The article presents the processes of public discourse construction and dynamics. On the national level, symbolic processes are related to the position of the country in the international environment. Being a collective political actor on the discursive scene, the country is involved in legitimation mechanisms in the interaction stream with other political actors, i.e. its foreign counterparts. Upon intentions to enter the mainstream European culture after the transition period, Spain became discursively involved in the mutual legitimation procedures involving a number of political partners and based on the requirement of institutional isomorphism. Consistently presented within the propitious approach of new institutionalism on the corporate level (e.g. Meyer and Rowan 2006), it is advanced herein on the national level of Spanish discursive policies.

Christianization of Polish territories, according to the Western rite, incorporated these lands into the Western European civilization and emerging there political and legal doctrines, which were used in creating Polish political-legal thought. At the time of establishing social bonds and structures of the state, the political elite came into being and the Polish political thought developed. It corresponded with the main political thought and ideas of the West, but the Polish ideas displayed characteristics, necessary for protecting the Polish raison d’etat. Development of political thought, original and particular for Polish conditions, dissimilar from the main European trends, may be a testimony to richness of intellectual and political ideas of past Polish generations. It was this political thought, that allowed the Polish national identity to survive, and caused that the fight for political independence was successful. Many contemporary researchers, including those from Western Europe, see influences of the past political ideas in the contemporary attitudes of Poles.

José Ortega y Gasset not only expressed his views on subjects such as art or mass culture but he was also one of the promoters and founders of a United Europe which he considered a cultural unity. However, his view on the proper functioning of multicultural societies was as skeptical as his attitude towards the possibility of constructing an unified world that could be based on cultural coexistence of the Western World societies.

We can speak about individual and social (characteristic for a population) values, but it is difficult to present universal, specifically human values, except for biological needs. The reason of it follows from the fact that superior values, related to two human needs (world model cognition and the meaningful sense of life) depend upon a world-view, in advance accepted and inculcated in us. From this world-view we as its followers draw our notions of good and bad, we shape our ideas on proper human relations and on what for us should be the most important. So what can be of universally human character? It seems that only the possibility of possessing a system of values, of forming its features and defining its components.

This essay is an introduction and summary of my detailed study under preparation on the idea of Europe in contemporary Spanish thought. An historical interpretation of Spanish civilization from its earliest beginnings to the present time is presented in the article. I undertake the problem of Spain’s European vocation, specific features of its Christian culture, especially Iberian links with the Islamic world and the question of changes in Spanish identity. The article presents reflections on Europe by the Generation of ‘98 Spanish writers and thinkers (chiefly Angel Ganivet, Miguel de Unamuno and Ramiro de Maeztu) who, in the face of defeat (1898) in the Spanish-American War, proclaimed a program of moral and cultural rebirth for Spain. Their ambivalent attitude towards Europe was rejected by José Ortega y Gasset and Salvador de Madariaga, both the most pro-European 20th century Spanish intellectuals. The problem of Spanishrelation to Europe was also widely discussed after the Civil War under General Franco regime. The evolution from initial isolation to a fuller integration with Europe of the regime and its conservative Catholic culture are also shown in the article. Much attention is devoted to the present-day civil and European Spain led by democratic socialists.

The article explains the origins of European civilization in relation to Minoan (Cretan) civilization. In a synthetic form, it outlines phases of Minoan civilization (prepalatial, protopalatial, neopalatial, postpalatial). It also describes the circumstances and causes of the fall of Minoan civilization. It concludes with an outlook of the Minoan heritage.

The article is an attempt to analyze the current trends of the development of Polish philosophy. It does not give a detailed description or systematization of Polish philosophy. The attention is focused on some vital issues: individuals, groupings, topics that determine its character and contribute to its native character and universal dimension. Polish culture follows an alternate pattern of development. Periods of idealistic vows, heroic deeds and great literature were followed by the time of “minimalism” restricted to the world of facts and practicalities. At the times of cultural maximalism, philosophy accompanied literature (art) and tended to take the form of a world outlook, while in minimalistic phase it searched for connections with science and transformed into meta-science.The author believes that the period of scientific philosophy (the Lvov—Warsaw School of Philosophy) is over so it can be presumed that the future will belong to world outlook philosophy.

