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Branislav "Brana" Petronijević (sometimes styled as Petronievics) (
Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...
: Бранислав "Брана" Петронијевић; 6 April 1875 – 4 March 1954) was a
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
. His major work is the two-volume ''Prinzipien der Metaphysik'' (''Principles of Metaphysics'',
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, 1904–1911), in which he outlines his original metaphysical system – a synthesis of Baruch Spinoza's
monism Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
and Gottfried Leibniz's monadological pluralism into what he called "monopluralism". Influenced by
George Berkeley George Berkeley (; 12 March 168514 January 1753) – known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland) – was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immate ...
and
G.W.F. Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
, Petronijević held that our immediate experience is the source of basic logical and metaphysical axioms – what he called "empirio-rationalist" epistemology. In the field of palaeontology, Petronijević was the first to distinguish between the
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'' and ''Archaeornis''. However, most of his
taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
interpretations were later abandoned.Tischlinger, H. & D. M. Unwin 2004. UV-Untersuchungen des Berliner Exemplares von ''Archaeopteryx lithographica'' H. v. Meyer 1861 und der isolierten ''Archaeopteryx''-Feder. Archaeopteryx 22: 17-50; Eichstätt. He also discovered new characteristics of the genera '' Tritylodon'' and ''
Moeritherium ''Moeritherium'' ("the beast from Lake Moeris") is an extinct genus of primitive proboscideans. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, sea cows and hyraxes Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thick ...
''.


Biography


Early life

Branislav Petronijević was born in the small village of Sovljak, near
Ub, Serbia Ub ( sr-cyr, Уб) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. As of 2011, the population of the town is 6,164, while population of the municipality is 29,022 inhabitants. History The first communities establish ...
, on 6 April (25 March, O.S.) 1875, the son of a Marko Jeremić, a
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. The last name Petronijević stems from Branislav's grandfather, Petronije Jeremić, a local priest. His father changed Branislav's last name to reduce pressure at school, as the Jeremić family were prominent supporters of the exiled
Karađorđević dynasty The Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl, Динасија Карађорђевић, Dinasija Karađorđević, Карађорђевићи / Karađorđevići, ) or House of Karađorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Кућа Карађорђевић, Kuća Karađ ...
. He studied at the
Valjevo Gymnasium Valjevo Gymnasium ( sr, Ваљевска гимназија, Valjevska gimnazija) is a public secondary education school located in Valjevo (Valjevo High School). It was first founded in 1870. For the first two years it had only two grades. Time ...
and the
Grande école A ''grande école'' () is a specialised university that is separate from, but parallel and often connected to, the main framework of the French public university system. The grandes écoles offer teaching, research and professional training in s ...
in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
(the Belgrade Higher School).


