G.I. Chelpanov – Founder of the First Psychological School in Russia

The article is devoted to an analytical review of the work of the Russian philosopher, psychologist and teacher Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov and his scientific school. The article describes his educational, organizational, research and pedagogical activities in pre-revolutionary and Soviet Russia. Chelpanov created a system of higher psychological education, was the author of textbooks and scientific papers, defended the need for the development of psychology as an independent science based on a subject oriented methodology on theoretical and experimental basis. The Institute of Psychology at Moscow University became the place of formation of the first scientific psychological school in Russia. Its main idea is : psychology is an independent science with its own subject, research methods and areas of application in various fields of social practice. Chelpanov created the profession of a psychologist in demand in modern society, the process continues in the activities of his students and followers, the creators of new psychological schools.

Introduction

A unique role in the development of psychological science in Russia belongs to the philosopher, psychologist and teacher G.I. Chelpanov born in April 16 (28), 1862 inMariupol, diedin February 13, 1936 in Moscow) [5]. Chelpanov,his collaborators and students founded a scientific tradition that became a basis  for  modern Russian psychology. His work combined three directions, inextricably linked: 1) research activities for the development of psychology as a science; 2) scientific and organizational activity, expressed in the creation of institutions for conducting scientific research and 3) pedagogical work of a psychologist-mentor, aimed at training psychologists [21]. A complete picture of his work is given by V.V. Umrikhin [13]; S.A. Bogdanchikov [2] and others.

Years of Study

Being in school (he graduated from the Aleksandrovskaya  Gymnasium in Mariupol with a gold medal in 1883), Chelpanov showed a strong interest in psychology. “My tastes have already been determined: I have decided that I will devote myself to the special study of psychology. But which University should I go to and who should I choose as my leader? I was well acquainted with the available Russian scientific forces of that time. I am very inclined only to empirical psychology, I was looking for such a leader for myself ... all my sympathies were on the side of N.Grot. The young scientist, the author of “The Psychology of Feelings,” where he showed such extensive erudition,  using the latest research methods, puting physiology at the basis of psychology” [4; p.67]. In 1883, N. Grot began teaching at Novorossiysk University (before that he was a professor at the Nezhin Pedagogical Institute). In the same year, Chelpanov entered the Faculty of History and Philology of Novorossiysk University, from which he graduated in 1887 with a gold medal for the essay “Experience and Reason in the Theory of Knowledge of Plato and Aristotle.” To prepare for the professorship, he was seconded to Moscow University. He associated the formation of his philosophical worldview with the influence of L.M. Lopatin (ibid.).

Start of Teaching Activity

In 1890 he passed the master's exam in philosophy and psychology and in 1891/92 academic year began lecturing on psychology at Moscow University as a private assistant professor. Due to the lack of a headquarters in Moscow, in 1892 he was enrolled as a full-time private assistant professor at Kyiv University. He worked at Kiev University until 1907. Here he began teaching psychology in a new way. In 1897, Chelpanov created a new organizational form of teaching psychology at the Department of Philosophy,the Psychological Seminary. This name should not be understood in the modern sense: more than half of the topics were purely philosophical: the doctrine of causality in Descartes, Spinoza, Kant; theory of knowledge in Hume, Kant, Spencer, Mach and Avenarius; psychophysical monism of Spinoza; on the foundation of ethics (J.M. Guyot, Vl. Soloviev, E. Hartmann, W. Wundt, A. Schopenhauer). According to E.N. Trubetskoy, Chelpanov’s seminar contributed to “an extraordinary improvement in philosophical education.” In this seminar, G.G. Shpet was formed as a philosopher. Chelpanov’s student V.V. Zenkovsky also called him philosophical, and characterized Chelpanov primarily as a philosopher, in Zenkovsky’s opinion, who was “head and shoulders above those researchers in the field of philosophy who were active at that time” [7; p.8]. In February 1903, speaking at a meeting dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the Psychological Seminary, Chelpanov emphasized the need for broad philosophical education for training in the field of psychology. Psychology was considered by Chelpanov as one of the philosophical disciplines, along with logic, theory of knowledge, and history of philosophy. It was an organizational structure  specifically dedicated to the teaching of psychology. In addition to discussing philosophical and psychological problems, were conducted laboratory classes. “At Kiev University, I had a small laboratory in charge from 1897 to 1907,” Chelpanov wrote in 1914. [9; p.45). Recreating the steps of formation of the Psychological Institute, he called this laboratory a “small institute”, and the work in it “his long experience”, as a result of which together with the study of the organization of classes at the Wundt Institute and in American laboratories he got a clear idea about “what should a psychological institution be like under our special Russian conditions” [ibid., p.45]. After moving from Kyiv University to Moscow University to the Department of Philosophy (1907), Chelpanov also established a “Psychological Seminary”, where participants discussed abstracts on philosophical and psychological topics.

