Edward Józef Abramowski (17 August 1868 – 21 June 1918) was a Polish

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, libertarian socialist,

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

, ethician, and supporter of

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

s. Abramowski is also one of the best known activists of classical

anarchism in Poland Anarchism in Poland first developed at the turn of the 20th century under the influence of anarchist ideas from Western Europe and from Russia. Prior to Polish independence from the Russian Empire, several anarchist organizations emerged within ...

Biography

Abramowski was born on 17 August 1868 in Stefanin, in the

Vasilkovsky Uyezd Vasilkovsky Uyezd (russian: Васильковский уезд) was one of the subdivisions of the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Vasilkov (Vasylkiv). ...

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...

(present-day Ukraine) to Jadwiga and Edward. After his mother died (in 1878), he moved to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in 1879, where his teacher,

Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic, and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan Sawa''. She ...

, introduced him to the members of the First Proletariat. In 1892 he took part in the Paris gathering of Polish socialists, where

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

was founded. Abramowski is considered the founder of the Polish co-operative movement, promoting economic associations and initiatives. As a supporter of the

cooperative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

, he founded a cooperative magazine "

Społem PSS Społem is a Polish consumers' co-operative of local grocery stores founded in 1868. Each of the branches of PSS Społem during the Partitions of Poland were formed via different conditions in law, economy and politics. The common character ...

" (''Together'') in 1906. In 1915 he was given a chair in

Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...

at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

, which he occupied until his death. He died on 21 June 1918 in Warsaw.

Thought

Influenced by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, Abramowski called himself a "state-rejecting socialist" in his most important work, ''Socialism & State''. He went on to further his political philosophy in other works, such as ''The Republic of Friends'', and ''General Collusion Against the Government''. In later years, his thought increasingly tended towards

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...

, emphasising the importance of co-operative organization of the work force. Alongside this politico-social theorising, he also conducted an intense research activity in the field of experimental psychology, showing particular interest in the subconscious.

Works

* ''Zagadnienia socjalizmu'', Lviv 1899 (pod pseud.: Z.R. Walczewski) * ''Etyka a rewolucja'', 1899 * ''Socjalizm a państwo. Przyczynek do krytyki współczesnego socjalizmu'', Lviv 1904 * ''Zmowa powszechna przeciw rządowi'', Cracow 1905 * ''Idee społeczne kooperatyzmu'' 1907 * ''Le subconscient normal'' 1914 * ''Pisma'', t. I-IV, Warszawa 1924–1928 * ''Filozofia społeczna. Wybór pism'', Warsaw 1968 * ''Metafizyka doświadczalna i inne pisma'', Warsaw 1980

External links

*
Abramowski biography

References

1868 births 1918 deaths Anarcho-syndicalists Polish cooperative organizers Left-libertarians Libertarian socialists People from Vasilkovsky Uyezd Polish anarchists Polish libertarians Polish psychologists Polish Socialist Party politicians 19th-century Polish philosophers {{Anarchist-stub

Biography

Thought

Works

See also

External links

References