One of the most often explored, repeatedly interpreted, and recognized again and again as a valuable achievement of Kant’s philosophy, is his transcendental philosophy, a new methodological approach that – as Kant believed – will allow philosophy (metaphysics) to enter upon a secure path of science. In this paper, I explore Nicolai Hartmann’s reinterpretation and development of this methodology in both the historical and systematic context of his thought. First, I will deal with the Neo-Kantian’s understanding of the transcendental method (...) as a starting point of Hartmann’s own understanding of it. Then I will analyze in detail his only paper devoted entirely to the problem of the method, (Hartmann, 1912), to present how he understands the necessary development of this methodology. I will claim that despite the fact that Hartmann – following Kant – never denied that the real essence of philosophy is the transcendental method, he tried to show that this methodus philosophandi cannot be reduced to the Neo-Kantian’s understanding of it. He argued that the core of all true philosophical and scientific research is the transcendental method, but only insofar as it is accompanied by two other methods that are needed to complete it: descriptive and dialectical method. I will close by presenting the relations between these three methods. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Neurodialectics: A Proposal for Philosophy of Cognitive and Social Sciences” by Nicolas Zaslawski. Abstract: In this commentary I maintain that in order to improve the dialectical approaches of cognition by using the Hegelian concept of the dialectical process it is necessary to take into account Hartmann’s ontology of processual being.

Hans Wagner (1917–2000), using the achievements of German transcendental philosophy, gives a transcendental argument for the idea of human dignity. He claims that to ground the validity of human thinking and all its products (e.g. culture), we must accept the validity of the idea of human dignity. The structure of my paper is as follows: First, I consider what it means to give a transcendental justification of something. I reconstruct the neo-Kantian’s understanding of transcendental method. Then I argue that Wagner’s (...) idea of human dignity as a foundation of every ethics and law is nothing other than a fruitful interpretation and continuation, perhaps only making explicit Kant’s main ethical ideas. To make this more clear I present the relation between Kant’s ethics and the material ethics of values and, following Wagner, I argue that grounding ethics on the idea of self-determination of human will does not necessarily lead to formalism in the form in which it was criticised by the representatives of the material ethics of values. Finally, I reconstruct Wagner’s argument for the claim that the idea of human dignity is a transcendental condition for the possibility of ethics and law in general. (shrink)

Niniejszy esej stanowi piąty rozdział tomu The Realm of Spirit kończącego cykl The Realms of Being. Podstawą przekładu jest pierwsze wydanie dzieła: George Santayana, The Realms of Being (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., Toronto: The Macmillan Company, 1940), 67–89. -/- This essay is the fifth chapter of The Realm of Spirit volume concluding The Realms of Being series. The translation is based on the first edition of the work: George Santayana, The Realms of Being (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., Toronto: (...) The Macmillan Company, 1940), 67-89. (shrink)

What does socially responsible investing (SRI) accomplish for investors and for society? Proponents of SRI claim that the practiceyields competitive portfolio returns for investors, while at the same time achieving better outcomes for society at large. Skepticsview SRI as ineffective at best and ill-conceived marketing hype at worst. My objective in this paper is to apply mainstream finance research findings to the question of whether SRI may be expected to lead to superior social outcomes. I conclude that under the perfectmarkets (...) assumptions underlying most finance theory, SRI will not affect social outcomes. However, given well documented imperfections in equity markets, the claim that SRI “makes a difference” to society is a reasonable one that is consistent with current theoretical and empirical research in finance. (shrink)