Chelpanov's work at Moscow University was carried out under conditions of reorganization of the curriculum of the Faculty of History and Philology. Traditionally, this faculty carried out, according to a unified plan, the training of specialists in various fields of humanities: philology, linguistics, history, art, archeology, philosophy. At the beginning of the 20th century. it was considered advisable to conduct training at the university in a more specialized manner, in accordance with the differences that exist between the sciences of the humanities. In the 1906/1907 school year a new curriculum was introduced and the sudies were divided into specialized groups. Eight groups were identified, among them the group of philosophical sciences. Groups were chosen by the students. During this period of reorganization Chelpanov was invited as head of the department of philosophy. He was entrusted with the task of organizing the preparation of vocational education in the group of philosophical sciences. The basis for inviting Chelpanov to Moscow University was his recognized authority as a researcher in philosophy and psychology. His role in raising philosophical education in Kiev University received universal recognition. Chelpanov devoted his best efforts to psychology and the organization of training specialists in this discipline, while at the same time defending the idea of “the legitimacy of philosophical constructs and the importance of these latter for the development of science itself” [p.321]. He devoted his first lecture in a university course of psychology to the question of the relationship of psychology to philosophy.

Chelpanov as a Teacher at Moscow State University

The training plan developed by Chelpanov in the group of philosophical sciences included propaedeutic courses, basic courses, seminaries and proseminaries, as well as auxiliary courses, including those provided by the physics, mathematics and medicine faculties. G.I. Chelpanov himself gave lectures and conducted seminars on introduction to psychology, , theoretical psychology, general psychology, and experimental psychology. He also conducted classes in non-psychological disciplines: general pedagogy, introduction to philosophy, logic, seminars on ethics and epistemology. Special courses were devoted to reading Spinoza's Ethics and Leibniz's Monadology. He also taught a course “On the Problems of University Education.”

Psychological Seminary

The necessary funds and three classrooms were allocated for the establishment of the Psychological Seminary at the Department of Philosophy. Books and magazines were purchased for the Seminary library, instruments and devices for research in experimental psychology and for demonstration when teaching a psychology course. Subsequently, additional funds were allocated and a technical employee was allocated to service the equipment. In this Seminary, Chelpanov taught classes in theoretical psychology and practical classes in experimental psychology, and since 1909 he started a research in experimental psychology. The number of people wishing to deeply study psychology grew and soon exceeded 40 people, t became difficult to study in the conditions provided by the university. The help came from the merchant and philanthropist S.I. Shchukin, with his donations was built the Psychological Institute. (1914).

Creation of the Psychological Institute

The creation of the institute was the most important event in Russian psychology. At the official opening ceremony, greetings were heard and congratulatory telegrams were read, sent by outstanding figures of psychological science in Europe and America: W. Wundt, K. Stumpf, O. Külpe, K. Marbe, W. Stern, O. Seltz, etc., as well as scientists from Russian universities and scientific institutions, editorial offices of various journals. They expressed high assessments of the scientific, educational activities and technical equipment of the Psychological Institute. Many speakers emphasized the all-Russian significance of the opening of the Institute of Psychology,  expressed the wish it becomes a center uniting Russian psychologists, and expressed hope for the growing role of Russia in world science.

The creation of a psychological institute was perceived differently. Professors of theology and some philosophers reacted negatively to the possibility of experimental research in psychology. However, Chelpanov, well aware of the state and development trends of world psychological science, clearly understood that progress in psychology is impossible without experimental work and improving precise methods and ways of studying subjective mental phenomena. Chelpanov advocated the widespread dissemination of psychological laboratories at universities. He regularly replenished the Institute with the latest psychological equipment and literature describing experimental methods

On the occasion of the official opening of the Psychological Institute, I.P. Pavlov sent his congratulations: “Allow me with this letter to congratulate you on the start of such an outstanding scientific institution in our homeland... I sincerely greet your Psychological Institute and you as its creator and leader, and warmly wish you success” [10; p.100].

Psychological Institute and University

According to Chelpanov, “The Psychological Institute at Moscow University is in direct succession with the Psychological Seminary at Moscow University” [12; p.43]. In his report “On the tasks of the Moscow Psychological Institute” at the grand opening of the Psychological Institute on March 23 (April 5, according to the current style), 1914, G.I. Chelpanov noted: “The tasks of the university psychological institute are closely dependent on the tasks of the university itself: the organization of scientific work at the university most directly affects the organization of scientific work at the university institute” [16; With. 41]. All the work of the Psychological Institute was based on a set of ideas about the university as such, its goals and objectives, and the system of relations within the university community. The activities of the institute embodied the university idea of combining higher education and science. The work of the institute was aimed at preparing students to participate in continuous scientific research in various fields of psychological knowledge.

On September 1, 1912, all classes at the Psychological Seminary were transferred to the institute. Chelpanov studied in detail foreign prototypes in Europe and America. In the summer of 1910, he visited psychological laboratories of German universities in Berlin, Würzburg, and Bonn. At the same time, he noted that they were created for research purposes, but the task is to turn experimental psychology into an educational subject. In 1911, he traveled to America to study the experience of organizing psychology there as an academic discipline, believing, however, that the experience of foreign psychological institutions requires serious correction: nowhere in the world  there was a psychological institute specifically built for psychological purposes.

