TAUTOS IR TAUTIŠKUMO IŠSAUGOJIMO PROBLEMA STASIO ŠALKAUSKIO FILOSOFINĖJE KŪRYBOJE
The Problem of Preserving Nationality and the National Identity in Philosophical Works by Stasys Šalkauskis

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with problems of preserving the national identity and national survival in the modern world, which are topical issues for present-day Lithuania as well. Attempts at safeguarding and consolidating the country's independence in terms of culture and world-view, undertaken by the erudite intellectual Stasys Šalkauskis (1886-1941) were typical of many Lithuanian philosophers of the interwar period. The philosopher envisaged the political and cultural independence of his native country, as well as the future of Lithuania, as exclusively linked with Christianity, and more precisely with Catholicism. In his works, Šalkauskis expressed his ultimate hope that Lithuania would not experience another setback into "a new kind of paganism" (by this he meant the authoritarian and nationalist orientations of President Smetona, and the triumphal march of both fascism and communism across Europe), instead remaining faithful to the Catholic tradition, both culturally and politically. A very significant aspect of the work by Ðalkauskis, analyzed in the present article, is his extremely positive response to and evaluation of the role that international political organizations, such as the UN, could play globally both in his times and in the future, especially in terms of securing the safety of small nations, their political survival and cultural autonomy, etc.

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