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25Semyon Frank and Henri BergsonStudies in East European Thought. 2026.Henri Bergson was one of the philosophers with whom Semyon Frank confessed feeling the deepest affinity. In this article, I compare the philosophies of Bergson and Frank. I begin by sketching Frank’s general mature worldview and the way Bergson’s philosophy pertains to it. I then present the most salient points of convergence between the two philosophers on each one of the following interdependent thematic categories: intuition or living knowledge, time or durée (duration), creative evolution or…Read more
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4Michel Bastit, La Substance : essai de métaphysique, Paris, Parole et Silence, 2012, 335 p (review)Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale 89 (1): 131-145. 2016.
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3The Megarian and the Aristotelian Concept of Possibility: A Contribution to the History of the Ontological Problem of ModalityGlobal Philosophy 27 (2): 209-223. 2017.This is a translation of Nicolai Hartmann’s article “Der Megarische und der Aristotelische Möglichkeitsbegriff: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des ontologischen Modalitätsproblems,” first published in 1937. In this article, Hartmann defends an interpretation of the Megarian conception of possibility, which found its clearest form in Diodorus Cronus’ expression of it and according to which “only what is actual is possible” or “something is possible only if it is actual.” Hartmann defends this interpr…Read more
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3Historical Introduction to Nicolai Hartmann’s Concept of PossibilityGlobal Philosophy 27 (2): 193-207. 2017.In his article “The Megarian and Aristotelian Concept of Possibility” (“Der Megarische und der Aristotelische Möglichkeitsbegriff,” 1937), Nicolai Hartmann attempts to revive an interpretation of the conception of possibility of the Megarians that stood in opposition to the Aristotelian conception of possibility and thus in opposition to the Aristotelian conception of modality in general. In this introduction, I undertake to situate Hartmann’s article in its historical context. Did Hartmann come…Read more
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1Vladimir Solovyov, Nicolai Hartmann, and Levels of RealityGlobal Philosophy 27 (2): 133-146. 2017.One of the trademarks of Nicolai Hartmann’s ontology is his theory of levels of reality. Hartmann drew from many sources to develop his version of the theory. His essay “Die Anfänge des Schichtungsgedankens in der alten Philosophie” (1943) testifies of the fact that he drew from Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. But this text was written relatively late in Hartmann’s career, which suggests that his interest in the theories of levels of the ancients may have been retrospective. In “Nicolai Hartmann…Read more
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272Max Scheler †In Moritz Kalckreuth, Gregor Schmieg & Friedrich Hausen (eds.), Nicolai Hartmanns Neue Ontologie und die Philosophische Anthropologie: Menschliches Leben in Natur und Geist, De Gruyter. pp. 263-271. 2019.This is a translation of the obituary that Nicolai Hartmann wrote for his colleague and friend, Max Scheler, after the latter's premature death in 1928. In this eulogy, after emphasizing the unfortunate incompleteness of Scheler's lifework, his keeping abreast with the development of the various sciences, his power of intuition, and the fact that he was a philosopher of life without for that matter having a Lebensphilosophie, Hartmann chronologically recapitulates Scheler's life achievements, be…Read more
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895Ontological Axiology in Nikolai Lossky, Max Scheler, and Nicolai HartmannIn Moritz Kalckreuth, Gregor Schmieg & Friedrich Hausen (eds.), Nicolai Hartmanns Neue Ontologie und die Philosophische Anthropologie: Menschliches Leben in Natur und Geist, De Gruyter. pp. 193-232. 2019.The prominent Russian philosopher Nikolai Lossky and his ex-student Nicolai Hartmann shared many metaphysical and epistemological views, and Lossky is likely to have influenced Hartmann in adopting several of them. But, in the case of axiological issues, it appears that Lossky also borrowed from the axiologies of Hartmann and the latter's Cologne colleague, Max Scheler. The links between the theories of values of Scheler and Hartmann have been studied abundantly, but never in relation to Lossky.…Read more
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202The Philosophy of Nicolai Hartmann (edited book)De Gruyter. 2011.Nicolai Hartmann was one of the most prolific and original, yet sober, clear and rigorous, 20th century German philosophers. Hartmann was brought up as a Neo-Kantian, but soon turned his back on Kantianism to become one of the most important proponents of ontological realism. He developed what he calls the “new ontology”, on which relies a systematic opus dealing with all the main areas of philosophy. His work had major influences both in philosophy and in various scientific disciplines. The con…Read more
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105ForewordIn Roberto Poli, Carlo Scognamiglio & Frederic Tremblay (eds.), _The Philosophy of Nicolai Hartmann_, De Gruyter. 2011.
