Wincenty Lutosławski (1863–1954) 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 ...
, author, and member of the
Polish National League
National League ( pl, Liga Narodowa) was a conspirational Polish organization active in all three partitions. It was founded in April 1893 from the transformed Polish League. National League was the first organization of the nascent National Demo ...
.
Life and career
Early life
Wincenty was the eldest son of Franciszek Dionizy Lutosławski, a landowner from Drozdowo and Maria Lutosławska, nee Szczygielska. He was half-brother to Józef Lutosławski, who was the father of composer
Witold Lutosławski
Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...
. In his youth he was home schooled. In 1880, after suffering a breakdown, he became an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
and
materialist
Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...
. A year later he graduated from secondary school in
Mitawa and commenced his studies at the
Riga Polytechnic, where he lasted only for three semesters. He was unable to complete his studies due to poor health as well as the internal conflict within Arkonia fraternity. In 1884 he enrolled at
Dorpat University to study
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
– he was taught among others by the philosopher -
Gustav Teichmüller
Gustav Teichmüller (November 19, 1832 – May 22, 1888) was a German philosopher. His works, particularly his notion of perspectivism, influenced Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy.
Biography
Teichmüller was born in Braunschweig in the Duchy ...
.
In April 1885 he experienced a breakthrough – one he himself described as „discovery of the Self”. While reading
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
by Plato, he had a mystical revelation – he discovered the existence and immortality of his own soul. In turn he “converted” to
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at le ...
, which from then on stayed with him all his life. The event influenced his beliefs on the pre-extistence of soul and
paligenesis, that he proclaimed as a part of his philosophical reflection and started his long journey to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. The same year Lutosławski travelled to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
where he studied at
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...
under the supervision of the
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
Gaston Paris
Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris (; 9 August 1839 – 5 March 1903) was a French literary historian, philologist, and scholar specialized in Romance studies and medieval French literature. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901, 19 ...
.
In 1887 Lutosławski moved to
Dorpat
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern Europe, Northern Europe, European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres ...
where he wrote his Masters’ thesis in philosophy but was unsuccessful in finding a job posting there. In 1888, thanks to the influence of the Polish
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
Jan Baudoin de Courtenay, he became a private associate professor in
Kazań, where he taught
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
,
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
and
history of philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. In the following years Lutosławski travelled extensively in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. He continued his studies on Plato (that he started in 1887) in places like the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. The effect of these studies was his work, The Origin and Growth of Plato's Logic with an Account of Plato's Style and of the Chronology of his Writings (London 1897). Thanks to the stylometric method, that involved the identification of stylistic differences, he was able to establish a certain chronology of the works written by the most famous student of
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
.
While writing about Plato, Lutosławski tried to secure employment in what used to be Poland. Being unsuccessful at Jagiellonian University, in 1898 Lutosławski settled in a
Galician town of Mera in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, where he hosted (among others)
Tadeusz Miciński
Tadeusz Miciński (9 November 1873, in Łódź – February 1918, in Cherykaw Raion, Belarus) was an influential Poland, Polish poet, gnostic and playwright, and was a forerunner of Expressionism and Surrealism. He is one of the writers of the You ...
and
Stanisław Przybyszewski. The same year he received his doctorate in philosophy from the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
, based on his thesis Ueber die Grundvoraussertzungen und Consequenzen de Individualistichen Weltanschauung. Following this event, Lutosławski came to
Krakow, where he was only offered the post of the private associate professor.
When he lived in Krakow, Lutosławski was known for his extravagant behaviour – for example by wearing the attire of Polish Highlanders (
górale). During his lectured that lasted for many hours, Lutosławski often proclaimed radical social slogans and attacked
philosophical positivism as well as
pessimism
Pessimism is a negative mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empt ...
,
nihilism
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
, partitioning authorities and so called Stańczycy (loyalists). That worried the University authorities, who ordered for him to be place dunder surveillance. As a result Dr. Karol Żuławski declared the philosopher to be suffering from severe psychiatric problems, and that combined with his political / philosophical beliefs led to his suspension in academic activity.
In 1899, on the invitation by
Zygmunt Balicki
Zygmunt Balicki (30 December 1858 in Lublin – 12 September 1916 in Saint Petersburg) was a Polish sociologist, publicist and one of the first leading thinkers of the modern Polish nationalism in the late 19th century under the foreign Partitio ...
, Lutosławski became a member of National League, secret
national-democratic organisation. He was active in it until 1910 and participated in the organisational work – as the commissioner of the Central Committee he set up the branch of the League in Poznan. He maintained good relationship with the politicians of that option (particularly with Balicki), who often visited him both in his Krakow apartment as well as in Drozdowo.