Education and early work

In 1894, Petronijević went to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
to pursue a degree in medicine, on a scholarship awarded by the Tamnava srez. Petronijević joined the Philosophical Society of the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
and studied under
Ludwig Boltzmann Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics, and the statistical explanation of the second law of thermodyn ...
. After three semesters in Vienna he enrolled at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
, where he studied philosophy under
Johannes Volkelt Johannes Immanuel Volkelt (21 July 1848 in Lipnik near Biala, Austrian Galicia – 8 May 1930 in Leipzig) was a German philosopher. Biography He was educated at Vienna, Jena, and Leipzig. He became professor of philosophy at Basel in 1883 and ...
,
Wilhelm Ostwald Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and German philosophy, philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, ...
, and
Ernst Mach Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach ( , ; 18 February 1838 – 19 February 1916) was a Moravian-born Austrian physicist and philosopher, who contributed to the physics of shock waves. The ratio of one's speed to that of sound is named the Mach ...
. There, he wrote ''Der ontologische Beweis für das Dasein des Absoluten'' (''The Ontological Proof for the Existence of the Absolute'') in 1897, and successfully defended his thesis ''Der Satz vom Grunde'' (''The Principle of Reason'') in 1898. Having studied during this time under
Wilhelm Wundt Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and ...
, Petronijević later published several works in
experimental psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
on the observation of the transparent and on the depth and observation of compound colours. In Leipzig, Petronijević received financial help from former bishop
Nikanor Ružičić Nikanor Ružičić (Secular name: Nikola Ružičić ; Serbian Cyrillic: Никанор Ружичић; also known in Imperial Russia as Nikolai Grigorievich Ružičič; Svileuva, Principality of Serbia, 15 April 1843 — Belgrade, Kingdom o ...
, with whom he practiced the
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
. In 1898 he was given the title of
docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...
at the Belgrade Higher School at the request of professor
Ljubomir Nedić Ljubomir Nedić ( sr, Љубомир Недић; 25 April 1858 – 29 July 1902) was a Serbian philosopher and literary critic. Having received academic training in philosophy at the University of Leipzig, Nedić taught at the Belgrade Higher Sc ...
. He taught the German language and philosophical
propaedeutics Propaedeutics or propedeutics (from Ancient Greek , ''propaídeusis'' 'preparatory education') is a historical term for an introductory course into an art or science. The etymology of propedeutics comprises the Latin prefix ''pro'', meaning earlier ...
at the
Third Belgrade Gymnasium The Third Belgrade Gymnasium is located at 15 Njegoševa street, in Belgrade. The building has the status of a cultural monument of great importance.
. Petronijević was promoted to the post of
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
in 1899, and then
full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
in 1903. Three years later when the school developed into the
University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
, Petronijević was demoted back to associate professor. He was simultaneously elected correspondent member of the
Serbian Royal Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
on 3 February 1906. Petronijević found this humiliating, and declined the post, his decision coming into effect in 1910. During this time, Petronijević also taught
art theory Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, ...
at Rista and Beta Vukanović's Serbian Art School in Belgrade. It was during this period that he thought out and developed what is distinctive in his philosophical doctrine. His two major works in metaphysics, ''Prinzipen der Metaphysik'' (''Principles of Metaphysics'') and ''Die typischen Geometrien und das Unendliche'' (''The Typical Geometries and the Infinite''), were published during this period.


