A.G. Spirkin, "Philosophy": a textbook for high schools

Alexander Georgievich Spirkin is a Soviet and later Russian philosopher, whose books have become popular both among university students and among readers who want to broaden their horizons. Despite the fact that the author wrote his famous manuals in the sixties of the last century, they still have not lost relevance. Discipline, which was devoted to his life Alexander Spirkin - philosophy. But the thinker is not known for research in any particular area. He tried to concisely, briefly and accurately formulate the basic concepts of philosophy and milestones of its history for those who wish to study this subject and understand it. Let's try to characterize this textbook in order to evaluate its value for our education and spiritual development.

Biography

Spirkin A.G., whose "Philosophy" became the reference book of many at first Soviet students and scientists, and then young people of the CIS countries, lived a difficult but interesting life. He was born in 1918 in the Saratov region, but at first he wanted to devote his life to medicine. The future philosopher graduated from the Moscow Institute of Defectology just before the war, but then, like many intelligent people of his generation, he was arrested on false charges and until 1945 was in camps. There he became interested in "love of wisdom."

After his release, Alexander Spirkin first tried to work in his specialty, but later became a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He defends his Candidate thesis on Plekhanov's social psychology, and his doctoral dissertation on the origin of consciousness. In 1970, for great services, he became a professor, in 1974 - a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. If at a young age the philosopher was more interested in the problems of dialectical materialism, from the sixties he is fond of the theories of artificial intelligence and the ideas of cybernetics.

History of the textbook

Alexander Spirkin began to teach philosophy in various educational institutions in Moscow. He had his own concept of the education of students and from his notes by the end of the fifties of the twentieth century he composed a manuscript. He longed to write textbooks on its basis. The thinker called his manuscript the "Fundamentals of Philosophy". Spirkin submitted it to the All-Union Textbook Competition for university students, and she received the award. On the basis of this manuscript, the philosopher published several manuals, which immediately became unusually popular. Even in the era of perestroika and after the collapse of the USSR, Spinkin's textbooks remained very popular. In 1990, his famous "Fundamentals of Philosophy" were published by the publishing house "Progress" in English. The last edition of the textbook was printed in 2002, and then in 2005. In the revised form it was published by the publishing house "Gardariki". "Philosophy" Spirkin was able to get rid of the outdated ideology quite simply, basically the material is read easily and with interest.

Characteristics of the book as a whole

His book on philosophy Spirkin conceived as a compendium of knowledge collected by mankind in this field. It is written in simple human language, even to some extent in the artistic manner of presentation, many concepts are explained easily. He was often called a guide to the mysterious sea of philosophy. The textbook consists of four parts. This introductory word, where the philosopher gives a definition of this area of knowledge, and also considers its difference from the worldview. Then follows a section on the history of philosophy.

The next part considers general philosophical problems, such as being, knowledge and reason. The third section deals with social philosophy. The author briefly, but capaciously gives an idea of society, its development and trends, as well as features of his spiritual life. This textbook was popular, especially in the 60-80s of the last century, not only among students, but also among university professors. At the publishing house "Gardariki" he came out in a considerably reduced form. But the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation recommends it as a grant for students.

Introductory word

Alexander Spirkin philosophy was primarily interested in a kind of generalizing kind of knowledge that allows you to connect and find something in common between different types of science and culture. In the introduction to his textbook, he calls it the quintessence of the spiritual life of mankind. He believes that this way of thinking has emerged from the desire to understand the essence of the mystery. A person can not be satisfied with partial ideas about the world, he needs a holistic perception. The questions of the meaning of life and the existence of a reasonable goal in our existence have always interested people. Unlike other sciences, which offer us scrappy, differentiated information, the philosophy makes it possible to integrate our knowledge, put them into the system. It also defines the internal connections between the different sides of our worldview. The author briefly characterizes the structure of philosophical knowledge, emphasizing that it is available not only to scientists, but to any creative and creative people.

