Seweryn Blandzi Plato and the Protestant Principle of Autarchy of the Scripture (sola scriptura)The author gives reasons why the new holistic Tübingen-interpretation of Plato (H. Krämer, K. Gaiser, Th. A. Szlezák), which combines the Dialogues with his unwritten teaching is still difficult to accept (especially in Germany). The discovery (on the basis of indirect testimonies of Aristotle and his commentators) that there was a separate oral (“exoteric”) metaphysics of principles, which was parallel to dialogues but more valuable (timiotera) in (...) content, and which Plato did not popularize in his writings, has been an antithesis to the traditional romantic paradigm (particularly strong in Germany) of F. Schlegel-Schleiermacher, founded on the conviction of the primacy of autarchy of the written (“exoteric”) text in general. This conviction leads us to the Protestant postulate of Biblical exegesis treated as self-sufficient (sola scriptura), interpreted exclusively on its own basis (sui ipsius interpres), and Schleiermacher transposes this requirement onto Plato’s writings. On the other hand, F. Schlegel, who emphasizes the fragmentary and asystematic character of Plato’s thought in dialogues, sees Plato as a thinker who constantly moves toward infinity, unable ever to reach it. With respect to the dialogues, the reader finds himself in a similar situation as the limited individuality of finite being to infinity. For the romantics (inspired by the idealistic philosophy of subjectivity and identity), man’s greatness as a finite being manifests itself in creating works which reflect infinity. The infinity of the Absolute manifests itself in the absolute freedom and the power of creation, which man – so to speak – meets halfway, with his infinite reflection, creativity, invention, interpretation as an expression of spirit’s freedom. Hence the lasting attraction of this traditional approach, which is unlike the new paradigm that imposes great requirements and constraints on the reader (studying doxographic literature, finding in it testimonies of Plato’s disciples regarding the intra-academic teaching). When Plato’s literary dialogue is treated as a kind of an “open text,” it thus justifies all the possible “hermeneutic” attempts at free and creative interpretations. Keywords: Plato, Hans Krämer, Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher, Friedrich Schlegel, romantic paradigm, sola scriptura, infinity of reflection, new paradigm, unwritten teaching, metaphysics of principles. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to present how to build a community consisting of the sighted people and of the blind. Dom Bożego Narodzenia in Niepołomice in Poland is an example of such a community, as its members – the sighted people and the blind – form a community modelled on the family. The community was created out of the religious inspiration and its building is in accordance to the Christian values. In order to realise the aim of this (...) article, the author interviewed 10 community members (both the sighted and the blind). The received answers were subjected to quality research. The article presents the teaching of the Catholic Church which concerns the community life of people with disabilities and those fully able-bodied. The next step was to present the characteristics of the residents of the nursing home in Niepołomice. Building the community was presented in two dimensions: vertical and horizontal. The vertical dimension is connected with creating the community with God, and it is inspired by the Christian values in building the family relations. The horizontal dimension is connected with building the human community in its everyday life and in celebrating.Contribution: The research undertaken on the community well-being of people with visual disabilities has shown that such people are able to participate subjectively in building a home community similar to a family with sighted people. (shrink)

At the first stage of setting up Kinematical Relativity, Milne modified Einstein\'s Principle of Relativity and assumed that the Universe had to appear the same to all observers. He called this an \"Extended Principle of Relativity\". In order to specify this postulate, Milne defined the notion of the \"equivalence of observers,\" and then formulated a new definition of the Principle of Relativity: all descriptions of the whole system made by equivalent observers must be identical. Under Freundlich\'s influence he called it (...) the \"Cosmological Principle\" (CP). The content of Milne\'s CP was different from both Einstein\'s Principles of Relativity and the uniformity postulate of Relativistic Cosmology. Notwithstanding this, the adherents of the latter adopted this name for the isotropy and homogeneity postulate. Initially, Milne treated CP as a hypothesis about matter distribution. But when he separated model constructing from verifying to what extent it corresponded with the actual Universe, he began to emphasize that CP is not a law of nature, but a definition of the research domain. (shrink)

Autonomy is almost certainly the most important value “discovered” in bioethics after its birth in 1960s. It is sometimes said that autonomy is a specific kind of freedom – one that can be enjoyed only by rational beings; the most difficult problem connected with its definition is that we can easily define this notion in such a way that autonomy could not be treated as a kind of freedom at all. Among other possibilities, especially interesting definition of autonomy refers not (...) to the autonomous agent oneself but to its action: we can say that patient’s action is autonomous only when it is done: 1. intentionally, 2. with understanding and 3. without any controlling influences. (shrink)

There are some reasons to treat the principle of beneficence and the principle of nonmaleficence as separates. One of these reasons is, that they may sometimes stay in opposition. Then the question arises: to which of the two priority should be given. To resolve this in the area of medical ethics, a definition of the principle of nonmaleficence, considering its meaning and importance, seems to be necessary.

