Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks)
The article accounts for the gnostic individualism in Miłosz’s records. It shows that its essence is not freedom, but self-will. It argues that its premises are existential. Among them we can find the fundamental data of existence: the passage of time, death, growing old of the body, the decompositi...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Lodz University Press
2017-10-01
|
| Series: | Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/polonica/article/view/3054 |
| _version_ | 1818943899893235712 |
|---|---|
| author | Zbigniew Kaźmierczyk |
| author_facet | Zbigniew Kaźmierczyk |
| author_sort | Zbigniew Kaźmierczyk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article accounts for the gnostic individualism in Miłosz’s records. It shows that its essence is not freedom, but self-will. It argues that its premises are existential. Among them we can find the fundamental data of existence: the passage of time, death, growing old of the body, the decomposition of matter, experiencing biological drives as violence and the laws of nature and history as necessity. If existence is experienced that way it bears self-will. The author argues that Miłosz fell into a crisis of gnostic self-will as he realized it leads to the inner split between the evil world and the ideal super-world. He was also aware that this duality implies the aversion to the earthly life and nihilism. The author shows that the experience of self-will served as a tool in the Nobel laureate’s writings to study totalitarianisms. From this perspective Nazism seems to be the self-will inspired by Darwinism, while Communism – the quintessence of Enlightenment idealism. As a result of the deviation of freedom the Nazi Germany and the Bolshevik Russia became the mine of genocide. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T07:34:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-26ecae46bf3c47af869c69ef339753dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1505-9057 2353-1908 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T07:34:40Z |
| publishDate | 2017-10-01 |
| publisher | Lodz University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica |
| spelling | doaj.art-26ecae46bf3c47af869c69ef339753dc2022-12-21T19:48:18ZengLodz University PressActa Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica1505-90572353-19082017-10-0145710.18778/1505-9057.45.062311Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks)Zbigniew Kaźmierczyk0Department of Literatury History, Institute of Polish Philology, University of Gdansk, 80-952 Gdańsk, 55 Wita Stwosza street.The article accounts for the gnostic individualism in Miłosz’s records. It shows that its essence is not freedom, but self-will. It argues that its premises are existential. Among them we can find the fundamental data of existence: the passage of time, death, growing old of the body, the decomposition of matter, experiencing biological drives as violence and the laws of nature and history as necessity. If existence is experienced that way it bears self-will. The author argues that Miłosz fell into a crisis of gnostic self-will as he realized it leads to the inner split between the evil world and the ideal super-world. He was also aware that this duality implies the aversion to the earthly life and nihilism. The author shows that the experience of self-will served as a tool in the Nobel laureate’s writings to study totalitarianisms. From this perspective Nazism seems to be the self-will inspired by Darwinism, while Communism – the quintessence of Enlightenment idealism. As a result of the deviation of freedom the Nazi Germany and the Bolshevik Russia became the mine of genocide.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/polonica/article/view/3054humanismDarwinismfreedom and necessityself-willtotalitarianismgenocide |
| spellingShingle | Zbigniew Kaźmierczyk Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks) Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica humanism Darwinism freedom and necessity self-will totalitarianism genocide |
| title | Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks) |
| title_full | Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks) |
| title_fullStr | Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks) |
| title_short | Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks) |
| title_sort | totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness milosz s remarks |
| topic | humanism Darwinism freedom and necessity self-will totalitarianism genocide |
| url | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/polonica/article/view/3054 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zbigniewkazmierczyk totalitarianismsassystemsoflawlessnessmiłoszsremarks |