I am a professor of philosophy at the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow. My research interests lie primarily in the fields of political, social, and existential philosophy, as well as in the areas of ethics and culture, with special emphases on such issues as:•In the area of political and social philosophy: social and political bonds of the State, civil society, common good, societal subjectivity, Ethics of public life, citizenship
"Communality. In search of the binder for political community" is a study in the field of politic... more "Communality. In search of the binder for political community" is a study in the field of political philosophy. Its main idea is to analyze, interpret and systematize certain concepts which are present both in European philosophical thought and in cultural and political projects in Europe, and which bind together national and international communities.
The study is carried out according to the criteria set by the author. For the sake of the study, a number of Polish and foreign philosophical texts have been selected, the importance of which enables us to capture both complexity and ambiguity of the problem. The foreign reflections on community are selected from the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Alexis de Tocqueville, Soren Kierkegaard and Jürgen Habermas. The Polish philosophical thought on the issue is represented by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Piotr Skarga, Hugo Kołłątaj, Maurycy Mochnacki, Karol Libelt, Felix Koneczny, Leszek Kołakowski, Adam Chmielewski and Andrzej Szahaj. The political and cultural projects and visions of the European unification which are analyzed in the study, were developed by Robert Schuman, Jacques Chirac, Angela Merkel, the Wise Men Group, and by the following popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
By adopting the two sided approach to the issue of the binder: the foreign one (which takes into account the things which are or could be common to everybody within their national and international communities and which are also present in various streams of European philosophical thought) and the Polish one (which concentrates mainly on the question of national unity) the author tries to tackle the problem from two different angles. Their common denominator lies in the issue of community bonds. What makes them different, however, is that the European approach can be seen in terms of the diversity of concepts which have originated in different environments and for the sake of various communities. On the other hand, the Polish approach, despite its diversity, can be characterized as more homogenous. And even though it was quite common for the native concepts to draw extensively on European proposals, their final shape was given within the same community which was quite conscious of its own identity. What is more, that binding force has been tested anew each time the nation had to undergo the tests and trials of history under various historical, political and social conditions. These different yet complementary approaches to the problem of a “community binder” cast a new light on the issue and give us better understanding of its nature.
The whole study consists of an introduction, five chapters and conclusion. The first three chapters are dedicated to the problem of community. Special attention is paid to the communal political bodies as present in the concepts and projects (both Polish and foreign) related to national and international communities.
Chapter Four deals with some significant problems which pose a challenge both to certain concepts and to communal projects – in particular to the European Union. These include: (1) the clash of the idea of the common good with a variously defined concept of self-interest (as understood by the European Union, the member states and their citizens); (2) eradication of the pre-political roots of communal ties which have their origin in customs and morals (mores), traditional forms of solidarity and social interaction; (3) difficulty in realizing the principles of democracy in modern political communities, that is, in taking a stand on the issues which are relevant to everyone – especially if it is done in the way which is not rooted in religion, ethics and culture.
The aim of the analysis contained in Chapter Five is to systematize the views on the communal binder. Consequently, the author has developed a typology of various concepts of community and the nature of political bonds which can be derived from them.
Finally, the summary recapitulates the results of the enquiry and forms some meta-objective postulates with regard to further studies of the problem.
The present study understands the term “binder” as a variously expressed reality which: a) binds together different people in a particular socio-political community and at the same time b) stimulates their social activities to express self-determination and participation in the decision-making process which is based on the public and democratic moulding of people’s will and opinion according to their inherent civic rights and duties.
"Citizenship.
Selected European Philosophical and Cultural Ideas.
Historical-hermeneutic study"... more "Citizenship.
Selected European Philosophical and Cultural Ideas.
Historical-hermeneutic study".
The transformations of the last decades of the 20th century resulted in the Polish society, like other societies of Central and Eastern European countries, facing a real chance to rebuild its due subjectivity. At the same time, it was faced with the necessity of reconsidering, in particular, structural and normative aspects of this kind of subjectivity, as well as the citizenship that is strictly correlated with it.
Taking into consideration the commonly observed chance to rebuild the subjectivity and citizenship of the Polish society, as well as the proposed necessity of deliberation on their proprium and their Polish shape, the present monograph is intended to contribute to the deliberation thus understood.
We intend to realize the deliberation by attempting a philosophical and cultural, and especially historical-hermeneutic reflection on selected ideas, conceptions and theories of subjectivity and citizenship, articulated mainly by the European and Polish socio-political philosophical thought over the centuries.
The principal aim of the reflecion thus understood is, firstly, an attempt at the reconstruction of the deliberation on citizenship, present in the European philosophical traditions. Of particular interest here are those articulated aspects which in a significant way became, or still are an inspiration for the Polish thought in this scope.
Secondly, the aim is the particularizing conception underlying the reflection – a quest for a contemporary model of citizenship in the context of the multi-century tradition of philosophical theorizing about it. A quest for its essence and criteria governing it, as well as its typically Polish shape which would express the identity and political culture embedded in the cultural heritage of the nation, and developed by the nation’s current self-understanding.
The research area of the citizenship thus analyzed is delineated, on the one hand, by selected philosophical conceptions of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, belonging to the European philosophical traditions which – as defined by the author – have substantially contributed to the formation of the present understanding of them in the western European cultural circle. On the other hand, this field is further specified by significant Polish philosophical and cultural concepts of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, articulated in various socio-political contexts of our history.
The starting point of the present study is an attempt at an reinterpretation of selected philosophically-argued perspectives on the issues of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship of the society. These perspectives have been developed by European philosophical schools and/or socio-political thought evironments which have a) greatly contributed to the formation of the western European and Polish understanding of them, and at the same time, b) above the differences that characterize them, claim the right to define their solutions as formulas of the civil society (Part I). The main criterion of selection of these European perspectives is the fact of the inherent presence of philosophical deliberation on the issue of citizenship, as well as their substantial impact on the understanding of this issue in the European and Polish thought.
The descriptively, cognitively and normatively complex picture of the European deliberation on idea of citizenship, which emerges from Part I, and whose solutions inspire the native philosophical thought, delineates the European horizon of the understanding of the idea.
In Part II, its Polish counterpart will be revealed by the analyses of selected paradigms of citizenship and the implied models of civic self-determination, which are present in the modern and contemporary Polish thought and in socio-political practice.
The last stage of the proposed research is an attempt at formulating at least some of the essential criteria of the contemporary concept of citizenship, as well as its proper ethos (Part III).
Given the complexity of the issues under discussion, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach – mainly of a philosophical, sociological and culturalstudies character – which takes into account both the citizenship concepts of selected socio-political philosophy schools, crucial for the western European cultural circle, and the Polish solutions, which have frequently interacted with these, and which have significantly been contributing to the history of citizenship in Poland.
Regarding the latter, the crucial research material is constituted by philosophical-political literary and current affairs texts concerned with these issues. Also, unquestionably valuable – particularly in the context of reflection on civic involvement following year 1989 – are source texts on multi-faceted research into the civic-minded society in Poland, and its socio-cultural determinants.
TOWARDS THE SELFHOOD OF SOCIETY. Christian formation of Polish society in the period of system tr... more TOWARDS THE SELFHOOD OF SOCIETY. Christian formation of Polish society in the period of system transformation: the case of the Association for Christian Educational Works.
SUMMARY
The present volume, which is a study in social philosophy, attempts to reflect on the proposition of Christian formation of selected groups of Polish society in the period of transformation of the state system. Such a proposition has been put into practice by the Association for Christian Educational Works, which was founded in 1993 on the initiative of the Jesuits.
The subject-matter of the study, undeniably crucial for the budding Polish democracy, belongs, in our opinion, to those issues that require profound reflection and analysis during this special time when social, political and economic structures of the independent state are being built.
Our subject-matter is a multi-dimensional one and the concepts that are crucial for it are culture, formation and political activity, as well as anthropology, where the former three are rooted. Therefore our approach towards it is interdisciplinary, following the recognition of its importance not only as a religious but also cultural and political phenomenon that stems from the activities of a given entity of public life. At the same time, we are also witnessing the all too proper return of our subject-matter to the wide forum of discussion, both on the rising democracy as well as on the transformation processes that Poland is currently going through.
The selected area of analysis is the activity of the Association for Christian Educational Works, one of the nationwide non-governmental organizations, which function as touchstones determining the level of respecting those civil rights that are typical of democratic societies.
Obszarem analiz i refleksji, które podejmuję, jest fenomen międzyludzkiej solidarności w jego wyb... more Obszarem analiz i refleksji, które podejmuję, jest fenomen międzyludzkiej solidarności w jego wybranych indywidualnych i zbiorowych formach wyrazu, występujących w polskim społeczeństwie w drugiej połowie XX wieku, a dokładniej w środowiskach polskich robotników, w kontekście ich społecznych protestów lat 1956–1980. Cel, który w tak zakreślonym obszarze badań przyświeca temu studium z zakresu filozofii społecznej, jest potrójny. Po pierwsze jest nim próba uchwycenia przynajmniej niektórych z istotnych rysów manifestowanego w wydarzeniach tamtych lat solidarnego myślenia i działania, i w tym znaczeniu – materializacji solidarnościowego ducha. Po drugie jest nim próba uchwycenia stopniowo krystalizującego się wówczas sierpniowego i posierpniowego kształtu rodzimego wyrazu kultury solidarności zwłaszcza w sferze polskiego świata pracy 80. lat XX wieku. Wreszcie po trzecie jest nim poszukiwanie odpowiedzi na pytanie o uniwersalnie ważne aspekty tego rodzaju polskich przejawów ducha i kultury solidarności. Analiza polskiego kształtu fenomenu solidarności z perspektywy lat 90. XX wieku oraz lat 20. wieku XXI zawarta w drugiej części tego studium – jego rozpadu diagnozowanego przez Józefa Tischnera oraz pytań o jego ważność i los we współczesnym głęboko podzielonym polskim społeczeństwie – stawiając w centrum uwagi aktualną kondycję polskich krystalizacji solidarnościowego ducha, zaprasza do refleksji nad kondycją solidarnościowego myślenia i działania dzisiaj.
