The Aesthetic: The Struggle over the Philosophical Foundations

Abstract

A complete understanding of the discussion presented in the last chapter is possible only after an examination of the reception of the thought of the early Marx by the societalists. Although their solutions to the purely aesthetic questions do not thereby receive greater illumination, this does not alter the fact that the reception of the early Marx by certain aestheticians was by itself an event of considerable importance in Soviet philosophy. That this was not universally recognized by Soviet philosophers only adds to the significance of the EstetiZeskoe discussion. As already mentioned in Chapter Three, once Soviet aestheticians began to assimilate ideas from Marx’s 1844 Manuscripts, the elements for a possibly heated discussion about the philosophical foundations of aesthetics came into existence. We say ‘elements’ because the writers in question either did not know how or were too cautious to combine these Marxian ideas in such a way as to compare them openly with the orthodox philosophical framework heretofore guiding aesthetic research. It remains to be shown, of course, that the ideas of the young Marx do indeed stand comparison with the ideas of orthodox Maixism-Leninism. We shall try primarily to bring into relief those interpretations of the young Marx by Soviet aestheticians which can be seen as departing from the usual canonical formulae of Soviet philosophy. By so doing we hope to bring attention to an interesting chapter in the history of Soviet philosophy.