Leonidas Donskis (13 August 1962 – 21 September 2016) was a
Lithuanian-Jewish
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...
philosopher, political theorist, historian of ideas, social analyst, and political commentator, professor of politics and head of "VDU Academia Cum Laude" at
Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.
Initially it was known ...
, Honorary Consul of Finland in Kaunas and deputy chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
He was also the member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
(MEP) from 2009 to 2014.
As a public figure in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, he acted as a defender of human rights and civil liberties. In 2004, Donskis has been awarded by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
the title of the Ambassador for Tolerance and Diversity in Lithuania. A center-right politician, he has always been opposed to all extreme or exclusionary attitudes and forms of violent politics, and, instead, has been leaning to
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
with its advocacy of individual reason and conscience, ability to coexist with democratic programs of other non-exclusive ideologies, and moderation.
He died on 21 September 2016, in
Vilnius Airport
Vilnius Airport ( lt, Vilniaus oro uostas) is the international airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located south of the city. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffic. With one runway ...
of an apparent
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
.
Early life
Leonidas Donskis was born in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...
in
Lithuanian Jewish
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas o ...
family. He graduated from Lithuanian State Conservatoire (now
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater), majoring in philology and theater, and then pursued his graduate studies in philosophy at the
University of Vilnius
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
, Lithuania. Having received his first doctorate in philosophy from the
University of Vilnius
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
, he later earned his second doctorate in social and moral philosophy from the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
His main scholarly interests lie in
philosophy of history
Philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline. The term was coined by French philosopher Voltaire.
In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between ''speculative'' philosophy of history and ''crit ...
,
philosophy of culture
Philosophy of culture is a branch of philosophy that examines the essence and meaning of culture.
Early modern discourses
German Romanticism
The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) has formulated an individualist definition of "enl ...
,
philosophy of literature
Philosophy and literature involves the literary treatment of philosophers and philosophical themes (the literature of philosophy), and the philosophical treatment of issues raised by literature (the philosophy of literature).
The philosophy ...
,
philosophy of the social sciences, civilization theory,
political theory
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
, history of ideas, and studies in Central and East European thought.
Credentials
*Doctorate (1999) in Social and Moral Philosophy (D.Soc.Sc.), University of Helsinki, Finland. The dissertation title: ''The End of Ideology and Utopia? Moral Imagination and Cultural Criticism in the Twentieth Century.''
*Doctorate (1990) in Humanities/L.H.D. (Philosophy), Vilnius University, Lithuania. The dissertation title: ''Culture in Crisis and the Philosophy of Culture: Oswald Spengler, Arnold J. Toynbee, Lewis Mumford.''
*M.A. (1987) in Philosophy, Vilnius University, Lithuania (a certificate of graduate studies in philosophy, which was an equivalent of M.A.).
*B.A. (1985) (Diploma in Philology and Theater), Lithuanian State Conservatoire (now Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater).
Professional experience
A wandering scholar, he has researched and lectured in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. He has been involved in various public philosophical and political debates
at the
Institute of Art and Ideas
The Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI) is a British philosophy organisation founded in 2008.
Overview
Cambridge University described it as "engaged in changing the current cultural landscape through the pursuit and promotion of big ideas, boundary-p ...
. Donskis has been an IREX-International Research and Exchanges Board Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar, and a visiting professor of philosophy at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, US; a Swedish Institute Guest Researcher at the University of Gothenburg and a guest professor of East European studies at the University of Uppsala, Sweden; a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Bradford, Great Britain; Paschal P. Vacca Chair (distinguished visiting professor) of Liberal Arts at the
University of Montevallo
The University of Montevallo is a public university in Montevallo, Alabama. Founded on October 12, 1896, the university is Alabama's only public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. The University of ...
in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, US; and a fellow at the Collegium Budapest/Institute for Advanced Study, Hungary.
Until 7 June 2009, Leonidas Donskis acted as professor of political science at
Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.
