books

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In this page the bibliography of A. F. LOSEV is presented.

Of course, the full bibliography, now well over 1000 items,  is not the work for the single person, therefore, only the most important books and essays are mentioned here. The early works, containing the most elaborated exposition of Losevian system of philosophy, are granted the most attention.

The works are approximately ordered chronologically,  by the time of  publishing. Below, I translate the tables of contents of almost all these books.

Very large corpus of early LOSEV started being published only at nineties, after fall of communist dictate. The main role here is played by the Department of Philosophical Heritage of Moscow publishing house "Mysl". A. A. TAKHO-GODI, lifelong friend and pupil of LOSEV, is the project coordinator.

Until 1999, seven thick volumes of early LOSEV works have been released, containing works, both known, and anew found in archives or returned by State security. This edition will be further designated as a New Release and abbreviated as NR.

Much of LOSEV is being published in separate books. The great thinker of Russia is returning to his homeland. Still, he is very little known abroad. Only a couple of his books have been ever translated into Western languages.

Additionally, here I maintain a little collection of Losevian texts found in various places of the Net or send me by you. All of them are in Russian, of course.

1927

Classic kosmos and Contemporary Science originally: Moscow, 1927. The book bears a note tat it is published by author.  The history of publishing of Octateuch is like the detective novel. It was possible because P. I. LEBEDEV-POLYANSKIJ, the chief officer of Glavlit, Soviet censorship office, has a secret passion for Losevian ideas. He made a call to an ordinary Soviet publishing house Rabotnik prosveschenija (Educational worker) and told to publish Losevian books. The management of publishing house agreed but required that such an idealistic literature better bear the mark "published by the author". LOSEV did not see any hindrance and was very happy, although it meant that all the responsibility was now on him, however, this did not meant that the books were immune to abuse by censors.  NR 1, 61-612. read abstract Music as an Object of Logic originally: Moscow, by author, 1927. NR 4, 405-602. read TOC Philosophy of Name originally: Moscow, by author, 1927. NR 1, 613-798. read TOC Dialectics of Form in Art originally: Moscow, by author, 1927. NR 4, 5-296.

1928	Dialectics of Number in Plotin. Analysis and translation of Plot. 6, 6. originally: Moscow, by author, 1928. NR 3, 713-876. read TOC

1930

Essays on Classic Symbolism and Mythology. Vol. 1 originally: Moscow, by author, 1930. NR 2, 5-921. read TOC Dialectics of Myth originally: Moscow, by author, 1930.   German translation: Die Dialektik des Mythos. Aus d. Russischen üb. v. Elke Kirsten. Mit e. Einl. u. Anm. hrsg. von ALEXANDER HAARDT. - Hamburg : Meiner,  1994. - xxvi, 209 S. May be ordered from German Amazon. Just go there and make Schnellsuche "Losev". NR 3, 5-216. read TOC

tables of contents

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Music as an Object of Logic

0. Introduction

I. Phenomenology of absolute, or pure music from the abstract logical point of view:

A. Reduction of categories of reason:

1. About pseudo musical phenomena.

2. Initial characterization of pure music.

3. The law of foundation (along with the law of absolute differentiation) and its reduction in the pure musical being.

4. Four types of necessity and their reduction in the pure musical being.

5. General characteristics of being reduced in the pure musical being.

B. Foundations of the pure musical being from the point of view of abstract logical knowledge:

1. General foundation of all assertions.

2. Foundations grounded on ratio essendi of the pure musical being: musical space.

3. Foundations grounded on ratio essendi of the pure musical being: musical time.

4. Foundations grounded on ratio fiendi of the pure musical being: musical action.

5. Foundations grounded on ratio agendi of the pure musical being: musical will and subjective being.

6. Foundations grounded on ratio cognoscendi of the pure musical being: musical trueness in general and subject of musical assertions.

7. Foundations grounded on ratio cognoscendi of the pure musical being: characterization of the subject of musical assertion.

