Two. PHILOSOPHICAL TRENDS AS AN OBJECT OF RESEARCH IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

III. THE DIVERGENCE OF PHILOSOPHICAL DOCTRINES AND ITS INTERPRETATION. METAPHYSICAL
      SYSTEMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANTITHESIS BETWEEN MATERIALISM AND IDEALISM   138

1.Dispute about Trends or Dispute of Trends? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

2.Metaphysical Systems. Spiritualism and the Naturalist Tendency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  155

3.Materialism—the Sole Consistent Opponent of Speculative Metaphysical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  165

4. Kant's Transcendental Dualist Metaphysics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   173

5. Toward a Critique of Irrationalist Speculative Metaphysics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

6. The Dispute between Materialism and Idealism and Differences in Understanding Speculative Metaphysics . . .  195

IV. THE GREAT CONFRONTATION: MATERIALISM VS IDEALISM.
      THE ARGUMENTS AND COUNTERARGUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  215

1. The Struggle of Materialism and Idealism as an Epochal Cultural and Historical Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .215

2. Idealism vs Materialism. Materialism vs Idealism. Results and Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .  234

3. The Dialectical‑Materialist Critique of Idealism. The Epistemological Roots of Idealist Fallacies . . . . . . . . .. . . . .  262

4. The Dialectical‑Materialist Critique of Idealism. The Principle of the Partisanship of Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . 274

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  306

NAME INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

SUBJECT INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  321

SOURCE: Oizerman, T.I. [Oizerman, Teodor Il'ich]; translated by H. Campbell Creighton. The Main Trends in Philosophy: A Theoretical Analysis of the History of Philosophy. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1988.

Problems of the History of Philosophy (Extracts)
by Theodore Oizerman

Problems of the History of Philosophy
by Theodore Oizerman, review by Ralph Dumain

Dialectical Materialism and the History of Philosophy (Extracts)
by Theodore Oizerman

Principles of the Theory of Historical Process in Philosophy
by T.I Oizerman & A.S. Bogomolov

Principles of the Theory of Historical Process in Philosophy
by T.I Oizerman & A.S. Bogomolov, review by R. Dumain

Evert van der Zweerde & Ralph Dumain:
Correspondence on autodidacts & Soviet philosophical culture

Salvaging Soviet Philosophy (1)

Philosophy of History of Philosophy & Historiography of Philosophy: Selected Bibliography

Offsite:

The main trends in philosophy: a theoretical analysis of the history of philosophy
by T. I. Oizerman

Problems of the History of Philosophy
by Theodore Oizerman