Jedinec v spoločnosti. Úvaha o biografickom prístupe na príklade M. R. Štefánika

The author deals with the methodology of biographical genre what is an absolutely ignored theme in Slovakia. He tries to answer the question in what way is the performance of an individual socially conditioned. His article is based on an analysis of the book of Lucien Febvre Le problème de l´incroyance au 16e siècle, La religion de Rabelais; the Pierre Bourdieu's article L´illusion Biographique; the book Saint Louis by Jacques le Goff; as well as methodology of approach of Jean Lacouture's. Then author analyses a specific case – how the home environment influenced development of political views of M. R. Štefánik which can be considered rather conservative. Štefánik's attitude to democracy was to a big extent determined by his home environment what means that it did not depend on his autonomous decision only. In the end of his article, the author points out to the ambiguous attitude of Štefánik's collaborators from the Czecho–Slovak resistance as for his cult. On the one hand they strongly supported it but on the other they conducted a whispering campaign against him and as a matter of fact, in favour of themselves.