Bringing back the much fuller version originally created by Mateusz154512, with extensive biography and academic history Tag: Reverted |
Alexia Bold (talk | contribs) Restore version that is based on reliable 3rd party sources. See Talk. Tag: Manual revert |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Multiple issues| |
|||
{{Infobox academic|name=Bogusław Wolniewicz|birth_date=22 September 1927|birth_place=[[Toruń]], Poland|death_date=4 August 2017 (aged 89)|death_place=[[Warsaw]], Poland|occupation=Professor of philosophy, [[logician]], publicist, translator|alma_mater=[[Nicolaus Copernicus University]]|discipline=[[Philosophy]], [[logic]], [[philosophy of religion]]|nationality=Polish|children=Ewa Wolniewicz-Warska|website=https://wolniewicz.org|influences=[[Aristotle]], [[Augustine of Hippo]], [[Anselm of Canterbury]], [[David Hume]], [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]], [[Immanuel Kant]], [[Karl Marx]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]], [[Henryk Elzenberg]], [[Stanisław Lem]]|influenced=[[Roman Suszko]], [[Zbigniew Musiał]], [[Ulrich Schrade]], [[Mieczysław Omyła]], [[Paweł Okołowski]], [[Jan Zubelewicz]]|principal_ideas=Interpretation of [[Wittgenstein]]'s philosophy, death as the root of religion|notable_ideas=|workplaces=[[University of Warsaw]] 1963-1998, [[Pedagogical University in Gdańsk]], [[Nicolaus Copernicus University]]}} |
|||
{{Undue weight|date=October 2020}} |
|||
{{POV|date=October 2020}} |
|||
}} |
|||
{{Infobox academic|name=Bogusław Wolniewicz|birth_date=22 September 1927|birth_place=[[Toruń]]|death_date=4 August 2017 (aged 89)|death_place=[[Warsaw]]|occupation=Professor of philosophy, extremist radio personality|alma_mater=[[University of Warsaw]]|discipline=[[Philosophy]]}} |
|||
'''Bogusław Wolniewicz''' ( |
'''Bogusław Wolniewicz''' (September 22, 1927 in [[Toruń]] – August 4, 2017 in [[Warsaw]]) was a Polish [[philosopher]]. He was a professor at [[University of Warsaw]] from 1963 to 1998. In scholarly circles, he is known as a translator and commentator of [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]. From the 1990s, he became a publicist mostly affiliated with the [[Radio Maryja]] community.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rp.pl/Kraj/170809490-Zmarl-prof-Boguslaw-Wolniewicz.html|title=Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz|website=www.rp.pl}}</ref> |
||
Wolniewicz was notorious for his controversial views, seen as [[homophobic]], [[Antifeminism|antifeminist]], [[antisemitic]], and [[Islamophobic]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://wyborcza.pl/7,134835,22521142,prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-22-09-1927-4-08-2017.html?disableRedirects=true|title=Wyborcza.pl|website=wyborcza.pl}}</ref><ref>https://gazetawroclawska.pl/zmarl-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-mial-90-lat/ar/12337598 Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat</ref><ref>https://wiadomosci.com/zmarl-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-mial-90/ Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat</ref><ref name="auto1">https://issuu.com/euroalter/docs/the-myth-of-europa-online-2 page 98</ref> |
|||
== Education and career == |
== Education and career == |
||
Wolniewicz was a professor at [[University of Warsaw]] from 1963 to 1998. In scholarly circles he is known as a translator and commentator of [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]].<ref name="auto"/> |
|||
He retired in 1997, but he continued giving lectures. In 1998 The Scientific Council of the Department of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw didn't extend his job contract.<ref>{{Citation|last=ANTelewizja|title=Profesor Bogusław Wolniewicz o studiach|date=2011-05-10|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdBPp8TwASo|accessdate=2018-06-03}}</ref> |
|||
=== Biography === |
|||
He started his education in 1934 in a Polish primary school.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=14|oclc=977922402}}</ref> The war didn't interrupt his education, as no later than November 1939 he was already a student at a German primary school for Poles with a 1significantly lowered level of education. In 1941 he started working at Hermann Klechowitz's construction company<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=19-20|oclc=977922402}}</ref> while also attending a Berufsschule (trade school) affiliated with that company. From 1945 he studied at Queen Jadwiga High School, passing his final exams in 1947.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=37|oclc=977922402}}</ref> In the years 1947–1951 he studied at the [[Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń|Nicolaus Copernicus University]]. Among his teachers were [[Tadeusz Czeżowski]], [[Henryk Elzenberg]], [[Tadeusz Szczurkiewicz]] and [[Kazimierz Sośnicki]].<ref name=":2" /> In 1951 he got his master's degree in philosophy, his thesis "''Criticism of subjective idealism''"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=134-160|chapter=Lenin i filozofia subiektywnego idalizmu|oclc=749376263}}</ref> in [[Vladimir Lenin|W. I. Lenin’s]] "[[Materialism and Empirio-criticism]]" supervised by Czeżowski.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=45-46|oclc=977922402}}</ref> Then he worked as a deputy assistant, and later as an assistant at the Department of Logic at the Nicolaus Copernicus University.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=49|oclc=977922402}}</ref> In 1953 (the height of [[Stalinism]]), due to having his freedom of doing philosophical research limited, Wolniewicz quit his academic career, getting a job at the W-8 department of the Labor Union Association ([[Poznań]]), the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering at the [[Polish Academy of Sciences]] (Gdańsk), the Voivodeship Council of Trade Unions and at one of the State Agricultural Farms.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=50-52|oclc=977922402}}</ref> |
|||
== Publicist career == |
|||
In 1956 he started working at the Department of Philosophy at the [[Pedagogical University in Gdańsk]].<ref name=":3" /> In 1962 he became a doctor of humanities, his dissertation "Semantics of plain language in Wittgenstein’s new philosophy" written under supervision of prof. Czeżowski and reviewed by [[Izydora Dąmbska]] and Henryk Elzenberg. In 1963, on the initiative of [[Adam Schaff]], he was transferred to the [[Department of Philosophy, University of Warwick|Department of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw]]. In 1967 he became a [[docent]] of humanities with specialization in philosophy, his dissertation "Study of Wittgenstein’s philosophy", reviewed by [[Tadeusz Kotarbiński]], Adam Schaff, [[Roman Suszko]] and [[Peter Geach]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Introduction by Paweł Okołowski|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=24-25|chapter=Fenomen Bogusława Wolniewicza|oclc=1057477845|author-mask=}}</ref> From 1968, he worked as a full-time docent at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw. From 1969, he was a supervisor of the Subdivision of Philosophy, quitting two years later. Since the late 1960s, he started becoming famous abroad. In 1967, at the [[University of Chicago]] (as a visiting associate professor) he gave a trimester lecture on [[ontology]] of objects and facts. The same year, he gave a talk at the University of Boston and Cornell University. In 1968 he was one of the four lecturer at the Colloquium of the International Wittgenstein Congress in [[Vienna]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Introduction by Paweł Okołowski|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=25|chapter=Fenomen Bogusława Wolniewicza|oclc=1057477845}}</ref> In 1970 he gave a talk at the [[Moscow State University|University of Moscow]]. In 1972 at the [[Temple University|Temple University in Philadelphia]], as a visiting professor, he gave a semester lecture on social philosophy and a seminar on Wittgenstein's philosophy. In 1975 he gave talks at the [[University of Cambridge]] and the [[University of Leeds]] on language and codes as well as the [[David Hume|Hume's]] law, at the invitation of the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi : o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Introduction by Paweł Okołowski|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=26|chapter=Fenomen Bogusława Wolniewicza|oclc=1057477845}}</ref> |
|||
From the 1990s, he became a publicist affiliated with the [[Radio Maryja]] community.<ref name="auto"/> Wolniewicz was notorious for his [[homophobic]], [[Antifeminism|anti-feminist]], [[anti-semitic]], and [[islamophobic]] views.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gazetawroclawska.pl/zmarl-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-mial-90-lat/ar/12337598|title=Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat|date=August 5, 2017|website=Gazeta Wrocławska}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.com/zmarl-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-mial-90/|title=Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat|date=August 5, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> |
