Aleksei Losev | |
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Aleksei Losev
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Born |
Novocherkassk, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire |
September 23, 1893
Died | May 24, 1988 Moscow, Soviet Union |
(aged 94)
Era | Contemporary philosophy |
Region | Russian philosophy |
Institutions |
Moscow University University of Nizhni Novgorod Moscow Conservatory Moscow State Pedagogical University |
Influences
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Aleksei Fedorovich Losev (Russian: Алексе́й Фёдорович Ло́сев; September 23, 1893 – May 24, 1988) was a Russian philosopher, philologist and culturologist, one of the most prominent figures in Russian philosophical and religious thought of the 20th century.
Losev was born in Novocherkassk, the administrative center of the Don Host Oblast, the far western Russian territory held by the Don Cossacks on the banks of the Don River. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Aleksei Polyakov; a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church. Losev's paternal great-grandfather was also named Aleksei, and was awarded for heroism during the Napoleonic Wars, while fighting in a Cossack Brigade. Losev's father was Fyodor Petrovich Losev, a violinist and conductor by avocation and a teacher of mathematics and physics by trade. Attracted to a bohemian lifestyle, Losev's father left the family in the hands of his wife, Natal'ya Alekseevna Loseva (née Polyakova), who raised Losev as an only child at her father's house.
Losev was schooled in the classics at gymnasium from the age of ten. He was little interested in his studies until he was introduced to philosophy. As well, he became fascinated by astronomy after reading a book by Camille Flammarion. His early interest in music continued, and he considered a career as a violinist.
In his final year of gymnasium, Losev received a gift from his professor: an eight-volume set of writings by Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, which influenced him greatly. Losev entered Moscow University in 1911. He held season tickets to the Bolshoi Theatre where he watched every opera he could. During a study visit to Berlin, his luggage was stolen, including his books and all of his manuscripts. The trip was cut short by the start of World War I.