Society

Ideály humanitní (The Ideals of Humanity), which Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk originally presented as a lecture in 1901 and published in 1919, outlined his views on the importance of ethical and moral principles of the whole society. ¹ Here, he developed his concept of “humanita,” usually translated as humanity, which he had already introduced in Česká otázka, published first in 1895 and described as the universal aspirations, or embrace, of a nation’s ideal. ² This ideal was linked to the belief in moral and social justice, and progress. ³ It was based on several sources: the writings of the mediaeval Church reformer Jan Hus (c1369–1415), the seventeenth century Protestant philosopher and pedagogue, Jan Amos Komenský (1592–1670), the national revival writers Josef Dobrovský (1753–1829) and the Slovak writer and proponent of Pan-Slavism Ján Kollár (1793–1852). The German concept of Humanität, an attitude to life permeated by the spirit of humanism, also informed Masaryk’s view of “humanita.” ⁴