History of philosophy

The first section of the textbook is the most voluminous. It consists of eight chapters. Spirkin's "Philosophy" in the historical part gives the reader the concept of all the wealth of the heritage of the thinkers of the past. A section begins with ancient authors, where the sayings of Pythagoras, Thales, Heraclitus, Democritus, as well as the systems of Plato and Aristotle are considered. From this part you can learn that the ideas of the harmony of the universe, the immortality of the soul and even its migration from one body to another existed also among the ancient Greeks.

Much attention is paid to the philosophy of early Hellenism - skeptics, Epicureans, Stoics, Neoplatonists. The whole chapter is devoted to the thousand-year history of thinking of the Middle Ages. The era of European philosophy from the late Roman Empire to the Renaissance is characterized. The reader will learn about the teachings of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon. Several pages are devoted to the philosophy of the Renaissance.

The origin of classics

Very thoughtful author was Alexander Spirkin. "Philosophy", and especially the historical section, is this proof. He pays special attention to the formation of European thought in the XVII-XVIII centuries. It was at this time that a huge number of geniuses were born who not only turned the world's view of the world, but also completely changed the social life. This was started by such prominent thinkers as Descartes and Hume, then a significant contribution was made by the figures of the French Enlightenment - Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, who created an atmosphere of love for progress. The main focus of the section is focused on the giants of German classical philosophy - Kant, Hegel, Fichte, Schelling, Feuerbach. Much attention is paid to such Western European thinkers as Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and others. There is also a chapter dedicated to Russian philosophy - from Lomonosov and Radishchev to Dostoevsky and Solovyov.

Wisdom, being, knowledge and soul

From the ninth to the twelfth chapter, Spirkin A.G. ("Philosophy", textbook) narrates about the basic concepts and terms. We learn about what is being (which the thinker identifies with reality), how matter, motion, space and time relate to each other. Much is said about cognition, its methods and principles, and also about whether a person can understand the world around him or he is destined to always remain in the veil of secrecy. Eternal questions are also raised about the primacy and relationship of consciousness and being. After all, this was a philosophical debate, and opponents broke their spears. From the answer to these questions followed the attitude to the place of man in the world. The author of the textbook also distinguishes between being objective and individual (perception of "I"). Many unexpected and interesting questions that concern modern man, for example, the relation of knowledge and faith, the possibility of the existence of reason in animals, the problem of truth, the role of intuition and wit in cognition, are also reflected in this book.

Third Section

Being a scholar of Marxist dialectical tempering, in his textbook "Philosophy" for high schools, Spirkin singles out a special part devoted to the life of society. He summarizes for students the basic theory of comprehension of the history and development of society. The author tells about what the society is for the human race, what is its economic and political analysis, and also what are its separate groups - classes, strata, nations, nations, families. In this section, Spirkin returns to the history of philosophy, showing how the consciousness of social time and the meaning of human society was born, when the search for the ideal began and the concept of progress appeared. He examines the problem of randomness in history, the role of mass movements and individuals, and also gives different views on the laws and trends in the development of society. The author also discusses the issues of morality, humanism, culture, the dilemma of power and the state in relation to the individual and her rights.

Meaning of the textbook

Many generations of students learned from books written on the basis of the works of Alexander Spirkin. They learned not only what philosophy is, its history and main categories, but also discovered logic, metaphysics, aesthetics. Despite the fact that the manuscript in its main part was created back in Soviet times, even in older publications, the author pays more attention to facts than ideology, and thereby favorably differs from his then-colleagues. He sets out the same subjects as in other textbooks, but he always takes into account new realities and trends, and even in very intelligible form.

Spirkin, "Philosophy", textbook for universities: feedback from readers

Students who studied the philosophy of this book and were preparing to take tests and examinations, very much praise it. They write that in the textbook all concepts, terms and the most complex questions and problems are set out not just in the ordinary human language, but in a good literary style, exciting and exciting. The manual is read in one breath, and in addition, it helps to systematize the knowledge gained and to arrange them on the shelves. The presentation of the material is illustrated by various stories and examples from life, which only helps to assimilate the information. And people who are fond of popular science literature, assure that this book, if you look at it, changes the reader's view of many things, makes you think and look at the question of whether philosophy is necessary in life.