Stasys Šalkauskis

Stasys Šalkauskis (May 16, 1886 in Ariogala, Lithuania – December 4, 1941 in Šiauliai, Soviet Union) was a Lithuanian Catholic philosopher, educator, and rector of Vytautas Magnus University. The was established in 1991 to honor outstanding figures in science, art, and national culture from the Šiauliai region.

Šalkauskis graduated from the Faculty of Law of Imperial Moscow University in 1911. During his studies in Moscow, he came to contact with nihilist and positivist philosophy prevalent in the faculty, which gave him a crisis of faith and encouraged him to seek answers in the Catholic faith. He then graduated from the University of Fribourg with a doctorate in philosophy in 1920. In university, he met one of his students, Julija Paltarokaitė, whom he married in 1927.

After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, he was fired from his position in the university. By then, he was already in poor health and passed away in December 1941.

Philosophy

Cultural philosophy According to Šalkauskis, there exist three stages of life: nature, culture, and religion. Each higher stage of life is based on the lower one, completing, supplementing, and perfecting it. Nature and culture alone are unable to fulfill the deepest desires of man, hence the final goal of life is religion, whose purpose is a union of man and God. At the same time, true understanding of religion is impossible without a developed culture. Šalkauskis also drew a distinction between culture, which he identified as inner richness of personhood and humanity, and civilization, which is the material development of humanity.

Lithuanian cultural synthesis Šalkauskis developed a theory of Lithuanian civilization as a synthesis between "Western" and "Eastern" cultures, which he first formulated in the 1917 essay "At the Border Between Two Worlds. A Synthetic Essay on the Problem of Lithuanian National Civilization" and developed further in his subsequent writings. According to Šalkauskis, the purpose of Lithuanian civilization is to "create a synthesis of two worlds" and this gives it a central role in European history. The content of this synthesis consists of the universalization of Eastern and Western culture, which in turn is related to the individualization of its form. According to Šalkauskis, the goal of Lithuanian intellectuals, whom he called the "organ of public understanding" of society, is to give Lithuanian culture universal content. In this context, Šalkauskis also outlined his own philosophical work program.

Šalkauskis' views on the importance of Lithuanian culture in European history have been compared to Polish messianism.

Nationalism Šalkauskis based his concept of nationalism on Christian universalism and ardently criticised the chauvinism and "exclusivism" of the concepts of nationalism promoted by tautininkai ideologues and authors; this view was also informed by his bilingual upbringing. Because of this, he was criticized by during his life and by nationalist authors such as and after his death, who accused him of overly criticizing nationalism.

Politics Šalkauskis' home was frequently visited by influential Christian Democratic political figures and intellectuals, among them bishop Kazimieras Paltarokas, former prime minister Pranas Dovydaitis, , Vasily Seseman, , Lev Karsavin, Kazys Pakštas, Antanas Maceina, , and others. He avoided getting involved in political life, but in 1927, he became the chairman of the Lithuanian Catholic Federation "Ateitis", whom he led for three years.

Šalkauskis opposed the regime of Antanas Smetona. In 1935, he wrote a letter protesting against his introduction of an authoritarian regime in Lithuania. A year later, he lauded the proclamation "To the Creation of an Organic State" , written by younger members of the Christian Democratic movement who opposed the authoritarian regime and proposed an alternate political system based on Christian principles.

Legacy Šalkauskis is considered to be one of the most influential Christian philosophers in Lithuania. His philosophy was a major influence for Antanas Maceina and Juozas Girnius . He has been cited as an inspiration and influence by National Alliance founder and leader Vytautas Sinica.

Works Bažnyčia ir kultūra (studija), 1913 Kultūros filosofijos metmenys, 1926 Bendrosios mokslinio darbo metodikos pradai, 1926, 1933 Visuomeninis auklėjimas, 1932 Ateitininkų ideologija, 1933 Lietuvių tauta ir jos ugdymas, 1933 Bendroji filosofijos terminologija, 1938 Raštai [Writings], Vilnius, Mintis, 1990 Rinktiniai raštai [Selected Writings]. Vilnius, Vaivorykštės, 1992