Suchergebnisse

AbstractGeorges Florovsky, in 1936, called for a revival of the teaching of the Church Fathers. At the same time, Fr. Joseph Bocheński formulated the program for the renewal of Thomism by means of formal logic. In this paper, I propose to integrate these two projects. Analytic Patristics aims at expressing and developing patristic thought with the tools of analytic philosophy. The broad program of the logic of religion formulated by Bocheński included semiotics, methodology, and the formal logic of religion. I present here three examples of the integration of analytic philosophy and patristics in these three areas. I discuss first Basil Lourié's paraconsistent interpretation of Dionysius the Areopagite's theory of the divine names, then Richard Swinburne's efforts to revive Orthodox natural theology, and finally Beau Branson's reconstruction of Gregory of Nyssa's metaphysics of the Trinity. These examples perfectly illustrate how analytic philosophy can contribute to the development of patristics, and how the tradition of the Church Fathers can inspire contemporary analytic philosophy of religion.

AbstractIs Russia a neoimperial or postimperial state? In this paper, I compare two interpretations proposed by political commentators Marcel Van Herpen and Dmitri Trenin. Van Herpen holds that the Russian empire is literally being rebuilt, whereas Trenin believes that Russia is just ceasing to be an empire. I argue that, contrary to popular belief, the current war against Ukraine cannot be interpreted as an attempt to restore the Russian empire. This is because being an empire requires a universalistic ideology that can be accepted by other nations. Meanwhile, the ideological foundation of the current war is an obviously nationalistic conception of the "Russian world." Polish historians Andrzej Nowak and Włodzimierz Marciniak brilliantly argued that it was Russian nationalism that had previously led to the collapse of both Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. Under this interpretation the current war in Ukraine can be seen not as the rebirth but rather as the dramatic end of Russian imperialism.

In my book Liturgia dziejów [The Liturgy of History] I proposed an interpretation of the thought of John Paul II in terms of Polish messianism. The book sparked many interesting discussions. In this article, I attempt to address some doubts about my interpretation of John Paul II's theology of the nation. First, I clear up certain misunderstandings related to the ontological status of the nation. Then, I defend the necessary political dimension of Christianity. Finally, I point out the essentially utopian nature of Polish messianism. I aim to show that – contrary to the suggestions of some critics – a properly understood theology of the nation of John Paul II does not lead to the subordination of religion to politics; just the opposite, it provides criteria for Christian evaluation for any political order. ; In my book Liturgia dziejów [The Liturgy of History] I proposed an interpretation of the thought of John Paul II in terms of Polish messianism. The book sparked many interesting discussions. In this article, I attempt to address some doubts about my interpretation of John Paul II's theology of the nation. First, I clear up certain misunderstandings related to the ontological status of the nation. Then, I defend the necessary political dimension of Christianity. Finally, I point out the essentially utopian nature of Polish messianism. I aim to show that – contrary to the suggestions of some critics – a properly understood theology of the nation of John Paul II does not lead to the subordination of religion to politics; just the opposite, it provides criteria for Christian evaluation for any political order.

Szkoła tartusko-moskiewska semiotyki kultury była jednym z najciekawszych zjawisk w światowej semiotyce i w nauce radzieckiej. W niniejszym artykule próbuję opisać i wyjaśnić fenomen tej szkoły za pomocą kategorii teoretycznych, które sama sformułowała. Jest to uprawnione podejście, ponieważ − jak wskazywali członkowie szkoły − teksty naukowe opisujące kulturę są same tekstami kultury. W pierwszej części przedstawiam dwie koncepcje semiotyczne pochodzące od Jurija Łotmana: koncepcję twórczości jako twórczego przekładu oraz teorię systemów binarnych i ternarnych. W drugiej części próbuję zastosować tę pierwszą koncepcję do wyjaśnienia fenomenu innowacyjności szkoły. Argumentuję, że brała się ona z ogromnej różnorodności perspektyw i poglądów uczestników szkoły oraz z jedności, którą nadawało użycie jednolitego języka teoretycznego i sposób zorganizowania prac szkoły. W trzeciej części wskazuję, że szkoła tartusko-moskiewska miała charakter ternarny, czym wyraźnie różniła się od binarnej kultury komunistycznej. Dyskurs szkoły był subwersją, a nie inwersją dominującego dyskursu ideologicznego. Tylko dzięki temu szkoła ta mogła mieć twórczy charakter. W zakończeniu przedstawiam niezwykłe paralele strukturalne między szkołą, XIX-wiecznymi rosyjskimi salonami i ruchem Solidarności.

AbstractEssential properties are usually thought as properties that things must always possess, whereas accidental properties are considered as changeable. In this paper, we challenge this traditional view. We argue that in some important cases, such as social or biological development, we face not only the change of accidents, but also the change of essences. To analyze this kind of change we propose an alternative view on the relations between the modalities and time. Some properties might be necessary or possible for a thing in a classical sense throughout its existence, whereas others might be necessary or possible only for some restricted periods. We distinguish therefore absolute, prospective, retrospective, and relative modalities. As we argue, these non-classical concepts of modality are useful in analysis of some puzzling case of seemingly changing essences.