One Dog Is Enough

Ivan P. Pavlov’s Contributions to Idiographic Science

Edited by:
Jaan Valsiner, Niels Bohr Professor of Cultural Psychology, Aalborg University

A volume in the series: Yearbook of Idiographic Science. Editor(s): Sergio Salvatore, University of Salento. Jaan Valsiner, Niels Bohr Professor of Cultural Psychology, Aalborg University.

Published 2022

Ivan P. Pavlov was a pioneering Russian physiologist whose influence on Russian psychology was politically emphasized in 1930s to 1950s. He was a brilliant experimenter who received 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the digestive system. Less is known about his epistemology of generalization that made it possible to study one individual for the sake of obtaining generalized knowledge. In this volume we analyze the major contributions of Pavlov from the standpoint of idiographic science, and demonstrate how generalizations in science are possible from single specimens.

CONTENTS
Introduction — Return to the Dog: Ivan P. Pavlov as a Pioneer of Idiographic Science, Jaan Valsiner. Ivan P. Pavlov’s Dedication to Science: Investigating the Behavior and the Human Psyche, Lena Chugunow. Pathways to Generalization: General Knowledge as Abstract Complementation, Jaan Valsiner. Pavlov’s Clinical Wednesdays, Lena Chugunow. Pavlov in Russian Contemporary Psychological Discourse, Irina Mironenko and Veronika Rafikova. General Conclusion: Basic Science is Systemic Nanoscience, Jaan Valsiner. About the Authors.