Empiriomonism is Alexander Bogdanovâs scientific-philosophical substantiation of Marxism. In Books One and Two, he combines Ernst Machâs and Richard Avenariusâs neutral monist philosophy with the theory of psychophysical parallelism and systematically demonstrates that human psyches are thoroughly natural and are subject to natureâs laws. In Book Three, Bogdanov argues that empiriomonism is superior to G. V. Plekhanovâs outdated materialism and shows how the principles of empiriomonism solve the basic problem of historical materialism: how a societyâs material base causally determines its ways of thinking. Bogdanov concludes that empiriomonism is of the same order as materialist systems, and, since it is the ideology of the productive forces of society, it is a Marxist philosophy.
David G. Rowley, Ph.D (1982), University of Michigan, is Emeritus Professor , University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He has published research on Alexander Bogdanov and is the translator of Volume 8 of the Bogdanov Library, The Philosophy of Living Experience (Brill, 2016).
"As Bazarov mentions, one of the concepts with a great variety of applications in Tektology is the âlaw of the leastsâ, the fact that people and things take the path of least resistance. This has certainly applied to the way Bogdanovâs ideas have been treated over the years. Instead of investigating what Bogdanov actually wrote, verdicts stemming from Lenin and Plekhanov have been repeated uncritically. This was understandable so long as Bogdanovâs works remained inaccessible. With this translation of Empiriomonism, this need no longer be the case." - James D. White, University of Glasgow, in: Europe-Asia Studies 72/10 (2020)
"⦠Rowleyâs excellent translation will not only permit a wide new audience to explore the grand systems and historical forays of Bogdanovâs Empiriomonism â it also illuminates a particular moment where various strains of Marxism debated the very relationship between understanding and changing the world: a generative conflict between Bogdanov and Lenin." - Nicholas Bujalski, in: Marx and Philosophy Review of Books (2021) [Full review]
Preface The Autobiography of Alexander Bogdanov Bogdanov as a Thinker
âV.A. Bazarov
Book One
1 The Ideal of Cognition (Empiriomonism of the Physical and the Psychical)
2 Life and the Psyche
â1âThe Realm of Experiences
â2âPsychoenergetics
â3âThe Monist Conception of Life
3 Universum (Empiriomonism of the Separate and the Continuous)
Conclusion to Book One
Book Two
4 The âThing-in-Itselfâ from the Perspective of Empiriomonism
5 Psychical Selection (Empiriomonism in the Theory of the Psyche)
â1âFoundations of the Method
â2âApplications of the Method (Illustrations)
6 Two Theories of the Vital-Differential
Book Three
7 Preface to Book Three
â1âThree Materialisms
â2âEnergetics and Empiriocriticism
â3âThe Path of Empiriomonism
â4âRegarding Eclecticism and Monism
8 Social Selection (Foundations of the Method)
9 Historical Monism
â1âMain Lines of Development
â2âClasses and Groups
10 Self-Awareness of Philosophy (The Origin of Empiriomonism)
Bibliography Index
All interested in Russian intellectual history, Russian Marxism in the revolutionary era, the philosophy of historical materialism, and the philosophy of mind.