Polish metaphysics and the brentanian tradition
pp. 19-31
in: Sandra Lapointe, Jan Woleński, Mathieu Marion, Wioletta Miskiewicz (eds), The Golden age of Polish philosophy, Berlin, Springer, 2009Abstract
There is a view according to which the philosophy of the Lvov-Warsaw School is rooted in the tradition of British analytic philosophy and is closely linked to logical empiricism. Although this is not entirely false – both current had repercussions in the work of Polish philosophers – I wish to argue that the best way to understand and evaluate the most significant achievements of philosophy in Poland is to consider it in close relation to the Brentanian tradition, on the background of Brentano's and Twardowski's views, in particular. Brentano's impact was twofold. It consisted, firstly, in the fact that his "scientific" style of philosophizing turned out to be very attractive for Twardowski and his followers in Poland, and, secondly, in the fact that he rejected Kant's heritage and returned to the tenets of classical philosophy. But it would be hard to imagine the development of Polish philosophy without Twardowski's essential modifications of Brentano's main ideas.
