Gajo Petrovic
Encyclopedia
Gajo Petrović was one of the main theorists in the Marxist humanist
Praxis School
in the SFR Yugoslavia. He was the only one among the editors of the Praxis journal to stay in this position throughout the journal's publication. He is credited by Milan Kangrga
to be the mastermind behind the Korčula Summer School, which was a meeting place for Marxists and other philosophers from the East and the West in the 1960s and 1970s.
Gajo Petrović was born in Karlovac
, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He has started learning philosophy at the Zagreb University. From 1946 to 1948 he was in the Soviet Union
as an exchange student, where he recognized the repression of philosophical thought under Joseph Stalin
. After that, he came back to Yugoslavia, completing his studies and earned his PhD at the Zagreb
University in 1956 with a dissertation concerning the philosophical views of Georgi Plekhanov
. Upon graduating, from 1950 he taught logic
and theory of philosophy at this university until his retirement. He presided over the Croat Philosophical Society from 1963 to 1964. In 1964 he was elected for president of the Yugoslav Philosophical Society.
Petrović was one of the leaders of the Yugoslav criticism of the Stalinist philosophical theses since the early 1950s. In the early 1960s, his philosophical views evolved towards an interpretation of Marxism
based on the philosophical works of the young Karl Marx
. This was in line with the creative line of thought of a self-management socialism
which dominated the Yugoslav political landscape at the time. However, his continuous radical criticism of the dogmatic ideology of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
led to an open conflict. In 1968 Petrović openly supported the student protests, which was a pretext for his expulsion from the Party at June 8 meeting of the Zagreb University Party Committee.
Petrović's Selected Works in four volumes were published in 1986. In 2001, a collection of articles in his honour were published in Zagreb, entitled The Reality and the Criticism.
and has insisted that the Marx’s philosophy was thought of the revolution which is contemplating the possibility of revolutionary change of the existing inhuman world.
Marxist humanism
Marxist humanism is a branch of Marxism that primarily focuses on Marx's earlier writings, especially the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 in which Marx espoused his theory of alienation, as opposed to his later works, which are considered to be concerned more with his structural...
Praxis School
Praxis School
The Praxis school was a Marxist humanist philosophical movement. It originated in Zagreb and Belgrade in the SFR Yugoslavia, during the 1960s.Prominent figures among the school's founders include Gajo Petrović and Milan Kangrga of Zagreb and Mihailo Marković of Belgrade...
in the SFR Yugoslavia. He was the only one among the editors of the Praxis journal to stay in this position throughout the journal's publication. He is credited by Milan Kangrga
Milan Kangrga
Milan Kangrga was a Croatian and Yugoslav philosopher who was one of the leading thinkers in the Praxis school of thought which originated in the 1960s in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
to be the mastermind behind the Korčula Summer School, which was a meeting place for Marxists and other philosophers from the East and the West in the 1960s and 1970s.
Gajo Petrović was born in Karlovac
Karlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He has started learning philosophy at the Zagreb University. From 1946 to 1948 he was in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as an exchange student, where he recognized the repression of philosophical thought under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. After that, he came back to Yugoslavia, completing his studies and earned his PhD at the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
University in 1956 with a dissertation concerning the philosophical views of Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
. Upon graduating, from 1950 he taught logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and theory of philosophy at this university until his retirement. He presided over the Croat Philosophical Society from 1963 to 1964. In 1964 he was elected for president of the Yugoslav Philosophical Society.
Petrović was one of the leaders of the Yugoslav criticism of the Stalinist philosophical theses since the early 1950s. In the early 1960s, his philosophical views evolved towards an interpretation of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
based on the philosophical works of the young Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. This was in line with the creative line of thought of a self-management socialism
Workers' self-management
Worker self-management is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices instead of an owner or traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it...
which dominated the Yugoslav political landscape at the time. However, his continuous radical criticism of the dogmatic ideology of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
led to an open conflict. In 1968 Petrović openly supported the student protests, which was a pretext for his expulsion from the Party at June 8 meeting of the Zagreb University Party Committee.
Petrović's Selected Works in four volumes were published in 1986. In 2001, a collection of articles in his honour were published in Zagreb, entitled The Reality and the Criticism.
Philosophical views
Petrović has opposed the interpretation of the Marx’s philosophical views as dialectical materialismDialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a strand of Marxism synthesizing Hegel's dialectics. The idea was originally invented by Moses Hess and it was later developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
and has insisted that the Marx’s philosophy was thought of the revolution which is contemplating the possibility of revolutionary change of the existing inhuman world.
Major works
- The English Empiricist Philosophy (1955)
- The Philosophical Views of G. V. Plekhanov (1957)
- Logic (1964)
- From Locke to Ayer (1964)
- Philosophy and Marxism (1965) (published in English under the title Marx in the Mid-Twentieth Century: A Yugoslav Philosopher Considers Marx's Writings)
- The Possibility of Man (1969)
- Philosophy and Revolution (1971)
- Why Praxis (1972)
- The Thought of Revolution (1978)
- Marx and the Marxists (1986)
- In Quest of Liberty (1990)
External links
- Gajo Petrović Archive
- Biography of Gajo Petrović
- The History and the Nature (in Serbo-Croatian)
- The Power, Violence and Humanity (in Serbo-Croatian)
- I Admit (in Croatian)
- Article by Dušan Žubrinić about Gajo Petrović (in Serbo-Croatian)