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Rezension

„Die Streitgespräche sind taktisch wie rhetorisch geschickt aufgebaut, ihre argumentative Generallinie geht trotz zahlreichen Exkursen in historische Zusammenhänge niemals verloren. Mit seinem grossen Ideentheater leistet Anatol Rapoport einen ebenso witzigen wie intelligenten Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis dieser - unserer - Welt, die zwar aus den Fugen geraten, aber noch nicht ganz verloren ist.“

– Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NZZ 20./21. August 2005

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This book opens up a fascinating, systemic view on the evolution of society, culture and science over the last two centuries. It is the latest Œvre of the leading thinker of systems theory and the peace movement – one of the greatest minds of our age.

Anatol Rapoport is the only surviving founder of the „Society for General Systems Research“. He is a professor emeritus of Mathematics and Psychology at the University of Toronto and author of more than 400 publications, including about 30 books. His research and writings cover a wide spectrum of subjects: Philosophy, Systems Theory, Game Theory, Decision Theory, Human and Social Behaviour, General Semantics, Research Methods, Ecology and Peace Research. The common denominator of these publications is the systemic view of a gigantic, inquisitive mind, amplified by a prolific writing ability.

In this opus, Rapoport expounds a synthesis of his thinking. This is an interpretation of the evolution of the world, grounded in a long-standing inquiry into the human and social condition, and presented in a classical form – the Socratic dialogue.

The author chose three interlocutors – Leo Tolstoy, Feodor Dostoevsky and Vladimir Lenin. These share two common features: All are obsessed with struggle, in the sense of debate, an all three are Russians, like the author.

Rapoport is a master of both Mathematics and Philosophy, which he combines in an unmatched way. The fruits of this precious combination are to be found throughout the book, but they are most bountiful in its last chapter. There, the author puts three crucial questions for the survival of humanity. The answers are short, but they provide a clear orientation, clearer than in any other blueprint for survival to date.

„Conversations with Three Russians“ is a captivating book. It comprises the condensed wisdom of a ninety-year old genius whose extraordinarily retentive memory reaches back over more than eighty years of…

Schlagworte

Kulturgeschichte, Politikgeschichte, Soziale Evolution, Systemtheorie, Russland, Leo Tolstoj, Dostojewski, Lenin, Kulturwissenschaft