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On Polish Rationalisms, Logic and Joy

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Universal Logic, Ethics, and Truth

Part of the book series: Studies in Universal Logic ((SUL))

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Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship between logic and ethics, more specifically: the issue of the inseparability of logic and ethics. A strengthening of John Corcoran’s position is proposed. This reinforcement takes into account the assumption of rationality and two assumptions of nonrationality, which are used in the Poznań Methodological School. This enlargement is also based on the didactic practice of teaching logic.

But it is not the purpose of Logic to entangle, but to disentangle;

to set forth something not in a covert but in an open fashion.

I. Kant

I want to teach them that which at present so few understand,

and the preachers of fellowship in sorrow least of all:

– namely, fellowship in joy!

F.Nietzsche

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For the term “tortured nominalist,” see [38, p. 52].

  2. 2.

    Just for the record, I also have to remind that the eighth chapter of Russell’s My Philosophical Development, devoted to the mathematical aspects of Principia Mathematica, contains the famous (at least among Polish logicians) passage: I used to know of only six people who had read the later parts of the book. Three of these were Poles, subsequently (I believe) liquidated by Hitler. The other three were Texans, subsequently successfully assimilated [4, p. 86].

  3. 3.

    See also [37, pp. 29–30]. Original version in German: Die scheinbar strengste und am festesten gefügte Wissenschaft, die Mathematik, ist in eine »Grundlagenkrisis« geraten. Der Kampf zwischen Formalismus und Intuitionismus geht um die Gewinnung und Sicherung der primären Zugangsart zu dem, was Gegenstand dieser Wissenschaft sein soll. See [25, p. 13].

  4. 4.

    Leśniewski’s systems are protothetics, ontology, and mereology. The system discussed in The Limits of Science was called rational semantics.

  5. 5.

    Jan Sleszyński [Russian: Иван Владиславович Слешинский] was a professor at the Imperial Novorossiysk University in Odessa and from 1911 to 1924 at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow.

  6. 6.

    For systematic presentations of Polish rationalisms, see, for example, [32, 33]. For the history of Polish Logic after WWII, see, for example, [26, 27]. For the concept of intercultural rationality, see, for example, [35].

  7. 7.

    For information on the Ajdukiewicz’s approach to dynamics and axiology of scientific knowledge, see, for example [28].

  8. 8.

    For these assumptions, see [18, pp. 175–176].

  9. 9.

    In the context of the relationship between logic and algebra, one should turn to a grand project by Jean-Yves Béziau. The final remark in [29] is If we think that logic is a subject different from algebra, it is clear that to understand logic through algebra will give only a partial comprehension of logic. Thus, it is of very high interest to develop a “Universal Logic,” a general Theory of logical structures, if we want to understand the very nature of logic, and according to which, logic may be simple.

  10. 10.

    The word art appears again later in this article.

  11. 11.

    ([14], p. 25). Original version in French: Théorie des ensembles, notation logique, calcul des propositions, théorie des quantifications, etc., ce sont là des choses qui, pour le mathématicien professionnel comme pour l‵étudiant normal en mathématiques, présentent bien peu d’utilé.

  12. 12.

    I realize, of course, that it is a strong assumption.

  13. 13.

    See also [36]: Man gewöhne sich aber nur erst daran, jede Erfahrung in ein dialektisches Frage- und Antwortspiel und in eine reine Kopfangelegenheit zu übersetzen: es ist erstaunlich, in wie kurzer Zeit der Mensch bei einer solchen Tätigkeit ausdorrt, wie bald er fast nur noch mit den Knochen klappert. Jeder weiß und sieht dies: wie ist es also nur möglich, daß trotzdem die Jünglinge keineswegs vor solchenKnochenmenschenzurückschrecken und immer von neuem wieder sich blindlings und wahl- und maßlos den Wissenschaften übergeben? [emphasis added – P. L.]

  14. 14.

    It is worth to emphasize that Alain (Émile Chartier) was a teacher of Simone Weil.

  15. 15.

    The text in only available in Spanish, so this is my translation.

  16. 16.

    Original version in Spanish: “Félix Grande: En Libro de Manuel, aparte de muchas otras cosas, Julio Cortázar interpreta, en relación con la política y la literatura, algo sustancial: que la revolución, la lucha política, no tiene que olvidar en ningún momento que está hecha para la alegría, que está hecha desde la nostalgia de la alegría hacia la obstinación de la alegría. Esta es una de las razones por las cuales el libro se ha visto agredido, pero también es una de las razones por las cuales el libro puede y debe ser definido.”

  17. 17.

    Original version in Spanish: “Yo sabía que ese tipo de reproches me sería hecho y asumí el riesgo, porque, como tú lo has dicho admirablemente, es inconcebible una revolución que no tenga por fin la alegría, entendiendo por alegría una cosa mucho más amplia: la supresión de todo lo que es dolor antes de la revolución, la supresión de todo lo que nos humilla, nos explota, nos aliena, nos distancia, nos mutila.”

  18. 18.

    For some remarks on another revolution, see, for example, [30]. For the problem of revolutions in logic, see, for example, [31, 34].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland

    Piotr Leśniewski

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  1. St. John Fisher University, Philosophy, Rochester, NY, USA

    Timothy J. Madigan

  2. Departement of Philosophy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Jean-Yves Béziau

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Leśniewski, P. (2024). On Polish Rationalisms, Logic and Joy. In: Madigan, T.J., Béziau, JY. (eds) Universal Logic, Ethics, and Truth. Studies in Universal Logic. Birkhäuser, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44461-6_10

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