8. Foundations grounded on ratio cognoscendi of the pure musical being: unity of being and non-being in music.

9. Foundations grounded on ratio cognoscendi of the pure musical being: musical trueness and self-dependence.

10. Summary of phenomenological characterization from the abstract logical point of view.

C. Musical myth.

II. Music and mathematics:

1. The real phenomenon of music and mathematics.

2. The musical being in the system of eidetic being.

3. Some characteristic details of musical and mathematical being as eidetic kinds of being.

4. Construction of musical and mathematical objects in the mind.

5. The foundations of hyletic (e.g., musical) logic.

6. Systematic overview.

III. Logic of musical form:

1. Musical time and traditional science.

2. Time is neither movement nor measure of movement.

3. Time is neither a thing nor psychic state.

4. Time implies contumely.

5. Time implies number and its embodiment.

6. Number is neither thing nor psychic state but some sense.

7. Five categories comprising definition of number.

8. Some explanations of this definition.

9. Essence of time.

10. Foundations of musical object.

11. Dialectical essence of expression.

12. Derivation of categories of rhythm, meter, melody and harmony.

13. Categories of tempo, pitch, tonality and full tone.

14. Timber, cadenza, lightness, material sound, duration, hue, dynamic accentuation, voluminousness, density and heaviness of sound.

15. Conclusion.

IV. Logical structure of two main laws of musical form:

1. Golden division.

2. Metrotectonism.

 

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Philosophy of Name

 

Introduction

I. Pre-objective structure of Name:

1. Phoneme

2. Sememe: phonemic, symbolic, and noemic.

3. From noeme to idea; name as a communication tool.

4. Ideas as a field of formation of sense in word.

5. Mutual determination of oysia and meon in idea.

6. Idea and thing; category of energeme.

7. Analysis of patterns of mutual determination of oysia and meon and physical energeme of word.

8. Organic energeme of word and phenomenology of stress-response.

9. Sensual energeme and phenomenology of perception.

10. Noetic energeme and phenomenology of cognition.

11. Summary. Category of sensic energy and energy of oysia.

II. Objective structure of Name:

12. Object of the name - fundamental of all the evolutions of the name. Dialectic of external appearance of eidos and derivation of necessary categories.

13. Dialectics of self-noesis in the name.

14. Symbolism and apophatism.

15. Five forms of eidetic objectivity of name: scheme, topos, eidos s. str., symbol, and myth.

16. Summary. Reduction of eidetic sphere to logos.

17. Comparative characteristics of eidos and logos.

18. Types of logos in conjunction with the dialectics of eidos.

19. Eidetic logos and about various types of meon.

III. Synthesis of both structures:

20. Deduction of all moments in the name starting from energy of its oysia.

21. Summary of all previous analysis.

22. Dialectics of human sentience.

IV. Name and knowledge.

23. Sciences of pure sense and of fact. Position of phenomenology.

24. Logos of eidos; the essence of mythology.

25. About the essence of dialectics.

26. About arithmology and topology.

27. Characterization of object of aesthetics, grammar, and other sciences of expression.

28. Logos of logos; mythological and noetic logic.

29. About the essence of mathematics.

30. Logos of the meon; anoetic logic.

31. Logos of sophiality and science of creativity.

32. Ontology does not exist beyond these sciences.

33. Other possible ways of construction of eidos.

 

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Dialectics of Number in PLOTIN. Analysis and translation of Plot. 6, 6.
 

I. Analysis of Plot. 6, 6:

1. Beauty of formal set and the ugliness of amorphous one.

2. Number is not absolute infiniteness.

3. Number is not sensory.

4. Number is not subjective psychic process and is of purely noetic nature.

5. Number is not only companion of noys; it has its own hypostasis.

6. Plotin about three main hypostaseis.

7. Relation of number to every of them. Number as the principle of noetic categoriality.

8. And so on.

9. Number and value.

10 . Noetic infinity of number. Critique of ARISTOTELES and peripathetics.

