V. G. Gaidarov's Philosophical Project on Combining K. S. Stanislavsky’s System with I. P. Pavlov’s Reflexology

This publication is the first to examine in detail the project of the Russian actor and phi- losopher V. G. Gaidarov (1893–1976) to bring Stanislavsky's System closer to Pavlov's teachings on higher nervous activity. As an introduction to the sphere of Gaidarov's thoughts, a fragment from his post-war notebooks is published, showing the emergence of the idea, which resulted in a series of interdisciplinary seminars at the Pushkin’s Leningrad Drama Theatre. Gaidarov also wrote numerous notes on the psychology of the actor, which are still awaiting their publication. As far as one can judge, this part of V. G. Gaidarov's legacy, partly due to its interdisciplinary nature and difficulties in categorizing the material, has been largely overlooked by researchers so far. However, it is of interest for at least two reasons: in a historical sense, as an attempt to work with the legacy of great teachers who have passed away, dictated by the desire and duty to continue their work, and in a Weltanschauung sense, as a desire to reconcile the latest discoveries of physiology and Stanislavsky's method, and to make both work together for the benefit of art and the audience. One of Gaidarov's constant attitudes in his texts from the 1920s onwards is the idea that an actor should be a well-educated person — a position with which it is difficult to disagree. We have also aimed to show that V. G. Gaidarov's philosophical views correspond to the questions that had arisen at the same epoch in Western philosophy of science.