Plato vs. ≪dialectical materialism≫: the dispute about the subject of philosophical science in the light of the dialectic of totality and fragmentarity

Abstract

This article is an attempt to comprehend the dialogue «Charmides» from the heritage of early Plato. This reflection is made through the prism of «two acts» of polemics on the subject and status of philosophy, which took place in the Soviet philosophical debates of the 20s, and in the 50s, and are associated with the names of E. Ilyenkov, V. Korovikov, A. Deborin, etc. It is shown that the true Leninist solution to the question of the subject of philosophy, which Ilyenkov defended, has its roots in the ideas of early Plato, who, because of historical conditioning, does not give an explicit answer in «Charmides » and leaves the finale open. However, the contours of the solution outlined already by Plato himself definitely «cut off» most of the arguments expressed during the polemics by Ilyenkov’s opponents, thus leaving an «ideal image» of such a solution, proving its existence and unambiguity.