11. Number as the organizing principle of whole of world in eternity.

12. Resume.

13. Mythological theory of number of PLOTIN:

1. Myth as noetic symbol.

2. Dialectics of PROCLUS

3. Gods are numbers

4. Principles of diversity of Gods-Numbers.

5. Exquisiteness, goodness and simplicity of actual infinity.

6. Aytonoesis.

7. Emanation.

8. Classification of godlike numbers.

II. Treatise of PLOTIN about numbers (translation and commentary).

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Essays on Classic Symbolism and Mythology. Vol. 1
 

0. Introduction.

I. Genesis of Classical symbolism.

II. Symbolical and mythological traits in presocratic philosophy.

III. Terminology of Platonic theory about ideas:

I. Overview.

II. Systematic analysis:

1. General task.

2. General method.

3. Starting point. Contemplation.

4. Contemplation of living organism.

5. Symbolic essentiality.

6. Visage.

7. Complete formulation of eidos -- idea.

8. Notes.

9. Four main groups of meaning:

a) contemplative-static;

b) contemplative-dynamic;

c) pure;

d) discriminative.

10. Difference between eidos and idea.

IV. Platonic theory of ideas in its systematic unfolding:

1. Five stages:

I. Naive-realistic stage: immediately perceived reality

(Theages, Crito, Apology)

II. Descriptive-phenomenological stage: reality of sense independent on factual reality, eidos as descriptive and contemplative unity:

1. Ion: science about inspiration; antithesis between techne and inspiration.

2. Alcibiades I: purity and independence of knowledge; sophrosyne, ayto to ayto.

3. Charmides.

4. Protagoras: eidology and theory of self-be-sensing.

5. Laches.

6. Lysias: theory of contradiction and its resolving, hos alethos, to onti, eidola.

7. Hippias Major: idea is not ... ...; theory about whole oysia.

8. Hippias Minor and Euthydemus.

III. Transcendental stage: symbol as transcendental principle:

1. Theaetetus: knowledge is true opinion with sense.

2. Menon: theory of binding; comparison of theory of true opinion here and in Theaetetus.

3. Symposion: binding, generative model.

4. Cratylus: name vs. trait, name vs. thing; positive inference not in the science of names but in the theory about transcendence of being.

5. Phaedon: the same inference.

6. Limits of transcendentalism.

7. Menon: anamnesis.

8. Gorgias.

9. Phaedrus: equality of being and knowledge in noetic sphere.

IV. Dialectical stage: myth as immediately perceived and thought reality:

1. Divisions of this stage:

a) theory of identity of being and non-being and therefore conclusion on the coordinated structure of being;

b) foundation of this by self-affirmation and self-denial of hyper-oysiodes One;

c) dialectics and self-noesis;

d) inferences of dialectics: theory of kosmos and mythology;

e) noetic modifications of the One.

2. Sophistes:

a) five types of being are dialectics of noetic figurality, or eidos;

b) three unclear dialectical moments and the need for new dialectical plane.

3. Parmenides:

a) hypotheses;

b) exaiphnes;

c) return to life.

4. Philebus:

a) being as number;

b) theory of energetic symbol.

5. Timaeus: noys and anagke.

6. R.P.: generative ability of self-noesis, hyper-oysiodes generalization of idea.

7. Laws and Epinomis; preparation for the 5 stage.

V. Arithmological stage: mythic number as the immediately perceives reality.

(based upon reports of ARISTOTELES)

1. Ideal and mathematical numbers.

2. The source of countability.

3. The middle sphere of numbers.

4. Theory of indivisible lines.

2. Typologic analysis.

V. About mythical and tragical world view of ARISTOTELES.

VI. Social nature of Platonism.

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Dialectics of Myth
 

I. Myth is not fiction or fantasy.

II. Myth is not a kind of ideal being.

III. Myth is not scientific or primitive scientific construction:

1. Some mythology or some science could sometimes partially overlap but principally they never coincide.

2. Science does not evolve from myth bit is always mythological.

3. Science never might disrupt the myth.

4. Myth is not based on the scientific experience.

5. Pure science, in contrast with mythology, never requires absolute presence of subject or object nor the final trueness.

