Abstract

The paper is devoted to the axiological views of the Polish moral philosopher Henryk Elzenberg who addressed the problem of value of individual life of a person ready to give her life for the sake of a state or a nation. Due to paucity of sources, it is one of the least known and very superficially investigated topic in Elzenbergs’s work. A full understanding of the theme is not helped by the fact the Elzenberg himself often changed his view of the issue, only to give them up altogether toward the end of his life. The arguments and lines of thought reconstructed here are of some historical significance, for their reveal a very little known chapter in the development of the Polish philosophical thought. Author argues that since they contain one of the most violent attempts to glorify war, they should also become a starting point for a contemporary reflection. Key words HENRYK ELZENBERG, STATE, NATION, WAR