El objetivo de este artículo es examinar el papel de la imagen y de la imaginación desde la perspectiva del proceso ternario místico basado en la tradición del Pseudo Dionisio Areopagita. Destaco en este proceso la etapa primera relacionada con la teología simbólica y la experiencia exterior y sensorial; la etapa intermedia relacionada con el conocimiento racional y con la experiencia interior; la etapa tercera relacionada con la teología mística, esto es con la experiencia sobrenatural. Llego a la conclusión de (...) que en la primera etapa la imaginación sobrepasa lo exterior y lo superficial que se le atribuía tradicionalmente, porque varios autores metafísicos y místicos introducen en su contexto un momento de la comprensión intuitiva. En la segunda etapa la imaginación no sólo es un fundamento del pensamiento discursivo, sino que también constituye un ejercicio espiritual que ha de intensificar el proceso pensativo. En la tercera etapa la imagen y la imaginación son un medio que ayuda a vencer la inefabilidad de la experiencia mística. The objective of the article is to examine the role of the image and imagination from the perspective of the tripartite mystical process based on the tradition of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. I distinguish in the first stage of this process the symbolical theology related to the external and sensuous experience; in the second stage the rational cognition and internal experience; in the last stage the mystical theology related to the supranatural experience. I arrive at a conclusion that in the first stage the imagination exceed the exterior and superficial character which was attributed traditionally to it, because various metaphysical and mystical authors introduce in the context of it a moment of a intuitive comprehension. In the second stage it is not only a basis of discursive thinking but it constitutes spiritual exercise which should intensify the process of thinking. In the third stage the image and imagination are a medium which help to overcome the ineffability of the mystical experience. (shrink)

Alicja Gescinska verraste met haar kandidatuur op de Europese lijst van de Vlaamse liberalen. Op internet volgde een stortvloed aan reacties: lovende en lasterlijke. Niet enkel de keuze van de partij en het Europese project werden druk besproken, vooral ook wie aan politiek behoort te doen? en wie dus aan de zijlijn moet blijven? bleek stof voor discussie. Wat is de plaats van een filosoof in de samenleving? Zijn politiek en filosofie onverenigbare disciplines? En wat doe je wanneer uit (...) het hart van de Europese politiek het verzoek komt om uit je pen te kruipen? Politiek is meer dan dat wat politici doen. Politiek is alles en iedereen. In het gebrek van de wereld weerklinkt volgens Gescinska een moreel appel dat op ons allen wordt gedaan. 0'Intussen komen mensen om' is een essay over de persoonlijke worsteling met politieke betrokkenheid en intellectuele verantwoordelijkheid. (shrink)

The relation between bioethics and ethical methodology is the subject of this article. The author is of the opinion that bioethical considerations demand both medical and biological knowledge as well as some general ethical theory. As we know there is not one ethical theory. but many. The author asks whether we have any moral rational foundations for choosing one of the competing ethical systems, and, if this is not possible, whether normative ethics is at all necessary for the solution of (...) practical conflicts. In other words, the author poses the question whether the cultivation of normative ethics. while one is aware of the pluralism of values and variety of ethical theories, has any scientific and practical sense. Still, according to the author methodological relativism need not necessarily imply the acceptance of an axiologically relativistic stand and need not necessarily lead to moral indifference. Beauchamp and Childress work shows a fine approach to bioethical problems. (shrink)

The neoclassical paradigm assumes that shareholders'' utility is solely a function of their wealth, and prescribes that management should act in a manner consistent with share price maximization. The stakeholder view also assumes that shareholders'' utility derives from wealth, but prescribes that managers must balance the shareholder wealth maximization objective against the rights of other constituencies. Thus, while neoclassicists and stakeholder theorists have different prescriptives for management behavior, their definitions of the shareholders'' interest are consistent — shareholders are self-interested economic (...) agents whose utility is best served by share price maximization. However, if shareholders are other-interested, and attack importance to ethical and moral values, then both the neoclassical and stakeholder view derive from invalid assumptions. In this paper, I present evidence that much shareholder behavior is ethically motivated. As a result, the basis for both the neoclassical and the stakeholder view are weakened. (shrink)

Klanken uit mijn kindertijd -- Het goede van het schone -- Empathie -- De eenden van Stravinsky -- De grond onder onze voeten -- Slotakkoord.

