While Kazimir Malevich is widely known for his suprematist contributions to art, little attention has been granted to his articulated philosophical premise and methodological manifestation concerning the non-objectivity of thought and its relationship to feeling. This paper shows how Suprematist philosophy gives rise to the concept of pedagogical…

The study of dialectical logic has a history of nearly one hundred years in China. It is significant for understanding both the growth of Chinese logic and the Sinicization of Marxism to review dialectical logic in the context of introducing the study of Marxism in China. Debates about dialectical logic in Chinese academic circles involve not only…

Vygotsky's (1993) "Fundamentals of Defectology" is a radical's handbook of deaf and disability studies. Vygotsky's overall research program views disabilities, including deafness, from an integrated biosocial and critical theory standpoint. In two movements, I introduce an "American Annals of the Deaf Special Issue" on…

In this article we ask, what was Lenin's idea of education and learning and what was needed in developing revolutionary consciousness in the service of the emerging Soviet Union? We suggest that bringing Lenin's ideas of education and learning back into focus in educational theory, and especially in critical pedagogy, it is possible to search for…

At present, in the literature that is are devoted to social life, it has become commonplace to claim that we live in the era of the "digital revolution". Our paper deals with computer science in the period from the late 40's to early 60's of the twentieth century, which is considered from the point of view of "intellectual…

This paper explores Bakhtin's reception of Goethe's "Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre" with a view to assess how Bakhtin's interest in this early chronotopical masterpiece can be understood in the wider context of his utopian thinking and his political eschatologies. Bakhtin reads Goethe's novel as a critique of totalitarian forms of Socialist…

How can the individual preserve his identity within a crowd? How can he/she counter the threats and the temptations of the mass phenomenon? In the following, these questions are answered, correctly based on two contrasting and complementary situations and approaches: on the one hand, the beginnings of the Soviet Union in the 1920s as manifested in…

Currently, the place of play in schooling and education is controversial. Even in pre-school, where play is most likely to be found, its status is often precarious. This article notes that in many ancient religious traditions, play is sometimes viewed as sinful, whereas work, its antithesis, is seen as virtuous. The German educationist, Friedrich…

This paper comments on Reisch's book "How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science." Overall supportive of Reisch's project and perspective, it raises certain points where the data appear inconclusive and either provides additional support or briefly explores some interpretative alternatives.

This paper considers several models of politically engaged philosophy with the aim of provoking discussion of George Reisch's "How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science." At issue is the Unity of Science movement's conception of the philosophy of science in particular and what politically engaged philosophy of science might look…

This paper considers George A. Reisch's account of the role of Cold War political forces in shaping the apolitical stance that came to dominate philosophy of science in the late 1940s and 1950s. It argues that at least as early as the 1930s, Logical Empiricists such as Rudolf Carnap already held that philosophy of science could not properly have…

In the Soviet theory of cognitive development, originated by Vygotsky and elaborated by Leont'ev, acts occur at three levels of abstraction: activities, actions, and operations. According to this theory, an activity has an associated motive and may function directively as a motive. While many activities are possible, one activity tends to…

Discussed the Soviet Union's continuing attempts to abolish religious beliefs and religious practices. (RK)

Soviet scholar Lev Vygotsky identified the most common cause of miseducation: failure to convert the classroom into a community of discursive inquiry. The USSR's Academy of Pedagogical Science is collaborating with Montclair State College (New Jersey) to introduce "Philosophy for Children," an American critical thinking program…

Critically responds to an article by Aleksandr Tsipko. Argues that Soviet economic development has been marred not by a failure to accommodate the human factor, as Tsipko suggests, but by a lack of individual self-evaluation. Contends that successful socioeconomic progress depends upon individual moral development. (CH)