Piotr Kostyło - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Piotr Kostyło
Logos i Ethos
The present essay is devoted to various aspects of the misery of the human condition and their re... more The present essay is devoted to various aspects of the misery of the human condition and their references to religion, as conceived of by Leszek Kołakowski and Józef Tischner. After a preliminary presentation of the two thinkers, the author discusses example aspects of the misery in question, showing at what points Kołakowski’s thinking differed from that of Tischner. However, the author finds that the key issue is the evolution that took place in the views on this subject in each one of them. This evolution shows that Kołakowski’s and Tischner’s hopes for overcoming that which each one of them, in his own manner, understood as the misery of the human condition in the Polish localness were not fulfilled. Thus, Poles did not manage to attain universalism, as perceived by both the thinkers in the context of the Western European culture. This finding, however, involves a question about what in the contemporary culture, and particularly religion is local, and what is universal.
Logos i Ethos
Niniejszy esej jest poświęcony różnym aspektom nędzy kondycji ludzkiej i ich odniesieniom do reli... more Niniejszy esej jest poświęcony różnym aspektom nędzy kondycji ludzkiej i ich odniesieniom do religii, tak jak rozumieli tę kwestię Leszek Kołakowski i Józef Tischner. Po wstępnej prezentacji postaci obu myślicieli autor omawia przykładowe aspekty wspomnianej nędzy, pokazując zarazem, w jakich punktach myślenie Kołakowskiego różniło się od myślenia Tischnera. Kluczową kwestią jest jednak dla autora ewolucja, jaka dokonała się w poglądach na ten temat u każdego z nich z osobna. Ewolucja ta pokazuje, że nie spełniły się nadzieje Kołakowskiego i Tischnera na przezwyciężenie tego, co każdy z nich na swój sposób rozumiał jako nędzę kondycji ludzkiej w polskiej lokalności. Tym samym Polakom nie było dane dojście do uniwersalizmu, postrzeganego przez obu myślicieli w kontekście kultury zachodnio-europejskiej. Stwierdzenie to pociąga jednak za sobą pytanie, co we współczesnej kulturze, a zwłaszcza religii jest lokalne, a co uniwersalne.
Social Glocalisation and Education, 2020
In philosophical debates carried out by the academics from the Lvov-Warsaw School (L-WS) the argu... more In philosophical debates carried out by the academics from the Lvov-Warsaw School (L-WS) the arguments against irrational conceptions took a particular place. Kazimierz Twardowski and his disciples rejected those conceptions for philosophical and extra-philosophical reasons. in the article the author presents the sources of European irrationalism of the beginning of the 20th century and the ideas of the selected philosophers – irrationalists with whom the representatives of the L-WS discussed. While presenting that discussion, the author shows the main lines of the arguments developed in the LW-S. The critical approach to irrationalism was also present in pedagogical texts of the LW-S representatives. What was characteristic to the LW-S educational assumptions was the emphasis put on the precision of thinking and the efficiency of acting, not on desire to transmit to pupils a particular worldview. it was the expression of a consequent attitude of that group of academics, the attitude called at times maximalist as regards the form, and the minimalist as regards the content.
Recenzja publikacji: Boguslaw Śliwerski, Problemy wspolczesnej edukacji. Dekonstrukcja polityki o... more Recenzja publikacji: Boguslaw Śliwerski, Problemy wspolczesnej edukacji. Dekonstrukcja polityki oświatowej III RP , Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2009.
In this article the author argues that men of knowledge are morally responsible for the poor. The... more In this article the author argues that men of knowledge are morally responsible for the poor. Their responsibility stems from the fact that scientific activities contribute to deepening social inequalities. Traditionally, men of knowledge have been held responsible for searching for the truth and for abstaining from scientific enterprises that may deteriorate or even destroy natural environment. In the author’s view these two levels of responsibility must be supplemented by the third one. The argument put forward by the author is based on the following syllogism: 1) one of the results of scientific work is that symbolic culture in which we live becomes more and more complex; 2) the more complex that culture becomes, the more difficult the lives of the poor are; 3) men of knowledge are responsible for the poor in so far as they contribute to making contemporary culture more complex. Referring to Ivan Illich’s ideas, the author expresses doubts whether men of knowledge, in account of ...
