He article examines the axiological foundations of D. Chiževsky's method (on the material of his works on Dostoevsky). In 1920s, Chiževsky developed his methodology under the infl of German phenomenology (E. Husserl) and Russian religious philosophy (S. Frank). The scientist was engaged in the study of Dostoevsky's works practically all his life (from 1927 to 1975). The article discusses the sources of Chiževsky's methodology. In addition, Chiževsky's note on the “Legend of the Grand Inquisitor”, which has not yet been translated into Russian, is analyzed. The analysis shows that Chiževsky's “history of spirit” was based on the method of “spiritual typology”, which made it possible to study the spiritual history of mankind, following the facts of the history of literature.