Evald Il'enkov as an interpreter of Spinoza

Vesa Oittinen

pp. 319-338

in: Studies in East European Thought 57, 2005.

Abstract

E.V. Il'enkov is regarded as perhaps the most "Spinozist" of Soviet philosophers. He used Spinoza's ideas extensively, especially in developing his concept of the ideal and in his attempts to give a more precise philosophical formulation to the "activity approach" of the cultural- historical school of Soviet psychology. A more detailed analysis reveals, however, that Il'enkov's reception of Spinoza was highly selective, and that there are substantial differences between them.

Cited authors

Spinoza Baruch

Ilyenkov Evald