Anna Drabarek

The Normative Ethics of K. Twardowski and His Disciples

The Lvov-Warsaw School of Philosophy was founded in 1895 when Professor Kazimierz Twardowski moved from Vienna to Lvov, taking a chair of philosophy at the Jan Kazimierz University there. It is disputable whether the term ‘school’ is properly used in this context, as the group of people who worked with Kazimierz Twardowski cannot be put on equal footing neither with neo-Kantists nor phenomenologists (classical schools of philosophy).

While the Lvov philosophers shared the same method of practising philosophy (the so-called philosophical criticism) and scientific language (a postulate of the clarity of thoughts and words), they did not formulate a homogeneous philosophical doctrine that would be representative for all members of the school. Their activities varied; Twardowski’s disciples carried their research within the domain of psychology as well as logic, arriving at different ontological viewpoints (nominalists and realists), many of them concentrated on ethics, aesthetics, history of art and philosophy.

Thus this philosophical formation can be associated with ancient philosophical schools, that aimed not only at sharing thoughts and formulating theories, but their objective was also to educate and establish a highly ethical attitude realised in their everyday life. Twardowski’s disciples represent two generations; the older included: Wł. Witwicki, J. Łukaszewicz, K. Ajdukiewicz, S.Błachowski, S. Baley, Wł. Borowski, T.Czeżowski, T. Kotarbiński, D. Gromska, S. Igel, M.Kreutz, St. Leśniewski and others. Apart from this group there were also philosophers who were not directly Twardowski’s disciples, but were influenced by his style of investigations (Wł. Tatarkiewicz, K. Gansiniec, J.Kleiner, Z. Łempicki, O. Ortwin, Wł.Szumowski, B.Nawroczyński, M.Treter).

The younger generation of Twardowski’s disciples included: W. Auerbach, E. Blausteinowa, L. Blaustein, I. Dąmbska, M.Kokoszyńska, S. Łuszczewska-Rohmanowa, S. Świeżawski and others. Their carried their independent research work already during the interwar period and just like their older colleagues their investigations focused mainly on philosophy, logic and psychology. However, it should be emphasised that some of the members of the Lvov-Warsaw school also worked withon the areas of: history of literature, history of culture, pedagogics, classical philology, art criticism and linguistics. Thus, apart from professional philosophers there were also humanists, who adopted from their Master this special ability of clear and critical reasoning, applying it to their research work. It is beyond any doubt that the Lvov-Warsaw school dominated the scene of Polish philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century. This influence is also evident nowadays, especially in the area of logic, semantics, methodology, aesthetics, ethics and history of philosophy. It will not be an exaggerated statement to claim that several generations of Poles benefited immensely from such works of the Lvov-Warsaw School as : Kotarbiński’s Elementy teorii poznania, logiki formalnej i metodologii nauk (The Elements of a Theory of Cognition, Formal Logic and Methodology of Sciences) , Tatarkiewicz’s Historia Filozofii (A History of Philosophy) or Ajdukiewicz’s Zagadnienia i kierunki filozofii (The Problems and Directions of Philosophy), which allowed them to acquire the foundations of philosophy and influenced a style of thinking as represented by the Polish intelligentsia. K.Twardowski founded the first school of philosophy in Poland, the achievements of which (particularly in the area of logic and methodology of sciences) were highly estimated on an international scale. The Second World War terminated the school’s flourishing activities, but as soon as the war finished most of its representatives (T. Kotarbiński, Wł. Witwicki, Wł. Tatarkiewicz, I. Dąmbska, T. Czeżowski) set to continue their investigations.

This article attempts at a reconstruction of the normative ethics of K. Twardowski and his disciples (W. Witwicki, T. Kotarbiński, T.Czeżowski, W. Tatarkiewicz). It is ethics which dignifies the role of a man and grants him a moral autonomy in formulating the rules of conduct. The belief in man’s responsibility and moral sensitivity attributes a humanitarian character to the ethics of the Lvov-Warsaw school. Kindness in relation to other people, tolerance, honesty in the pursuit of truth and knowledge are the fundamental qualities of an ideal personality model. A need for particular ‘heroism’ in the practical realisation of this ideal confirms the thesis that a modern man of action descends from the ideals of ancient heroes.

