In this article I will discuss employing the classical prescripts of Aristotle’s virtue ethics in education as a guide for youth education. For Aristotle, the practice of virtues was not a goal in itself, since virtues are dispositions which may be revealed in various acts reflecting human perfection. Virtues tell us how to act to achieve a particular goal. The ethics of virtue highlights the love of good and perfection. The attitude of a justly proud man consists, among other things, (...) in approving of what is good; at the same time, however, he strives towards selfsufficiency. Self-improvement, which emphasises self-sufficiency, often becomes behaviour that can, unfortunately, generate standoffishness, arrogance, and egotism. (shrink)

In his ethical considerations famous Polish philosopher Henryk Elzenberg proposes an authentic cognition of moral values. He discerns a conflict between two ways of thinking, scientific and evaluating. According to Elzenberg the more often a statement is rational the less it grasps reality. Therefore he considers intuitive cognition of value as the most effective one. His attitude towards neopositivism and scientism is definitely negative. In his new epistemology of values attention should be paid primarily to a method of evaluation since (...) a cognitive effect is strictly dependent on this method. Elzenberg’s ascetics, approached as concentrating on higher aims, necessity of universal cognition of a subject of evaluation and confronting newly formulated judgments with the ones by competent people, can our imperfect intuitions of perfect values make trustworthy. Our image of the world defines the boundaries of our evaluations. Utilitarian values constitute just a prelude to entering the world of perfect values. (shrink)

This book presents the heritage of the Lvov-Warsaw School from both the historical and the philosophical perspective. The historical view focuses on the beginnings and the dramatic end of the School brought about by the outbreak of World War II. The philosophical view, on the other hand, encompasses a broad spectrum of issues, including logical, epistemological, axiological, and psychological problems, revealing the interdisciplinary nature of studies carried out by Kazimierz Twardowski and his students. With thirteen diverse and original essays this (...) volume is split into three parts: History, Culture and Axiology; Psychology; and Logic and Methodology. Exploring not only the history of philosophy represented by the Lvov-Warsaw school, the book also reflects on the condition of contemporary philosophy from the perspective of concepts developed by its representatives. Furthermore, the studies presented in this book delve into problems of contemporary science and its distinctive interdisciplinary character. This volume is, therefore, not only a collection of analyses of the Lvov-Warsaw School philosophy, but also an investigation into the interdisciplinarity of science and philosophy itself. (shrink)

Twórcy oraz zwolennicy kategorii intencjonalności twierdzą, że podstawą wszelkiej wiedzy o realnie istniejącym świecie jest spostrzeżenie traktowane jako podmiotowy akt świadomości, dzięki któremu bezpośrednio poznajemy rzeczy. Spostrzeganie rzeczy oparte na jednostkowym, indywidualnym widzeniu, słyszeniu lub dotykaniu, jest przeżyciem świadomości, które dotyczy czegoś, odnosi się do określonego przedmiotu. Wielu filozofów i psychologów wiąże świadomość ze stanami emocjonalnymi. Emocji nie możemy jednak wywołać na zamówienie i nie możemy się ich także pozbyć, nawet wtedy, gdy tego bardzo chcemy. Jednakże uświadomione emocje, czy – (...) jak to nazywał F. Brentano – logika uczuć, wpływają w sposób bardzo intensywny i zasadniczy na kierunek działań i wyborów dokonywanych przez człowieka. (shrink)

Time, history and culture are the main factors which influence a man’s identity. The article presents the views of the Polish philosopher Julian Ochorowicz concerning the development of the Polish national character. It also discusses the problem of patriotism and stereotypes, which often distort the perception of a nation and its history. One of the interesting notions suggested by Ochorowicz is the so-called “collective national soul”. He also analyses the problem of the Poles’ “selfness”, which he believes to be an (...) obstacle preventing the development of an efficient state organisation. (shrink)