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25Reading Nicolai Hartmann. Ideas and DialoguesForum Philosophicum: International Journal for Philosophy 30 (1): 5-8. 2025.This special issue is devoted to the philosophical legacy of Nicolai Hartmann (1882–1950), one of the most compelling and systematic thinkers of twentieth‑century philosophy. In recent decades, Hartmann’s work has attracted renewed scholarly interest, particularly in light of contemporary debates in ontology, philosophical anthropology, epistemology and the theory of values. Researchers have begun to rediscover the depth and relevance of his layered ontology, his concept of the real, and his cri…Read more
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16Review of Teresa Obolevitch, Faith and Science in Russian Religious Thought, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2019, Hardcover, £65.00, ISBN 978-0-19-883817-3 (review)Studies in East European Thought 72 (1): 83-87. 2020.
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318Nikolai Lossky and Henri BergsonStudies in East European Thought 69 (1): 3-16. 2017.The twentieth century Russian philosopher Nikolai Lossky was one of the earliest and most important proponents—but also critics—of Bergson’s philosophy in Russia at a time when many Russian philosophers were preoccupied with the same complex of philosophical questions and answers that Bergson was addressing. Thus, if only from the standpoint of intellectual history, Lossky is central to the study of the reception of Bergson in Russia. In this article, I present the principal historical links, po…Read more
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272Nikolai Lossky, Dimitar Mihalchev, and RehmkeanismStudies in East European Thought 77 (2): 243-260. 2025.The philosophy of Johannes Rehmke (1848–1930), also called “Rehmkeanism,” and the intuitivism of Nikolai Lossky (1870–1965) converge on essential doctrinal points. The Bulgarian philosopher Dimitar Mihalchev (1880–1967), who studied under Rehmke in Greifswald, became a promoter of the Rehmkean philosophy in Bulgaria. The points of convergence between Rehmkeanism and Losskyan intuitivism led Mihalchev to develop an interest in Lossky. He visited Lossky in Saint Petersburg in 1911 and mentioned th…Read more
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161Bergson's Fundamental IntuitionStudies in East European Thought 77 (3): 537-549. 2025.The following text is a translation of Semyon Frank’s “L’intuition fondamentale de Bergson” published in Henri Bergson: Essais et témoignages inédits, edited by Albert Béguin and Pierre Thévenaz, Neuchâtel: Éditions de la Baconnière, 1941. In this article, Frank addresses Bergson’s notion of intuition, his anti-intellectualism, his mysticism, his closeness to Lebensphilosophie, the notion of lived experience, the distinction between intuition as pure contemplation and intuition as living knowled…Read more
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350Hermann Cohen, Writings on Neo-Kantianism and Jewish Philosophy, ed. by S. Moyn and R. S. Schine, Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University Press, 2021. (review)Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 26 (3): 288-292. 2022.The editors' main objective with this selection of texts is to show that Hermann Cohen (1842–1918) was, throughout most of his career, driven by a desire to provide an interpretation of Kant consistent with Judaism. The editors believe that, just as Moses Maimonides had combined Judaism with Aristotle in the Middle Ages, Cohen endeavored to combine it with Kant. Cohen lived his whole life as an observant Jew and, according to the editors, he always wished to synthesize Judaism and Kantianism. No…Read more
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197Dimitar Tsatsov. Dimitar Mihalchev – “Filosofski studii. Prinos kum kritikata na moderniia psikhologizum. – 1909 g.” Vuvedenie. (Dimitar Mihalchev – “Philosophical Studies. A Contribution to the Critique of Modern Psychologism. – 1909.” Introduction) (review)Balkan Journal of Philosophy 16 (1): 92-94. 2024.This is a review of: Димитър Цацов, Димитър Михалчев – „Философски студии. Принос към критиката на модерния психологизъм. – 1909 г.“, София: Авангард Прима, 2023.