W niniejszym studium podejmuję refleksję nad zagadnieniem etosu w jego dwóch zasadniczych odsłona... more W niniejszym studium podejmuję refleksję nad zagadnieniem etosu w jego dwóch zasadniczych odsłonach: egzystencjalnej i obywatelskiej. Punktem wyjścia poniższych rozważań czynię próbę filozoficznego namysłu nad ideą etosu rozumianego egzystencjalnie, inspirując się Heideggerowską interpretacją myśli Heraklita, którą zawiera jej 119 fragment , a także przemyśleniami Arystotelesa na temat istoty ludzkiego charakteru, przedstawionymi w "Etyce nikomachejskiej" i "eudemejskiej" oraz w "Polityce" i "Metafizyce".
Tak reflektowany etos, nazwany przeze mnie "etosem człowieka", będzie stanowił podstawę do dalszych rozważań stawiających w centrum uwagi jego postać, czy też postacie, jakie może on przyjąć w przestrzeni życia publicznego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tej politycznej formy jego wyrazu, którą stanowi wspólnota polityczna rozumiana jako państwo. W ten sposób dookreślany etos ludzkiej egzystencji w przestrzeni bycia między ludźmi, w której – odwołując się do myśli Hannah Arendt – „każdy znajduje się pośród równych sobie” , określam mianem "etosu obywatelskiego".
DEFINICJA POJĘCIA: Pojęcie wspólnota polityczna jest wieloznaczne. Wychodząc od greckiego źródłos... more DEFINICJA POJĘCIA: Pojęcie wspólnota polityczna jest wieloznaczne. Wychodząc od greckiego źródłosłowu tego, co polityczne, rozumiem przez nie wspólnotę państwową. Takie też rozumienie czynię horyzon-tem znaczeniowym moich przemyśleń. ANALIZA HISTORYCZNA: odsłania różnorodność interpretacji sku-pionych na naturze tego politycznego ciała, jego wspólnotowości, korpo-racyjności czy stowarzyszeniowości, ukazując wielość podejść, inspiracji, kontynuacji i polemik, które mimo różnic tworzą swoistą sieć powiązań i/ lub odniesień między sobą. PROBLEMOWE UJĘCIE POJĘCIA: przenosi punkt ciężkości z zagadnie-nia natury tego ciała na zagadnienie jego polityczności. REFLEKSJA SYSTEMATYCZNA Z WNIOSKAMI I REKOMENDACJAMI: podnosi szereg kwestii wymagających namysłu, jak: spór o postać poli-tycznej zrzeszeniowości; zagadnienie spoiwa takich ciał; kwestia istoty po-lityczności i etyczności w odniesieniu do tego, co polityczne oraz politycz-ności w odniesieniu do tego, co etyczne; problem współczesnych koncepcji obywatelskości. Słowa kluczowe: ciało polityczne, korporacja, państwo, polityczność, społeczeństwo obywatelskie
DEFINITION OF THE TERM: Although the term political community is ambiguous (it is derived from th... more DEFINITION OF THE TERM: Although the term political community is ambiguous (it is derived from the Greek etymology of the political), a political community can be understood as a community of people living in a state. this understanding of the term is the denotative horizon of the considerations presented in this article. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TERM: this section presents multiple interpretations that are focused on the nature of this political body: its sense of community, corporationality, and associationality. these interpretations reveal a whole range of approaches, inspirations, continuations , and polemics that, though different, constitute a network of interconnections and/or mutual references. DISCUSSION OF THE TERM: this section shifts the focus of the discussion from the nature of a political community body to its political characteristics. SYSTEMATIC REFLECTION WITH CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: this section raises numerous issues that require consideration , including the dispute concerning the form of political associational-ity, the bindings of political beings, the essence of the political and ethicality in relation to that which is political, the essence of the political in relation to that which is ethical, and contemporary concepts of civic-mindedness.
This sketch of political philosophy is an attempt to reflect on one of the most important aspects... more This sketch of political philosophy is an attempt to reflect on one of the most important aspects of European identity. Namely, to reflect on what is tentatively called a "bond" of a particular community and what in the following discussion refers to the united Europe. The concept of bond used here is understood as a “reality” which binds people into a certain type of a stable socio-political community and at the same time stimulates their civil life par excellence manifested in the will of the citizens to use powers which they are entitled to and to fulfil their duties.
The existence of social self-organization – assuming various forms and adopting versatile objecti... more The existence of social self-organization – assuming various forms and adopting versatile objectives – within a culturally, economically and politically organized multidimensional coexistence seems to be an unassailable fact. However, a careful analysis of political doctrines as well as the data pertaining to history proves it to be not so readily acknowledged. In fact, not every form of organized civilization, a state being one of its manifestations, accepts the existence of this substance of social life. Hence it is requisite to delineate more precisely the semantics of a wider context for our reflections. This includes the models of organized civilization relevant to our discourse as well as a potential social substance of a broadly defined non-governmental circles, featuring actors of the so-called third sector. Considering the complexity of the issues under consideration we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, referring to philosophical schools of political thought, analysing source materials of multifarious research on the non-governmental sphere in Poland, as well as undertake a sociological method of participatory action research.
Many persons would subscribe to the statement that the construction of social and state structures is among the most fundamental effects of deliberate civilization-shaping endeavours of humans intending to shape their life environment. A wide spectrum of possible solutions in this respect is embodied by theoretical reflection on the forms of social organization as well as by practice documented in history. On the one hand one may discern the forms that constrain or even rule out the existence of autonomous subjects in social, political, economic or cultural life, or in just one of them. Varying in their nomenclature and the message they carry, these systems’ common denominator rests in curtailing or refusing citizens their civic entitlements, be it relating to liberty, social life, solidarity, or – as it commonly occurs – a combination thereof. Diametrically opposed to these state solutions are models that recognize – in one way or another, depending on the tradition of the underpinning political thought – the citizen presence and citizen activity as the centre of the broadly defined public life. The civil society is one of the indicators of these forms of social and state organization. It is sine qua non prerequisite of the actual – not merely declarative – materialization of initiatives and operation of non-governmental organizations and of their contribution to creating a structured space for human coexistence.
In pondering the place and role of the non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and initiatives within organized civilization, we will focus on such forms thereof which endorse civil society. We use the term not to denote a single political thought or its historical articulation, but rather – generally speaking – a certain area defined by certain political theories as well as their practical applications containing the said distinctive feature.
Henri de Lubac beginnt sein bekanntes Buch: Über Gott hinaus – Tragödie des atheistischen Humanis... more Henri de Lubac beginnt sein bekanntes Buch: Über Gott hinaus – Tragödie des atheistischen Humanismus mit den Worten, die indirekt schon ein innerchristliches Verständnis von einem geschichtlich und kulturell klar markierten Menschenbild beinhalten. „Eine herrliche Skulptur an der Kathedrale von Chartres stellt Adam dar, den Oberkörper nur roh behauen, wie er eben auftaucht aus der mütterlichen Erde, geformt von den Händen Gottes. Schon spiegelt das Antlitz des ersten Menschen die Züge seines Bildners wider. Ein steinernes Gleichnis, das ebenso schlicht wie ausdruckvoll die geheimnisvollen Worte der Schöpfung «Gott schuf den Menschen nach seinem Bild und Gleichnis» versinnlicht.
Die christliche Überlieferung ist seit Anbeginn nicht müde geworden, dieses Wort auszulegen. Sie hat in ihm unseren ältesten Adelsbrief, den Grund unserer Größe, erkannt. Vernunft, Freiheit, Unsterblichkeit, Herrschaft über die Natur; lauter Vorrechte göttlichen Ursprungs, die Gott seinem Geschöpfe verleiht und auf dessen Antlitz leuchten lässt. Jedes einzelne dieser Vorrechte muss sich, so wie es den Menschen von Anfang an als Bild auf Gott hin anlegt, in der Folge entfalten, bis es die Gottesebenbildlichkeit in ihm vollendet. So öffnen sie ihm den Weg zur höchsten Bestimmung.
»Erkenne dich denn, o Mensch!« Das ist der Ruf, den die Kirche der ersten Jahrhunderte durch den Mund ihrer Lehrer und Apologeten allüberall erschallen lässt. Nach Epiktet nimmt sie das sokratische »gnothi seauton« wieder auf, aber sie verwandelt und vertieft es. Was bei dem Weisen des Altertums vor allem ein Weckruf an das moralische Gewissen war, wird durch sie eine Aufforderung zu metaphysischer Wertung. Erkenne dich, sagt sie, das heißt, erkenne deinen Adel, deine Würde, begreife die Größe deines Wesens und deiner Berufung, dieser Berufung, die dein wahres Wesen ausmacht. Nimm in dir den Geist wahr, Gottes Abglanz, geschaffen für Gott .
Diese Beschreibung, die in den Ausdrucksformen und angewandten Begriffen, auf einen präzisen Kulturraum und einen ebenso klaren theologischen Hintergrund hinweisend eine bestimmte Gesellschafts- und Denkform widerspiegelt, zugleich aber einem zeitgenössischen Menschen an der Schwelle des XXI. Jahrhunderts immer fremder klingt, wollen wir nun zum Anlass nehmen, um das uns vorgestellte Thema interdisziplinär zu behandeln.
