Józef Stanisław Tischner (12 March 1931 – 28 June 2000) was a Polish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and philosopher. The first chaplain of the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

, " Solidarity" (Polish ''Solidarność'').

Life

Tischner was born in Stary Sącz to a

Góral Góral is a Polish habitational surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

family and grew up in the village Łopuszna in the south east of Poland. He studied at Jagiellonian University in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. In the 1970s he became an important writer of the opposition movement against the socialist government of the People's Republic of Poland. In 1980s he was considered the semi-official chaplain of the Solidarity movement, and was praised by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. After the fall of communism in 1989, he continued preaching the importance of

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

in the new

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

Poland. In September 1999, Tischner received the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest decoration. Tischner remains a controversial figure in Poland. He frequently criticized Polish religiousness by calling it as flat (shallow) as a pancake, he also accused the Polish clergy of being extremely conservative, engaged in politics and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Fellow of

Collegium Invisibile Collegium Invisibile is an academic society founded in 1995 in Warsaw that affiliates outstanding Polish students in the humanities and science with distinguished scholars in accordance with the idea of a liberal education. The association ai ...

as a professor of philosophy. He died in

on 28 June 2000.

Selected publications

Tischner wrote and published more than 600 articles and books. His two main works, in which he explained his original philosophical concepts, are: *''The Philosophy of Drama (Filozofia dramatu)'' (1998) *''The Controversy over Human Existence (Spór o istnienie człowieka)'' (1998) Most notable among his

Góral Góral is a Polish habitational surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

themed works is: *''A Goral History of Philosophy (Historia filozofii po góralsku)'' (1997)

Sources

* "Nie ma rzeczy niemożliwych" . Magazyn Kulturalny Tygodnika Powszechnego nr 7/8 (56/57), 08 lipca 2001. * "Lektury nie tylko obowiązkowe". Dziennik Polski, 14 maja 2009.

References

External links

* 1931 births 2000 deaths People from Stary Sącz Polish Gorals 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests Catholic philosophers Roman Catholic writers Jagiellonian University alumni Fellows of Collegium Invisibile 20th-century Polish philosophers {{christian-clergy-stub

Life

Selected publications

See also

Sources

References

External links