Our biology lessons were taught by a wonderful young teacher, Dmitry Vadimovich Dubikovsky. The novelty of his teaching approach, the way he analyzed alternative theories of the evolutionary process and the origins of life, also stirred my imagination. One phrase of his stayed with me: “As a result of evolution, love multiplies in the world.”
All of this – what I now recall, and perhaps other things I’ve forgotten – gave rise to a personal definition of life. My own. These thoughts remain among the most important to me even today. I developed them slowly over the years in notes and writings, but never expressed them in a cohesive form for a broader audience. It took time for me to mature enough to do so. The ideas evolved and grew richer, but their essence remains the same. For me, a Soviet high school student, writing a serious philosophical work was an insurmountable task. The challenges I faced then were entirely practical: finishing school, entering university, obtaining a higher education, and becoming a doctor. Of course, these responsibilities distracted me from my schoolboy discoveries, but I never abandoned them.
I have long been studying topics far removed from evolutionary biology, theoretical medicine, and even cybernetics and its related fields. For many years, I have focused on forensic and general psychiatry. In this area, I dabbled in something resembling scientific research for a time, though I didn’t achieve much success. Yet, passion draws the amateur back to familiar paths! And I’m not particularly embarrassed by this, even though I can imagine the smiles of knowledgeable professionals who might decide to read my work. I understand that there are entire scientific schools dedicated to the theory of language, evolutionary biology, neuropsychology, and many other subjects. But knowing my own field, for example, I can say with near certainty that despite the pomp and rigor of the knowledge I rely on in daily practice, despite the brilliance and intellect of thought leaders, and despite the many international and local classifications, psychiatry will change beyond recognition in another fifty years (if not sooner!) – in its views, methods of treatment, and many other aspects that seemed immutable just yesterday.