Nonlinear Biographical Analysis of B.Z. Doktorov: Methodological Principles

Nonlinear biographical analysis is the author’s methodology of B.Z. Doktorov and is applied in a science project on the history of Soviet/Russian sociology. It is shown that such biographical analysis is based on the following principles. The principle of “thick present” denotes cognition through retrospective and prospective immersion into the subject of analysis from the perspective of today’s realities. Constant refinement, supplementation and rewriting while taking into account the past and the present ensures the truthfulness and completeness of one’s life story. Another principle of the project is multidimensionality, where the biographical search applies a variety of means to describe the life of the scholar, in particular combining historicism and memoirism. The principle of stratifying “biographical subspace” multitemporality emphasizes the inseparability of the individual and the social environment, the uneven rhythms of the past, the smooth flow of common and external factors of experience into unique and internal life trajectory details. The ethical position of the non-linear biographer allows for partiality as a confession of predisposition and bias. Such a principle is seen as an advantage that helps to avoid the dogma of objectivity and to embrace any practices and processes of the past. The inseparability of personality and creativity in the history of science points to the person-centricity of nonlinear analysis. In addition to institutional attributes, informal ties, communication networks, internal motivations and attitudes are included, thus preserving the importance of personal factors in the history of science. It is concluded that the methodology of nonlinear biographical analysis focuses on the depth of biographical disclosure and the completeness of understanding the individual.

B.Z. Doktorov, biographical analysis, nonlinearity of biographical analysis, science studies, “thick present”, multidimensionality, stratification of “biographical subspace”, partiality, person-centricity