Search results - CEJSH

1

From Research on the Musical “Trans-avant-garde”: A Contribution to the Discussion on the Terminology Concerning the Historiography of 20th Century Polish Music

100%

Karwaszewska M.

Avant

|

2016

|

vol. 7

|

issue 1

EN

he research article discusses the concept of “the trans-avant-garde” (a term coined by theItalian art critic Achille Bonito Oliva to describe certain phenomena in visual arts, espe- cially painting, which have appeared since the end of the 1970s) and attempts to adapt it for a discussion of twentieth century Polish music. The trans-avant-garde (Italian la transavanguardia) is an Italian form of expressionism in art (neo-expressionism), origi- nating as a rejection of modernism, formalism, innovation, originality, and stylistic coher- ence, which began to treat tradition in a new way, extensively referring to 16th century mannerisms, ambiguity, stylistic pluralism and polysemy.While, on the one hand, trans-avant-garde artists are fully aware of the crisis of the avant- garde experiment, on the other, they aim to create content-packed works of deeply expres- sive and romantic character. The trans-avant-garde is widely considered to be an early stage of postmodernism, or simply its synonym. There is a difference, though, between the trans-avant-garde and the postmodern. Oliva speaks of a journey from America to Eu- rope and back. My article discusses these differences, systematizes the most important stylistic aspects and aesthetic ideas, and applies these observations to the study of music-a discipline Oliva did not take into consideration.A key issue in the description of the trans-avant-garde in Polish music is analysis of the trends that precede it, are synchronous with it, and follow it in history. It is also important to trace borrowings and differences along this time axis. In order to offer an insight of thiskind, I first present the different concepts of “modernity” and “postmodernity” that haveappeared in music (and art) of the twentieth century, and I then juxtapose those with the Italian original idea of la transavanguardia.

2

ARISTOTLE AND THE POSTMODERN WORLD

63%

Marcos A.

Studia Gilsoniana

|

2012

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vol. 1

65-73

EN

With the support of recent scholarship the author proposes an understanding of the Aristotelian Corpus inspired by the biological works. He points out that this understanding is bound up with other current philosophical discussions, especially on biology, rationality, realism, the knowledge of an individual, metaphor, and poetics. The author concludes that Aristotle offers the most promising ontological, epistemological and anthropological basis not only for undertaking a series of urgent reconciliations (of facts and values, of theoretical and practical reason, of understanding and sensation, and of intelligence and emotion), but also for solving many dualisms of modern times, in their Platonic or materialist varieties.

3

Z badań nad muzyczną „transawangardą”: Przyczynek do dyskusji nad terminologią historiografii muzyki polskiej XX wieku

51%

Karwaszewska M.

Avant

|

2016

|

vol. 7

|

issue 1

PL

Artykuł dotyczy analizy kierunku w sztuce – transawangardy – zaproponowanego przezwłoskiego krytyka sztuki Achille Bonito Olivę i określającego zjawiska w sztuce (główniew malarstwie), jakie obserwuje się od końca lat 70. ubiegłego stulecia oraz jego adaptacji na teren muzyki polskiej. Transawangarda (wł. la transavanguardia) stanowi włoską odmianę tendencji ekspresjonistycznych w sztuce (neoekspresjonizm), powstałą ze sprzeciwu wobecmodernizmu, formalizmu, nowatorstwa, oryginalności, spójności stylistycznej i korzysta- jącą z tradycji w nowej odsłonie, nawiązując jednocześnie do szesnastowiecznego maniery- zmu, niedookreśloności, pluralizmu stylistycznego i polisemii. Artysta transawangardowyto artysta z jednej strony w pełni świadomy kryzysu awangardy i związanego z nią postępu i eksperymentu, z drugiej zaś nastawiony na swobodę tworzenia „treściwych” dzieł, nace- chowanych głęboką ekspresją i romantyzmem. Transawangardę uważa się za wstępną fazę postmodernizmu, a często zjawiska te nawet utożsamia się. Tymczasem istnieje różnica po- między nimi – którą Oliva przyrównuje do podróży z Ameryki do Europy i odwrotnie. Ce- lem artykułu jest wykazanie tych różnic, usystematyzowanie głównych cech stylistycznych i idei estetycznych tego trendu oraz, co ważne, próba odniesienia ich na obszar sztuk pomi- nięty przez włoskiego krytyka – na muzykę. Kluczową kwestią opisu transawangardy w mu-zyce polskiej jest rekonstrukcja założeń kierunków w muzyce ją poprzedzających i z nią równoczesnych oraz ustalenie głównych cech od nich zaczerpniętych i idei odmiennych. Rekonstrukcja ta będzie więc polegać na zebraniu różnych koncepcji zjawisk „nowoczesno- ści” oraz szeroko rozumianej „ponowoczesności”, które były obecne w sztuce, główniew muzyce ubiegłego stulecia i odniesienie ich do włoskiego autentyku.

