David B. Zilberman: Selected Essays

This book is a selection of articles by David Zilberman, a prolific author, whose tragic untimely death did not allow to finish many of his undertakings. Zilbermans work represents a fresh word in the way of philosophizing or philosophy-building and the technique of modal methodology. This book comprises of thirteen independent articles that are not related by content. The point of thematic convergence of these articles is the way they reflect the new way of methodological thinking through the application and benefits of modalization or modal methodology that unfolds unbound possibilities of philosophic elaborations. By shifting constantly from one position to another, Zilberman disclosed the antinomicity of all types of thought. Such an approach led him to outline for the first time his major attempt to start creating not "systems" but "sums" of philosophies so that the philosophical activity would be able to re-emerge on the slopes of such "sums." The book can be used as a starting point of a discussion, especially in study of philosophy. We imagine it can be used in undergraduate classes on World Philosophies or Intercultural Philosophy courses. With that, it can serve as a useful resource for adding intercultural elements into Western-centered courses.

David B. Zilberman (1938¿1977) was a Russian-American philosopher and sociologist, scholar of Indian philosophy and culture. Since 1973, David Zilberman lived in the United States. In 1973 Zilberman was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Hunter College, New York. In 1974, Zilberman accepted a position as Post-doctoral Fellow with the Committee on South Asian Studies at the University of Chicago. For the last two years of his life, Zilberman taught at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, first in the Department of Anthropology, and later in the Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas. Zilberman taught a variety of courses in Indian and Western philosophy, and related disciplines.

David B. Zilberman died on July 1977 in a car-bicycle collision while returning home from his last seminar with his students at Brandeis.

Part 1. Philosophic Elaborations.- 1. Semantic Shifts in Epic Composition.- 2. The Emergence of Semiotics in India.- 3. On the philosophical work of Zilberman (First brief introduction).- 4. Approaching Discourses between Three Persons about Modal Methodology and Summa Metaphysicorum.- 5. On Cultural Relativism and Radical Doubt.- 6. Culture-Historical Reconstruction and Mythology in the Anthropology of Paul Radin.- 7. Semiotic Function of Kabbalah Mystical Experience in the Interpretation of Historical Situations.- Part 2. Philosophic Contemplations.- 8. Hegel and Mms: Thinking as Ritual (Outlines of the Imperative Grammar).- 9. The Anticipation of Awakening.- 10. Reflections on Ontology in six Daraas.- 11. A Symphony of Looking-Glasses: Hindu Systems of Thought as Cultural "Existentes".- 12.Dialectical Psychology (Some Notes on Aristotles De Anima).- Part 3. Orthodox Ethics And The Matter Of Communism.- 13. Types Of Rationality And The Problem Of Different Ends In HistoricalDevelopment.- 14. The Old Believers'  'Rationalism' Against The Anti-Structure' Of Fundamental Orthodoxy.- 15. Marxism And The 'Asiatic Mode Of Thinking'.- 16. The Social And The Individual Aspects Of Freedom.- 17. Mysticism East And West And The Schema Of Historical Action.- 18. The Semiotics Of 'Easternization: The Esthetic And The Actionist Conceptions Of Holiness.- 19. Hesychasm And The Philosophy Of Power In Historical Perspective.- 20. The Christocentric Predicament: An Antinomy of Meaning And Signification.- 21. The Logic Of Ascent From Abstract Religious Belief To Concrete Political Power In The Russian / Soviet Socio-Cultural Tradition.- Bibliography Works of David Zilberman.