Stefana Pawlickiego (1839–1916) pierwsze polskie przekłady Medytacji o pierwszej filozofii oraz Rozprawy o metodzie

Abstract

This paper is based on the materials found in the Jagiellonian Library – unpublished manuscripts of Pawlicki’s translations of two works by Descartes. The starting point for the analyses is a short outline of the history of the reception of the French philosopher’s works in Poland. The author also draws comparisons between Pawlicki’s translations and translations of Discourse on the method which are well embedded in the Polish philosophical tradition by Wojciech Dobrzycki (1878) and Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński (1918), as well as Pawlicki’s translation of Meditations with translations of Ignacy Karol Dworzaczek (1885) and Maria Ajdukiewiczowa (1948). Pawlicki worked on his translations between Romanticism and Positivism, when Descartes’ works were in general negatively received. The comparison of these translations and comments on them found in later translations done by Wiktor Wąsik in so called “critical” period will allow one to grasp some developing tendencies in Polish philosophy of the 19th century. This paper will also fill in the gap in the history of Polish philosophy concerning the reception of Descartes’ philosophy in 19th-century Poland.