The Moscow Psychological Institute was created according to a project developed by Chelpanov. On September 1, 1912, regular classes began: lectures were given on the general course of psychology, laboratory classes and seminars were held. The grand opening of the Psychological Institute took place on March 23rd , 1914.

Psychological Institute within the Structure of Moscow State University

The rules on the psychological institute ( “Temporary rules at the Psychological Institute of the Imperial Moscow University”)  established the goals for the training professional specialists in psychology. Here we include the document in full.

1. A psychological institute is a scientific and educational institution aimed at the scientific development of psychology and the dissemination of knowledge in this area.
2. At the Psychological Institute, are conducted lectures and  practical classes, seminaries, etc.  with students, persons close to the university, and other students of Moscow University on subjects related to the institute.
3. Property belonging to the institute cannot be used for any purposes other than those specified in clauses 1 – 2.
4. The Psychological Institute is located within the structure of the Faculty of History and Philology. In the event of a change in the current distribution of departments among faculties, the institute becomes the head of the department in which the department of philosophy is located.
5. The director of the Psychological Institute is a professor of philosophy who teaches psychology. If there are several professors in this department, at the time of filling the position of director, one of them should be elected by the faculty.
6. The director is entrusted with the immediate management of the Institute and the management of its scientific activities.
7. In the building of the Institute, space is allocated for the editorial office of the Psychological Journal, which will be published by teachers of the Institute, and for the warehouse of the Institute’s publications. In addition, the Institute has the right to allocate space for the library of the Moscow Psychological Society and provide premises for its meetings.
8. For classes at the Institute, permission from the director is required.
9. The Institute has the right to publish its “Proceedings”.
10. The Institute has a seal with the inscription “Psychological Institute named after L.G. Shchukin at Moscow University.”
11. A psychological institute may organize separate and systematic lectures on subjects within its jurisdiction” [4; With. 46]. University psychological education system

An important merit of G.I. Chelpanov is the creation of a university education system for the training of professional psychologists. This system is based on the following provisions:

• high level of philosophical and theoretical training;
• knowledge of research methods, especially the experimental method;
• an inextricable connection between teaching and research activities of the teacher and student. “Assimilation of knowledge should occur through familiarization with methods of scientific research. Students must know how scientific truth is obtained” [16; p.41]. G.I. Chelpanov organized the classes his own way. Each course was connected with others, complementing and expanding each other. Much attention was paid to the independent work of students, Chelpanov was also very demanding, cultivating a students’ conscientiousness and responsibility.

The textbooks  on philosophy, psychology, and experimental psychology published by Chelpanov were exemplary from a didactic point of view and met the task of systematically introducing the fundamentals of these areas of knowledge. The textbook on experimental psychology “Introduction to Experimental Psychology,” published in 1915, which was used by students, according to A.N. Leontiev, who graduated from Chelpanov’s school, was the best guide among similar foreign publications. The system of university psychological education created by Chelpanov still forms the foundation for the training of psychological personnel in higher education in our country. Chelpanov's scientific and pedagogical activities embodied exemplary traits of his personality as a mentor and teacher, especially significant in the profession of psychologist: selfless devotion to science, honesty and responsibility, caution, consciousness of duty to science.

Chelpanov School

During his 30-year scientific and pedagogical activity, G.I. Chelpanov created the first scientific school in Russian psychology. It started from the creation in 1906/1907 a Psychological Seminary at the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. The number of students wishing to enroll in the Seminary for  in-depth study of psychology was constantly growing: from a few people in the 1906/1907 academic year to 40 in 1912, when the Psychological Institute named after L.G. Shchukina was opened at Moscow University

  Outstanding scientists who became classics of Russian psychological science,B.M. Teplov, A.A. Smirnov, S.V. Kravkov, A.N. Leontyev and others, more than 120 people in total, were Chelpanov's students over the years. The first was B.M. Teplov. Leontyev was Chelpanov’s last student: he entered the university’s Faculty of History and Philology in 1921 and took his exam in German with Chelpanov. After 1921, years of educational restructuring began at Moscow State University. G.I. Chelpanov’s favorite student and ally in organizational activities was the philosopher, psychologist, cultural theorist, translator of philosophical and fiction literature G.G. Shpet. Shpet's works became the methodological foundation for the cultural-historical theory of L.S. Vygotsky (1928 - 1934) and his school, which determined the entire subsequent development of university psychology in Moscow, which later was called the Moscow School. Vygotsky's associates and followers A.R. Luria, A.N. Leontiev, B.V. Zeigarnik, P.Ya. Galperin, developing his ideas, created their own scientific schools. In a certain sense, we can say there was a continuity in the development of psychological university education, starting from G.I. Chelpanov.

Transformations of the Psychological Institute after 1917

G.I. Chelpanov was the director of the Institute until November 1923.

After the Russian Revolution, started the process of ideologization of education and science. Working conditions at the Institute and studying at the University in general got worse. During the years of the revolution and civil war, laboratory equipment was not replenished, the library did not acquire books, and there were frequent interruptions in the electricity supply. Classrooms were not heated. At a meeting of the Faculty of History and Philology on February 3, 1920, the following resolution was adopted: “1. Professors and teachers should be asked to transfer as many hours of classes as possible to private apartments and other heated spaces, outside the university; 2. Restart, at least partially, classes from Monday, February 9, using two heated rooms of the Psychological Institute; 3. The Presidium should be asked to expedite the appointment of a new minister of the Psychological Institute, instead of the one  deceased, and also to expedite the putting in order of the iron furnaces at the Institute” [6; L.1].

