Stanisław Leopold Brzozowski (28 June 1878 – 30 April 1911) was a Polish philosopher, writer, publicist, literary and theatre critic. Considered to be an important Polish philosopher, Brzozowski is known for his concept of the ''philosophy of labour'', rooted in

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

. Besides

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 ...

, among his major inspirations were

Georges Sorel Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, Henri Bergson,

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

, and

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

. Brzozowski's core idea was based on the concept of a socially engaged intellectual (artist). Although he was in favour of

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 ...

, he strongly argued against its deterministic interpretation. In his philosophical approaches, Brzozowski rejected all concepts that were commodifying a human being. Polish intellectuals (

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

Andrzej Walicki Andrzej Stanisław Walicki (15 May 1930 – 20 August 2020) was a Polish historian. He was a professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States. He specialized in philosophy of sociopolitics, history of Polish and Russian philos ...

Leszek Kołakowski Leszek Kołakowski (; ; 23 October 1927 – 17 July 2009) was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analyses of Marxist thought, especially his three-volume history, '' Main Currents of Marxism'' (1976 ...

) have stressed that Brzozowski's interpretations of Marx's early writings, not widely known at the time of their formulation, largely anticipated those presented later by

György Lukács György Lukács (born György Bernát Löwinger; hu, szegedi Lukács György Bernát; german: Georg Bernard Baron Lukács von Szegedin; 13 April 1885 – 4 June 1971) was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, literary historian, critic, and aesth ...

and Antonio Gramsci.

Biography

Leopold Stanisław Leon Brzozowski was born in 1878 in Maziarnia, a village near

Chełm Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...

. He grew up in an impoverished

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

family, but attended private schools, which allowed him to enroll in the Faculty of Natural Sciences of 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 ...

in 1896. In 1897 Brzozowski was involved in student riots against

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

professors teaching at the university. As a consequence, Brzozowski and many other students were expelled from the university for a period of one year. Brzozowski then led the student organization ''Bratniak'', established to maintain financial support for the expelled students. To help his father, who suffered from a fatal illness, Brzozowski decided to use the organization's funds. Although he had promised himself to give the money back as soon as possible, his embezzlement was discovered. The arbitration panel of the fellow members excluded Brzozowski from the activities of the organization for three years. In the same year (1898), he was imprisoned as a result of investigations into the secret activities of the Society for People's Education. Beginning in the autumn of 1898, Brzozowski suffered heavily from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, a consequence of the time spent in prison. To recuperate, he went to a sanatorium in

Otwock Otwock is a city in east-central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 44,635 inhabitants (2019). Otwock is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is hom ...

. In 1900 he met there Antonina Kolberg and they married the next year. In 1903 Brzozowski's only child, Anna Irena, was born. The health problems continued, and to receive more intensive medical care, in 1905 he traveled to Italy. In 1906 he went to Italy again and resided in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

until his death there in 1911. The last few years of Brzozowski's life, although spent in gradually worsening health and material conditions, were the most productive. During that time he wrote his ''opus magnum'' – the novel ''Płomienie'' (The Flames) – a response to '' Demons'' by

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

, as well as important books concerning Brzozowski's philosophical and cultural program: ''Idee. Wstęp do filozofii dojrzałości dziejowej'' (Ideas: An introduction to the philosophy of historical maturity) and ''Legenda Młodej Polski'' (The legend of Young Poland).

Intellectual profile

Brzozowski was an influential critic of Polish social and philosophical thought, an analyst of literature, and a piercing observer of Polish and European everyday life. He was an unambiguous critic of the traditionalism and provincialism of the main currents of 19th century

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

. In particular, Brzozowski was a strong opponent of historical novels, such as those written by the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner Henryk Sienkiewicz. Brzozowski's radical attacks on Sienkiewicz's works made him a ''persona non grata'' in Polish artistic circles. Brzozowski held a unique position as an astute critic of Polish contemporary culture, known as

Young Poland Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pol ...

(Polish

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

) or neo-romanticism. His ''Legenda Młodej Polski'' represents the most comprehensive denunciation of those forms of the Polish mind, which, in Brzozowski's words, represent "the delusion of cultural consciousness."

