E.B. Syreishchikov’s manuscript “Logic” in the context of logic education in Russia

Abstract

The article examines the scientific heritage of the professor of the Moscow Imperial University Evgeny Borisovich Syreishchikov (1757–1791), who taught logic at the gymnasium at the university. Particular attention is paid to the scientific and pedagogical activities of Syreishchikov in St. Petersburg, where he moved  in 1784. On the basis of archival materials, his teaching and translation activities in St. Petersburg are investigated, and, in particular, the creation of one of the first textbooks on logic, written in Russian. The handwritten “Logic” compiled by Syreishchikov in 1788 was not known for a long time and was not mentioned among his works. It was first discovered in 1956 in the Central State Historical Archive of Leningrad (now Russian State Historical Archive), and in 1959 it was attributed as a text by Syreishchikov. On the basis of a study of archival materials, Syreyshchikov’s activities in the St. Petersburg Commission on the arrangement of public schools are also examined. A general description and analysis of Syreyshchikov’s manuscript “Logic” is given, and the work itself is compared with both published and unpublished works on logic at the time.  The author of the article reproduces the list of references (in Latin, German, and French) offered by Syreyshchikov to “those who would like to be more successful in this science”. This list makes it possible to determine the range of sources used by Syreyshchikov in writing his “Logic” and by other authors who wrote about logic in the second half of the 18th century.