Initially it was known ...
in Kaunas, Lithuania. From 2005 to 2009, he served as professor and dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy at
Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.
Initially it was known ...
. In addition, he acted as docent of social and moral philosophy at the University of Helsinki, and as extraordinary visiting professor of cultural theory at Tallinn University, Estonia. From September 2014 Leonidas Donskis acted as vice-president for research at
ISM University of Management and Economics
ISM University of Management and Economics is an institution of undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education in business, management and economics. The university serves as a centre of market analysis, executive training and academi ...
. He was also a member of the editorial board of the magazine ''
New Eastern Europe
''New Eastern Europe'' is a bimonthly political news magazine based in Krakow, Poland. The magazine covers articles about the news and affairs related to central and eastern Europe.
History and profile
''New Eastern Europe'', headquartered in K ...
''.
Political activity
Leonidas Donskis was invited to campaign for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
by the Lithuanian Liberal Movement Party in 2009. He was the number one candidate on the list of the Party.
At the European Parliament (term 2009–2014) Leonidas Donskis worked as a part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE), which is the third largest political group in the Parliament. He was a member of the Development Committee and member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and also a substitute member at the committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
Leonidas Donskis was the full member of the EU and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee delegation, as well as, the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the EURONEST. He was also a substitute member of the EU relations with Israel, Moldova and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly delegations.
Bibliography
Donskis has been published widely in international refereed journals, and is the author or editor of more than fifty books, some of them in English, including:
*Liquid Evil (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2016) (with
Zygmunt Bauman
Zygmunt Bauman (; 19 November 1925 – 9 January 2017) was a Polish sociologist and philosopher. He was driven out of the Polish People's Republic during the 1968 Polish political crisis and forced to give up his Polish citizenship. He emigrate ...
),
*Moral Blindness: the Loss of Sensitivity in Liquid Modernity (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013) (with Zygmunt Bauman),
*Modernity in Crisis: A Dialogue on the Culture of Belonging (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011),
*Troubled Identity and the Modern World (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),
*Power and Imagination: Studies in Politics and Literature (New York: Peter Lang, 2008),
*Loyalty, Dissent, and Betrayal: Modern Lithuania and East-Central European Moral Imagination (Amsterdam & New York: Rodopi, 2005),
*Forms of Hatred: The Troubled Imagination in Modern Philosophy and Literature (Amsterdam & New York: Rodopi, 2003; VIBS-Value Inquiry Book Series Nomination for the 2003 Best Book in Social Philosophy in North America; VIBS 2003 Best Book Award),
*Identity and Freedom: Mapping Nationalism and Social Criticism in Twentieth-Century Lithuania (London & New York: Routledge, 2002),
*The End of Ideology and Utopia? Moral Imagination and Cultural Criticism in the Twentieth Century (New York: Peter Lang, 2000).
Donskis’s works originally written in Lithuanian and English have been translated into Danish, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. He edited book series for Editions
Rodopi, B. V. (Amsterdam and New York), one in Baltic studies (
On the Boundary of Two Worlds: Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination in the Baltics), and another – VIBS-
Value Inquiry Book Series. From 2005 to 2009, he served as a Member of the Standing Committee for the Humanities (SCH) in the European Science Foundation (ESF).
References
External links
An official Leonidas Donskis websiteAbout L. Donskis in the European ParliamentComplete bibliography of L. DonskisArticles by L. Donskis in DefendingHistory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donskis, Leonidas
1962 births
2016 deaths
20th-century Lithuanian philosophers
21st-century philosophers
Liberal Movement (Lithuania) MEPs
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni
Lithuanian people of Jewish descent
MEPs for Lithuania 2009–2014
Moral philosophers
People from Klaipėda
Social philosophers
Vilnius University alumni
Vytautas Magnus University faculty
Honorary consuls to Lithuania
21st-century diplomats
Finnish diplomats