In this paper some important issues and trends of western and Russian philosophy of science (same as the status of philosophy of science itself) are discussed from the point of view of existential materialism. It is underlined that the main question of theory of knowledge has been exterminated from epistemology and philosophy of science, namely, the question what istruth -understood eidetically, or essentially.

In modern cosmology there are several concepts of the universe. In physics the concept put forward: time does not exist. To confirm or deny this or that concept requires experimental verification. Today the «laboratories» for experimentation are the space, oceans, lakes, many kilometers of underground tunnels.

The article studies the role of the human capital in the increase and effciency of economic development, its indissoluble connection with human potential. It contains the defnitions of concepts of human capital and human potential, analyzes the evolution of management models, and advantages of the management based on values.

The article substantiates the validity of using the concept of «social space» for the analysis of the contemporary Russian society. The genesis of the «social space» construct in sociology and the difference between it and «the physical space» are considered. The problem of empirical presentation of the social space through the main types of capital such as economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capitals is addressed.

The article shows the contribution made by Russian philosophy to the theoretical development of the concept of «pluralism». It examines the critic of eclectic pluralism, the ability to incorporate diverse elements into a single system («systemic pluralism»), the dialectic relation of pluralism and monism, depending on the degree of openness of the system. Systemic pluralism characterizes the whole history of philosophical thought, as well as the individuality of philosophical ideas of a thinker. The paper proves this position on the example of pluralism in the evolution of philosophical ideas of Belinsky.

The article is devoted to the problem of life and immortality in the works of Solov'ev and Nietzsche. For Solov'ev the problem of philosophy consists in preparation of mankind to victory over death. Nietzsche, on the contrary, denies the idea of personal salvation. Nietzsche's doctrine of eternal recurrence bears the problem of sense of mankind's existence in the eternal circle of births and deaths. Solov'ev sees the mankind's purpose in overcoming death, Nietzsche - in overcoming eternity.

The article considers philosophical aspects of the novel «The House of the Dead». In the novel Dostoyevsky shows how the extreme conditions of penal colony expose two metaphysical poles of human essence - dependence of people from each other and the aspiration to dominate over others inherent to them. The second pole corresponds to the concept «will to power» in F. Nietzsche's philosophy. In images of «strong men» of penal colony Dostoevsky shows that the internal power of a person is beyond moral appraisal and can be expressed both negatively and positively.

The author provides facts on suppression of university philosophy by the tzarist government in the 1^st part of the XIX century. Based on the archival documents the article gives account of «The case of the harmful philosophy teaching».

This paper attempts to discuss one of the famous Aristotle quotes: «The stones of which altars are made are fortunate because they are held in honour, while their fellows are trodden under foot» (Physics II. 6. 197b). The author's intention is to demonstrate that modern reading of this classic quote may have influenced by metaphor of the «living stones», used in the New Testament and Early Christian literature.

The paper offers the short philosophical characteristics of the eminent Russian philologist-germanist A.V. Mikhaylov (1938 - 1995). Particular attention is paid to the account of author's meeting and dialogue with him. The idea of historicity of our knowledge and one of the epistemological invariance of metaphor form the conceptual substance of this paper.