Abstract

The question of contacts between philosophers and historians of natural science, of mutual assistance and collaboration in their work, is an exceptionally important one from both the theoretical and practical points of view. This constitutes an organic component of the overall task, posed by Lenin, of strengthening the alliance between the leading natural scientists and Marxist philosophers. Here a businesslike approach is particularly needed. Lenin's behests lay in two directions. First, they have to do with the treatment of problems in the history of knowledge from the standpoint of philosophy, and, second, they deal with the treatment of problems of dialectical philosophy on the basis of generalization from the data of the history of natural science. The two problems are interrelated, but they can also be considered as relatively independent. The common dialectical foundation of both sets of problems is the idea of the unity, the interconnection, of the historical and the logical. What are the behests of Lenin, and how are they being carried out?