The article presents problems of intellectual intuition in metaphysics from a semiotic point of view. There are various types of intuition in philosophy: rational intuition, irrational intuition, and sensual intuition. All of them are immediate ways of cognition. Classical metaphysics uses intellectual intuition as its main method to find out and justify its statements. The main problem of intellectual intuition is an intersubjective approach to the object of metaphysics. The main aim of this paper is the objectivization and rationalization of (...) intellectual intuition in language. The semantic notion of meaning and the pragmatic notion of understanding are the fundamental tools which are used to translate the issue of intuition from the subject-ma$er level into the language level. This operation allows to look at intuition in a non-psychological manner. It enables the objectivization of the method of intellectual intuition in the light of the understanding of meanings. (shrink)

In this article we examine the role of vocative forms of address in shaping the political space in public/political discourse. We are particularly interested in strategic uses of forms of address by participants in political debates in order to gain legitimacy for their ideologies. Our data come from four formal television debates between Lech Wałęsa, the former Solidarity trade union leader and president of Poland, and two other Polish politicians, which were held between 1988 and 1995. Due to this historical (...) perspective, we are able to contextualize discursive patterns in the rapidly changing political and social situation in Poland, and show the diachronic development of the ideological underpinnings of discourse. (shrink)

Controversy over the possibility of detecting design in natural sciences: According to intelligent design theory, certain biological and cosmic phenomena are designed by an intelligent being and this design is scientifically detectable. However, critics refuse to regard this theory as scientific, thereby suggesting that it does not deserve serious discussion in scientific circles. The article presents main methodological objections to intelligent design theory, indicating its unscientific or pseudoscientific character and impossibility of scientific design detection. Critics try to show that this (...) theory: 1) violates the principle of methodological naturalism ; 2) is empirically untestable; 3) it does not invoke natural laws, says nothing about the designer and the designing mechanism; 4) it does not offer predictions; 5) it is an argument from ignorance, and 6) it does not lead to fruitful research program and hence is not useful for science. These objections will be analyzed from the perspective of methodological thesis of design theorists that the sufficient condition of design inference are the characteristic effects leaved by the activity of the designer, which indicate the final cause, although they do not have to be the basis for determining the designer’s identity. If this thesis is sound, then the objections that intelligent design theory is not scientific are rebutted or weakened. Moreover, it turns out that, basically, detecting design of supernatural beings does not differ from detecting design of natural beings. For that reason, there is no qualitative difference between these two procedures and both can be regarded as scientific. (shrink)

Vom Blickpunkt der Wissenschaftslehre des Kritischen Rationalismus aus erscheint der Gedanke, es solle über die Grenzen der Disziplinen hinweg theoretisiert und geforscht werden, als keine atemberaubende Erfindung. Das Wort Interdisziplinarität ist nicht eindeutig, was man aber sinnvollerweise darunter verstehen kann, betrachtet der kritische Rationalismus als eine Konsequenz des (metaphysischen) Realismus. Deswegen weist das Thema Realismus auf den Kontext hin, in dem das Problem der Interdisziplinarität gestellt werden kann. Das kommt in den Beiträgen des ersten Teils des Sammelbandes zum Ausdruck. Die (...) im zweiten Teil versammelten Abhandlungen betreffen Fragen, die sich aus der "disziplinenübergreifenden" Anwendung der kritisch-rationalen Ansätze auf spezielle Probleme ergeben. (shrink)

Light and darkness were central motives in the Bible and in the Platonic tradition . First and foremost light was the essential element and the basic principle of existence and cognition in the philosophy of Pseudo-Dionysius Aeropagite. His metaphysics of light contained imagery that inspired builders of French cathedrals and provided Christian thought with rich presuppositions and themes. Th e main purpose of the article is to highlight the Gnostic aspect of the refl ection on light in the writings of (...) Pseudo-Dionysius. Th e author of the Divine names speaks of light in a fi gurative sense and compares its physical properties to the process of transmission of knowledge. He uses the term “light” to describe the actualizing powers of God or God’s sovereignty over the world that he identifi es with goodness. Th is goodness is also described as “supersubstantial light” which as a transcendent Unity permits divine intellects to partake of the supreme knowledge about themselves. Th us light is shown as essential to the transmission of knowledge. It constitutes the process of enlightenment and supports the hierarchical process of transmissionof knowledge. Assuming that this is a correct reading of Pseudo-Dionysius Aeropagite theauthors conclude that contrary to the predominant interpretation his philosophy Pseudo-Dionysius did not describe emanations of beings but transmission of knowledge. Which in turn indicates that he developed his theory as a part of Christian philosophy rather than neoplatonic thought. (shrink)

