The Scientific Biography of P.Ya. Galperin: Stages of Life and Creative Work

Abstract

Background. This article is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin (1902–1988), an outstanding Soviet psychologist, the author of an original psychological concept and scienti" c school, and an organizer of psychological science. Objective. To reconstruct the main stages of the scienti" c biography of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin. Results. The paper demonstrates the internal logic of P.Ya. Galperin’s developing scienti" c views in creating the theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts, which analyzes the process of formation of the main components of mental activity and develops a system of conditions for transforming an objective action into a psychological phenomenon. This biography is based on Galperin’s publications and speeches, memoirs of associates and family members, and numerous archival materials. All the periods of Galperin’s life are presented, re# ecting his participation, starting from the mid-1920s, in scienti" c and scienti" c-practical events. Particular attention is paid to Galperin’s work at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU): 55 years of Galperin’s professional and personal life (from 1943 until his death in 1988) were associated with the Philosophy Faculty, and then with the Psychology Faculty. Conclusion. ! e importance of preserving P.Ya. Galperin’s scienti" c legacy is shown and steps taken in this direction are indicated.

Keywords

• history of psychology
• lomonosov moscow state university
• mgu
• scienti" c biography of p.ya. galperin
• p.ya. galperin’s theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts
• general psychological theory of activity
• non-classical psychology