Papers by Roman Chymkowski
Stan Rzeczy, 2024
The aim of this article is to characterise the system of the cobalt economy. The introduction pre... more The aim of this article is to characterise the system of the cobalt economy. The introduction presents the importance of cobalt for the green energy revolution. The production chain and the role of the main entities that co-create it are described. Then, the functioning of cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – including both large mines managed by corporations and artisanal small-scale ones – is discussed. Attention is drawn to phenomena such as forced labour, bonded labour, slave labour, child labour, the situation of women, and violations of all health and safety standards in mines. The article ends with an analysis of the effectiveness of international initiatives aimed at improving the situation of producers and implementing the idea of sustainable development.
Kultura Współczesna, 2022
Μή μου ἅπτου. The pandemic of haphephobia
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a sani... more Μή μου ἅπτου. The pandemic of haphephobia
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a sanitary regime with far-reach- ing restrictions on direct interpersonal contact. The need to cover the mouth and nose and social distancing have significantly affected communication. The touch, already recognised as a highly problematic medium, became a source of additional prohibitions. The need to ensure the safety of people most at risk of severe COVID- -19, i.e. the elderly and chronically ill, contributed to their loneliness. On the one hand, the latter has long been a social disease; on the other hand, social distancing and reduced direct contact were to prevent the spread of the virus. These extra- ordinary circumstances have strengthened the haphephobic attitudes – the sub- ject of interest of contemporary philosophy and art. In these areas, the unwanted legacy of the pandemic reveals itself not so much through changing the social reality as through reinforcing the previous divides, restrictions and conflicts. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the community in its traditional sense does not exist and must be redefined as a concept.
Co po postantropocentryzmie? Wprowadzenie do lektury
W stronę antropologii praktyk lekturowych / Roman Chymkowski
"Polish Culture Yearbook", 2022
The search for the reasons why people may be excluded from book reading points primarily to socio... more The search for the reasons why people may be excluded from book reading points primarily to socio-demographic factors (education, gender, age) and aspects related to the accessibility of cultural institutions. Negative reading determinants such as education below the tertiary level, male sex, and older age (particularly over 70 years) should be considered in combination. If these populations additionally function in the social environment where reading practices are absent and where, consequently, positive reading attitudes cannot be developed, the chances of reading a book decrease dramatically.
"Rocznik Kultury Polskiej", 2022
Zjawisko wykluczenia z uczestnictwa w kulturze występuje wówczas, kiedy jakaś grupa społeczna czy... more Zjawisko wykluczenia z uczestnictwa w kulturze występuje wówczas, kiedy jakaś grupa społeczna czy jednostka nie korzysta z tej możliwości 1. W prezentowanych analizach koncentrujemy się na uczestnictwie w kulturze polegającym na czytaniu książek 2. Przydatny do analizy źródeł wykluczenia w partycypacji w kulturze jest podział na trzy wymiary dostępności kultury: geograficzny, społeczny i indywidualny 3. Pierwszy wiąże się z ofertą kulturalną w miejscu zamieszkania, drugi dotyczy cech związanych z pozycją społeczną (jak np. wykształcenie, sytuacja materialna), trzeci to indywidualne cechy demograficzne jednostki: wiek, płeć czy osobiste preferencje, stan zdrowia itp. Wyniki badań czytelnictwa skłaniają do tego, aby dodać w tym miejscu czwarty wymiar kulturowy-obecność w środowisku społecznym jednostki wzorów praktyk czytelniczych.
"Stan Rzeczy" , 2022
The Eternal Recurrence of Metaphysics
"Stan Rzeczy", 2022
Should We Believe in Global Warming? An Essay on Late Millenarianism
... more Should We Believe in Global Warming? An Essay on Late Millenarianism
.
This article analyses books and speeches by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Gore consistently warns of an impending ecological disaster whose cause is a robber economy which does not take into account the ecological consequences. In particular, global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which are the basic energy source of the modern economy, is a threat to life on Earth. In Gore’s opinion, the ecological crisis accompanies a spiritual one, and both of these crises stem from the philosophy of the Enlightenment, which is responsible for alienating civilisation from its natural environ- ment (Löwith, Taubes). Gore’s warnings of ecological apocalypse form a manifesto of the economic, political, and moral revolution that is needed. The fight against the effects of global warming presupposes fundamental changes in the way of life of every human being, as well as a moral renewal based on reinterpreted religious traditions, especially Christian ones. From this point of view, Gore’s project can be described in terms of the politics of faith (Oakeshott).