Pytania o sens ludzkiego istnienia i jego definitywną postać zdają się towarzyszyć człowiekowi od... more Pytania o sens ludzkiego istnienia i jego definitywną postać zdają się towarzyszyć człowiekowi od zawsze w jego poszukiwaniu zrozumienia siebie i swojego bycia w świecie. Pośród tego rodzaju pytań miejsca znaczące zajmują między innymi te, które wiążą się z dotykającym nas wszystkich doświadczaniem własnej kruchości, przemijalności i śmiertelności, a także te, które podnosimy nierzadko równocze śnie i jakby na przekór tym pierwszym, pod wpływem wielorako doświadczanego pragnienia życia przyjmującego postać różnie formułowanych pod jego adresem nadziei, oczekiwań i żądań lub ich tak czy inaczej egzystencjalnie, poznawczo i wolitywnie artykułowanych splotów. Dzieje naszych ludzkich poszukiwań zrozumienia siebie i naszego bycia w świecie, niezależnie od tego, jakie horyzonty poznawcze byśmy im wyznaczali, nie są jednak tkane li tylko nićmi mniej lub bardziej trafnie formułowanych pytań różnicujących się między sobą-mówiąc metaforycznie-fakturą i barwą egzy stencjalnej doniosłości zagadnień, które próbują tematyzować. Dzieje te współtka ne są także nićmi prób odpowiedzi na tego rodzaju pytania. Nićmi, z których jedną chciałaby snuć również ta refleksja na temat nie tylko ludzkiego istnienia, prezen tująca pogląd, że "nie wszystkie istoty zostaną zbawione".
"Communality. In search of the binder for political community" is a study in the field of politic... more "Communality. In search of the binder for political community" is a study in the field of political philosophy. Its main idea is to analyze, interpret and systematize certain concepts which are present both in European philosophical thought and in cultural and political projects in Europe, and which bind together national and international communities.
The study is carried out according to the criteria set by the author. For the sake of the study, a number of Polish and foreign philosophical texts have been selected, the importance of which enables us to capture both complexity and ambiguity of the problem. The foreign reflections on community are selected from the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Alexis de Tocqueville, Soren Kierkegaard and Jürgen Habermas. The Polish philosophical thought on the issue is represented by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Piotr Skarga, Hugo Kołłątaj, Maurycy Mochnacki, Karol Libelt, Felix Koneczny, Leszek Kołakowski, Adam Chmielewski and Andrzej Szahaj. The political and cultural projects and visions of the European unification which are analyzed in the study, were developed by Robert Schuman, Jacques Chirac, Angela Merkel, the Wise Men Group, and by the following popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
By adopting the two sided approach to the issue of the binder: the foreign one (which takes into account the things which are or could be common to everybody within their national and international communities and which are also present in various streams of European philosophical thought) and the Polish one (which concentrates mainly on the question of national unity) the author tries to tackle the problem from two different angles. Their common denominator lies in the issue of community bonds. What makes them different, however, is that the European approach can be seen in terms of the diversity of concepts which have originated in different environments and for the sake of various communities. On the other hand, the Polish approach, despite its diversity, can be characterized as more homogenous. And even though it was quite common for the native concepts to draw extensively on European proposals, their final shape was given within the same community which was quite conscious of its own identity. What is more, that binding force has been tested anew each time the nation had to undergo the tests and trials of history under various historical, political and social conditions. These different yet complementary approaches to the problem of a “community binder” cast a new light on the issue and give us better understanding of its nature.
The whole study consists of an introduction, five chapters and conclusion. The first three chapters are dedicated to the problem of community. Special attention is paid to the communal political bodies as present in the concepts and projects (both Polish and foreign) related to national and international communities.
Chapter Four deals with some significant problems which pose a challenge both to certain concepts and to communal projects – in particular to the European Union. These include: (1) the clash of the idea of the common good with a variously defined concept of self-interest (as understood by the European Union, the member states and their citizens); (2) eradication of the pre-political roots of communal ties which have their origin in customs and morals (mores), traditional forms of solidarity and social interaction; (3) difficulty in realizing the principles of democracy in modern political communities, that is, in taking a stand on the issues which are relevant to everyone – especially if it is done in the way which is not rooted in religion, ethics and culture.
The aim of the analysis contained in Chapter Five is to systematize the views on the communal binder. Consequently, the author has developed a typology of various concepts of community and the nature of political bonds which can be derived from them.
Finally, the summary recapitulates the results of the enquiry and forms some meta-objective postulates with regard to further studies of the problem.
The present study understands the term “binder” as a variously expressed reality which: a) binds together different people in a particular socio-political community and at the same time b) stimulates their social activities to express self-determination and participation in the decision-making process which is based on the public and democratic moulding of people’s will and opinion according to their inherent civic rights and duties.
"Citizenship.
Selected European Philosophical and Cultural Ideas.
Historical-hermeneutic study"... more "Citizenship.
Selected European Philosophical and Cultural Ideas.
Historical-hermeneutic study".
The transformations of the last decades of the 20th century resulted in the Polish society, like other societies of Central and Eastern European countries, facing a real chance to rebuild its due subjectivity. At the same time, it was faced with the necessity of reconsidering, in particular, structural and normative aspects of this kind of subjectivity, as well as the citizenship that is strictly correlated with it.
Taking into consideration the commonly observed chance to rebuild the subjectivity and citizenship of the Polish society, as well as the proposed necessity of deliberation on their proprium and their Polish shape, the present monograph is intended to contribute to the deliberation thus understood.
We intend to realize the deliberation by attempting a philosophical and cultural, and especially historical-hermeneutic reflection on selected ideas, conceptions and theories of subjectivity and citizenship, articulated mainly by the European and Polish socio-political philosophical thought over the centuries.
The principal aim of the reflecion thus understood is, firstly, an attempt at the reconstruction of the deliberation on citizenship, present in the European philosophical traditions. Of particular interest here are those articulated aspects which in a significant way became, or still are an inspiration for the Polish thought in this scope.
Secondly, the aim is the particularizing conception underlying the reflection – a quest for a contemporary model of citizenship in the context of the multi-century tradition of philosophical theorizing about it. A quest for its essence and criteria governing it, as well as its typically Polish shape which would express the identity and political culture embedded in the cultural heritage of the nation, and developed by the nation’s current self-understanding.
The research area of the citizenship thus analyzed is delineated, on the one hand, by selected philosophical conceptions of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, belonging to the European philosophical traditions which – as defined by the author – have substantially contributed to the formation of the present understanding of them in the western European cultural circle. On the other hand, this field is further specified by significant Polish philosophical and cultural concepts of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, articulated in various socio-political contexts of our history.
The starting point of the present study is an attempt at an reinterpretation of selected philosophically-argued perspectives on the issues of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship of the society. These perspectives have been developed by European philosophical schools and/or socio-political thought evironments which have a) greatly contributed to the formation of the western European and Polish understanding of them, and at the same time, b) above the differences that characterize them, claim the right to define their solutions as formulas of the civil society (Part I). The main criterion of selection of these European perspectives is the fact of the inherent presence of philosophical deliberation on the issue of citizenship, as well as their substantial impact on the understanding of this issue in the European and Polish thought.
The descriptively, cognitively and normatively complex picture of the European deliberation on idea of citizenship, which emerges from Part I, and whose solutions inspire the native philosophical thought, delineates the European horizon of the understanding of the idea.
In Part II, its Polish counterpart will be revealed by the analyses of selected paradigms of citizenship and the implied models of civic self-determination, which are present in the modern and contemporary Polish thought and in socio-political practice.
The last stage of the proposed research is an attempt at formulating at least some of the essential criteria of the contemporary concept of citizenship, as well as its proper ethos (Part III).
Given the complexity of the issues under discussion, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach – mainly of a philosophical, sociological and culturalstudies character – which takes into account both the citizenship concepts of selected socio-political philosophy schools, crucial for the western European cultural circle, and the Polish solutions, which have frequently interacted with these, and which have significantly been contributing to the history of citizenship in Poland.
Regarding the latter, the crucial research material is constituted by philosophical-political literary and current affairs texts concerned with these issues. Also, unquestionably valuable – particularly in the context of reflection on civic involvement following year 1989 – are source texts on multi-faceted research into the civic-minded society in Poland, and its socio-cultural determinants.
TOWARDS THE SELFHOOD OF SOCIETY. Christian formation of Polish society in the period of system tr... more TOWARDS THE SELFHOOD OF SOCIETY. Christian formation of Polish society in the period of system transformation: the case of the Association for Christian Educational Works.
SUMMARY
The present volume, which is a study in social philosophy, attempts to reflect on the proposition of Christian formation of selected groups of Polish society in the period of transformation of the state system. Such a proposition has been put into practice by the Association for Christian Educational Works, which was founded in 1993 on the initiative of the Jesuits.
The subject-matter of the study, undeniably crucial for the budding Polish democracy, belongs, in our opinion, to those issues that require profound reflection and analysis during this special time when social, political and economic structures of the independent state are being built.
Our subject-matter is a multi-dimensional one and the concepts that are crucial for it are culture, formation and political activity, as well as anthropology, where the former three are rooted. Therefore our approach towards it is interdisciplinary, following the recognition of its importance not only as a religious but also cultural and political phenomenon that stems from the activities of a given entity of public life. At the same time, we are also witnessing the all too proper return of our subject-matter to the wide forum of discussion, both on the rising democracy as well as on the transformation processes that Poland is currently going through.
The selected area of analysis is the activity of the Association for Christian Educational Works, one of the nationwide non-governmental organizations, which function as touchstones determining the level of respecting those civil rights that are typical of democratic societies.