After the abolition of the Faculty of Philology (1921), the Psychological Institute joined the Association of Literary and Humanitarian Scientific Institutes at Moscow State University, and Chelpanov was approved as its director. The structure of the Institute has changed. It was divided into 8 sections (departments): general psychology, experimental psychology, genetic psychology (childhood psychology, zoopsychology), differential psychology, ethnic and social psychology, applied psychology (educational psychology, occupational psychology, criminal psychology), history of psychology. During the existence of the Institute at the Faculty of Social Sciences (1921-1924), the position of psychology at Moscow University worsened. Back at the end of 1920, in one of his letters, Chelpanov noted: “Some classes are going on at the university, but I can’t say they are getting better. The level of students is dropping more and more. Scientific studies cannot be organized because all the students are working (there is no time to read), and, in addition, there are no books at all” [8; With. 88]. Yet the teaching of psychology continues to occupy an important place in university curriculum. In 1925, the Board of Moscow University decided, that the Psychological Institute schould be recognized as an educational and auxiliary institution serving three faculties: social sciences, physics and mathematics, and medicine. Chelpanov in 1921-1923. was a professor at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Social Sciences. He lectured on philosophical problems of psychology and taught general psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The Institute staff conducted seminars and workshops on experimental psychology. Pedology (K.N. Kornilov), social psychology (G.G. Shpet), psychology and pedagogy of thinking (A.G. Tsires) were also taught at different departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences. 

Chelpanov's Resignation

Chelpanov tried to “continue to maintain the same type of activity” [8; p.89], however, it was every year more difficult to do this. At a meeting of the University Board in 1922, Chelpanov’s proposal to conduct practical classes in experimental psychology was not approved as it was not included in the teaching plan at the faculty.  Salary of  Chelpanov’s assistants, the number of paid hours of practical training, and the number of participants in the workshop, these questions were not resolved. The main reason for this attitude was Chelpanov’s theoretical position. And it remained unchanged throughout his entire career and consisted of a commitment to empirical psychology, based on introspection data and supplemented by experiment. During the campaign to restructure psychology on the basis of Marxism that unfolded in the 20s, and the discussion on the problem of “psychology and Marxism,” Chelpanov’s position was regarded as metaphysics and idealism, and was not corresponding to Marxism. This was soon followed by Chelpanov’s resignation.

A particularly important role in criticizing Chelpanov had professor K.N. Kornilov. Formerly a student of Chelpanov, Kornilov after his graduation from the Faculty of History and Philology (1910) continued as a research fellow at the Psychological Institute. Since 1916, Kornilov has been a private associate professor at Moscow University. In 1921, on behalf of the People's Commissariat of Education, he organized the pedagogical faculty at the 2nd Moscow State University and was appointed its dean and professor of the department of psychology. At the same time, he continued working at the 1st Moscow State University. After the formation of the association of institutes at the Faculty of Social Sciences, he was nominated as chairman of the psychological section of the Institute of Scientific Philosophy.

In June 1923, Kornilov wrote a statement to the Presidium of the Faculty of Social Sciences. In this statement, he pointed out the discrepancy between Chelpanov’s psychology and Marxism. In another statement in July 1923, Kornilov gave a negative assessment of Chelpanov’s psychological courses. “The majority of the courses and lectures offered,,  as well as the students asking for the opening of these courses, form the core of those research courses that were organized under the former Psychologist. Institute of Prof. Chelpanov, though its existence was recognized as completely inappropriate by the new board of the Institute of Scientific Philosophy. Apparently, the activities that were considered inappropriate within the Institute, prof. Chelpanov proposed to move to an even less suitable place, to the Faculty of Social Sciences ” [2]. On November 2, 1923, the dean’s office of the Faculty of Social Sciences informed Kornilov, that he was appointed as Head of the Psychological Institute [11]. On November 10, 1923, the rector of Moscow State University V.P. Volgin notified Chelpanov about his expulsion from the university, expressing his “deep gratitude for his long service and energetic work on the creation and organization of the Psychological Institute.” On November 15, Chelpanov was asked to hand over the Psychological Institute to “the person indicated by the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. When and how to do it should be discussed with prof. K.N. Kornilov.” The student coldly betrayed the teacher. The reasons for the dismissal were ideological. Chelpanov understood what was happening and in one of his letters emphasized: “When the government announced that psychology, like all sciences, should be developed in the spirit of Marxism, we were accused of being unsuitable as metaphysicians and idealists . We tried to prove that we, as psychologists, were completely neutral, standed on a strictly empirical point of view, and as such we could be neither idealists nor materialists. But we were unable to convince anyone. Our main persecutors are Kornilov and Blonsky” [8; p.90].

The resignation caused Chelpanov, in his own words, a depression. One can only guess about the depth of his experiences from forced inaction, from the destruction of what he had given his life to. “It’s sad to think, that they will destroy everything that was created with such great difficulty”, he wrote in a letter (ibid.).

