Evald Vassilievich Ilyenkov

Evald Vasilievich Ilyenkov (Russian: Эва́льд Васи́льевич Илье́нков; 18 February 1924 – 21 March 1979) was a Soviet philosopher. He was a prominent figure in the revival of Russian Marxist philosophy in the 20th century. Ilyenkov's early life was marked by his father's profession as a writer and teacher, and his own early interests in music and philosophy. His education at the Moscow State University was interrupted by World War II, during which he served as an artillery commander in the Red Army. After the war, he continued his studies and joined the Communist Party in 1950. Ilyenkov's philosophical work focused on dialectics, epistemology, and the concept of the ideal. He is particularly noted for his materialist development of Hegel's dialectics, his work on the "method of ascent from the abstract to concrete," and his distinct solution to "the problem of the ideal." His ideas offered a critique of positivism and scientism prevalent in Soviet intellectual culture. However, his theses on the relationship between philosophy and science led to conflict at Moscow State University, where he was accused of "Hegelianism" and deprived of the right to teach. Despite these challenges, Ilyenkov continued his research, becoming a senior researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and contributing to the Philosophical Encyclopedia. He also led a scientific seminar at the Faculty of Psychology at Moscow State University. Suffering from depression and alcoholism, Ilyenkov died by suicide in 1979. His major works include "Dialectical Logic," "Leninist Dialectics and the Metaphysics of Positivism," and "The Dialectics of the Abstract and Concrete in Marx's Capital." His ideas influenced Marxist thought in the Soviet Union, East Germany, and the West.