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Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz

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Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz
Born24 October 1953
Gliwice, Poland
Occupationphilosophy professor
Education
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
ThesisThe Presocratic Thinkers in the Thought of Martin Heidegger (1999)
Doctoral advisorMichael Inwood
Philosophical work
Notable worksTractatus Politico-Philosophicus
Wlodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz
Coat of armsKorab
Noble familyKarpowicz h. Korab
FatherZbigniew Karpowicz h. Korab
MotherDanuta Miller h. Pomian

Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz (born 24 October 1953) is a Polish philosopher and political theorist.[1]

Biography

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W. J. Korab-Karpowicz was born in Gliwice, Poland in 1953.[2] He comes from a noble Polish family. Korab, included in his family name, refers to the Korab coat of arms. His grandfather Jan Korab-Karpowicz was a distinguished lawyer and cavalry officer in the pre-war Poland.[3] In his early youth he lived in Gdańsk and then in Sopot, where he completed high school. He studied engineering at the Gdańsk University of Technology, where, in 1977, he completed a master's degree in Electronic Engineering.

He then studied philosophy at the Catholic University of Lublin, where, during the Solidarity revolution of 1980–1981, he became vice-president of the Independent Students' Union (NZS).[4] Escaping the imposition of martial law in Poland, with a scholarship from the Leadership Development Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA), he continued his studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., 1983–1984, the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., 1984–1987, and at the University of Oxford, 1988–1991.

In 1999 he received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford, for a thesis titled "The Pre-Socratic Thinkers in the Thought of Martin Heidegger".[5] In 2014 he received his Habilitation in Philosophy at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland.

Career

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In 1991 he returned to Poland and was elected Deputy Mayor of Gdańsk, 1991–1992. He founded and directed the Sopot School of Polish in 1990, the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Management in 1991, the European Foundation for the Preservation of Monuments in 1993, and the College of International Affairs in 1995. He served as a diplomat with the rank of First Secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Norway from 1998 to 2000, and acted as an ethics expert for the European Commission from 2005 to 2006.[6] In 2014 he participated in Poland's presidential elections, but did not gain sufficient support to become an official candidate.[7] In 2020 he was nominated the president in-spe (waiting for the office) by the monarchist initiative of Leh XI Wojciech Edward[8] to reestablish the Kingdom of Poland.[9]

Academic career

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Korab-Karpowicz has taught at several universities including Lazarski University in Warsaw, Poland, Bilkent University,[10] Meliksah University in Turkey, Kyung Hee University in South Korea, the Anglo-American University of Prague in the Czech Republic, the Lebanese American University and the Hariri Canadian University in Lebanon, Sun Yat-sen University in China and Texas State University in the United States, and more recently at Zayed University in Dubai.[11] He is Lady Davis Visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[12]

He is considered “one of Poland's most renowned philosophers and political thinkers” [13] and has written several books.[14] He is the author of On the History of Political Philosophy: Great Political Thinkers from Thucydides to Locke, [15] (Routledge 2016) and Tractatus Politico-Philosophicus: New Directions for the Future Development of Humankind,[16] (Routledge 2017). His articles have been published by The Review of Metaphysics, The Monist, Philosophy Today, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Modern Age, and many other journals.[17] In his publications he usually uses the name: W. Julian Korab-Karpowicz.[18] Also, being a public intellectual, he often writes for Polish and international newspapers, including Rzeczpospolita, Nasz Dziennik, Tygodnik Solidarność, Do Rzeczy, China Daily, Today's Zaman and Jerusalem Post.

Philosophical work

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Korab-Karpowicz presents the view that human nature, according to classical philosophy (Aristotle and Plato), contains an inclination toward cooperation and goodness, in contrast to the erroneous perspectives of modernity and postmodernism, which view humans as creatures driven by desire and the lust for power, generating constant social conflict. Therefore, he offers “an alternative to the current states of affairs through exploring the question of what conditions are conductive to harmonious society” [19]. By correcting our contemporary perspectives on humanity and life he offers the path to achieving social harmony and individual and collective happiness (which Korab-Karpowicz defines as self-realization). Happiness is not a purely individual goal, as it is linked to a social condition based on the principles of cooperation and the cultivation of virtues.

