Antropologiczny problem w filozofii dziejów: relatywne – absolutne

Abstract

Modem philosophy of history is essentially concerned with man and his deep relation to his own history. There are two Polish philosophers, Stefan Swieżawski (1907-2004) and Rev. Stanisław Kamiński (1919-1986), professors of Catholic University of Lublin, who made an effort to review the main problems of philosophy of history. Their remarks and conclusions concern the presence of the relative and absolute elements in human history form the content of the present article. W. Dilthey was the first philosopher, who strongly criticised Hegelian speculative metaphysics of history. He gave a new vision of philosophy of history which since that time has become a philosophy of man as a historical being. He also introduced a category of man’s historicity. The idea of historicity – temporality of human being – was developed by M. Heidegger. Although the concept of historicity is very useful in explaining a phenomenon of man, it may, if radically understood, introduce general relativism in the concept of man and basic human values. On the other hand, historical relativism does not need to be radical. The idea of man’s substantiality and ontic identity can be preserved even if some aspect of human life are perceived as relative to history. There are two basic ways of preserving the identity of man, absolute elements of his nature, his substantiality in spite of his historicity. The first one is a phenomenology of Dasein. Dasein – individual existence – builds its identity by uncovering the primal nature of „being” (Sein). The second one, which seems to be metaphysically more fundamental, is based on the idea of potentiality of man, who is living in history, in social conditions, actualizes himself as a person.