Publication Details

Abstract

Our entire public life and philosophy were marked by the manifestations and consequences of the cult of Stalin's personality all the deeper since many theoretical conceptions and criteria of valuation had been constituted with a direct participation of philosophy. This is the reason why we now are faced with the important task to examine and revise the situation in our philosophy. The elements of dogmatism which have found their way into Marxist philosophy are actually strange and contradictory to Marxism since Marxism had originated and developed during several’decades as a revolutionary, uncompromisingly critical way of thinking respecting no other authority but truth and objective reality. Extremely unnatural was the idea as if Marxism in the works of its founders were a definitely terminatet system uncapable of further development. The most dangereous stage' in the development of Marxism, a danger from inside, was the escape from problems, from analysis and criticism toward Marxism itself, into a world of ideals of dull clarity and simplicity. Theoretical progress and initiative were handicapped by the ever imminent indictment of revisionism and deviation. The consequences of exaggerated ideologization on philosophy conspicuously appeared in the approach to the history of philosophy and to the contemporary world philosophy. The relation to them developed in a certain period as if deliberately isolationistic, the "consequence of which was the loss o£ contact with several scientific disciplines and cultural movements. Now it has become absolutely necessary to retrieve all what had been neglected. The application of higher criteria and more pretentious requirements becomes imperative not only with regard to philosophy but also to all scientific disciplines and domains of culture. Philosophy occupies an important place in the revival of scientific and cultural activity because of its contribution to creating a general cultural and even an internal political atmosphere by setting aims, imposing criteria, formulating methodological directives and endeavouring to synthesize scientific and cultural activity.