This essay discusses the brief but extensive correspondence Soviet neuro-psychologist Alexander Luria exchanged with his younger American colleague Oliver Sacks between 1973 and 1977, the year Luria died. Sacks, whose case histories went on to become mainstream bestsellers, always expressed his indebtedness to Luria, whose warm and detailed approach to writing about his patients’ peculiar and sometimes distressing neurological conditions inspired Sacks. This essay explores this influence but also probes distinctions between the two scientists’ understandings of human consciousness tied to the very different social and political contexts in which they conducted their clinical research.

这篇文章讨论了苏联神经心理学家亚历山大·卢里亚（Alexander Luria）在 1973 年至 1977 年间（也就是卢里亚去世的那一年）与他的年轻美国同事奥利弗·萨克斯（Oliver Sacks）之间的简短而广泛的通信。Sacks 的病历后来成为主流畅销书，他总是向 Luria 表达他的感激之情，Luria 用温暖而详细的方式来写他的病人特殊的、有时令人痛苦的神经系统疾病，这激发了 Sacks 的灵感。本文探讨了这种影响，但也探讨了两位科学家对人类意识的理解之间的区别，这与他们进行临床研究的非常不同的社会和政治背景有关。