The significance of the Academy of Sciences for the development of philosophy in Russia

Abstract

The connection between the Russian Tsar Peter the Great and the German philosopher G.W. Leibniz is discussed with a focus on their common plan to develop science in Russia and to create for this purpose the Academy of Sciences, which, embracing all knowledge areas and being in this context of special importance for the state, should be under direct protection of the supreme power. Considering the initial project, its implementation, and subsequent stages of the Academy’s development, the author shows how the place of philosophy in the structure of the Academy of Sciences changed, emphasizes the direct and indirect influence of academic scientific activity on the development of domestic professional philosophy in the 18th and 19th centuries, and analyzes the changes that led to the detachment of philosophy into an academic specialization and the creation of a relevant research institute. A brief background of the RAS Institute of Philosophy is provided, and research possibilities of academic philosophy as opposed to those of university philosophy are considered.