EN

The research article discusses the concept of “the transavantgarde”-a term coined by an Italian art critic, Achille Bonito Oliva, to describe certain phenomena in visual arts (espe- cially painting) which have appeared since the end of 1970s-and attempts to adapt it for a discussion of twentieth-century Polish music. The transavantgarde (Italian la transavan- guardia) is an Italian form of expressionism in art (neoexpressionism); it originated as a rejection of modernism, formalism, innovation, originality, and stylistic coherence and began to treat tradition in a new way, intensely referring to 16th century mannerism, am- biguity, stylistic pluralism and polysemy.While on the one hand transavantgarde artists are fully aware of the crisis of the avant- garde experiment, on the other they aim to create content-packed works of deeply expres- sive and romantic character. The transavantgarde is widely considered an early stage of postmodernism, or simply its synonym. There is a difference, though, between the transavantgarde and the postmodern. Oliva speaks of a journey from America to Europe and back. My article discusses these differences, systematizes the most important stylistic aspects and aesthetic ideas and applies these observations to the study of music-a disci- pline Oliva did not take into consideration.A key issue in the description of the transavantgarde in Polish music is to analyze trends that precede it, are synchronous with it and follow it in history. It is also important to trace borrowings and differences along this time axis. In order to offer an insight of this sort Ifirst present different concepts of “modernity” and “postmodernity” that have appeared inmusic (and art) of the twentieth century, and then I juxtapose them with the Italian original idea of la transavanguardia.

4

Casus kiczu we współczesnych sztukach plastycznych

51%

Bacińska M.

Estetyka i Krytyka

|

2011

|

issue 2(21)

9-24

EN

The purpose of the paper is to answer the question: “Does the post art exist an art after the „end of art‟?” and if an answer is positive to ask the second question: “what is its character”. The author redefines the term “kitsch” and tries to rehabilitate it in relation to the principals of the postmodernism. “Concious kitsching” is the notion proposed in the text, which means that the kitsch creation in the contemporary plastic arts may be a result of an intent artistic decision. The goal of the thesis is to show the complexity of the kitsch, which paradoxically may prove the high artistic value of today's works of art. In this respect the figurative painting of Lisa Yuskavage and John Currin has been interpreted and analysed.

5

Bohater naszych czasów? Uwagi o prozie Máriusa Kopcsaya

51%

Majerek R.

Pamiętnik Słowiański

|

2010

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vol. 60

|

issue 1

21-34

EN

The article concerns prose of the Slovak contemporary writer, Márius Kopcsay and it focuses on the analysis of the type of protagonist created in his books. Kopcsay draws on the ironic, demitologising line in Slovak literature and records everyday life of ordinary, worthless, often physically and mentally distorted character. The typical protagonist of his short-stories collections (A Critical Day, 1998, A Lost Years, 2004, Useless life, 2006) and the novel Home (2005) has problems with adaptation, he is not able to build good relationships in his work, he can’t communicate with his family. Specific creation of main character in Kopcsay’s prose can be interpreted in a context of postmodern philosophy, although his texts are traditional and realistic; the second important aspect is new cultural and social situation in post-communistic countries and its influence on people’s identity.

6

Heterotopia on Screen- Blue Velvet (1986)

51%

Filimon E. C.

Romanian Journal of English Studies

|

2014

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vol. 11

|

issue 1

158-166

EN

Based on a framework consisting of postmodern theories of heterotopias, spatial pastiche, schizophrenic temporality and postmodern speed, this paper seeks to identify cinematic features in the works of the American director David Lynch, which exemplify time and space in postmodernism. Michel Foucault's theory of space will trigger the whole problematic of the time-space relation. This is followed by a discussion of Fredric Jameson's concepts of spatial pastiche and schizophrenic temporality and of the involute interaction between the two

7

Moral dilemmas of the development of postmodern societies

51%

Płachciak A.