Obszarem analiz i refleksji, które podejmuję, jest fenomen międzyludzkiej solidarności w jego wyb... more Obszarem analiz i refleksji, które podejmuję, jest fenomen międzyludzkiej solidarności w jego wybranych indywidualnych i zbiorowych formach wyrazu, występujących w polskim społeczeństwie w drugiej połowie XX wieku, a dokładniej w środowiskach polskich robotników, w kontekście ich społecznych protestów lat 1956–1980. Cel, który w tak zakreślonym obszarze badań przyświeca temu studium z zakresu filozofii społecznej, jest potrójny. Po pierwsze jest nim próba uchwycenia przynajmniej niektórych z istotnych rysów manifestowanego w wydarzeniach tamtych lat solidarnego myślenia i działania, i w tym znaczeniu – materializacji solidarnościowego ducha. Po drugie jest nim próba uchwycenia stopniowo krystalizującego się wówczas sierpniowego i posierpniowego kształtu rodzimego wyrazu kultury solidarności zwłaszcza w sferze polskiego świata pracy 80. lat XX wieku. Wreszcie po trzecie jest nim poszukiwanie odpowiedzi na pytanie o uniwersalnie ważne aspekty tego rodzaju polskich przejawów ducha i kultury solidarności. Analiza polskiego kształtu fenomenu solidarności z perspektywy lat 90. XX wieku oraz lat 20. wieku XXI zawarta w drugiej części tego studium – jego rozpadu diagnozowanego przez Józefa Tischnera oraz pytań o jego ważność i los we współczesnym głęboko podzielonym polskim społeczeństwie – stawiając w centrum uwagi aktualną kondycję polskich krystalizacji solidarnościowego ducha, zaprasza do refleksji nad kondycją solidarnościowego myślenia i działania dzisiaj.
W niniejszym studium podejmuję refleksję nad zagadnieniem etosu w jego dwóch zasadniczych odsłona... more W niniejszym studium podejmuję refleksję nad zagadnieniem etosu w jego dwóch zasadniczych odsłonach: egzystencjalnej i obywatelskiej. Punktem wyjścia poniższych rozważań czynię próbę filozoficznego namysłu nad ideą etosu rozumianego egzystencjalnie, inspirując się Heideggerowską interpretacją myśli Heraklita, którą zawiera jej 119 fragment , a także przemyśleniami Arystotelesa na temat istoty ludzkiego charakteru, przedstawionymi w "Etyce nikomachejskiej" i "eudemejskiej" oraz w "Polityce" i "Metafizyce".
Tak reflektowany etos, nazwany przeze mnie "etosem człowieka", będzie stanowił podstawę do dalszych rozważań stawiających w centrum uwagi jego postać, czy też postacie, jakie może on przyjąć w przestrzeni życia publicznego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tej politycznej formy jego wyrazu, którą stanowi wspólnota polityczna rozumiana jako państwo. W ten sposób dookreślany etos ludzkiej egzystencji w przestrzeni bycia między ludźmi, w której – odwołując się do myśli Hannah Arendt – „każdy znajduje się pośród równych sobie” , określam mianem "etosu obywatelskiego".
DEFINICJA POJĘCIA: Pojęcie wspólnota polityczna jest wieloznaczne. Wychodząc od greckiego źródłos... more DEFINICJA POJĘCIA: Pojęcie wspólnota polityczna jest wieloznaczne. Wychodząc od greckiego źródłosłowu tego, co polityczne, rozumiem przez nie wspólnotę państwową. Takie też rozumienie czynię horyzon-tem znaczeniowym moich przemyśleń. ANALIZA HISTORYCZNA: odsłania różnorodność interpretacji sku-pionych na naturze tego politycznego ciała, jego wspólnotowości, korpo-racyjności czy stowarzyszeniowości, ukazując wielość podejść, inspiracji, kontynuacji i polemik, które mimo różnic tworzą swoistą sieć powiązań i/ lub odniesień między sobą. PROBLEMOWE UJĘCIE POJĘCIA: przenosi punkt ciężkości z zagadnie-nia natury tego ciała na zagadnienie jego polityczności. REFLEKSJA SYSTEMATYCZNA Z WNIOSKAMI I REKOMENDACJAMI: podnosi szereg kwestii wymagających namysłu, jak: spór o postać poli-tycznej zrzeszeniowości; zagadnienie spoiwa takich ciał; kwestia istoty po-lityczności i etyczności w odniesieniu do tego, co polityczne oraz politycz-ności w odniesieniu do tego, co etyczne; problem współczesnych koncepcji obywatelskości. Słowa kluczowe: ciało polityczne, korporacja, państwo, polityczność, społeczeństwo obywatelskie
DEFINITION OF THE TERM: Although the term political community is ambiguous (it is derived from th... more DEFINITION OF THE TERM: Although the term political community is ambiguous (it is derived from the Greek etymology of the political), a political community can be understood as a community of people living in a state. this understanding of the term is the denotative horizon of the considerations presented in this article. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TERM: this section presents multiple interpretations that are focused on the nature of this political body: its sense of community, corporationality, and associationality. these interpretations reveal a whole range of approaches, inspirations, continuations , and polemics that, though different, constitute a network of interconnections and/or mutual references. DISCUSSION OF THE TERM: this section shifts the focus of the discussion from the nature of a political community body to its political characteristics. SYSTEMATIC REFLECTION WITH CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: this section raises numerous issues that require consideration , including the dispute concerning the form of political associational-ity, the bindings of political beings, the essence of the political and ethicality in relation to that which is political, the essence of the political in relation to that which is ethical, and contemporary concepts of civic-mindedness.
This sketch of political philosophy is an attempt to reflect on one of the most important aspects... more This sketch of political philosophy is an attempt to reflect on one of the most important aspects of European identity. Namely, to reflect on what is tentatively called a "bond" of a particular community and what in the following discussion refers to the united Europe. The concept of bond used here is understood as a “reality” which binds people into a certain type of a stable socio-political community and at the same time stimulates their civil life par excellence manifested in the will of the citizens to use powers which they are entitled to and to fulfil their duties.
The existence of social self-organization – assuming various forms and adopting versatile objecti... more The existence of social self-organization – assuming various forms and adopting versatile objectives – within a culturally, economically and politically organized multidimensional coexistence seems to be an unassailable fact. However, a careful analysis of political doctrines as well as the data pertaining to history proves it to be not so readily acknowledged. In fact, not every form of organized civilization, a state being one of its manifestations, accepts the existence of this substance of social life. Hence it is requisite to delineate more precisely the semantics of a wider context for our reflections. This includes the models of organized civilization relevant to our discourse as well as a potential social substance of a broadly defined non-governmental circles, featuring actors of the so-called third sector. Considering the complexity of the issues under consideration we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, referring to philosophical schools of political thought, analysing source materials of multifarious research on the non-governmental sphere in Poland, as well as undertake a sociological method of participatory action research.
Many persons would subscribe to the statement that the construction of social and state structures is among the most fundamental effects of deliberate civilization-shaping endeavours of humans intending to shape their life environment. A wide spectrum of possible solutions in this respect is embodied by theoretical reflection on the forms of social organization as well as by practice documented in history. On the one hand one may discern the forms that constrain or even rule out the existence of autonomous subjects in social, political, economic or cultural life, or in just one of them. Varying in their nomenclature and the message they carry, these systems’ common denominator rests in curtailing or refusing citizens their civic entitlements, be it relating to liberty, social life, solidarity, or – as it commonly occurs – a combination thereof. Diametrically opposed to these state solutions are models that recognize – in one way or another, depending on the tradition of the underpinning political thought – the citizen presence and citizen activity as the centre of the broadly defined public life. The civil society is one of the indicators of these forms of social and state organization. It is sine qua non prerequisite of the actual – not merely declarative – materialization of initiatives and operation of non-governmental organizations and of their contribution to creating a structured space for human coexistence.
In pondering the place and role of the non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and initiatives within organized civilization, we will focus on such forms thereof which endorse civil society. We use the term not to denote a single political thought or its historical articulation, but rather – generally speaking – a certain area defined by certain political theories as well as their practical applications containing the said distinctive feature.
Henri de Lubac beginnt sein bekanntes Buch: Über Gott hinaus – Tragödie des atheistischen Humanis... more Henri de Lubac beginnt sein bekanntes Buch: Über Gott hinaus – Tragödie des atheistischen Humanismus mit den Worten, die indirekt schon ein innerchristliches Verständnis von einem geschichtlich und kulturell klar markierten Menschenbild beinhalten. „Eine herrliche Skulptur an der Kathedrale von Chartres stellt Adam dar, den Oberkörper nur roh behauen, wie er eben auftaucht aus der mütterlichen Erde, geformt von den Händen Gottes. Schon spiegelt das Antlitz des ersten Menschen die Züge seines Bildners wider. Ein steinernes Gleichnis, das ebenso schlicht wie ausdruckvoll die geheimnisvollen Worte der Schöpfung «Gott schuf den Menschen nach seinem Bild und Gleichnis» versinnlicht.
Die christliche Überlieferung ist seit Anbeginn nicht müde geworden, dieses Wort auszulegen. Sie hat in ihm unseren ältesten Adelsbrief, den Grund unserer Größe, erkannt. Vernunft, Freiheit, Unsterblichkeit, Herrschaft über die Natur; lauter Vorrechte göttlichen Ursprungs, die Gott seinem Geschöpfe verleiht und auf dessen Antlitz leuchten lässt. Jedes einzelne dieser Vorrechte muss sich, so wie es den Menschen von Anfang an als Bild auf Gott hin anlegt, in der Folge entfalten, bis es die Gottesebenbildlichkeit in ihm vollendet. So öffnen sie ihm den Weg zur höchsten Bestimmung.
