MIKHAIL LIFSCITZ AND EVALD ILYENKOV: INFINITE DIALOGUE ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF THE IDEAL

Abstract

The problem of the ideal was raised in Soviet Marxism by E. V. Ilyenkov and after his tragic death became the content of a special study in the last theoretical work of M. A. Lifshitz "Dialogue with Evald Ilyenkov". Lifshitz's research of this problem was put in the context of the relationship between classical and post-classical philosophical thought, which gave the researcher the opportunity to discuss its main aspects in detail. Among these aspects are the question of a single field of consciousness, the contradiction of finite consciousness and the search for "metasonsciousness" caused by it, as well as the problem of consciousness of consciousness, which leads Lifshitz to the problem of the nature of the ideal, which is the subject of his friendly polemic with Ilyenkov. The article provides a comparative analysis of their positions on this problem, which shows that their positions are directly related to the features of the development of the classical philosophical heritage by outstanding thinkers of the Soviet era. Turning to the fact that the problem of the ideal was reached from Plato to Hegel inclusive, allowed Ilyenkov and Lifshitz to develop original and complementary versions of the solution of this basic philosophical problem, which can still stimulate the solution of individual scientific and technical problems that are fundamentally dependent on it. In the final part of the article, its author formulates a lesson to be learned, which is hidden in the differences between Lifshitz and Ilyenkov.