The paper presents fragments of a Byzantine icon discovered in 2015 during regular archaeological excavations carried out in Chełm, eastern Poland. Iconographic analyses allow the nine surviving fragments to be interpreted as belonging to a diptych wing with the Great Feasts cycle. The icon represents archaic iconography of the subject, with the scene of Transfiguration placed after Entry into Jerusalem and before the Crucifixion. The artefact was created in the second half or at the close of the 12th century, and (...) it was made from steatite, which has been confirmed by petrographic analyses. The icon was discovered in the remains of a palace complex of King Daniel Romanovich, the greatest ruler of the Galicia-Volhynia Lands. The results of the archaeological research allow the terminus ante quem for the icon’s arrival in Chełm to be determined as before the middle of the 13th century. Various possible explanations as to how the icon found its way to Chełm are also explored in the paper. (shrink)

In this brief note we would like to outline the main events of life and the main achievements of Stanisław Jaśkowski one of the important Polish logician and mathematician of the first half of twentieth century.

There are many religions in the human world, and people manifest their religiousness in many different ways. The main problem this paper addresses concerns the possibility of sorting out this complex world of human religiousness by showing that it can be phenomenologically reduced to a few very basic existential attitudes. These attitudes express the main types of ways in which a human being relates to his or herself and the world, independently of the worldview or religion professed by the individual. (...) I use Kierkegaard’s theories of the stages of existence and subjective truth as a model. The theory of the stages of existence provides five basic existential attitudes on the basis of which religious attitudes can develop: spiritlessness, the aesthetic, the ethical, religiousness A, and religiousness B. The theory of subjective truth shows how the concept of truth functions in an ethical and existential sense as the personal truth of an individual engaged in building their religious identity. In turn, I discuss the problem of the relation of Kierkegaard’s philosophy to phenomenology, briefly introduce his concept of subjective truth and the stages of existence, and show how existential attitudes can be transformed into religious ones. I also consider the problem of the demonic as the inverted order of this anthropological and existential model. Finally, I argue that the model developed herein may be useful for further research into the phenomenology of religious attitudes. (shrink)

The conflict between religion and science is considered from the point of view of a tension between two types of knowledge: religious and scientific. These are indicative of a fundamental conflict between two attitudes towards the world: looking at the world either from the point view of revelation or natural knowledge. I argue that religion and science can be seen as complementary, not threatening the views of each other. Science itself is neither theistic nor atheistic. It becomes such due to (...) ideological interpretation. Scientific propositions and theories neither directly support nor threaten religion; the problem of existence of God and the supernatural is beyond the capabilities of science. The argument for the neutrality of science can be grounded in the fact that both theism and atheism derive support from science. (shrink)

The article aims to present the results of empirical research and theoretical analyses concerning the transfer, co-creation, and utilization of scientific knowledge by various entities, emerging at the intersection of science and practice. The research was conducted using survey techniques and in-depth interviews among scientists engaged in research collaboration with entities outside the university, and through case studies of two institutions acting as external partners. Among them were the Lublin City Office and the Lublin Culture Workshops, a municipal cultural institution. (...) The work falls within the realm of social research, which directly (Zerubavel 1997) or indirectly (Sange 1990, Douglas 2011) addresses the functioning and adaptation of various social systems (in this case, institutions and organizations) from the perspective of the communicatively mediated cognitive processes occurring within them (Luhmann 2018, Weick 1995, Lenartowicz et al. 2016a, 2016b). In this context, the subject of cognition and the user of knowledge is not an individual human, but a social system/organization with the capacity to observe itself and its environment, to learn, and to anticipate its future (Hecker 2012; Walsh 1995, Luhmann 2018; Seidl 2006, Lant, Shapira 2001). It posits the existence of a kind of supra-individual rationality, which does not require something like a system's unique self-consciousness, akin to human consciousness, but operates on the principle of L. Fleck's thought collectives, which are emergent in nature with respect to individuals (Sady 2020, Luhmann 1990, Fleck 1986). The rationality of such collectives is defined by their belonging to a functional area of society, hence they differ in the case of entities belonging to the science, economy, politics systems, etc. The research focused on situations where, due to the need for knowledge, various organizations collaborate with scientific units. This research succeeded in characterizing the main stages of establishing and implementing such collaboration, and the main requirements associated with them. The study sought to determine the impact of the interaction of different rationalities on the nature of the co-created knowledge and to identify the conditions of its usefulness, both for external entities and for the scientific system. The adopted indicator of the usefulness of knowledge for the scientific system is the publication of results in scientific journals, while for external entities, its impact on the decision-making process, such as changing operational strategies. In this case, the mechanism of translating knowledge into changes in organizational practices was also examined, paying attention to the existing mechanisms of collective learning within the organization. (shrink)

