Frede, Victoria Sophia; (1997) P.L. Lavrov's thought as 'humanist' thought. Doctoral thesis (MPhil), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis aims to offer new insights into the works of the Russian populist and socialist, P. L. Lavrov, by presenting his thought in the framework of humanism, specifically of humanism as it was manifested in early nineteenth century Germany. While the thesis does not claim that Lavrov himself was a humanist or belonged to a humanist tradition, it does identify in his thought a coherent set of ideas and values concerning the person and society which are distinctively humanist. Material is drawn from works by Lavrov that span his entire career as a writer, but the discussion concentrates on the development of his thought from the late 1850s to the mid-1870s. The introduction offers a general overview of Lavrov's thought and of published works on his life and thought. It also gives as a brief history of humanism and a detailed account of its characteristic features. The body of the thesis consists of six chapters, of which the first three deal with aspects of the person and personal development and focus on works from the beginning of his career. These chapters describe qualities of the person that Lavrov valued and that are also valued by humanists, as well as studying their common educational ethic. Lavrov's moral views, which constitute a core element of his thought as a whole, are also discussed, hi the final three chapters, attention shifts to Lavrov's views about human society, specifically about the function of culture in society and his theory of the federal state. Lavrov's ideals of society and state were, according to him, realized most fully in ancient Greece. It is proposed that Lavrov's views on these subjects lent his thought a particularly humanist quality in the middle of his career. One practical goal of this thesis is to define changes and continuities in Lavrov's thought during the course of his career, a task that has been neglected by scholars. Another goal is to produce a coherent picture of Lavrov's ideas, which are often considered eclectic and contradictory, by presenting them in the framework of humanism.

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