Zmierzch elit - zmierzchem sensu? Elitaryzm w kontekście refleksji o kryzysie kultury w polskiej myśli filozoficznej dwudziestolecia międzywojennego
Is the Twilight of the Elites a Twilight of Sense? Elitism in the Context of the Reflection on the Crisis of Culture in the Polish Philosophical Thoug

Summary/Abstract: This article treats the important issue of the relationships between the theories of the fall (crisis) of Western culture and the concept and the role of creative elites—as reflected in the Polish philosophical thought of the interwar period. Elitism appears in the individualism of Wincenty Lutoslawski and Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, in the universalism of Jerzy Braun, in the Catholic philosophy of culture of Józef Pastuszka and in the socio-cultural thought of Florian Znaniecki. This view involves the assignment of a social or artistic function, and frequently, cultural missions, to prominent individuals. In the two decades, with the advent of the crisis of culture and the mass phenomenon, we can notice the dual role of elites: a positive (cultural and personality forming) and negative (destructive) one. Polish philosophers of culture are not subject to the pressure of pessimism and catastrophism. They predict and design the culture of the future, trying to determine the proper relationships between the elites and the masses. We can see this program of overcoming the crisis as the elites’ mission and the search for a new sense of culture. This search emphasizes a positive aspect of culture and a stronger relationship with life, also as regards the broad masses of the Polish community in the reborn country (the idea of socialization of culture).

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