Philosophy Journal of the Higher School of Economics

Philosophy. Journal of the Higher School of Economics. Vol. 9 No 2

Editorial staff of the journal HSE — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:45:28 +0300

Dear colleagues!

We are pleased to present the 2nd issue of the 9th volume of “Philosophy. The Journal of the Higher School of Economics”.

This issue is dedicated to various aspects of practical philosophy — a field of philosophical inquiry that, for various reasons, has become one of the journal’s central focuses. All the contributions in the three main sections engage with political and legal philosophy: “History of Political Thought”, “Political Philosophy of Slavophilism”, and “Problems in the Philosophy of Law”.

The first section, “History of Political Thought”, features two studies. Olga Togoeva examines Jean Petit’s treatise “Justification of the Duke of Burgundy” (1408), a seminal source that first formulated the theory of crimen laesae majestatis. Anna Seregina analyzes English political pamphlets from the second half of the 16th century, focusing on the concepts and metaphors borrowed from classical republican tradition. The author highlights how pamphleteers discussed female rule and the objectives they pursued.

The “Political Philosophy of Slavophilism” section comprises four contributions. Arseniy Romanenko seeks to explicate the concept of “People” in Slavophile texts from the 1840s–1880s. Aleksandr Kotov explores the reception of Slavophilism in the political and literary newspaper “Novoye Vremya” during the 1880s. Andrey Teslya examines Vasily Zenkovsky’s portrayal of the Slavophiles in his historical-philosophical works. Larisa Arzhakova compares two Polish scholars’ interpretations of Slavophile teachings — Marian Zdziechowski (1861–1938) and Andrzej Walicki (1930–2020).

The “Problems in the Philosophy of Law” section includes five articles. Arseny Kraevsky investigates the concept of public authority — including its social dimensions — in legal philosophy. Anton Mikhailov discusses the significance, structure, and methodological foundations of legal dogmatics in the continental legal tradition, with particular attention to how philosophical worldviews influenced the development of public law dogmatics. Dmitry Poldnikov traces the doctrinal origins and key milestones in the long process of recognizing legal entities as subjects of law across global legal systems. Nikolai Kuznetsov explores how madhhab (legal schools) emerged as one of the most important institutions and concepts in Islamic law. Vladimir Bashkov examines the extra-legal foundations of Hans Kelsen’s philosophy of law.

In our traditional “Archive of Philosophical Thought” section, Ivan Lupandin and Grigoriy Konson have translated and annotated (also authoring the preface) an excerpt from “Dagger of Faith” by the Catalan philosopher and theologian Ramon Martí (Raymundus Martinus). The “Philosophical Criticism” section features four reviews: Fyodor Gayda reflects on Konstantin Dushenko’s book on Russophobia (2024); Artem Bychkov reviews the collection “Diseases of the Head: Essays on the Horrors of Speculative Philosophy” (ed. Matt Rosen, 2020); Konstantin Mal'tsev evaluates the second volume (of two published — a third one is expected this year) of Sergey Nikolsky’s work on the Soviet era (2023). Additionally, my own review is included, covering a 2025 book on James Cameron’s “Aliens” from the “Constellations” series on science fiction cinema.

In Memoriam. This year, the Faculty of Philosophy of Lomonosov Moscow State University suffered irreparable losses. Several brilliant scholars and teachers passed away: in May, our journal’s contributor Elena Kosilova, and in June, Karen Momdzhyan, Head of the Department of Social Philosophy and Philosophy of History, and Mikhail Maslin, Head of the Department of the History of Russian Philosophy. Tributes were written by those close to them: Zinaida Sokuler for Elena Kosilova, Aleksandr Antonovsky for Karen Momdzhyan, and Boris Mezhuyev for Mikhail Maslin.

The editorial board of “Philosophy. The Journal of the Higher School of Economics” and the faculty of the School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at the HSE University mourn their passing and extend deepest condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of Elena Vladimirovna, Karen Khachikovich, and Mikhail Alexandrovich.

