Ludwik Joachim Franciszek Krzywicki (21 August 1859 – 10 June 1941) was a Polish Marxist anthropologist, economist and sociologist. One of the early champions of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

in Poland, he approached

historical materialism Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...

from a sociological viewpoint. From 1919 to 1936 he was a professor at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

Life

Ludwik Krzywicki was born at

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

in 1859 into an aristocratic but impoverished family. From an early age he showed an interest in psychology, philosophy and natural sciences, and studied the works of Darwin, Taine, Ribot and Comte. Ludwik krzywicki 1882

Krzywicki studied mathematics at the

in Congress Poland. After obtaining his degree, he enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine but was expelled from the University on account of his political activities. He then went abroad, first to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, then

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, Switzerland, and finally in 1885 to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where most of the Polish Socialist émigrés in Europe lived. It was in

that he began studying

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

Contributions to science

Krzywicki was one of the first scholars to research Lithuanian

hill forts A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Rom ...

. Between 1900 and 1914 he conducted archeological digs in

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and elsewhere, photographing and excavating fortress hills. In 1908 he published ''Żmudż starożytnia'' (Ancient Samogitia), in which he sought to correlate his findings with chronicles that mentioned the castles and fortifications that he was investigating. In the same year he published an article entitled, ''W poszukiwaniu grodu Mendoga'', dealing with where he believed the castle of King

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or ...

had been located. Krzywicki donated a large part of his findings to the Culture Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1939. One of his most important contributions was the theory of the migration of ideas: that ideas, which are created from and spread thanks to social needs and social expectations, can "migrate" to other places or times which have not yet been capable of expressing them autonomously. When that happens, if the new ideas succeed in embodying the needs and expectations encountered at the new place, they will take root and accelerate its socio-economic development.

Return to Poland

Krzywicki returned to Congress Poland in 1893 and continued his political activity. When the Italian Spiritualist

Eusapia Palladino Eusapia Palladino (alternative spelling: ''Paladino''; 21 January 1854 – 16 May 1918) was an Italian Spiritualist physical medium. She claimed extraordinary powers such as the ability to levitate tables, communicate with the dead through ...

revisited

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in the second half of May 1898, she held at least two

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spea ...

s in Krzywicki's apartment.Krystyna Tokarzówna and Stanisław Fita, ''

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...

, 1847–1912: Kalendarz życia i twórczości'' (

, 1847–1912: a Calendar of isLife and Work), p. 521. Ludwik Krzywicki (-1907)

He was arrested many times, notably when he took part in the Revolution of 1905. During this period, he edited the paper of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

. He finished a doctorate in Lwów (today Lviv,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) with an ethnographic dissertation. Before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he lived in great hardship, but when the war broke out he was back in the front line of social activity, taking part in various workers and trade union organizations even though his relations with the Socialist Party had cooled. Krzywicki was one of the translators of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

's ''

Das Kapital ''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist phi ...

'' into Polish. After World War I he abandoned all political activity and focused on scientific research, intending to complete the works that he had never had the peace of mind or time to finish. However, he did take part in the organization and management of scientific bodies. He served as vice-director of the Central Statistical Office, taught at the

(1919–36) and other institutions of higher education, and directed the Socio-Economic Institute. Plock Ludwik Krzywicki Monument 2019 P01

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was injured during the defence of Warsaw in September 1939, and the bomb that destroyed his apartment also caused the loss of most of his papers and manuscripts. His working conditions worsened and he died of heart disease in 1941.

Notes

References

*Krystyna Tokarzówna and Stanisław Fita, ''

, 1847–1912: Kalendarz życia i twórczości'' (

, 1847–1912: a Calendar of isLife and Work), edited by Zygmunt Szweykowski, Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969.

External links