Požiūris į sielą XX a. pirmos pusės lietuvių religinėje mintyje

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Siela; Kultūra; 20 amžius; Tarpukaris; Krikščionybė; Religiniai tekstai; 20th century; Soul; Culture; Inter-war; Christianity; Religious texts.

ENThe article aims to investigate the understanding of the phenomenon of the soul in Lithuanian religious thought of the first half of the twentieth century, the meaning of this concept, the factors bringing closer the chosen research sources, and their uniqueness. In the context of Lithuanian research on the problem of the soul that pays considerable attention to the ancient approach or the concept of the soul according to the old Baltic faith, the Christian tradition is not very common, especially the reception by Lithuanian authors. Both the early tradition and the modern approach to the problem are relevant to this research. The article follows the principles of the history of religion, partly the phenomenology of religion, and literary theology. The main sources of the article are Benediktas Andruška’s books "Žmogaus siela, jos esimas, dvasiškumas ir nemirybė" (The Human Soul, Its Presence, Spirituality, and Immortality, 1924) and "Gyvybės šaltinis: Eucharistijos kilmė ir jos reikšmė" (The Source of Life: The Origin of the Eucharist and Its Significance, 1939), Kazimieras Matulaitis’s book "Sielos takai tobulybėn" (The Paths of the Soul to Perfection, 1931), Juozas Pankauskas’s article ‘Sielos problema naujojoj psichologijoj’ (The Problem of the Soul in the New Psychology, 1936), and Juozas Lomanas’s book "Sielos problema" (The Problem of the Soul, 1937).Other sources include the books by Šatrijos Ragana "Rimties valandėlė" (An Hour of Peace, 1928) and "Motina-auklėtoja" (Mother as a Tutor, 1926), Aleksandras Dambrauskas’s brochure "Žmogaus siela. Ar ji yr dvasia ir ar ji nemirs?" (The Human Soul: Is It a Spirit and Will It Not Die?, 1928), Juozas Gobis’s brochure "Dechristianizuoto žmogaus siela dailiosios literatūros šviesoje" (The Soul of the Dechristianised Man in the Light of Fiction, 1927), Pranciškus Bučys’s short story ‘Pasikalbėjimas apie sielą’ (A Conversation about the Soul, 1930), and Pranciškus Vasiliauskas’s book "Mano sielos atgarsiai" (Echoes of My Soul, 1943). Without attempting to summarise all possible aspects of the concept of the soul, three directions are identified that show both the religious and cultural significance of the above-mentioned books. The discussed authors are united by such categories as consciousness, memory, cognition, will, and others, which are perceived from the soul mentality point of view; the interaction of the psychological and the metaphysical element, the body expressing the mental unity of the soul, the world of things from the point of view of the soul. The religious metaphysical basis of the soul is embodied in the metaphysical ignorance of the soul, the contemplation of God as Creator, the experience of God’s love, the reflection of sin and prayer in the concept of the soul, and the treatment of the mortality and immortality of the soul. Culture shows up as a form of the soul, and vice versa: this interaction can be seen from various cultural paraphrases in the reflection of the soul, the relationship between the soul and language, the question of the soul of genius, and the search for a poetic form to express the concept of the soul.Not only the dogmatic approach is significant in terms of the time that connects the author, but also the author’s courage to introduce different and contradictory approaches to the soul in the search for a polylogue of theology, psychology, and culture. The religious thought of Andruška and Matulaitis is distinguished by its openness to the problems of bodily (sensory) experience and the material world. The idea of Lomanas and Pankauskas is especially significant because of the variety of theoretical supports. In the ideas of Šatrijos Ragana and Vasiliauskas, emphasis is placed on the significance of day-to-day life in the concept of the soul, which is so relevant to Lithuanian literature. In studies about the soul by one religious thinker or another, much space is given to the aesthetic perspective, which draws attention to the relevance of the problem of the soul in the Lithuanian poetry of the first half of the twentieth century and invites rethinking of the relevance of the Christian tradition in the concept of the soul of Šatrijos Ragana, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, Bernardas Brazdžionis, Vytautas Mačernis, and other authors. [From the publication]

• Filosofija / Philosophy
• Literatūrologija / Literary Studies