6. Some special mythological trueness exists.

IV. Myth is not metaphysical construction:

1. Worldliness and sensory nature of myth set aside any metaphysics.

2. Metaphysics is scientific or similar to that, whereas mythology is perceived immediately.

3. This trait of mythology is universal (incl. Christianity).

4. Mythological distance and its hierarchical nature.

V. Myth is neither scheme nor allegory:

1. Category of expressional form.

2. Dialectics of scheme, allegory, and symbol.

3. Various layers of symbol.

4. Examples of symbolic mythology.

VI. Myth is not poetical creation:

1. Similarity between mythology and poetry in the sphere of expressional forms.

2. Similarity in the sphere of ideal self-knowledge.

3. Similarity in spontaneity.

4. Similarity in distance.

5. Cardinal difference in the kind of distance.

6. Poetry is possible without mythology and v.v.

7. Nature of mythological distance.

8. Principle of mythical distance:

a) new form of merging of things;

b) primaeval instinctive biological attitude towards the world in myth;

c) all in the world is myth.

VII. Myth is a personal form:

1. Summary.

2. The basic dialectics of personality.

3. Any living personality is myth.

4. Mythologic-personal symbolics:

a)symbolics and mythology of sex;

b) of everyday things and diseases;

c) of behavior;

d) of physiological processes and imagination;

e) fluctuating disparity of mythological time and its difference in various faiths.

5. About dialectics of mythological time.

7. Dreams.

8. Elaboration of the category of myth.

VIII. Myth is not special religious product:

1. General similarity and difference between mythology and religion.

2. Energetics and substantiality of religion.

3. Visage and personality in religion; examples from painting space.

4. Religion cannot generate no myth.

IX. Myth is not a dogma:

1. Myth is temporal, whereas dogma is absolute.

2. Mythical historicism.

3. Terminological fixation of religion, mythology, and dogmatic theology.

4. Mythology and dogmatics of faith and knowledge.

5. Mythology of materialism:

a) illogical character of dependence upon the sensory perception;

b) various theories of matter;

c) subjectivism;

d) matter as a principle of reality: physical theories;

e) abstract metaphysics, mythology and dogmatics in the materialism;

6. Bourgeois mythology of materialism.

7. Types of materialism.

8. Mythology and dogmatics in doctrines about:

a) subject and object;

b) idea and matter;

c) consciousness and being;

d) essence and phenomenon;

e) soul and body;

f) individualism and socialism;

g) freedom and necessity;

h) infinity and finite;

i) absolute and relative;

j) time and eternity;

k) whole and part;

l) one and many.

X. Myth is not proper historical event:

1. Natural and material layer of history.

2. Layers of consciousness and understanding.

3. Layers of self-consciousness, or word.

XI. Myth is miracle:

1. Intro.

2. What is not miracle:

a) miracle is not a phenomenon of divine forces;

b) miracle is not violation of "laws of nature";

3. Other theories of miracle.

4. Basic dialectics of miracle:

a) meeting of two personal planes;

b) which may be within the limits of the same personality;

c) these planes are outer historical and inner plane of will;

d) forms of their merging;

e) miracle is epiphany of eternal idea of personality.

5. Miraculous appropriateness in comparison with other types of appropriate.

6. Originality and specificity of it.

7. Real being is various degrees of mythical and miraculous:

a) memory of eternity and its phenomena;

b) miraculous is of no degrees but in various objects.

XII. Overview of all dialectic moments of myth from the miraculous point of view:

1. Dialectical necessity.

2. Non-ideality.

3. Un-scientific nature and specific trueness.

4. Non-metaphysical nature.

5. Symbolism.

6. Distance.

7. Myth and religion:

a) dialectical placement of science, moral and art;

b) parallel dialectics in myth: these of theology, ritual and sacred history;

c) essence of religion is not its myth but sacraments;

d) religion as a background for mythology.

8. Nature of mythical historicism.

XIII. Final dialectical formulation. Myth as unfolded magical name.

XIV. Real mythology and contours of absolute mythology:

1. Dialectics is mythology and v.v.

2. Overview of attempts into absolute mythology.

3. Examples.