PETRO AVSENIEV AS A FOUNDER OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to comprehend the main ideas of P. Avseniev’s psychological doctrine in the context of religious and philosophical reflections and to draw attention to the peculiarities of his psychological studies. Proceeding from the totality and universality of the realm of the Divine, his doctrine and worldview paradigm are presented as intrinsically valuable and significant for understanding the specifics of psychology, its functional features, in particular for understanding the problem of the soul, sleep and dreams. Using a wide range of historical and philosophical discourse and synthesizing the best achievements of Western European understanding of psychological issues with direct insights of personal spiritual experience through selfknowledge of the Divine, P. Avseniev builds the conceptual features of psychology. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that his psychological reflections are considered as a productive context that carries the possibility of presenting meaning-making spiritual constructs that are in demand by modern psychological researchers. Moreover, they become possible through a meaningful acceptance of the Divine first cause of human existence, which determines existential and personalistic inquiries driven by transcendental motivation. Conclusions. Without denying the importance of the heart as the core of the mental and spiritual life of a person, the psychologist insisted on the importance of the mind. It is noted that P. Avseniev in some aspects goes beyond the theological consideration of the soul and refers not only to the general psychological characteristics of the soul, sleep and dreams, but also to their existential and personalistic features, which are determined by certain individual characteristics of a person. The analyzed logical course of P. Avseniev’s reasoning gives grounds to conclude that, in general, the Kyiv philosopher continued the tradition of Western European psychology as a religious and philosophical psychology.