In 1903 Lutosławski founded Eleusis association, that promoted Catholic national upbringing in the spirit of the
romantic poets as well as
freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
, meant as moral freedom, that was achieved through
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
,
discipline
Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
, exercises of will and
abstinence
Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, etc.
...
from
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
,
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
,
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
. The association published several magazines, that supported their ideas – like a yearly “Eleusis” or “Iskra” (Spark). They recruited their members mainly from young representatives of
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
or
labourers
A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...
in
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
, where the association spread the word in Polish national identity and patriotic sentiments. Lutosławski personally participated in the process of education. The organisation had also significant influence over the scouts movement, as its founders belonged to the association.
The beginning of the 20th century saw Lutosławski yet again travel across the globe with his lectures. He went to the USA, where he held over 100 of the lectures. Between 1904 and 1906 he taught Polish literature at the University College in London. He also got interested in
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
, which he later practised – that in turn helped him overcome his
neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...
. The result of his interest was the first Polish handbook on yoga, ''Rozwój potęgi woli'' (eng. Development of the will power), written in 1904 but published five years later. In his book Lutosławski outlined the programme of moral development through psychological and physical exercises. As a result, Lutosławski is considered the first Polish yogi.
World War I
Between 1912 and 1916 Lutosławski lived in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where in Chateau Barby he founded ''Kuźnica'' (eng. Forge), a place where Poles could seek shelter and education. During this period he also taught at the
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...
. After the outbreak of the First World War, Lutosławski wanted to join
Polish Legions, but Balicki successfully dissuaded him from the idea. Between 1916 and 1919 he lived in Paris and patriotically motivated, he closely collaborated with Polish organisations – he wrote pamphlets and press articles on the case of Polish independence – for
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
newspapers
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
.
Interbellum
After the first world war, Lutosławski got himself involved in the works of Polish Congress Bureau in Versailles – Polish expert committee that prepared the materials for Polish politicians. He was highly regarded there, particularly thanks to his fluent knowledge of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and he worked especially closely with
Eugeniusz Romer
Eugeniusz Mikołaj Romer (3 February 1871 in Lviv ( pl, Lwów, german: Lemberg) – 28 January 1954) was a distinguished Poles, Polish geographer, cartography, cartographer and geopolitics, geopolitician, whose maps and atlases are still hig ...
, an
ethnographer
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
. His duties included publishing brochures in English on the borders of Poland – he supported the return to the
pre-partition borders as well as the incorporation of
Masuria
Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...
and
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
to Poland. He opposed the
border plebiscites and fought against
bolshevik ideology, by publishing about it. He declared his negative opinions on the treaties that extended the appreciation for
ethnic minorites in Poland.
On his return from Paris, on 25 August 1919, Lutosławski managed to secure the post of associate professor at
Stefan Batory University
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
in Vilnius, where he went on to teach logic, psychology, ethics and metaphysics. A year later he became the professor at this University. It was at this university where he had his first „disciple” – Benedykt Woyczyński. In 1925 Woyczyński wrote his doctorate on the subject of soul in the works of Plato. Even prior to his doctorate, as a member of the philosophical seminar, together with Lutosławski he participated in Convention of Philosophers in Lwow. He was not a Messianist, but he shared his mentor's deep faith in Christianity, that was able to transform the world. He died of TB in 1927.
In time free from the didactic work, Lutisławski often held public lectures – both in Poland (for example – for the army, thanks to personal permission of
Józef Piłsudski
), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
, death_date =
, death_place = Warsaw, Poland
, constituency =
, party = None (formerly PPS)
, spouse =
, children = Wan ...
and
Kazimierz Sosnkowski
General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect.
He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...
) and abroad. After 1926, he used to lecture on the theory of national propriety, at the events organised by Polska Macierz Szkolna, He was invited to do so by Józef Stemler, with whom he forged a friendship. In 1927 he participated in pedagogical congress in Italy in order to promote the nationalist Polish ideas. It was there where he debated with the eminent French philosopher –
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson , whom he had known previously. Around the same time, on his travels to England he got to know
Gilbert K. Chesterton and the historian
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Colleg ...
.
After 1926 Lutosławski formed negative opinion on Józef Piłsudski, and declared him a person with no mental or moral qualities for the important roles in the state. Because of these opinions that he put in a little book ''Tajemnica powszechnego dobrobytu'' (eng. The secret of the universal wellbeing), his work was censored before publishing and was not distributed. In 1929 Lutosławski retired from Stefan Batory University and in 1931 he moved to Paris. It was there where he started to write down his memoirs, later published as ''Jeden łatwy żywot'' (eng. One easy life). In 1933 he settled in
Dzięgielów near
Cieszyn
Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitant ...
