The article is the first Polish translation of Emanuel Rádl’s article. The essay explores Masaryk’s role in positioning Czechoslovakia between Eastern mysticism and Western rationalism, emphasizing his commitment to Western philosophy while acknowledging the cultural and intellectual richness of the East, particularly Russia. Masaryk believed that the Czech nation, situated at the crossroads of civilizations, had a historical mission to bridge the ideological divide between the two spheres. While Masaryk respected Russian thinkers like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, he opposed the romanticism and irrationalism typical of Slavic thought, advocating instead for the critical and scientific methods of Western philosophers such as Hume, Kant, and Comte. His intellectual project was not a rejection of Slavic identity but a conscious effort to ground it in the rational, empirical traditions of the West, which he saw as key to national progress, independence, and intellectual integrity.
English
Język Polski