Philosophy of the Act by Mikhail Bakhtin (experience of the ethical interpretation)

Abstract

The article is devoted to Michail Bakhtin’s conception of the Act, which was developed in the essay The Philosophy of the Act. Special attention is given to the ethical aspects of Bakhtin’s teaching and also to the research methodology in dealing with the complex ethical problem of the individual act.

The article shows that Bakhtin was not the only one, who asked such questions in Russia at that time. The Philosophy of the Act was prepared by certain historical, cultural factors. Bakhtin showed, that in the research of the act we should proceed from a particular sole and single person. We discover her special features such as responsibility as the essential one, and rationality and oughtness as subordinate to it.

The article notes that Bakhtin distinguishes several types of responsibility. However, the main idea of the essay is not the study of responsibility, but the presentation of a whole plan of that act which, on the one hand, is associated with the sole and single responsible entity and, on the other hand, with the objective culture.

The article examines Bakhtin’s criticism of ethics as philosophical conception of morality: the philosophy of the Act can only be constructed from within the Act, but theoretical philosophy and traditional ethics are not able to do that. It is better to use phenomenology, axiology and value approach. It is shown, that Bakhtin did not deny the importance of value-based approach to the teaching on the person, his life and deeds but tried to study the person’s acts using the concept of value.

The article examines Bakhtin’s methodology using the example of his analysis of artworks. It is noted that Bakhtin’s ideas and his methodology should be used for the ethical analysis of the person’s acts.