The purpose of this study is to identify the functions of the concept of the political and to demonstrate its heuristic potential. The paper examines the concept of the political in its associative and dissociative interpretations. The phenomenon of the existence of the political and its dependence on the modern understanding of society is considered. Using M. Foucault's work, heuristic potential of the political is shown.

Smirnov Aleksey Evgenyevich, Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Professor, Department of Philosophy andMethodology of Science, History Faculty, Irkutsk State University, 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation, e-mail: aesmir@mail.ru

Fedosov Roman Denisovich, Bachelor’s Degree Student, Department of Philosophy and Methodology of Science, History Faculty, Irkutsk State University,1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation, e-mail: roman.fedosov2018@yandex.ru

Smirnov A.E., Fedosov R.D. About the Methodological Meaning of the Concept of the Political. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2021, vol. 36, pp. 9-16. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2021.36.9 (in Russian)

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