Chciałem Go pożegnać. Kilkakrotnie próbowałem napisać choć parę słów. O Nim samym. Okazało się, że nie potrafię. Udało mi się tylko przedstawić Jego poglądy na reizm Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego, ale uczyniłem to gdzie indziej. Muszę tu poprzestać na ofiarowaniu Mu tego, co napisałem na Jego dziewięćdziesiąte urodziny, w osiemdziesięciolecie naszej przyjaźni.

The fundamental problem of Jan Srzednicki’s new epistemology is the question: how thoughts surpass the resistance of that what is ontologically present, how this process is possible? In Srzednicki’s opinion, thinking is a process of distancing from the pressure of ontological presence. His ideas offer a splendid inspiration for philosophy of medicine which attempts to answer the question “whether (and how) a disease is cognizable?” This question refers directly to and is translated into the question of the capacity to diagnose (...) particular diseases. Answering to the above stated question whether disease is cognizable we should answer in the affirmative, however, in a “modified” form that its pre-cognitive resistance to reality is formed at the articulated level. Somewhat intuitively we feel the presence of a disease before we express it in words as a disease according to our scientific or informal thought style. (shrink)

Współczesne nauki o zdrowiu podejmują współpracę z psychologią w celu zbadania subiektywnego postrzegania choroby. Jedną z dyscyplin psychologicznych, szczególnie istotną dla realizacji tego celu jest psychologia zdrowia. Wielowymiarowa Skala Istoty Choroby (MEDIS) opracowana przez J. Saka nawiązuje do metodologii badawczej tej dyscypliny. Wyodrębnione czynniki skali MEDIS opisują: ograniczenia samorealizacji, dysfunkcję psychiczną, dysfunkcję fizyczną, infekcję oraz wycofanie społeczne. Skala składa się z 28 pozycji odnoszących się do „bycia chorym”.

Building on our diverse research traditions in the study of reasoning, language and communication, the Polish School of Argumentation integrates various disciplines and institutions across Poland in which scholars are dedicated to understanding the phenomenon of the force of argument. Our primary goal is to craft a methodological programme and establish organisational infrastructure: this is the first key step in facilitating and fostering our research movement, which joins people with a common research focus, complementary skills and an enthusiasm to work (...) together. This statement—the Manifesto—lays the foundations for the research programme of the Polish School of Argumentation. (shrink)

At the turn of 1960s and 1970s, Stanisław Lem devoted some of his non-fiction writing to a discussion and considerations of semiotics. Most of them were expressions of a critical approach mainly directed against structuralism. However, Lem also formulated some positive statements although they were not developed systematically. The article offers an analysis of Lem’s semiotic ideas from the perspective of semiotic functionalism of Jerzy Pelc, mainly considering its two main components: contextualism and typological approach. Special attention is paid (...) to the latter because both Pelc and Lem proposed some original solutions in this respect. What is meant here is the multidimensional typology of symbolic uses of signs developed by Pelc and Lem’s multidimensional typology of the situations of the reception of texts. Although they are independent form each other, these proposals show some convergence both in their ways of construction and roles they are supposed to perform. Henceforth, one can say that Lem was a crypto-functionalist. (shrink)

Artykuł przybliża budowę synaptycznej strefy aktywnej oraz omawia funkcje zlokalizowanych tam białek, bez których przekaźnictwo w układzie nerwowym byłoby niemożliwe. Autorzy zwrócili szczególną uwagę na fizjologiczny aspekt działania omawianych substancji, a także neurologiczne oraz behawioralne konsekwencje usunięcia kodujących je genów z puli genowej organizmu. Zamieszczone ryciny schematycznie ukazują obraz synapsy oraz tworzone przez opisane białka wiązania chemiczne w synaptycznej strefie aktywnej.

Being is said and interpreted in various ways. These are studied in ontology. Ontology is concerned with both particular beings of several sorts as well as with the being and Being itself — respectively beings’ collection and unification into one.

The paper is devoted to the description of life and scientific achievements as well as the influence of Seweryna Łuszczewska-Romahnowa.

