L.P. Carsavin and P.M. Bicilli on historical synthesis

The presented work substantiates the methodology of historical cognition with the help of historian's intuition, based on "empathy" with the object of historical research. The object of historical science is a person as the creator of a specific historical culture, and through it - the world historical process. This definition of the role of the individual in the methodology of history is distinguished by the historical method of thinking in the theory of cultural history, which is represented, on the one hand, by the "philosophy of culture" of P.M. Bicilli, and on the other hand by the "philosophy of history" of L.P. Karsavin. Both researchers independently came to the same idea of history as "dialectical interaction of cultures". The only way of mutual understanding in the dialogue of the subject and object of historical cognition is empathy that allows a historian to psychologically "move" into the inner world of his object, to understand and feel the motives of his behavior as a creator of historical culture. L.P. Karsavin defined this method as "empathy in someone else's spiritual life". P.M. Bicilli similarly argued that historical science in its best examples has always been a science based on intuition.