Michael Cole, A review of Bella Kotik-Friedgutt’s The Legacy of Alexander Luria: Neuropsychology as a Humane Science. Springer. Cham. Switzerland. With an introduction by Jaan Valsiner.
I was excited to receive a copy of Bella Kotik-Friedgut’s new book about Alexander Romanovich Luria. She had written me to ask about materials for the volume she was preparing, the one you are about to engage. Professor Kotek entry point into the life of Alexander Romanovich was as an apprentice neuropsychologist in his laboratory. She is known for her work on the neuropsychology of bilingualism and the process of learning an additional language.
The book is an elaboration of Bella’s previous account of Luria’s idea of Romantic Science through a discussion of Mind of a Mnemonist (1968) and The Man With a Shattered World (1972). This project was created at the invitation of Jaan Valsinar, an Estonian psychologist, as part of the series of publications he has sponsored devoted to the study of individual persons as the goal of scientific psychological research.
This background is helpful because, as a rule, the intrinsic interest in the case studies presented in each of Alexander Romanovich’s “romantic science books” results in them being considered separately as if they were devoted to totally different topics- unique forms of memory on the one hand, restoration of brain function on the other. Interesting as they are, singly, Luria thought about them as a pair, offering them as evidence for the possibility of a Psychology of the individual subject, an idiographic psychology that traces the process of interest over extended periods of time, seeking generalizable scientific laws and concepts in the patterning of the particulars characterizing the individual case. Luria famously doubted the usefulness of nomothetic research because it is based on inferences from samples of subjects for a clinician who must be responsible for optimizing their patients’ future of function. (Remember that when he entered medicine in the late 1930’s, there were only neuropsychological methods of diagnosing brain lesions/tumors to guide the surgeon’s strategy when opening up the skull to look.)
Jaan Valsiner opens with an introduction that links the volume clearly to the purpose of the series in which appears: to develop a psychology of the individual person. Kotek-Friedgut follows with preface introducing herself and the history of her involvement with Luria. These prefatory materials are followed by a Kotek-Friedgut essay that serves as a sketch of Luria’s life up to his engagement with each of the main characters in the two case studies. At this point, a linked copy of the original texts by Luria is inserted for those who have not read them before or who want to refresh their memories. Then follows the core of the book, Kotek-Friedgut’s exegesis of the texts, for which she provides context and explanation designed to make the texts understandable by a general audience.
What results is both an example of idiographic analysis applied to Luria himself and an attractive way for readers who are not themselves neuropsychologists to learn about Luria’s ideas and practices. What the reader will come away with is a deeper appreciation of the person, the form of science he espoused and embodied, and an idea of what it means to practice psychology as a humane science.
What you will not find here is the inclusion of the larger social and political milieu in which Luria’s development took place, although these are alluded to at various places in the text. A number of relevant sources to other parts of Luria research and career are provided for those who wish to dig deeper into his life and times. They provide a useful reminder that the research described in this book spanned the 1930’s and 40’s in the USSR and that Luria’s father was a Kremlin doctor.
All in all, an interesting way to get learn about three remarkable people: a humanistic neuropsychologist and the two men that illustrated how to engage in a Romantic Science of human psychology.
References
Kotik-Friedgut, B. (2025). The legacy of Alexander Luria: Neuropsychology as a humane science (J. Valsiner, Intro.). Springer.
Luria, A. R. (1968). The mind of a mnemonist: A little book about a vast memory (L. Solotaroff, Trans.). Basic Books.
Luria, A. R. (1972). The man with a shattered world: The history of a brain wound (L. Solotaroff, Trans.). Basic Books.