Papers by Maciej Witkowski
Religions, 2022
Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt were active in the interwar period, a very difficult time in th... more Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt were active in the interwar period, a very difficult time in the history of Germany. The issues of violence, war, and the role of religion in public affairs were of vast importance for both men. I want to show that, in relation to the issues of religion and political theology, both favored instrumentalizing religious concepts in the name of their own political ideas. Schmitt used Catholicism to establish the so-called concrete order, and Benjamin used Judaism to promote Marxist and anarchist ideas of liberation. That means they were more interested in earthly affairs than in having mystical religious experiences or exploring metaphysical concepts of God and the afterworld. I believe that the instrumental use of theology and religion in the works of Schmitt and Benjamin could indicate that theology was then and is now in a big crisis.
The Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence, 2022
Carl von Clausewitz distinguished two fundamental aspects of war-political and existential. These... more Carl von Clausewitz distinguished two fundamental aspects of war-political and existential. These aspects are present in the philosophy of Carl Schmitt too. He used Clausewitz to build a theory of Man and his political nature that also aimed at understanding the German defeat in World War I. In this article, I interpret Schmitt's philosophy as an instance of a modern re-appropriation of Clausewitz's legacy. I aim to show that even though Schmitt's philosophy might be outdated, his way of reading Clausewitz may be inspiring today. There is a need for a 'new Schmitt' who would be able to create a system that would integrate Clausewitz's intuitions into a modern paradigm.
Magis quam homo. Świętość i heroizm w dziejach, 2020
Thomas More is a very important figure from the history of England and the Catholic Church. In th... more Thomas More is a very important figure from the history of England and the Catholic Church. In this paper I want to interpret retrospectively his attitude as an act of civil disobedience. His decisions and the way he justified them in his letters from Tower prison are very similar to those recommended by Henry David Thoreau and many later theorists of civil disobedience. Thomas More can be therefore perceived as the precursor of civil disobedience even though in his times the English civil society was not yet developed.
Streszczenie: W klasycznej myśli liberalnej obecne jest założenie o naturalnej równości wszystkic... more Streszczenie: W klasycznej myśli liberalnej obecne jest założenie o naturalnej równości wszystkich ludzi. Pewne środki biotechnologiczne propagowane przez transhumanizm, przykładowo inżynieria genetyczna, mogą przyczyniać się do zakwestionowania takiego założenia antropologicznego. W poniżej pracy analizuję argumenty Francisa Fukuyamy i Jürgena Habermasa, aby pokazać, w jaki sposób argumenty biokonserwatywne mogą wynikać z liberalnej antropologii.
Abstract: Within the classical liberal thinking there is an assumption that all humans are equal by nature. Some technological measures promoted by transhumanism, for example genetic engineering, may collide with this assumption. In this paper I analyze the arguments of Francis Fukuyama and Jürgen Habermas in order to show that bioconservative consequences may result from liberal antropology.
Streszczenie: W poniższej pracy przestawiam koncepcje Thomasa More’a i Niccolo Machiavellego w od... more Streszczenie: W poniższej pracy przestawiam koncepcje Thomasa More’a i Niccolo Machiavellego w odniesieniu do poglądów Leo Straussa. Najpierw przeprowadzam analizę poglądów zawartych w Księciu jako przykład rozwiązania nowożytnego, a następnie treści Utopii jako przykładu rozwiązania klasycznego. W kolejnej części pracy pokazuję elementy nowożytne w koncepcji More’a, a także rys historyczny myślenia utopijnego. Tak przeprowadzona analiza ma pokazać, że wbrew temu co pisał Leo Strauss, myślenie nowożytne nie rozwijało się wyłącznie na fundamencie Machiavellego, ale miało także źródło w poglądach More’a.
