Department of the Theory of Knowledge

Head of the Department – Elena O. Trufanova, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Leading Research Fellow

The Department of the Theory of Knowledge was founded in 1977 as a part of the Institute of Philosophy of the USSR Academy of Sciences. It was based upon the previous Department of Dialectic Materialism, which was headed by V.A.Lektorsky since 1969. Many outstanding philosophers who took important place in the history of Russian philosophy have been working in the Department of Dialectic Materialism and then of the Theory of Knowledge since 1960-s: E.V.Ilyenkov, G.S.Batischev, E.P.Nikitin, N.N.Trubnikov. In the 1960-s and 1970-s V.S.Shvyrev, N.S.Avtonomova, N.S.Mudragey, V.P.Filatov, I.T.Kassavin, V.N.Porus, M.A.Rozov, F.T. Mikhailov and others came to work in the Department. Such prominent philosophers as B.M.Kedrov, P.V.Kopnin, Y.A.Shreider, M.K.Petrov, E.G.Yudin have often collaborated with the Department. Nowadays the Department has many constant collaborators – among others are V.S.Stepin, N.M.Smirnova, V.M.Rozin, L.A.Markova, T.Rockmore.

Since 2020, the work of the sector is carried out within the framework of the planned theme of research on the state task "Cognition, consciousness, language, text in the context of modern cognitive sciences and interdisciplinary human research".

The theme of the sector according to the research plan and the state task for 2014-2019 is "Knowledge and consciousness in an interdisciplinary perspective" (reg. No. 01201273987).

Main research areas

First research area of the Department is the research of knowledge and cognition in the broad interdisciplinary, cultura, historical and worldview context. This research combines theory of knowledge, philosophical anthropology, cognitive psychology, semiotics, culturology and history of scientific knowledge.

Second research area concerns the research of special epistemological problems of the human sciences. The Department is involved in the analysis of philosophical and methodological problems of cognitive science and in the research of the relation between specialized and common knowledge in human sciences (psychology, sociology, historiography, philology).

Third research area is the analysis of constructivist approach in the modern epistemology, especially of the recent discussion of “realism vs constructivism”. In this area the Department does research on following problems: relationship between cognition, activity and project making; ideal, utopian project and critical reflection; schemes of knowledge and activity; imagination and knowledge, myth and knowledge, prescription, explanation and description; knowldege and understanding; faith and knowledge.

Fourth research area – philosophy of consciousness (nature of the subjective reality, intentionality, personal identity, neurodynamical codes of mind etc.) in the interdisciplinary context, i.e. in the interaction with cognitive sciences: psychology, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive linguistics, artificial intelligence research.

Staff

Elena O. Trufanova, D.Sc. in Philosophy, Docent, Leading Research Fellow, Head of the Department
Vladislav A.Lektorsky, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, D.Sc. in Philosophy, professor, Main Research Fellow
Nataliya S. Avtonomova, D.Sc. in Philosophy, Main Research Fellow
Elena L. Chertkova, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Senior Research Fellow
David I. Dubrovsky, D.Sc.in Philosophy, professor, Main Research Fellow
Dmitry V. Ivanov, D.Sc. in Philosophy, Acting Deputy Director for Research, Leading Research Fellow, Deputy Head of the Department
Georgy D. Levin, D.Sc. in Philosophy , Leading Research Fellow
Sophia V. Pirozhkova, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Senior Research Fellow
Alexander V. Katunin, Junior Research Fellow
Shirin Dzh. Khan, Junior Research Fellow
Alexander A.Gusev, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Junior Research Fellow
Zhan K. Zagidullin, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Accociate Research Fellow
Ekaterina M. Pushkina, Senior Laboratory Assistant

Postgraudate students

Elbakyan A.

The Department is allied with Research Group “Ontology of Science”. Head of the Research Group: Andrei N. Pavlenko

Staff of the Research Group “Ontology of Science”:

Andrei N. Pavlenko, D.Sc.in Philosophy, professor, Leading Research Fellow, Head of the Research Group “Ontology of Science”
Nina T. Abramova, D.Sc.in Philosophy, Leading Research Fellow
Alexander M. Anisov, D.Sc.in Philosophy, Leading Research Fellow
Sergei A. Pavlov, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Senior Research Fellow
Olga V. Malukova, D.Sc. in Philosophy, Accociate Research Fellow

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Contacts:

Address: Goncharnaya 12/1, Moscow, 109240, Russian Federation

Tel.: +7(495)697-93-93

E-mai: epistem@iphras.ru