»Erkenne dich denn, o Mensch!« Das ist der Ruf, den die Kirche der ersten Jahrhunderte durch den Mund ihrer Lehrer und Apologeten allüberall erschallen lässt. Nach Epiktet nimmt sie das sokratische »gnothi seauton« wieder auf, aber sie verwandelt und vertieft es. Was bei dem Weisen des Altertums vor allem ein Weckruf an das moralische Gewissen war, wird durch sie eine Aufforderung zu metaphysischer Wertung. Erkenne dich, sagt sie, das heißt, erkenne deinen Adel, deine Würde, begreife die Größe deines Wesens und deiner Berufung, dieser Berufung, die dein wahres Wesen ausmacht. Nimm in dir den Geist wahr, Gottes Abglanz, geschaffen für Gott .
Diese Beschreibung, die in den Ausdrucksformen und angewandten Begriffen, auf einen präzisen Kulturraum und einen ebenso klaren theologischen Hintergrund hinweisend eine bestimmte Gesellschafts- und Denkform widerspiegelt, zugleich aber einem zeitgenössischen Menschen an der Schwelle des XXI. Jahrhunderts immer fremder klingt, wollen wir nun zum Anlass nehmen, um das uns vorgestellte Thema interdisziplinär zu behandeln.
Pytania o sens ludzkiego istnienia i jego definitywną postać zdają się towarzyszyć człowiekowi od... more Pytania o sens ludzkiego istnienia i jego definitywną postać zdają się towarzyszyć człowiekowi od zawsze w jego poszukiwaniu zrozumienia siebie i swojego bycia w świecie. Pośród tego rodzaju pytań miejsca znaczące zajmują między innymi te, które wiążą się z dotykającym nas wszystkich doświadczaniem własnej kruchości, przemijalności i śmiertelności, a także te, które podnosimy nierzadko równocze śnie i jakby na przekór tym pierwszym, pod wpływem wielorako doświadczanego pragnienia życia przyjmującego postać różnie formułowanych pod jego adresem nadziei, oczekiwań i żądań lub ich tak czy inaczej egzystencjalnie, poznawczo i wolitywnie artykułowanych splotów. Dzieje naszych ludzkich poszukiwań zrozumienia siebie i naszego bycia w świecie, niezależnie od tego, jakie horyzonty poznawcze byśmy im wyznaczali, nie są jednak tkane li tylko nićmi mniej lub bardziej trafnie formułowanych pytań różnicujących się między sobą-mówiąc metaforycznie-fakturą i barwą egzy stencjalnej doniosłości zagadnień, które próbują tematyzować. Dzieje te współtka ne są także nićmi prób odpowiedzi na tego rodzaju pytania. Nićmi, z których jedną chciałaby snuć również ta refleksja na temat nie tylko ludzkiego istnienia, prezen tująca pogląd, że "nie wszystkie istoty zostaną zbawione".
Culture is the reality abundant in diverse forms of expression of our continuous self-settlement ... more Culture is the reality abundant in diverse forms of expression of our continuous self-settlement in the world in which we happen to live. It is abundant in its multidimensionality and multicolourfulness, being constantly woven in the time and space of our human history with the threads of, among others, rationality and emotionality, the will to live and thrive, and a passion for cognition and creation. It cannot be otherwise, since it is, on the one hand, both a single “reflection” and a set of various “reflections”, and, on the other hand, it “designs” our dynamically shaped, both individually and collectively, existence as human beings in all dimensions – physical and mental, material and spiritual, natural and supernatural – of our life in this world.
The subject of this study is Monnet's experiences and understandings of interest or, more precise... more The subject of this study is Monnet's experiences and understandings of interest or, more precisely, its multiform manifestations in the sphere of private and public affairs. What I am particularly interested in is Monnet's realist-pragmatic conceptualisation of these various forms of interest, leading their author, step by step as it were, to the concept of intérêt commun, or common interest, to which he attributes such fundamental importance in the context of European integration, seeing it as the cornerstone of its not only economic unification.
The main aim of this political philosophy study is to analyze the two fundamental ideas developed... more The main aim of this political philosophy study is to analyze the two fundamental ideas developed by Jean Monnet, namely, the idea of a federally united Europe and its sovereignty. This analysis is combined with an attempt to capture at least some of the essential assumptions of his philosophical ideas and their evolution. The source materials on which the article is based are primarily Monnet’s Memories, his notes and official memoranda, the correspondence from the war and postwar period, and the speeches he gave as the President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952-1955. They were supplemented with the Memorandum of Aristide Briand (1930), the speech of Winston Churchill in Zurich (1946), the Convention for European Economic Cooperation (1948), and Erinnerungen 1945-1953 by Konrad Adenauer. When it comes to literature, the author referred to the extensive bibliography on the subject contained in Suwerenność (2018) by Jacek Czaputowicz. The study uses the method of multidisciplinary analysis of sources and their historical, political and philosophical interpretation. The research conducted allows us to speak of certain philosophical assumptions in Monnet’s thinking about a united Europe and its future. Among the main components of his understanding, we can enumerate (1) necessity, (2) change, (3) specific strength, (4) development in stages, and (5) incompleteness which is essentially characteristic of nature. The carried out analysis also allows us to formulate the hypothesis about Monnet’s philosophy of life and action, which can be understood as a certain phenomenology of the community in its becoming, and to situate it, at least partially, within the framework of the phenomenology of Europe as formulated by Erich Przywara in this treatise Idee Europe (1956).
Key words: Jean Monnet, united Europe, idea of Europe
Głównym zadaniem niniejszego studium z zakresu filozofii politycznej jest przeanalizowanie dwóch fundamentalnie ważnych koncepcji rozwijanych przez Jeana Monneta: mianowicie idei federacyjnie zjednoczonej Europy oraz jej suwerenności. Analiza ta połączona jest z próbą uchwycenia niektórych istotnych założeń filozoficznych tychże idei i ich ewolucji. Materiały źródłowe, na których opiera się artykuł, to przede wszystkim Wspomnie
"The Common Good or the Interest? In Search for the Founding Stones of the Modern Society: Case S... more "The Common Good or the Interest? In Search for the Founding Stones of the Modern Society: Case Study – European Union". The philosophical reflection on the common good, as one of the primary normative principles, and in this sense also the “founding stones” of a well-structured social life, has a multifaceted, diverse range of proposed approaches and solutions and a well-documented output. Bearing in mind the centuries-long theoretical and practical importance and validity of this concept in the European thought and practice of socially and politically organized collective life, the subject of my reflections is to raise the question of the cognitive and normative importance and validity of this concept for today’s Europe in the context of the European Union project contained in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, signed on October 29, 2004 in Rome.
Celem tego studium jest próba interpretacji ludzkiej emocjonalności w jej uczuciowej formie wyraz... more Celem tego studium jest próba interpretacji ludzkiej emocjonalności w jej uczuciowej formie wyrazu w postaci przeżyć radości i smutku, w świetle założeń jednej ze szkół duchowości chrześcijańskiej, mianowicie tej, zaproponowanej przez Ignacego Loyolę (1491-1556). Według tego nurtu życia duchowego, zarówno czerpiącego z wielowiekowego doświadczenia biblijnego i chrześcijańskiego rozumienia emocjonalno-uczuciowego wymiaru naszego życia, jak i wniesionych do niego doświadczeń i przemyśleń poczynionych przez samego Ignacego, nasza emocjonalność doświadczana niejednokrotnie jako swoisty i często niezrozumiały „gwar” może, w rzeczywistości, stanowić równie emocjonalną, czytelną „mowę”. „Mowę”, która staje się zrozumiałą, z chwilą, gdy potrafimy właściwie „rozczytać”, czyli rozpoznać i zrozumieć, doświadczane przez nas w tej sferze emocjonalno-uczuciowe przeżycia. Lektura uczuć, o której mowa w tytule tej części, to pewna propozycja zdroworozsądkowo mądrościowego rozczytywania naszych zarówno emocjonalnych jak i emocjonalno-duchowych przeżyć i stanów szeroko rozumianych radości i/lub smutków oraz ich analizowania i interpretowania w poszukiwaniu nierzadko zawartych w nich istotnych dla nas znaczeń, których swego rodzaju nośnikami, czy też formami wyrazu, są niejednokrotnie właśnie tego rodzaju doświadczenia.
The goal of this study is an interpretative attempt at human emotionality, and to be more specifi... more The goal of this study is an interpretative attempt at human emotionality, and to be more specific, its emotional form of expression in various experiences of joy and sadness, in the light of the principles underlying one of the schools of Christian spirituality, i.e. the one proposed by Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). According to this movement of spiritual life, which draws on the centuries-old biblical experience and Christian conception of the emotional dimension of our lives, and which also enriches it with experiences and reflections of Ignatius himself, our emotionality – not infrequently experienced as a peculiar and often incomprehensible “babble” – may in fact be construed as equally emotional and lucid “speech.” Such “speech” becomes comprehensible the moment we are able to properly “read,” that is recognize and understand the emotional experiences that we are exposed to in this sphere.
The object of this sketch is to attempt to reflect on the ancient Greek culture, analyzed with a ... more The object of this sketch is to attempt to reflect on the ancient Greek culture, analyzed with a view to the current search for the ideal of a beautiful man, and ways of its conscious fulfillment. The attempt is conducted through the prism of the term of areté, within the frame of which attempts will be made at capturing some of the oldest aspects of the Hellenic culture in this respect. This kind of approach to the issue refers to Werner Jaeger’s stance. In his opinion, it is not paideía which is the primal and „natural theme of the Greek culture,” but “the term areté, which leads us back to the oldest times”. The research area delineated by this sketch will be designated by selected works of Homer and Hesiod, as well as Protagoras’ and Socrates’ relevant thought passed by Plato on to future generations. Exposed in this research undertaking, the senses of the term areté – with their reference to the concept of human life – will, on the one hand, reveal its typical semantic continuity, and on the other one, they will show its novelty, which characterizes it in a culture-forming and existential manner , and which is introduced by each of the thinkers in question. It is the novelty which comes to be manifested in the Homeric reasonable advice and bravery in fight, Hesiodian life wisdom, Protagorean learned proficiency in household and state matters, as well as the learned good citizenship and the Socratic concept of justice, whose definition is invoked in Book IV of Plato’s Republic.
