(in Polish) Philosophy of Value including Philosophical Anthropology A

obligatory courses

The main aim of the course is to present the basic problems of axiology and philosophical anthropology as well as to create a specific anthropological imagination which will lead to a deeper understanding of the different dimensions of human self-realization, self-experiencing and self-understanding. The axiological dimension of human existence will be the object of special concern. We will try to answer the questions about the genesis, character, ontical status and the basic ways of recognition and justification of values always already correlated or at least implied by the variety of human activities. The object of detailed analysis will be the distinction of values into different types such as: ethical, aesthetic, cognitive, social, religious etc. We will also undertake the attempt to answer the question of the possibility of consistent transgression beyond the sphere of values.

The main aim of the course is to present the basic problems of axiology and philosophical anthropology as well as to create a specific anthropological imagination which will lead to a deeper understanding of different aspects of the human being. The basic premise of philosophical anthropology is the conviction, firstly formulated by sophists, then strongly atriculated and justified by Immanuel Kant, that all metaphysical, epistemological or ethical questions find their justification in the question concerning the essence of the human being. In other words, all reflection on the physical as well as social world, all metaphysical and religious systems as well as all scientific theories are always anthropological, taken from the anthropological perspective. They are an expression of the essentially human effort of giving meaning to reality. This effort, however, is always undertaken within the horizon of particular values. That is, on the basis of what is recognized as good, proper or adequate. Philosophical questions concerning the human being, then, are inextricably linked with axiology from the very beginning. Moreover, since the human being exists within a particular cultural community, which has its own tradition and history and which determines the basic forms of self-reference of the human being, philosophical anthropology is essentially interested in phenomena such as human historicity, linguisticality or more broadly intersubjectivity in their mutual relations with different (sometimes even conflicting) systems of values.

Besides the general, methodological considerations on the nature and the scope of philosophical anthropology and axiology our reflection will be centered, then, around the following thematic fields:

1. Human subjectivity and social structures – within this field we will explore the sense and limits of human individuality and the modes in which different forms of experience arise out of the life-world, i.e. the common world of cultural meanings. The crucial categories and phenomena will be (among others): individualism, moral autonomy, memory, tradition, nation, cultural transmission, cultural institution, the private and the public realm.

2. The linguistic dimension of human being – the object of our concern will be language as the medium and the condition of possibility of human self-understanding and self-expression. We will analyze its different functions (informative, performative, communicative) and forms as well as the different cultural contexts of linguistic articulation and its axiological premises and implications.

R. Descartes, „Discourse on the Method”,

I. Kant,”What is Enlightenment?”,

M. Heidegger, „The Basic Problems of Phenomenology” (frag.)

H. Arendt, „The Human Condition”, (frag.)

A. MacIntyre, „After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory” (frag.)

F. Nietzsche, „On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense”

H. G. Gadamer, „Truth and Method” (frag.)

G. Lakoff, M. Johnson, „Metaphors We Live By”, (fr.)

E. Lévinas, „Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority” (frag.)

After the course students:

Knowledge:

- know and understand, on the basic level, the role philosophical reflection plays in shaping culture;

- have the basic knowledge of the place and the role of philosophy in its relation to sciences as well as of its obejective and methodological character;

- review and enrich vocabulary and linguistic skills in English (on level C1);

- have knowledge about the norms constituting and regulating social structures and institutions as well as about origins of these norms, their nature, changes and ways they shape human behaviors;

- know the relations between the main philosophical subdisciplines and have orderly knowledge and understanding of of the main currents within these subdisciplines;

- have the basic knowledge about the place and importance of the humanities in the system of sciences as well as about their objective, methological and terminological specificity;

Skills:

- can read and interpret a philosophical text;

- correctly use acquired philosophical terminology;

- analyze philosophical arguments, identify their crucial theses and premises and reveal their interrelations;

- justify and criticize generalizations in light of available evidence;

- create and reconstruct different arguments referring to the basic normative premises of a given standpoint, world-view or cultural imaginary;

Social competence

- are open to new ideas and ready to change his opinion in light of available data and arguments;

- are aware of the meaning and value of the European philosophical heritage for understanding social and cultural events; and are aware of the responsibility for maintaining this heritage;

- are aware of the importance of humanistic reflection for shaping social bonds.

The final grade will be based on the active participation in the discussions during the classes and the oral exam at the end of the course.

In both cases assessed will be: the ability to understand and solve a given philosophical problem by using defensible arguments; the ability to use correctly the acquired terminology; the ability to compare different perspectives on a given problem and assess the arguments of different perspectives; knowledge of the specific character of philosophical anthropology (and its axiological dimensions) and its relations with other philosophical subdisciplines as well as it relations to other humanistic disciplines.

Acceptable number of missed classes without formal explanation: 2