The author’s reflections, which include an autobiographical note, focus on local research communities, that is, communities where the living scholarly discourse usually unfolds within one paradigm and the teachings of a Master which fill this paradigm. The starting point is the observation, referring mostly to the broadly understood humanities, that the discourse within a community which centres on a Master is sometimes imbued with the critical, sometimes even opposing narrations of anti-masters. In the primary relationship, the anti-masters and the Master confront each other as living people, as researchers who sometimes engage in an open debate and sometimes raise a dividing wall of critical silence. Taking into consideration the scale and the contents of these confrontations, the author distinguishes four categories of anti-masters. He also points out that the role of anti-masters in local research communities is often beneficial, especially from the long-term perspective. Their narratives may inspire and expand the community’s scholarly horizons, including, as does occasionally happen, the views of wise Masters and their faithful disciples.
The Anti-Masters