„Dacă acest gânditor și-ar fi putut forma o cultură filosofică sistematică...”
„If this thinker could have acquired a systematic philosophical education...”

The self-taught philosopher Vasile Conta interpreted by Professor Nicolae Bagdasar

Summary/Abstract: This essay analyses aspects of Professor Nicolae Bagdasar’s perspective and interpretation of Vasile Conta’s personality and philosophical work. Our point of view is based on the fact that, despite the common practice, the interpreter goes beyond the intellectual framework of the actual presentation by entering the affective-emotional sphere, and presenting, towards the end of his essay, a counterfactual hypothesis of the kind “What if…?” It is this very process that makes the debate very interesting, because it gives us the opportunity to recall the paramount sequences of Conta’s intellectual biography, in opposing contrast with that of the illustrious philosopher J. G. Fichte. Based on the results of this excursus we subsequently propose considerations about the relationship between will, vocation and cultural values in V. Conta’s philosophical work. Therefore, we conclude that although Conta was criticized by Bagdasar for his materialistic views, which were limiting his approach to the philosophical truth, he remains, first and foremost, a cultural role model (praised by the same author) by taking full responsibility for his vocation during a short but very productive life.

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