, and a year later in Krakow, where he lived until his death.
World War II
During Second World War Lutosławski barely left his apartment thus being able to avoid the fate of many Krakow academics who got arrested and sent to
Sachsenhausen camp. His worries were mainly of financial nature and that forced him to sell some of the books from his collection. He could however count on the help of his son, who used to send food packages to the family. As Janina Lutosławska recollects, during that period her father often served as a symbol of encouragement to those who encountered him.
Postwar period
Lutosławski criticised the new authorities, he thought they were striving to convert Poland into yet another
Soviet republic. Between 1946 and 1948 he held free private lectures at
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
. In 1948 he wanted the University to reinstate him as associate professor but he was refused – again. In 1948 he managed to deliver a speech at the 10th Philosophy Congress in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. He polished his metaphysical system then, but did not publish a book on the subject. The book was only published in 21st century – ''Metafizyka'' (eng. Metaphysics), Drozdowo 2004.
Lutosławski died on 28 December 1954. Before his death he made peace with Sofia Casanova and prepared a document in which he renounced all his beliefs that could contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church. He was buried at Krakow
Salwator Cemetery.
Philosophy
Wincenty Lutosławski coined the term "
stylometry
Stylometry is the application of Stylistics (linguistics), the study of linguistic style, usually to written language. It has also been applied successfully to music and to fine-art paintings as well.Shlomo Argamon, Argamon, Shlomo, Kevin Burns, ...
". A multilingual philosopher, he used literary analysis to establish the chronology of
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's writings.
It can be described through nationalistic Messianism and eleuterism – metaphysical spiritualist pluralism stemming from the philosophy of Plato. He combined them with Catholicism, programme of moral renewal and individualism. In his opinion eleuterism found its fullness in Christianity, that taught on the value of every human soul, that was created by God. In his metaphysics Lutosławski claimed that the spiritual sphere is the primary and securely existing one. The materialistic sphere can be narrowed down to the phenomena. Lutosławski claimed that a human is equipped with a fully free will and that we consist of two monads: spiritual, primary one and lower one – a body. Additionally he supported the ideas of the pre-existence of soul as well as the palingenesis – cyclical return of the same souls to earth, in various human shapes. Lutosławski was the avid defender and admirer of Polish romanticism, he thought himself as the heir, who got his inspiration from the ideas of
Andrzej Towiański
Andrzej Tomasz Towiański (; January 1, 1799 – May 13, 1878) was a Polish philosopher and messianic religious leader.
Life
Towiański was born in Antoszwińce, a village near Vilnius, which after Partitions of Poland belonged to the Russian ...
,
Józef Hoene-Wroński or
August Cieszkowski
Count August Dołęga Cieszkowski (; 12 September 1814 – 12 March 1894) was a Polish philosopher, economist and social and political activist. His Hegelian philosophy influenced the young Karl Marx and action theorists.
Biography
Cieszkowski wa ...
. He wrote about
Juliusz Słowacki
Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of mode ...
, declaring him the author of spiritualist evolution concept (in opposition to
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
). This concept involved an immaterial spirit that took on shape of various species. His
Messianism
Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Messianism originated as a Zoroastrianism religious belief and followed to Abrahamic religions, but other religions have messianism-related concepts ...
had
eschatological
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...
perspective and was meant to bring human race to perfection. It was meant to be achieved by religious transformation of a human and that transformation would also happen at the social, economic and international levels. He perceived the
nation
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
as the highest form of human existence, as a spiritual community, that has its mission to fulfill in the world. It was the soul that would create a nation – soul as a self-conscious self rather than a historical heritage or geographical location. The nations formed a certain type of hierarchy and a special mission was ascribed to Poles –
nation of Christ. Lutosławski combined all that with the democratic concept of the state.
Because of the contradictions his concept had with the teachings of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Lutosławski until his very death was often criticised by orthodox Catholics. Trying to resolve the issue, in later years Lutosławski exchanged letters with Belgian
Thomistic
Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions ...
philosopher – cardinal. Desire Joseph Mercier, who assured him that his beliefs are not heretical.
In the Second Republic of Poland he continued to proclaim spiritualistic metaphysics and Messianism. He mused on the issue of Polish culture, where he judged
individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
as the most important factor. He stated that Poles as a nation have a special relationship with God, thanks to national prophets (
poets
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
). The mission of Polish nation was the creation of God's kingdom on Earth, kingdom that also looked after the materialistic side of human beings and after international community. The role of the Poles was also the proclamation of the universal values: tolerance, individual freedom, charity, Christianity, strong social bonds. They were to ensure that every single individual self in the world could identify itself with its nation. The degree of such identification could eventually lead the abolition of certain states, whose existence is often the cause of conflict between them.