Key words: Areté, ancient Greek culture, civic virtue, Greek ideal of a beautiful man, Homeric hero, life and civic wisdom, paideía, justice. Hesiod, Homer, Plato, Protagoras, Socrates.
Zagadnienie miejsca i roli rozumu oraz wiary w egzystencji Jednostki i ich wzajemnych relacji wew... more Zagadnienie miejsca i roli rozumu oraz wiary w egzystencji Jednostki i ich wzajemnych relacji wewnątrz tejże egzystencji, zdaje się stanowić motyw, który pojawia się nie tylko w określonych analizach "Bojaźni i drżenia", lecz przeciwnie, stanowi wręcz strukturę wewnętrzną rozważanego przez nas dzieła. Zrodziło się ono, między innymi, jako próba podjęcia wyzwania, które pewne kierunki filozoficzne związane z myślą Hegla, czy też inspirujące się tym filozofem niemieckim rzuciły wierze, próbując wprowadzić ją w system , czyniąc z niej w ten sposób równocześnie jeden z koniecznych momentów dialektycznych, obecnych w procesie dążenia do samowiedzy i samoposiadania się Idei jako Duch Absolutny, który w Filozofii i w Pojęciu, będącym jej medium, osiągnąłby swoją samowiedzę absolutną, i tym samym, posiadłby się w pełni. Nie wnikając głębiej w Heglowską koncepcję Ducha i jego dziejowości w ramach której nieodzownie znajdzie się wiara, co nierozerwalnie łączy się z Jednostką będącą jej nosicielem i wyrazicielem, pragniemy ją tylko zasygnalizować.
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The study is carried out according to the criteria set by the author. For the sake of the study, a number of Polish and foreign philosophical texts have been selected, the importance of which enables us to capture both complexity and ambiguity of the problem. The foreign reflections on community are selected from the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Alexis de Tocqueville, Soren Kierkegaard and Jürgen Habermas. The Polish philosophical thought on the issue is represented by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Piotr Skarga, Hugo Kołłątaj, Maurycy Mochnacki, Karol Libelt, Felix Koneczny, Leszek Kołakowski, Adam Chmielewski and Andrzej Szahaj. The political and cultural projects and visions of the European unification which are analyzed in the study, were developed by Robert Schuman, Jacques Chirac, Angela Merkel, the Wise Men Group, and by the following popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
By adopting the two sided approach to the issue of the binder: the foreign one (which takes into account the things which are or could be common to everybody within their national and international communities and which are also present in various streams of European philosophical thought) and the Polish one (which concentrates mainly on the question of national unity) the author tries to tackle the problem from two different angles. Their common denominator lies in the issue of community bonds. What makes them different, however, is that the European approach can be seen in terms of the diversity of concepts which have originated in different environments and for the sake of various communities. On the other hand, the Polish approach, despite its diversity, can be characterized as more homogenous. And even though it was quite common for the native concepts to draw extensively on European proposals, their final shape was given within the same community which was quite conscious of its own identity. What is more, that binding force has been tested anew each time the nation had to undergo the tests and trials of history under various historical, political and social conditions. These different yet complementary approaches to the problem of a “community binder” cast a new light on the issue and give us better understanding of its nature.
The whole study consists of an introduction, five chapters and conclusion. The first three chapters are dedicated to the problem of community. Special attention is paid to the communal political bodies as present in the concepts and projects (both Polish and foreign) related to national and international communities.
Chapter Four deals with some significant problems which pose a challenge both to certain concepts and to communal projects – in particular to the European Union. These include: (1) the clash of the idea of the common good with a variously defined concept of self-interest (as understood by the European Union, the member states and their citizens); (2) eradication of the pre-political roots of communal ties which have their origin in customs and morals (mores), traditional forms of solidarity and social interaction; (3) difficulty in realizing the principles of democracy in modern political communities, that is, in taking a stand on the issues which are relevant to everyone – especially if it is done in the way which is not rooted in religion, ethics and culture.
The aim of the analysis contained in Chapter Five is to systematize the views on the communal binder. Consequently, the author has developed a typology of various concepts of community and the nature of political bonds which can be derived from them.
Finally, the summary recapitulates the results of the enquiry and forms some meta-objective postulates with regard to further studies of the problem.
The present study understands the term “binder” as a variously expressed reality which: a) binds together different people in a particular socio-political community and at the same time b) stimulates their social activities to express self-determination and participation in the decision-making process which is based on the public and democratic moulding of people’s will and opinion according to their inherent civic rights and duties.
Selected European Philosophical and Cultural Ideas.
Historical-hermeneutic study".
The transformations of the last decades of the 20th century resulted in the Polish society, like other societies of Central and Eastern European countries, facing a real chance to rebuild its due subjectivity. At the same time, it was faced with the necessity of reconsidering, in particular, structural and normative aspects of this kind of subjectivity, as well as the citizenship that is strictly correlated with it.
Taking into consideration the commonly observed chance to rebuild the subjectivity and citizenship of the Polish society, as well as the proposed necessity of deliberation on their proprium and their Polish shape, the present monograph is intended to contribute to the deliberation thus understood.
We intend to realize the deliberation by attempting a philosophical and cultural, and especially historical-hermeneutic reflection on selected ideas, conceptions and theories of subjectivity and citizenship, articulated mainly by the European and Polish socio-political philosophical thought over the centuries.
The principal aim of the reflecion thus understood is, firstly, an attempt at the reconstruction of the deliberation on citizenship, present in the European philosophical traditions. Of particular interest here are those articulated aspects which in a significant way became, or still are an inspiration for the Polish thought in this scope.
Secondly, the aim is the particularizing conception underlying the reflection – a quest for a contemporary model of citizenship in the context of the multi-century tradition of philosophical theorizing about it. A quest for its essence and criteria governing it, as well as its typically Polish shape which would express the identity and political culture embedded in the cultural heritage of the nation, and developed by the nation’s current self-understanding.
The research area of the citizenship thus analyzed is delineated, on the one hand, by selected philosophical conceptions of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, belonging to the European philosophical traditions which – as defined by the author – have substantially contributed to the formation of the present understanding of them in the western European cultural circle. On the other hand, this field is further specified by significant Polish philosophical and cultural concepts of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, articulated in various socio-political contexts of our history.
The starting point of the present study is an attempt at an reinterpretation of selected philosophically-argued perspectives on the issues of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship of the society. These perspectives have been developed by European philosophical schools and/or socio-political thought evironments which have a) greatly contributed to the formation of the western European and Polish understanding of them, and at the same time, b) above the differences that characterize them, claim the right to define their solutions as formulas of the civil society (Part I). The main criterion of selection of these European perspectives is the fact of the inherent presence of philosophical deliberation on the issue of citizenship, as well as their substantial impact on the understanding of this issue in the European and Polish thought.
The descriptively, cognitively and normatively complex picture of the European deliberation on idea of citizenship, which emerges from Part I, and whose solutions inspire the native philosophical thought, delineates the European horizon of the understanding of the idea.
In Part II, its Polish counterpart will be revealed by the analyses of selected paradigms of citizenship and the implied models of civic self-determination, which are present in the modern and contemporary Polish thought and in socio-political practice.
The last stage of the proposed research is an attempt at formulating at least some of the essential criteria of the contemporary concept of citizenship, as well as its proper ethos (Part III).
Given the complexity of the issues under discussion, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach – mainly of a philosophical, sociological and culturalstudies character – which takes into account both the citizenship concepts of selected socio-political philosophy schools, crucial for the western European cultural circle, and the Polish solutions, which have frequently interacted with these, and which have significantly been contributing to the history of citizenship in Poland.
Regarding the latter, the crucial research material is constituted by philosophical-political literary and current affairs texts concerned with these issues. Also, unquestionably valuable – particularly in the context of reflection on civic involvement following year 1989 – are source texts on multi-faceted research into the civic-minded society in Poland, and its socio-cultural determinants.
SUMMARY
The present volume, which is a study in social philosophy, attempts to reflect on the proposition of Christian formation of selected groups of Polish society in the period of transformation of the state system. Such a proposition has been put into practice by the Association for Christian Educational Works, which was founded in 1993 on the initiative of the Jesuits.
The subject-matter of the study, undeniably crucial for the budding Polish democracy, belongs, in our opinion, to those issues that require profound reflection and analysis during this special time when social, political and economic structures of the independent state are being built.
Our subject-matter is a multi-dimensional one and the concepts that are crucial for it are culture, formation and political activity, as well as anthropology, where the former three are rooted. Therefore our approach towards it is interdisciplinary, following the recognition of its importance not only as a religious but also cultural and political phenomenon that stems from the activities of a given entity of public life. At the same time, we are also witnessing the all too proper return of our subject-matter to the wide forum of discussion, both on the rising democracy as well as on the transformation processes that Poland is currently going through.
The selected area of analysis is the activity of the Association for Christian Educational Works, one of the nationwide non-governmental organizations, which function as touchstones determining the level of respecting those civil rights that are typical of democratic societies.
Po pierwsze jest nim próba uchwycenia przynajmniej niektórych z istotnych rysów manifestowanego w wydarzeniach tamtych lat solidarnego myślenia i działania, i w tym znaczeniu – materializacji solidarnościowego ducha.
Po drugie jest nim próba uchwycenia stopniowo krystalizującego się wówczas sierpniowego i posierpniowego kształtu rodzimego wyrazu kultury solidarności zwłaszcza w sferze polskiego świata pracy 80. lat XX wieku.
