The Historiosophical Thought of Nikola Milošević

Abstract

The question of the meaning of history is one of the key philosophical questions that occupied Nikola Milošević’s theoretical work in his later years. This question is a logical extension of Milošević’s previous analyses of Marxist and other chiliastic ideologies. Pointing to the psychological and historical experience of human actions that do not contribute to a greater historical purpose (insofar as this can be empirically determined), and noting that it is necessary to ceaselessly build institutions of liberal democracy as a partial shield against historical evil, Nikola Milošević suggested that the question of the meaning of history cannot be approached adequately if one skirts the issue of Man or the issue of Evil (that is, the problem of substantiality of Evil), nor can one disregard the issue of God’s existence and his relationship to Man and Evil. We contrast Milošević’s elaboration of these problems, in the vein of polemos so characteristic of him, with the teachings of his philosophical antipodes, Nikolai Berdyaev and Sergei Bulgakov, in order to highlight the openness and dynamism of the issues he dealt with.