The Significance Of Heidegger And His History Of Philosophy For Russia (Part 1)
Today the questions, what is Russian philosophy, has it existed, does it exist now, and will it exist in the future, are pressing. But there is an even deeper question, is Russian philosophy possible at all? The question sounds strange and paradoxical, but we not infrequently encounter phenomena that exist de facto, though their meaning, content, justification, and organic structure remain problematic. Upon close examination such phenomena prove to be not what they present themselves as, but simulacra, counterfeits, obscure “copies without originals” (Baudrillard). They “are,” but they are impossible. Their ontology is rooted in misunderstanding, in counterfeiting, in a disharmonious displacement. Pitirim Sorokin described similar phenomena in social systems as a “dumping place society.” Oswald Spengler had recourse in similar situations to the figure of “pseudomorphosis” (in geology, the name of a certain mineral formation, in which unexpected heterogeneous factors interfere during the process of crystallization, for instance, the lava of an erupting volcano, etc.)
Thus the question of the possibility of Russian philosophy is entirely legitimate. What we usually call by that name may prove to be precisely a simulacrum or pseudomorphosis. Or it might prove not to be. In any case, to seriously ground the possibility of Russian philosophy, we need to make a certain effort. This effort is all the more necessary since even the most optimistic view of Russian philosophy cannot ignore its rather late appearance in Russian history and the serious intermission in its existence in the 20th century, when if it did not disappear entirely (not having had time to truly begin), it was considerably distorted in Marxist dogmatics. If Russian philosophy as such exists, it is significantly damaged historically and requires reanimation. If [it exists] in outline, then it is all the more necessary to refer to its presuppositions, to the domain of its possibility. Moreover, there is a demand for its grounding and return to the starting positions from which can begin the complicated and not so obvious process of philosophy in the context of samobytnoy Russian culture.
By Alexander Dugin
Read the article here:
https://alexanderdugin.substack.com/p/the-significance-of-heidegger-and
