Zenon E. Roskal: "Władysław Michał Dębicki's book entitled 'Human Immortality as a Philosophical Postulate of Natural Science' and its reception in the Polish philosophical and theological community in the second half of the 19th century"
Summary: The article discusses the presentation of original arguments in favor of the thesis of the immortality of the soul and the reception of these arguments in Polish philosophical circles in the second half of the 19th century. The author of these (controversial) arguments was Władysław Michał Dębicki (1853-1911). Although this philosopher is mentioned in dictionary entries and referred to in studies of other issues, his interesting arguments, which use the findings of natural sciences to defend a philosophical and theological thesis, are completely overlooked in studies of the problem of the immortality of the soul. The main purpose of this article is to answer the question of why this is the case.
Excerpt: "Another conclusion that arises after analyzing the reception of Dębicki's book is the noticeable crisis in the method of proving theological theses with scientific arguments. In more recent philosophical works addressing the issue of the immortality of the soul (Iwanicki, 1965; Kłósak, 1965; 1966; Gogacz, 1970; Kamiński, 1976; Mering, 1977; Kłósak, 1978; Krąpiec, 1996; Judycki, 2010; Mikucki, 2012; Śnieżyński, 2012), not only are there no attempts to use the methods contained in ‘The Immortality of Man’, but there is not even any information about Władysław Dębicki's work. The silence on the subject of Dębicki's book can be interpreted as an attempt to remove (concealment) of a failed philosophical campaign to discredit the cognitive abilities of science and, at the same time, selectively use its greatest achievements (the principle of conservation of energy) in arguments supporting theological theses, but it can also be interpreted as uncritical acceptance of Gabryl's opinion on Dębicki's book" (p. 151).
Table of contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Władysław Dębicki's arguments for the immortality of the soul. 3. Reception of Dębicki's book in the Polish philosophical and theological community in the second half of the 19th century. 4. Final conclusions.
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English
Język Polski