After Chelpanov’s dismissal, “former employees of the Institute scattered in different directions” (ibid.). The composition of the Institute has been updated. Its new director hired young scientists to work at the Institute: L.S. Vygotsky, A.R. Luria, A.N. Leontiev. Kornilov declared the Institute’s task is to rebuild the methodological basis of psychology on the basis of Marxism [20]. The Institute’s activities in this direction took place already during the period of its separate existence from the university. After separation from the university (1925), the Institute existed as an independent institution and received a new name: State Institute of Experimental Psychology.

After Chelpanov's resignation,  he didn’t stop his scientific activity. In 1926, he addressed the Presidium of the Russian Association of Scientific Research Institutes with a statement asking to be allowed to participate in the work of the Psychological Institute, and attached a plan for proposed experimental research. The planned study of “psychological optics” covered the problems of perception of spatial forms, creativity in the field of painting and sculpture. It was supposed to study the features of primitive art, the painting techniques of Renaissance artists, and impressionistic painting. As a justification for this direction of work, Chelpanov cited the revival of Russian science’s interest in issues of art history. However, he was not enrolled in the Psychological Institute.

Chelpanov at the State Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Georgy Chelpanov carried out the planned works at the State Academy of Artistic Sciences (GAKhN), he was a member there from its foundation (1921) until its closure (1930). There also worked psychologists N.I. Zhinkin, N.P. Forster, N.N. Volkov, S.N. Belyaeva-Ekzemplyarskaya, V.M. Ekzemplyarsky, B.N. Severny, P.M. .Yakobson, P.N.Kapterev; physiologists S.V. Kravkov and A.F. Samoilov; psychiatrists I.D. Ermakov and P.I. Karpov (head of the group for studying of the artistic creativity of the mentally ill); philosophers G.G. Shpet (vice-president of the State Academy of Agricultural Sciences), S.L. Frank, B.A. Fokht. On January 23, 1928, in the theater section, L.S. Vygotsky gave a report “Towards the study of the psychology of the actor’s creativity,” and raised a number of methodological questions related to defining the boundaries and methods of psychological study of stage creativity.

At the State Academy of Artistic Sciences, Chelpanov was the chairman of the commissions for the study of the perception of space and artistic creativity, which were part of the physical and psychological department. The research he led was carried out on the basis of the study of biographies and autobiographies of artists, products of artistic creativity, using materials from laboratory work. The results were presented in Chelpanov’s reports at plenary sessions, at meetings of the physical and psychological department and its commissions. “The role of eye movements in assessing the beauty of form” (1924), “The concept of creativity and the role of the subconscious in creativity” (1925), “Psychological explanation of the beauty of simple forms” (1925), “Psychophysical explanation of aesthetic pleasure” (1926), “The problem of understanding other's mental life in art” (1928). Chelpanov's archive contains materials in which he mentions other reports: “Problems of the psychology of artistic creativity” (1926), “Methods of creative thought (the nature of inspiration)” (1927), “Methods of experimental study of children's artistic perception” (1928), “On creativity in science and art” (1929).

In 1925 - 29 G.I. Chelpanov gave public lectures at the Moscow House of Scientists: “The problem of emergent evolution at the 6th International Philosophical Congress in America”, “The Evolution of Behaviorism in America”, “Structural Psychology (Gestaltpsychologie) in Germany”, “The latest psychological trends in France”, “The Law of Dialectical Development in Modern Psychology”, “Psychology in the Age of the Great French Revolution”. 

Chelpanov's Attitude to Philosophy and Marxism

In 1926, G.I. Chelpanov took part in a discussion held at the 2nd Moscow State University on the topic “Psychology and Marxism”, and made the same report in Leningrad. In reports on scientific work in the 20s. Chelpanov called the “universal apparatus” he designed a device for psychotechnical purposes and for teaching psychology (a model copy of this apparatus was manufactured in 1935 at the Fizelektropribor plant in USSR). The monograph “Essays on Psychology” was the last in the list of his works.

After Chelpanov’s expulsion from the Psychological Institute, he devoted most of his energy to explaining his position towards Marxism, since his scientific views have been criticized for idealism and the inconsistency with Marxism. Referring to his books “Introduction to Experimental Psychology” (1924) and “Essays on Psychology” (1926), Chelpanov refuted these accusations as unfounded, defending the thesis of the independence of psychology from any philosophy. “In philosophy, I  support metaphysical constructions. In epistemology, I support  critical realism and  I am against of all types of epistemological idealism (immanent schools, Avenarius, transcendental idealism, etc.). In psychology, I draw a sharp dividing line between philosophical and empirical psychology” [14]. In five books (1924 - 1927) Chelpanov reveals his understanding of the relationship of psychology to Marxism. “Modern empirical psychology, which recognizes inner experience as the starting point of its teaching and equally applies objective methods for studying mental phenomena, correspondsto Marxism.” He argued that those who call themselves supporters of the Marxist trend (Kornilov, Blonsky, Zalkind, etc.) understand Marxism incorrectlyas a vulgar materialism. They “created such chaos in the understanding of methods of psychological study that one can directly say that the development of scientific psychology in Russia has stopped”[23]. According to Chelpanov, “Especially Marxist psychology is social psychology” [20].