Wreszcie po trzecie jest nim poszukiwanie odpowiedzi na pytanie o uniwersalnie ważne aspekty tego rodzaju polskich przejawów ducha i kultury solidarności.
Analiza polskiego kształtu fenomenu solidarności z perspektywy lat 90. XX wieku oraz lat 20. wieku XXI zawarta w drugiej części tego studium – jego rozpadu diagnozowanego przez Józefa Tischnera oraz pytań o jego ważność i los we współczesnym głęboko podzielonym polskim społeczeństwie – stawiając w centrum uwagi aktualną kondycję polskich krystalizacji solidarnościowego ducha, zaprasza do refleksji nad kondycją solidarnościowego myślenia i działania dzisiaj.
Tak reflektowany etos, nazwany przeze mnie "etosem człowieka", będzie stanowił podstawę do dalszych rozważań stawiających w centrum uwagi jego postać, czy też postacie, jakie może on przyjąć w przestrzeni życia publicznego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tej politycznej formy jego wyrazu, którą stanowi wspólnota polityczna rozumiana jako państwo. W ten sposób dookreślany etos ludzkiej egzystencji w przestrzeni bycia między ludźmi, w której – odwołując się do myśli Hannah Arendt – „każdy znajduje się pośród równych sobie” , określam mianem "etosu obywatelskiego".
Many persons would subscribe to the statement that the construction of social and state structures is among the most fundamental effects of deliberate civilization-shaping endeavours of humans intending to shape their life environment. A wide spectrum of possible solutions in this respect is embodied by theoretical reflection on the forms of social organization as well as by practice documented in history. On the one hand one may discern the forms that constrain or even rule out the existence of autonomous subjects in social, political, economic or cultural life, or in just one of them. Varying in their nomenclature and the message they carry, these systems’ common denominator rests in curtailing or refusing citizens their civic entitlements, be it relating to liberty, social life, solidarity, or – as it commonly occurs – a combination thereof. Diametrically opposed to these state solutions are models that recognize – in one way or another, depending on the tradition of the underpinning political thought – the citizen presence and citizen activity as the centre of the broadly defined public life. The civil society is one of the indicators of these forms of social and state organization. It is sine qua non prerequisite of the actual – not merely declarative – materialization of initiatives and operation of non-governmental organizations and of their contribution to creating a structured space for human coexistence.
In pondering the place and role of the non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and initiatives within organized civilization, we will focus on such forms thereof which endorse civil society. We use the term not to denote a single political thought or its historical articulation, but rather – generally speaking – a certain area defined by certain political theories as well as their practical applications containing the said distinctive feature.
Die christliche Überlieferung ist seit Anbeginn nicht müde geworden, dieses Wort auszulegen. Sie hat in ihm unseren ältesten Adelsbrief, den Grund unserer Größe, erkannt. Vernunft, Freiheit, Unsterblichkeit, Herrschaft über die Natur; lauter Vorrechte göttlichen Ursprungs, die Gott seinem Geschöpfe verleiht und auf dessen Antlitz leuchten lässt. Jedes einzelne dieser Vorrechte muss sich, so wie es den Menschen von Anfang an als Bild auf Gott hin anlegt, in der Folge entfalten, bis es die Gottesebenbildlichkeit in ihm vollendet. So öffnen sie ihm den Weg zur höchsten Bestimmung.
»Erkenne dich denn, o Mensch!« Das ist der Ruf, den die Kirche der ersten Jahrhunderte durch den Mund ihrer Lehrer und Apologeten allüberall erschallen lässt. Nach Epiktet nimmt sie das sokratische »gnothi seauton« wieder auf, aber sie verwandelt und vertieft es. Was bei dem Weisen des Altertums vor allem ein Weckruf an das moralische Gewissen war, wird durch sie eine Aufforderung zu metaphysischer Wertung. Erkenne dich, sagt sie, das heißt, erkenne deinen Adel, deine Würde, begreife die Größe deines Wesens und deiner Berufung, dieser Berufung, die dein wahres Wesen ausmacht. Nimm in dir den Geist wahr, Gottes Abglanz, geschaffen für Gott .
Diese Beschreibung, die in den Ausdrucksformen und angewandten Begriffen, auf einen präzisen Kulturraum und einen ebenso klaren theologischen Hintergrund hinweisend eine bestimmte Gesellschafts- und Denkform widerspiegelt, zugleich aber einem zeitgenössischen Menschen an der Schwelle des XXI. Jahrhunderts immer fremder klingt, wollen wir nun zum Anlass nehmen, um das uns vorgestellte Thema interdisziplinär zu behandeln.
The study is carried out according to the criteria set by the author. For the sake of the study, a number of Polish and foreign philosophical texts have been selected, the importance of which enables us to capture both complexity and ambiguity of the problem. The foreign reflections on community are selected from the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Alexis de Tocqueville, Soren Kierkegaard and Jürgen Habermas. The Polish philosophical thought on the issue is represented by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Piotr Skarga, Hugo Kołłątaj, Maurycy Mochnacki, Karol Libelt, Felix Koneczny, Leszek Kołakowski, Adam Chmielewski and Andrzej Szahaj. The political and cultural projects and visions of the European unification which are analyzed in the study, were developed by Robert Schuman, Jacques Chirac, Angela Merkel, the Wise Men Group, and by the following popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
By adopting the two sided approach to the issue of the binder: the foreign one (which takes into account the things which are or could be common to everybody within their national and international communities and which are also present in various streams of European philosophical thought) and the Polish one (which concentrates mainly on the question of national unity) the author tries to tackle the problem from two different angles. Their common denominator lies in the issue of community bonds. What makes them different, however, is that the European approach can be seen in terms of the diversity of concepts which have originated in different environments and for the sake of various communities. On the other hand, the Polish approach, despite its diversity, can be characterized as more homogenous. And even though it was quite common for the native concepts to draw extensively on European proposals, their final shape was given within the same community which was quite conscious of its own identity. What is more, that binding force has been tested anew each time the nation had to undergo the tests and trials of history under various historical, political and social conditions. These different yet complementary approaches to the problem of a “community binder” cast a new light on the issue and give us better understanding of its nature.
The whole study consists of an introduction, five chapters and conclusion. The first three chapters are dedicated to the problem of community. Special attention is paid to the communal political bodies as present in the concepts and projects (both Polish and foreign) related to national and international communities.
Chapter Four deals with some significant problems which pose a challenge both to certain concepts and to communal projects – in particular to the European Union. These include: (1) the clash of the idea of the common good with a variously defined concept of self-interest (as understood by the European Union, the member states and their citizens); (2) eradication of the pre-political roots of communal ties which have their origin in customs and morals (mores), traditional forms of solidarity and social interaction; (3) difficulty in realizing the principles of democracy in modern political communities, that is, in taking a stand on the issues which are relevant to everyone – especially if it is done in the way which is not rooted in religion, ethics and culture.
The aim of the analysis contained in Chapter Five is to systematize the views on the communal binder. Consequently, the author has developed a typology of various concepts of community and the nature of political bonds which can be derived from them.
Finally, the summary recapitulates the results of the enquiry and forms some meta-objective postulates with regard to further studies of the problem.
The present study understands the term “binder” as a variously expressed reality which: a) binds together different people in a particular socio-political community and at the same time b) stimulates their social activities to express self-determination and participation in the decision-making process which is based on the public and democratic moulding of people’s will and opinion according to their inherent civic rights and duties.
Selected European Philosophical and Cultural Ideas.
Historical-hermeneutic study".
The transformations of the last decades of the 20th century resulted in the Polish society, like other societies of Central and Eastern European countries, facing a real chance to rebuild its due subjectivity. At the same time, it was faced with the necessity of reconsidering, in particular, structural and normative aspects of this kind of subjectivity, as well as the citizenship that is strictly correlated with it.
Taking into consideration the commonly observed chance to rebuild the subjectivity and citizenship of the Polish society, as well as the proposed necessity of deliberation on their proprium and their Polish shape, the present monograph is intended to contribute to the deliberation thus understood.
We intend to realize the deliberation by attempting a philosophical and cultural, and especially historical-hermeneutic reflection on selected ideas, conceptions and theories of subjectivity and citizenship, articulated mainly by the European and Polish socio-political philosophical thought over the centuries.
The principal aim of the reflecion thus understood is, firstly, an attempt at the reconstruction of the deliberation on citizenship, present in the European philosophical traditions. Of particular interest here are those articulated aspects which in a significant way became, or still are an inspiration for the Polish thought in this scope.
Secondly, the aim is the particularizing conception underlying the reflection – a quest for a contemporary model of citizenship in the context of the multi-century tradition of philosophical theorizing about it. A quest for its essence and criteria governing it, as well as its typically Polish shape which would express the identity and political culture embedded in the cultural heritage of the nation, and developed by the nation’s current self-understanding.
The research area of the citizenship thus analyzed is delineated, on the one hand, by selected philosophical conceptions of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, belonging to the European philosophical traditions which – as defined by the author – have substantially contributed to the formation of the present understanding of them in the western European cultural circle. On the other hand, this field is further specified by significant Polish philosophical and cultural concepts of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship, articulated in various socio-political contexts of our history.
The starting point of the present study is an attempt at an reinterpretation of selected philosophically-argued perspectives on the issues of statehood, subjectivity and citizenship of the society. These perspectives have been developed by European philosophical schools and/or socio-political thought evironments which have a) greatly contributed to the formation of the western European and Polish understanding of them, and at the same time, b) above the differences that characterize them, claim the right to define their solutions as formulas of the civil society (Part I). The main criterion of selection of these European perspectives is the fact of the inherent presence of philosophical deliberation on the issue of citizenship, as well as their substantial impact on the understanding of this issue in the European and Polish thought.
