Early phenomenology in Poland (1895\u20131945): origins, development, and breakdown

Witold Płotka

doi:10.1007/s11212-017-9274-0

Abstract

This article presents the development of the phenomenological movement in Poland in the period 1895–1945. It focuses on the early reactions to phenomenology and the later consolidation of the group of phenomenologists in Lvov. The article also explores the context of Polish phenomenology, its main figures, and their texts. The author suggests that early phenomenology in Poland was a pluralistic discipline that developed in polemical discussions, including discussions with members of the Lvov–Warsaw school. Finally, the article summarizes the major contributions of phenomenologists to philosophy, psychology, and aesthetics in Poland.

Highlights

Phenomenology in Poland has a long tradition. This fact has been highlighted by the recent publication of two important books, namely, a bibliography of Polish works related to Husserl (Beben and Ples-Beben 2013a) and a collection of selected articles connected to or using phenomenology and published in the pre-war period (Beben and Ples-Beben 2013b)
The object is irreducible to the act, but the act refers to its object by virtue of its content. Husserl discussed this theory while working on the theory of intentional objects and his critique of psychologism, and he reviewed Twardowski’s Zur Lehre vom Inhalt und Gegenstand der Vorstellungen
According to Ingarden, Husserl changed his understanding of phenomenology, because, whereas in the first edition phenomenology was regarded as descriptive psychology, in the second edition it was rather transcendental philosophy, which focused on pure consciousness and the essences of pure experiences as such

Summary

Introduction

Phenomenology in Poland has a long tradition. This fact has been highlighted by the recent publication of two important books, namely, a bibliography of Polish works related to Husserl (Beben and Ples-Beben 2013a) and a collection of selected articles connected to or using phenomenology and published in the pre-war period (Beben and Ples-Beben 2013b). Following Głombik (1999a, 2005, 2011), both books show that the very first Polish thinker who refered to Husserl was Władysław Heinrich (1869–1957), who published his review of Husserl’s Philosophie der Arithmetik in German as early as 1895.

Results

Conclusion