Annales. Etyka w Życiu Gospodarczym

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2017

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vol. 20

|

issue 8

53-60

EN

The aim of the article is to present tensions that occur in social, cultural, political, and technological spheres as a result of the development of postmodern societies. The changes that have been taking place in those areas involve, along with unquestionable benefits, a type of risk which, without any moral reflection, can cause a serious global crisis. The postmodern times should be understood as a continuation of the modern formation where all typical features of modernism take a more radical form. The postmodern specific style of life is characterised by uncertainty, the unpredictability of the future, as well as a decline of traditional values and morals. Moreover, the present postmodern tendencies in the area of morals can hinder the right course of development of society, economy and ecology.

8

Z badań nad muzyczną „transawangardą”: Przyczynek do dyskusji nad terminologią historiografii muzyki polskiej XX wieku

51%

Karwaszewska M.

Avant

|

2016

|

vol. 7

|

issue 1

EN

The research article discusses the concept of “the transavantgarde”-a term coined by an Italian art critic, Achille Bonito Oliva, to describe certain phenomena in visual arts (espe- cially painting) which have appeared since the end of 1970s-and attempts to adapt it for a discussion of twentieth-century Polish music. The transavantgarde (Italian la transavan- guardia) is an Italian form of expressionism in art (neoexpressionism); it originated as a rejection of modernism, formalism, innovation, originality, and stylistic coherence and began to treat tradition in a new way, intensely referring to 16th century mannerism, am- biguity, stylistic pluralism and polysemy.While on the one hand transavantgarde artists are fully aware of the crisis of the avant- garde experiment, on the other they aim to create content-packed works of deeply expres- sive and romantic character. The transavantgarde is widely considered an early stage of postmodernism, or simply its synonym. There is a difference, though, between the transavantgarde and the postmodern. Oliva speaks of a journey from America to Europe and back. My article discusses these differences, systematizes the most important stylistic aspects and aesthetic ideas and applies these observations to the study of music-a disci- pline Oliva did not take into consideration.A key issue in the description of the transavantgarde in Polish music is to analyze trends that precede it, are synchronous with it and follow it in history. It is also important to trace borrowings and differences along this time axis. In order to offer an insight of this sort Ifirst present different concepts of “modernity” and “postmodernity” that have appeared inmusic (and art) of the twentieth century, and then I juxtapose them with the Italian original idea of la transavanguardia.

PL

Artykuł dotyczy analizy kierunku w sztuce – transawangardy – zaproponowanego przezwłoskiego krytyka sztuki Achille Bonito Olivę i określającego zjawiska w sztuce (główniew malarstwie), jakie obserwuje się od końca lat 70. ubiegłego stulecia oraz jego adaptacji na teren muzyki polskiej. Transawangarda (wł. la transavanguardia) stanowi włoską odmianę tendencji ekspresjonistycznych w sztuce (neoekspresjonizm), powstałą ze sprzeciwu wobecmodernizmu, formalizmu, nowatorstwa, oryginalności, spójności stylistycznej i korzysta- jącą z tradycji w nowej odsłonie, nawiązując jednocześnie do szesnastowiecznego maniery- zmu, niedookreśloności, pluralizmu stylistycznego i polisemii. Artysta transawangardowyto artysta z jednej strony w pełni świadomy kryzysu awangardy i związanego z nią postępu i eksperymentu, z drugiej zaś nastawiony na swobodę tworzenia „treściwych” dzieł, nace- chowanych głęboką ekspresją i romantyzmem. Transawangardę uważa się za wstępną fazę postmodernizmu, a często zjawiska te nawet utożsamia się. Tymczasem istnieje różnica po- między nimi – którą Oliva przyrównuje do podróży z Ameryki do Europy i odwrotnie. Ce- lem artykułu jest wykazanie tych różnic, usystematyzowanie głównych cech stylistycznych i idei estetycznych tego trendu oraz, co ważne, próba odniesienia ich na obszar sztuk pomi- nięty przez włoskiego krytyka – na muzykę. Kluczową kwestią opisu transawangardy w mu-zyce polskiej jest rekonstrukcja założeń kierunków w muzyce ją poprzedzających i z nią równoczesnych oraz ustalenie głównych cech od nich zaczerpniętych i idei odmiennych. Rekonstrukcja ta będzie więc polegać na zebraniu różnych koncepcji zjawisk „nowoczesno- ści” oraz szeroko rozumianej „ponowoczesności”, które były obecne w sztuce, główniew muzyce ubiegłego stulecia i odniesienie ich do włoskiego autentyku.

