Ksiądz Stefan Pawlicki w swoim trudzie myślenia

Abstract

Cracow, boasting of the Jagiellonian University and the Academy of Arts and Sciences, was a spiritual and intellectual capital of the partitioned Poland at the turn of the 19th century. Stefan Zachariasz Pawlicki, C.R. (1839-1916), professor of Jagiellonian University, aroused common interest among his contemporary scholars. Some regarded him as an eminent philosopher and deep theologian, whereas others as a unique erudite. He was known as a God-fearing monk and also a frequenter of society salons, connoisseur and lover of the art of cooking. He was a legend of the contemporary Cracow. After having studied classical philology at the Wrocław University he was a tutor of Earl Raczyński’s son in Rogalin. In 1865 he was conferred doctor’s degree in philosophy at the Wrocław University. In 1865 he gained veniam legendi in the Philological-Historical Faculty at the General School in Warsaw, where he lectured on history of philosophy. In 1868 he met Piotr (Peter) Semenenko, co-founder and superior general of the Resurrectionists, which changed his life completely. He entered that order and after having studied Christian philosophy and theology in Collegium Romanum he received Holy Orders in 1872. The next year he received doctor’s degree in theology at this school. In 1882 he became professor in the Chair of Christian Philosophy and in 1883 a professor of fundamental theology at the Jagiellonian University. He began dialectic classes in 1884/85. These were the first seminars in theological faculties in Austro-Hungary. In 1884 he became a corresponding member of the Historical-Philosophical Faculty of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1891 its active member. In 1911-16 he was the chairman of the Commission of History of Polish Philosophy at that Academy. He was twice the dean of the Theological Faculty and rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1905/06. He held the chair of philosophy in the Philosophical Faculty. His lectures were extremely popular. He could speak about the most difficult questions in a clear and colourful way, making frequent didactic digressions. His evaluation of other different views was full of tact and understanding. He was a master of living word. The characteristic of Pawlicki’s thinking was religion as an indispensable element of the philosophical vision of the world. In its light he valued the systems and works he encountered. Religion was for him a specific expression of metaphysical needs of man. His works were characterised by a decisive critique of all that violated, openly or secretly, the doctrinal and institutional shape of faith. He engaged in polemic against views, which were inspired by the Hegelian idealism and the materialism of L. Feuerbach and L. Büchner. In connection with the Darwinian theory of evolution he made an apologia for immortality of human soul and the existence of God, the Creator of the universe. He severely criticised the idealistic German philosophy, which he regarded as being responsible for atheism and radicalization of the working class: "Materializm wobec nauki" [Materialism versus Science], Kraków 1870. In his works "O początkach chrześcijaństwa" [About the Beginnings of Christianity], Kraków 1884, and "Żywot i dzieła Ernesta Renana" [The Life and Works of Ernest Renan], vol. 1-2, Kraków 1893 (3rd edition in 1905), he carried out a penetrating critique of rationalistic attempts to solve the problem of the origin of Christianity. His "Historia filozofii greckiej od Talesa do śmierci Arystotelesa" [History of Greek Philosophy from Thales to Aristotle’s Death], vol. 1, Kraków 1890, vol. 2, part 1, 1903, part 2, 1917, was greatly appreciated. For Pawlicki philosophy was the art of life. It was to teach and educate, combining closely the cognitive effort and moral-practical function.