The aspiration towards the reconciliation of apparently contradictory theories, aiming at the world’s improvement and formulation of open, universal and tolerant conception of morality, always ready to acknowledge that in spite of the fact that there is one absolute notion of goodness there are many ways of reaching it, forms the foundations of the normative ethics of K.Twardowski and his disciples. Is it possible to find concrete instructions in their ethics? Although they did not advocate moralisation, their works on ethics contain certain suggestions how a man should behave in order to get the moral approval for his life and life with him, to make it happy. K.Twardowski, W. Witwicki, T.Kotarbiński, T.Czeżowski, Wł. Tatarkiewicz are unanimous to acknowledge that the most efficient method of fighting against evil is to act thoughtfully, work on oneself, conceived of as a constant effort of will, and confront each deed with the accepted moral principles of conduct. However, these principles should not be accepted uncritically. Before applying them one should analyse them in a given, concrete situation. Rational recognition of the world eliminates foolishness, that frequently procures suffering.

However, knowledge itself is not enough to make people understand and respect each other, to be tolerant. ‘The culture of human hearts is not synonymous with the high level of knowledge’. But very frequently our reason is inclined towards accepting certain obligatory principles, that rule reality, and eliminates man’s free will. K.Twardowski and W.Witwicki claim that it is in the interest of ethics to maintain at least some kind of fiction, an illusion of free will. It is necessary in order not to deprive a man from his belief in a possibility of moral progress and perfection.

Apart from the principle of active participation in life by means of activities aiming at decreasing evil, the other equally significant principle is the one of common kindness. In his Lectures on Ethics K. Twardowski calls this principle an identification of the interests of some people with the interests of others. W.Witwicki writes about the mutual respect of people as beings who are exposed to the same suffering and fate. Saving distress, meeting obligations, manifesting gratitude for kindness received from others, conscientiousness, a sense of duty, punctuality, and even respect for one’s opponents and enemies are the manifestations of common kindness, that should be accepted and used in practice.

Formulating the principles of the ethics of a submissive protector, T.Kotarbiński claims that man’s conduct should be humanitarian, best realised in the commandment ‘love thy neighbour like thyself’. He believes that one should help every fellow creature as much as possible to satisfy all his needs. Kindness means a friendly and foreseeing attitude towards all the creatures that are under your charge, that is your family and friends, to whom we can offer a relief, as they are weaker than us. Animals are also included in this register. However, Kotarbiński did not define the related terms of a ’weaker’ and ‘stronger’ being; he did not take into account a possibility of helping stronger people or the ones who are as strong as a person who helps.

A factor that inclines people to help others is a man’s conscience, defined by Kotarbiński as a ‘certain kind of shame’. The greatest goodness, that is a state of clean conscience, can be achieved by decreasing to the minimum suffering we encounter in our everyday life. To eliminate suffering and disgraceful deeds is a moral obligation of a humble protector. A society, consisting mostly of people who accept a principle of common kindness as the basis organising their life, is a utopia. Such a society has never existed and it is most probable that it will never exist. Kotarbiński must have been aware of it, but in spite of it he addresses his most altruistic speeches to those who considered a principle of a humble protector a serious matter. The ideal of a humble protector - a man you can always count on in difficult situations, who gives preference to helping others, is only an ideal, an image that has not much in common with reality. But Kotarbiński never lost his optimism, he believed that there are many people who would realise this ideal. Most probably they would be the ones for whom the greatest evil was to meet with a moral repulse. Thus Kotarbiński’s moral theory can be realised only by those who, regardless of sacrifice required by its realisation, would consider it the major goal of their life. Some interpreters of Kotarbiński’s theory argue that his ideal of a man is heroic.

And it is the case; one can go even a little further and claim that the ideal of a man, proposed by most of the ethical philosophers representing the Lvov-Warsaw school, requires this heroism. It is heroism resulting from a specific approach to values. One can speak about values either as concrete, personal matters concerning a man, connected with the sphere of his personal aspirations, that is: life, health, welfare, success, or as ideals: goodness, justice, happiness towards which a man constantly aspires, but never can reach them fully, or as about something concrete, but at the same time of a scope exceeding man’s needs in reaching all-human needs: homeland, science, art. The latter type of values is attainable, but its realisation is a process that has to be undertaken always anew. Thus attaining values is connected with the effort and maintaining it requires a heroic attitude. In particular this heroism is required when a man becomes aware that everything he persistently aspires towards can be lost and threatened by others who are indifferent and insensitive, being only interested in their own comfort, and who react against kindness with aggression.

