Original scientific paper
A survey of the Scholastic Philosophical Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Marko Josipović
; Vrhbosanska visoka teološka škola, Sarajevo, Bosna i Hercegovina
Abstract
In absence of precise and reliable sources concerning the appearance of scholastic philosophy in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is nevertheless justifiable to assert - relying on the norms and practices of certain monastic communities - that the beginnings of philosophical research coincide with the foundation of their monasteries and the schools within them. In chronological order, there were Benedictine, Dominican and Franciscan schools. The Turkish domination interrupted the well-developed scholarly and, thus, philosophical activities of the Franciscans in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but several gifted Franciscans nevertheless made use of their talents for philosophy, although mainly abroad where they studied. Juraj Dragišić (around 1445-1520) from Srebrenica was the most productive, his work enriching European as well as Croatian cultural history – both scholastic and humanist. Ivan Borea (seventeenth century), Jeronim Filipović (1688- 1765), Filip Lastrić (1700-1783), Filip Grgić (1783-1816) and Rafo Barišić (1797-1863) made their contributions too, far smaller, but very significant concerning where they came
from. They all followed and fostered mainly Scotistic scholastic philosophy. The ancient Franciscan libraries, abundant in philosophic literature, books and manuscripts, also witness to the scholastic philosophy of Scotistic inclination. After the establishment of Austro-Hungarian rule (1878), under new political and social Circumstances, the neoscholastic movement that was well established in Europe found a relatively solid ground in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main exponents of the scholastic renewal were the theological schools and their philosophy professors: the Vrhbosanska visoka teološka škola (The Vrhbosna Theology Study), founded in 1890, where respected Jesuit thinkers Max Lim bourg (1841-1920) and Franjo Šane (1882-1953) taught, and the Franjevačka teologija (The Franciscan Theology Institute), finally established as a faculty in Sarajevo in 1909, where father Bonitac Badrov (1896-1974) became most prominent due to his fruitful work. Th this very day, these schools have been cultivating and defending the basic tenets of scholastic thought, enriched by the achievements of modern and contemporary philosophy and science and adjusted to the requirements of present times, which is a characteristic of the neo-scholastic movement. The work of Josip Stadler (1843-1918), the first archbishop of Vrhbosna, is an important contribution to Croatian neo-scholastic philosophy, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the predominant character of the scholastics of the Vrhbosna Theology Study resembled the scholastics of Francisea Suarez, at least until the mid-twentieth century, and the Franciscan Theology Institute was prevailingly Scotistic, archbishop Stadler was basically a neo-Thomist; the three most influential neo-scholastic trends were thus present in the relatively small Bosnia and Herzegovina, multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-confessional anyway. Another image of variety, and in this case of an enriching dynamism!
Because of the objective outside conditions, the scholastic philosophical tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina had its ups and downs. However, it was preserved in spite of all the misfortunes of history. Just because of that, it deserves a serious and extensive analysis, in order that the present and future generations be acquainted with that part of the history of Croatian philosophy.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
81971
URI
Publication date:
5.12.1994.
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