Vanja Sutlić (18 February 1925 – 15 December 1989) was a Yugoslavian philosopher. He was regarded as the father of the

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language. In April ...

ian philosophy in Yugoslavia and its successor states, especially in Croatia and Slovenia. He was born in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, Yugoslavia. He graduated from philosophy at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

, where he also obtained his PhD. In, he was hired as an assistant professor at the University, but in 1952 he was removed by the Yugoslav Communist authorities and forcibly transferred to

Nova Gradiška Nova Gradiška is a town located in the Brod-Posavina County of Croatia, population 14,229 (2011). It is located in the historic region of Slavonia, near the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first word in the name means ''New'', and there' ...

. Already in 1953, he could return to Zagreb, continuing his teaching position. Between 1956 and 1964, he taught at the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

. Between 1964 until his death, he worked as a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Zagreb. He died in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

in 1989. Sutlić's main philosophical preoccupation was the thought of the German philosopher

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

. Through Hedeggerian

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...

, Sutlić engaged in reflections on the modern epoch, which he frequently referred to as "the world of Work". In dialogue with the philosophies of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

, he reflected on the meaning of modern

nihilism Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that Existential nihilism, life is meaningless, that Moral nihilism, moral values are baseless, and ...

, and the possibilities of its overcoming.Vanja Sutlić, ''Delo in moč'' (Koper: Hyperion, 2009), 41. Sutlić's thought influenced several Yugoslav philosophers, including the

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

Ivo Urbančič,

Veljko Rus Veljko Rus (8 December 1929 – 26 February 2018) was a Slovenian sociologist, writer and academic. He was born in Višnja Gora near Ljubljana, Slovenia (then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) to a prominent upper-middle-class family. His fath ...

and

Tine Hribar Tine Hribar (born 28 January 1941 as Velentin Hribar) is a Slovenian philosopher and public intellectual, notable for his interpretations of Heidegger and his role in the democratization of Slovenia between 1988 and 1990, known as the Slovenian S ...

, and the

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

Mihailo Đurić Mihailo Đurić ( Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило Ђурић; 22 August 1925 – 25 November 2011) was one of Serbia's most prominent philosophers. He was a professor at the University of Belgrade's Law School and member of the Serbian Academ ...

. His son, also called

Vanja Sutlić Vanja Sutlić (18 February 1925 – 15 December 1989) was a Yugoslavian philosopher. He was regarded as the father of the Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phen ...

, is a film director and former chairman of the

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...

Major works

*''Bit i suvremenost'' (Being and Modernity, 1967) *''Praksa rada kao znanstvena povijest'' (The Praxis of Work as History of Science, 1974) *''Kao čitati Heideggera'' (How to Read Heidegger, 1988) *''Uvod u povijesno mišljenje'' (Introduction into Historical Thought, published posthumously in 1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutlic, Vanja 20th-century Croatian philosophers Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni Academic staff of the University of Zagreb Academic staff of the University of Sarajevo People from Karlovac Phenomenologists 1925 births 1989 deaths Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Heidegger scholars