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a sudden and significant change in the conditions of various academic activities. In the present study, we wanted to investigate the influence of the first pandemic lockdown on procrastination tendencies among Polish students. To achieve this goal we employed a mixed-method, embedded longitudinal study. In the quantitative part of the research, the same group of university students completed the procrastination questionnaire twice: a year before, and two months after the introduction of the (...) first pandemic lockdown. The qualitative part included the open-ended questions about the perceived reasons for an observed change in a tendency to postpone tasks after the pandemic outbreak. Our analyses showed a significant increase in academic procrastination after the lockdown introduction. In particular, students reported a decrease in the study interest and lower working discipline. As the causes of higher procrastination during the lockdown period, students most frequently pointed out the reduced monitoring of work progress by supervisors and lower negative consequences of delaying tasks. The second most frequent theme in provided answers included difficulty in restraining from alternative activities and problems with focusing on tasks or ignoring distractions. Embedding qualitative and quantitative data gave a consistent picture of students' situation in the first lockdown and provided potential explanation for the exacerbation of procrastinatory behaviors after the pandemic outbreak. (shrink)

This paper is a fragment of the book “Kaja od Radosława, czyli historia Hubalowego Krzyża”, which was published by Warszawskie Wydawnictwo Literackie Muza in 2006. It will be published by the American publisher The Military History Press under the title “Kaia Savior of the Hubal Cross”. Covering a century of Polish history, it is full of tragic and compelling events. Such historic events as Polish life in Siberia, Warsaw before the war, the German occupation, the Warsaw Uprising, life in Ostaszków, (...) and the rebuilding of Warsaw are included.The hero Kaia is a woman, christened Cesaria, whose father was expelled to Siberia in 1905 for conspiring against the tsar. Kaia spent her early childhood there, and the family lived near the mountain Altaj. A chapter shows how the Polish community lived there, organized their daily lives, etc. In 1922, the family returned to free Poland, the train trip back taking almost a year. This ordeal is highlighted as a series of stops sometimes lasting for weeks because of heavy snow accumulation, the men shoveling a pathway for the train to pass through, many deaths occurring from the frigid cold with the “caboose” used as a mortuary for Poles to be returned to their homeland for burial. Kaia entered the school system, was eventually educated as an architect, and then World War II started. She lived under the German occupation for the first few years, and later became a conspirator by helping the underground movement. She joined the Armia Krajowa in 1942. At considerable risk, her apartment became a meeting place for the conspirators.After Hubal’s death, one of his couriers gave Kaia the Hubal Cross Virtuti Militari. The cross was with her for the ensuing 50 years. During the Warsaw Uprising, in which she was a courier, she carried the cross around her neck. Many times, she had to travel via the Warsaw underground sewer system. Twice, she was wounded. After the Warsaw Uprising collapsed, she went to the east territory to look for her mother. She was captured by the Russian NKVD in Białystok and sent to Ostaszków. An interesting scene describes one of many interrogations: the Russian interrogator asks if she knows about the cross. Her reply causes a puzzled look on his face. The cross was never discovered (she had hidden it in a specially made shoe). Protection of the Virtuti Militari Cross, which at first had been a challenge to Kaia to survive the Uprising and Russian imprisonment, later became a symbol of courage and determination of the Polish people. In 1946, Kaia returned to Poland very ill and weighing only 38 kg (83.6 pounds). Eventually recovering her health, she worked as an architect involved in the rebuilding of Warsaw totally decimated by the Germans.In the Warsaw Uprising chapter, Kaia’s diary is included, and the book relates the scenes and events that she described. One such experience is most moving. It was a quiet moment, i.e. the shooting had subsided. On a warm beautiful August night, she was sitting, enjoying the quiet alone when, a young man sat down next to her. He was a colleague from architectural school. Together, a few months earlier, they had attended a university ball, and Kaia remembered him as always being funny and amusing. Then, she noticed he was missing one eye and part of his chin. He returned her gaze and jokingly said, “I still have one eye left”. And then, he quietly sang a popular song that they had danced the waltz to… “Not to be in love on such a beautiful night is a sin”… Kaia had to be in the same mood as he was and smiled. A few days later, half of his body was covered in ruins…he could not be helped. His death lasted several days, and he is buried in Powązki Cemetery, like many soldiers of the Uprising. (shrink)

In an autobiographical account the author, born in 1922, describes his childhood and school years in Lublin, then briefly presents the experiences of his generation during the German occupation, devoting more space to the period 1944–1947 he spent in Soviet camps deported as a soldier of AK (Home Army).Upon his return to Poland he embarked upon professional work in publishing industry and academic study. He left Poland in 1959 resuming a teaching career at several of American universities, and publishing a (...) significant number of studies and novels. He considers freedom to be the key to his success. (shrink)

The events occurring in Poland in 1944 are discussed here as the story of Home Army [AK] unfolds in its dramatic developments taking place during that year. Starting with south-eastern provinces the gradual Soviet incursion moved toward the north-east, and eventually to central Poland, everywhere affecting the actions of AK aimed at liberation of Poland. The ensuing conflict culminated in the Warsaw Uprising in August and September when the Soviets refused to help AK in order to promote their own choice (...) for Poland’s government. The author participated in many of the events presented, thus being able to recall them as an eyewitness. (shrink)