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134The Different Senses of the Word IntuitionStudies in East European Thought 1-12. forthcoming.This is a translation from Bulgarian into English of Nikolai Lossky’s “Razlichniiat smisul na dumata intuitsiia” (“The Different Senses of the Word Intuition”), published in the Sofianite journal Filosofski pregled (Philosophical Review), 1931, year III, book 1, pp. 1–9. In this article, solicited by the journal’s editor-in-chief, the Bulgarian philosopher Dimitar Mihalchev, Lossky surveys the different ways in which the word “intuition” (intuitsiia) has been used throughout the history of philo…Read more
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298« Connaissance et être d’après Simon Frank » par Pierre Thévenaz (1913–1955)Revue des Etudes Slaves 94 (3): 401-417. 2023.En 1937, le philosophe russe Simon Frank (1877-1950) publia la Connaissance et l’être, une traduction française abrégée de Predmet znanija, auprès de la maison d’édition parisienne Fernand Aubier. Grâce à cette traduction, il attira l’attention de philosophes francophones, parmi lesquels se trouvait le suisse Pierre Thévenaz (1913-1955), qui donna une présentation s’intitulant « Connaissance et être d’après Simon Frank » à une rencontre de la Société romande de philosophie à Lausanne le 7 décemb…Read more
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228Review of Dimitar Mihalchev, Metafisika (Zapiski), Sofia, Paradigma, 2021, 251 pages, ISBN 978-954-326-450-6, 16 leva (review)Studies in East European Thought 76 (4): 753-756. 2024.Dimitar Mihalchev (1880–1967) was the greatest interwar Bulgarian academic philosopher. The book hereby reviewed consists in his hitherto unpublished lecture notes (zapiski) on metaphysics (metafisika). The stitch-bound typewritten document was discovered by Angel S. Stefanov, who transcribed it, adapted it to the modern Bulgarian alphabet, and wrote an introduction, wherein he argues that these were probably lecture notes for a course that Mihalchev taught at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohrid…Read more
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201Review of: Berdnikova, Aleksandra Yurievna, Neoleibnitsianstvo v Rossii, Moskva, Institut filosofii Rossiiskoi akademii nauk, 2021, 248 pages, ISBN 978-5-9540-0358-1, 154 rubles (review)Studies in East European Thought 75 (3): 557-561. 2023.
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295Review of Julie Chajes, Recycled Lives: A History of Reincarnation in Blavatsky’s Theosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2019, xii + 215 p., Hardcover, ISBN 978-0-19-090913-0, £64 (review)Studies in East European Thought 73 (4): 525-529. 2021.This is a review of Julie Chajes, Recycled Lives: A History of Reincarnation in Blavatsky’s Theosophy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2019. The book, which falls under the broader umbrella of the academic study of Western esotericism, is concerned with the Russian occultist Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891), her doctrine of reincarnation, its development through the different phases of her literary work, and her sources, whether these be Indian philosophy, Ancient Greek philosophy, or nine…Read more
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62Correction to: Leibniz’s Doctrine of Reincarnation as MetamorphosisSophia 60 (2): 495-495. 2021.A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-021-00853-5
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78Karel Sládek, Nikolay Lossky and the Case for Mystical Intuition, translated by Pavlina and Tim Morgan, Karolinum Press, Prague, 2020, Paperback, 158 p., 240 czk, ISBN 978-80-246-4570-4 (review)Studies in East European Thought 73 (1): 117-120. 2021.The book under review is a translation of a monograph written in Czech entitled Nikolaj Losskij: Obhájce mystické intuice, published in 2011. As a theologian, the author is above all interested in the spiritual and theological aspects of Lossky’s thought. The first two chapters are concerned with Lossky’s life and work before and during his years in Czechoslovakia. The third chapter is devoted to the analysis and interpretation of Lossky’s booklet Mystical Intuition published in English in 1938,…Read more
