Kategoria narodu w myśli Stanisława Staszica – zarys problematyki

Nation can be defined as political-law or ethnical-lingual community. Stanisław Staszic was one of the most important Polish political philosophers of XVIII/XIX centuries. He addressed the problem of definition of nation. First, he thought that nation is a community of owners. That was similar to political-law conception. After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he thought that two elements constitute nationality: original and acquired. Law and authority are acquired, so nation can exist without own state. After 1815, Staszic created a new definition of nation. Poles must participate in politics and same protect own language and culture. Staszic held that Poles are part of Slavic Tribe. He thought that tribes are the reall subjects of history and attachment to tribe is more important than attachment to nation. Poles must unite with other Slavs, especially with Russians. Finally Staszic created the Pan-Slavic idea.