Tekst dotyczy wybranych problemów związanych z utylitaryzmem jako koncepcją etyczną. Autor prezentuje krótki zarys tej teorii, z uwzględnieniem podstawowego jej podziału na utylitaryzm czynów i utylitaryzm reguł. Zasadniczym przedmiotem zainteresowania są jednak zarzuty formułowane w stosunku do tej doktryny. Przedstawiona krytyka oraz niektóre odpowiedzi na nią dotyczą różnych budzących kontrowersje punktów utylitaryzmu. Wśród nich znajdują się odniesienia do nadmiernych roszczeń wysuwanych wobec sprawców czynów. Inne ujemne oceny odwołują się do trudności przewidywania następstw działań. Kolejne głosy wiążą się z zarzutem ignorowania (...) przez rozpatrywaną koncepcję fundamentalnych intuicji moralnych. W niektórych opiniach podnoszona jest kwestia hedonizmu charakterystycznego dla klasycznej wersji propozycji sformułowanej przez Benthama i Milla. Przedmiotem negatywnego osądu stało się też ignorowanie osobowego kontekstu moralności i idei sprawiedliwości przez koncepcję użyteczności. (shrink)

Unitary, irreducible representations of the proper, orthochronous Lorentz group comprise the main series and the supplementary series. The main series is spanned by the complete set of eigenstates of the self-adjoint Casimir operator C 1=−(1/2)M μν M μν , where M μν are generators of Lorentz transformations. The supplementary series has no such interpretation; moreover it is spurious from the point of view of functional analysis as it does not enter into the integral representation of an arbitrary test function. The (...) author describes the physical context within which the supplementary series arises, nevertheless, in a natural way: it arises if we exponentiate a massless scalar quantum field living in three-dimensional de Sitter space-time and if the appropriate coupling constant is small enough. (shrink)

Głównym przedmiotem książki jest ewolucja sensów nadawanych pojęciom wolności, tolerancji i sprawiedliwości. Rozumienie tych terminów jest istotne dla refleksji o polityce, zwłaszcza takiej, która nie unika etycznego i ekonomicznego kontekstu. Praca opisuje proces przemiany znaczenia tych idei odwołując się do obszernego materiału teoretycznego. Zarówno wolność, jak sprawiedliwość oraz tolerancja były tradycyjnie pojmowane jako brak (negatywnie). Wolność ujmowano na ogół jako niepodleganie przymusowi, tolerancję jako brak nietolerancji, a sprawiedliwość jako stan niezachodzenia niesprawiedliwości. Współcześnie upowszechnia się odmienna ich charakterystyka. Wolność bywa utożsamiana (...) z możnością działania, tolerancja z akceptacją, a nawet afirmacją odmienności, a sprawiedliwość ze „sprawiedliwością społeczną” opartą na przymusie redystrybucji dóbr. Książka oprócz rekonstrukcji tej przemiany poddaje też bardziej szczegółowej analizie jej konsekwencje. Teoretycznym zwieńczeniem owej transformacji jest koncepcja państwa opiekuńczego. (shrink)

In the first part of the paper, the author presents Popper's theory of the objective knowledge and the three worlds in ten theses with a commentary, showing difficulties and vagueness of Popper's theory and trying to clarify it. The second part comprises discussion with a few Popper's theses. The author especially argues against the thesis about autonomy of the third world, and about epistemology limited to examination of only the objects from the third world. In relation to this, the author (...) shows some defects of Popper's argumentation from Objective Knowledge. The conclusion of the article is a different interpretation and an anew formulation of Popper's theory. (shrink)

The paper presents a comparison of two generalised sequent calculi for temporal logics. In both cases the main technical solution is the multiplication of the sorts of sequents and, additionally, the application of some kind of labelling to formulae. The first approach was proposed by Kaziemierz Trzęsicki at the 1980s. The second, called Multiple Sequent Calculus (MSC), was proposed in the beginning of the present century. Both approaches are examples of the family of multisequent calculi.

