Personalistic methodology in historicaland philosophical studies ofa.F. Losev

This article is devoted to the consideration of the two paradigms of personality in the framework of the personalistic historical and philosophical conception of the person of A.F. Losev. A brief review of the personal views of some philosophers of the twentieth century (P.A. Florensky, M.K. Mamardashvili, A. Matsein, V.V. Mironov, S.M. Polovinkin) is given as a context. The paper provides the original author’s formulations of the personality, reflecting a dialectical approach of A.F. Losev to the problem of personality. The article suggests the conclusion about the personalistict character of the process of philosophizing. Losev distinguishes two concepts of personality distinguishing between the substantial personality and the attributive personality. In the substantial understanding the personality is self-sufficient, unique, primary in relation to natural characteristics, free from internal or external necessity. Signs of such a person, called the Absolute by the philosopher, most consistent with the concepts of the Absolute (God) in medieval Patristics. The emergence of the ideas of the Absolute personality is defined by Losev as a «conceptual revolution» and referred to the time of 4-5 centuries. With attribute understanding of personality it is not absolute, limited with the physical characteristics being only a part of a human, one of his roles. Thus, the attributive personality of antiquity is a product of the sensual-material cosmos, while the absolute personality of the middle Ages itself creates this cosmos. The concepts of the Absolute and relative personality are the basis of theistic and pantheistic metaphysical paradigms used in historical and philosophical analysis of the epochs of antiquity, Medieval and Renaissance. In the history of philosophy, as shown by A.F. Losev, it is possible to observe the change of these paradigms, indicating a positive development or, conversely, the regression of a philosophical thought. Thus, the personalistic studying of A.F. Losev is an important methodological principle of his works and can be applied in further historical and philosophical research.