Aleksei Losev
Encyclopedia
Aleksei Fedorovich Losev ' onMouseout='HidePop("83044")' href="/topics/Novocherkassk">Novocherkassk
– May 24, 1988, Moscow
), a Russia
n philosopher, philologist and culturologist, one of the most prominent figures in Russian philosophical and religious thought of the 20th century.
at the University of Nizhni Novgorod; and then (1920) at the Moscow Conservatory
. From 1942 to 1944 he taught in Moscow University and from 1944 on at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute.
In works written in the 1920s, Losev synthesized ideas of Russian philosophy of the early 20th century, of Christian Neo-platonism, dialectics of Schelling and Hegel
, and phenomenology of Husserl
. In The Dialectics of Myth (1930) Losev rejected dialectical materialism
. For his "militant idealism", Losev was sentenced to labor camp
s at the construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal
, where he almost lost his vision, and to subsequent exile.
Losev was suddenly released in 1932. After returning to Moscow, he was allowed to pursue his academic career and to teach. Ancient philosophy, myth and aesthetics became his "inner exile": he was able to express his own spiritualist beliefs. He published some 30 monographs between the 1950s and 1970s. With regards to Western philosophy of the time, Losev criticised severely the structuralist
thinking.
In the USSR, his works were censored while he was praised as one of the greatest philosophers of the time. He was even awarded the USSR State Prize
in 1986 for his 8-volume History of Classical Aesthetics, two years before his death.
, but was refused. He subsequently portrayed her in an autobiographical novella in slanderous terms, as a deviant living in fornication with three men.
Losev and his wife Valentina were secretly Orthodox-ordained monks in 1929, and wore hair shirts under their everyday garments. They took monastic names Andronicus and Athanasia.
passages. In "Essays on Symbolism and Mythology in the Antiquity" Losev writes:
Konstantin Polivanov suggests that Losev's antisemitic (and thus anti-revolutionary and anti-Marxist) sentiments are likely to derive from Otto Weininger
's writings, and they later influenced Stalin's own philosophical development in the direction of Russian Imperial idea that paved the way to the repressions
of the 1930s that largely purged Jews from the Soviet government. Leonid Katsis and Dmitry Shusharin similarly accused Losev of complicity in Stalin's repressions.
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tuzlov River and on the Aksay River. Population: 169,039 ; 170,822 ; 178,000 ; 123,000 ; 81,000 ; 52,000 ....
– May 24, 1988, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
), a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n philosopher, philologist and culturologist, one of the most prominent figures in Russian philosophical and religious thought of the 20th century.
Biography
Losev graduated from two departments—of classical philology and philosophy—of historical-philological faculty of Moscow University in 1915. In 1919, he became a professor of classical philologyClassics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at the University of Nizhni Novgorod; and then (1920) at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
. From 1942 to 1944 he taught in Moscow University and from 1944 on at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute.
In works written in the 1920s, Losev synthesized ideas of Russian philosophy of the early 20th century, of Christian Neo-platonism, dialectics of Schelling and Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
, and phenomenology of Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
. In The Dialectics of Myth (1930) Losev rejected dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a strand of Marxism synthesizing Hegel's dialectics. The idea was originally invented by Moses Hess and it was later developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
. For his "militant idealism", Losev was sentenced to labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s at the construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal
White Sea-Baltic Canal
The White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal , often abbreviated to White Sea Canal is a ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. Until 1961, its original name was the Stalin White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal...
, where he almost lost his vision, and to subsequent exile.
Losev was suddenly released in 1932. After returning to Moscow, he was allowed to pursue his academic career and to teach. Ancient philosophy, myth and aesthetics became his "inner exile": he was able to express his own spiritualist beliefs. He published some 30 monographs between the 1950s and 1970s. With regards to Western philosophy of the time, Losev criticised severely the structuralist
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
thinking.
In the USSR, his works were censored while he was praised as one of the greatest philosophers of the time. He was even awarded the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
in 1986 for his 8-volume History of Classical Aesthetics, two years before his death.
Personal life
As a young man Losev proposed to the famous pianist Maria YudinaMaria Yudina
Maria Veniaminovna Yudina was an influential Soviet pianist.Yudina was born to a Jewish family in Nevel, Russia. She studied at the Petrograd Conservatory under Anna Yesipova and Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolayev. She also briefly studied privately with Felix Blumenfeld. Her classmates included...
, but was refused. He subsequently portrayed her in an autobiographical novella in slanderous terms, as a deviant living in fornication with three men.
Losev and his wife Valentina were secretly Orthodox-ordained monks in 1929, and wore hair shirts under their everyday garments. They took monastic names Andronicus and Athanasia.
Controversies
At least three of Losev's publications contain noted misogynistic, Аntisemitic and anti-JudaicAnti-Judaism
Religious antisemitism is a form of antisemitism, which is the prejudice against, or hostility toward, the Jewish people based on hostility to Judaism and to Jews as a religious group...
passages. In "Essays on Symbolism and Mythology in the Antiquity" Losev writes:
- "Judaism, which is able to combine hysteria, formalism, neurastenia and the Romal law, with robbery, bloody lust and Satanis, with the aid of cold and dry whoring of politico-economical theories".
- "There is no such thing as Woman's Dignity. Similarly there cannot be a notion of Jew's Dignity".
- "A real Jew, like a woman, lacks individuality, and therefore lacks any self-worth. He is not anti-moral, he is amoral. That's the reason he is not afraid of demons". A significant number of other antisemitic citations by Losev (mostly from manuscripts that were not published during Losev's lifetime) are discussed by Sergey Zemlyanoy in his article "Clerico-conservative mythological dysthopia:Alexey Losev"
Konstantin Polivanov suggests that Losev's antisemitic (and thus anti-revolutionary and anti-Marxist) sentiments are likely to derive from Otto Weininger
Otto Weininger
Otto Weininger was an Austrian philosopher. In 1903, he published the book Geschlecht und Charakter , which gained popularity after his suicide at the age of 23...
's writings, and they later influenced Stalin's own philosophical development in the direction of Russian Imperial idea that paved the way to the repressions
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
of the 1930s that largely purged Jews from the Soviet government. Leonid Katsis and Dmitry Shusharin similarly accused Losev of complicity in Stalin's repressions.