Współczesna kosmologia wskazuje na pewne przejawy jedności Wszechświata, np. uniwersalność praw przyrody, globalną czasoprzestrzeń, możliwość wyróżnienia uniwersalnego czasu i jednej, wspólnej historii, czy też ścisłe zależności między parametrami kosmologicznymi i stałymi fizycznymi a faktem istnienia życia. Wykorzystanie metody abstrakcji i wnioskowania analogicznego w analizie własności Wszechświata pozwalają, bez naruszania zasady autonomiczności nauki i filozofii, zasadnie argumentować za tezą o jego nomologicznej jedności. Z drugiej strony w kosmologii przyjmuje się założenia związane z określeniem przedmiotu jej badań oraz warunkujące jej uprawianie. Ich (...) podstawą jest przekonanie o stałym, niezależnym od czasu i miejsca, sposobie funkcjonowania przyrody. Pozwala to na formułowanie opisujących ją niezmiennych czasoprzestrzennie praw i ekstrapolowanie ich na cały Wszechświat. Uzasadnieniem takiej praktyki badawczej jest zgodność konstruowanych modeli kosmologicznych z obserwacją, efektywność wyjaśniania problemów badawczych, spójność z innymi działami wiedzy przyrodniczej oraz sukcesy programów unifikacyjnych i badań interdyscyplinarnych. (shrink)

This article investigates the meaning of the ‘social’ based on Durkheim’s philosophy of society as a ‘collective representation’. I argue that the social, the way Durkheim formulates it, is an abstract sign for reality, a metaphor, which operates on the level of language. Because of this fact, the ‘social’ is from the start limited in its functionality as a descriptor, but it also contains within its own linguistic form, in its word, the possibility of renewal and renaming that is the (...) unique force inherent in language. I propose that this origin of the social operates according to the ‘spirit of postmodernism’, which constitutes a common response to modernity, by what later differentiates itself into the currents of sociology and postmodernism. (shrink)

Przedmiotem artykułu jest recepcja filozofii Schopenhauera w Czarodziejskiej górze – najbardziej znanej powieści Tomasza Manna. Wpływ Schopenhauera na twórczość Manna jest sprawą znaną i omawianą w różnych kontekstach przez historyków literatury niemieckiej. W tym przypadku relacja głównych protagonistów powieści Hansa Castorpa i Kławdii Chauchat, zostaje przedstawiona jako literacka „ilustracja” doktryny filozofa. Tomasz Mann posługuje się „mistyką ciała” jako próbą doświadczenia Schopenhauerowskiej transcendencji. Analogiczną funkcję w oparciu o estetykę Schopenhauera wypełnia w powieści muzyka. Czarodziejska góra zostaje ukazana jako przykład koncepcji artystycznej (...) wyrosłej z systemu filozofa, choć traktowany jest on raczej jako punkt wyjścia, a nie jako cel. (shrink)

The article is an attempt to treat Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain as a novel about Germany. According to its author the spiritual condition of Germany personified by Hans Castorp was established during the history through the collision of the elements of Western and Eastern cultures. The first protest against the West was raised by Martin Luter in his critique that led to the internalization of German life. As a consequence, the culture of the nation was dominated by music. This (...) domination mirrored the process in which both elements characteristic for both antagonistic spheres, namely arbitrariness and order, were united as in music counterpoint. Thomas Mann’s idea of humanism, being the continuation of Goethe’s and Nietzsche’s postulates, is a project of their synthesis. (shrink)

Plato did not express any single and uniform theory of meaning. The paper presents different conceptions of meaning that can be attributed to Plato. The first presents meaning of names as imitating reality. Primary names are phonetic imitations of things, secondary names are built-up with the former ones. The second presents meaning as a representation in mind. There are two kinds of representations: individual and abstract. Individual representation is an imagination of empirical thing and the abstract representation is a picture (...) of idea - a property. The third conception describes the notion of meaning as a denotation. Denotations of general names are ideas. Plato treats names in an extensional manner. If two names about different forms refer to the same thing, they are the same name. The fourth is the association conception of meaning. It is connected with the theory of anamnesis. This theory says that humans remember ideas, which they observed in the time between death and birth. In the last conception the meaning is interpreted as connotation: the meaning of a name is the feature of the object that is referred to by this name. (shrink)