The descriptively, cognitively and normatively complex picture of the European deliberation on idea of citizenship, which emerges from Part I, and whose solutions inspire the native philosophical thought, delineates the European horizon of the understanding of the idea.
In Part II, its Polish counterpart will be revealed by the analyses of selected paradigms of citizenship and the implied models of civic self-determination, which are present in the modern and contemporary Polish thought and in socio-political practice.
The last stage of the proposed research is an attempt at formulating at least some of the essential criteria of the contemporary concept of citizenship, as well as its proper ethos (Part III).
Given the complexity of the issues under discussion, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach – mainly of a philosophical, sociological and culturalstudies character – which takes into account both the citizenship concepts of selected socio-political philosophy schools, crucial for the western European cultural circle, and the Polish solutions, which have frequently interacted with these, and which have significantly been contributing to the history of citizenship in Poland.
Regarding the latter, the crucial research material is constituted by philosophical-political literary and current affairs texts concerned with these issues. Also, unquestionably valuable – particularly in the context of reflection on civic involvement following year 1989 – are source texts on multi-faceted research into the civic-minded society in Poland, and its socio-cultural determinants.
SUMMARY
The present volume, which is a study in social philosophy, attempts to reflect on the proposition of Christian formation of selected groups of Polish society in the period of transformation of the state system. Such a proposition has been put into practice by the Association for Christian Educational Works, which was founded in 1993 on the initiative of the Jesuits.
The subject-matter of the study, undeniably crucial for the budding Polish democracy, belongs, in our opinion, to those issues that require profound reflection and analysis during this special time when social, political and economic structures of the independent state are being built.
Our subject-matter is a multi-dimensional one and the concepts that are crucial for it are culture, formation and political activity, as well as anthropology, where the former three are rooted. Therefore our approach towards it is interdisciplinary, following the recognition of its importance not only as a religious but also cultural and political phenomenon that stems from the activities of a given entity of public life. At the same time, we are also witnessing the all too proper return of our subject-matter to the wide forum of discussion, both on the rising democracy as well as on the transformation processes that Poland is currently going through.
The selected area of analysis is the activity of the Association for Christian Educational Works, one of the nationwide non-governmental organizations, which function as touchstones determining the level of respecting those civil rights that are typical of democratic societies.
Po pierwsze jest nim próba uchwycenia przynajmniej niektórych z istotnych rysów manifestowanego w wydarzeniach tamtych lat solidarnego myślenia i działania, i w tym znaczeniu – materializacji solidarnościowego ducha.
Po drugie jest nim próba uchwycenia stopniowo krystalizującego się wówczas sierpniowego i posierpniowego kształtu rodzimego wyrazu kultury solidarności zwłaszcza w sferze polskiego świata pracy 80. lat XX wieku.
Wreszcie po trzecie jest nim poszukiwanie odpowiedzi na pytanie o uniwersalnie ważne aspekty tego rodzaju polskich przejawów ducha i kultury solidarności.
Analiza polskiego kształtu fenomenu solidarności z perspektywy lat 90. XX wieku oraz lat 20. wieku XXI zawarta w drugiej części tego studium – jego rozpadu diagnozowanego przez Józefa Tischnera oraz pytań o jego ważność i los we współczesnym głęboko podzielonym polskim społeczeństwie – stawiając w centrum uwagi aktualną kondycję polskich krystalizacji solidarnościowego ducha, zaprasza do refleksji nad kondycją solidarnościowego myślenia i działania dzisiaj.
Tak reflektowany etos, nazwany przeze mnie "etosem człowieka", będzie stanowił podstawę do dalszych rozważań stawiających w centrum uwagi jego postać, czy też postacie, jakie może on przyjąć w przestrzeni życia publicznego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tej politycznej formy jego wyrazu, którą stanowi wspólnota polityczna rozumiana jako państwo. W ten sposób dookreślany etos ludzkiej egzystencji w przestrzeni bycia między ludźmi, w której – odwołując się do myśli Hannah Arendt – „każdy znajduje się pośród równych sobie” , określam mianem "etosu obywatelskiego".
Many persons would subscribe to the statement that the construction of social and state structures is among the most fundamental effects of deliberate civilization-shaping endeavours of humans intending to shape their life environment. A wide spectrum of possible solutions in this respect is embodied by theoretical reflection on the forms of social organization as well as by practice documented in history. On the one hand one may discern the forms that constrain or even rule out the existence of autonomous subjects in social, political, economic or cultural life, or in just one of them. Varying in their nomenclature and the message they carry, these systems’ common denominator rests in curtailing or refusing citizens their civic entitlements, be it relating to liberty, social life, solidarity, or – as it commonly occurs – a combination thereof. Diametrically opposed to these state solutions are models that recognize – in one way or another, depending on the tradition of the underpinning political thought – the citizen presence and citizen activity as the centre of the broadly defined public life. The civil society is one of the indicators of these forms of social and state organization. It is sine qua non prerequisite of the actual – not merely declarative – materialization of initiatives and operation of non-governmental organizations and of their contribution to creating a structured space for human coexistence.
In pondering the place and role of the non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and initiatives within organized civilization, we will focus on such forms thereof which endorse civil society. We use the term not to denote a single political thought or its historical articulation, but rather – generally speaking – a certain area defined by certain political theories as well as their practical applications containing the said distinctive feature.
Die christliche Überlieferung ist seit Anbeginn nicht müde geworden, dieses Wort auszulegen. Sie hat in ihm unseren ältesten Adelsbrief, den Grund unserer Größe, erkannt. Vernunft, Freiheit, Unsterblichkeit, Herrschaft über die Natur; lauter Vorrechte göttlichen Ursprungs, die Gott seinem Geschöpfe verleiht und auf dessen Antlitz leuchten lässt. Jedes einzelne dieser Vorrechte muss sich, so wie es den Menschen von Anfang an als Bild auf Gott hin anlegt, in der Folge entfalten, bis es die Gottesebenbildlichkeit in ihm vollendet. So öffnen sie ihm den Weg zur höchsten Bestimmung.
»Erkenne dich denn, o Mensch!« Das ist der Ruf, den die Kirche der ersten Jahrhunderte durch den Mund ihrer Lehrer und Apologeten allüberall erschallen lässt. Nach Epiktet nimmt sie das sokratische »gnothi seauton« wieder auf, aber sie verwandelt und vertieft es. Was bei dem Weisen des Altertums vor allem ein Weckruf an das moralische Gewissen war, wird durch sie eine Aufforderung zu metaphysischer Wertung. Erkenne dich, sagt sie, das heißt, erkenne deinen Adel, deine Würde, begreife die Größe deines Wesens und deiner Berufung, dieser Berufung, die dein wahres Wesen ausmacht. Nimm in dir den Geist wahr, Gottes Abglanz, geschaffen für Gott .
Diese Beschreibung, die in den Ausdrucksformen und angewandten Begriffen, auf einen präzisen Kulturraum und einen ebenso klaren theologischen Hintergrund hinweisend eine bestimmte Gesellschafts- und Denkform widerspiegelt, zugleich aber einem zeitgenössischen Menschen an der Schwelle des XXI. Jahrhunderts immer fremder klingt, wollen wir nun zum Anlass nehmen, um das uns vorgestellte Thema interdisziplinär zu behandeln.
It cannot be otherwise, since it is, on the one hand, both a single “reflection” and a set of various “reflections”, and, on the other hand, it “designs” our dynamically shaped, both individually and collectively, existence as human beings in all dimensions – physical and mental, material and spiritual, natural and supernatural – of our life in this world.
Key words: Jean Monnet, united Europe, idea of Europe
Głównym zadaniem niniejszego studium z zakresu filozofii politycznej jest przeanalizowanie dwóch fundamentalnie ważnych koncepcji rozwijanych przez Jeana Monneta: mianowicie idei federacyjnie zjednoczonej Europy oraz jej suwerenności. Analiza ta połączona jest z próbą uchwycenia niektórych istotnych założeń filozoficznych tychże idei i ich ewolucji. Materiały źródłowe, na których opiera się artykuł, to przede wszystkim Wspomnie
The philosophical reflection on the common good, as one of the primary normative principles, and in this sense also the “founding stones” of a well-structured social life, has a multifaceted, diverse range of proposed approaches and solutions and a well-documented output. Bearing in mind the centuries-long theoretical and practical importance and validity of this concept in the European thought and practice of socially and politically organized collective life, the subject of my reflections is to raise the question of the cognitive and normative importance and validity of this concept for today’s Europe in the context of the European Union project contained in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, signed on October 29, 2004 in Rome.
Lektura uczuć, o której mowa w tytule tej części, to pewna propozycja zdroworozsądkowo mądrościowego rozczytywania naszych zarówno emocjonalnych jak i emocjonalno-duchowych przeżyć i stanów szeroko rozumianych radości i/lub smutków oraz ich analizowania i interpretowania w poszukiwaniu nierzadko zawartych w nich istotnych dla nas znaczeń, których swego rodzaju nośnikami, czy też formami wyrazu, są niejednokrotnie właśnie tego rodzaju doświadczenia.
According to this movement of spiritual life, which draws on the centuries-old biblical experience and Christian conception of the emotional dimension of our lives, and which also enriches it with experiences and reflections of Ignatius himself, our emotionality – not infrequently experienced as a peculiar and often incomprehensible “babble” – may in fact be construed as equally emotional and lucid “speech.” Such “speech” becomes comprehensible the moment we are able to properly “read,” that is recognize and understand the emotional experiences that we are exposed to in this sphere.
Key words: Areté, ancient Greek culture, civic virtue, Greek ideal of a beautiful man, Homeric hero, life and civic wisdom, paideía, justice. Hesiod, Homer, Plato, Protagoras, Socrates.