Issue #54

Abstract: This article examines K.G. Frolov’s work “Why I Am a Platonist” and critically analyzes its proposed understanding of Platonism as an ideological position conditioned by individual existential motives. The author proposes to consider the opposition of Platonism and anti-Platonism not only in the personal, but also in the metaphysical and socio-cultural dimensions. To this end, the concepts of structural idealism and structural materialism are introduced, denoting opposing ways of constructing the universe and society —”top-down” and “bottom-up.” The connection between Platonism and pre-modern socio-cultural architecture oriented toward the transcendent is traced, while anti-Platonism is connected with modernity, human activity, and an evolutionary understanding of nature and society. Particular attention is paid to the ideological prerequisites for the emergence of modern science. It is concluded that Platonism and anti-Platonism should be understood not only as private philosophical convictions, but also as strategies for organizing collective existence, capable of acquiring institutional and ideological expression.KEYWORDS: Platonism, anti-Platonism, structural idealism, structural materialism, social idealism, social materialism, metaphysical strategies, worldview, existential metamorphoses, sociocultural metamorphoses, free will, modernism, transcendentalism, scientific knowledge, sociocultural architecture