This article deals with basic changes in Polish society over past 20 years. On the basis of sociological surveys, the author attempts to answer the following questions: to what extent has systemic change brought about significant changes in social stratification? In which dimensions did it take place? What are the consequences of these changes for individuals and the social system? How does Polish society differ from others? As for social stratification, the only clear and unambiguous tendencies were growing inequality and (...) more marked effects of educational credentials on incomes. Contrary to expectations, barriers to mobility have not become more rigid, nor is there any clear evidence of social origins mattering more for educational achievement. Transformations in social structure have been accompanied by rising discontent with material conditions, the government, and the system as a whole. Interestingly, this wave runs counter to positive evaluations in the private sphere, displayed in relatively high self-esteem and satisfaction with friendships and family life. These optimistic attitudes contrasted with disapproval of the political class, and with the workings of democracy. The degree of legitimization of the political system in Poland appears to be the lowest among 21 European societies. When compared with the capitalist West, this constitutes one of the obstacles to modernization along Western lines. (shrink)

Technology Assessment is a new mode of knowledge: it attempts to grasp the impact of large bodies of techniques and processes on large bodies of people and social institutions. We are not yet quite clear what exactly we mean by "impact" which is at the heart of TA judgments. Therefore it is of great importance that we look deeper into the epistemological foundations of TA, and attempt to learn where lie its strengths and pitfalls, under what circumstances it can be (...) best practised, what kind of qualities of mind it requires. (shrink)

The volume collects classics of Marxist historiography of science, including a new translation of Boris Hessen's “The Social and Economic Roots of Newton's ...

We transform the proof of the second incompleteness theorem given in [3] to a proof-theoretic version, avoiding the use of the arithmetized completeness theorem. We give also new proofs of old results: The Arithmetical Hierarchy Theorem and Tarski's Theorem on undefinability of truth; the proofs in which the construction of a sentence by means of diagonalization lemma is not needed.

Crises come and go, but it is good if, from the perspective of the past, we can point to some positives of the crisis that has just passed. Indeed, in the article we first find a snapshot of the export activity of the Polish economy in recent years, a picture which is positive, despite the very serious crises in the global economy. This picture may not be complete due to the scope of the study, but it shows what is most (...) important in author opinion – our place in the international division of labor over the last 15 years. This place has steadily improved, with particularly spectacular increases in importance observed during the years of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The second section of the article presents an analysis of agri-food exports in a broader time frame, dating back to the 2000s. It aims to highlight the rise of agri-food exports as a proportion of GDP and total exports. Equally fascinating is the geographical and commodity structure and the mportance of Polish agri-food imports in the total of those made by selected countries. As a result, an interesting picture of Polish agri-food exports appears to have emerged, allowing positive assessments to be formulated. Quite optimistic prognoses for the future are also noticeable. (shrink)

The 'Discussion' section of this issue contains the following responses to Wilfred Beckerman's article 'Sustainable Development: Is it a Useful Concept?' Environmental Values 3,3 (1994): 191-209. Herman Daly, 'On Wilfred Beckerman's Critique of Sustainable Development'; Michael Jacobs, 'Sustainable Development, Capital Substitution and Humility: A Response to Beckerman'; and Henryk Skolimowski, 'In Defence of Sustainable Development'. These criticisms are answered by Beckerman in Environmental Values 4,2.

In der Zeit als die brüchige Existenz Nietzsches sich dem Ende neigte, entscheidet er sich für eine Retrospektion seines Lebens. Obwohl es ein endloses Ringen mit der Krankheit und Leiden war, Nietzsche bewertet es positiv, ja sogar drückt dafür seine Dankbarkeit aus, daß er sich besser kennenlernte und sein Potential vervollkommen konnte. Empfundenes Leid solidarisiert ihn mit Dionysos, der Schmerz der Zergliederung erfahren hat, aber auch Freude an vielmaliger Geburt zu neuem Leben. Dieselbe Freude ewigen Daseins sieht er beim Christus (...) nicht und Christentum ist für ihn nur ein Ausdruck des Widespruchs gegenüber der Grundlage des Lebens. Nietzsches antichristliche Philosophie zeigt im Symbol des Dionysos eine unbedingte Liebe zum Leben mit allem, was es mit sich bringt. Formel amor fati ist ein Ausdruck schöpferischen Selbstverständnises eines Menschen, dank welchem die einzelne Existenz seinen eigentlichen Sinn aufnimmt. (shrink)

We give some information about new proofs of the incompleteness theorems, found in 1990s. Some of them do not require the diagonal lemma as a method of construction of an independent statement.

