From heart to image: In honor of the 75th anniversary of professor B. V. Markov

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the anniversary of Boris Vasilyevich Markov, the famous philosopher of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The author of the article, basing on many years of personal experience and professional communication with the hero of the day, presents an expressive and holistic image of Markov as a person and as a philosopher according to his biography and creativity. An attempt is made to consider the complex philosophical evolution of Markov, which took place in key periods for Russian philosophy when Russian thought actively absorbed the key philosophical texts of the 20th century that had become available. Markov is distinguished by a unique ability to creatively rethink a variety of philosophical trends — classical philosophical schools, phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, analytical philosophy, structuralism — actualizing their significance for modern philosophy and synthesizing their experience in their original understanding. The specificity of Markov’s oral and written language is distinguished by its expressiveness, brightness and aphorism. It is no coincidence that the philosophy of language had a great influence on his philosophical development, remaining as one of the main research topics throughout all his works. Touching upon some of the key books of Professor Markov, written by him at different times, the author strives to briefly mention and analyze the main features of his philosophical style, thinking, and worldview. Special attention is paid to philosophical anthropology, which is directly related to the philosophical activity of the hero of the day over the past few decades. In this regard, emphasis is given to Markov’s book “Mind and Heart”, which marked the beginning of the most productive period of his philosophical work, which is currently associated with the problems of visual anthropology of communication.