|||
He stated on TV that gays should not go public and that the Jewish holiday of [[Sukkot]] should not be celebrated in public in Poland.<ref name="auto1"/> In 2008, Wolniewicz addressed a packed crowd at the [[Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus]] in [[Krakow]] and shouted "The Jews are attacking us! We need to defend ourselves", in an event protesting against the ''[[Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz]]'' book and alongside [[Jerzy Robert Nowak]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.4990436|title=Krakow Church Holds Service Against 'Kikes Who Spit on Us'|first=Aviva|last=Lori|date=February 12, 2008|via=Haaretz}}</ref><ref>Marek Czyżewski: [http://dspace.uni.lodz.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11089/4247/Czyzewski%202010%20Der%20polnische%20Streit%20um%20JT%20Gross%20Strach%20aus%20vermittelnder%20diskursanalytischer%20Perspektive.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y {{lang|de|Der polnische Streit um Jan Tomasz Gross’|italic=yes}} {{lang|pl|Strach|italic=no}} {{lang|de|aus ‚vermittelnder‛ diskursanalytischer Perspektive|italic=yes}}], [[Collegium Civitas]], Warsaw (translated into German by Yvonne Kohl)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wprost.pl/kraj/123449/Zydzi-atakuja.html|title="Żydzi atakują"|date=February 11, 2008|website=Wprost}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/poland/gazeta-wyborcza/20080211/281522221777542|title=PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.|website=www.pressreader.com}}</ref> The Council of Media Ethics stated that his on-air comments in January 2009 contained [[Antisemitism|anti-semitic]] views and violated "the basic ethical norms and Polish law".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://otwarta.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Raport09-Interwencje-prawne-lekki.pdf|title=Interwencje prawne i obywatelskie 2008–2009, Otwarta Rzeczpospolita.|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=|language=Polish}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2020}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/rem-karci-radio-maryja-za-antysemickie-tresci/2957r0h|title=REM karci Radio Maryja za antysemickie treści|website=Newsweek.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=9923|title=Eks post - Uzasadnienie niezgody|first=Jerzy|last=Sosnowski|date=May 14, 2009|journal=Więź|volume=LII|issue=612|pages=145–150|via=www.ceeol.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvn24.pl/polska/antysemityzm-na-antenie-ra87342-3725425|title=Antysemityzm na antenie|website=TVN24}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> Wolniewicz considered Islam as a harbinger of Asian expansion, and preached that migration and terror were "weapons" in the hands of [[Islamists]]. He called for the sinking of boats with immigrants.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto2"/> |
|||
In 1989 he switched from the Institute of Philosophy to the Institute of Philosophy of Religion, where he became a supervisor two years later and ran the institution until 1998.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=64-68|oclc=977922402}}</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz considered [[feminism]] to be against human nature, supported [[euthanasia]], and considered the abolition of [[capital punishment]] to be a sign of moral decline in Europe. He spoke against [[Smolensk air disaster]] conspiracy theories.<ref name="auto"/> Wolniewicz was opposed to [[genetic engineering]] and in particular to [[human cloning|embryo cloning]] which he saw as "[[Josef Mengele|Mengelism]]".<ref>[http://pbc.biaman.pl/Content/23300/Archeus12-Srodek.pdf pages 19-31]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/319718-Klonowanie-falszywych-analogii.html|title=Klonowanie fałszywych analogii - Archiwum Rzeczpospolitej|website=archiwum.rp.pl}}</ref> He objected to [[Organ transplantation]] viewing it as a form of [[Cannibalism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/prof-boguslawa-wolniewicz-o-przeszczepach/hl6y5wf|title=Profesor: Nie oddałbym nerki córce. Niech umrze|date=April 6, 2016|website=Fakt.pl}}</ref><ref>Anna Zalewska: [http://www.ejournals.eu/pliki/art/7402/ ''{{lang|pl|Nadzwyczajna recepcja transplantacji. Jak dyskusja o etyce przeszczepów może zmienić nasz porządek kulturowy}}''] in: ''[[:pl:Konteksty Kultury]]'' 2016/13, z. 1, s. 81–95. [[doi:10.4467/23531991KK.16.006.5084]]</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz retired in 1997, but continued giving lectures – however, in 1998 The Scientific Council of the [[Department of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw]] didn't extend his job contract.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Introduction by Paweł Okołowski|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=Wydanie I|location=Warszawa|pages=32|chapter=Fenomen Bogusława Wolniewicza|oclc=1057477845}}</ref> Wolniewicz cited the reason behind it to be a disapproval of a decision to lower teaching standards.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Prof. dr hab. Bogusław Wolniewicz in RING show|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVf9wUTPTNQ|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> He devoted himself to scientific research ever since. During the first semester of the 2008/2009 academic year Wolniewicz returned to the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw and gave a guest monograph lecture, as a former professor of the University.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Introduction by Paweł Okołowski|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=38|oclc=1057477845}}</ref> |
|||
In 2004 he criticized the conditions of accepting [[Poland]] into [[European Union]]. During the 2005 parliamentary election he unsuccessfully stood as a candidate to Sejm under [[Janusz Korwin-Mikke Platform]] in an electoral district outside of Warsaw.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wybory2005.pkw.gov.pl/SJM/PL/WYN/W8/20.htm|title=Wybory 2005|website=www.wybory2005.pkw.gov.pl|access-date=2018-06-03|language=Polish}}</ref> |
|||
=== Publicist career === |
|||
In 1955, Wolniewicz applied for the membership into the ruling communist [[Polish United Workers' Party]], where he was accepted in 1956.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/977922402|title=Wolniewicz - zdanie własne: wywiad rzeka z najbardziej prawoskrętnym polskim profesorem filozofii|date=2011|publisher=3S MEDIA|others=Sommer, Tomasz (interviewer)|year=|isbn=978-83-61935-04-9|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=52|oclc=977922402}}</ref> He held the position of the 1st secretary of the [[Polish United Workers' Party|PUWP]]'s Higher Education Committee at the Pedagogical University in [[Gdańsk]]. Wolniewicz remained a member of the party (despite his aversion to [[Edward Gierek|Gierek's]] government) up to 1981. Until 1998, he would give lectures at the Department of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw. In the late 1990s Wolniewicz got involved with communities affiliated with [[Radio Maryja]], where he would have his commentaries broadcast to the public, at cultural and political events.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bogusław Wolniewicz – telephones to Radio Maryja 2006-2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqslgWgz1Do)|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> He also guest-starred on [[Telewizja Trwam]]. His writings were also published by "[[Nasz Dziennik]]", "[[Najwyższy Czas!]]" and "Moja Rodzina". Wolniewicz supported Poland's accession to the [[European Union]], but often criticized the body for what he saw as its [[Left-wing politics|leftist]] policies aimed at [[cultural homogenization]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Musiał, Zbigniew; Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/703839351|title=Ksenofobia i wspólnota: przyczynek do filozofii człowieka|publisher=Antyk - Marcin Dybowski|others=|year=2010|isbn=((9788386482869))|edition=2nd|location=Komorów|pages=317-323|chapter=Parę uwag o Unii Europejskiej|oclc=703839351}}</ref> and its promotion of [[human rights]], which he saw as a harmful ideology.