Empiriomonism

Abstract

We now come to that part of The Philosophy of Living Experience where all introduction ceases, where Bogdanov at last elaborates the core of his own worldview. Since empiriomonism is “the philosophy of living experience” named in the title, one might expect the chapter devoted expressly to it to be the ultimate statement and crux of the work. [PLE, pp. 267–310] As we shall see, such is not the case. The chapter we are about to consider presents empiriomonism in two ways, first as the solution to the contemporary problem of philosophy and, secondly, as a worldview different from those of the past. Although the entire work moves toward this end, Bogdanov chose to take it further. For him, the presentation of empiriomonism could not be complete without an assessment of its relation to the thought of the future. What empiriomonism was in the present could only be fully understood in light of that which would displace it. Accordingly, Bogdanov devoted himself to this project in “The Science of the Future”, the work’s final chapter and conclusion. [PLE, pp. 310–27] The result of this is startling, for “The Science of the Future” is more than Bogdanov’s statement on empiriomonism’s place in the history of thought. It is, as well, an argument for the end of philosophy and the articulation of Bogdanov’s vision of the future tasks of man and his thought. “The Science of the Future”, thus, has the effect of taking The Philosophy of Living Experience substantially beyond the contemporary problem of philosophy. In it, the work as a whole takes on a broader character than its title suggests.