9

Модель «расщепленного мозга» в романе Виктора Пелевина Ампир В

51%

Safronowa L.

Slavica Wratislaviensia

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2013

|

vol. 157

71 - 82

EN

The article, from the perspective of cognitive literature, describes the mechanisms of postmodernist thinking and associated elements of poetics — in particular, the technique of artistic writing, associated with the left hemisphere of the brain.

10

Ciało jako ponowoczesny „projekt estetyczny”

51%

Maj A.

Estetyka i Krytyka

|

2013

|

issue 1(28)

83-92

EN

The article shows the ways in which the process of aesthetization of everyday life affects our perception of the human body in postmodern societies. The beauty of the body is no longer defined with reference to the objective aesthetic norms shared by all the members of the society, but it is rather defined individually. The body is shaped according to it, thus becoming an “aesthetic project”

11

In the postmodern mirror: intertextuality inAngels and Insectsby Antonia Susan Byatt

51%

Buda A.

Journal of Language and Cultural Education

|

2015

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vol. 3

|

issue 2

66-70

EN

The aim of the paper is to analyse the novel Angels and Insects by Antonia Susan Byatt in terms of intertextual references. The author’s assumptions are based on the categorisation by Ryszard Nycz, who distinguishes three major types of intertexts: text versus text, text versus literary genre and text versus mimesis. Byatt uses intertextuality mainly to comment on the role of nature in the world, as well as to enhance the importance of human relationship with nature. Moreover, the writer moves towards literary criticism, discussing poems by famous artists, such as Alfred Tennyson or John Milton. In this way, the novel by Byatt is also an example of metafiction. All the narration techniques used by the English writer make the novel a typically postmodern work of art.

12

O pojęciu „muzycznego postmodernizmu”

51%

Krajewski M.

Aspekty Muzyki

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2017

|

vol. 7

15-32

EN

The usual way of characterising the notion of “musical postmodernism” is set out by the following claims: (1) a postmodern musical work corresponds to the postmodern worldview; the notion in question is closely connected with the etymology of its name (“postmodern” means, in any case, “of an era after a modern one”); (3) the characterisation of the postmodern worldview (and, thus, of a postmodern piece of music) ought to conform to the beliefs of the classics of the postmodern thought; (4) the postmodern repertoire includes mainly the works created after about 1970; (5) the most important features of these compositions are euphony, aleatoric indetermination, polistylistics, and repetitiveness. The notion governed by the claims (1) – (5) is highly unclear and provides little help for understanding musical phenomena. In order to make it more precise, the basis of its definition should be modified and the three following claims accepted: (A) a postmodern musical work is a musical representation of the postmodern worldview; (B) the existing musical repertoire contains some postmodern works; (C) a correct definition of musical postmodernism should enable to qualify at least some of the given composi-tions as postmodern or not. The conditions (A ) – (C) and the analysis of the postmodern worldview seem to suggest that a postmodern musical work is such of a precariously integrated structure. A postmodern work represents the undermining (“deconstruction”) of the crucial idea of the com-posing practice: the piece of music arises from the integration of sounds, not of a simple aggregation of them. The musical “deconstruction” can emerge when some of the important portions a work or certain aspects of it exhibit larger degree of integration than the work as a whole. It seems that some compositions by Ives and the final movement of Chopin’s Sonata in B minor Op. 35 are postmodern in the sense pointed above.

13

Wychowanie obywatelskie a problem nauczania historii – rekonstrukcja zachodniej debaty

51%

Hejwosz-Gromkowska D.

Kultura-Społeczeństwo-Edukacja

|

2013

|

vol. 3

|

issue 1

135-154

EN

Some academics claim that history education is a vital component in citizenship education, others say that its role is overestimated. In the postmodern perspective there is “the end of the past” which is, to some extend, a product of consumption society and globalization. The contemporary societies are future-oriented and the rituals, myths and the need of belonging have nearly disappeared. In this context the questions about the purposes of history education and its relation to citizenship education are posed: should history education be nation-orientated to build loyalty and commitment or should it develop skills and knowledge for better comprehension of the present? Is history education oriented towards consensus or con ict? How to talk about history in multicultural societies, without marginalizing particular groups and without imperious imposition of the only version of “the Truth”? In order to answer to these question the reconstruction of the western debate has been made.