The present research investigates gender gaps in the results of secondary school exit exams in mathematics in Poland in 2015. The analysis shows that, in the basic level exam, males are highly overrepresented at the upper end of the score distribution. The same pattern did not exist in the extended-level Matura. Two explanations are offered here. The differences are driven by gender self-selection in high school programs. Students who decide on maths-related tracks have more maths lessons than other students. Secondly, (...) a student who takes the extended Matura also has to take the basic Matura exam. As a result, the population of students taking the basic Matura is highly differentiated in terms of maths competence and motivation. Additionally, the analysis of differential item functioning shows that only a few items were flagged as having DIF. (shrink)

This work is comprised of personal essays by some of the most noted Holocaust educators working in or with Holocaust museums, resource centers, or educational organizations across the globe.

The paper deals with Czech teachers’ experiences of teaching immigrant children in Czech schools at the primary and lower secondary level. Upon introducing the theoretical context the paper presents the results of empirical research based on semi-structured interviews with teachers. The survey demonstrates teachers’ attitudes to the current state of integration of immigrant children and the extent to which they are prepared for teaching this group of children. Teachers have a wide variety of opinion on different measures for improving the (...) education of immigrants. Their attitudes towards immigrant children are largely influenced by the amount of previous experience with teaching immigrant children. An individualized teacher approach to immigrants plays an essential role in the successful integration of immigrant children in schools, as do the quality of interaction with immigrant parents, the similarity of the immigrant family culture to Czech culture and the range of measures designed to improve integration. (shrink)

Subjective determiners of treating the final secondary school examination as a threat The article discusses the findings of the research carried out basing on the investigation procedure originating from the function-action approach to psychological defense developed by A. Senejko, where every reaction to threat can be considered as a defensive reaction. A nation-wide final secondary school examination was employed as the threat in the study and the reactions to such a threat were diagnosed twice: in January 2005 and two weeks (...) before the exam in April 2005.The participants were 177 students of secondary schools of the Lower Silesian and Upper Silesian regions of Poland.In the she study two questionnaires were employed. Part one of The Psycho-Social and Psychic Defenses Questionnaire and the Questionnaire of Personal Judgements developed by Kinga Lachowicz-Tabaczek and Alicja Senejko for identifying the following psychological dispositions: self-esteem, social anxiety, depressiveness, obligation will, emotional reactivity, sensitivity, activity and endurance.The basic research questions concerned the effect which the diagnosed factors had on the two dimensions of the subjects' attitude to their final exam as a threat as well as how they influenced their reactions to it, that is their psychological defenses. The multiple regression analyzes showed that the two dimensions of the participants' approach to their exam as a threat were the most substantially influenced by endurance, self-esteem, gender and reactivity. However, the way the examinees reacted their exam was the most substantially influenced by their obligation will, depressiveness and endurance. (shrink)

The volume aims to show the variety of research currents of the Lvov-Warsaw School and the ways in which these currents are developed today. The content of the book is divided into three parts: “Logic and Semiotics”, “Metaphysics and Ontology”, and “Psychology and Sociology”.

Badania nad twórczością Brunona Schulza, ze względu na brak ciągłości w zapiskach autobiograficznych, zaginioną korespondencję czy wreszcie nawet zaginione dzieła, nie od dziś przysparzają problemów badacz(k)om. Kompletne archiwum Schulza nie istnieje. Twórca, którego historia nie dysponuje kopią zapasową w postaci multimedialnych archiwów, zmienia się zatem w medialny byt, którego los jest nierozerwalnie związany z gestem tworzenia narracji. W ciągu ostatnich lat szczególnie dominującą narracją stała się ta wiążąca twórczość i całe życie Schulza z dyskursami kultury pamięci poświęconej Zagładzie. Poszukując znaczenia (...) archiwum w kontekście interpretacji dzieł pisarza i dyskursów biograficznych, autorka artykułu szuka odpowiedzi na pytanie dotyczące znaczenia luk w biografii Schulza i ich udziału w tworzeniu mitu pisarza poprzez referencje do teorii mediów i archiwistyki. Porównując biograficzne trendy z tymi dominującymi polską kulturę pamięci, tekst oferuje uaktualnione spojrzenie na twórczość Schulza oraz na sposoby pisania o pisarzach dwudziestolecia międzywojennego. Wykorzystując warsztat metodologiczny charakterystyczny dla badań medioznawczych, tekst udowadnia zasadność pozycjonowania prozy Schulza na szerszym socjopolitycznym i kulturowym tle Galicji początku XX wieku. Poprzez ponowną analizę takich tekstów, jak Wiosna czy Druga jesień, artykuł ukazuje twórczość pisarza jako multimedialne i komunikacyjne archiwum, którego jedną z płaszczyzn (istotnych dla prawidłowej interpretacji) jest ewokowanie kontekstów kulturowych związanych z dokładnie określonym czasem i przestrzenią. (shrink)