Henryk Elzenberg is one of the most prominent Polish philosophers of this century. His main publications are: the brilliant Foundations of Leibniz’s Metaphysics of 1917; a philosophical diary published in 1963 as Trouble with Being; and a collection of papers Man and Value. Elzenberg’s principal field of inquiry was axiology, in which he put forward a deep and original conception of his own. That, however, remains still mostly in the form of manuscripts and lecture notes, of which we publish (...) two pieces above: a critique of the utilitarian concept of value, and an analysis of Meinong’s position on the same topic. (shrink)

The ArgumentFranz Borkenau's book,The Transition from Feudal to Modern Thought(Der Übergang vom feudalen zum bürgerlichen Weltbild[literally:The Transition from the Feudal to the Bourgeois World-Picture]), serves as background for Grossmann's study. The objective of this book was to trace the sociological origins of the mechanistic categories of modern thought as developed in the philosophy of Descartes and his successors. In the beginning of the seventeenth century, according to Borkenau, mechanistic thinking triumphed over medieval philosophy which emphasized qualitative, not quantitative considerations. This (...) transition from medieval and feudal methods of thought to modern principles is the general theme of Borkenau's book, and is traced to the social changes of this time. According to this work, the essential economic change that marked the transition from medieval to modern times was the destruction of the handicraft system and the organization of labor under one roof and under one management. The roots of the change in thought are to be sought here. With the dismemberment of the handicraft system and the division of labor into relatively unskilled, uniform, and therefore comparable activities, the conception of abstract homogeneous social labor arises. The division of the labor process into simple repeated movements permits a comparison of hours of labor. Calculation with such abstract social unities, according to Borkenau, was the source from which modern mechanistic thinking in general derived its origin.Grossmann, although he considers Borkenau's work a valuable and important contribution, does not believe that the author has achieved his purpose. First of all, he contends that the period that Borkenau describes as the period of the triumph of modern thought over medieval should not be placed at the beginning of the seventeenth century, but in the Renaissance, and that not Descartes and Hobbes but Leonardo da Vinci was the initiator of modern thought. Leonardo's theories, evolved from a study of machines, were the source of the mechanistic categories that culminated in modern thought.If Borkenau's conception as to the historical origin of these categories is incorrect in regard to time, Grossmann claims it follows that it is incorrect also in regard to the social sources to which it is ascribed. In the beginning, the factory system did not involve a division of labor into comparable homogeneous processes, but in general only united skilled handicraftsmen under one roof. The development of machinery, not the calculation with abstract hours of labor, is the immediate source of modern scientific mechanics. This goes back to the Renaissance and has relatively little to do with the original factory system that was finally superseded by the Industrial Revolution.While Borkenau, in tracing the social background of the thought of the period, relies chiefly on the conflicts and strife of political parties, Grossmann regards this as one element only in the formation of the general social situation, which in its entirety and in the interaction of its elements explains the development of modern thought. (shrink)

We take I.Q. tests but not Compassion Aptitude tests. Yet mind and emotions need to be seen as two different parts of the same spectrum if the battered human psyche is to be mended. Skolimowski sees the opportunity for a new order to be brought about if the Western mind can return to, then reintegrate, the spiritual.

Grossman’s first major, published study of Marxist economic theory was a devastating critique of Fritz Sternberg’s ambitious and long book, Imperialism. The article exposed the way Sternberg failed to grasp Marx’s method and basic economic arguments, and drew impatient revolutionary conclusions from assumptions of anti-revolutionary revisionism. It also outlined Grossman’s own recovery, restatement and elaboration of features of Marx’s economic analysis, and Lenin’s conception of workers’ revolution. This abridgement consists of the first three sections of the article. An introduction to (...) Grossman’s article is published simultaneously. (shrink)