The Objectives of Social Cognition in the Second Half of the 19th Century

This article examines the views of Konstantin Dmitrievich Kavelin (1818–1885), a Russian social thinker and public figure, on the objectives of social scientific knowledge in his time. It provides a historical description of his intellectual influences, a phenomenological account of his personal experience, a textual analysis of his late works, and addresses several source studies issues related to the ideological atmosphere of the period under study and his creative work. An attempt is made to study Kavelin's later legacy from historical-sociological, socio-philosophical and epistemological points of view, in the context of the evolution of his ideas aimed at developing a methodology of social cognition, which has not previously received attention in the scientific literature. The article draws on works from the 1870’s and 1880’s, letters and memoirs by Kavelin and his circle, as well as the works of contemporary Russian social scientists. It is shown that K.D. Kavelin's interest in the spiritual and moral life of the Russian people, “our mental formation”, had personal roots and meanings, and was linked to his worldview, character traits, the influence of his intellectual environment and social interests. Kavelin's assessments of the main trends in Russian philosophy and science are presented. While critiquing them, he offers his own vision of the development of social cognition, which can be loosely called a theoretical "program." At its center is attention to the individual, their needs, and the paths of their spiritual, moral and mental development; the individual is the main element of society and the engine of social progress. Kavelin's complex of theoretical and methodological ideas is based on a synthesis of psychological and ethical views; the development of social thought is dependent on the state and prospects of psychology and ethics as priorities for understanding man and society in contemporary Russia. It is revealed that Kavelin's “program” in his later years evolves from the formulation of psychological tasks to formulating ethical and philosophical ones and is ultimately determined by the synthesis of psychological and socio-philosophical ideas. His worldview and proposed methodology of social cognition are based on the principles of sociological nominalism, anthropocentrism, and psychologism. Conclusions are drawn about the contribution of K.D. Kavelin's teachings to the history of Russian thought, about the cultural significance of the “program”, as well as the connection between the thinker's theoretical ideas and pre-revolutionary social-scientific traditions in Russia

Ideology · Memoir · Social change · Social environment · Social knowledge · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Doping in Sports · Psycholinguistics and Behavioral Studies