Audacity of the spirit / / written by A.F. Losev ; translated by Vitali I. Betaneli, Peter R. Weisensel.

• VerfasserIn: Losev, A. F.
• TeilnehmendeR: Betaneli, Vitali I.,; Weisensel, Peter R.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : Brill,, [2019]
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English; Russian
• Series: Value Inquiry Book Series 334.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (239 pages)

Audacity of the Spirit by A.F. Losev (1893-1988) dares us to think holistically, dialectically. Translated from the Russian original Дерзание духа (Politizdat Moskva, 1988) by Peter R. Weisensel and Vitali I. Betaneli, the book falls into three parts: the dialectical method; Losev’s application of dialectics to history and culture; and his personal reflections on studying philosophy. Losev’s insatiable intellectual curiosity probes a remarkable variety of areas. Positions he considers, though, are not always easily reconcilable, as with Marxism-Leninism and Orthodox Christianity. In Losev’s conception of culture, however, culture and the intrinsic unity of any given cultural order is the common element that underlies everything living, even the order’s incompatibles. The given culture cannot be reduced to any single position nor to all of them taken together. Audacity of the Spirit is an introduction to dialectics for beginners, but it is also a major philosopher’s summing-up of his reflections to a non-specialized audience.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Copyright Page / A.F. Losev -- Translators’ Preface / A.F. Losev -- Foreword: Dare to be Wise! / A.F. Losev -- Introduction: The Thinkers’ Treasure / A.F. Losev -- To Learn Dialectics / A.F. Losev -- How Do We Learn to Think? / A.F. Losev -- To Think, and to Do / A.F. Losev -- Dialectics and Common Sense / A.F. Losev -- On the Main Systems of Dialectics / A.F. Losev -- The Unity of Three Concepts / A.F. Losev -- On Dialectics as It Is / A.F. Losev -- On the Benefits of Philosophy / A.F. Losev -- Twelve Theses on the Culture of Antiquity / A.F. Losev -- The Philosophy of Antiquity as a Whole and in Its Parts / A.F. Losev -- The Formation of the Marxist-Leninist Culture of Thinking / A.F. Losev -- The Philosophy of Culture / A.F. Losev -- History of Philosophy as a School of Thought / A.F. Losev -- Worldview and Life / A.F. Losev -- On the Eternal Youthfulness of Science / A.F. Losev -- Life’s Credo / A.F. Losev -- Audacity of the Spirit / A.F. Losev -- On a Worldview / A.F. Losev -- On Being a Member of the Intelligentsia / A.F. Losev -- First of All, Become a Student / A.F. Losev -- A Miracle without Miracles / A.F. Losev -- Back Matter -- Index / A.F. Losev.