What else can we learn from Tadeusz Kotarbiński?

Abstract

In this article I discuss the influence of T. Kotarbiński’s work on the academic achievements of M. Ossowska. My analysis is based on the polemic between the two scholars. I begin by pointing out considerable differences between the two scholars. They have different views on both the subject of ethics and its methodological requirements, and on what moral standard of evaluation is. However, both academics have much in common. In particular, there is a significant agreement between their views on moral values and their shared belief that it is necessary to develop a „moral backbone” or a stable hierarchy of values to which one should remain faithful whatever the circumstances. Other common aspects of the ethical views of T. Kotarbiński and M. Ossowska include their attitudes to the ethics of struggle, their understandings of the idea of honour and its derivative relation to other values, their perceptions of conscience as a form of shame or contempt, and their views on the role and nature of virtues.