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Musiał, Zbigniew; Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/703839351|title=Ksenofobia i wspólnota: przyczynek do filozofii człowieka|publisher=Antyk - Marcin Dybowski|others=|year=2010|isbn=((9788386482869))|edition=2nd|location=Komorów|pages=91-102|chapter=O tzw. prawach człowieka|oclc=703839351}}</ref> During the 2005 parliamentary election he unsuccessfully ran as a candidate to [[Sejm]] under [[Janusz Korwin-Mikke]] Platform in an electoral district outside of Warsaw.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wybory 2005|url=https://wybory2005.pkw.gov.pl/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=wybory2005.pkw.gov.pl}}</ref> In 2006, together with [[Mieczysław Krąpiec]] and [[Czesław Bartnik]], he initiated the Independent Civil Group for the Ethics of Media, the goal of which was to "honestly educate the public opinion in the country and around the world on all the doings in media and around it that pose threat to either common decency or freedom of public discussion".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2006-04-11|title=Społeczny Niezależny Zespół ds. Etyki Mediów|url=https://www.radiomaryja.pl/multimedia/spoleczny-niezalezny-zespol-ds-etyki-mediow/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=RadioMaryja.pl|language=pl-PL}}</ref> Later into 2007 he got involved in an event initiated by Jerzy Robert Nowak, a professor at the University of Social and Medial Culture against the book "Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz" by [[Jan T. Gross|Jan Tomasz Gross]] that describes the Polish-Jewish relations during the [[World War II|World War Two]]. Wolniewicz participated in several meetings where he heavily criticized Gross’s book.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-07-16|title=Statement of Prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz|url=https://www.radiomaryja.pl/bez-kategorii/statement-of-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=RadioMaryja.pl|language=pl-PL}}</ref> In 2009 he entered The Committee for Defense of the Good Name of Poland and Poles initiated by [[Jerzy Robert Nowak]]. Since 2014 he prepared lectures on subjects such as Islam, ethics and philosophy for the Rational Voice channel on YouTube.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Głos racjonalny - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwGPMSS59XTFYf984VSKXfw|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-27|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> |
|||
Later into 2007 he got involved in an event initiated by [[Jerzy Robert Nowak]], a professor at the University of Social and Medial Culture against the book ''[[Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz]]'' by [[Jan T. Gross|Jan Tomasz Gross]] that describes the Polish-Jewish relations during World War Two. Wolniewicz participated in several meetings where he heavily criticized Gross’s book.<ref>[[Tomasz Kitliński]]: [http://jewcy.com/post/still_racist_after_all_these_years ''Still Racist After All These Years'']</ref> |
|||
== Thought == |
|||
He specialized in [[philosophy of religion]] and [[modern philosophy]]. He distanced himself from the main philosophical trends of the 20th century and accepted theses by "great thinkers", like: [[Aristotle]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=159-161|chapter=O pojęciu kłamstwa i zasadzie prawdomówności|oclc=971445037}}</ref> [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Leibniz]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=192-203|chapter=Melioryzm Leibniza|oclc=1057477845}}</ref> Hume,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=|chapter=O logice Bożej|oclc=971445037}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=3S MEDIA|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=Wydanie I|location=Warszawa|pages=205|chapter=Aksjomat Elzenberga|oclc=1057477845}}</ref> [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=179-193|chapter=Sens kary podług Kanta|oclc=971445037}}</ref> and especially [[Ludwig Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1103902770|title=Rzeczy i fakty: wstęp do pierwszej filozofii Wittgensteina|date=2019|publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-01-20416-7|edition=2nd|location=Warszawa|pages=|oclc=1103902770}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/20139388|title=Ontologija sytuacji: podstawy i zastosowania|date=1985|publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe|year=|isbn=83-01-05765-3|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=|oclc=20139388}}</ref> Critical towards [[Psychoanalysis|Freudianism]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Okołowski, Paweł|first=|date=2017|title=Wstęp do filozofii. Wykład prof. Bogusława Wolniewicza dla studentów I roku Instytutu Filozofii UW w roku akademickim 1985-1986|url=http://www.edukacja-filozoficzna.uw.edu.pl/index_pliki/ef64/10_Okolowski.pdf|journal=Edukacja Filozoficzna|volume=64|pages=182-189|issn=0860-3839|via=}}</ref> [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wittgenstein, Ludwig|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/69461328|title=Dociekania filozoficzne|date=2005|publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe|others=Introduction by Bogusław Wolniewicz|year=|isbn=83-01-14176-X|edition=3rd|location=Warszawa|pages=XVII|chapter=Wstęp. O "Dociekaniach"|oclc=69461328}}</ref> [[Postmodernism|post-modernism]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=13-16|chapter=O sytuacji we współczesnej filozofii|oclc=749376263}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/777931032|title=O Polsce i zyciu: refleksje filozoficzne i polityczne|date=2011|publisher=Antyk - Marcin Dybowski|year=|isbn=978-83-89920-07-2|edition=|location=Komorów|pages=106-109|chapter=O późnej filozofii Wittgensteina|oclc=777931032}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932175610|title=W stronę rozumu|date=2015|publisher=Jarosław Faliński|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-942333-1-0|location=Warszawa|pages=128-130|oclc=932175610}}</ref> and [[religious fundamentalism]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932175610|title=W stronę rozumu|date=2015|publisher=Jarosław Faliński|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-942333-1-0|location=Warszawa|pages=158-167|chapter=Islam i my|oclc=932175610}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=153-159|chapter=O pojęciach fanatyzmu i tolerancji|oclc=751024992}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Musiał, Zbigniew; Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/703839351|title=Ksenofobia i wspólnota: przyczynek do filozofii człowieka|publisher=Antyk - Marcin Dybowski|others=|year=2010|isbn=|edition=2|location=Komorów|pages=163-165|chapter=Sens eutanazji|oclc=703839351}}</ref> and partially towards [[Marxism]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław (2017). "Pożegnanie z marksizmem"|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1020440587|title=Pożegnanie z marksizmem|date=|publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-01-19665-3|editor-last=Dziobkowski, B.|location=Warszawa|pages=496-504|oclc=1020440587|editor-last2=Hołówka, J.}}</ref> he represented an analytical and metaphysical approach. The main assumptions of his beliefs were [[Axiology|axiological]] absolutism in the rationalist version and [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] pessimism in looking at man and society. His entire philosophical system was based on his ontology of situation, which Wolniewicz treated mainly as a philosophical tool.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Okołowski, Paweł|first=|date=2018|title=Myśl Wolniewicza. Zrąb systemu|url=http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/125464/edition/109487/content|journal=Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria|volume=|pages=244|doi=10.24425/pfns.2018.125464|issn=1230-1493|via=}}</ref> |
|||
In 2009 he entered The Committee for Defense of the Good Name of Poland and Poles initiated by Jerzy Robert Nowak. From 2014 he prepared lectures on subjects such as [[Islam]], ethics and philosophy for the ''Rational Voice'' channel<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwGPMSS59XTFYf984VSKXfw|title=głos racjonalny|website=YouTube|language=pl|access-date=2018-06-03}}</ref> on YouTube. |
|||
=== Metaphilosophical views === |
|||
He believed that philosophy was not science, but it wasn't cognitively idle either and did have characteristics of a knowledge – that's because not every type of knowledge is of scientific nature, just like history or a legal case are not science either.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości. 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=55|chapter=Metafizyka i ontologia sytuacji|oclc=971445037}}</ref> Philosophy is an attempt to rationally capture those issues where the knowledge of scientific type does not apply. It fills the gaps in knowledge for the branches that science hadn't covered in a particular period of history, but also due to the changes to conditions of social life its goals will never become exhausted. Quite the opposite, the role of philosophy keeps growing in the commotion of modern social life.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=103|chapter=Nadchodzi czas filozofii|oclc=634294762}}</ref> |
