Davydov A.P. Methodological middle as a tool for studying social reality. In: Reforming Russia: yearbook: vol. 18

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Abstract

The article considers the possibility of interpreting the meaning of the “middle” as a methodological tool for studying social reality. Various types of “middle” are analyzed. “The Middle” J. P. Sartre/V. S. Bibler has liberal Cartesian roots. Through the principle of “I am responsible for my being-for Other, but I am not its foundation,” it is aimed at the mastery and control of the Other by the Self. This type of “middle” allows the unity of the Self with the Other while maintaining the independence of the subjects from each other. This unity of subjects involves the regulation of relations between them through a change in the subject of dialogue (the interpolar “middle”) and the transition from dialogue as a one-time act to a process of multi- level dialogue. Examples of the Westphalian peace treaty between Catholics and Protestants (1649) and the BrestLithuanian peace treaty between Russia and Germany (1918) are given as examples of a successful change in the subject of dialogue. “Middle” M. M. Bakhtin/B. A. Lectorsky has social- democratic/ Christian- democratic roots. Through the principle of “I am for the Other from the point of view of the Other/Other for me from my point of view”, she aims to form a common foundation of the brotherly culture of I and the Other. This type builds the unity of the Self with the Other as a result of the inner need of both to serve each other. “For each other” and “from each other” can be reduced to identity in the idea of the “middle” of R. S. Grinberg on the basis of public- private partnerships. In this “middle” version, independence (the “from” tool) and ministry (the “for” tool) generate the “for / from” tool as a “middle” methodology. It is also proposed to consider the logic of the evolution of culture through the transition from the idea of a one-shot dialogue to the idea of multi- level dialogue: “thesis- antithesischaos (the middle is struggling within itself between internal opposites) — thesis- antithesis…”.