Anna Drabarek

Reflections on values by Kazimierz Twardowski, Władysław Witwicki, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Tadeusz Czeżowski, Władysław Tatarkiewicz and Karol Frenkel represent an interesting and inspiring axiology project, being a creative development of the postulate of ethics as a science, and emphasise the importance of facts in the substantiation of norms. It may thus be said that the axiology project of the Lvov-Warsaw School, contrary to David Hume’s paradigm, removes the chasm between facts and values. In this chapter, we claim that an attempt at showing the need for a constant confrontation of facts and values becomes the most important challenge for morality. This project also had a pragmatic objective, as it was one of the ways of restoring the meaning of life to the Polish nation which, after 120 years of slavery, was starting to rebuild its identity. It could therefore be called a kind of therapy with meaning, emphasising the ability to shape man’s existence based on the values of truth and good. In the first part, we will consider the problem of objectivism in the understanding of good (Tatarkiewicz, Czeżowski). Good is considered an absolute value, one that is unqualified and objective. It may be defined as a property of things, or seen as a way in which things exist. Good can be known intuitively, but intuition is understood as an autonomous kind of knowledge, or a certain experience which may be improved. In the second part, we will analyse the category of act (Twardowski, Witwicki, Frenkel, Kotarbiński). Every rule of just act must contain an empirical element and be based on an inductive juxtaposition of individual instances of just acts or individual rules. Despite the absolute nature of good, rules are always relative. When judging an act, one should take into account the person’s character, or the permanent direction of their will, and through introspection we can understand and judge the dynamics of human action. In the third part, we will present the category of happiness (Twardowski, Tatarkiewicz, Kotarbiński, Czeżowski). We will discuss the personal role model of a reliable guardian, or an honest man who comes to the aid of all those who need help. We will also point out the heroism which results from a specific treatment of values in the process of moral improvement.

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.

Moderation in the pursuit of happiness in the views of philosophers from the Lviv-Warsaw School Moderation in times of excessive consumption is seen as a controversial virtue. The article is an attempt at the possibility of revitalizing the virtue of moderation by referring to the ethical views of philosophers from the Lviv-Warsaw School, especially Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Tadeusz Czeżowski and Władysław Witwicki. Their considerations in an analytical way, adhering to the principle of clarity of thought and word, present the need for moderation in the pursuit of happiness, understood as a positive balance of our entire life. This reflection also reminds us of Aristotle's principle of aurea mediocritas - the golden mean, which, without losing its validity, can discipline us and warn us against any excess in everyday life. The modus vivendi proposed by Twardowski and his students, who encouraged active action, was based on moderation, which begins with developing a specific attitude towards the world. This attitude showed, above all, not succumbing to the mood of pessimism but also excessive optimism, because both ways of reacting assess reality too extreme. Self-work and moral self-improvement turn out to be helpful in this process. Keywords Moderation, aurea mediocritas, happiness, revitalization of values, Lviv-Warsaw School.

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.

I assume that the feeling of evil is more widespread than the feeling of good. That is why intolerance as an attitude appears to be even more common than tolerance. This thesis is justified by psychological and sociological theories which, by analyzing the psyches of humans as individuals and of societies, explain why intolerance, destruction and aggressiveness control our actions so frequently. Therefore, in spite of positive intentions inherent in every person who dreams about being the best and living as decently as possible, an honest picture of our time evokes a rather pessimistic disposition. Although a lot has been done to implement a principle of ethical minimalism in society, at the same time there is also a moral approval — though with no one willing to admit it! — for integration mechanisms based on xenophobia.

The aim of this book is to present the heritage of the Lvov-Warsaw School from both the historical and the philosophical perspective. The historical view is focused 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. It should be emphasised that the philosophical perspective reveals the interdisciplinary nature of studies carried out by Kazimierz Twardowski and his students. The School’s achievements range across philosophy, ethics, psychology, logic, and mathematics. This volume, entitled ‘Interdisciplinary Investigations into the Lvov-Warsaw School,’ consists of three parts: (1) History, Culture, and Axiology; (2) Psychology; (3) Logic and Methodology.

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.

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.

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.