The Commentary as a Dialogic Thought-Form: origins and specifics (based on V.V. Rozanov’s Commentaries on the Translation of Aristotle’s «Metaphysics») Dedicated to 170th anniversary of the birth of Vasily Rozanov

Abstract

The article examines the problem of the specificity of the commentary proper as a special thought-form. The features of Rozanov’s commentary on Aristotle’s “Metaphysics” are identified. The genre-specific characteristics of the commentary are analyzed, as well as its role in modern social media during the publication of books, articles, epistolary writing, memoirs, and diaries, in connection with communicative processes. Apart from V.V. Bibikhin’s preface to the 2006 publication of Aristotle’s “Metaphysics”, V.V. Rozanov’s commentaries have not yet attracted the attention of researchers. Identifying the specific characteristics of Rozanov’s commentaries makes it possible to clarify their genre nature and also their difference from footnotes and notes, which determines the relevance of the present study. The primary material for the study consists of the text of Aristotle’s “Metaphysics” in the translation by P.D. Pervov and V.V. Rozanov and Rozanov’s commentaries on this work of the ancient Greek philosopher. The material selected for the study required appropriate methods, including historical-cultural, hermeneutic, dialectical, and etymological approaches. The key characteristics of such text elements as footnotes, notes, and commentaries are identified, and their semantic distinctions are outlined. Special attention is paid to the commentary, its etymology, and its substantive content. The use of the hermeneutic method made it possible to identify a whole range of features of Rozanov’s commentaries and to group them by type depending on the subject and the mode of commenting. The typology developed here made it possible to define Rozanov’s commentaries as a dialogic thought-form that organically incorporates the I-consciousness of the commentator, allowing him not only to explain but also to supplement and develop Aristotle’s thought and to enter into dialogue with him.