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2538Leibniz’s Doctrine of Reincarnation as MetamorphosisSophia 59 (4): 755-766. 2020.The Russian philosopher Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky considered himself a Leibnizian of sorts. He accepted parts of Leibniz’s doctrine of monads, although he preferred to call them ‘substantival agents’ and rejected the thesis that they have neither doors nor windows. In Lossky’s own doctrine, monads have existed since the beginning of time, they are immortal, and can evolve or devolve depending on the goodness or badness of their behavior. Such evolution requires the possibility for monads to rei…Read more
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2147Nikolai Lossky’s Evolutionary Metaphysics of ReincarnationSophia 59 (4): 733-753. 2020.The Russian philosopher Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky adhered to an evolutionary metaphysics of reincarnation according to which the world is constituted of immortal souls or monads, which he calls ‘substantival agents.’ These substantival agents can evolve or devolve depending on the goodness or badness of their behavior. Such evolution requires the possibility for monads to reincarnate into the bodies of creatures of a higher or of a lower level on the scala perfectionis. According to this theory…Read more
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531Russian Ontologism: An OverviewStudies in East European Thought 73 (2): 123-140. 2021.Russian philosophy underwent many phases: Westernism, Slavophilism, nihilism, pre-revolutionary religious philosophy, and dialectical materialism or Soviet philosophy. At first sight, each one of these phases seems antithetical to the preceding one. Yet, they all appear to have in common a certain negative attitude towards the subjectivism of Kantianism and German Idealism. In contrast to the latter, Russian philosophy typically displays a tendency towards ontologism, which is generally defined …Read more
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311Frédéric Nef, L'Anti-Hume: De la logique des relations à la métaphysique des connexions, Paris: Librairie philosophique J. Vrin, 2017 (review)Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale 106 (2): 289-295. 2020.
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398Alexandre Kojève, The Religious Metaphysics of Vladimir Solovyov, translated by Ilya Merlin and Mikhail Pozdniakov, Palgrave Pivot, 2018 (review)Sophia: International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions 59 (1): 181-183. 2020.This is a review of Alexandre Kojève, The Religious Metaphysics of Vladimir Solovyov, translated by Ilya Merlin and Mikhail Pozdniakov, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. This slim book is a translation of Kojève’s essay “La métaphysique religieuse de Vladimir Soloviev,” which was first published in two installments in the Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses in 1934. The French text was itself based on Kojève’s doctoral dissertation, Die religiöse Philosophie Wladimir Solo…Read more
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306Teresa Obolevitch, Faith and Science in Russian Religious Thought, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019 (review)Studies in East European Thought 72 (1): 83-87. 2020.This is a review of Teresa Obolevitch's Faith and Science in Russian Religious Thought, which provides an intellectual history of the collaboration between fides and ratio in the course of the development of Russian thought, from its Byzantine origins to the twenty-first century. Obolevitch examines various approaches to combining faith and science in such eighteenth-century thinkers as Mikhail Lomonosov and Gregory Skovoroda, the nineteenth-century thinkers Victor Kudryavtsev-Platonov, Dimitrii…Read more
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495Russian LeibnizianismIn Julia Weckend & Lloyd Strickland (eds.), Leibniz’s Legacy and Impact, Routledge. 2019.Leibniz’s philosophy enjoyed a Russian fandom that endured from the eighteenth century to the death of the last exiled Russian philosophers in the twentieth century. There was, to begin with, Leibniz’s direct impact on Peter the Great and on the scientific development of Saint Petersburg. Then there was, still in the eighteenth century, Mikhail Lomonosov, who was sent to study with Christian Wolff in Marburg, and who came back to Saint Petersburg with a watered-down Leibnizian worldview, which h…Read more
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Universite de MonctonLecturer
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Areas of Specialization
| Metaphysics |
| History of Western Philosophy |
| Eastern European Philosophy |
| Russian Philosophy |
| German Philosophy |