The article is devoted to elucidating the place and role of the history of philosophy as an academic discipline in the educational system, which remains to be established, first of all, in our country. For this, the domestic historians of philosophy need to focus on revealing the internal unity of classical philosophical teachings from Thales and Parmenides to Schelling and Hegel inclusive, which constitute in this unity the enduring past of philosophy. The solution to this problem will make it possible to use the extremely powerful scientific and educational potential of the history of philosophy. The article shows that this potential lies in the fact that the history of philosophy, taught as the history of a completely reasonable way of thinking, without mastering which it is impossible to master this way, should become the main academic discipline not only at the philosophical departments of our universities, but also for all other specialties higher professional education. In parallel with the study of th