ABSTRACT
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen was the illegitimate son of a wealthy and distinguished Russian nobleman, I. Ya. Yakovlev. During his student days Herzen made the acquaintance of a number of talented students; a circle gathered around him, parallel to Stankevich's Circle, but distinguished from the latter by its social and political interests. At the same time Herzen was studying diligently at the university. Upon completing his courses he presented an essay, on the Copernican system, but was not awarded a gold medal because there was too much philosophy in his work. Herzen's philosophic views have thus far been investigated by only two writers Plekhanov and Shpet. Plekhanov is essentially concerned throughout to show that Herzen developed from Hegelianism towards materialism. Hegelianism, with its subordination of the individual to the career of Absolute Spirit, gives way to the new conception of life which Herzen developed out of the philosophy of chance. Hegelianism is strongly evident in certain of Herzen's epistemological views.