|||
Philosophy has a nature of common-sense cognition: it articulates that every person could get to use common sense while also pondering deep enough in the process. Therefore, there is nothing exploratory about it, there are only obvious things, but they're also subjected to a logical order. Logic brings philosophy closer to science, but it's not just about providing philosophy with formal tools, but about giving philosophy with tools for creating clear thoughts, which in turn makes it possible to tell the truth from lie in the entire cognition of non-scientific nature.<ref name=":6" /> |
|||
Although the need for philosophy keeps rising in today's world, the modern state of philosophical culture is bad.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości. 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=1998|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=11|chapter=O sytuacji we współczesnej filozofii|oclc=749376263}}</ref> There's a characteristic contrast between the opulence of philosophical literature and scarcity of ideas – Wolniewicz referred to this philosophical literature that is devoid of substantial ideas as "philosophical wastepaper". He put it apart from "philosophical literature", which included "antiquarian philosophy", which examines the evolution of ideas and relations between them, combined with a lack of interest in the actual value of the discussed views, and the "substantive philosophy", which attempts to cast light upon actual problems of the era in its aim for the truth. However, the academic philosophy isn't the only possible "substantive philosophy", the essayistic and literary creativity is equally important here, as it helps overcome the antiquarism that dominates the academic philosophy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Okołowski, Paweł|first=|date=2017|title=Wstęp do filozofii. Wykład prof. Bogusława Wolniewicza dla studentów I roku Instytutu Filozofii UW w roku akademickim 1985-1986|url=http://www.edukacja-filozoficzna.uw.edu.pl/index_pliki/ef64/10_Okolowski.pdf|journal=Edukacja Filozoficzna|volume=64|pages=161-165|issn=0860-3839|via=}}</ref> |
|||
The substantive philosophy also divides here into two opposing trends: hermeneutical philosophy and analytical philosophy.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=20|chapter=O sytuacji we współczesnej filozofii|oclc=749376263}}</ref> According to hermeneutical philosophy, the goal of philosophy is to reveal the purpose of existence. Of all things, the mean of which is the ability to deeply immerse oneself in the old-time philosophy and eloquence that makes it possible to bring out the same feelings in people – Wolniewicz was critical towards the "''hermeneutic philosophy''", considering it to be a type of new gnosis, a form of extreme irrationalism. In opposition to the hermeneutic philosophy stands analytical philosophy, which recognized the existence of objective truth and the human mind's ability to discover it. Wolniewicz crossed the division between rationalism (today represented by the analytical philosophy) and irrationalism (today represented by the hermeneutic philosophy) with the division of philosophy into naturalism, which sees a part of nature in the man, and the whole of existence in nature, and anti-naturalism (transcendentalism), which proposes the existence of supernatural reality. One example of naturalistic rationalism could be [[positivism]], of antinaturalistic rationalism - the early Wittgenstein's philosophy (from "''[[Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus]]''"), of the naturalistic irrationalism - the [[New Age]], Freudianism and late Wittgenstein's philosophy (from "''[[Philosophical Investigations]]''"), of the antinaturalistic irrationalism – phenomenology and [[existentialism]]. Wolniewicz himself considered himself to be a rationalist and antinaturalist.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=20|chapter=O sytuacji we współczesnej filozofii|oclc=749376263}}</ref> The division is presented in the table below (it is worth noting that the largest oppositions are marked by diagonals): |
|||
{| class="wikitable" |
|||
|+Wolniewicz's division of philosophical views |
|||
! |
|||
!rationalism |
|||
!irrationalism |
|||
|- |
|||
!naturalism |
|||
|positivism |
|||
[[Tadeusz Kotarbiński]] |
|||
|Freudianism |
|||
New Age |
|||
late Wittgenstein's philosophy |
|||
|- |
|||
!antinaturalism |
|||
|early Wittgenstein's philosophy |
|||
Bogusław Wolniewicz |
|||
|phenomenology |
|||
existentialism |
|||
|} |
|||
=== Theology === |
|||
The theological ideas in Wolniewicz's thinking are mostly contained in his article "Criticism of theodicy in Bayle".<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=85-95|chapter=Krytyka teodycei u Bayle'a|oclc=749376263}}</ref> This article contains dissent with [[Pierre Bayle]]'s views on the topic of [[theodicy]]. The classical theodicy said that God's goodness and omnipotence are possible to coexist since evil is not God's invention but man's – the man on the other hand, in order to do good, has to be free, and since he's free, he has to be able to do evil as well. Bayle reasoned against the classic theodicy by saying that although freedom implies the ability to do evil, it doesn't imply its necessity, therefore evil can be avoided even when assuming human freedom.<ref name=":4" /> |
|||
When searching for arguments that could refute the legitimacy of Bayle's argumentation, Wolniewicz referred himself to non-standard modal concepts borrowed from [[Megarian school|Megarian]] logic. Its representative, [[Diodorus Cronus]] presented a prospective understanding of abilities, defining what's possible as what is or will be. Such understanding of ability is still not enough to oppose Bayle's argumentation against theodicy in line with theology, as it accepts the concept that those who are saved will sin in future, too – therefore Wolniewicz constructed a slightly different definition of ability that he calls "pseudo-Diodoric".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=102|chapter=Krytyka teodycei u Bayle'a|oclc=749376263}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mirosławski|first=Mateusz|date=2018|title=Teodycea a logika modalna. Bogusława Wolniewicza polemika z krytyką teodycei u Pierre’a Bayle’a|url=http://czasopisma.upjp2.edu.pl/racjonalia/article/view/2443|journal=Racjonalia. Z punktu widzenia humanistyki|volume=7|issue=|pages=35|doi=10.15633/r.2443|issn=2391-6540|via=}}</ref> According to that definition, because something can happen it means that something similar has already happened or will happen in the future. With such a definition of ability, the classic theodicy is logically sound and not subject to the criticism submitted by Bayle. |
|||
=== Anthropology === |
|||
Wolniewicz’s anthropological views can be described by the following concepts: anti-naturalism, [[rationalism]], [[Nativism (psychology)|nativism]], [[Manichaeism]] (this is, recognizing the existence of irrational evil in humans) and voluntarism. The human soul strives after truth and is irreducible to nature. Language is the carrier of truth, and man is its vessel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=159-161|chapter=O pojęciu kłamstwa i zasadzie prawdomówności|oclc=971445037}}</ref> Truth is knowable due to the fact that the logical structure of language reflects somehow the metaphysical structure of the world. The ability to use language, in turn, is innate. |
|||
A human being is considered by Wolniewicz primarily as the totality of possibilities written in a [[DNA]] chain, of which not all are being realized. Moreover, in human genetic code there are potencies both for evil and for good.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=208-223|chapter=Epifania diabła|oclc=751024992}}</ref> According to Wolniewicz, the former are stronger than the latter. Wolniewicz argues that there are two kinds of people: those whose tendencies towards evil are enormous and those whose tendencies are moderate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schrade, Ulrich; Omyła, Mieczysław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48768880|title=Polska filozofia powojenna|date=2001|publisher=Agencja Wydawn. Witmark|others=|year=|isbn=83-911503-1-3|editor-last=Mackiewicz, W.|location=Warszawa|pages=462|chapter=Bogusław Wolniewicz|oclc=48768880}}</ref> The task of community is to fight the former ones and support the latter ones. Communities are natural and necessary, but they cannot exist without some level of [[xenophobia]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Musiał, Zbigniew; Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/703839351|title=Ksenofobia i wspólnota: przyczynek do filozofii człowieka|publisher=Antyk - Marcin Dybowski|others=|year=2010|isbn=|edition=2nd|location=Komorów|pages=43-51, 292|oclc=703839351}}</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz also criticizes all anthropological concepts that state that reason can dictate any imperatives to the will. The will dictates it to itself, and this is its source of freedom.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057477845|title=Polska a Żydzi: o sprawach polsko-żydowskich i paru innych|publisher=|year=2018|isbn=978-83-61935-59-9|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=205-218|chapter=Aksjomat Elzenberga|oclc=1057477845}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zubelewicz, Jan|first=|date=2017|title=Ostatnie rozmowy z Profesorem Bogusławem Wolniewiczem: wola a rozum według Schopenhauera|url=http://www.edukacja-filozoficzna.uw.edu.pl/index_pliki/ef64/14_Zubelewicz.pdf|journal=Edukacja Filozoficzna|volume=64|pages=245-250|issn=0860-3839|via=}}</ref> |
