Jeremić’s Synthesis of the History of Serbian Philosophy

Dragan Jeremić’s papers on the history of Serbian philosophy which were published in the magazine Savremenik (1967/8) were collected for the first time in the book On philosophy among the Serbs (ed. I. Marić, Plato, 1997). The extremely complex task of analysing the Serbian philosophical heritage was carried out by Jeremić patiently, thoroughly with a clear angle of observation and evaluation of the achievements of Serbian philosophers. Jeremić presented the history of philosophy chronologically. He listed the authors and showed their understanding of philosophy. However, he did not reduce his study to a mere listing of authors and their works, but pointed out that despite the interruptions, there is continuity and inner unity in the development of philosophy among the Serbs. Jeremić can be criticized for certain ideological colouring, the marginalization of the medieval era, as well as the fact that he omitted certain names. In his study, however, the development of the history of Serbian philosophy is synthesized for the first time with a more clearly defined framework. The book is not only significant because it presents the philosophical viewpoints of Serbian philosophers, scientists and artists, but also because it sheds light on the foundations of the state ideologies in which the Serbs lived in the past two centuries