Mihailo Marković

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Mihailo Marković
Serbian
Education
Occupation(s)philosopher, writer, politician
Years active1952–2010
Known for
SANU Memorandum
Political partySocialist (1990–1995)

Mihailo Marković (Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило Марковић; 24 February 1923 – 7 February 2010) was a Serbian philosopher who gained prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a proponent of the Praxis School, a Marxist humanist movement that originated in Yugoslavia.

He was a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia, co-author of the

SANU Memorandum and a prominent supporter of Slobodan Milošević
's politics in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Early life

Marković was born in

liberation of Yugoslavia during World War II.[1]

Academic career

Marković took a doctorate in philosophy first at the

International Humanist and Ethical Union (1975–1985). He has been a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
since 1963 and a full member since 1983.

In his honour, a collection of articles entitled Philosophy and Society was published in Belgrade in 1987.

Social critic

After the Resolution of the

Stalinist
dogmatism, becoming one of the fiercest critics of the Stalinist philosophical theses. His Revision of the Philosophical Bases of Marxism in the USSR, published in 1952, was the first major attack on the Stalinist philosophy in Yugoslavia.

In the 1960s Marković became a major proponent of the Praxis School of Marxist interpretation, which emphasized the writings of young Marx, and their dialectical and humanist aspects in particular.[3] He also actively contributed to the international journal Praxis. Due to his critical observations, together with seven other professors from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, Marković was suspended in January 1975, and finally lost his job in January 1981.[3] After that, Marković worked in the Institute of Social Research until his retirement in 1986.

As a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) in 1986, Marković, together with others, wrote the

SANU Memorandum, a document that has formulated the central tenets of Serbian nationalism.[4]
While the document has been viewed in some neighbouring former Yugoslav republics as a preparation for full-scale Greater Serbian expansionism, many Serbs considered it a realistic depiction of the Serbian position within Yugoslav federation.

During the Breakup of Yugoslavia, Marković considered that the borders of the country should be changed based on ethnic and historical grounds. Marković considered that the quasi-state Republic of Serbian Krajina, eastern Slavonia, Baranya and western Syrmia should not belong to Croatia because the Serbian people have lived in these territories for most of the centuries. He also considered that "the Albanian people lack any historical reasons to support their right to Kosovo", as they did not live in the territory before the arrival of the Slavs.[5]

Political activity

Marković was vice-president of the Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia from 1990 to 1992, as well as its one time chief ideologue. At other times, he was a vocal critic of the official SPS party line. In November 1995 he was released from all duties in the party.[6]

Bibliography

Marković on a 2023 stamp of Serbia
  • Revision of the Philosophical Bases of Marxism in the USSR (1952)
  • Logic (1956)
  • Formalism in Contemporary Logic (1957)
  • Dialectical Theory of Meaning, Belgrade 1961
  • Humanism and Dialectics (1967)
  • Dialektik der Praxis, Humanizm i djalektika, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1968
  • Att utveckla socialismen, Stockholm, 1971
  • From Affluence to Praxis (Philosophy and social criticism), Ann Arbor, 1974
  • The Contemporary Marx, Nottingham, 1974
  • Philosophical Foundations of Science, Belgrade 1982
  • Selected Works in eight volumes, Belgrade, 1994
  • Freedom and Praxis, Belgrade 1997
  • Social Thought at the Border of Milenia, 1999
  • Storming the Sky: Memoirs, 2008

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-9-0277-0727-7
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-8204-0848-4
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 47004328
    .
  4. ^ "SANU Memorandum Author Testifies". iwpr.net. Coalition for International Justice (CIJ). 16 November 2004.
  5. ^ Milosavljević, Olivera (2002). "Ogledi broj 1: U tradiciji nacionalizma ili stereotipi srpskih intelektualaca XX veka o "nama" i "drugima"" (PDF) (in Serbian). Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. p. 123.
  6. ^ Praxis – critical thinking and acting, 2009 interview with Mihailo Marković Archived 26 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Serbian)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mihailo Marković.
Academic offices
Preceded by Dean of the
Faculty of Philosophy

1966–1967 		Succeeded by
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