The article deals with the philosophy of Nikolai Berdjaev (1874–1948), which he formulated between The Philosophy of Inequality (written in 1918, but published in 1923) and The New Middle - Ages (1924). Berdjaev’s philosophy is analyzed in the context of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its aftermath. The other point of reference is the crisis of culture and civilisation, which affected the West in the inter-war period. Berdjaev’s position has been interpreted in view of the archetypal myth of the (...) struggle of the two principles, the principle of order (cosmos) and the forces of destruction (chaos). This myth is tied to the millenialist world view. Berdjaev took an anti-utopian stance. He juxtaposed the utopian-revolutionary principle with the hierarchical-creative one. From this position he criticized among others democracy, liberalism and socialism. In the midst of the crisis of the 1920s he remarked the possibility of spiritual rejuvenation putting forward the concept of the New Middle-Ages. One can say that at that time Berdjaev’s philosophy evolved within the conservative-creative framework, from the utopia of conservatism to the utopia of ‘free creativity’. (shrink)

Scholars such as Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu have shown how the body can become a site of oppression. But after all, the body can become a vehicle for resistance or emancipation. The contributors to this volume, referring to Richard Shusterman's concept of somaesthetics, show through various examples how this is possible. Moving away from Foucault’s and Bourdieu’s construal of the body as a site of oppression, the contributors to this volume draw on Richard Shusterman’s somaesthetics to argue that the (...) body can also be a vehicle for resistance and emancipation. (shrink)

Leszek Kołakowski explores 23 questions asked by great philosophers, introducing us to the great ideas and philosophers of Western thought.

_God Owes Us Nothing_ reflects on the centuries-long debate in Christianity: how do we reconcile the existence of evil in the world with the goodness of an omnipotent God, and how does God's omnipotence relate to people's responsibility for their own salvation or damnation. Leszek Kolakowski approaches this paradox as both an exercise in theology and in revisionist Christian history based on philosophical analysis. Kolakowski's unorthodox interpretation of the history of modern Christianity provokes renewed discussion about the historical, intellectual, (...) and cultural omnipotence of neo-Augustinianism. "Several books a year wrestle with that hoary conundrum, but few so dazzlingly as the Polish philosopher's latest."—Carlin Romano, _Washington Post Book World_ "Kolakowski's fascinating book and its debatable thesis raise intriguing historical and theological questions well worth pursuing."—Stephen J. Duffy, _Theological Studies_ "Kolakowski's elegant meditation is a masterpiece of cultural and religious criticism."—Henry Carrigan, _Cleveland Plain Dealer_. (shrink)

First lecture: The end -- Second lecture: The means -- Third lecture: The achievements.

For over a century, philosophers have argued that philosophy is impossible or useless, or both. Although the basic notion dates back to the days of Socrates, there is still heated disagreement about the nature of truth, reality, knowledge, the good, and God. This may make little practical difference to our lives, but it leaves us with a feeling of radical uncertainty, a feeling described by Kolakowski as "metaphysical horror." "The horror is this," he says, "if nothing truly exists except the (...) Absolute, the Absolute is nothing if nothing truly exists except myself, I am nothing." The aim of this book, for Kolakowski, is finding a way out of this seeming dead end. In a trenchant analysis that serves as an introduction to nearly all of Western philosophy, Kolakowski confronts these dilemmas head on through examinations of several prominent philosophers including Descartes, Spinoza, Husserl, and many of the Neo-Platonists. He finds that philosophy may not provide definitive answers to the fundamental questions, yet the quest itself transforms our lives. It may undermine most of our certainties, yet it still leaves room for our spiritual yearnings and religious beliefs. The final sentence of the book captures the hopefulness that has survived the horror of nothingness when Kolakowski asks: "Is it not reasonable to suspect that if existence were pointless and the universe devoid of meaning, we would never have achieved not only the ability to imagine otherwise, but even the ability to entertain this very thought--to wit, that existence is pointless and the universe devoid of meaning?" The answer, of course, is clear. Now it is up to readers to take up the challenge of his arguments. (shrink)

"[An] important essay by a philosopher who more convincingly than any other I can think of demonstrates the continuing significance of his vocation in the life of our culture."--Karsten Harries, The New York Times Book Review With The Presence of Myth , Kolakowski demonstrates that no matter how hard man strives for purely rational thought, there has always been-and always will be-a reservoir of mythical images that lend "being" and "consciousness" a specifically human meaning. "Kolakowski undertakes a philosophy of culture (...) which extends to all realms of human intercourse--intellectual, artistic, scientific, and emotional. . . . [His] book has real significance for today, and may well become a classic in the philosophy of culture."-- Anglican Theological Review. (shrink)