Philosophy of history has been condemned in recent times; however, it is becoming increasingly evident that a new Europe cannot do without a critical philosophy of history that analyses values and gives hierarchical structure to diverse experiences and historical memories. From this hypothesis, a result of previous projects, the project “Philosophy of History and Values in the Europe of the 21st century” has these fundamental objectives: 1) critically analyze the complex forms of conceiving science, history (society), culture (languages, religion), law, ethics and politics, in order to understand the full scope of the idea of Europe in which we find ourselves; 2) systemize them with the proposal for a new critical philosophy of history, based on a “practical turn” that contemplates the elements (real responsibility, solidarity and justice) that should form the foundation of social and ethical political relations; 3) apply them to the constructionof a new Europe, in which implicit diversity and the demands of internationality, interculturality and dialogue between the genders can reconcile itself with the basic principles of universality, equality and justice and with the establishment of minimum human rights. The conclusions of our research will help to provide solutions to conflicts that are occurring in the heart of Europe, which at the high point of globalization, transcend European borders.

Neither the origin, nor the meaning of the notion of “empire” are obvious for historians. The same obscurity affects the notion of “Europe”. A presentation of different types of European empires and of their legitimacy enable a synthetic expression of ideological identity of Europe. The evolution and the main versions of both notions are reviewed.

This paper is dedicated to a problem of power of European nation state during the process of shaping the postindustrial civilization. The author points that the nation state is a relic of an industrial era. Globalization is a real fear for relatively small European states. So, integration is a necessity. But the integration does not mean the centralization of rules. Today we can see a comeback to preindustrial political paradigmatics: decentralization and deconcentration of authorities. The future of Europe is in three-level system that has been built by supranational institutions, e.g. EU, decentralized states (federations and regionalized states) and regional (quasi-states) and local community. But the European Union will not become a federation. It would be a conservation of industrial models. The Europeans must rather think of a new formula of integration. Neo-medieval empire is an adequate to changes’ direction proposal. The author also notices that we are the observers of essential change of identity. The national identity has been relativized by globalization and uniformitarian character of American cultureas well as by aspiration of regional and ethnic groups. European national identity and consensuses could be rather a supplement than an alternative for today’s national identification.

During the last thirty three years which elapsed from General Franco’s death there disappeared cleared divisions into two camps which saw relationships between Spain and Europe as well as Europe itself from disparate perspectives. For the sake of social peace and normalizing the political situation which ensued after the fascist coup on 18 July 1936 and which continued till the death of caudillo in 1975, or even a bit longer till funding the new constitution in 1978, the Spanish left behind clear exposition of their political visions and their aggressive imposition on their adversaries. This common agreement resulted in, what is important, Spain’s access to the European Union in 1986. It can be seen as an unambiguous sign of its citizens’ agreement to subject their country to the processes of Europeanization (since such an opportunity appeared the Spanish saw EU accession as a solution to their homeland’s problems). Thus even the slogan from the 1960s aimed at tourists and saying: España es diferente (“Spain is different”, “eccentric”, different than other European countries) was forgotten. Undoubtedly, the modern Spain is in all the aspects of life a fully European country, and even, as it is often proudly emphasized by the Spanish authors, in many spheres of political, economic, cultural or social life it belongs to the European avant-garde. Of course, Spain has kept its national identity, its national culture (which, despite all this, has become cosmopolitan to a certain degree, as it is in the case of other European national cultures in the era of globalization) and its political, economic, social and other structures are the ones which characterize a modern, liberal, secular, democratic European state.

The first part of this comment presents the biography of Henryk Elzenberg whose creative life is shared between four centers of intellectual life in Poland: Cracow, Warsaw, Vilnius and Toruń.The second part of this article depicts the creative profile of H. Elzenberg: a philosopher forming an axiological vision of world and man, directing attention towards a general theory of value; where he placed the foundation for his ethics, esthetics and the philosophy of man.

Elzenberg’s philosophy is usually defined as perfectionism, culturalism, pessimism, conservatism, or asceticism. Despite the accuracy and validity of the above mentioned terms it seems, however, that none of them fully encompass the characteristics of the view, tending rather to focus on its given profile. One term that, in my opinion, can be regarded as a suitable candidate for the role is “aristocratism of the spirit”, which embraces perfectionism, culturalism and asceticism as well as pessimism, conservatism and outsiderism. In debating on the elzenbergian variety of this idea I would like to put forward his relation to, or entanglement with the tendency to think in the categories of the aristocratism of the spirit, that has been present since the dawn of philosophy. I use the tentative term “entanglement” here, as Elzenberg in his writings never declared, either openly or indirectly, any (formal) adherence to a movement, including the movement of the aristocratism of the spirit. My ascribing Elzenberg to this movement is a convention of interpretation, imposed upon his philosophy for heuristic reasons.