Μή μου ἅπτου. Pandemia hafefobii
Kultura Współczesna, 2022
ΜΗ ΜΟΥ ἍΠΤΟΥ. The pandemic of haphephobia
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a s... more ΜΗ ΜΟΥ ἍΠΤΟΥ. The pandemic of haphephobia
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a sanitary regime with far-reaching restrictions on direct interpersonal contact. The need to cover the mouth and nose and social distancing have significantly affected communication. The touch, already recognised as a highly problematic medium, became a source of additional prohibitions. The need to ensure the safety of people most at risk of severe COVID-19, i.e. the elderly and chronically ill, contributed to their loneliness. On the one hand, the latter has long been a social disease; on the other hand, social distancing and reduced direct contact were to prevent the spread of the virus. These extra- ordinary circumstances have strengthened the haphephobic attitudes – the subject of interest of contemporary philosophy and art. In these areas, the unwanted legacy of the pandemic reveals itself not so much through changing the social reality as through reinforcing the previous divides, restrictions and conflicts. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the community in its traditional sense does not exist and must be redefined as a concept.
Stanisław Siekierski (1929-2008)
Polish Culture Yearbook, 2021
National Library of Poland In November 2020, the National Library conducted another book readersh... more National Library of Poland In November 2020, the National Library conducted another book readership study in Poland (regular readership studies have been held since the early 1990s). A nationwide representative sample of people aged 15 and over comprised 2 015 respondents. As in previous years, the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) method was used. The study serves to identify the most important phenomena and trends in book readership in Poland. As a sociological study it covers a variety of book-reading practices (driven by individual needs, educational duty, the nature of work, etc.) and their socio-demographic determinants. Book-reading choices are analysed regardless of the publication type (fiction, academic writing, popular science, utility texts, etc.), editorial form (printed codes, e-books), or source (purchased, received as a gift, downloaded from the Internet, borrowed from friends, family or the library). Book reading is also studied in the context of other reading practices such as reading texts published online. The implementation of the 2020 study was significantly affected by the unique and difficult circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the one hand, this situation presented us with an organisational challenge; on the other, it created an opportunity to formulate and empirically verify new hypotheses. While the most important questions
Józef Chałasiński jako afrykanista / Roman Chymkowski
Nieludzcy mieszkańcy kultury popularnej
Quo vadis Kulturwissenschaften? Polnische Erfahrungen nach dem Ersten Kongress der Kulturwissenschaften
Historie Jahrbuch, Jan 6, 2010
Wokół kultury ludowej / Roman Chymkowski
W stronę antropologii praktyk lekturowych
Kultura I Spoleczenstwo, 2011
Jedno z ogólnych zdań, jakimi można określić miejsce, z którego współczesna humanistyka formułuje... more Jedno z ogólnych zdań, jakimi można określić miejsce, z którego współczesna humanistyka formułuje pytania, głosi, że żyjemy po końcu pytań o koniec. Z nieco już zakurzonych i pożółkłych książek dobiegają nas pytania o to, czy filozofia się skończyła, czy skończyła się humanistyka albo czy kres swój osiągnął nietożsamy z nią humanizm. Jakkolwiek sformułowanie "koniec filozofii" w drugiej połowie XX wieku zawdzięczamy-wprost lub niebezpośrednio-Martinowi Heideggerowi 1 , w praktyce było i niekiedy wciąż jest używane w rozmaitych znaczeniach. Wśród wielu sformułowanych pół wieku temu koncepcji wskazujących na koniec filozofii można wyodrębnić dwa wzajemnie przenikające się nurty. Pierwszy z nich za motto mógłby mieć ostatnią z Tez o Feuerbachu-nie tylko ze względu na Marksowskie i marksistowskie inspiracje, ale także z uwagi na treść postulatywną: oto nadszedł czas, by od teorii przejść do praktyki, od abstrakcyjnej spekulacji do politycznego czynu. Drugi historyczny nurt refleksji nad końcem filozofii można określić jako p o s t e u r o p o c e n t r y c z n y. Chodzi tu o coś więcej niż stwierdzenie faktu, że gdzie indziej żyją ludzie, którzy myślą 1
Edukacja Filozoficzna, 2018
What Comes After Postmodernism? Derrida and Nonidentity
Posteuropocentric and postcolonial animus... more What Comes After Postmodernism? Derrida and Nonidentity
Posteuropocentric and postcolonial animus in French intellectuals’ criticism of the Western intellectual tradition is genetically tied to the experience of decolonization, which was not just a political, military and economic process, but also one of philosophy and worldview. All those aspects were closely woven together. I am polemical towards the outlook treating the shaping of the then-contem- porary postcolonial tone in the criticism of European sciences and their meta- physical grounding in separation with the aspect of the political experience of the decolonization process. If we take under consideration the biographies of intellectuals who have left the biggest mark on the humanities of the second half of the XXth century (e.g. Jacques Derrida), then the debate on post-modernity and the end of metaphysics has, in spite of the common view, less to do with abstract criticism of the Cartesian subject than with political realities of the collapse of the French colonial empire, and the Algerian War of Independence in particular. Derrida, who highlighted his hybrid cultural status, gave a lot of attention to the liminal character of his philosophy, making nonidentity one of his main objects of interest. By deconstructing europocentrism and widely-understood occiden- talism, Derrida understood criticism of a global system of domination. Derrida’s philosophy, stemming from the experiences of an intellectual raised on the pe- riphery of a colonized world is a tool he used to take away from the metropole the metaphysical groundings of the power it held. Anticolonial or postcolonial timbre in analyzed Derrida’s works is not limited to a single theory, but is at home at the heart of the entirety of contemporary humanities. It gives it its dynamism, but also blows it up, allowing no stable identity. In searching for ways that West- ern critical thought can follow after the works of Derrida, we find evidence that it is not, and maybe has never been “Western” in the sense that the language of identity implies, and that it is its nonidentity that makes it positive.
