Aleksander Świętochowski (18 January 1849 – 25 April 1938) was a Polish writer, educator, and philosopher of the Positivist period that followed the January 1863 Uprising. He was widely regarded as the prophet of

Polish Positivism Polish Positivism ( ) was a social, literary and philosophical movement that became dominant in late-19th-century partitioned Poland following Romanticism in Poland and the suppression of the January 1863 Uprising against the Russian Empire. The ...

, spreading in the

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

press the gospel of

scientific inquiry Models of scientific inquiry have two functions: first, to provide a descriptive account of ''how'' scientific inquiry is carried out in practice, and second, to provide an explanatory account of ''why'' scientific inquiry succeeds as well as it ap ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and equality of rights for all, without regard to sex, class, ethnic origin or beliefs. His was a nuanced vision, however, that took account of the shortcomings of

human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

; like

H.G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, he advocated that power in society be wielded by the most enlightened among its members.

Life

Świętochowski was a journalist, literary critic, historian and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

—a founder and the leading ideologue of

."Świętochowski, Aleksander," ''Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN'' (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), vol. 4, p. 393. In 1871 he published in ''Przegląd Tygodniowy'' (The Weekly Review) a famous programmatic article of the Polish Positivists, "''My i wy''" ("We and You")."Świętochowski, Aleksander," ''

Encyklopedia Polski This is a list of encyclopedias by language. Albanian Encyclopedias written in Albanian. * '' Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (): published by Academy of Sciences of Albania; ** First Edition (1985; ''FESH'') ** New Edition (2008/09; ''Botim ...

'', p. 679. Świętochowski worked with many periodicals, including (1870–78) ''Przegląd Tygodniowy'' (The Weekly Review), in 1876–78 as co-editor. In 1878–79 he edited the daily ''Nowiny'' (News); when in 1882 it was bought by financier Stanisław Kronenberg, its new owner, purportedly on Świętochowski's recommendation, entrusted the editorship to

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

. In 1881–1902 Świętochowski edited and published ''Prawda'' (The Truth), which he had founded. In 1881 he lost his little son. Unable to regain his equilibrium, in mid-February 1882, on the advice of Dr.

Tytus Chałubiński Tytus Aureliusz Chałubiński (29 December 1820, Radom – 4 November 1889, Zakopane) was a Polish physician, naturalist, and co-founder of the Polish Tatra Society. His collections of natural history specimens are now held in the Tatra Mountai ...

, he went on a journey to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He would recall in his ''Pamiętnik'' (Memoirs): In 1905 Świętochowski founded, and subsequently led, ''Stronnictwo Postępowo-Demokratyczne'' (the Progressive-Democratic Party), which after 1918 was somewhat aligned with the National Democratic Party. He worked with the National Democrats in opposing

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, but their

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

were alien to him, and the National Democrats never regarded him as one of their own.

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

, ''The History of Polish Literature'', p. 287. Świętochowski founded and was president of ''Towarzystwo Kultury Polskiej'' (the Polish Culture Society, 1906–13) and editor and publisher of its organ, ''Kultura Polska'' (Polish Culture). From 1912 until his death in 1938, Świętochowski lived in

Gołotczyzna Gołotczyzna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sońsk, within Ciechanów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Sońsk, south of Ciechanów, and north of Warsaw. History Gołot ...

, a village 67 kilometers north of

, where he established intimate intellectual and personal ties with Aleksandra Bąkowska. As early as 1909, he had inspired the creation, in Gołotczyzna, of a home-economics school for village girls, established by Bąkowska; and three years later, an agriculture school for boys, called ''Bratne''. He regarded these institutions as his greatest achievement in the realm of

. Świętochowski died at

on 25 April 1938 and was buried in the cemetery at

Sońsk Sońsk is a village in Ciechanów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Sońsk. It lies approximately south-east of Ciechanów and north of Warsaw Warsaw, ...

, near

Ciechanów Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland, seat of the Ciechanów County in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495. A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1065, Ciechanów is one of ...

. His son

Ryszard Świętochowski Ryszard Świętochowski (17 September 1882 in Warsaw – 1941 in Auschwitz) was a Polish politician, publicist and engineer. He was the son of Aleksander Świętochowski. Swiętochowski was an activist of SP and People's Party, co-worker of ...

(Warsaw, 17 October 1882 – 1941,

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

) was an engineer, journalist and politician who supported

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, and published many papers in the field of

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

; he was murdered at

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

Views

As the leading ideologist and exponent of the latter-19th-century Polish philosophical and cultural movement known as "

," Świętochowski was an uncompromising critic of outdated traditions and obscurantism, and a spokesman for the fostering of knowledge and education. A complement to this optimistic

scientism Scientism is the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientis ...

was his reflections on the limitations of

("''Dumania pesymisty''" Reflections of a Pessimist" ''Przegląd Tygodniowy''

he Weekly Review He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

1876), which led him to contrast sage

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

s with

egotistic "Egotistic" ( Korean: 너나 해) is a song by South Korean girl group Mamamoo. It was released on July 16, 2018 as the second single from the group's seventh extended play '' Red Moon'' (2018). An upbeat pop song with Latin influences, "Egotisti ...

societal A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

s. Over the years, this concern of his would recur in a number of his

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

s and stories.

describes him: "A brilliant man, a sharp, even violent, polemicist against the conservatives, accused by his adversaries of haughtiness... he edited the periodical ''Truth'' ''(Prawda)'', signing his articles 'Truth's postle'"

, ''The History of Polish Literature'', p. 286.

Books

*''Wolter'' (Voltaire), 1878. *''O prawach człowieka i obywatela'' (On the Rights of Man and the Citizen), 1907. *''Utopie w rozwoju historycznym'' (Utopias in Historic Development), 1910. *''Historia chłopów polskich w zarysie'' (Brief History of Poland's Peasants), 2 vols., 1925–28.

Notes

References

*"Świętochowski, Aleksander," ''Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN'' (PWN Universal Encyclopedia),

Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i ...

, vol. 4, 1976, p. 393. *"Świętochowski, Aleksander," ''

'' (Encyclopedia of Poland),

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996, , p. 679. *Krystyna Tokarzówna and Stanisław Fita, ''Bolesław Prus, 1847–1912: Kalendarz życia i twórczości'' (Bolesław Prus, 1847–1912: A Calendar of His Life and Work), Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969. *

, ''The History of Polish Literature'', 2nd ed., Berkeley, University of California Press, 1983, . *Jan Zygmunt Jakubowski, ed., ''Literatura polska od średniowiecza do pozytywizmu'' (Polish Literature from the Middle Ages to Positivism), Warsaw,

, 1979, , pp. 588–94 and ''passim''.

External links

Virtual Library of Polish Literature: Prof. Jan Data, "Aleksander Świętochowski"

He was "excellent" in most subjects—"satisfactory" in

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...