The subject of this article is the attitude of a famous Polish philosopher of the twentieth century, Henryk Elzenberg towards practical work and theoretical achievements of Mohandas Karamczand Gandhi. The analysis of the issue focuses on a question: to what degree are Elzenberg’s opinions about Gandhi’s thought and work an attempt to understand the phenomenon of a moral revolution of the spiritual leader and to what degree are they a presentation of his own comprehension of philosophy? The analysis shows that Elzenberg treats philosophy as an area of confrontation, where referring to others develops his own approach.

The article is a presentation of Henryk Elzenberg’s system of formal axiology He is one of the most eminent Polish axiologists and moral philosophers of the 20th century. His system of philosophy of value is built on three pillars: (1) a clear differentiation between two concepts of value: utilitarian and perfect; (2) connection of the concept of perfect value with that of obligation by definition; (3) approaches obligation pertaining to being as oppose to deed. The starting point is differentiation into utilitarian value (which wasn’t a value in axiological meaning) and perfect value, at the same time the main aim of his researches is the determination and analysis of the term perfect value “a valuable object in a perfect sense this is an object as it should be”. The perfect value contains, as it were, an imperative to fulfill it. Beauty, goodness and sanctity are the basic variations of perfect value.

Henryk Elzenberg, a Polish axiologist, existentialist wrote about loneliness in the 30 contexts of the soul, virtues, protection, culturalization and personality, etc. He bases the negative image of loneliness on the identification of deficits, and the positive one on the identification of their transcendence (love, freedom, salvation). My text is an attempt to reconstruct the philosophy of loneliness on the basis of the book Kłopot z istnieniem. Aforyzmy w porządku czasu, 1907–1963 [Trouble with Existence. Aphorisms in the Order of Time].

Searching for what is common to all Henryk Elzenberg’s works, the author of the paper wishes to reveal the uniqueness of his ways of thinking. For this purpose, the author points at a variety of intellectual ways Elzenberg explored, considers the links between thinking and action, and asks a question about the aim of thinking and its relation to what was thought earlier. The independence of Elzenberg’s thinking, his diligence and seriousness grounded on the importance of issues he touched on render his philosophizing a case of ethical action. The firmness of the analyses that the Polish philosopher performed—particularly in the field of axiology—comes together with responsibility for the subject matter of his thinking. Strict mental discipline he managed to maintain in the face of values as well as his determination to hold onto them in his own life make Elzenberg a Master who is himself an instantiation—exemplum—of integrity in thinking. Maybe, we also could learn something from him, and, however difficult challenge it may seem, maybe it would be worthwhile to take it on and go our own way.

Intuition and introspection are very interesting terms in Elzenberg’s thought. The intuition is connected with the earlier phase of Elzenberg’s philosophy. Intuition is a form of world cognition. It is tool of selection of the contents. In Elzenberg’s philosophy introspection is a later term than intuition. It may lead intuition but is not a necessity. Process of cognition can finish with introspection which is a phase of information collection. In this meaning introspection creates circumstances for intuition. Introspection is a form of analysis internal human world but intuition permits discovery of new worlds. According to Elzenberg we can find intuition in art and in mysticism. Introspection in ethical and aesthetical texts has often existed. Intuition has most spectacular character than introspection generally. Intuition is a form of discovery of different human worlds while introspection is form of research of them.

In his ethical considerations famous Polish philosopher Henryk Elzenberg proposes an authentic cognition of moral values. He discerns a conflict between two ways of thinking, scientific and evaluating. According to Elzenberg the more often a statement is rational the less it grasps reality. Therefore he considers intuitive cognition of value as the most effective one. His attitude towards neopositivism and scientism is definitely negative. In his new epistemology of values attention should be paid primarily to a method of evaluation since a cognitive effect is strictly dependent on this method. Elzenberg’s ascetics, approached as concentrating on higher aims, necessity of universal cognition of a subject of evaluation and confronting newly formulated judgments with the ones by competent people, can our imperfect intuitions of perfect values make trustworthy. Our image of the world defines the boundaries of our evaluations. Utilitarian values constitute just a prelude to entering the world of perfect values.