Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21392480
Crisis of Identity as a Crisis of Spirit: Philosophy of History as an Orientation Point in an Age of Disorientation
Ivan Smiljanić
orcid.org/0000-0003-4926-3162
; Državni arhiv u Zagrebu, Zagreb
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* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
The point of departure of this paper is the thesis that the crisis of identity can be understood as a crisis of spirit, that is, as the loss of a meaningful relationship to oneself, history, culture, community, and its future. Sociological, political, psychological, and cultural approaches can accurately describe particular forms of contemporary disorientation as her symptoms, but they cannot by any means exhaust its spiritual and historical dimension. Identity is here understood as a historically shaped form of self-knowledge, while spirit is interpreted as that by which human beings transcend the immediacy of given life and shape their own existence through thought, culture, morality, memory, and responsibility. Within this horizon, modernity is considered as a period in which the relationship between appearance and ontological ground, freedom and responsibility, as well as culture and spiritual disorientation, becomes increasingly opaque. The paper argues that the crisis of culture is at the same time a crisis of spirit, because culture, as one of the fundamental historical expressions of spirit, loses its formative power when it ceases to shape the human being as a moral and historical subject. The philosophy of history is accordingly presented as a possible source of orientation in an age of disorientation, not as a closed speculative system in and of itself, but as a dynamic intellectual effort to connect the past, present, and future within a meaningful and coherent practical relationship. Particular attention is devoted to national identity, cultural memory, and responsibility for statehood, especially with regard to the Croatian historical experience. Finally, self-mastery and responsibility are emphasized as the personal conditions of genuine spiritual orientation. The paper concludes with the proposition that overcoming the crisis of identity presupposes a renewal of thought, memory, judgment, and responsible action in history.
Ključne riječi
Crisis of Identity; Crisis of Spirit; Philosophy of History; Cultural Memory; Spiritual Orientation
Hrčak ID:
349431
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.9.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *