Abstract
"Is philosophy a science?" Most contemporary Western philosophers will find it difficult to give a definite answer to this question, even if they tend do so in the affirmative. The reason for this, I think, is that it is a pseudo-empirical question: the affirmative answer, "Philosophy is a science", as well as the negative answer "Philosophy is not a science" are not mere descriptive statements, but they state a norm. Philosophers who hold that philosophy is a science will draw a line between "good" (scientific) and "bad" philosophy. This applies to analytical philosophy and phenomenology alike, and it also applies to Soviet philosophy. In all three cases, the affirmative answer to the question "Is philosophy a science?" founds a field of intellectual activity that is as close to "normal science" as philosophy can get.