In 1926, he turned to Main Department of Science (Glavnauka) with a proposal to organize the Institute of Social Psychology. Chelpanov's thoughts on the relationship of psychology to Marxism, his criticism of the theoretical position of Kornilov and his supporters were not and could not be heard in the historical conditions of the 20s. Since that time, Marxist ideas have been introduced into Soviet psychology with the help of non-scientific arguments and measures of an administrative and ideological nature (although not only in this way). The persecution of Chelpanov made his scientific fate tragic. 

Assessment of Chelpanov’s Activities at the State Academy of Artistic Sciences

Activities of G.I. Chelpanova received high praise from the State  Academy of Artistic Sciences. The Academy submitted his candidacy for membership in the All-Union Academy of Sciences. The following is the text of the Submiss

To the All-Union Academy of Sciences. Review on Prof. Chelpanov

The undersigned consider it their duty to nominate Georgy Chelpanov for the upcoming competition to fill newly opened departments at the Academy. His name is well known in the Union. What is stated below aims to reproduce the main points of his scientific and philosophical activity.

The scientific activity of G.I. Chelpanov in the field of philosophy, which began in 1888 and continued for more than 40 years, focused on the problem of psychology as a science. Research work was aimed at finding methods and conditions under which psychology can become a science.

In his first scientific work ( “General results of psychometric research”, Report at the Moscow Psychological Society, 1888) he pointed out the applicability of experimental methods to the study of mental phenomena, and indicated that this does not exclude, but presupposes an introspective method.

An extensive 2-volume study devoted to the problem of perception of space (Part 1, 1896, Part 2, 1904), used the analytical method of studying this problem in 1896, and in 1904 he used the phenomenological method. They were subsequently recognized as methods of psychological research. The phenomenological method appears under the name of  “reflection” when explaining the genesis of higher concepts: space, time, number, etc. The problem of space was studied using extensive material and metageometry (geometry of Lobachevsky, Riemann, etc.). When explaining the genesis of geometric axioms in 1904, he came to the idea of “implying” in contrast to representation (Book 1, p. 423 et seq.), which in modern psychology is considered an essential feature of thinking. Extensive material on the perception of space is used, the difference is made between psychology and epistemology, which at that time were mixed, and were a serious obstacle to scientific research. Arguments are drawn in favor of the theory of the non-production of space against the genetic theory widespread at that time or the theory of the production of space. In the same study of space, he argued in favor of critical realism against the epistemological idealism that was dominant at that time (the immanent school, Avenarius, etc.). The same is true in Introduction to Philosophy. In the book “Brain and Soul” (1900), he carefully analyzed numerous facts of the connection between mental and physical phenomena and found that the most acceptable is the hypothesis of psychophysical parallelism in its empirical form: “When there is a certain state in consciousness, in the physical sphere it corresponds with some specific physical phenomenon.” From the principle of parallelism follows the recognition of the independence of psychology as a science that uses the introspective method.

In 1907 he entered Moscow University. In the introductory lecture “On the relationship of psychology to philosophy,” he showed  that the construction of psychology as a science depends on philosophical premises. In 1911, the statements of applied psychology, which were then widely used, were assessed from the point of view of integral mental processes that cannot be decomposable into component parts, and the irreducibility of personality to the sum of individual characteristics (article “Modern individual psychology”). In 1914, an experimental psychological study was carried out in the laboratory of the Moscow Psychological Institute on the topic “On the question of the correlation between psychophysical methods,” 1st article (Proceedings of the Moscow Psychological Institute. Vol. 1, issue 1-2, 1914). Based on the assumption that only detailed testimony of self-observation of agents gives value to the experimental method, he introduced a method of agents’ survey. In 1918-1922, he undertook an extensive experimental study to clarify the survey technique. It turned out that there are certain survey techniques: division of the process, repeated perception and exercise (results reported at the 1st Psychoneurological Congress, January 1923, Moscow). Based on the conviction that the primary importance in modern psychology belongs to experimental method, in 1915 he published the book “Introduction to Experimental Psychology”. He theoretically substantiated the need for the analytical method (articles of 1917-1918 in the “Psychological Review” and earlier in the book “Tasks of Modern Psychology” in 1909). In 1922, in connection with the new ideology (theMarxism), a negative attitude towards psychology as a science arose, some people tried to replace it with some kind of natural science; in 1923 Chelpanov wrote an extensive monograph “Psychology and Natural Science” (scientific and methodological essays), some of which were published in 6 books. Using primary sources on the history of materialism and the history of psychology, history of dialectics in psychology, he came to the conclusion that, from the point of view of Marx’s teachings, psychology should be an independent science and that the philosophical premises of psychology in Marx’s teachings are the same as in modern scientific psychology. Thus, according to Chelpanov, psychology, the source of which is introspection, can become scientificif it uses analytical and experimental methods. Consideration of philosophical premises leads to the conviction that psychology should be an independent science.