Seven Principles of a Happy Society and Evolutionity

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His works, especially his principal philosophical work, " Tractatus Politico-Philosophicus," which has been published in Polish, English, Arabic, Persian, and Bengali, are characterized by an optimistic view of the possibility of moral and cognitive change in society, emphasizing that humanity is called to conscious evolution, leading to a new era of Evolutionity by which the current Postmodernity should be replaced. He returns to “the classical tradition of Western political thought” [20] and presents seven principles of a happy society: Cooperation, Justice, Wise Leaders and Civic Virtues, Education for Virtue, Good Laws, Political Knowledge, Continuity of Generations [21]. He argues that the state should be the organizer and defender of society, not merely an instrument of power and domination. The primary role of the government is to organize society for cooperation and ensure the common good. He calls for an enlightened political vision based on an understanding of human development and evolution, the goal of which is to transform society towards a healthy social and political life. His central message is that cooperation is the “first principle of humanity”[22], the main principle of public life and the starting point of any social organization. When human beings understand who they really are and what their evolutionary potential for rationality and goodness is, then their culture, politics, and laws will be shaped accordingly, and we humanity can become a truly happy global society – not only emotionally, but also morally and intellectually.

Tractatus Politico-Philosophicus and a Critique of Postmodernity

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Korab-Karpowicz’s “Tractatus Politico-Philosophicus” (published by Routledge in 2017) [23] is similar in style to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus but focuses on constructing a political-ethical system. It combines political philosophy and moral rationalism, critically assessing modern and postmodern Western philosophy, especially its materialist and nihilistic strands (such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault), and advocates a return to the philosophy of value ('Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas). The Tractatus can be seen as a philosophical and political guide to shaping a society based on virtue and cooperation, free from modern conflicts.

References

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  1. ^ A biographic note at the Texas State University website
  2. ^ Biography in Encyclopedia Solidarnosci
  3. ^ Biography of Jan Korab-Karpowicz in Encyclopedia Pomeranica
  4. ^ Biography in Encyclopedia Solidarnosci
  5. ^ WorldCat Dissertation Information
  6. ^ Biography in Encyclopedia Solidarnosci
  7. ^ "Włodzimierz Korab-Karpowicz KANDYDAT na prezydenta. Kim jest Korab-Karpowicz?". polityka.se.pl/. Super Express. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ^ Dyplom Nominacyjny na Prezydenta in spe
  9. ^ Rafal Badowski, Ogłosił się prezydentem i wygłosił orędzie. na:Temat
  10. ^ A biographic note at the Bilkent University's page
  11. ^ / A biographic note by PIW, the publisher of Harmonia spoleczna
  12. ^ A biographic note at Department of Political Science, The Hebrew University's page
  13. ^ Israel and Poland are partners with shared history, The Jerusalem Post
  14. ^ Information in the Worldcat
  15. ^ Book information by Routledge
  16. ^ Tractatus book information by Routledge
  17. ^ Articles listed by Jstor
  18. ^ A list of publications in Academia.edu
  19. ^ Christopher Garbowski, “Principles of Social Harmony and the Wedding of Political Progress and Tradition,” The Polish Review (2019) 64 (1), p. 64–71
  20. ^ Ginger Silvera, The Review of Metaphysics (2017) 70 (3), p. 569–71
  21. ^ Korab-Karpowicz’s Seven Principles of a Happy Society
  22. ^ W. Julian Korab-Karpowicz, "Evolutionity or the Great Reset: Why is it important to think about the future?" Humanities and Social Sciences (2022) 29 (2), p. 35
  23. ^ W. Julian Korab-Karpowicz, Tractatus Politico-Philosophicus, New York, Routledge 2017
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