|||
=== Axiology === |
|||
In the field of axiology, Wolniewicz continued the work of Henryk Elzenberg,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=69-94|chapter=Myśl Elzenberga|oclc=751024992}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=142-152|chapter=Z aksjologii Elzenberga|oclc=751024992}}</ref> yet despite absorbing many of his fundamental ideas, he transformed them and rephrased them. He tried to transform Elzenberg's axiology in the spirit of objectivism and rationalism. Like Elzenberg, he divided the entire axiology into the formal and substantive one, covering the former using the conceptual apparatus of the semantics of possible worlds and situational ontology. Formal axiology formulates hypothetical judgments regarding values. It answers the questions of what values are (logic and metaphysics of values), how to recognize them (epistemology of values) and what impact they have on people (anthropology of values). Substantive axiology uses categoric judgments in which it assigns specific values to specific objects.<ref name=":7" /> |
|||
While aiming for simplicity of the system, Wolniewicz assigned one ontic category to all values – out of the most often highlighted ontic categories of objects (thing, thing's state, process, event, trait, relation), values are (possible) states of things.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=79|chapter=Myśl Elzenberga|oclc=751024992}}</ref> |
|||
=== Philosophy of culture and views on Christianity === |
|||
Bogusław Wolniewicz believed that there is no Providence and that people are left on their own. He didn't believe in life after death, either.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=173-175|chapter=Perspektywy eutanazji|oclc=634294762}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pencuła, Mateusz|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1192554513|title=Ateistyczna apologetyka religii we współczesnej filozofii polskiej|date=2020|publisher=Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-4203-2|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=220|oclc=1192554513}}</ref> He didn't deny existence of „supreme intelligence”, though.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=67|chapter=O logice Bożej|oclc=971445037}}</ref> In many matters he disagreed with the [[Catholic Church|Church]], but he respected it and believed it (and Christianity as a whole) to be one of the foundations of the [[Western culture|western civilization]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=203-223|chapter=O chrześcijaństwie|oclc=971445037}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932175610|title=W stronę rozumu|date=2015|publisher=Jarosław Faliński|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-942333-1-0|location=Warszawa|pages=69|oclc=932175610}}</ref> According to Wolniewicz, religion is one of the constants of human nature.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=160-198, 172|chapter=O istocie religii|oclc=751024992}}</ref> Death is the root of religion and religion can exist only because man is a combination of reason and death.<ref name=":5" /> The essence of religiosity is an individual and personal attitude to death, which shouldn’t be reduced only to emotion of fear.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pencuła, Mateusz|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1192554513|title=Ateistyczna apologetyka religii we współczesnej filozofii polskiej|date=2020|publisher=Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-4203-2|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=206|oclc=1192554513}}</ref> |
|||
=== Philosophy of law === |
|||
His [[philosophy of law]] is mostly a reflection, related to the [[philosophy of culture]], on the place of law in the European civilization, the result of which are his views on [[capital punishment]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=210|chapter=Filozoficzne aspekty kary głównej|oclc=749376263}}</ref> According to Wolniewicz, the [[Roman law]] is the third foundation of the European civilization, after the scientific view of the world and the Christian religion.<ref name=":0" /> The foundation of the Roman law, on the other hand, is the principle of justice formulated by [[Cicero]] and [[Ulpian]] ''cuique suum tribuere'' ("may all get their due"). In this rule, justice isn't formulated in a [[Utilitarianism|utilitarian]] way, which is as a group of benefits that can be achieved by following some rules, but in an objective one, as it refers to the internal moral order.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/971445037|title=Filozofia i wartości 4|date=2016|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-235-2254-6|location=Warszawa|pages=179-193|chapter=Sens kary podług Kanta|oclc=971445037}}</ref> A crime is a violation of such order, whereas punishment is a restoration of it. Due to the objectivity of the moral order of the world, a just punishment can only depend on the severity of guilt: it cannot depend on any external benefits that could alternatively be referred to from increasing or lowering the punishment in a way that is inadequate to the guilt.<ref name=":1" /> Therefore, punishment is not some form of vengeance that society imposes on the criminal, as revenge only magnifies the harm that was done – on the other hand, it's a rightful retaliation, that evens out said harm, but independently of particular benefits and losses that someone could potentially experience out of that. |
|||
In his view, concepts of punishment different from the one based on the Roman principle of justice appeared in (particularly harshly criticized by him) the Enlightenment culture.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości. 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=207|chapter=Filozoficzne aspekty kary głównej|oclc=749376263}}</ref> He distinguishes two such concepts here (similar to his own, defined as a retribution concept): preventive, which says that punishment is mostly a measure to prevent crimes and corrective, which says that the purpose of punishment is to up bring and rehabilitate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schrade, Ulrich; Omyła, Mieczysław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48768880|title=Polska filozofia powojenna|date=2001|publisher=Agencja Wydawn. Witmark|others=|year=|isbn=83-911503-1-3|editor-last=Mackiewicz, W.|location=Warszawa|pages=471|chapter=Bogusław Wolniewicz|oclc=48768880}}</ref> Both those concepts contradict the Roman principle of justice, as they assign utilitarian functions to punishment and reject the principle of strict adequacy between the guilt and the punishment that only depends on it. Therefore, the preventive and corrective concepts favor the abolition of death penalty (abolitionism), the retribution concept, on the other hand, favors upholding it (rigorism). For abolitionists, the greatest value is human life, therefore it has to be protected at all costs, for a rigorist on the other hand, the greatest value is humanity. Therefore actions that cross the borders of it have to be punished with death as the only thing adequate to the guilt.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mirosławski, Mateusz|first=|date=2018|title=Bogusława Wolniewicza polemika z abolicjonizmem naturalistycznym|url=http://www.edukacja-filozoficzna.uw.edu.pl/index_pliki/ef66/ef-66-05.pdf|journal=Edukacja Filozoficzna|volume=66|issue=2|pages=65–83|doi=10.14394/edufil.2018.0016|issn=0860-3839|via=}}</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz believed that the objection to the death penalty that is present so often these days is a result of a crisis of the European culture as a whole. The essence of law is a positive faith in correctness of the rules – the "living law" that beacons the society.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=217|chapter=Filozoficzne aspekty kary głównej|oclc=749376263}}</ref> The atrophy of this faith and the adversity to protecting the social order make law dead, a paper record devoid of actual meaning to people. The atrophy of awareness of the law in society leads to atrophy of the will to fight evil, a doubt in the moral order and consequently, to the triumph of evil. He says that the most likely consequence of such a state of affairs will be the birth of new [[totalitarianism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=229-232|chapter=Jeszcze o karze głównej|oclc=749376263}}</ref> |