Let us try to look at this problem taking a slightly wider perspective. Did it make any sense to persuade people to common kindness in the early twentieth century in Europe, when the ideology of nationalism entered the scene and the sanctioned moral order, established throughout the centuries, was threatened by the recurring process of barbarisation? At that time standardisation was introduced to almost all spheres of life: social, moral and cultural, producing a type of a man that contradicted an ideal advocated by the ethic philosophers. Thus a kind and bright humanist was replaced by a man representing reactions and characteristics of a modern barbarian. It was an infantile man in his inclinations and way of thinking. Reality was so drastically far from an ideal that it started awaking the public anxiety. This threat to the humanistic civilisation constituted a source of value crisis and loss of belief in the reliability of knowledge.

As a matter of fact, already in the late nineteenth century the propagators of humanism lost their credibility. This negative attitude to the old ideas did not only result from the invasion of technology into all spheres of life, but also, and perhaps first of all, the philosophers themselves started questioning them. Hegel was the first, Nietzsche followed. They began criticising a humanistic model and type of a man. It was an object of their contempt and sneers. For Hegel a humanist was ‘die schone Seele’ (a beautiful soul, a crazy aesthete), who would notice and advocate the truth and justice, but would do nothing to realise them. Although in the world of technology and culture a more aggressive humanist lost much of his dignity and his influence diminished, humanism itself as an affirmation of man’s freedom and potential continued to function and even grew stronger. There were people who tried to associate this affirmation with the traditional classical culture, looking for the connection between Prometheus and a modern man of action. This coexistence of the old and the new established the foundations of the normative ethics of K.Twardowski and his disciples.

An ideal of a man proposed by the representatives of the Lvov-Warsaw school, that is of a man actively involved in realising a postulate of common kindness, included the elements of patriotism, approached in a peculiar way. K. Twardowski writes that patriotism does not only mean to love your native language, tradition, homeland, nation but also to love thy neighbour, your fellow-citizen. „Whoever, whenever spoke Polish and felt Polish in this homeland - he has been and will be a Pole, like all of us.” All nation should unite solidarily, in spite of social, political and religious views. For the sake of new Poland , Twardowski maintains, it is necessary to eliminate from social relations egoism, particularism and negatively approached membership of a party.

Discussing the Polish issue Twardowski and his disciples did not focus on the problems of an outlook on life. They would adopt a peculiar attitude of non-inference. At the same time they were actively involved in the problems of education of the whole nation. Twardowski and his circle were aware that the strength of a new Polish nation was inherent in the knowledge and wisdom of its individuals, that thanks to education people were able to feel an inner need of self-perfection. Therefore teachers, schools, universities were responsible for awakening a desire to aspire towards the truth, knowledge and goodness. „Serving this purpose - wrote Twardowski - the University radiates with dignity, brought about by a tremendously significant function it fulfils. For it provides people with the light of pure knowledge, enriches and expands science, acquires new truths and posibilities - in short, the highest intellectual values a man can share”. All that is possible only when schools and universities do not accept orders from the outside and become autonomous.

In his treaty O stosunku nauki do państwa (On the Relation of Science to the State) T.Czeżowski presents what dangers can threaten a society that cannot afford teachers and students to give preference to obtaining knowledge. Schools are state institutions in this sense that the state expects them to educate a young man in such a way as to enable him to fulfil his function as a good citizen. He has to represent a satisfactory level of knowledge, providing the basis for the realisation of moral and patriotic principles, that is such principles the social existence of which influences good functioning of a state and at the same time a harmonious development of next generations. Acquiring academic knowledge has to be considered a major mean of general education, in relation to which other means are of secondary significance. School, approached in this way, does not only provide students with knowledge, but it also shapes their personality. Demanding persistence and application it strengthens one’s will and teaches how to overcome all difficulties and obstacles. It demonstrates the most elevated ideal, for it is superior to all particular conflicts and desires - an all-human ideal of truth. Czeżowski claims that teaching new generations a disinterested aspiration towards the truth you instill into them a need of ethical conduct, as every ethical act is disinterested. Therefore a school which loses its academic character is a bad school not only from an academic point of view, but it also does not fulfil a social role attributed to it in principle, and thus it becomes immoral. ‘It is like a boat without a steer, tossed on the waves of political compromises and interests - for every political party, when it comes to prominence, will consider it an instrument to educate the youth in the spirit of their ideology”. And it usually does no good to the social interests of a nation.