World War I

At the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he turned to journalism, becoming a war correspondent for the Serbian War Office Press Bureau, induced by Dragutin Dimitrijević "Apis", his childhood friend. In 1915 he joined the
Serbian army's retreat through Albania The Great Retreat, also known in Serbian historiography as the Albanian Golgotha ( sr, Албанска голгота / ''Albanska golgota''), was a strategic withdrawal of the Royal Serbian Army, which marked the end of the second Serbian ca ...
. After reaching Greece, he was sent first to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
where he stayed for four months. After Rome, Petronijević spent several months in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where he taught two courses at the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
, on universal evolution and on the value of life. Finally, he spent the longest part of the war in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with the Serbian Legation, along with politician
Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat who was a leading political figure for almost 40 years. He was the leader of the People's Radical P ...
, geographer
Jovan Cvijić Jovan Cvijić ( sr-cyr, Јован Цвијић, ; 1865 – 16 January 1927) was a Serbian geographer and ethnologist, president of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and rector of the University of Belgrade. Cvijić is considered the ...
, professors
Bogdan Popović Bogdan Popović (Serbian Cyrillic: Богдан Поповић; 20 December 1863 – 7 November 1944) was one of the most important literary critics and university professors in Serbia and later Yugoslavia and an academic. He was the brother of ...
and his brother
Pavle Popović Pavle Popović ( sr-cyr, Павле Поповић; 16 April 1868 – 4 June 1939) was a Serbian literary critic and historian, a professor and rector at the University of Belgrade. He is the brother of Bogdan Popović, also a well-known and equa ...
. There, Petronijević worked on an English translation of ''Theoria Philosophiæ Naturalis'' (''A Theory of Natural Philosophy'') by
Roger Joseph Boscovich Roger Joseph Boscovich ( hr, Ruđer Josip Bošković; ; it, Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich; la, Rogerius (Iosephus) Boscovicius; sr, Руђер Јосип Бошковић; 18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a physicist, astronomer, ...
, together with
Čedomilj Mijatović Čedomilj Mijatović ( sr-Cyrl, Чедомиљ Мијатовић; 17 October 1842 – May 14, 1932) was a Serbian statesman, economist, historian, writer and diplomat. Mijatović served as the Ministry of Finance (Serbia), Minister of Finance s ...
and
Nikolaj Velimirović Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић;  – ) was bishop of the eparchies of Ohrid and Žiča (1920–1956) in the Serbian Orthodox Church. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orato ...
. The 1763 Venetian edition of the book was translated by James Mark Child, and finally published in 1922 by the
Open Court Publishing Company The Open Court Publishing Company is a publisher with offices in Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois. It is part of the Carus Publishing Company of Peru, Illinois. History Open Court was founded in 1887 by Edward C. Hegeler of the Matthiessen-Hegel ...
, funded in part by the newly created
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
. Petronijević wrote the preface, titled ''Life of Roger Joseph Boscovich''. Parts of it were severely criticized by
Vladimir Varićak Vladimir Varićak (sometimes also spelled Vladimir Varičak; March 1, 1865 – January 17, 1942) was a Croatian mathematician and theoretical physicist of Serbian origin.Buljan I.; Paušek-Baždar, Snježana. "Hrvatski matematički velikan koji ...
in 1925 for various factual errors, among other things for asserting Boscovich's exclusively Serbian ethnicity, and listing his birth date inaccurately. While in London, Petronijević met with
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
, who wrote:


Later life

After the war he left London and went back to his teaching post at the University of Belgrade, where he was appointed again appointed full professor in 1919. On 16 February 1920, he was elected into the Serbian Royal Academy. From 1918 to 1922, Petronijević notably mentored
Ksenija Atanasijević Ksenija Atanasijević (Xenia Atanassievich) (1894–1981) was the first recognised major female Serbian philosopher, and the first female professors of Belgrade University, where she graduated. She wrote about Giordano Bruno, ancient Greek phi ...
, later a prominent Serbian female intellectual and early Serbian
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
writer. During the
Interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...
, Petronijević was an active participant in European philosophy, and considered himself a worthy philosopher who transcended his "parochial" limitations. He deemed himself one of the 15 "great philosophers" of history, along with
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
,
Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
and
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
. Beside "great philosophers", Petronijević mentions "significant philosophers" and "philosophic writers". Petronijević retired from the university in 1927. He served as secretary of the Serbian Royal Academy from February 1932 to February 1933 and founded the Serbian Philosophical Society in 1938, together with Vladimir Dvorniković,
Justin Popović Justin Popović ( sr-cyr, Јустин Поповић, ; 6 April 1894 – 7 April 1979) was a Serbian Orthodox theologian, archimandrite of the Ćelije Monastery, Dostoyevsky scholar, writer, an advocate of anti-communism and a critic of the pr ...
and others. The third volume of his ''Principles of Metaphysics'' was destroyed in an air raid in April 1941. He held lectures at the German Scientific Institute during the
occupation of Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned between Nazi Germany, Germany, Kingdom of Italy, Italy, Kingdom of Hung ...
. After the war, he traveled to France several times and started writing poetry. Petronijević was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
in 1941 and 1947. Petronijević died in a Belgrade's Hotel Balkan on 4 March 1954. He was 78. He never married.