|||
=== Contemporary ethical problems === |
|||
Bogusław Wolniewicz was critical towards academic [[bioethics]] and bioethics commissions. He considered them to be a hybrid of power and [[pseudoscience]] that aims to replace human conscience.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=150-152|chapter=O tzw. bioetyce|oclc=634294762}}</ref> Practicing ethics, as well as other areas of philosophy, should rely on careful listening to the voice of conscience and precise formulation of what that voice says.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bogusław Wolniewicz's short lectures|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sct-DMDeIwo|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz was analysing the fundamental ethical problems of the present day: capital punishment, [[euthanasia]], [[Organ transplantation|transplants]], embryo-cloning and [[abortion]]. |
|||
He believed that the legalization of euthanasia is an inevitable consequence of the [[Biomedicine|biomedical]] breakthrough that took place in the second half of the 20th century. He criticized the attitude of the Catholic Church, which strongly opposes it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=243-245|chapter=Eutanazja w świetle filozofii|oclc=749376263}}</ref> He considered the arguments against the legalization of euthanasia to be demagogic.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=177-187|chapter=Eutanazja i biolatria|oclc=634294762}}</ref> According to Wolniewicz, in some situations, when life becomes a senseless torment, everybody should have right to decide about ending his existence.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=177|chapter=Eutanazja i biolatria|oclc=634294762}}</ref> He also believed that doctors should not participate in this act: their role in the procedure would be limited to recognizing that the patient's condition is irreversible (in doubtful cases, the decision should be made in favor of the sick person in accordance with his will) and to prescribing an appropriate drug, the use of which results in death.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=171|chapter=Perspektywy eutanazji|oclc=634294762}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=179|chapter=Eutanazja i biolatria|oclc=634294762}}</ref> Direct assistance in dying should belong to the patient's family or another person close to the patient. The act of euthanasia should be considered a solemn moment, a rite. Legalizing euthanasia will lead to a change in attitude towards death and, consequently, to religious changes, which may lead to the emergence of a new liturgy accompanying euthanasia.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=168-172|chapter=Perspektywy eutanazji|oclc=634294762}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=300-303|chapter=Ku nowej religii|oclc=749376263}}</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz called transplants a "new form of [[cannibalism]]".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=259-263|chapter=Neokanibalizm|oclc=751024992}}</ref> More precisely, he considered transplanting an organ removed from a dead body to be morally equivalent to starvation cannibalism (when a dead body is also consumed). Eating a dead human body in order to save life is not morally different from recipation of organ removed from a dead body, just as taking a medicine in a pill is not morally different from taking it as an intramuscular injection.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Interview with Bogusław Wolniewicz|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0P52Ni2Y64|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> Dead human body has traditionally been considered as sacred, and its inviolability has been one of the foundations of civilized life. According to Wolniewicz, the change in relation to a dead human body must lead to the change in relation to a living human – human body begins to be seen in purely utilitarian way (as a raw material). Universal consent to transplants leads to consent to experiments on embryos.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=139-141|chapter=Uwagi o klonowaniu|oclc=634294762}}</ref> |
|||
Wolniewicz was strongly opposed to embryo-cloning, which he called "Mengelism".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=137|chapter=Uwagi o klonowaniu|oclc=634294762}}</ref> Experimenting on people without their permission had appeared in [[Josef Mengele|Josef Megele's]] research, and later it appeared in medical experiments on embryos. According to Wolniewicz, a human life comes into existence with the formation of one-celled [[zygote]] because all physical and spiritual features of human are encoded in zygote's DNA.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=153-154|chapter=O tzw. bioetyce|oclc=634294762}}</ref> According to Wolniewicz, the discoveries of modern science are here in line with the [[Potentiality and actuality|Aristotelian theory of enetelechia]]. Embryos contain the potential of humanity with the inner impulse to realize this potential. Therefore, they should be treated as human beings and experimenting on them should be foridden.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=138|chapter=Uwagi o klonowaniu|oclc=634294762}}</ref> |
|||
Nevertheless, Wolniewicz supported the so-called "abortion compromise" in Poland.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Reason and compromise - Głos racjonalny|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1DToIPxxQ|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> Every abortion kills a person. However, there are occasions when it is ethically acceptable to kill a person (in this case an embryo).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=Kotarbiński, Tadeusz|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=273|chapter=Kilka tez do sporu o aborcję|oclc=751024992}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Musiał, Zbigniew; Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/703839351|title=Ksenofobia i wspólnota: przyczynek do filozofii człowieka|publisher=Antyk - Marcin Dybowski|others=|year=|isbn=|edition=2nd|location=Komorów|pages=154|chapter=O wartości życia|oclc=703839351}}</ref> Wolniewicz distinguishes two types of abortion: the reckless one and the tragic one.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=273-274|chapter=Kilka tez do sporu o aborcję|oclc=751024992}}</ref> Abortion is acceptable only in tragic situations: when the life or health of mother are at risk, when the pregnancy is a result of rape, and when the fetus is severely handicapped and therefore his life would be a great suffering. All these situations involve a conflict of one humanity with another. Abortion in other situations should be forbidden. The decision to get an abortion should belong only to women, and the legal compromise on abortion protects the sacredness of motherhood, which is violated by both radical Catholics and radical permissists.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=274-277|chapter=Kilka tez do sporu o aborcję|oclc=751024992}}</ref> |
|||
== Influence == |
|||
Among Wolniewicz's direct students are his doctoral candidates – Zbigniew Musiał, Ulrich Schrade, Beata Witkowska-Maksimczuk; his graduate students – Agnieszka Maria Nogal, Paweł Okołowski, Klaudiusz Suczyński; participants of Wolniewicz's seminars of many years – Jan Zubelewicz, Jędrzej Stanisławek. These people continue and develop Wolniewicz's work and his style of doing philosophy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stanisławek, Jędrzej|first=|date=2018|title=Filozoficzne grono Bogusława Wolniewicza|url=http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/125454/edition/109477/content|journal=Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria|volume=3 (107)|pages=|doi=10.24425/pfns.2018.125454|issn=1230-1493|via=}}</ref> |
|||
