The article discusses the problem of the philosophical method developed by N.N. Strakhov. The problem is investigated on the basis of Strakhov's works on H. Taine. Strakhov developed an original method based on the dialectical interaction of rational and empirical methods of cognition. The difficulty of understanding the philosopher's original contribution to the history of Russian philosophy lies in the contradictory relationship between the approach and research methods, as he set himself the task of religious and philosophical understanding of the integrity of the world, using both rational and empirical methods. At the same time, the methods of the method in his works were often hidden under the forms of the subject under study. The empirical method plays an important role in Strakhov's writings. It is clear that the philosopher was not an empiricist in the narrow sense of the word. However, for him, the fundamental aspect of evaluating truth was the specific experience of understanding the phenomena of this world, in which he found evidence of the involvement of higher powers. Strakhov's works on Taine clearly demonstrate both the religious and philosophical reinterpretation of empirical methods of observation and the evolution of Strakhov's attitude towards the empirical method. Strakhov's attempt to overcome the contradiction between rationalism and empiricism (especially evident in his treatise "The World as a Whole") gave rise to the development of Russian philosophy of all-unity, particularly in the works of S.L. Frank.