Page:Russian Realities and Problems - ed. James Duff (1917).djvu/168

 "feeling"; but, even with this restriction, it is still too wide for our present object: I shall use it often to cover the leading principles and general movements of philosophy, science, and learning and apply it in this sense to the psychological and historic study of such development in Russia.

The solution of such a problem in its totality would be, probably, unattainable for any one man, even if he were familiar with all branches of human knowledge—science and learning. I have, of course, no such claims and intend to give you merely an approximate idea of what might be done to elucidate some general aspects of Russian thought, as manifested in the scientific and learned work, which is going on in Russia.

Thus conceived, the historical study of Russian thought implies, however, manifold problems: it must be considered not merely in its leading principles but in its characteristic features, and not only in its general movement but in its special development, which depends on local and temporal conditions of Russian life. I have therefore to deal with two sets of problems, concerning Russian science and learning: (1) the leading principles and characteristic features; (2) the general movement and special development. The two sets are, of course, closely connected one with another; in clearing them up I shall take into account this connection.

These problems are not easy to solve; and they grow even more perplexing, if thought be considered as part of a more complicated whole, namely consciousness, and be studied in its relations to will and feeling; if it be, moreover, observed in the process of