During the era of Revolution from 1920 to 1928, Chelpanov’s work consisted of 62 typed sheets.

Chelpanov’s talent and merits in organizing research work are exceptional. It is known to dozens of scientists and hundreds of teachers who belonged to his philosophical school.  

List of the Most Important Works 

1. General results of psychometric measurements and their significance for psychology. – Russian Thought, 1888, No. 7.
2. The problem of space perception. Part 1. 1896; Part 2. 1904.
3. Brain and soul. 1900, 1918 (6): Here and below the number of editions is indicated in parentheses.
4. On memory and mnemonics 1900, 1903(2).
5. Introduction to Philosophy 1905, 1919 (7).
6. Textbook of psychology. 1906, 1916 (16).
7. Textbook of logic. 1906, 1919 (10).
8. Philosophical studies 5 books. Ed. By Chelpanov.
9. n the relationship of philosophy to psychology. 1907.- Questions on Philosophy and Psychology. Book 89.
10. About the subject of psychology. 1908. – Questions on Philosophy and Psychology. Book 93.
11. Collection of articles. Psychology and school. 1912.
12. Psychological research. Proceedings of the Psychological Institute at Moscow University. T.1, issue. 1 – 2. Edited by Chelpanov.
13. Introduction to experimental psychology. 1915, 1924 (3).
14. Psychological review. 3 books 1917 – 19. Ed. by. Chelpanov.                                              
    • Since 1920
15. Immediate tasks of labor psychology. (Proceedings of the conference on NOT. 1921. Issue V).
16. Psychology and Marxism. 1924, 1925 (2).
17. Objective psychology or reflexology? (Controversial issues in psychology). 1926.
18. Biological point of view in psychology. – Collection dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the scientific, medical and pedagogical activity of G.I.Rossolimo. M., 1925
19. Objective psychology in Russia and USA (Reflexology and behavioral psychology). M., 1925.
20. Social psychology or conditioned reflexes? M., 1926.
21. Spinozism and materialism (Results of the polemics on Marxism in psychology) M., 1927.
22. The law of dialectical development in modern psychology (published).

There were 22 signatures under the Submission - N. Vinogradov, G. G. Shpet, P. Sakulin, V. M. Ekzemplyarsky, A. V. Bakushinsky, N. I. Zhinkin, A. F. Losev, B. A. Fokht, S.V. Kravkov and other outstanding scientists, members of the State Academy of Artistic Sciences. In 1930, G.I. Chelpanov was expelled from the State Academy of Artistic Sciences due to staff reductions. He was left without work. He didn’t get an opportunity to give public lectures or publish his works. His financial situation was difficult. He placed great hopes on the “universal psychological apparatus for psychological and psychotherapeutic research”  designed by him. However, all attempts to implement this invention ended in failure; the device was never put into production, and the only prototype began to work after his death.

G.I. Chelpanov died on February 13, 1936 in Moscow. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The grave is lost.