Editorial - On the Road to Adulthood Although the picture of adolescence G. Stanley Hall drew over a hundred years ago is no longer accepted, most contemporary researchers agree that the period between childhood and adulthood poses a serious challenge to the developing individual. The developmental achievements typical of this age, such as radical changes in appearance and behaviour, severe criticism of existing reality brought about by the recent acquisition of formal thinking, first intimate relations and sexual experiences and the (...) various forms of social pressure connected with the new, age-related demands and expectations can often lead to emotional instability, disturbed parent-child relations and a propensity for risky behaviour. These are the phenomena that accompany the struggle of a young person in the process of self-discovery and self-determination. (shrink)

This essay attempts to elaborate a first thorough comparative analysis of August Cieszkowski and Nikolaj Berdjaev. Although the latter is well known as one of the most important Russian philosophers, the former is hardly known beyond the Polish borders. This general lack of recognition contrasts with the fact that Cieszkowski played a significant role in nineteenth century philosophy in Germany, France, Poland and Russia. A comparative analysis of Cieszkowski and Berdjaev will undergird the idea that Cieszkowski was not merely a (...) ‘marginal’ figure in the history of philosophy. This essay has sought the reasons why Berdjaev considered himself to a large extent as a disciple of Cieszkowski. The stress is put on the central aspects of both philosophers’ thinking: freedom, praxis and the way they relate to morality in general. (shrink)

Apart from being a prolific philosopher, Roger Scruton is also an accomplished writer of novels, poems, short stories, libretti and literary memoirs. In this article I will explore how Scruton's literary writings relate to his philosophy. I shall argue that one concept, pivotal to Scruton's philosophy, is also a main Leitmotiv of his literary work: home. The longing to be at home in the world is integral to our human nature. Several phenomena, as Scruton shows in his philosophy and literary (...) works, are indispensable in order for us to be able to fulfil the desire to belong: beauty, oikophilia, and the ability to engage with each other as persons. (shrink)

The article presents an analysis of the position taken by Lenin with respect to revolutionary violence applied by the Russian proletariat in their struggle for obtaining and keeping political power. The analysis is introduced by reflections concerning the ethical content of Lenin’s works, a general localization of the problem of violence against the background of various types of relationships between morals and politics and by presentation of Lenin’s classification and moral evaluation of wars, since socialist revolution is a particular kind (...) of war. (shrink)

The article, which is a fragment of a larger whole, presents the typical traits of the moral attitudes among the prisoners at the Concentration Camp in Auschwitz. The source on which the present reconstruction of the picture of the camp morality is based is the published memoirs of Polish prisoners of that camp.

Increasing activity in the field of lifelong learning is an important educational goal of the European Union. The rapidly changing environment creating new demands makes it necessary to take action in the field of continuous education. Labour market requirements in the process of evolving towards a knowledge-based society are changing, which is particularly important in the era of population ageing and raising the retirement age. All forms of education: formal, non-formal and informal should gain importance in response to the growing (...) requirements. The situation in Poland is vary unfavourable when comparing the participation in activities related to lifelong learning with other European Union countries. Research indicates various demographic, social and economic determinants of adult engagement in lifelong learning. This study attempts to assess the relationships between the level of competences in various areas and the educational behaviours of adult Poles. The analyses are based on individual data from a national survey on human capital. The crucial purpose, which is to identify interdependences among the considered factors, attitudes and behaviours, is accomplished by selected statistical and econometric methods supported by suitable data visualization techniques. (shrink)