Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
***
HowmanypoliticalscientistsincontemporaryPolandareawarewhentheirsubject
beganinPoland,andthatitdevelopedinVilnius?Theanswertothisquestionwould
havetobehighlypessimisticasgeneralviewsonthechronologyofpoliticalscience
arequiteridiculous.16PeopletendtodiscardwhatIcall‘historicalpoliticalscience’
ordiminishthesignificanceofthe‘historyofpoliticalscience.’Howmanyacademic
unitsdevotedtotheseissueswouldwefind,orratherfailtofind,inmodernuniversi-
ties,whereasthereexistunitsdevotedtothehistoryofeducationatpedagogicalfacul-
ties,orthosedealingwiththehistoryofsociology,historyofhistoriography,historyof
philosophy,historyofpsychology(psychologicalthought),andsoon.Inanotherplace
Irefertohistoryasmagistrapolitologiae,17sincethesciencewhichinprincipleissup-
posedtodealwithforecastingthefuturemakesextensiveuseoftheexperienceofthe
past,whichprovidesanalysesofearlierforecaststhathavebeenputtotest.Political
scienceshouldnotonlyconcernthoseforecaststhatremainintherealmofprobabil-
ity,hithertonotverifiedbyreality.18HereIrefertoresearchinto‘politicalcultureand
historicalcultureaswellasthelegalcultureofsociety’whicharecloselyconnectedto
politicalscience.Thatthefieldofresearchissomewhatnarrowed(intheoryratherthan
inpractice)istreatedasaconsequenceofthedimcultfateofpoliticalscientistsafter
WWII,19afatewhichhasnotyetbeenfullyredirectedbyintensivecontactoverrecent
decadeswithWesternacademia,whichhasproducedsamplesoferuditestudiese.g.on
thetheoryofpoliticsintheGermanReichofthe17thand18thcentury.20
Inthemeantime...
***
Anillustriouspoliticalwriterandémigré,JuliuszMieroszewski,atonetime
theclosestcollaboratorofthefounderoftheParis-basedKulturamagazine-Jerzy
Giedroyć-wrotein1974:“Historyispoliticsstoppedontherun.Thereforeapolitical
writerhastobeabletotakeabird’seyeviewonhistory.”Itisevenmoresignificant
forourconsiderationsthathealsosaid:“Uptoseventy,ormaybeeveneightypercent
ofpoliticsisadiscussionofhistory.”21
16Formoreonthistopicsee:M.Kosman,Granicepolitologii,“Humaniora,”Biuletynno.4,
Poznań1996,pp.5-15.
17M.Kosman,ZrozważańnadkulturąpolitycznąwPolsce,partone,Poznań1998,pp.9-20
(chaptertitle).
18ThepastandthepresentwerethesubjectofaninternationalconferenceorganizedbyAdam
MickiewiczUniversityonMay16-17,2000.However,theresearchersofthevisionsthathadbeen
testedandconfirmedweresignificantlymoreactiveattheconferencethanthosestudyingthevi-
sionswhicharechronologicallylessremotefromus,see:KulturapolitycznawPolsce,vol.3:Wizje
przyszłości,collectiveworkeditedbyM.Kosman,Poznań2000.
19M.Kosman,Granicepolitologii,p.5andnext.
20LetusreferheretothestudiesconductedonthebasisoftheabundantcollectionofHerzog
AugustBibliothekinWolfenbuttele.g.byMatioScattola.
21J.Mieroszewski,RosyjskikompleksPolskiiobszarULB,“Kultura,”no.9(324),Paryż1974.
13