Abstract: In this paper I want to present the concepts of Thomas More and Niccolo Machiavelli in connection with the beliefs of Leo Strauss. Firstly, I analyze The Prince as an example of the modern solution and then Utopia as an example of the classic solution. In the next part of my work I present modern elements of Thomas More’s concept and the historical view on the utopian thinking. This analysis is to show that, in contrast to Leo Strauss’ beliefs, modern thinking was influenced not only by Machiavelli but also by More.
Słowa kluczowe:
Streszczenie: Niniejszy artykuł jest próbą analizy porównawczej twórczości dwóch autorów należący... more Streszczenie: Niniejszy artykuł jest próbą analizy porównawczej twórczości dwóch autorów należących do tradycji republikańskiej, czyli dzieł Immanuela Kanta i Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego, dokonanej na podstawie dzieł: Metafizyczne podstawy nauki prawa, Do wiecznego pokoju i O poprawie Rzeczypospolitej. Porównany zostanie sposób rozumienia pojęcia "republika" przez obu autorów, a także towarzyszące mu pojęcia "prawa", "wolności" i "woli powszechnej". Na koniec ukazane zostanie, jakie znaczenie dla współczesnej rzeczywistości politycznej mają tradycje, z których wyrastają Kant i Modrzewski.
Abstract: This article is an attempt at comparative analysis of works of two representatives of the republican tradition, that is Immanuel Kant and Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski. This analysis is based on the following works: Perpetual peace, Doctrine of Right and On the Reform of the Republic. I will compare how both of the authors understand the notion of the republic and other notions such as law, freedom and general will. At the end of this paper I will show how the two republican traditions influenced today's political reality.
Book Reviews by Maciej Witkowski
Uploads
Papers by Maciej Witkowski
Abstract: Within the classical liberal thinking there is an assumption that all humans are equal by nature. Some technological measures promoted by transhumanism, for example genetic engineering, may collide with this assumption. In this paper I analyze the arguments of Francis Fukuyama and Jürgen Habermas in order to show that bioconservative consequences may result from liberal antropology.
Abstract: In this paper I want to present the concepts of Thomas More and Niccolo Machiavelli in connection with the beliefs of Leo Strauss. Firstly, I analyze The Prince as an example of the modern solution and then Utopia as an example of the classic solution. In the next part of my work I present modern elements of Thomas More’s concept and the historical view on the utopian thinking. This analysis is to show that, in contrast to Leo Strauss’ beliefs, modern thinking was influenced not only by Machiavelli but also by More.
Słowa kluczowe:
Abstract: This article is an attempt at comparative analysis of works of two representatives of the republican tradition, that is Immanuel Kant and Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski. This analysis is based on the following works: Perpetual peace, Doctrine of Right and On the Reform of the Republic. I will compare how both of the authors understand the notion of the republic and other notions such as law, freedom and general will. At the end of this paper I will show how the two republican traditions influenced today's political reality.
Book Reviews by Maciej Witkowski
Abstract: Within the classical liberal thinking there is an assumption that all humans are equal by nature. Some technological measures promoted by transhumanism, for example genetic engineering, may collide with this assumption. In this paper I analyze the arguments of Francis Fukuyama and Jürgen Habermas in order to show that bioconservative consequences may result from liberal antropology.
Abstract: In this paper I want to present the concepts of Thomas More and Niccolo Machiavelli in connection with the beliefs of Leo Strauss. Firstly, I analyze The Prince as an example of the modern solution and then Utopia as an example of the classic solution. In the next part of my work I present modern elements of Thomas More’s concept and the historical view on the utopian thinking. This analysis is to show that, in contrast to Leo Strauss’ beliefs, modern thinking was influenced not only by Machiavelli but also by More.
Słowa kluczowe:
Abstract: This article is an attempt at comparative analysis of works of two representatives of the republican tradition, that is Immanuel Kant and Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski. This analysis is based on the following works: Perpetual peace, Doctrine of Right and On the Reform of the Republic. I will compare how both of the authors understand the notion of the republic and other notions such as law, freedom and general will. At the end of this paper I will show how the two republican traditions influenced today's political reality.