Writings


Philosophy

Petronijević considered himself a "born metaphysician" and devoted himself to constructing his own metaphysical system. Although original, his system grew out of the nineteenth-century empirical metaphysics of
Hermann Lotze Rudolf Hermann Lotze (; ; 21 May 1817 – 1 July 1881) was a German philosopher and logician. He also had a medical degree and was well versed in biology. He argued that if the physical world is governed by mechanical laws and relations, then dev ...
,
Eduard von Hartmann Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, was a German philosopher, independent scholar and author of ''Philosophy of the Unconscious'' (1869). His notable ideas include the theory of the Unconscious and a pessimistic interpretation of the "best of all ...
and Petronijević's teacher,
Johannes Volkelt Johannes Immanuel Volkelt (21 July 1848 in Lipnik near Biala, Austrian Galicia – 8 May 1930 in Leipzig) was a German philosopher. Biography He was educated at Vienna, Jena, and Leipzig. He became professor of philosophy at Basel in 1883 and ...
. The motto of Petronijević's principal work ''Prinzipien der Metaphysik'' (''Principles of Metaphysics'', 1904), reads: "''Exact mathematical notions are a key to the solution of the world's enigma''". In it, he constructed a new geometry in which time and space are discrete, not continuous. Petronijević argued that being consists of simple, discrete qualitative points which are mutually related in various ways to form a unity. He outlined two types of these simple points – real "central points" (''Mittelpunkte'') and unreal "intermediate points" (''Zwischenpunkte''). The world as a manifold is possible only because each pair of real points of being is separated by an unreal point constituting an "act of negation", without which being would be absolutely homogeneous. Petronijević regarded the principle of negation as "the absolute principle of the world". His metaphysical system was thus conceived as a synthesis of Baruch Spinoza's
monism Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
and Gottfried Leibniz's monadological pluralism into what he called "monopluralism". He claimed that the basic task of metaphysics was to explain the structure of the "world of multitude, diversity, and change" as the "pre-evidence" of the directly given empirical and transcendental reality. Petronijević's view was essentially idealistic, since he held that absolutely unconscious atoms are impossible and that the immortal soul is a conscious
monad Monad may refer to: Philosophy * Monad (philosophy), a term meaning "unit" **Monism, the concept of "one essence" in the metaphysical and theological theory ** Monad (Gnosticism), the most primal aspect of God in Gnosticism * ''Great Monad'', an ...
. He argued that the universe was evolving from a condition of instability towards one of absolute stability, in which there would be equilibrium in the relation between particular elements or monads and the universal substance which underlies them. This last is the subject of a special division of philosophy, beyond metaphysics, which Petronijević called "hypermetaphysics". His original "empirio-rationalist" epistemology was based on a rather complex derivation of logical laws from
immediate experience Direct experience or immediate experience generally denotes experience gained through immediate sense perception. Many philosophical systems hold that knowledge or skills gained through direct experience cannot be fully put into words. See also * ...
. For Petronijević, our immediate experience not only presents reality as is, but is also the source of basic logical and metaphysical axioms – all are derived from the data of immediate experience. Petronijević rejected Immanuel Kant’s
phenomenalism In metaphysics, phenomenalism is the view that physical objects cannot justifiably be said to exist in themselves, but only as perceptual phenomena or sensory stimuli (e.g. redness, hardness, softness, sweetness, etc.) situated in time and in sp ...
and denied the distinction between the
phenomenal A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried W ...
and
noumenal In philosophy, a noumenon (, ; ; noumena) is a posited object or an event that exists independently of human sense and/or perception. The term ''noumenon'' is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to, the term ''phenomenon'', which ...
. He held that the all contents of the mind are real and thus denied the existence of pure representation, claiming that all representations are in fact real. For Petronijević, thought and being are identical, and
apodictic "Apodictic", also spelled "apodeictic" ( grc, ἀποδεικτικός, "capable of demonstration"), is an adjectival expression from Aristotelean logic that refers to propositions that are demonstrably, necessarily or self-evidently true.
knowledge of being itself is possible. He considered the
principle of sufficient reason The principle of sufficient reason states that everything must have a reason or a cause. The principle was articulated and made prominent by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, with many antecedents, and was further used and developed by Arthur Schopenhau ...
the fundamental law of true knowledge. Petronijević upheld an ethical theory of transcendental optimism and
free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
. He argued that "it is not possible to live with the belief that there is no free will". Since Petronijević's epistemology does not allow for the existence of an absolute illusion, the subjective experience of free will implies its existence in reality. He devoted a number of studies to
aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...
, particularly in the work of
Petar II Petrović Njegoš Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. ...
and
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
.