14

Chrystus św. Jana od Krzyża. Salvador Dalí jako ekscentryczny mistyk i postmodernista

51%

Michna N. A.

Estetyka i Krytyka

|

2015

|

issue 1(36)

77-92

EN

This article is an attempt to both artistic and aesthetic analysis of Salvador Dalí’s Christ of St. John of the Cross as an image representing the main demands of the postmodern aesthetics. The applied research perspective allows to go beyond the traditional relation between postmodernism and the Great Avant-garde. This relation is based on indicating of what postmodernism took over from the earlier trends of avant-garde and surrealism in particular. The proposed reverse perspective refers to another, enriching relationship. It points directly at the early surrealistic discoveries which were used in a field of twentieth century art long before the rise of the postmodern aesthetics.

15

Procesualność postpamięci i jej reprezentacje w literaturze oraz sztuce współczesnej

51%

Chruściel M.

Politeja : Pismo Wydziału Studiów Miedzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego

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2017

|

issue 47

73-84

EN

The text is an attempt to analyze literary postmemory representation in three scenes confronted with the language of art. The subject matter are novels: Zagłada (Extinction) by Piotr Szewc, Tworki by Marek Bieńczyk and Pensjonat (Pension) by Piotr Paziński and an exhibition: Poland – Israel – Germany. Auschwitz Experience at the Museum of Contemporary Art MOCAK in Krakow. These books had their premieres at intervals of at least ten years, becoming marks of consecutive decades of duration of the concept of postmemory. Zagłada (1987), Tworki (1999) and Pensjonat (2009) could be read as another mainstream views of the postmemory and building a horizon of contemporary Polish literature. In dialogue with these novels an exhibition open on the 15th of May, 2015 in MOCAK has been submitted to analysis. The intention of the text is to point transformations in postmemory in different fields of artistic activity.

16

Od subkultury do postsubkultury. Zmiany w obszarze dzisiejszej kultury alternatywnej

51%

Adamowicz K.

Estetyka i Krytyka

|

2013

|

issue 2(29)

15-25

EN

The purpose of my article is to show the changes taking place in today’s alternative culture. As a result of these changes, the old, traditional terms, such as ‘subculture’or ‘counterculture’ lose their topicality and therefore should be replaced with new ones that would better reflect the current reality. New terms, which I define in this article postsubcultures and neo-tribes show the spectrum of contemporary alternative culture. The concept of post-subcultures refers to the fragmentation and fluidity of their nature, goals, and members’identities. On the other hand, the concept of neo-tribes highlights the continued existence of the community, whose importance has not declined in spite of all the changes and the significance of individualism. This article adopts a mainly theoretical approach, but at the same time reveals the essence of the actual changes in contemporary alternative culture

17

Od)nowa chrześcijańska? Apologia według powieści Filipa Dimitrowa Светлина на човеци

51%

Drzewiecka E.

Pamiętnik Słowiański

|

2012

|

vol. 62

|

issue 1-2

123-136

EN

The paper raises the issue of the functioning of Christian tradition in (post)modern Bulgarian literature in the perspective of the typical for the Western mass culture exploitation of biblical images in order to deal with various "totalisms". The subject is a novel by Philip Dimitrov Светлина на човеци (2003), which paraphrases the New Testament themes makes a (re)construction of the image of the first Christians’ comunity and aspires to create a message in accordance with Christian canon. The text appears to be an apology of God's creation and its freedom and, consequently, to stand up for the institution of the Church and the Christian roots of Bulgarian culture. However, as adapting heterodox motifs, in fact, it raises a question about the boundaries of Orthodoxy and the definition of strategy of evangelization. The aim of this paper is to interpret the modern term of apocrypha in the perspective of the essentially ambivalent experience of postmodernism and posttotalitarism, as a testimony of the worldview exploration of the writer (and the entire epoch).

18

Postmodernismus jako nekonečná rozmanitost : k Jamesonově knize „Postmodernismus neboli kulturní logika pozdního kapitalismu

51%

Rakowski R.