Alexander Pavlov

The Concept of crimen laesae majestatis in French Law of the Late Middle Ages

Olga Togoeva — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:47:42 +0300

The article is devoted to the treatise “The Justification of the Duke of Burgundy”, written by Jean Petit in 1408 in defense of Jean the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, who was found guilty of murdering Louis of Orleans, the brother of Charles VI. It was in this treatise that a detailed theory of crimen laesae majestatis, i.e. of the crimes directed against the greatness of the monarch, was presented for the first time in the practice of the French Kingdom. At the beginning of the 15th century, there was no such detailed description and justification of this type of crime in any legal treatise, or in the collections of customary law, or in royal legislation. The author of the article analyzes all possible sources that could inspire Jean Petit to create his theory: first of all, the treatise “On Tyranny” written by Bartolo da Sassoferrato and the treatise “Diligite justiciam” written by Jean Gerson. The author of the article demonstrates the close connection of the “Justification” with the legal ideas of the Italian postglossator. At the same time, Jean Petit's moral justification for the murder of a man who committed crimen laesae majestatis refers to the reflections of the famous French theologian.

Republican Rhetoric and Female Rule in 16th-Century England

Anna Seregina — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:34:11 +0300

In the 16th century, England witnessed the rise of scope and popularity of republican terms, metaphors and concepts borrowed from classical (mostly Roman) texts. The article presents a study of the 16th-century English political pamphlets and their references to republican concepts and metaphors. The pamphleteers used the works by Cicero and Sallust to support their concept of good counsel/councillor, and in more radical versions — theories of elected monarchy and the rule of council during an interregnum. It is shown that the popularity of republican rhetoric was linked to the view of female rule as prone to weak tyranny (being susceptible to bad advice). The duty of queens to listen to good advice was thought to legitimize their rule, but it also limited (in theory) the power of female rulers. Councillors saw themselves as co-rulers, senators, ready to govern in times of a dynastic crisis. The author concludes that republican rhetoric was shared by all confessional groups, not only Protestants, and constituted a part of universal secular political language.

Concept of “People” (“Narod”) Among the Slavophiles (1840–1880s)

Arseniy Romanenko — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:18:23 +0300

The article provides an attempt to analyze the Slavophile understanding of the “people” (“Narod”) — one of the key themes of the Slavophile teaching and one of the most important concepts of their political doctrine. We consider Slavophilism in the “narrow” sense of the word, as an ideological association of A.S. Khomyakov, I.V. Kireevsky, Yu.F. Samarin, K.S. Aksakov, I.S. Aksakov, A.I. Koshelev and others, formed in the early 1840s: we bring the analysis to the early 1880s, the end of the public activity of I.S. Aksakov and A.I. Koshelev. The article demonstrates the main Slavophile discourses on the people and nationality and the different ways in which the Slavophiles “imagined” the people in their development: the use by the Slavophiles of the political language of the Pogodin's interpretation of “official nationality”, romantic nationalism, the ethnographic and visual image of the people, the transformation and refraction of these languages depending on the audience and the purpose of the statement. Particular attention is paid to individual episodes of differentiation by the Slavophiles of the сoncepts of “narod/narodnost”, and the “nation”, and their appeal to the concept of “popular sovereignty”, primarily in the context of the divergence of two Slavophile projects of political representation, a divergence that arose from different understandings of the “people” and its political space.

Included Observation

Larisa Arzhakova — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:54:50 +0300

The article attempts to examine individual works from the rich creative heritage of prominent Polish thinkers Marian Zdzekhowski (1861–1938) and Andrzej Walicki (1861–1938), drawing some parallels between them. Both thinkers belonged to the twentieth century, which, as shown in the article, can simplify rather than complicate the task of comparative historical research, given that the Slavophile ideology served as the link between both authors. Each of these Polish thinkers perceived Slavophilism as an attractive ideological trend, seeing in it the potential for a detailed comparison with Polish Messianism. A special emphasis in the article is placed on the context in which the Slavophiles themselves and Polish researchers of Slavophilism used one of the most popular concepts in a given context — “the people”. Special attention is paid to the difficulties of translating this term. While Russian has two concepts — “people” and “nation”, Polish has only one word — “naród”, which has two close meanings: “people” and “nation”. This deprives the translated text of the linguistic nuances inherent in the original. Along the way, the article provides comments on modern Western and Russian historiography of the history of concepts.

