Abstract

The present paper aims at the analysis and interpretation of the concept of national philosophy. Many opinions have been formulated against the possibility of any national philosophy. A primary theoretical argument is formulated explicitly against the possibility of national philosophy concluding that the concept of national philosophy is paradoxal in itself. A second argument is focused upon the problem of national language admitting that it is the main criterion of the national character. Another type of argument is explicitly formulated against Hungarian philosophy. Its supporters – n.b.: being exclusively Hungarian philosophers – say that the problem of national philosophy, namely that of Hungarian thinking must be analyzed in the general context of philosophy and they sustain that such an investigation is surely leading to the conclusion that Hungarian philosophical works are incomensurabble with those of philosophy in general. The last important argument presented in this paper is connected to the above idea, specifically that of Hungarian philosophical epigonism. However accepting that the national character of a certain philosophy cannot be convincingly supported, we are convinced that a distinction between the existence of national philosophy and its national cultural significance is absolutely necessary. Consequently we must state that the term of national philosophy and its contents need a different way of approach