Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought

While Lenin considered human knowledge to be similar to a mirror-like reflection of the object, Aleksandr Bogdanov emphasized the creative role of the subject in organizing the world. On the basis of some textual evidence, it is possible to describe the epistemologies of the two most influential Rus...

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Main Author: Steila Daniela
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2021-12-01
Series:Cultural Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/csj-2021-0017
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author Steila Daniela
author_facet Steila Daniela
author_sort Steila Daniela
collection DOAJ
description While Lenin considered human knowledge to be similar to a mirror-like reflection of the object, Aleksandr Bogdanov emphasized the creative role of the subject in organizing the world. On the basis of some textual evidence, it is possible to describe the epistemologies of the two most influential Russian Marxists at the beginning of the twentieth century using the two metaphors of photography, on the one hand, and cinema, on the other. In particular, while discussing Einstein’s relativity, Bogdanov considers sense organs, memory, and all the apparatus of human knowledge ‘as a certain kind of cinematographic device’. Sergei Eisenstein deems that cinema is ‘an excellent instrument of perception … for the sensation of movement’. Although it is difficult to find compelling proof of exchange and influence, this is an actual ‘tangential point’ between Bogdanov’s and Eisenstein’s ideas on human knowledge.
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spelling doaj-art-7eac5912ad20409b9887e34d8c03bd552025-02-10T13:25:36ZengSciendoCultural Science1836-04162021-12-0113121122210.2478/csj-2021-0017Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet ThoughtSteila Daniela0University of Turin, Turin, ItalyWhile Lenin considered human knowledge to be similar to a mirror-like reflection of the object, Aleksandr Bogdanov emphasized the creative role of the subject in organizing the world. On the basis of some textual evidence, it is possible to describe the epistemologies of the two most influential Russian Marxists at the beginning of the twentieth century using the two metaphors of photography, on the one hand, and cinema, on the other. In particular, while discussing Einstein’s relativity, Bogdanov considers sense organs, memory, and all the apparatus of human knowledge ‘as a certain kind of cinematographic device’. Sergei Eisenstein deems that cinema is ‘an excellent instrument of perception … for the sensation of movement’. Although it is difficult to find compelling proof of exchange and influence, this is an actual ‘tangential point’ between Bogdanov’s and Eisenstein’s ideas on human knowledge.https://doi.org/10.2478/csj-2021-0017knowledgereflectionbogdanovleninorganizationexperience
spellingShingle Steila Daniela
Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought
Cultural Science
knowledge
reflection
bogdanov
lenin
organization
experience
title Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought
title_full Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought
title_fullStr Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought
title_short Knowledge as Film vs. Knowledge as Photo: Alternative Models in Early Soviet Thought
title_sort knowledge as film vs knowledge as photo alternative models in early soviet thought
topic knowledge
reflection
bogdanov
lenin
organization
experience
url https://doi.org/10.2478/csj-2021-0017
work_keys_str_mv AT steiladaniela knowledgeasfilmvsknowledgeasphotoalternativemodelsinearlysovietthought