“The Slavic Locker” in Suvorin's Office

Aleksandr Kotov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:02:05 +0300

The article is devoted to the reception of Slavophilism on the pages of Suvorin's “Novoe Vremya”. The vastness of this problematic leaves the opportunity to outline it only in general terms. Characterizing Suvorin's nationalism, the author considers it inappropriate to look for a strict ideological system in it, pointing only to its closeness to the main political positions of the Slavophiles, primarily those related to the relations between the authorities and society, as well as to foreign policy issues. Apologetics of Slavophilism also occupied a significant place on the pages of the latter. The newspaper spoke extremely respectfully of the personal qualities of I.S. Aksakov and actively opposed both the vulgar Western thesis about the “retrograde” nature of Slavophilism and the then widespread identification of Pan-Slavism with nihilism. The most striking example of such apologetics was the 1881 series of essays “People and Parties”, which was actually dedicated to Slavophilism and Westernism. The author refuted the traditional Western argument, according to which the Slavophiles were supporters of returning to the past, and characterized the Slavophiles as a progressive and democratic movement, which he compared with the British Whigs. The foreign policy views of “Novoe Vremya” — primarily related to the Slavic question — also largely coincided with Aksakov's. Traditional for publications of the “Russian trend” was criticism of Russian “groundless” diplomacy and an appeal to the concept of “national egoism” — which, however, the editors initially tried to combine with the idea of “Slavic reciprocity”.

The Philosophy of Slavophiles in the Historical and Philosophical Works of V.V. Zenkovsky

Andrey Teslya — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:26:59 +0300

V.V. Zenkovsky (1881–1962) is arguably the most influential historian of Russian philosophy, author of the fundamental “History of Russian Philosophy” (1948, 1950) and numerous works, both specifically devoted to and indirectly touching upon various historical and philosophical topics. However, paradoxically, his historical and philosophical works have very rarely been the subject of independent study, continuing to serve primarily as a source of information and interpretation, even though three quarters of a century have passed since the publication of “History of Russian Philosophy”. In this article, we focus on analysing Zenkovsky's interpretation of Slavophile philosophy in several aspects. First, we examine the place of Slavophilism in Zenkovsky's general historical and philosophical scheme, where they (together with Gogol) act as the founders of the theme of “Christian culture” and, in developing the latter, provide the first detailed interpretation of Christian (Orthodox) philosophy. In this regard, we focus on Zenkovsky's understanding of the process of secularisation and its duality, while noting that this dialectical interpretation is absent in Zenkovsky's later works. Secondly, we analyze Zenkovsky's understanding of Slavophilism, including his opposition to Slavophilism as a phenomenon of Russian social thought and the philosophical constructs of the Slavophiles (he categorically refuses to characterise the latter as a whole, calling this approach “stylisation”). In conclusion, attention is paid to Zenkovsky's interpretation of freedom, which he directly traces back to his interpretation of Khomyakov's teaching on the Church.

The Concept of Public Power in Legal Philosophy

Arseny Kraevsky — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:47:05 +0300

The article studies the concept of public power in the philosophy of law. The concept of power (potestas) should be distinguished from the closely related concepts of imperium and authority (auctoritas), which are of Roman origin, as well as from the Germanic concept of Herrschaft. In the history of legal and political thought, four main concepts of power can be distinguished. The volitional theory, which identifies power as the will, is initially based on the transfer of the Christian doctrine of the Church governed by the Holy Spirit to the state and its ruler and assumes the a priori unity of the state will. The psychological theory of power, on the contrary, emphasizes subordination on the part of the subjects. The social behaviorist concept treats power as a social fact — a relationship within the framework of which one party is subordinated to the other. The legal understanding of power, in turn, considers power as a legal (normative) phenomenon. The author believes that the main concepts of power reflect different sides of this social phenomenon. To explain public power as a social phenomenon it is proposed to refer to the theory of three realms of law. In this understanding, power can be considered as a normative phenomenon (a set of empowering norms), a psychological phenomenon (legitimacy) and an empirically perceived phenomenon (actual behavior).

