“When Was Caesar Born?” Theory and Practice of Truth in Plekhanov and Bogdanov
Keywords:
Dialectical materialism, theory of knowledge, objective truth, dogmatism, scientific socialism, Russian Marxism
Abstract
Although political differences between various factions of the Russian SocialDemocratic Labor Party (RSDLP) have been studied quite extensively, theoretical debates about the nature of Marxism and the role such debates had in determining Party programs and strategic decisions remains in need of a more thorough engagement. One such theoretical discussion, the question of the nature of (absolute) truth, is the subject matter of the present essay. The primary debate was between Georgi Plekhanov, one of the most respected representatives of early Russian Marxism, and a group of theoreticians united around Alexander Bogdanov, an early collaborator of Lenin (until their break in 1909) and an author of several original theoretical works that attempted to challenge the established orthodoxy of Plekhanovite Marxism. The question of the nature of truth stood at the center of the debates between Plekhanov and Bogdanov. The ultimate challenge that Bogdanov threw to the representatives of (selfproclaimed) “orthodox Marxism” was the question of the ultimate nature of Marxist theory: Is Marxism a science or a faith? If it is a science, it must operate within a scientific theory of truth and, as is the case with any genuine science, continue to grow and adapt to the changing circumstances of research. If it is indeed a faith, a set of absolute truths revealed to one person (Marx) and passed on to his disciples in sacred texts and by appointed prophets, then it contains as much value as any other faith or superstition.
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Steila, Daniela (1991). Genesis and Development of Plekhanov’s Theory of Knowledge. Dordrecht: Springer Science + Business Media.
Tyutyukin, S. V. (1997). G. V. Plekhanov: Sud”ba russkogo marksista [G. V. Plekhanov: The fate of a Russian Marxist]. Moscow: ROSSPEN.
Volodin, A. I. (1982). “Boi absolyunto neizbezhen” [“The battle is absolutely inevitable”]. Moscow: Izdatelstvo politicheskoi literatury.
Wark, McKenzie (2015). Molecular Red: Theory for the Anthropocene. London: Verso.
Wolfendale, Peter (2014). Object-Oriented Philosophy: The Noumenon’s New Clothes. Fal mouth: Urbanomic.
Yakhot, Yehoshua (2012). The Suppression of Philosophy in the USSR (The 1920s and 1930s). Trans. Frederick S. Choate. Oak Park, MI: Merhing Books.
Yassour, Avraham (1983). “The Empiriomonist Critique of Dialectical Materialism: Bog danov, Plekhanov, Lenin.” Studies in Soviet Thought 26: 21–38.
Yushkevich, Pavel (1909) “Na temu dnia” [On today’s topic]. In Vershiny [Heights], Book 1: 365–97.
Žižek, Slavoj (2012). Less Than Nothing: Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical Materialism. London: Verso.
Published
2017-12-18
How to Cite
Pavlov, E. V. (2017). “When Was Caesar Born?” Theory and Practice of Truth in Plekhanov and Bogdanov. Stasis, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.33280/2310-3817-2017-5-2-50-79
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