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Papers by Roman Chymkowski
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a sanitary regime with far-reach- ing restrictions on direct interpersonal contact. The need to cover the mouth and nose and social distancing have significantly affected communication. The touch, already recognised as a highly problematic medium, became a source of additional prohibitions. The need to ensure the safety of people most at risk of severe COVID- -19, i.e. the elderly and chronically ill, contributed to their loneliness. On the one hand, the latter has long been a social disease; on the other hand, social distancing and reduced direct contact were to prevent the spread of the virus. These extra- ordinary circumstances have strengthened the haphephobic attitudes – the sub- ject of interest of contemporary philosophy and art. In these areas, the unwanted legacy of the pandemic reveals itself not so much through changing the social reality as through reinforcing the previous divides, restrictions and conflicts. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the community in its traditional sense does not exist and must be redefined as a concept.
.
This article analyses books and speeches by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Gore consistently warns of an impending ecological disaster whose cause is a robber economy which does not take into account the ecological consequences. In particular, global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which are the basic energy source of the modern economy, is a threat to life on Earth. In Gore’s opinion, the ecological crisis accompanies a spiritual one, and both of these crises stem from the philosophy of the Enlightenment, which is responsible for alienating civilisation from its natural environ- ment (Löwith, Taubes). Gore’s warnings of ecological apocalypse form a manifesto of the economic, political, and moral revolution that is needed. The fight against the effects of global warming presupposes fundamental changes in the way of life of every human being, as well as a moral renewal based on reinterpreted religious traditions, especially Christian ones. From this point of view, Gore’s project can be described in terms of the politics of faith (Oakeshott).
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a sanitary regime with far-reaching restrictions on direct interpersonal contact. The need to cover the mouth and nose and social distancing have significantly affected communication. The touch, already recognised as a highly problematic medium, became a source of additional prohibitions. The need to ensure the safety of people most at risk of severe COVID-19, i.e. the elderly and chronically ill, contributed to their loneliness. On the one hand, the latter has long been a social disease; on the other hand, social distancing and reduced direct contact were to prevent the spread of the virus. These extra- ordinary circumstances have strengthened the haphephobic attitudes – the subject of interest of contemporary philosophy and art. In these areas, the unwanted legacy of the pandemic reveals itself not so much through changing the social reality as through reinforcing the previous divides, restrictions and conflicts. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the community in its traditional sense does not exist and must be redefined as a concept.
Posteuropocentric and postcolonial animus in French intellectuals’ criticism of the Western intellectual tradition is genetically tied to the experience of decolonization, which was not just a political, military and economic process, but also one of philosophy and worldview. All those aspects were closely woven together. I am polemical towards the outlook treating the shaping of the then-contem- porary postcolonial tone in the criticism of European sciences and their meta- physical grounding in separation with the aspect of the political experience of the decolonization process. If we take under consideration the biographies of intellectuals who have left the biggest mark on the humanities of the second half of the XXth century (e.g. Jacques Derrida), then the debate on post-modernity and the end of metaphysics has, in spite of the common view, less to do with abstract criticism of the Cartesian subject than with political realities of the collapse of the French colonial empire, and the Algerian War of Independence in particular. Derrida, who highlighted his hybrid cultural status, gave a lot of attention to the liminal character of his philosophy, making nonidentity one of his main objects of interest. By deconstructing europocentrism and widely-understood occiden- talism, Derrida understood criticism of a global system of domination. Derrida’s philosophy, stemming from the experiences of an intellectual raised on the pe- riphery of a colonized world is a tool he used to take away from the metropole the metaphysical groundings of the power it held. Anticolonial or postcolonial timbre in analyzed Derrida’s works is not limited to a single theory, but is at home at the heart of the entirety of contemporary humanities. It gives it its dynamism, but also blows it up, allowing no stable identity. In searching for ways that West- ern critical thought can follow after the works of Derrida, we find evidence that it is not, and maybe has never been “Western” in the sense that the language of identity implies, and that it is its nonidentity that makes it positive.