1. Bogdanchikov S.A. Istoriya problemy «Psikhologiya i marksizm» [History of the problem "Psychology and Marxism"] Diss…. kandidata psikhologicheskikh nauk [Diss....candidate of Psychological Sciences]. Moscow. MGU, 1993. (In Russ.).
2. Bogdanchikov S.A. Skvoz' vremya: shkola G.I.Chelpanova v ee razvitii, osnovnykh chertakh i istoricheskom znachenii [Through time: G.I. Chelpanov's school in its development, main features and historical significance]. Metodologiya i istoriya psikhologii [Methodology and history of psychology], 2007, no 2, pp.68-78. (In Russ.).
3. V Prezidium fakul'teta obshchestvennykh nauk [To the Presidium of the Faculty of Social Sciences]. Arkhiv MGU [MSU Archive], F.18. Op.1. D.34. (In Russ.).
4. 4.Vremennye pravila v Psikhologicheskom institute pri Imperatorskom Moskovskom universitete [Temporary rules at the Psychological Institute at the Imperial Moscow University]. Voprosy psikhologi [Issues of psychology]. 1992. no 3-4. pp. 46. (In Russ.).
5. Zhdan A.N. Georgii Ivanovich Chelpanov [Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov]. Vestnik Moscovskogo universiteta. Seriya 14. Psikhologiya [Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 14. Psychology], 1994, No 2. (In Russ.).
6. Zasedanie istoriko-filologicheskogo fakul'teta Moskovskogo universiteta 1920 goda, mesyatsa fevralya, 3 dnya [Meeting of the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University in 1920, the month of February, 3 days]. Arkhiv MGU [MSU Archive]. F.18. Op.1. D.16. L.6. (In Russ.).
7. Zen'kovskii V.V. Pamyati prof. G.I.Chelpanova [In memory of prof. G.I.Chelpanov]. Chelpanov G.I. Mozg i dusha. Kritika materializma i ocherk sovremennykh uchenii o dushe [Brain and soul. Criticism of materialism and an essay on modern teachings about the soul]. Moscow, 1994. (In Russ.).
8. Iz perepiski G.I.Chelpanova i A.M.Shcherbiny [From the correspondence of G.I. Chelpanov and A.M. Shcherbina]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological Journal]. 1999, t.12, no 5, pp. 86-92. (In Russ.).
9. 9.Iz trudov Psikhologicheskogo instituta im. L.G.Shchukinoi pri Imperatorskom Moskovskom universitete. T.1, vyp.1-2. S. 273 — 279 [From the Proceedings of the L.G.Shchukina Psychological Institute at the Imperial Moscow University. Vol.1, issue 1-2. pp. 273 — 279]. Voprosy psikhologi [Issues of psychology]. 1992, no 3-4, pp.43-50. (In Russ.).
10. Pis'mo I.P.Pavlova G.I.Chelpanovu [Letter from I.P.Pavlov to G.I.Chelpanov]. Voprosy psikhologi [Issues of psychology]. 1955, no 3, pp. 99-100. (In Russ.).
11. Prof. K.N.Kornilovu [Prof. K.N.Kornilov]. Arkhiv MGU [MSU Archive]. F.18. Op.1. D.119. L.5.10. (In Russ.).
12. Rechi i privetstviya na torzhestvennom otkrytii Psikhologicheskogo instituta im. L.G.Shchukinoi pri Imperatorskom Moskovskom universitete [Speeches and greetings at the grand opening of the L.G.Shchukina Psychological Institute at the Imperial Moscow University. ]. Voprosy psikhologi [Issues of psychology], 1992, no 5-6, pp.41-44. (In Russ.).
13. 13.Umrikhin V.V. G.I.Chelpanov i ego shkola [G.I.Chelpanov and his school]. Psikhologiya v Moskovskom universitete: 1755 — 2005 [Psychology at Moscow University: 1755 — 2005]. Nauchnyi redaktor A.N.Zhdan. Moscow. Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V.Lomonosova, 2007, pp. 97 — 114. (In Russ.).
14. Chelpanov G.I. Moe otnoshenie k marksizmu v psikhologii [My attitude to Marxism in psychology]. OR RGB. F.326. pp.37. ed/kh.12. (In Russ.).
15. Chelpanov G.I. Mozg i dusha. Kritika materializma i ocherk sovremennykh uchenii o dushe [Brain and soul. Criticism of materialism and an essay on modern teachings about the soul.]. Moscow, 1994. (In Russ.).
16. Chelpanov G.I. O zadachakh Moskovskogo Psikhologicheskogo Instituta [About the tasks of the Moscow Psychological Institute]. Voprosy psikhologi [Issues of psychology], 1992. No 5-6. pp.41-42. (In Russ.).
17. Chelpanov G.I. Ocherki psikhologii [Essays on psychology]. Moscow; Obninsk: IG-SOTsIN. 2009. (In Russ.).
18. 18.Chelpanov G.I. Problema Vospriyatiya prostranstva v svyazi s ucheniem ob apriornosti i vrozhdennosti. Chast'1. Predstavlenie prostranstva s tochki zreniya psikhologii. [The problem of perception of space in connection with the doctrine of a priori and innate. Part1. Representation of space from the point of view of psychology.]. Moscow: PI RAO, MGPPU, 2011 (Materialy po istorii moskovskoi psikhologicheskoi shkoly: Biblioteka psikhologa i pedagoga). (In Russ.).
19. 19.Chelpanov G.I. Sobranie sochinenii [Collected works]. G.I.Chelpanov.T.1. Kn.2. Problema vospriyatiya prostranstva v svyazi s ucheniem ob apriornosti i vrozhdennosti. [The problem of perception of space in connection with the doctrine of a priori and innate] Ch. II: Predstavlenie prostranstva s tochki zreniya gnoseologii [Representation of space from the point of view of epistemology]. Moscow. PI RAO; MGPPU, 2011 (Materialy po istorii moskovskoi psikhologicheskoi shkoly: biblioteka psikhologa i pedagoga). (In Russ.).
20. Chelpanov G.I. Psikhologiya i marksizm [Psychology and Marxism]. Moscow,1924, 1925. (In Russ.).
21. Chelpanov G.I. Psikhologiya. Filosofiya. Obrazovanie [Psychology. Philosophy. Education]. Moscow. Moskovskii psikhologo-sotsial'nyi institut; Voronezh: Izd-vo NPO «MODEK». 1999. (In Russ.).
22. Chelpanov G.I. Ob"ektivnaya psikhologiya v Rossii i Amerike. Refleksologiya i psikhologiya povedeniya [Objective psychology in Russia and America. Reflexology and psychology of behavior]. Moscow, 1925. (In Russ.).
23. Chelpanov G.I. Psikhologiya ili refleksologiya? (Spornye voprosy psikhologii). [Psychology or reflexology? (Controversial issues of psychology)]. Moscow, 1926. (In Russ.).
24. Chelpanov G.I. Sotsial'naya psikhologiya ili uslovnye refleksy? [Social psychology or conditioned reflexes?]. Moscow. izd. avtora, 1926. (In Russ.).
25. Chelpanov G.I. Spinozizm i materializm (Itogi polemiki o marksizme v psikhologii). [Spinozism and Materialism (Results of the debate on Marxism in psychology)]. Moscow., izd. avtora, 1927. (In Russ.).