Left under a significant influence of Wolniewicz were not only his closest students but also other key Polish philosophers and logicians. Among them Roman Suszko, whose papers on logic were made under a significant influence of the philosophical interpretation of Wittgenstein made by Wolniewicz, especially included in the paper "''Things and facts''". The fruit of that inspiration is non-Frege logic, one of the key achievements of the post-war Polish logic.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Suszko and the non-Fregean-Logics|url=https://www.ontology.co/suszkor.htm|access-date=2020-09-27|website=www.ontology.co}}</ref> One student of Suszko and a colleague of Wolniewicz was a logician Mieczysław Omyła, who continued both logical and ontological work of Suszko and referenced Wolniewicz's situational ontology more than once. Situational ontology also inspires mathematical papers on conditionally distributive lattices by Jan Zygmunt and Jacek Hawranek. Wolniewicz's papers were also met with interest from philosophers and logicians abroad, as evidenced by multiple reviews of his English papers in "''Mathematical Review''".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hawranek, Jacek|first=|last2=Zygmunt, Jan|date=2018|title=Wokół pewnego zagadnienia z dziedziny półkrat górnych z jednością|url=http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/125459/edition/109482/content|journal=Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria|volume=3 (107)|pages=|doi=10.24425/pfns.2018.125459|issn=1230-1493|via=}}</ref> |
|||
He also made many appearances in daily newspapers, radio and TV. That way he leaves impact both with his views on theoretical philosophy, including the reception of Wittgenstein in the Polish culture, as well as on the practical philosophy, including issues related to the current social and cultural matters. |
|||
Criticism of Wolniewicz mostly revolves around his social, political and cultural beliefs. It mostly comes from proponents of political and cultural liberalism<ref>{{Cite web|title=Magdalena Środa: Niebezpieczna bierność « Otwarta Rzeczpospolita|url=http://www.otwarta.org/magdalena-sroda-niebezpieczna-biernosc/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=www.otwarta.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2008-12-04|title=Still Racist After All These Years|url=https://jewcy.com/post/still_racist_after_all_these_years|access-date=2020-09-27|website=Jewcy|language=en-US}}</ref> as well as extreme-left groups.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wyborcza.pl|url=https://wyborcza.pl/1,75398,6231977,W_Radiu_Maryja_o_judeizacji_Polski.html?disableRedirects=true|access-date=2020-09-27|website=wyborcza.pl}}</ref> Also faced with criticism in a public discourse was Wolniewicz's expressive manner of speaking (like using such terms as "half-brain",<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749376263|title=Filozofia i wartości 2|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-910113-1-3|location=Warszawa|pages=16|chapter=O sytuacji we współczesnej filozofii|oclc=749376263}}</ref> "neo-cannibalism"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751024992|title=Filozofia i wartości: rozprawy i wypowiedzi: z fragmentami pism Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego|date=1998|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|others=|year=|isbn=83-901118-0-2|location=Warszawa|pages=259-263|chapter=Neokanibalizm|oclc=751024992}}</ref> or "mengelism"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/634294762|title=Filozofia i wartości III: z fragmentem "Księgi tragizmu" Henryka Elzenberga i jego uwagami o "Dociekaniach" Wittgensteina|date=2003|publisher=Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=|isbn=83-87963-22-4|edition=|location=Warszawa|pages=155|chapter=O tzw. bioetyce|oclc=634294762}}</ref> when referring to his world-view opponents). Among philosophers, criticism of Wolniewicz, not just in specialized magazines but even daily press, came from, among others, [[Jacek Jadacki]], [[Jacek Hołówka]] and [[Andrzej Bogusławski]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hołówka|first=Jacek|date=|title=Klonowanie fałszywych analogii|url=https://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/319718-Klonowanie-falszywych-analogii|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> |
|||
== Medals == |
== Medals == |
||
By a decision of |
By a decision of president [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]] on November 11, 1997, „for outstanding contribution to the Polish science”, he was awarded with an [[Order of Polonia Restituta|Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WMP19980060110|title=Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 11 listopada 1997 r. o nadaniu orderów.|website=prawo.sejm.gov.pl|language=en|access-date=2018-06-03}}</ref> |
||
== Private life == |
== Private life == |
||
Son of Henryk. Was a self-declared [[Atheism|nonbeliever]] (identifying as „Roman catholic – nonbeliever”).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://wiadomosci.wp.pl/radio-maryja-znow-skrytykowane-za-antysemityzm-6036283806704769a|title=Radio Maryja znów skrytykowane za antysemityzm|last=S.A.|first=Wirtualna Polska Media|date=2009-02-27|work=wiadomosci.wp.pl|access-date=2018-06-03|language=pl-PL}}</ref> |
|||
Son of Henryk. Wolniewicz was a self-declared [[Atheism|nonbeliever]] (identifying as "[[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] – nonbeliever"). He made it clear by specifying that he doesn't believe in consciousness carrying on after death. He didn't, however, deny existence of an intelligence supreme to the man.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolniewicz, Bogusław|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932175610|title=W stronę rozumu|date=2015|publisher=Jarosław Faliński|others=|year=|isbn=978-83-942333-1-0|location=Warszawa|pages=13-16|oclc=932175610}}</ref> |
|||
He died on August 4, 2017, a few weeks before his 90th birthday. On August 9, at the St. [[Andrew Bobola|Andrzej Bobola]] church in Warsaw, a funeral service took place in honor of the professor, led by father Andrzej Spławski.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.polskieradio.pl/5/3/Artykul/1812497,Warszawa-pozegnala-prof-Boguslawa-Wolniewicza-Staral-sie-sluzyc-madrosci|title=Warszawa pożegnała prof. Bogusława Wolniewicza. "Starał się służyć mądrości"|work=PolskieRadio.pl|access-date=2018-06-03}}</ref> |
|||
== Selected works == |
== Selected works == |
||
* ''Introduction to philosophy: supporting materials'', together with Józef Grudzień, Warsaw, National School Publishing Press, 1961. |
* ''Introduction to philosophy: supporting materials'', together with Józef Grudzień, Warsaw, National School Publishing Press, 1961. |
||
* ''Things and facts. Introduction to Ludwik Wittgenstein’s first philosophy (including an excerpt from Plato’s |
* ''Things and facts. Introduction to Ludwik Wittgenstein’s first philosophy (including an excerpt from Plato’s „Theaetetus” in a new translation and with a commentary by Professor Henryk Elzenberg)'', Warsaw, National Science Publishing, 1968. |
||
* ''Situational Ontology: basics and applications'', Warsaw, National Science Publishing, 1985. |
* ''Situational Ontology: basics and applications'', Warsaw, National Science Publishing, 1985. |
||
* ''Philosophy and values: discourses and statements: with excerpts from writings of Tadeusz Kotarbiński'', Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 1993. |
* ''Philosophy and values: discourses and statements: with excerpts from writings of Tadeusz Kotarbiński'', Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 1993. |
||
* ''Philosophy and values 2'', Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 1998. |
* ''Philosophy and values 2'', Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 1998. |
||
* ''Logic and metaphysics: studies in Wittgenstein’s ontology of facts'', Warsaw, |
* ''Logic and metaphysics: studies in Wittgenstein’s ontology of facts'', Warsaw, „Sign, Language, Reality”, Polish Semiotic Society, 1999. |
||
* ''Philosophy and values 3, With an excerpt from |
* ''Philosophy and values 3, With an excerpt from „Book of tragedy” by Henryk Elzenberg and his remarks on „Philosophical Investigations” by Wittgenstein'', Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 2003. |
||
* ''Xenophobia and community'', together with Zbigniew Musiał, Kraków, Arcana, 2003. |
* ''Xenophobia and community'', together with Zbigniew Musiał, Kraków, Arcana, 2003. |
||
* ''Three trends: rationalism – antirationalism – scientism'', together with Zbigniew Musiał and Janusz Skarbek, Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 2006. |
* ''Three trends: rationalism – antirationalism – scientism'', together with Zbigniew Musiał and Janusz Skarbek, Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 2006. |
||
Line 128: | Line 57: | ||
[[Category:1927 births]] |
[[Category:1927 births]] |
||
[[Category:2017 deaths]] |
[[Category:2017 deaths]] |
||
[[Category:Polish philosophers]] |
|||
[[Category:Opposition to feminism]] |
[[Category:Opposition to feminism]] |
||
[[Category:Antisemitism in Poland]] |