Philosophy of Law and History of Public Law Dogmatics in the Civil Law Tradition

Anton Mikhailov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:55:14 +0300

In the article the author turns to the understanding of the nature and meaning of legal dogma, reveals the peculiarities of its structure and methodological foundations. The process of the formation of legal dogma is traced in a general theoretical way. On the basis of historical reconstruction of the development of the Western legal tradition, an explanation is given for the perception of the division of law into private and public as the “basic division of law” by the professional legal consciousness of lawyers. The reasons for the fundamental status of this division are seen in the peculiarities of the genesis of private and public law in continental Europe. The author has attempted to identify the philosophically and legally significant differences between private and public law within the cultural and historical framework of the Western legal tradition. An attempt is also made to contrast the “classical” private law dogma with the legal dogmatics of the public law cycle. Particular attention is paid to the process of influence of philosophical world views on the historical change of public law dogma in the Western legal tradition. The paper shows how the key philosophical and legal ideas of rationalism, idealism and Marxism have influenced the structure and institutions of public law. The paper concludes with the author's position on the socio-cultural factors that hinder the development of a coherent and workable systematics of public law dogma.

Anthropocentrism as a Principle in the Dogmatic Interpretation of Legal Person

Dmitry Poldnikov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:48:16 +0300

The widespread adoption and recognition of the legal person as a subject of law in most contemporary legal systems worldwide is largely attributable to the influence of the Romano-Germanic legal tradition where this generalized concept and its corresponding institution only reached its definitive form by the 19th century, thanks to its dogmatic conceptualization by legal scholars in Western Europe. The author of this article uses a historical-legal (diachronic) comparison to identify the doctrinal origins and milestones of this long and complex process, rooted in the medieval scholastic reinterpretation of the principle of anthropocentric vision of law, inherited from ancient philosophical and legal thought. The doctrine of theologians and legal scholars combined and transformed the concepts of subject of law, subjective right, and legal person. Ultimately, it led to the formulation of the dominant 19th-century will theory (fiction theory) of the legal person in the doctrines of leading German and French civil law scholars. The article also demonstrates how the critique of the will theory, as the concept based on it became more widespread in the dogmatics of public law, led to a gradual abandonment of the anthropocentric vision of the legal person and the subject of law itself. This departure from the Roman axiom challenges one of the foundations of the Continental European legal tradition but revisits the label of exoticism of the legal personality of idols, animals, and natural objects known in non-Western religious-legal traditions. Also, it allows for the recognition of the legal personality of artificial intelligence and cybernetic organisms.

Purity and Decisiveness

Vladimir Bashkov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:18:25 +0300

The article is devoted to the polemic between Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt in the aspect of political theology. It is based on Kelsen's 1922 text “God and the State”, which reproduces the basic logic of Carl Schmitt's political-theological argument, but with directly opposite conclusions. Based on this work, an attempt was made to expand the methodological apparatus of political theology to integrate different elements of sociology of religion, psychoanalysis, and anarchist theory. An additional resource was Mikhail Bakunin's work of the same name, published in 1882. The figure of the Russian anarchist served as one of the sources of inspiration and polemical repulsion in Schmitt's early classical works. We explore the possibility of the intersection of Bakunin's and Kelsen's theses based on the works of the same name, identify the structural similarities of the argumentation and show the main differences. We further undertake a brief reconstruction of the main ideas of the pure doctrine of law with reference to the reconstruction of Kelsen's (possible) political-theological argument. In this way, we discover an insufficiently studied side of legal positivism and normativism. After analyzing Kelsen's main theses, we wonder about the hidden presence of elements of the sociology of religion in his theory. The result of the article is a demonstration of the relevance of a political-theological approach to the study of the debate between decizionism and normativism. With the help of the sociology of legal concepts and the sociology of religion, the non-obvious meanings of the concept of “purity” in the teachings of Hans Kelsen were revealed. The reconstruction is aimed at reinterpreting the inclusion of normativism in the political and theological discussion, with an emphasis on previously unrecognized aspects of this topic, as well as posing original research questions.

