Volume 20 (2024)

DOI: 10.59277/SIFR.202420

1. KANT 300

“Critical philosophy” in Transylvania (1825–1863)

Bogdan Rusu

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 11–38]

Abstract

In imperial Transylvania, the Hungarian professors of philosophy served as models for the Romanian proponents of philosophy. Due to the official catholic hostility to Kant, Márton Istvan promoted the philosophy of Krug, of which he edited and translated a compendium into Latin. Krug was not a genuine Kantian, but an eclectic post-Kantian, influenced by Reinhold, Fichte, and Schelling. His metaphilosophy influenced a whole generation of Hungarian thinkers, most of them eclectics, who forged along its lines a broad concept of “critical philosophy”, of which Kantianism was supposed to be just a species among others. “Critical philosophy” became the name of a new brand of eclecticism, integrating commonsensism, the main theses of the old ontotheological metaphysics, and elements of Kantian doctrine in diverse proportions. The Transylvanian Romanian teachers of philosophy imitated the example of their Hungarian models, went to Krug’s texts, either in Latin or in German, translated them to the purpose of using them in their lectures, and sometimes published their translations. The first centre of diffusion of Krug’s critical philosophy was the Blaj Gymnasium, at the end of the 1820s. Krug’s philosophy reached Bucharest in the 1840s, through a graduate of Cluj Piarist Lyceum, and eventually Jassy, through a former Blaj teacher, in the second half of the 1850s, where it was taught until the end of the 1870s. Despite this relatively wide diffusion, Krug’s critical philosophy was far from having on Romanians the same kind of impact it had on Hungarians. It left virtually no traces on the Romanian culture, with the exception of a political manifesto by Simeon Bărnuț (1842) and, most importantly, it was ineffective in generating interest in Kant’s philosophy. Thus it cannot be said, as the accepted narrative holds, that the diffusion of Krug’s works in Romanian marks a moment of the reception of Kant in Romania.

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The Kantian “Big Bang” at “Sf. Sava” – starting moment of the modern Romanian philosophy

Constantin Stroe

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 39–49]

Abstract

The study’s author supports the idea – also promoted by Mircea Vulcănescu – that nearly all the philosophy professors at Sf. Sava, who formed the foundational nucleus for education and philosophy in the Romanian language (notably the founder Gheorghe Lazăr and his followers Eufrosin Poteca, August Treboniu Laurian, and Ion Zalomit), exhibited a strong interest in and admiration for Kant’s philosophy, particularly his ethics. They found in Kant’s ethical ideas many useful principles for achieving their ideals of political, national, cultural, and social emancipation. Most of them embraced Kantian ethics, as they apparently disliked the speculative aspects of critical philosophy, which was widely discussed and often contested. Instead, they preferred Kant’s moral philosophy for its sense of certainty, seeing it as better suited for educating the youth of the Principalities. They believed, and firmly advocated, that the country needed individuals of upright character more than scientists – a sentiment that remains relevant to this day.

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Comments on Maiorescu’s Kantianism

Mona Mamulea

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 50–68]

Abstract

In the following paper, I will discuss a few legendary details of Maiorescu’s Kantianism, circulated (in good faith) by his student Ion Petrovici. Among these are the interpretation of the Transcendental Aesthetic in the academic setting through Schopenhauer, the knowability of the thing-in-itself, and the “metapsychic” emphases placed on explaining Kant’s a priori. Ultimately, I will show that Maiorescu still had his own personal understanding of Kant, one that Petrovici also adopted, rooted in his conviction that the a priori was synonymous with the innate.

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Constantin Noica and the openings of the Critique of the Power of Judgment

Remus Breazu

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 69–79]

Abstract

In this paper, I analyse Constantin Noica’s interpretation of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of the Power of Judgment, as presented in Two Introductions and a Passage to Idealism.My aim is to highlight a particular opening of Kant’s aesthetics that Noica identifies but does not develop further in his later philosophy. To this end, the paper is structured as follows: first, I review the current scholarship on Noica’s Two Introductions and a Passage to Idealism. Second, I discuss the method Noica employs in this work and outline the main points of his argument. Finally, I address some ambiguities that appear at the end of his interpretation and briefly discuss the opening in Kant’s aesthetics that Noica notices but does not explore it further in his later philosophy.

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Marginalia

On the Kantianism of Lucian Blaga and the limits of the intellect

Henrieta Șerban

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 83–90]

Abstract

The study emphasizes that while Kantianism is evident in Lucian Blaga’s philosophy, it is notably transformed and integrated into an original philosophical framework. This analysis examines both the presence and the limitations of Kantianism in the work of this unique Romanian philosopher. By exploring the Kantian influences and constraints in Blaga’s thought –particularly with regard to the Kantian boundaries imposed on intellect, as well as the Luciferian potential of intellect within Blaga’s philosophy – the study highlights a fascinating interplay of similarities and differences between the two philosophical systems.