Filosofický časopis (Philosophical Journal)

|

2019

|

vol. 67

|

issue 2

227-240

EN

This review study analyses the Czech translation (Postmodernismus neboli kulturní logika pozdního kapitalismu) of the work Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, by the American philosopher and cultural critic Fredric Jameson, with the aim of placing this work into the wider context of the theoretical development of the author. In the first part, Jameson’s methodology, which he terms ‘dialectical criticism’, is analysed. Next, the text The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act is subjected to analysis. Jameson here interprets art as a symbolic act and, for this reason, he directs his attention, above all, to the context in which the artistic work (cultural artefact) emerged (his so-called historicism). Postmodernism is analysed as late-capitalism, which is characterised by a loss of historicity, schizophrenia and a fragmented society. In postmodernism a certain change in the cultural artefact has come about: it can now no longer be interpreted as a symbolic act because one can hardly discern in it any temporal context. These postmodern symptoms then lead to the naturalisation of late capitalism as the only viable system.

DE

In der vorliegenden Rezensionsstudie wird die tschechische Übersetzung (Postmodernismus neboli kulturní logika pozdního kapitalismu) des Werks Postmoderne – zur Logik der Kultur im Spätkapitalismus (Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism) des US-Philosophen und Kulturkritikers Fredric Jameson mit dem Ziel analysiert, dieses Werk in den Kontext der Entwicklung dieses Autors im Bereich der Theorie einzubetten. Im ersten Teil wird Jamesons Methodologie unter dem Stichwort dialektischer Kritizismus analysiert. Anschließend wird der Text Das politische Unbewußte (The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act) analysiert, in dem Jameson die Kunst als symbolischen Akt interpretiert, weshalb er sich vornehmlich auf den historischen Kontext bezieht, aus dem heraus das Kunstwerk (Kulturartfakt) entstand (sog. Historisierung). Des Weiteren wird die Postmoderne als Spätkapitalismus analysiert, der durch Verlust der Geschichtlichkeit, durch Schizophrenie und durch eine fragmentierte Gesellschaft gekennzeichnet ist. In der Postmoderne kam es zu einer gewissen Veränderung des Wesens des Kulturartefakts: Das Kulturartefakt kann nicht mehr als symbolischer Akt interpretiert werden, da der zeitliche Kontext in ihm kaum noch auffindbar ist. Diese Symptome der Postmoderne führen zu einer Naturalisierung des Spätkapitalismus als einzigem lebensfähigen System.

19

ZMIANA „TONU” W GILSONA POJĘCIU FILOZOFII CHRZEŚCIJAŃSKIEJ

51%

FAFARA R. J., TARASIEWICZ P.

Studia Gilsoniana

|

2012

|

vol. 1

15-28

EN

The author undertakes four points: (a) There was no major change in Gilson’s position on Christian philosophy as it was defined and justified in his 1931 Gifford Lectures and later developed in the sixties. (b) During the 1960s, Gilson’s Christian philosophy placed more emphasis on its Christian aspect, faith guiding reason. Earlier formulations emphasized philosophy searching within the faith for what can become rational. (c) During the 1960s Gilson emphasized faith and the Church as the guardian of Christian philosophy, expressed a relative indifference to the validity of rational proofs for the existence of God, and empathized with those accepting questionable philosophical approaches to understand the faith. (d) Gilson’s Christian philosophy fits into the framework of post-modernism.

20

Prawda w mediach

51%

Zanussi K.

Annales. Etyka w Życiu Gospodarczym

|

2008

|

vol. 11

|

issue 2

191-193

EN

It used to be that if some message came from an oral source, its weight depended on reliability of the one who had transmitted it and on the one who had heard it. If, on the other hand, something was printed it intrinsically became credible. Democratization of access to print and similar democratization of media, apart from its undoubtedly positive side, brings also a negative novum – it encourages everyone to speak freely. It is impossible to talk about truth in media, or truth in any other sense, and not relate to the fashionable nowadays in the humanities the vanquisher of Marxism – called postmodernism. This very movement in its popular form sows the seeds of fear of all who proclaim the existence of objective truth or, what is worse, absolute truth. They caution that the supporters of this truth will introduce it by force, so we are in danger of facing totalitarianism, fundamentalism and dark dictatorship. It is uncertainty that drives people to violence. Those who have something to hold on to are more unaffected by despair. The fanatics are often recruited from those who are adrift. Less often from those with a questing mind. But in order to seek one needs to believe that truth exists. Even if it were always incomplete and imperfect in the form in which we are able to assimilate it. To the charges that every certainty leads to violence, I reply that most frequently it is the opposite. It is fear and feeling adrift that drive people to the false certainty. Whoever believes that truth exists will easier accept that he will never grasp it. In the very important debate that was conducted some years ago, the fear of fundamentalism was juxtaposed with the fear of nihilism. I see the latter as a greater threat.

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