Conservative enlightenment, Adam Fischer, and the restriction of the teaching of philosophy at Russian universities in the 1850s

Abstract In 1850, Tsar Nicholas I decreed that university philosophy teaching be restricted to logic and empirical psychology, allowing only Orthodox theologians to teach these subjects and excluding university professors from teaching philosophical courses. This article explores the context behind this decree, demonstrating that it mirrored Catholic Austrian practices aimed at reducing the influence of Protestant German Idealism. Through archival analysis, we reveal that Adam Fischer (1797–1861), a philosophy professor at the University of St. Petersburg with Austrian descent, intertwined ideologically driven arguments with a new understanding of psychology as a part of philosophy. The archival evidence indicates that the initial draft of the decree did not aim to remove university philosophers. Instead, the ban, initiated by Tsar Nicholas I, became an unforeseen challenge for the administrative system. This study highlights the political and intellectual dynamics that influenced the development of philosophical education in Russia.