Thinking on Unstable Ground: The Topology of Sense in Merab Mamardashvili

How do we make sense of the world? On what foundation do we consider something worthy, beautiful, true, or even real? This book explores the philosophical work of Merab Mamardashvili, a widely popular thinker during the Soviet era, yet unjustly unknown in Western philosophy. Drawing on his topological approach to epistemology, this book illustrates his journey into the elusive ground that shapes what becomes thinkable. This is the first full reconstruction of Mamardashvili’s thought. It makes visible key concepts developed across his lectures and writings, and presents them in relation to major Continental debates on foundation and difference.

Elisa Pontini, Ph.D., is an independent researcher working in theoretical philosophy and Soviet thought. She completed her M.A. at the University of Turin with a thesis on the philosophy of Merab Mamardashvili. In 2024 she completed her doctoral dissertation on “Topology of Difference: Trace, Repetition and Responsibility in the Philosophy of Merab Mamardashvili” at Radboud University Nijmegen. Her publications have appeared in Studies in East European Thought and in the edited volume Rethinking Mamardashvili(Brill, 2022).