Lutosławski criticised
Lwow-Warsaw School, that dominated Polish philosophy. He harshly criticised
Twardowski himself and called him a
German scholar. It was all despite of the fact that privately Twardowski had tried to help him earlier and had organised his lectures in Lwow. The other intellectuals were equally as critical of him.
Władysław Tatarkiewicz
Władysław Tatarkiewicz (; 3 April 1886, Warsaw – 4 April 1980, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and ethicist.
Early life and education
Tatarkiewicz began his higher education at War ...
put forward a proposal to ban Lutosławski from representing Polish philosophy abroad, and in May 1923
Tadeusz Kotarbiński
Tadeusz Marian Kotarbiński (; 31 March 1886 – 3 October 1981) was a Polish philosopher, logician and ethicist.
A pupil of Kazimierz Twardowski, he was one of the most representative figures of the Lwów–Warsaw School, and a member of the Po ...
wanted to remove him from the committee of the First All-Polish Philosophical Congress in Lwow.
Private life
In 1886 in Spain he met his future wife –
Sofía Casanova, eminent Galician poet and writer. They married on 19 March 1886 and went on to have four daughters: Maria (born in 1888), Izabela (born in 1889) Jadwiga (born in 1891) and Halina (born in 1897). The marriage was in crisis for a lot of reasons – one of them being the death of Jadwiga in 1895. Lutosławski contributed to her death by believing that he could cure his daughter with his own Energy. The last year where Lutosławski and Sofia Casanova could be considered a couple was 1903, but they most likely never received a formal divorce or annulment.
On 29 June 1912 Lutosławski got married again. His wife was Wanda Peszyńska, a member of Eleusis and the couple married in Verdun in France. His second marriage was far more content. The following year the long-awaited son was born – Tadeusz. He later became a diplomat in England and changed his name to Aleksander Jordan. In 1922 the second child of the couple was born – Janina, later English philologist.
In 1897, in England, he interviewed
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
. Lutosławski's account, published in the Polish weekly ''Kraj'' in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, and the ensuing controversy, involving the novelist
, caused Conrad much distress. He developed a lasting hatred for Orzeszkowa, who had accused him of having deserted his native Poland. Conrad thereafter adamantly refused to read her novels.
Zdzisław Najder
Zdzisław Najder (; 31 October 1930 – 15 February 2021) was a Polish literary historian, critic, and political activist.
He was primarily known for his studies on Joseph Conrad, for his periods of service as political adviser to Lech Wałęs ...
, ''Joseph Conrad: A Life'', translated by Halina Najder, Rochester, New York, Camden House, 2007, , pp. 292–96.
Works
* ''Principes de stylométrie'' (1890)
* ''O logice Platona'' (I–II, Kraków 1891–1892, I: O tradycyi tekstu Platona, II: Dotychczasowe poglądy na logikę Platona i zadania dalszych badań nad tym przedmiotem)
* ''O pierwszych trzech tetralogiach dzieł Platona'' (Kraków 1896)
* ''The Origin and Growth of Plato's Logic. With an Account of Plato's Style and of the Chronology of His Writings'' (1897)
* ''Platon jako twórca idealizmu'' (Warsaw 1899)
* ''Źródła pesymizmu'' (Kraków 1899)
* ''Z dziedziny myśli. Studja filozoficzne.'' 1888–1899 (Kraków 1900)
* ''Wykłady Jagiellońskie'' (I–II, Kraków 1901–1902)
* ''The Polish Nation'' (Berlin 1908)
* ''
Gdańsk and East Prussia'' (1919)
* ''Lithuania and White Ruthenia'' (1919)
* ''The Ruthenian Question in Galicia'' (1919)
* ''Bolshevism and Poland'' (1919)
* ''The World of Souls'' (1924)
* ''Pre-existence and Reincarnation'' (1928)
* ''The Knowledge of Reality'' (1930)
See also
*
History of philosophy in Poland
The history of philosophy in Poland parallels the evolution of philosophy in Europe in general.
Overview
Polish philosophy drew upon the broader currents of European philosophy, and in turn contributed to their growth. Some of the most momentous ...
*
List of Poles
This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Science
Physics
* Czesław Białobrzeski
* Andrzej Buras
* Georges Charpak ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutoslawski, Wincenty
1863 births
1954 deaths
Polish nationalists
19th-century Polish philosophers
20th-century Polish philosophers
People from Warsaw
Polish messianism