Authors

Ryszard Zajączkowski¹;  ¹ The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland

Discussion

The oeuvre of Bolesław Miciński (1911–1943) is an interesting example of how literature and philosophy may be combined. The writer’s overarching literary master was Jerzy Stempowski and he also drew philosophical inspiration from Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy), Władysław Tatarkiewicz and Father Augustyn Jakubisiak. Miciński’s philosophical essays are the most original element of his legacy, especially Podróże do piekieł [Road to Hell], Dyliżans filozofiiczny [Philosophical Diligence], Julina Apostate [Julian the Apostate], Portret Kanta [Portrait of Kant] and several smaller texts on anti-war topics. When he wrote a philosophical essay, he would be guided by his understanding of philosophical thinking not as a static product, but as a dynamic process aiming towards the truth. Miciński opposed the Lviv-Warsaw school – the reductionist stance of neopositivist philosophy in the area of language. He thereby reinvigorated philosophy, which had been marginalised since the mid-19th century, and revived that which is the basis of reality – individuality and the reality of being. He thus became a critic of ideological thought structures that were hostile to man.