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Karen SwassjanPhilosopher
Date of Birth: 02.12.1948
Country:  Georgia |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Academic Career
- In 1985, he became a professor at Yerevan University.
- Philosophical Views
- Anthroposophy and Russian Publications
Early Life and Education
Konstatin A. Svasyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, and attended secondary school there from 1954 to 1965.
In 1965, he enrolled in Yerevan State University, studying philosophy, English philology, and French philology.
Academic Career
From 1971 to 1993, Svasyan worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Armenian SSR Academy of Sciences.
In 1978, he earned his Candidate of Philosophy degree with a dissertation on "The Aesthetic Essence of Henri Bergson's Intuitive Philosophy."
In 1981, he received his Doctor of Philosophy degree with a thesis on "The Problem of Symbol in Contemporary Philosophy."
In 1985, he became a professor at Yerevan University.
International RecognitionIn 1993/94, Svasyan was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Prize in Bonn, Germany.
In 1997, he was invited as a visiting professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, teaching courses in epistemology, symbol theory, and literary translation.
Philosophical Views
Svasyan's philosophical perspectives are characterized by their connection to the history of philosophy and culture on the one hand and to philosophical anthropology on the other.
He views the history of philosophy as a history of the evolution of consciousness, not in the Hegelian-phenomenological sense, but as a continuation of Ernst Haeckel's natural history of creation.
For Svasyan, philosophy aims at self-revelation and self-development of human individuality rather than at the understanding of the world.
He sees thought as the highest human faculty and views the history of philosophy as a continuation of the history of biological evolution, focusing on the development of the human mind.
Svasyan's search for a philosopher who could bridge the divide between thinking and being led him to the worldview of Rudolf Steiner.
Anthroposophy and Russian Publications
Svasyan's philosophical and personal journey culminated in his embrace of anthroposophy.
He wrote extensively on this subject, most notably his article "Anthroposophy" in the Philosophical Encyclopedia.
