Synthesis of Experimental Psychology and Metaphysics in the Russian Ecclesiastical Academies of the Second Half of the 19th Century: A.E. Svetilin and His Students

Abstract

The article examines the legacy of Professor Alexander Svetilin, in particular, his lectures in psychology. Psychology was one of the most popular disciplines in the ecclesiastical academies. Among Svetilin’s students were future illustrious prelates such as metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky) and bishop Mikhail (Gribanovsky). In his lectures Svetilin discussed only the “phenomenology of the soul” i. e. empirical psychology, but despite this narrow subject he promoted some new and perspective theological paradigms. His students follow the thesis of Svetilin that philosophy, supplemented by empirical knowledge about a human being, will come to conclusions consistent with theology. This idea contributed to the origin of theological personalism which asserts that “personal” and “natural” are independent in the human being. It is likely, that this idea was for the first time advanced by bishop Mikhail (Gribanovsky) in his “Introductory lectures”.