A program dedicated Slobodan Tomović (1929-2016), university professor, doctor of philosophical sciences and writer, was held last night on the square below the Citadel in Budva's Old Town as part of the ninth "Cyrillic" Festival.
The following spoke about Tomović's character and work: the Festival's program editor, Radomir Uljarević, philosopher, prof. dr Stevo Nikić and philosopher, writer, political analyst, academic, prof. dr. Shefket KrcicIn his presentation, Uljarević emphasized that Tomović is a unique figure in the history of Montenegro and one of the greatest thinkers of his era. Tomović, as he said, is considered one of the most intellectual Montenegrins after Njegoš.
"By professional affiliation, Slobodan Tomović is a philosopher who worked on original hypotheses, exploring global philosophical themes. His collected works - philosophical, ethical, political, historical, theological and other treatises, include more than 60 works and more than 45 published books, including his dramatic opus. And we are currently working on publishing the collected works and I believe that by the end of this year, these books will appear in ten volumes - some volumes will probably contain two or three books. I had the honor of collaborating with Professor Tomović for more than five decades and during that time I published a whole series of his books. I should mention that some of these books once caused very stormy reactions and controversies in the public in Montenegro and beyond. Namely, within the publishing house "Oktoih", which immediately after its establishment took over the publication of the works of the metropolitan Amphilochia", we published his first book "Returning the Soul to Purity", and by coincidence, his last "Twilights of the Unspeakable". Likewise, during those 40-50 years, we published books by Slobodan Tomović - from his first titles to his last book "6500 Value Judgments" and the posthumously published book "Civil War in Montenegro", which he bequeathed to be published five years after his death", Uljarević pointed out.
Professor Stevo Nikić emphasized that Slobodan Tomović was a true Renaissance man whose intellectual achievements enriched our cultural reality.
"My memory of Professor Tomović, through a brief analysis of a work called "The Hero of the Absurd", and the interest in such a topic arises for two reasons. First, that the author's Renaissance erudition is shown here and, secondly, I received this book with a dedication from the distant 1986. In contemporary world literature, as well as philosophy, the concept of the absurd coincides with the concept of the psychological novel in Dostoevsky, Kafka and Camus; in dramatic creativity, this is the case with Beckett and Ionesco; in philosophy, the absurd is a completely specific concept in Kierkegaard, Shestov, especially Camus. The "Hero of the Absurd" directly encounters the idea of death and finality, that is, he becomes aware of the futility of everything. But this is not a reason for him to give up action, nor does he surrender to resignation and act, in Camus's sense, in a way that he should have his destiny without waiting for death. Realizing that there is no victory, he accepts defeat and begins to experience it as a kind of triumph. He is completely revolted, but he tries to get used to the reasonless existence as a possibility of self-realization. His victory in defeat is expressed through the cynical triumph of the spirit that superiorly mocks its fall," said Nikić, who also referred to how Professor Tomović analyzed the absurd in the works Franz Kafka, Ivo Andrić, Mešo Selimović...
Academician Šefket Krcić reflected on his long-standing friendship and cooperation with Professor Tomović, as a cosmopolitan, a philosopher who also had a family tradition, but, as he said, also a philosophy teacher.
"Considering that he was the son of a writer who was persecuted at that time, he had to change environments. Even as a student, I used to come to Nikšić to listen to Tomović's professor." Đuro Krivokapić, the Nikšić Socrates. There are roots, because Đuro Krivokapić was a student of the greatest philosopher who walked the Balkans, after Socrates and Plato, and that is Brana Petronijevic – a man whose life was filled with philosophy, just like Tomović's. Since I have published several works on Tomović, as well as interviews, I have never come to a meeting with him without bringing 10 to 100 questions in writing, and that is how he published one of his epochal works "6500 Value Judgments". Tomović is a man who was filled with philosophical thoughts every day and I believe that he is the last thinker in the world with a philosophical system, who knew exactly, prophetically, when he would finish his system. I found him at the Clinical Center, I think it was in 2015. We entered his room, I found him in a helpless state and I tried to help him with a prayer, to pray to God that we could talk, which I succeeded. So we spent some more moments on joint reflections on time, space, about man... because as you know, in addition to ontological issues, he also dealt with ethical issues", said Krcić.
At the program dedicated to Slobodan Tomović, participants pointed out several aspects of his rich creative work, which includes 60 books of a scientific-philosophical and literary-aesthetic nature and over 1000 texts in numerous publications, with reviews of his pedagogical and scientific work in Peć, Smederevska Palanka, Berane and Podgorica. Particular attention was paid to the value of Tomović's works on Njegoš, which brought new interpretations, and to the aristocratism and personal independence that he maintained until the end in his work and public activities. The program moderator was Stanka Rađenović Stanojević from the National Library "Miroslav Luketić" Budva. The "Cyrillic" Festival until September 17 is organized by the Budva National Library and the Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Montenegro. The event was supported by the Municipality of Budva and the Tourist Organization of the Municipality of Budva.
Bonus video:
