The Forgotten Work by N.O. Lossky “Psychology in Russia”

Author: korolevaNV / Date: 27-06-2026 /
Publication Title: 
The Forgotten Work by N.O. Lossky “Psychology in Russia”
Publication author(s): 
Simon Semenovich Ilizarov, Viktor Alexandrovich Kupriyanov
Abstract: 

The article analyzes the history of creation and the content of a previously unpublished manuscript by N.O. Lossky on the history of psychology in Russia. The authors reconstruct the background of this work, the concept of which emerged in connection with the first major historical and scientific project in Russia – the publication of the collection “Russian Science”, initiated by the famous Russian historian and sociologist A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky. The authors describe the history of this project and, based on surviving records, reconstruct N.O. Lossky’s participation in it. It is noted that the project planned a collective work containing individual essays on the history of each science in Russia; Lossky was invited to write the essay on the history of psychology. Lossky’s work, the exact dating of which has not yet been established, was not published during the author's lifetime and remained in manuscript form among the papers of his close colleague E.L. Radlov. The article highlights Lossky’s interest in psychology and his own research as a psychologist, which he fruitfully pursued during the early period of his biography. The published work is of interest as the famous philosopher’s first experience in the field of the history of philosophy and the history of intellectual culture, areas he primarily focused on after his forced emigration from Soviet Russia. The work also attracts attention due to its exclusive focus on psychology contemporary to Lossky. The author presents the development of Russian psychology over nearly fifty years – from the 1860s to the early 1920s, when it reached its peak. Lossky covers almost all the main directions of psychology of his time, providing an overview based on a detailed analysis of the major psychological and psychophysiological works of that period. Thus, the published text is of interest in the context of the historiography of the history of psychology and philosophy in Russia, adding a fresh perspective to established facts.

 

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(Thesis and Thesis Abstracts)

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Key words: 
Lossky's theory of knowledge, professional philosophy, philosophical psychology, historiography of science
2026. Issue 2 (90)
The DOI index: 
10.17588/2076-9210.2026.2.129-150
Publication file: 
str.129-150_90.pdf