|||
[[Category:Critics of Islam]] |
|||
[[Category:Opposition to Islam in Europe]] |
[[Category:Opposition to Islam in Europe]] |
||
[[Category:Male critics of feminism]] |
|||
[[Category:University of Warsaw faculty]] |
[[Category:University of Warsaw faculty]] |
||
[[Category:People from Toruń]] |
[[Category:People from Toruń]] |
||
[[Category:Polish atheists]] |
[[Category:Polish atheists]] |
||
[[Category:Polish philosophers]] |
|||
[[Category:Philosophers]] |
|||
[[Category:Logicians]] |
|||
[[Category:Polish publicists]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century philosophy]] |
|||
[[Category:Wittgensteinian philosophers]] |
|||
[[Category:Bioethics]] |
|||
[[Category:Metaphysics]] |
|||
[[Category:Bioethicists]] |
|||
[[Category:Euthanasia]] |
Revision as of 15:46, 23 November 2020
Bogusław Wolniewicz | |
---|---|
Born | 22 September 1927 |
Died | 4 August 2017 (aged 89) |
Occupation(s) | Professor of philosophy, extremist radio personality |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Warsaw |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Philosophy |
Bogusław Wolniewicz (September 22, 1927 in Toruń – August 4, 2017 in Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher. He was a professor at University of Warsaw from 1963 to 1998. In scholarly circles, he is known as a translator and commentator of Ludwig Wittgenstein. From the 1990s, he became a publicist mostly affiliated with the Radio Maryja community.[1]
Wolniewicz was notorious for his controversial views, seen as homophobic, antifeminist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic.[1][2][3][4][5]
Education and career
Wolniewicz was a professor at University of Warsaw from 1963 to 1998. In scholarly circles he is known as a translator and commentator of Ludwig Wittgenstein.[1]
He retired in 1997, but he continued giving lectures. In 1998 The Scientific Council of the Department of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw didn't extend his job contract.[6]
Publicist career
From the 1990s, he became a publicist affiliated with the Radio Maryja community.[1] Wolniewicz was notorious for his homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-semitic, and islamophobic views.[1][2][7][8][5]
He stated on TV that gays should not go public and that the Jewish holiday of Sukkot should not be celebrated in public in Poland.[5] In 2008, Wolniewicz addressed a packed crowd at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Krakow and shouted "The Jews are attacking us! We need to defend ourselves", in an event protesting against the Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz book and alongside Jerzy Robert Nowak.[9][10][11][12] The Council of Media Ethics stated that his on-air comments in January 2009 contained anti-semitic views and violated "the basic ethical norms and Polish law".[13][unreliable source?][14][15][16][2] Wolniewicz considered Islam as a harbinger of Asian expansion, and preached that migration and terror were "weapons" in the hands of Islamists. He called for the sinking of boats with immigrants.[1][2]
Wolniewicz considered feminism to be against human nature, supported euthanasia, and considered the abolition of capital punishment to be a sign of moral decline in Europe. He spoke against Smolensk air disaster conspiracy theories.[1] Wolniewicz was opposed to genetic engineering and in particular to embryo cloning which he saw as "Mengelism".[17][18] He objected to Organ transplantation viewing it as a form of Cannibalism.[19][20]
In 2004 he criticized the conditions of accepting Poland into European Union. During the 2005 parliamentary election he unsuccessfully stood as a candidate to Sejm under Janusz Korwin-Mikke Platform in an electoral district outside of Warsaw.[21]
Later into 2007 he got involved in an event initiated by Jerzy Robert Nowak, a professor at the University of Social and Medial Culture against the book Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz by Jan Tomasz Gross that describes the Polish-Jewish relations during World War Two. Wolniewicz participated in several meetings where he heavily criticized Gross’s book.[22]
In 2009 he entered The Committee for Defense of the Good Name of Poland and Poles initiated by Jerzy Robert Nowak. From 2014 he prepared lectures on subjects such as Islam, ethics and philosophy for the Rational Voice channel[23] on YouTube.
Medals
By a decision of president Aleksander Kwaśniewski on November 11, 1997, „for outstanding contribution to the Polish science”, he was awarded with an Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta.[24]
Private life
Son of Henryk. Was a self-declared nonbeliever (identifying as „Roman catholic – nonbeliever”).[25]
He died on August 4, 2017, a few weeks before his 90th birthday. On August 9, at the St. Andrzej Bobola church in Warsaw, a funeral service took place in honor of the professor, led by father Andrzej Spławski.[26]
Selected works
- Introduction to philosophy: supporting materials, together with Józef Grudzień, Warsaw, National School Publishing Press, 1961.
- Things and facts. Introduction to Ludwik Wittgenstein’s first philosophy (including an excerpt from Plato’s „Theaetetus” in a new translation and with a commentary by Professor Henryk Elzenberg), Warsaw, National Science Publishing, 1968.
- Situational Ontology: basics and applications, Warsaw, National Science Publishing, 1985.
- Philosophy and values: discourses and statements: with excerpts from writings of Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 1993.
- Philosophy and values 2, Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 1998.
- Logic and metaphysics: studies in Wittgenstein’s ontology of facts, Warsaw, „Sign, Language, Reality”, Polish Semiotic Society, 1999.
- Philosophy and values 3, With an excerpt from „Book of tragedy” by Henryk Elzenberg and his remarks on „Philosophical Investigations” by Wittgenstein, Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 2003.
- Xenophobia and community, together with Zbigniew Musiał, Kraków, Arcana, 2003.
- Three trends: rationalism – antirationalism – scientism, together with Zbigniew Musiał and Janusz Skarbek, Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Warsaw, 2006.
- On Poland and life: philosophical and political reflection, Komorów, Antyk – Marcin Dybowski, 2011.
- Philosophy and values 4, Warsaw, University of Warsaw, 2016.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz". www.rp.pl.
- ^ a b c d "Wyborcza.pl". wyborcza.pl.
- ^ https://gazetawroclawska.pl/zmarl-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-mial-90-lat/ar/12337598 Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat
- ^ https://wiadomosci.com/zmarl-prof-boguslaw-wolniewicz-mial-90/ Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat
- ^ a b c https://issuu.com/euroalter/docs/the-myth-of-europa-online-2 page 98
- ^ ANTelewizja (2011-05-10), Profesor Bogusław Wolniewicz o studiach, retrieved 2018-06-03
- ^ "Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat". Gazeta Wrocławska. August 5, 2017.
- ^ "Zmarł prof. Bogusław Wolniewicz. Miał 90 lat". August 5, 2017.
- ^ Lori, Aviva (February 12, 2008). "Krakow Church Holds Service Against 'Kikes Who Spit on Us'" – via Haaretz.
- ^ Marek Czyżewski: Der polnische Streit um Jan Tomasz Gross’ Strach aus ‚vermittelnder‛ diskursanalytischer Perspektive, Collegium Civitas, Warsaw (translated into German by Yvonne Kohl)
- ^ ""Żydzi atakują"". Wprost. February 11, 2008.
- ^ "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.
- ^ "Interwencje prawne i obywatelskie 2008–2009, Otwarta Rzeczpospolita" (PDF) (in Polish).
- ^ "REM karci Radio Maryja za antysemickie treści". Newsweek.pl.
- ^ Sosnowski, Jerzy (May 14, 2009). "Eks post - Uzasadnienie niezgody". Więź. LII (612): 145–150 – via www.ceeol.com.
- ^ "Antysemityzm na antenie". TVN24.
- ^ pages 19-31
- ^ "Klonowanie fałszywych analogii - Archiwum Rzeczpospolitej". archiwum.rp.pl.
- ^ "Profesor: Nie oddałbym nerki córce. Niech umrze". Fakt.pl. April 6, 2016.
- ^ Anna Zalewska: Nadzwyczajna recepcja transplantacji. Jak dyskusja o etyce przeszczepów może zmienić nasz porządek kulturowy in: pl:Konteksty Kultury 2016/13, z. 1, s. 81–95. doi:10.4467/23531991KK.16.006.5084
- ^ "Wybory 2005". www.wybory2005.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- ^ Tomasz Kitliński: Still Racist After All These Years
- ^ "głos racjonalny". YouTube (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- ^ "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 11 listopada 1997 r. o nadaniu orderów". prawo.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- ^ S.A., Wirtualna Polska Media (2009-02-27). "Radio Maryja znów skrytykowane za antysemityzm". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- ^ "Warszawa pożegnała prof. Bogusława Wolniewicza. "Starał się służyć mądrości"". PolskieRadio.pl. Retrieved 2018-06-03.