Provability, Computability and Reflection.

The paper provides a proof theoretic characterization of the Russellian theory of definite descriptions (RDD) as characterized by Kalish, Montague and Mar (KMM). To this effect three sequent calculi are introduced: LKID0, LKID1 and LKID2. LKID0 is an auxiliary system which is easily shown to be equivalent to KMM. The main research is devoted to LKID1 and LKID2. The former is simpler in the sense of having smaller number of rules and, after small change, satisfies cut elimination but fails to (...) satisfy the subformula property. In LKID2 an additional analysis of different kinds of identities leads to proliferation of rules but yields the subformula property. This refined proof theoretic analysis leading to fully analytic calculus with constructive proof of cut elimination is the main contribution of the paper. (shrink)

We provide a version of first-order hybrid tense logic with predicate abstracts and definite descriptions as the only non-rigid terms. It is formalised by means of a tableau calculus working on sat-formulas. A particular theory of DD exploited here is essentially based on the approach of Russell, but with descriptions treated as genuine terms. However, the reductionist aspect of the Russellian approach is retained in several ways. Moreover, a special form of tense definite descriptions is formally developed. A constructive proof (...) of the interpolation theorem for this calculus is given, which is an extension of the result provided by Blackburn and Marx. (shrink)

Andrzej Szostek believes the new evangelization to be one of the most important tasks of the modern catholic church. He reminds as that Poland in 15th century was a very tolerant country for people of various religious denominations. The modern catholic church should base on this tradition and strive for humanity and more universal outlook. The idea of the new evangelization is an essential message involved in the Gospel.

The article attempts to characterize three key doctrinal controversies in the Carolingian Renaissance, namely: the disputes over the Eucharist, the so-called trina deitas, and predestination. The core of the article is an exposition of the controversy concerning predestination, whose main protagonist is Gottschalk of Orbais. The article discusses four crucial issues related to the problem: (i) the concept of God, (ii) the understanding of grace, nature and free will, (iii) the relation of foreknowledge to predestination, and (iv) the doctrine of (...) redemption, i.e., specifically the relationship betweenjustice and mercy. The article is largely an attempt at an interpretation of the texts of the epoch, mainly those of Gottschalk of Orbais and his adversary, Hincmar of Reims. The conclusions point to difficulties in the issues discussed and outline what attempts at solving this problem have taken place in the coming centuries. (shrink)

The author reflects on the Warsaw Uprising and its effects on his contemporaries and subsequent generations. The Uprising has evoked conflicting emotions, the hottest debates whether it was justified in light of the ensuing losses and the destruction of Warsaw. A frequently-asked question is whether it was worth sacrificing so many people for an obviously lost cause.The Warsaw Uprising also functions as a national legend of selflessness, sacrifice, solidarity, and courage, its protagonists displaying uncommon determination and perseverence in their struggle (...) to free their country. A legend which successive generations of Poles have kept alive despite the years that have elapsed. (shrink)

The article concerns selected problems related to the postulates of equalizing the level of positive liberty. The classic understanding of individual freedom, called as negative, identified with a lack of compulsion, can be in opposition to the so-called positive liberty. The last notion is generally defined by an ability, which brings its relation with a concept of power. The postulate of equality in “freedom to” can be justification for conducting a social redistribution of goods. The cases of voluntary and compulsory (...) donation are considered in the text, whose aim is to visualize consequences resulting from a compulsory expansion of the scope of positive liberty. (shrink)

The paper refers to selected issues of exploitation in the face of justice. The analysis is based on the definitions of exploitation contained in the Penal and Civil Codes. The main goal is the identification of the necessary and sufficient conditions for the recognition of exploitation as being unjust. A supplementary question will refer to a specific type of justice which should be considered in this case. In this respect, we should consider retributive, distributive and social justice. Another important factor (...) in this regard is the accepted theory of value. In the presented considerations, we will focus on the labour theory of value. The principal issue can be expressed by the questions whether exploitation is ipso facto unjust and how the phenomena of exploitation and justice are related to each other. (shrink)