Twardowski, Witwicki, Kotarbiński, Czeżowski, Tatarkiewicz, who were the teachers of young generation, were perfectly aware of teacher’s duties and responsibility. „ An efficient tutor and teacher has to be truthful and convinced that what he says is right (...). In the aura of half-truths, lack of truths or anti-truths a tutorial function gets disabled. Polarised light undergoes transformation into laser that can cut, but it stops enlightening.” Intellectual advancement should be paralleled by moral improvement, because only these two elements together can bring about a positive effect - educate wise people, acting thoughtfully and effectively, following the principles of kindness and justice in their life. The relationship between a teacher and his pupil cannot be founded on deceit and insinuations, as the evil resulting from it is not only restricted to harm done to each other. The evil has a much wider scope of influence, it questions the authority of a teacher, that is a man who is to teach what is true and good. A society deprived of teachers, who represent firm moral principles and knowledge, gets degenerated for it loses its ability to develop.

Rational acting, common kindness and solid knowledge are, according to the ethic philosophers of the Lvov-Warsaw school, a point of departure to what people call happiness. In his considerations on happiness Wł. Tatarkiewicz states that it does not consist in restraining from actions but on acting. In his opinion ideal happiness, without suffering and distress, does not exist. Thus happiness should by conceived of realistically, because neither asceticism nor hedonism is capable of leading a man straight to his goal, so much desired by everyone. Following Aristotle, Tatarkiewicz advocates the ethics of moderation, as the closest to life. Kindness and friendly attitude towards other people are essential constituents of happiness. The philosopher believes that living your life according to moral principles helps to control your emotions, thus life becomes peaceful and ordered, giving you a sense of happiness. Besides, morality that introduces the order into human relationships (in a state or society) eliminates, to a considerable extent, penalties which constitute an obstacle in aspiring towards happiness. A good man, following moral principles does not only protect himself against the hostility of others, but he also secures sympathy and friendly attitude of other people. Tatarkiewicz maintains that morality and happiness are strongly connected, however life practice does not always prove it. A disharmony frequently occurring between a happy life and life according to moral principles questions the sense of a moral order and justice. Happiness is the resultant of everything a man has experienced and possessed throughout his life - it is a balance. A moral value of life is also the resultant of the good acquired throughout life. Both sums, the one qualifying life happy and the one qualifying life moral, good, should be consistent. Morality justifies happiness, while immorality closes the path leading to it.

The approach towards happiness represented by T. Czeżowski, W. Witwicki and T. Kotarbiński does not contradict Wł.Tatarkiewicz’s views, substantially complementing them. In Medytacje o życiu godziwym (Meditations on a Decent Life) T. Kotarbiński claims that nobody has offered a final definition of happiness. Therefore it is only possible to point to the ways which may lead to happiness. For Kotarbiński such a way leading to happiness would be moderation in desires and aspirations, resignation from ‘direct chase’ after pleasures and amenities, aspiration towards the good by fighting the evil. „Happy is the one who loves something that is not himself, takes to his heart somebody else’s need, gets enraptured by a fascinating project” Happiness can be achieved when one acts in a way the others can benefit from. This is a voice of our conscience that inclines us towards such protective attitude towards the others.

W. Witwicki claims that in order to make a man happy we need a number of goods (at least a minimum of material means, health, good relationships with other people). According to him happiness does not consist in a passive attitude, but an active one. He does not identify happiness with a collection of pleasures, in spite of the fact that pleasures most frequently constitute an objective of human aspirations. The only pleasures that lead to happiness are the ones connected with the real goodness. Happiness is not only determined by external factors, but also by the objective ones, for example a man’s character. A happy man has to meet definite moral criteria, he has to realise a certain ideal.