The author sketches the history of a longitudinal study on student failure in Poland conducted by... more The author sketches the history of a longitudinal study on student failure in Poland conducted by a Polish educational sociologist, Zbigniew Kwiecinski et al. Simultaneously, he provides a philosophical review of the study which took nearly three decades, starting in the early 1970s continuing through the fall of communism in Poland and the advent of liberal democracy. The findings of the longitudinal study are striking. They suggest that changes in the political system, in social and economic factors, in educational ideals and policies accompanied by different dominant philosophical paradigms, had no major effect in redressing school failure, or in reducing the numbers of socially excluded pupils. Having critically reviewed the research, its findings, philosophical interpretations, as well as the evolution of Kwiecinski’s views, the author highlights the significance of the role of the teacher in the complex dynamics of educational practice. He argues a case for substantial teacher...
Yearbook of Pedagogy, 2019
Summary This article analyzes the problems of community life as explored in Emile Durkheim’s text... more Summary This article analyzes the problems of community life as explored in Emile Durkheim’s texts, particularly his lectures published under the title Moral Education. The starting point is the tension, characteristic of modern society, between the need to express one’s self within the community and the need to assert individual autonomy. The thesis presented here is that Durkheim looks for the sources of contemporary community life through the impact of school and professional groups, instead of the traditional influence of the family and Church. The article examines Durkheim’s argumentation relevant to justifying the thesis. In the final point, two lines of criticism of the Durkheimian concept, the spiritual and the Marxist, are deemed moot, as is the line of comparison between Durkheim’s approach and Zbigniew Kwieciński’s concept of community life.
Studies in East European Thought, 2019
In his texts, Józef Tischner (1930-2000) referred to significant problems characteristic of the e... more In his texts, Józef Tischner (1930-2000) referred to significant problems characteristic of the end of the communist regime and the first years of the liberal-democratic system in Poland. He tried to understand, among other things, the sources of Polish society's disappointment with their regained political and economic freedom. This article discusses the late period of Tischner's life and work, when his philosophy was heavily influenced by the ideas of Charles Taylor. On the one hand, the author analyzes Tischner's attitude toward the concept of ordinary life, while on the other, Tischner's understanding of solidarity combined with the concept of the spirit of capitalism. The article shows numerous similarities and significant differences between the way of thinking of both philosophers. The former concern above all the consentaneous assessment of the disappearance of heroism in liberal-democratic societies, while the latter concern the discrepancies in the assessment of the possibility of fully implementing the idea of solidarity in these societies.
Logos i Ethos
The present essay is devoted to various aspects of the misery of the human condition and their re... more The present essay is devoted to various aspects of the misery of the human condition and their references to religion, as conceived of by Leszek Kołakowski and Józef Tischner. After a preliminary presentation of the two thinkers, the author discusses example aspects of the misery in question, showing at what points Kołakowski’s thinking differed from that of Tischner. However, the author finds that the key issue is the evolution that took place in the views on this subject in each one of them. This evolution shows that Kołakowski’s and Tischner’s hopes for overcoming that which each one of them, in his own manner, understood as the misery of the human condition in the Polish localness were not fulfilled. Thus, Poles did not manage to attain universalism, as perceived by both the thinkers in the context of the Western European culture. This finding, however, involves a question about what in the contemporary culture, and particularly religion is local, and what is universal.
Logos i Ethos
Niniejszy esej jest poświęcony różnym aspektom nędzy kondycji ludzkiej i ich odniesieniom do reli... more Niniejszy esej jest poświęcony różnym aspektom nędzy kondycji ludzkiej i ich odniesieniom do religii, tak jak rozumieli tę kwestię Leszek Kołakowski i Józef Tischner. Po wstępnej prezentacji postaci obu myślicieli autor omawia przykładowe aspekty wspomnianej nędzy, pokazując zarazem, w jakich punktach myślenie Kołakowskiego różniło się od myślenia Tischnera. Kluczową kwestią jest jednak dla autora ewolucja, jaka dokonała się w poglądach na ten temat u każdego z nich z osobna. Ewolucja ta pokazuje, że nie spełniły się nadzieje Kołakowskiego i Tischnera na przezwyciężenie tego, co każdy z nich na swój sposób rozumiał jako nędzę kondycji ludzkiej w polskiej lokalności. Tym samym Polakom nie było dane dojście do uniwersalizmu, postrzeganego przez obu myślicieli w kontekście kultury zachodnio-europejskiej. Stwierdzenie to pociąga jednak za sobą pytanie, co we współczesnej kulturze, a zwłaszcza religii jest lokalne, a co uniwersalne.
