Praxis School and the Lifelong Critical Philosophical Attitude of Milan Kangrga

Milan Kangrga was one of the foremost members of the Yugoslavian Praxis School, a school of philosophy active in the 1960s and 1970s. Members of the school founded the journal “Praxis” (1964–1974) and declared their goal in the first editorial: “The primary task of Yugoslavian Marxists is to critically discuss Yugoslavian socialism.” It fuelled their theoretical work, their monumental translating achievements, and their commitment to strengthening the philosophical culture of the region in decades to come. Kangrga’s book Ethical Problem in the Works of Karl Marx, published in 1963, became an outline of the school’s programme for an alternative reading of Marx. He related Marx to the philosophical tradition of German idealism, mainly Hegel’s philosophy. Twenty years later, Kangrga published Ethics or Revolution, further arguing in favour of the fundamental significance of German idealist thinkers for understanding Marx (being the first one who brought Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s practical philosophy to the Yugoslavian public). Kangrga maintained a lifelong critical philosophical attitude and his example is a part of the Praxis School’s living legacy at the University of Novi Sad to this day.