Wychodząc od metaforycznego (figuralnego) ujęcia problemu zła, w oparciu o wybrane przemyślenia Leszka Kołakowskiego, rozważania składające się na artykuł zmierzają do namysłu nad „złem w polityce” w sensie niedomagań i nadużyć wolności: pokus władzy autokratycznej i totalitarnej. Dotyczą antropologicznego i politycznego przekraczania granic wolności kosztem (aż do zniesienia) wolności innych. Evil Politics or Trouble with the Devil. Reflections on the Political Demonology of Leszek Kołakowski Proceeding from a metaphorical (figurative) account of the problem of evil, and based on (...) class='Hi'>Leszek Kołakowski’s selected thoughts, this paper’s considerations aim to deliberate on “evil in politics” in the spirit of the shortcomings and excesses of freedom: namely, the lure of autocratic and totalitarian power. At issue is how the bounds of freedom are anthropologically and politically transgressed at the expense (to the point of abolishing) the freedom of others. (shrink)

Leszek Kolakowski discusses, in a highly original way, the arguments for and against the existence of God as they have been conducted through the ages. He examines the critiques of religious belief, from the Epicureans through Nietzsche to contemporary anthropological inquiry, the assumptions that underlie them, and the counter-arguments of such apologists as Descartes, Leibniz, and Pascal. His exploration of the philosophy of religion covers the historical discussions of the nature and existence of evil, the importance of the concepts (...) of failure and eternity to the religious impulse, the relationship between skepticism and mysticism, and the place of reason, understanding, and in models of religious thought. He examines why people, throughout known history, have cherished the idea of eternity and existence after death, and why this hope has been dependent on the worship of an eternal reality. He confronts the problems of meaning in religious language. (shrink)

We show, under the assumption that factoring is hard, that a model of PV exists in which the polynomial hierarchy does not collapse to the linear hierarchy; that a model of S21 exists in which NP is not in the second level of the linear hierarchy; and that a model of S21 exists in which the polynomial hierarchy collapses to the linear hierarchy. Our methods are model-theoretic. We use the assumption about factoring to get a model in which the weak (...) pigeonhole principle fails in a certain way, and then work with this failure to obtain our results. As a corollary of one of the proofs, we also show that in S21 the failure of WPHP (for Σb1 definable relations) implies that the strict version of PH does not collapse to a finite level. (shrink)

The article deals with the philosophy of Nikolai Berdjaev, which he formulated between The Philosophy of Inequality and The New Middle-Ages. Berdjaev’s philosophy is analyzed in the context of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its aftermath. The other point of reference is the crisis of culture and civilisation, which affected the West in the inter-war period. Berdjaev’s position has been interpreted in view of the archetypal myth of the struggle of the two principles, the principle of order and the (...) forces of destruction. This myth is tied to the millenialist world view. Berdjaev took an anti-utopian stance. He juxtaposed the utopian-revolutionary principle with the hierarchical-creative one. From this position he criticized among others democracy, liberalism and socialism. In the midst of the crisis of the 1920s he remarked the possibility of spiritual rejuvenation putting forward the concept of the New Middle-Ages. One can say that at that time Berdjaev’s philosophy evolved within the conservative-creative framework, from the utopia of conservatism to the utopia of ‘free creativity’. (shrink)

Podjęta w artykule problematyka dotyczy słynnej figury Wielkiego Inkwizytora, z którą spotykamy się w filozoficznych rozważaniach Józefa Tischnera; oczywiście, figury wprost zaczerpniętej z kart powieści Fiodora Dostojewskiego. Nie są to zresztą jedyne nawiązania myśli Tischnera do „imaginarium filozoficznego” twórcy Braci Karamazow. Warto zatem przyjrzeć się bliżej temu, co kryje się w „cieniu”, jaki roztacza wokół siebie Wielki Inkwizytor. Rozważania, nolens volens, muszą zatem dotyczyć „darów” Wielkiego Inkwizytora: pozornego dobra i pozornej wolności. Innymi słowy: zapytamy o postać Wielkiego Inkwizytora jako – (...) niepokojącą, wciąż groźną – „centralną postać nowożytnej filozofii władzy”. I Dostojewski, i Tischner przywołują bowiem pytania, które nie dają się prostym sposobem odsunąć i gestem tym niejako unieważnić, nadal stawiają nas przed niebezpieczeństwem „iluzji” politycznej, w której stawką pozostają najwyższe wartości. (shrink)

God Owes Us Nothing reflects on the centuries-long debate in Christianity: how do we reconcile the existence of evil in the world with the goodness of an omnipotent God, and how does God's omnipotence relate to people's responsibility for their own salvation or damnation. Leszek Kolakowski approaches this paradox as both an exercise in theology and in revisionist Christian history based on philosophical analysis. Kolakowski's unorthodox interpretation of the history of modern Christianity provokes renewed discussion about the historical, intellectual, (...) and cultural omnipotence of neo-Augustinianism. "Several books a year wrestle with that hoary conundrum, but few so dazzlingly as the Polish philosopher's latest."--Carlin Romano, Washington Post Book World "Kolakowski's fascinating book and its debatable thesis raise intriguing historical and theological questions well worth pursuing."--Stephen J. Duffy, Theological Studies "Kolakowski's elegant meditation is a masterpiece of cultural and religious criticism."--Henry Carrigan, Cleveland Plain Dealer. (shrink)

Modifying the methods of Z. Adamowicz's paper Herbrand consistency and bounded arithmetic [3] we show that there exists a number n such that ⋃m Sm (the union of the bounded arithmetic theories Sm) does not prove the Herbrand consistency of the finitely axiomatizable theory $S_{3}^{n}$.

