Józef Edward Abramowski (17 August 1868 – 21 June 1918) was a Polish

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 ...

, libertarian socialist,

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

, ethician, and supporter of

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

s. Abramowski is also one of the best known activists of classical

anarchism in Poland Anarchism in Poland first developed at the turn of the 20th century under the influence of anarchist ideas from Western Europe and from Russia. Prior to Polish independence from the Russian Empire, several anarchist organizations emerged within ...

Biography

Abramowski was born on 17 August 1868 in Stefanin, in the Vasilkovsky Uyezd of

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

(present-day Ukraine) to Jadwiga and Edward. After his mother died (in 1878), he moved to

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 ...

in 1879, where his teacher,

Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish people, Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan ...

, introduced him to the members of the First Proletariat. In 1892 he took part in the Paris gathering of Polish socialists, where

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

was founded. Abramowski is considered the founder of the Polish co-operative movement, promoting economic associations and initiatives. As a supporter of the

cooperative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

, he founded a cooperative magazine "

Społem PSS Społem is a Polish consumers' co-operative of local grocery stores, founded in 1868. During the Partitions of Poland, each of the branches of PSS Społem was formed under different conditions in law, economy and politics. The common characte ...

" (''Together'') in 1906. In 1915 he was given a chair in

Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...

at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, which he occupied until his death. Abramowski died on 21 June 1918 in Warsaw after suffering from a serious illness. He was buried at the

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

Legacy

On 19 December 1930, he was posthumously awarded the

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three classes. History The Cr ...

by the Polish government.

Thought

Influenced by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

, Abramowski called himself a "state-rejecting socialist" in his most important work, ''Socialism & State''. He went on to further his political philosophy in other works, such as ''The Republic of Friends'', and ''General Collusion Against the Government''. In later years, his thought increasingly tended towards

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...

, emphasising the importance of co-operative organization of the work force. Alongside this politico-social theorising, he also conducted an intense research activity in the field of experimental psychology, showing a particular interest in the subconscious.

Works

* ''Zagadnienia socjalizmu'', Lviv 1899 (pod pseud.: Z.R. Walczewski) * ''Etyka a rewolucja'', 1899 * ''Socjalizm a państwo. Przyczynek do krytyki współczesnego socjalizmu'', Lviv 1904 * ''Zmowa powszechna przeciw rządowi'', Cracow 1905 * ''Idee społeczne kooperatyzmu'' 1907 * ''Le subconscient normal'' 1914 * ''Pisma'', t. I-IV, Warszawa 1924–1928 * ''Filozofia społeczna. Wybór pism'', Warsaw 1968 * ''Metafizyka doświadczalna i inne pisma'', Warsaw 1980

References

External links