V.N. Ilyin on Methodology and Philosophy of Science

Abstract

The main part of the publication is V.N. Ilyin’s lecture on logic and methodology of sciences. It is devoted to V.N. Ilyin’s views of philosophy of science. The author of article shows the general approach of V.N. Ilyin to logic, relation between the system of morphology, logic and ontology. Besides, the author of article considers V.N. Ilyin’s works on problems of scientific world view. V.N. Ilyin proved that logic and psychology are interconnected, he was of opinion that these sciences were the basis for scientific world view. He had considered the notion of logic in the context of morphology, the central images of logic for him were “Thought” and “Logos”. In Ilyin’s opinion, “Logos” is the basis of logic of science about the correct thinking. The logic is science (“knowledge of knowledge”), as well as philosophy through logic influences to spiritual human life. The logic makes the basis the majority of sciences. Besides, the history of philosophy shows that the logic gave impulse to development of human thought during all eras. Ilyin maintained that new history of logic is necessary in science. The book about the value of logical knowledge in the history of world culture has to be written. Ilyin offered reform of traditional logic: logic will be transformed to comprehensive knowledge (“pan-logic”), the interaction of logic and morphology will unite “sciences about the nature” and “sciences about spirit”. Ilyin had connected such reform of logic with the change of a scientific world view in the 20th century, with revolutionary discoveries in physics (the theories of N. Bohr, A. Einstein and other scientists).