Résumé L’auteur interroge la relation complexe que la peinture de Bernard Villers entretient avec la culture du livre et avec la pratique de l’édition. En effet, le livre – dans tous les sens du terme – a profondément marqué sa démarche de peintre. Il s’agit donc d’analyser l’impulsion que le livre a pu donner à la pratique et aux stratégies picturales. Plusieurs aspects de cette fascination pour la possibilité de faire de la peinture en faisant des livres sont donc passés (...) en revue à la recherche d’une cohérence : les inspirations littéraires, l’inscription du livre dans le quotidien, le livre comme objet, etc., mais surtout l’utilisation du recto et du verso en peinture. (shrink)

Poland, after social-politic-economic transformation in 1989, became a capitalistic, free-market country. In this conditions human being can be perceived as an object, not a subject of economic life. Therefore the import ant issue is to take up problems associated with human subjectivity. And human subjectivity is expressed in his personal dignity.

This book was written with the purpose of revealing the duty of each individual to search for truth and the meaning of existence. Thinking requires determination and endurance. It is not easy. Above all, passion for truth is necessary for every honest seeker.

Henri Bergson was born the year that Darwin published On the Origin of Species. The significance of this and other works on the theory of evolution in the development of Bergson's philosophy became clear when he published Creative Evolution and established himself as one of Europe's most influential thinkers. Kolakowski shows how Bergson sought to reconcile Darwinian theory with the view that all matter is propelled by an internal life-drive.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION The present volume belongs to the theory of historical process. That domain of science seems to be as made as all the theoretical ...

This compound paper presents the views of two Polish philosophers on the strong international pressures influencing the development of Polish philosophy in recent times. The first part, by Leszek Koczanowicz, treats the philosophical situation and problems of totalitarian Poland under the influence of Soviet Marxism, while the second part, by Adam Chmielewski, focuses on the main trends and difficulties of post‐totalitarian Poland, dominated by Western influence.

Niniejsza wypowiedź jest próbą ukazania wyższości intelektualnej jednostki wybitnej nad jednostkami przeciętnymi. Transgresja jest tutaj formą przejścia, przemiany artysty, negującego zastany porządek świata, pragnącego podłożyć podwaliny pod nową rzeczywistość widzianą oczami szalonego geniusza - Friedricha Nietzschego, do którego często się odwołuję. Jego pojęcie \"Nadczłowieka\" jest tożsame z pojęciem genialnego twórcy, jednostki wybitnej, niezrozumiałej przez pospólstwo, która swoimi horyzontami twórczymi wybiega daleko poza własną epokę\".

Artykuł jest dygresyjnym przeglądem kilku internetowych witryn muzeów, wybranych i uporządkowanych tematycznie według klucza naukowych zainteresowań autora, zwłaszcza w kontekście sposobu udostępniania online zgromadzonych zbiorów. Instytucje muzealne proponują rozmaite metody i zakresy prezentacji: od najprostszego zamieszczenia fotografii kilkudziesięciu najbardziej spektakularnych zabytków (tzw. _highlights of the collection_) po profesjonalne bazy danych obejmujące całość zasobów wraz z obiektami magazynowymi, wspomagane zaawansowanymi narzędziami przeszukiwania i w pełni naukową deskrypcją. Bez wątpienia w obliczu tego faktu poszczególne muzea różnie definiują profil adresatów swoich kolekcji prezentowanych (...) online. (shrink)

We introduce the notion of a Minkowskian Branching Structure ("MBS" for short). Then we prove some results concerning the phenomenon of funny business in its finitary and infinitary variants.

Unia Europejska jest nową, dynamicznie rozwijającą się na naszych oczach rzeczywistością. Jej historia, pomimo niewielu lat istnienia, jest bogata i bardzo złożona, tak jak i cała struktura Unii. Nie ulega jednak wątpliwości, że jednym z najważniejszych elementów, które zdecydowały o tym, by ideę jednoczenia się naszego kontynentu próbować przełożyć na konkretne dokonania, były europejskie doświadczenia, wpisane na karty historii, szczególnie najnowszej historii XX stulecia, poranionej dwoma wojnami światowymi, niezliczonymi konfliktami i dramatami kulturowymi, etnicznymi, narodowościowymi.

Unia Europejska jest nową, dynamicznie rozwijającą się na naszych oczach rzeczywistością. Jej historia, pomimo niewielu lat istnienia, jest bogata i bardzo złożona, tak jak i cała struktura Unii. Nie ulega jednak wątpliwości, że jednym z najważniejszych elementów, które zdecydowały o tym, by ideę jednoczenia się naszego kontynentu próbować przełożyć na konkretne dokonania, były europejskie doświadczenia, wpisane na karty historii, szczególnie najnowszej historii XX stulecia, poranionej dwoma wojnami światowymi, niezliczonymi konfliktami i dramatami kulturowymi, etnicznymi, narodowościowymi.