EN
There can be no doubt that the thinking of Antoni Kępiński was profoundly affected by philosophical thought. The author of the article shows the philosophical foundations fanthropology developed by this prominent Polish psychiatrist. First of all, the paper introduces sources of anthropology developed by Kępiński which should be found in the philosophy of dialogue, phenomenology and existential philosophy. In the light of works of Kępiński one can notice that his philosophical anthropology was saturated with influence of dialogue thought. The essence of Kępiński’s encounters with patients can be summed up in J. Tischner’s line: I know you can understand me, so we exist. Another great inspiration of Kępiński’s anthropological psychiatry was phenomenology which was introduced into European psychiatry by Karl Jaspers as an important tool for psychopathological research. Thanks to descriptive phenomenology and category of “empathy” the psychiatrist could reach the states of consciousness of other man and understand his suffering. For Kępiński, only a specific kind of emotional relationship based on empathy could be the key to complete knowledge of the man fighting with mental illnesses. What is more, the article presents existential philosophy, its impact on psychiatry and Kępiński’s opinion about existential psychotherapy. Finally, the author of the paper stresses the value of Kępiński’s anthropology which maintains many of cognitive qualities important for philosophers.