T. Czeżowski also connects a notion of happiness with the notion of goodness - values. The aims towards which a man aspires are estimated as certain values. As soon as a man achieves a value, that constituted for him an aim he aspired towards, he experiences a positive emotional state, Czeżowski calls it a sense of value. Thus aspiration towards happiness is, in his opinion, the aspiration towards achieving values which are connected with positive value emotions. „Achieving goodness brings happiness in an objective sense, experiencing a sense of value makes a man happy in a subjective sense” . Therefore happiness in itself does not constitute goodness, but it is a consequence of the achieved goodness. Czeżowski believes that happiness is an ideal, a boundary that can be reached only when a man realises all his aspirations. However, man’s aspirations connected with attaining certain values are almost always accompanied by a risk of uncertainty whether everything we strive after, has been achieved and whether it will last. It happens very often that an unknown future or death spoil a sense of happiness and people are inclined to think that it cannot be achieved. But these doubts do not accompany a man all the time, they appear and disappear, thus they are not capable of subduing entirely his aspirations towards happiness. There are people who approach an issue of happiness in an optimistic way; there are also pessimists. These two approaches get combined in a contemplative attitude, in which doubts connected with a possibility of achieving happiness by means of concrete values coexist with a conviction that it can be reached if one meditates on himself and the essence of being, which as a result bring a new harmonious perspective of existence. T. Czeżowski comes to a conclusion that optimistic, pessimistic and contemplative attitude constitute stages in the development of a human nature. Optimism, with its belief in the possibility to realise all aspirations, is typical for young people. Pessimism is a result of the disenchantment of the mature age, whereas a contemplative attitude is connected with the life wisdom of the old age.

A happy life is a life which is endowed with a meaning and values. It is a well-ordered complex of activities, subordinated to harmonised aims. Thus to make a man’s life happy it has to be realised according to a certain pattern, an ideal that is achieved step by step. The ethic philosophers of the Lvov-Warsaw school acknowledge that happiness is a symptom accompanying efficient activities. They maintain that not always all assumed objectives can be realised. But ita is not the reason why a man should become pessimistic, since failure in one area can be compensated for by a success in another one. A man should be realistic in estimating his potential to act, do not attempt at something which is beyond the scope of his abilities. Exaggerated optimism is not a good advisor. To look at the world in a matter-of-fact-way means to observe it, meditate on it and evaluate it without prejudice, partiality and illusions, without anger and relentlessness.

The aims that define directions of man’s conduct to a great extent depend on his outlook on life. According to the ethic philosophers of the Lvov-Warsaw school science does not impose its outlook on life upon anybody, but it gives the foundations on which everybody can build his own outlook. It should not be a conglomerate of superficial, adopted slogans, but a ‘firm belief determining a line of life’ A happy life is a life that has a meaning and value, but one of the fundamental prerequisites making life meaningful is for a man to have a definite outlook on life, with a conviction that ‘there are ideals worth to devote your life to’.

It seems deserving to turn your attention to the fact that Twardowski and his disciples were not only building a model of an honest, kind and wise man, but they were also trying to realise it in life. Therefore ethics, although it was not the main area the considerations of the Lvov and Warsaw school focused on, still played a significant role in the life of K. Twardowski and his circle. An ideal of a man, and in particular of a philosopher, was determined, according to Twardowski, not only by his strength of thinking, but also his strength of character, following the example of ancient philosophers. Therefore he confirmed his disciples in a conviction that philosophy requires, from those who practise it, a definite moral attitude. For thanks to it one can create certain moral ideals. Twardowski and his disciples were successful as philosophers, especially as teachers, exerting a considerable influence on the personalities of their students. The foundations of their success were constituted, first of all, by their firm knowledge in the domains they investigated. Each of them was capable of gathering around himself a group of students, the young Polish intelligentsia, and teach them not only the precision and clarity of thinking in the area of academic sciences, but also responsibility for their actions, conscientiousness and courage in expressing their opinions, disinterestedness and wise patriotism. They used to be called Masters by their disciples and there was no exaggeration in it. Those who were lucky to meet them personally, during lectures or seminars, always emphasised their straightforwardness in a student-professor relationship. The Masters never created artificial barriers, but at the same time their moral and academic demands and expectations were extremely high. For the ethic philosophers of the Lvov-Warsaw school looking for the truth and best moral principles was the basis to convince themselves and others that nothing else but a man constituted an unquestionable value.

translated by Małgorzata Sady