Abstract

The article is devoted to the work of the Russian revolutionary, writer and Marxist theorist V. I. Zasulich. The subject of consideration is the historical and philosophical views of the thinker, which are analyzed on the basis of her study devoted to the work of J.-J. Rousseau – “Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The experience of characteristics of his social ideas”, which previously remained almost without the attention of researchers. The purpose of the work is to analyze the basic principles of the approach of V. I. Zasulich to the study of philosophical thought: the desire to recreate the historical situation and the mental situation, the focus on the selection of socio-political and ideological determinants of the views of a particular thinker, the selection of unique and innovative thoughts compared to contemporaries and predecessors, the influence of the thinker on contemporaries and descendants. The research methodology is the system analysis, and reconstruction of the works by V. I. Zasulich on the problems of research. The work of V. I. Zasulich is a full-fledged scientific research: it analyzes the works of the thinker, refers to other researchers of his work. It identifies the determinants of the direction of his works, the thinker’s innovation and contribution to philosophy, as well as his influence on the further development of spiritual life, that is, adheres to the Marxist methodology of historical and philosophical research.