The History of Philosophy and the Problem of Internal Continuity in National Philosophy

Abstract

The problem of internal continuity in national philosophy is one of the most popular topoi in thinking about the identity and originality of national philosophical schools in East-Central Europe. This article looks at the role that history of philosophy (as a discipline and field of scholarly inquiry) might play in establishing and ensuring internal continuity in national philosophical traditions. In particular, the early twentieth century debate between Polish philosophers Henryk Struwe (1840–1912) and Kazimierz Twardowski (1866– 1938), emphasized a self-aware national reception of world philosophy, and the importance of addressing one’s own predecessors in national philosophy, as key factors in ensuring internal continuity. This article offers an analysis of the modern-day perception of this discussion, and the principles it offers, by Ukrainian philosophers. It also looks into the productivity of these factors, and the level to which they’re assimilated and used by Ukrainian philosophers. Acknowledging that the history of Ukrainian philosophy as a discipline and field of scholarly research in today’s Ukraine has turned into a sort of historical consciousness of Ukrainian philosophy, and leaning on the work of Vilen Horskyi (1931–2007), the author analyzes the conditions in which this discipline might become a factor in moulding a Ukrainian national tradition.