Ben Mijuskovic

Thanks to Olivia Sagan for “Organized Loneliness and Its Discontents”

We would like to appreciate Olivia Sagan for incorporating three works by Dr. Ben Mijuskovic in her article “Organized Loneliness and Its Discontents” recently published in the first edition of Diversity & Inclusion Research. In this thematic survey of loneliness research, Sagan recognizes a central argument of Mijuskovic in the context of philosophical giants Aristotle, Merleau-Ponty, and Heidegger.

Justice cannot begin to be done to this canon here, but readers are pointed to Ben Lazare Mijuskovic, . . . whose assertion that we are all, a priori, ‘necessarily, universally, and innately lonely’ (Mijuskovic, 2005, p. 23) is explored in detail through a psychological, philosophical and literary lens.

https://doi.org/10.1002/dvr2.12008

Praise for Theories of Consciousness

Check out the latest edition of Philosophy in Review volume 44 including praise for Theories of Consciousness and the Problem of Evil in the History of Ideas.

Mijuskovic’s recent publication is “his finest work to date for its humanity, compassion, and purpose.”

Ben Lazare Mijuskovic. Theories of Consciousness and the Problem of Evil in the History of Ideas. Palgrave Macmillan 2023. 211 pp. $119.99 USD (Hardcover 9783031264047); $39.99 USD (Paperback 9783031264078).

Ben Mijuskovic expands his life work in the eighth major publication of an interdisciplinary series examining layers and relationships of consciousness and loneliness within philosophical, psychological, and literary contexts. This latest installment includes refreshingly personal dimensions of his family history in Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Yugoslavia from turn of the twentieth century, throughout World War I, and in the aftermath of World War II. Mijuskovic’s grandfather and father negotiated complex political relationships with notable figures like Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, King Peter II of Serbia, and President Tito of Yugoslavia. When addressing his philosophy of evil and psychology of narcissism, Mijuskovic’s calculated autobiography offers a unique study in human depravity and suffering with both oppressed and oppressor in view. The current conflict in Ukraine and the Balkans with Russia stems from the unresolved dynamics and power struggle Mijuskovic’s mother and father survived upon arriving to the United States in the late 1940s. Theories of Consciousness ventures into unfamiliar territory for the author in this exploration of his family history from an ethical stance. His career and numerous publications in philosophy of mind and psychology ground this work in most Existential and personal ways. In sum, this work constitutes his own theory of consciousness and struggle with the problem of evil. As a student and avid reader of Mijuskovic, Theories of Consciousness and the Problem of Evil in the History of Ideas is his finest work to date for its humanity, compassion, and purpose.

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Palgrave Macmillan Release April 2023

Dr. Mijuskovic has recently released another installment published by Palgrave Macmillan titled Theories of Conscious and the Problem of Evil in the History of Ideas. In this book, Ben Lazare Mijuskovic uses both an interdisciplinary and History of Ideas approach to discuss four forms of intertwined theories of human consciousness and reflexive self-consciousness (Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant, and Hegel; Schopenhauer’s subconscious irrational Will; Brentano and Husserl’s transcendent intentionality; and Freud’s dynamic ego). Mijuskovic explores these theories within the context of psychological issues, where the discussion is undergirded by the conflict between loneliness and intimacy. He also explores them in the context of ethics, where the dynamic is between the values of good and evil. The book historically traces these issues in both a personal as well as a political framework.

Palgrave MacMillan Release January 2023

Dr. Ben Lazare Mijuskovic has another installment in The Philosophical Roots of Loneliness and Intimacy to open the New Year.

In this book, Mijuskovic combines Kant’s theory of reflexive self-consciousness with Husserl’s transcendent principle of intentionality to describe the distinctive philosophical, psychological, and sociological roots of loneliness and intimacy. He argues that loneliness is innate, unavoidable, and constituted by the structure of self-consciousness itself.

Check it out on Palgrave Macmillan’s official site for details.

Dr. Mijuskovic presents at the 2nd International Pandisciplinary Symposium on Solitude in Community

Dr. Benjamin Mijuskovic had the privilege of attending and presenting this international gathering of scholars focused on solitude. We hope you enjoy this talk from September 2020 which ties together the work from his two recent books focused on the history of philosophy and psychology of Loneliness published by Brill and Praeger.