Natural science

From 1917, Petronijević analyzed the
Berlin specimen ''Archaeopteryx'' fossils from the quarries of Solnhofen limestone represent the most famous and well-known fossils from this area. They are highly significant to paleontology and avian evolution in that they document the fossil record's oldes ...
of the ''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
''. In 1921, discovered the pelvis of the Berlin specimen was markedly different from that of the London specimen. Namely, the Berlin specimen entirely lacked a
pubic symphysis The pubic symphysis is a secondary cartilaginous joint between the left and right superior rami of the pubis of the hip bones. It is in front of and below the urinary bladder. In males, the suspensory ligament of the penis attaches to the pubic ...
. Petronijević erected the genus ''Archaeornis'' and was in favor of assigning a new species to the Berlin specimen, ''Archaeornis siemensii'', after the fossil's generous donor
Werner von Siemens Ernst Werner Siemens (von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He foun ...
.
Gavin de Beer Sir Gavin Rylands de Beer (1 November 1899 – 21 June 1972) was a British evolutionary embryologist, known for his work on heterochrony as recorded in his 1930 book ''Embryos and Ancestors''. He was director of the Natural History Museum, Lon ...
, however, disputed this difference, claiming it could be entirely accounted for by deformation of the specimens during preservation, a conclusion generally accepted by later paleontologists. In 1925, Petronijević attempted to reconstruct the
sternum The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...
as being keeled. The sternum identified in the London specimen, by contrast, appeared unkeeled and this discrepancy, too, led Petronijević to classify the Berlin specimen as a different genus, ''Archaeornis''. Wellnhofer (1993) and Tischlinger & Unwin (2004) identified the triangular structure as indeed part of the sternum, albeit minimally ossified (mostly cartilagenous). This supported the idea that the Berlin ''Archaeopteryx'' was not a full-grown individual at the time of its death, and instead represents an immature animal. After the extensive examination of five newly discovered early bird specimens all of his
taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
interpretations were abandoned, and only his discoveries of the ''Archaeopteryx'' skeleton parts remained. In 1923, Petronijević added a new species, ''M. ancestrale'' to the genus ''
Moeritherium ''Moeritherium'' ("the beast from Lake Moeris") is an extinct genus of primitive proboscideans. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, sea cows and hyraxes Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thick ...
'', excluding a skull and a mandible from those attributed to ''M. lyonsi'' on the basis of some cranial characters observed on the
palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.
and
occipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the cereb ...
. In his revision of the genus, considered the skull differences mentioned by Petronijević as intraspecific and sex-related variations and synonymised ''M. gracile'', ''M. lyonsi'' and ''M. ancestrale'', keeping only one species for the
Qasr el Sagha Formation The Qasr el Sagha Formation is a geological formation located in Egypt. The formation is part of the Wadi El Hitan World Heritage Site. The Qasr el Sagha Formation overlies the Birket Qarun Formation and is overlain by the Gebel Qatrani Formation ...
under the name ''M. lyonsi''. Petronijević's contributions to the philosophy of
natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
are collected in his compilation ''L'évolution universelle. Exposé des preuves et des lois de l`évolution mondiale et des évolutions particulières'' (''Universal evolution. Presentation of Evidence and Laws of Global Evolution and Particular Developments'', 1921). Among them there are the explanation of
Dollo's law of irreversibility Dollo's law of irreversibility (also known as Dollo's law and Dollo's principle), proposed in 1893 by Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo states that, "an organism never returns exactly to a former state, even if it finds itself placed in condition ...
, first described in ''Zakon nepovratne evolucije'' (''Law of Irreversible Evolution'', 1920), and the introduction of his own ''Law of Non-correlative Evolution'' with which he describes the
mosaic evolution Mosaic evolution (or modular evolution) is the concept, mainly from palaeontology, that evolutionary change takes place in some body parts or systems without simultaneous changes in other parts. Another definition is the "evolution of characters ...
in ''Archaeopteryx''. Among his most notable contributions to the logical foundations of mathematics are his work on typical geometries, on the problem of the infinitude of space, the
three-body problem In physics and classical mechanics, the three-body problem is the problem of taking the initial positions and velocities (or momenta) of three point masses and solving for their subsequent motion according to Newton's laws of motion and Newton's ...
, on
difference quotient In single-variable calculus, the difference quotient is usually the name for the expression : \frac which when taken to the limit as ''h'' approaches 0 gives the derivative of the function ''f''. The name of the expression stems from the fact t ...
s, and on
mathematical induction Mathematical induction is a method for proving that a statement ''P''(''n'') is true for every natural number ''n'', that is, that the infinitely many cases ''P''(0), ''P''(1), ''P''(2), ''P''(3), ...  all hold. Informal metaphors help ...
. In psychology, he developed theories about the observation of the transparent and on the depth and observation of compound colours.


Legacy

In 1957, the Department of Natural Science of the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
published a commemorative anthology of all Petronijević's publications. He was included in the 1993 book ''
The 100 most prominent Serbs ''The 100 most prominent Serbs'' ( sr-Cyrl, 100 најзнаменитијих Срба) is a book containing the biographies of the hundred most important Serbs compiled by a committee of academicians at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ...
'', published by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. A street in the Višnjička Banja neighborhood of
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
is named in his honor. According to Miodrag Cekić, Petronijević's works in philosophy may have influenced Boltzmann's late system of philosophical classification. His theory of multi-dimensions as well as the theory of mathematical discontinuity also seems to have interested both Boltzmann and Mach.


Bibliography

Works by Petronijević in English: *
Life of Roger Joseph Boscovich
' (preface to ''A Theory of Natural Philosophy'' by
Roger Joseph Boscovich Roger Joseph Boscovich ( hr, Ruđer Josip Bošković; ; it, Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich; la, Rogerius (Iosephus) Boscovicius; sr, Руђер Јосип Бошковић; 18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a physicist, astronomer, ...
),
Open Court Publishing Company The Open Court Publishing Company is a publisher with offices in Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois. It is part of the Carus Publishing Company of Peru, Illinois. History Open Court was founded in 1887 by Edward C. Hegeler of the Matthiessen-Hegel ...
, 1922. Works by Petronijević in German: * ''Der ontologische Beweis für das Dasein des Absoluten. Versuch einer Neubegründung mit besonderer Rücksicht auf das erkenntnistheoretische Grundproblem'' Leipzig : H. Haacke, 1897. (''The Ontological Proof for the Existence of the Absolute. Attempt at a New Foundation with Special Regard to the Basic Problem of Epistemology'') * ''Der Satz vom Grunde. eine logische Untersuchung.'' Belgrade : Staatsdruckerei, 1898. (''The Principle of Reason. A Logical Investigation'') * ''Prinzipien der Erkenntnislehre. Prolegomena zur absoluten Metaphysik.'' Berlin : Ernst Hoffmann & Co, 1900. (''Principles of Epistemology. Prolegomena to Absolute Metaphysics'') * ''Prinzipien der Metaphysik.'' 2 vols. Heidelberg : Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung, 1904–1911. (''Principles of Metaphysics'') * ''Die typischen Geometrien und das Unendliche.'' Heidelberg : C. Winter, 1907. (''The Typical Geometries and the Infinite'') * ''Über den Begriff der zusammengesetzten Farbe.'' Leipzig : Barth, 1908. (''On the Concept of Compound Colors'') * ''Über Herbarts Lehre von intelligiblem Raume.'' Berlin : Leonhard Simion, 1914. (''On Herbart's Theory of Intelligible Spaces'') * ''Über das Becken, den Schultergürtel und einige andere Teile der Londoner Archaeopteryx.'' Genf : George, 1921. (''On the Pelvis, the Shoulder Girdle and Some Other Parts of the London Archeopteryx'') Works by Petronijević in French: * ''L'évolution universelle. Exposé des preuves et des lois de l`évolution mondiale et des évolutions particulières (inorganique, organique, intellectuelle et sociale).'' Paris : F. Alcan, 1921. (''Universal Evolution. Presentation of the Evidence and Laws of Global Evolution and Particular Developments (Inorganic, Organic, Intellectual and Social)'') * ''Sur la valeur de la vie.'' Paris : F. Alcan, 1925. (''On the Value of Life'') * ''Résumé des travaux philosophiques et scientifiques de Branislav Petroniević.'' Academie Royal Serbe, Bulletin de l'Academie des Lettres, No. 2. Belgrade, 1937. Works by Petronijević in Serbian on
Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
,
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...
,
Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
,
Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
, Spencer, and
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
. * ''Спиритизам. Београд, 1900. стр. 74'' * ''Фридрих Ниче. Н. Сад, 1902. стр. 99'' * ''О слободи воље, моралној и кривичној одговорности. Београд, 1906. стр. 178+1'' * ''Едуард Хартман. Живот и филозофија. Београд, 1907. стр. 43'' * ''Филозофија у „Горском Вијенцу“ Н. Сад, 1908. стр. 60'' * ''Основи емпириске психологије. Београд, 1910. стр. 318'' * ''Чланци и студије. Књ. --. Београд, 1913-22.'' * ''Шопенхауер, Ниче и Спенсер. Београд, 1922. стр. 316'' * ''Историја новије филозофије. -- део од Ренесансе до Канта. Београд, 1922. стр. 389'' * ''Основи емпириске психологије. -- изд. Књ. --. Београд, 1923-6. стр. 12+172'' * ''Основи теорије сазнања са 19 сл. у тексту. Београд, 1923. стр. 187'' * ''Хегел и Хартман. Београд, 1924. стр. 151'' * ''Чланци и студије. Нова серија. Београд, 1932. стр. 1932'' * ''Принципи метафизике - I, II, Београд, 1998.''


See also

*
Ljubomir Nedić Ljubomir Nedić ( sr, Љубомир Недић; 25 April 1858 – 29 July 1902) was a Serbian philosopher and literary critic. Having received academic training in philosophy at the University of Leipzig, Nedić taught at the Belgrade Higher Sc ...
*
Ksenija Atanasijević Ksenija Atanasijević (Xenia Atanassievich) (1894–1981) was the first recognised major female Serbian philosopher, and the first female professors of Belgrade University, where she graduated. She wrote about Giordano Bruno, ancient Greek phi ...
*
Milan Kujundžić Aberdar Milan Kujundžić Aberdar ( sr-cyr, Милан Кујунџић Абердар; 1842 - 1893) was a Serbian poet, philosopher and politician. Biography He was born in Belgrade and given the name Janićije but later he changed it to Milan.His pse ...
*
Petar II Petrović Njegoš Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. ...


References

* Šešić, B., "Petronijević, Branislav" in Brochert, D. M. (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Second Edition, vol. 7'' (Thomson Gale, 2006), p. 266-267. * A. Stojković, M. Prvаnović, A. Grubić, ''Život i delo srpskih nаučnikа'', Book 8, ed. Miloje R. Sаrić, Beograd : SANU, 2002, pp. 213–260,


External links

* Full text of the first volume of Petronijević's
Principien der Metaphysik
' (German), on the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petronijevic, Branislav 1875 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Serbian philosophers Idealists Leipzig University alumni Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Metaphysicians Serbian paleontologists People from Ub, Serbia University of Belgrade faculty Serbian philosophers Yugoslav philosophers