Romanticism, revolution, Schelling – polish speculative philosophy on the threshold of Revolutions of 1848 III 3800-RRS23-S-OG

The decade preceding the Revolutions of 1848 was a period of exceptional, particularly intensive growth in the history of Polish philosophical thought. This decade is not only an important historical event, but it is also a permanent source of inspiration for following generations of Polish philosophers. The ideas which were formulated in that time by Trentowski, Libelt and Cieszkowski should be considered in two main contexts. The first one is the context of German idealism and the standpoints of Left Hegelians. Strictly connected to this philosophical context is the historical and political context of the epoch that lasted from the July Revolution and November Uprising to the Revolutions od 1848, in which the philosophical projects of Trentowski, Libelt and Cieszkowski were formulated. In the first part of the classes we will analyse the philosophical systems and ideas that were formulated in the German thought and gave an important point of reference for aforementioned Polish philosophers. During the second part we will focus on the ideas presented in the most important philosophical works written by Trentowski, Libelt and Cieszkowski. During the classes we will also refer to the most important examples of the later reception of ideas formulated both in German classical philosophy and in Polish philosophy of the 1840s. It is worth emphasizing that the issues discussed during the two previous years in which the seminars were held will not be repeated in the third year, so that the third year will form an autonomous and separate whole.

Type of course

elective seminars
general courses

Course coordinators

Tomasz Herbich

Learning outcomes

A student that ends the course:
- knows, what are the crucial problems of the philosophies of Hegel and Schelling and what are the most important phenomena in German and Polish philosophical thought in 1830’s and 1840’s;
- knows the philosophical works that played a significant role in the development of German idealism, Hegelian left and Polish philosophy of the inter-uprising period;

- is able to analyze the philosophical texts;
- is able to discuss the philosophical topics and to make use of his knowledge about German idealism and the history of Polish and German philosophy in 1830’s and 1840’s;
- is aware of the relations between the development of philosophical ideas and the shaping of society and culture;

- is able to make use of the argumentative strategies that he got to know thanks to the analysis of the philosophical works;
- is aware of the significance of humanistic and philosophical thought for the shaping of social relations and notions.

Assessment criteria

The grade will be given on the basis of the participation in the discussions and the paper or essay on topic connected with the subject of seminar and determined with lecturers.

Number of absences: 1 in a semester

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3800-RRS23-S-OG in USOSweb