Jolanta Żelazna

Copernicus "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" as an exapmle of a discourse on a method In addition to the calculations conmprehensible to the astronomers, the work of Copernicus presented to Pope Paul III for approval, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, includes also a descriptive introduction. The author uses it to report on the current astronomical knowledge, explains the importance of the accomplishments of his great predecessors, as well as the reasons for which a correction of their theories is necessary. In this part of the work the importance of discovery and adjustment of a proper method to a specific area of nature research is stressed as well-long before the Descartian "Discourse on the Method"". Copernicus stresses that the misteakes of his predecessors occurred because "something necessary" would be often discarded, and replaced by something "alien, not belonging to the matter". The selective treatment of the phenomena and justification of the relations between them using non-meritorical indications and arguments might, but does not have lead to the correct conclusions. The introduction and the first tome of "De Revolutionibus" provide an example of a discourse on a method of creating knowledge. Copernicus displayed the benefits of his method, relating mainly to the authority of Aristotle, Ptolemy and Euclid. His accomplishment opened the way leading to revealing many other invisible assumptions, limiting the possibilities of researching nature. Some of them - the relation of subject and object, the trap of idealisation and usage of the models of researched phenomena - are discussed in the following article

Substance, attributes, modi - misunderstandings connected with the reception of Spinoza's "Ethics" The text tries to answer the question of the sources of misunderstandings connected with the reception of Spinoza's philosophy, especially with his understanding of the substance, attributes, modifications and infinity in "Ethics". Assumptions made by Spinoza, for instance the postulate of describing the human being as a "state in state" of Nature during a research procedure comply with the rules of model of the modern science. In "Ethics", based on "The Elements" by Euclid, the author presents the attempt to define the basic terms used by the philosophers and scholars of the 17th century, and, on this basis and taking axioms into account, he works out a number of theorems concerning Nature, including the nature of a human being. Euclid's "Elements" served as a template of the construction of a theory, which in a logically necessary manner, precisely and at the same time "suspending" the interference of destructive human emotions, proves the properties of the objects of geometry. Spinoza tried to establish a theory which would examine the properties of human mind and body treated as a subject of science in an equally rational, precise and emotionless matter, starting from the basic definitions. Its basics became, among others, definitions of substance, attribute and modification, inspired by the Aristotelian- Scholastic tradition. Those terms, interpreted in Christian Europe through the teaching of the Old and New Testament, have taken a completely different character and meaning in "Ethics". Upon encountering the text of definitions and theorems the readers were unable and, quite often, unwilling to resist the temptation of adding their own beliefs to the contents. This article treats of this conflict of language and beliefs

I've got a "predecessor", and what a fine one too!" Circumstances of the creation of Nietzsche's "Zarathustra" The name of SSpinoza appears in the notes of F. Nietzsche from the beginning of the eighties. Basing on information contained in K.Fisher's History of Philosophy he hails the sage from den Haag as his predecessor. In the course of next few years the greatest works of Nietzsche are written and his professional, personal and health matters become very complicated. At the end of his life embittered, lonely and deeply misunderstood Nietzsche pens remarks concerning Spinoza's writings once again - this time drastically different in style and the judgement of their worthiness. As both of the philosophers use the term of "power", both reject personalised God and propose the reversion of the hierarchy of the moral values, many researcherswere inspired by Nietzsche's notes to investigate the connections of the two philosophies. However, is the connection real, or is it but an illusion, a delusion of a link caused by the use of similarndevices and terms in different contexts? How did such a radical change in Nietzsche's views come to pass - a change of views not only of Spinoza's philosophy, but of Schopenhauer's and Wagner's musical work as well? The answers to those questions may be sought with use of Jung's theory of archetypes, as an example. In reference to Nietzsche's biography it shows one of the possible interpretations of his approach to the persons mentioned

This article is a summation of work devoted to the main themes of Heidegger's and Nietzsche's philosophies. Heidegger's interpretation of Nietzscheanism and his evaluation of it prompt one make a more precise analysis of the relationship which hypothetically should exist between the "essential thought" of the two philosophers. A comparative analysis of the "essential" themes of the two philosophers shows, however, that questions which were undoubtedly most essential for Nietzsche are compeltely outside the area definied in Heidegger's philosophy as "essential thought", while very many elements of Nietzsche's thought indicate that it is not "essential" philosophy in Heidegger's understanding.

THE VATICAN MANUSCRIPT OF SPINOZA’S ETHICA S u m m a r y The article focuses on Spinoza’s manuscript found in The Vatican Apostolic Library and published by L. Spruit and P. Totaro in the book The Vatican Manuscript of Spinoza’s Ethica (2011). The identification of the text became possible as the result of their arduous research in which the name of a Danish scientist N. Stensen, the author of several letters usually published in the collections of Spinoza’s letters, played a crucial part. The manuscript Vat. Lat. 12 838 is the only known editorial copy of Spinoza’s manuscripts and its origins are dated as early as 1675, i.e. before the publication of Opera posthuma. The comparison of its contents with the Ethics, published in 1677, points to many differences, most of which are typical mistakes, occurring probably either in Spinoza’s manuscript, or in the editorial copy, or else made by the typesetter and not expunged during the editorial proofreading. However, the editors emphasize the importance of some substantive differences of the text for the interpretation of Spinoza’s Ethics. The history of the manuscript and the circumstance it found its way to the library of The Holy Office and thence to the Vatican Apostolic Library enabled the editors to put forward some hypotheses concerning the circulation of Spinoza’s manuscripts in the period when the censure was issued against him after the publication of the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus.

Do we understand the emotions? (Sartre and Spinoza) Can the difficulties of the Spinozian theory of affects be explained by the use of the tool of phenomenology, employed by Sartre in Esquisse d'une Theorie des Emotions? The similarity of the method and views used in Ethics and Esquisse... suggests such an attempt is possible. Endeavours corresponding to the phenomenological reductions were made in Ethics, Spinoza, similarily to Husserl and Sartre, accepts the intuition and direct insight into the essence of things as the key to cognition. The article summarises the base common points of both theories. A complying answer of Sartre to the question in the title seems to result from a not precise epoche reduction, whereas the Spinoza's answer is directly incorporated into his theory.