Social Glocalisation and Education, 2020
In philosophical debates carried out by the academics from the Lvov-Warsaw School (L-WS) the argu... more In philosophical debates carried out by the academics from the Lvov-Warsaw School (L-WS) the arguments against irrational conceptions took a particular place. Kazimierz Twardowski and his disciples rejected those conceptions for philosophical and extra-philosophical reasons. in the article the author presents the sources of European irrationalism of the beginning of the 20th century and the ideas of the selected philosophers – irrationalists with whom the representatives of the L-WS discussed. While presenting that discussion, the author shows the main lines of the arguments developed in the LW-S. The critical approach to irrationalism was also present in pedagogical texts of the LW-S representatives. What was characteristic to the LW-S educational assumptions was the emphasis put on the precision of thinking and the efficiency of acting, not on desire to transmit to pupils a particular worldview. it was the expression of a consequent attitude of that group of academics, the attitude called at times maximalist as regards the form, and the minimalist as regards the content.
Recenzja publikacji: Boguslaw Śliwerski, Problemy wspolczesnej edukacji. Dekonstrukcja polityki o... more Recenzja publikacji: Boguslaw Śliwerski, Problemy wspolczesnej edukacji. Dekonstrukcja polityki oświatowej III RP , Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2009.
In this article the author argues that men of knowledge are morally responsible for the poor. The... more In this article the author argues that men of knowledge are morally responsible for the poor. Their responsibility stems from the fact that scientific activities contribute to deepening social inequalities. Traditionally, men of knowledge have been held responsible for searching for the truth and for abstaining from scientific enterprises that may deteriorate or even destroy natural environment. In the author’s view these two levels of responsibility must be supplemented by the third one. The argument put forward by the author is based on the following syllogism: 1) one of the results of scientific work is that symbolic culture in which we live becomes more and more complex; 2) the more complex that culture becomes, the more difficult the lives of the poor are; 3) men of knowledge are responsible for the poor in so far as they contribute to making contemporary culture more complex. Referring to Ivan Illich’s ideas, the author expresses doubts whether men of knowledge, in account of ...
The author sketches the history of a longitudinal study on student failure in Poland conducted by... more The author sketches the history of a longitudinal study on student failure in Poland conducted by a Polish educational sociologist, Zbigniew Kwiecinski et al. Simultaneously, he provides a philosophical review of the study which took nearly three decades, starting in the early 1970s continuing through the fall of communism in Poland and the advent of liberal democracy. The findings of the longitudinal study are striking. They suggest that changes in the political system, in social and economic factors, in educational ideals and policies accompanied by different dominant philosophical paradigms, had no major effect in redressing school failure, or in reducing the numbers of socially excluded pupils. Having critically reviewed the research, its findings, philosophical interpretations, as well as the evolution of Kwiecinski’s views, the author highlights the significance of the role of the teacher in the complex dynamics of educational practice. He argues a case for substantial teacher...
Yearbook of Pedagogy, 2019
Summary This article analyzes the problems of community life as explored in Emile Durkheim’s text... more Summary This article analyzes the problems of community life as explored in Emile Durkheim’s texts, particularly his lectures published under the title Moral Education. The starting point is the tension, characteristic of modern society, between the need to express one’s self within the community and the need to assert individual autonomy. The thesis presented here is that Durkheim looks for the sources of contemporary community life through the impact of school and professional groups, instead of the traditional influence of the family and Church. The article examines Durkheim’s argumentation relevant to justifying the thesis. In the final point, two lines of criticism of the Durkheimian concept, the spiritual and the Marxist, are deemed moot, as is the line of comparison between Durkheim’s approach and Zbigniew Kwieciński’s concept of community life.
Studies in East European Thought, 2019
In his texts, Józef Tischner (1930-2000) referred to significant problems characteristic of the e... more In his texts, Józef Tischner (1930-2000) referred to significant problems characteristic of the end of the communist regime and the first years of the liberal-democratic system in Poland. He tried to understand, among other things, the sources of Polish society's disappointment with their regained political and economic freedom. This article discusses the late period of Tischner's life and work, when his philosophy was heavily influenced by the ideas of Charles Taylor. On the one hand, the author analyzes Tischner's attitude toward the concept of ordinary life, while on the other, Tischner's understanding of solidarity combined with the concept of the spirit of capitalism. The article shows numerous similarities and significant differences between the way of thinking of both philosophers. The former concern above all the consentaneous assessment of the disappearance of heroism in liberal-democratic societies, while the latter concern the discrepancies in the assessment of the possibility of fully implementing the idea of solidarity in these societies.