Madhhab in the Mechanism of Continuity of Classical Islamic Law

Nikolai Kuznetsov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:39:35 +0300

One of the urgent problems of the theory and philosophy of law is the question of the essence and mechanisms of succession in law. The discussion of this phenomenon is closely related to both philosophical (for example, the role of tradition, rational and irrational in law) and theoretical and legal (validity, effectiveness and legitimacy of law) topics, as well as concepts emerging in legal dogma, through which mechanisms for ensuring legal continuity can be consolidated in the legal system. The article examines these issues using the example of the madhhab (law school), which was formed during the evolution of Muslim law as the most important legal institution and was then conceptualized by Islamic lawyers as one of the concepts of legal dogma. Analyzing the development and functions of the madhhab, the author reveals the role of Ijtihad and Taqlid in the institutionalization of Muslim law. The paper shows that the interrelated functions of the law school included the Islamic doctrine of guaranteeing the independence of judges (Qadi) and legal advisers (Mufti), imposing legal restrictions on lawyers, representatives of the state and ordinary Muslims in connection with the obligation to follow their chosen law schools, ensuring legal pluralism and legal continuity as a condition for the rule of Law. Thus, since the 13th century, the madhhab has become a fundamental link in building legal communication between the state, society and man, which gives reason to assert that it acquired constitutional and legal significance from this period. The study also reveals the relationship between madhhab and legal custom in Islamic legal doctrine and in practice.

The Dagger of Faith

Raymundus Martinus; Ivan Lupandin , Grigoriy Konson — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:40:24 +0300

Translation from the Latin and annotations, with an introduction by Ivan Lupandin and Grigoriy Konson.

Translation of: Raymundus Martinus. 1651. Pugio fidei adversus Mauros et Judaeos [in Latin]. Parisiis: Jean Henault. P. 154–160.

“Aliens” and Traditional Values

Alexander Pavlov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:00:43 +0300

Review of: Massaccesi, C. 2025. Aliens. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.

Dispelling Misconceptions about Misconceptions

Fyodor Gayda — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:16:48 +0300

Review of: Dushenko, K.V. 2024. “Rusofobiya” v ryadu prochikh fobiy i maniy [“Russophobia” Among Other Phobias and Manias]: iz istorii politicheskogo yazyka [From the History of Political Language] [in Russian]. Moskva [Moscow]: INION RAN.

Philosophical Headaches

Artem Bychkov — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:06:18 +0300

Review of: Rosen, M., ed. 2020. Diseases of the Head: Essays on the Horrors of Speculative Philosophy. Santa Barbara: Punctum Books.

The Phenomenology of the Soviet: From Marxism to Stalinism

Konstantin Mal'tsev — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:07:09 +0300

Review of: Nikol’skiy, S.A. 2023. Sovet·skoye. Ideya i praktika [Soviet. Idea and Practice] [in Russian]. Moskva [Moscow] and Sankt-Peterburg [Saint Petersburg]: Tsentr gumanitarnykh initsiativ [Center for Humanitarian Initiatives].

In Memory of Dr. Elena Kosilova (1966–2025)

Zinaida Sokuler — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 23:31:46 +0300

In Memory of Dr. Karen Momdzhyan (1948–2025)

Aleksandr Antonovsky — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

In Memory of Dr. Mikhail Maslin (1947–2025)

Boris Mezhuyev — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 20:33:50 +0300