Connection of Marxism and religion

Concerning his philosophical heritage, Brzozowski tended to experience rather radical shifts in his world-view as a result of subsequent readings. His first important philosophical inspiration was

and his notion of ''historical sense,'' which Brzozowski found particularly valuable. After focusing on Nietzsche, Brzozowski moved closer towards

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

, which eventually enabled him to develop his philosophy on the Marxist basis. Besides providing many vital inspirations, Marxism played a central role in Brzozowski's intellectual development, and for the longest period of his short life he was a Marxist thinker. His interpretation of

's thought was anti- naturalist and anti- positivist. Brzozowski was an ardent critic of

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Finally, he developed his own philosophical program called the ''philosophy of labour'' that emphasized the role of human activity in creating and re-creating the reality. This was a concept rejecting reification and alienation of human acts and, according to Brzozowski, was the natural expansion of key Marxist ideas. In his philosophy Brzozowski focused on subjective factors of work: on the quality of human will and on cohesion and strength of the live social bond determining this quality. He thought that the examination of work from the perspective of experience acquired in the process of its performance, or its "internal" analysis, made it possible to prove that the ultimate basis of work and its products arising in human awareness as the "objectively" given world, was subjective physical effort, maintained by the strength of human will. This effort, in its appropriate level and progress, depends on other forms of labor, creating proper organization and culture of societies; work, its quality, its amount, is a subtle creation of will, maintained by entire cultures, which in turn is a very subtle and complicated creation. Brzozowski reaches the conclusion that an essential condition of the discipline of will is a strong, traditional moral bond. This results in recognizing religion as a valuable school of will and a precious element of intense social bond. The essence of work is therefore the inner life of a human being, spirituality, “willingness to work”, although it is strongly rooted in customs, in culture. This emphasis on roots indicates that community is of crucial importance for the continuity of work.

Contemporary significance in Poland

Stanisław Brzozowski has an established position as one of the most important intellectuals in modern Polish history. His cultural and philosophical activity has been regularly debated throughout the last century in Poland. He became the point of reference for subsequent generations of Polish intellectuals. Although identified mainly with the

political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, the subtlety and open-endedness of his thought allowed some groups from the

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

to identify themselves with Brzozowski's ideas as well. Since 2002, Brzozowski has been the patron of ''

Krytyka Polityczna ''Krytyka Polityczna'' (; "The Political Critique") is a circle of Polish left-wing intellectuals gathered around a journal of the same title founded by Sławomir Sierakowski in 2002 but is open to voices from across the political spectrum. The ...

'' (Political Critique), a Polish left-wing intellectual society organized around a journal of the same title founded by Sławomir Sierakowski in 2002. In 2005, the Stanisław Brzozowski Association was established and became the publisher of the journal and the on-line publication ''Dziennik Opinii'' (Opinion Daily). The association's core idea resembles that of its patron: that intellectuals are public figures who ought to live a socially involved and committed life.

Main works

* ''Pod ciężarem Boga'' ("Under the Burden of God") irst published in 1901, novel* ''Filozofia czynu'' ("The Philosophy of Act")

903 __NOTOC__ Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lo ...

* ''Wiry'' ("The Whirpools") 904, novel* ''Kultura i życie. Zagadnienia sztuki i twórczości w walce o światopogląd'' ("Culture and Life") 907* ''Płomienie'' ("Flames") 908, novel* ''Legenda Młodej Polski. Studia o strukturze duszy kulturalnej'' ("The Legend of Young Poland. Studies on the Structure of the Cultural Spirit")

910 Year 910 ( CMX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. __NOTOC__ Events By place Europe * June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under ...

* ''Idee. Wstęp do filozofii dojrzałości dziejowej'' ("Ideas. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Historical Maturity")

* ''Sam wśród ludzi'' ("Alone Among People") 911, novel* ''Głosy wśród nocy. Studia nad przesileniem romantycznym kultury europejskiej'' ("Voices in the Night. Studies on the Romantic Turning Point in European Culture") 912* ''Pamiętnik Stanisława Brzozowskiego'' ("The Diary") 913* ''Widma moich współczesnych'' ("The Ghosts of My Contemporaries")

914 __NOTOC__ Year 914 ( CMXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Empress Zoe Karbonopsina leads a palace coup at Constantino ...

* ''Książka o starej kobiecie'' ("A Book About an Old Woman") 914, novel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brzozowski, Stanislaw 19th-century Polish novelists 20th-century Polish novelists Polish male novelists 19th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights Polish male dramatists and playwrights 1878 births 1911 deaths Polish Marxists 20th-century Polish philosophers 19th-century Polish male writers 20th-century Polish male writers