Ireneusz Ziemiński

Philosophers tend not to appreciate the literary works of Henryk Sienkiewicz and consider him to be a popular writer. On the contrary, one could argue that the Nobel laureate’s prose has a significant philosophical dimension – it undermines at least a few myths prevalent in human culture. The first myth concerns the truth and meaning of life. The literary fates of Petronius, Płoszowski or Bukacki not only show that there is no such thing as objective truth which could become the foundation of human life, but that the very concept of objective, final, and eternal truth is incomprehensible. It is also impossible to answer the question whether life has meaning or not. Even more radically, Sienkiewicz dismantles the myth of Christianity as a religion of peace and love, by showing that it is a religion of violence, and the colonial myth of white supremacy, by showing that white people are defined by ruthlessness, killing, and conquering the world. Sienkiewicz’s prose also overthrows the myths of knighthood, patriotism, and war; the writer shows that famous knights do not defend any noble ideals, but instead are professional killers who want to be famous. Finally, Sienkiewicz deals with the myth of woman as an object of male, knightly adoration. From the perspective of men, such as Winicjusz, Kmicic, or Skrzetuski, a woman is no more than a sexual object and a mother, destined to give birth to new legions of soldiers. Undermining the myth of womanhood also results in disrupting the binary distinction between the social roles of men and women, as exemplifies by Skrzetuski’s fiancée, who dressed as a young man, nevertheless arouses erotic desire in other men.

This article is an attempt at a philosophical reconstruction of the idea of eternal life in the poetry of Zbigniew Herbert. The author sets out to discuss the difficulties connected with the ideas of both heavenly (transcendent) eternity, which posits a new mode of existence, and earthly (immanent) everlastingness, based on immortal  fame or instants of eternity intermittently available to humans (in other words, a momentary cessation of the awareness of the passage of time). An example of heavenly eternity is the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the body; according to Herbert, both possibilities signify a radically novel (perfect and infinite) mode of existence, which is totally alien to human (imperfect and finite) nature. This is why man does not desire an eternity of this kind, as it would entail a transformation of his nature into a different, non-human (divine, angelic) being. A paradigmatic example of earthly eternity can be found in profound experiences (such as aesthetic contemplation of beauty), when the contemplating subject loses the consciousness of the destructive power of time, or even of his own eventual demise, deluding himself for a moment that his being is everlasting. Herbert seems to embrace a third way, which is the way of the sceptics, who do not believe in either kind of eternity,  consequently living in a state of permanent suspension between the two other ways.

The article is an attempt at philosophical reconstruction of the idea of eternal life present in the poetry of Zbigniew Herbert. The author focuses on demonstrating difficulties concerning both the heavenly (transcendental) eternity, which is a new form of human existence after death, and the mundane (immanent) eternity, which takes shape of the immortal fame (the memory of the generations) or the moments of eternity experienced sometimes by people (i.e. the lack of awareness of the passage of time). An example of the heavenly eternity is the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the body; both of these possibilities mean, according to Herbert, a new (perfect and infinite) form of existence, completely alien to human nature (which is imperfect and finite). For this reason man doesn’t desire such eternity, as it would be a transformation of his nature into some other, non-human (divine or angelic) being. A model example of the mundane eternity are the in-depth experiences (e.g. an aesthetic contemplation of beauty), when the individual loses the awareness of the destructive passage of time, or even of the imminent death, and succumbs to the momentary illusion that their existence is eternal. Herbert, however, seems to accept a third possibility which is a way of sceptics, who don’t believe neither in the transcendental eternity nor in the mundane one and live in a continuous suspension between both these ways.

This article presents philosophy of religion as a specific branch of religious studies. The main philosophical problems of religion are the possibility of defi ning religion, the truthfulness of religion, the nature of God (as the main object of religious worship), the existence of God, and the rationality (or irrationality) of religious behaviour. In every problem you can be a sceptic, because we have no rational method guaranteeing the successful definition of religion (every definition is subjective and either too narrow or too large). Unfortunately, we are not able to defi ne God (or Holiness) as the object of religion; every defi nition is only partial or incoherent. Therefore, we do not have any proof of God’s existence or nonexistence, and because of this neither can we say that religious behaviour is rational or irrational (and especially which religious behaviour). This means that philosophy of religion, which tries to resolve the essential problem of religion, is the best way to religious scepticism.

The article discusses upbringing in Jesuit schools in Ireland at the turn of the XIXth and XXth centuries, as portrayed by James Joyce in his novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. However, the article does not attempt to answer the question whether Joyce accurately represented the Jesuit school model, but rather to discuss how a future poet – Stefan Dedalus – functioned within this system. As an exceptionally sensitive boy, he had trouble navigating a religious school which was founded upon the assumption of human wickedness and whose goal was eternal salvation after death.  

The article discusses the religious and nationalist purpose of the upbringing received  by Joyce’s character in Jesuit schools, as well as the methods utilized there (corporal and mental punishment). The stated goals of Jesuit upbringing (turning the boys into zealous Catholics and Irish nationalists) were not fulfilled in the case of Stefan Dedalus, the main character of the novel. The boy grew up to be an independent, free man who abandoned religion by becoming a poet; however, the Jesuits prepared him intellectually to engage in the fundamental arguments against the religious and moral teachings of the Catholic Church.

The topic of the paper is the complex image of a cholera epidemic in Thomas Mann’s short story Death in Venice. In the first part of the text, devoted to the symbolism of the disease, Asiatic cholera is interpreted as a symbol of human finitude (mortality) and a manifestation of the degeneration of the artist, who, having previously led an ascetic life, falls in love with a teenage boy. Asiatic cholera becomes a symbol of the body rebelling against the mind, which is also reflected on the level of Western culture (reason, discipline) succumbing to Eastern influences (sense, spontaneity). Therefore, Mann’s story can be interpreted from the perspective of colonial discourse, according to which the East is perceived as a threat to Europe; in the narrator’s view, the source of Asiatic cholera is the climate of India and its poor level of medical knowledge. In the second part, devoted to human attitudes towards the epidemic, the article presents the local government’s policy towards the collective threat; despite the growing number of deaths and infections, the politicians are calming people down, claiming that the situation is completely under control and any sanitary restrictions are introduced as a mere precaution. The reason behind the lie (also repeated by the inhabitants of Venice) is the threat of bankruptcy faced by the people who make their living from tourism. The epidemic is also an opportunity for robberies and even murders, because criminals believe that in these circumstances they will remain unpunished. This pessimistic image suggests that humans are egoistic and care more about their own fate than the fate of others when standing in the face of danger.