FILOSOFIJA IR POLITIKA ATGIMIMO EPOCHOJE
PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS IN THE EPOCH OF REBIRTH

Summary/Abstract: After examining shortly some general issues concerning relation of philosophy to politics, the author of the article makes an attempt to answer the question why during the period of Lithuania’s political rebirth, in the years 1988–1993, Lithuanian philosophers representing a discipline which in its Marxist form had been regarded as an ideological basis of the Soviet rule took a vigorous part in political activities aiming at liberation from that rule. With this aim in mind, analysis of the situation of philosophy in occupied Lithuania is presented. A special emphasis is put on the situation at Vilnius University. An attempt is being made to explain why and in which respect it was different from that at other universities in the Soviet Union. The factors that were responsible for a relatively high reputation of philosophers among Lithuanian reading public are examined. Exactly that high reputation and the developed sense of responsibility explains why philosophers were so eager to join the popular movement aiming at the liberation of Lithuania, were able to become its distinguished leaders and play a very important role in the political rebirth and the consolidation of the regained independence. Some issues related to the periodization of the development of Lithuanian philosophy during the last six decades are also put under scrutiny.

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