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On the concept of dogma in Lucian Blaga

Mihai Popa

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 91–100]

Abstract

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Restitutio

Dumitru Isac, Several notes on Kant

Edited and notes by Ionuț Isac

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 103–121]

Abstract

References to I. Kant’s critical metaphysics are a significant part of D. Isac’s philosophical notes, lectures, articles, books, and other writings. The brief writings mentioned above likely served as nuclei for the extended works the author developed both during the interwar years and later in the post-war period. Although these sketches in nuce do not appear to have been intended for publication, their release offers valuable insights into the impact of Kant’s philosophy on Isac’s professional development, as it influenced many thinkers of his generation. The Romanian professor sought to rethink and redirect the course of genuine criticism by theorizing what he termed critical realism, a “marriage” of ontological realism and epistemological idealism/transcendentalism. Thus, these unpublished notes provide a window into Isac’s general approach to philosophizing, and specifically his reflections on Kant – whether in alignment with or departure from Kantian thought. The notes encompass the main coordinates of Kant’s scientific and philosophical activity, along with observations on various Romanian and foreign commentators, as well as general theses on the spirit of criticism. Together with other partially published manuscripts, these notes appear to be part of a broader project formulated by Isac: to write a history of universal philosophy from the perspective of critical realism.

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A translator of Kant: Mihail Canianu

Titus Lates

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 122–127]

Excerpt

În anul 1901 a apărut la București, în Stabilimentul grafic I. V. Socecŭ, o Crestomație cu „bucăți alese din autori germani”, în care se găsește tradus și primul apendice din lucrarea lui Immanuel Kant Spre pacea eternă – „Über die Misshelligkeit zwischen der Moral und der Politik, in Absicht auf den ewigen Frieden”: „Disensiunea dintre morală și politică cu privire la pacea eternă” (386–397) . Printre textele cuprinse în volum sunt: „Spicuiri din Fr. Nietzsche” (337–349), traduse de C. Rădulescu-Motru, și traducerile filosofice ale lui Titu Maiorescu, preluate din Convorbiri literare: Schopenhauer, „Despre istorie” (504–513) și „Despre geniu” (Din Lumea ca voință și reprezentare) (559–567), precum și Emil du Bois-Reymond, „Despre limitele cunoașterii naturii” (532–542). Prezența acestor fragmente celebre i-a făcut pe unii cititori/cercetători să atribuie volumul lui Maiorescu, fie ca alcătuitor, fie ca traducător. Stilul însă nu-i aparține. […]
Majoritatea exemplarelor existente ale Crestomației nu au menționat autorul sau traducătorul, ceea ce a lăsat loc la interpretări. Dar există un exemplar, la Biblioteca Academiei, menționat și în BRM, pe care e identificat traducătorul: Mihail Canianu /M. Cahana/ (1867–1933), un publicist, de origine evreiască, născut în Hârlău.

Citește

Descarcă

Immanuel Kant, On the disagreement between morality and politics with respect to perpetual peace

Translated by Mihail Canianu, edited by Titus Lates

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 128–135]

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2. MATERIA HISTORICA

Mircea Eliade and the captives of politics: The beginnings of the felix culpa case (I)

Liviu Bordaș

[Studii de istorie a filosofiei româneşti, vol. XX: Kant 300, Bucureşti, Editura Academiei Române, 2024, pp. 139–218]

Abstract

The name and work of Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) were banned in Romania following the establishment of the communist regime. Both his writings and his person were subject to ideological criticism, though without being accorded significant attention. (That is, within the context of an article or book; no article was ever dedicated exclusively to him.) The present paper explores, for the first time, his reception in socialist Romania after the lifting of the ban imposed on him.The first part examines the period from September 1967 to July 1970, when a new ban was imposed, and after that until March 1972, when the ban was lifted once more. The English term “captive” translates the Romanian word “prizonier”, which includes among its primary meanings “slave” or “enslaved”. It refers to the members of the two “fronts” – pro and con – involved in the struggle over the acceptability of Mircea Eliade within a communist culture like that of Romania during that era. The main figures at the forefront during this period were Miron Constantinescu (1917–1974), who opposed Eliade, and Adrian Păunescu (1943–2010), who supported him. The second part of the article focuses on other protagonists – both from Romania and abroad – active in the period following March 1972 and leading up to the fall of communism in December 1989.

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