Abstract

The paper shows the origins of the transformation of history into biohistory as well as politics into biopolitics in the writings of Miłosz. It takes into account his view of history when he was a child and his social experiences when he was at school. It proves that the fact that Miłosz comprehends the world within the categories of biopolitics results from projecting Darwinism on the historical past, and then projecting on the present World War II and the future of modern world. Among the reasons for this association there are Miosz's interests in natural science (Darwinism, genetics) and astrophysics. The loss of the Linnaeus' view of nature was pictured as a tragedy of the banishment from Eden of childhood into the area of binary law: natura devorans et natura devorata. Transferring them into the world of history and culture has been explained by the influence of Arthur Schopenhauerís philosophy. The discovery of biohistory and biopolitics was indicated as a foundation for radical opposition of the Poet against the degradation of human dignity and the subjectivity. The basic form of expressing the defiance - shown in this paper - is the animalization of the world pictured by the Nobel Prize winner in his poetry and prose. The poetics of Miłosz is discussed as biopoetics. In the view of the pictured struggles homo biopoliticus is degraded to insects such as wasps, cicadas, and ants. The atrocities of extermination in the poetry of Miłosz are discussed as the incarnation of the murderous spirit of earth into the spirit of history. The paper shows the 19th century roots of European biopolitics in the analyses of Miłosz. It depicts the works of European literature and philosophy as evidence for the awareness of internalized Darwinism. The naturalistic monism approved by masses is treated as a foundation for the totalitarianism of the race. It indicates two sides of this process: the naturalization of human awareness, a man has accepted his animal origin in the evolution chain as well as the affirmation of Darwinís laws of the world of nature and their transfer into the human history. Those factors caused the manís move away from religion, and, at the same time, a thirst for a new belief which was quenched by the ideologies of struggling for existence - the doctrines of racial or class superiority which legitimize totalitarian states, enable them to conquer new territories, and turn them into institutions ensuring space for living. It has been emphasized that Miłosz was convinced that the European totalitarianisms - including the cult of tyrants - have been born in modern minds and have resulted from the spread of the monistic counterculture. The paper presents the process of discovering by Miłosz the impact of Darwinism, in practice not only of communism but also of legitimized Marxism. The poet notices the impact in the argumentation against religion which was considered to be the opium of the masses. He sees it in the doctrine of class struggle which turns the Darwinís struggle for existence into genocide. He exposes communism as a totalitarianism which has used the Promethean phraseology in order to conceal the urging motivation of ideologists in the battle for taking over power and ruling over the enslaved Promethean propaganda and terrorizing the masses of subjects. The author of the paper displays the opposition of Miłosz against the Romantic providentialism. He demonstrates that the poetís view on history as biohistory and politics as biopolitics is the consequence of the synthesis of Darwinism and his war experiences. Over the years of World War II as a result of the synthesis of historical horror with Darwinism and Hegelianism the terms of biohistory and biopolitics were deepened in biohistoriosophy. The author proves that within the analyses of the 20th century totalitarianisms there is biopolitics regarded in such a way. The discussions of its applications take into consideration the poems, essays and letters of the Nobel Prize winner.

Author (1)