Differentiating early European psychobiography-An Eastern European contribution

Psychobiography of the early 20th century generally developed in Western Europe and primarily in the spirit of psychoanalysis. The history of this discipline and its early works creates a rather monolithic picture that is absent of representatives of Eastern countries or alternative theories. Articles, monographs, and scientific journals constantly construct their own (i.e., Western) world of research in this field. Using the example of one of the psychological-philosophical schools of Eastern Europe, the Lvov-Warsaw School, I attempt to demonstrate that its representatives conducted original psychobiographical analyses not only in light of psychoanalysis but also developed their own theory, providing them with a unique conceptual framework, categories, and possible explanations of human behavior. The article presents three main psychobiographies: Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth, and Taras Shevchenko-an icon of Ukrainian culture. The conclusions require a broader consideration of research in this field at the beginning of the 20th century and a closer look at the contributions of Eastern European psychologists. Eastern European psychology offered (and still offers) interesting propositions, which, I believe, can enrich the conceptual instrumentarium of psychobiography. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).