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History of philosophy in Poland

The history of philosophy in Poland parallels the evolution of philosophy in Europe in general.

Overview[edit]

Polish philosophy drew upon the broader currents of European philosophy, and in turn contributed to their growth. Some of the most momentous Polish contributions came, in the thirteenth century, from the Scholastic philosopher and scientist Vitello, and, in the sixteenth century, from the Renaissance polymath Nicolaus Copernicus.[1]


Subsequently, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth partook in the intellectual ferment of the Enlightenment, which for the multi-ethnic Commonwealth ended not long after the 1772-1795 partitions and political annihilation that would last for the next 123 years, until the collapse of the three partitioning empires in World War I.


The period of Messianism, between the November 1830 and January 1863 Uprisings, reflected European Romantic and Idealist trends, as well as a Polish yearning for political resurrection. It was a period of maximalist metaphysical systems.


The collapse of the January 1863 Uprising prompted an agonizing reappraisal of Poland's situation. Poles gave up their earlier practice of "measuring their resources by their aspirations" and buckled down to hard work and study. "[A] Positivist", wrote the novelist Bolesław Prus' friend, Julian Ochorowicz, was "anyone who bases assertions on verifiable evidence; who does not express himself categorically about doubtful things, and does not speak at all about those that are inaccessible."[2]


The twentieth century brought a new quickening to Polish philosophy. There was growing interest in western philosophical currents. Rigorously-trained Polish philosophers made substantial contributions to specialized fields—to psychology, the history of philosophy, the theory of knowledge, and especially mathematical logic.[3] Jan Łukasiewicz gained world fame with his concept of many-valued logic and his "Polish notation."[4] Alfred Tarski's work in truth theory won him world renown.[5]


After World War II, for over four decades, world-class Polish philosophers and historians of philosophy such as Władysław Tatarkiewicz continued their work, often in the face of adversities occasioned by the dominance of a politically enforced official philosophy. The phenomenologist Roman Ingarden did influential work in esthetics and in a Husserl-style metaphysics; his student Karol Wojtyła acquired a unique influence on the world stage as Pope John Paul II.

History of philosophy

Polish philosophers

List of Poles

Andrzej Wiszowaty

Historia filozofii (History of Philosophy), 3 vols., Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1978.

Władysław Tatarkiewicz

Zarys dziejów filozofii w Polsce (A Brief History of Philosophy in Poland), [in the series:] Historia nauki polskiej w monografiach (History of Polish Learning in Monographs), [volume] XXXII, Kraków, Polska Akademia Umiejętności (Polish Academy of Learning), 1948. This monograph draws from pertinent sections in earlier editions of the author's Historia filozofii (History of Philosophy).

Władysław Tatarkiewicz

"Outline of the History of Philosophy in Poland," translated from the Polish by Christopher Kasparek, The Polish Review, vol. XVIII, no. 3, 1973, pp. 73–85.

Władysław Tatarkiewicz

The Age of Faith: A History of Medieval Civilization – Christian, Islamic, and Judaic – from Constantine to Dante: A.D. 325–1300, [in the series:] The Story of Civilization, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1950.

Will Durant

Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, New York, Mentor Books, 1951.

The Constitutions of Poland and of the United States: Kinships and Genealogy, Miami, American Institute of Polish Culture, 1980.

Joseph Kasparek

Edward Pieścikowski, , 2nd edition, Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1985.

Bolesław Prus

A Half Century of Polish Mathematics: Remembrances and Reflections, Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1973, ISBN 0-08-023046-6.

Kazimierz Kuratowski

Positivist Philosophy from Hume to the Vienna Circle, Penguin Books, 1972.

Leszek Kołakowski

Francesco Coniglione, Nel segno della scienza. La filosofia polacca del Novecento, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 1996.

(PWN Universal Encyclopedia), 4 vols., Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1976.

Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN

, Kraków, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996.

Encyklopedia Polski

.

Polski słownik biograficzny

, 5/2005/600, pp. 23–102.

ZNAK

10 Polish Philosophers that Changed the Way We Think

Dr. Skowroński, Contemporary Polish Philosophy (for foreign students)

Polish Philosophy Page