A Course in the Humanities WNP-PEZ-PNH-MGR-1
The topic of this lecture is part of the global discourse on the mission of the university, the importance of the humanities, and the value of a philosophical education, as well as the practical consequences of its absence in academic education. The three distinguishing features of a humanities education—contemplativeness, sapientiality, and metaphysicality—will help clarify the relationship between humanities competencies (the outcome of a humanities education) and thinking from an existential perspective as a search for the “ontic thread of one’s being.”
Emphasizing the existential perspective of philosophical thinking in the process of preparing educators for their professional work is a significant issue, since pedagogy is currently classified as a social science and has, as it were, been formally separated from the humanities, including philosophy. This is not without its negative consequences for teacher education, which naturally gravitates toward scientific disciplines such as psychology or sociology, pushing philosophy to the sidelines. Emphasizing the interrelationships that serve both to deepen reflection on educational theory and to ensure the appropriateness of actions in the field of educational practice proves particularly significant for developing students’ ability to raise precisely those existential questions that transcend the scope of psychological and sociological knowledge.
A problem-based lecture with discussion elements. Each class consists of approximately 60 minutes of lecture and approximately 30 minutes of discussion. The first discussion, conducted in the form of a case study, introduces students to the topics covered in the course. The second, held at the end of the lecture in a Q&A format, serves to deepen students’ understanding of the issues discussed and to clarify any questions that arise.
The goal of the discussions is to develop students’ ability to identify philosophical and pedagogical problems, apply philosophical concepts to interpret them, formulate independent conclusions, and justify their own positions. These methods prepare students to participate in academic discussions, analyze case studies, and solve exam questions based on case studies.
For each lecture, required and supplementary reading is assigned to help students prepare for class and to reinforce and deepen their understanding of the discussed topics.
(in Polish) Grupa przedmiotów ogólnouczenianych
Course coordinators
(in Polish) Opis nakładu pracy studenta w ECTS
Subject level
(in Polish) Punkty ECTS
Learning outcome code/codes
Type of subject
Preliminary Requirements
Learning outcomes
(K) The student explains the significance of philosophy and the humanities in education, distinguishes between basic types of cognition and knowledge, and characterizes key categories of philosophical anthropology and their significance for the theory and practice of education.
• (S) The student analyzes and interprets educational, upbringing, and sociocultural issues using basic philosophical categories; applies philosophical terminology to describe and explain pedagogical phenomena; formulates and justifies their own position on selected philosophical and educational issues
• (C) The student recognizes the importance of philosophical reflection on culture (in particular, the existential perspective of philosophical thought) for understanding human nature, education, and the analysis of pedagogical events; demonstrates a willingness to critically analyze pedagogical problems, taking into account their axiological and anthropological foundations.
Assessment criteria
The assessment of learning outcomes is based on the degree to which students have mastered the knowledge, skills, and social competencies specified for the course.
• Grade 2.0 – The student is unfamiliar with basic philosophical concepts, cannot distinguish between fundamental facts in the history of philosophy (periods, movements, schools, philosophers), and is unable to apply philosophical concepts to the interpretation of pedagogical issues.
• Grade 3.0 – The student is familiar with basic philosophical concepts and issues and can define them correctly, but only to a limited extent recognizes their significance for pedagogy and education.
• Grade 3.5 – The student correctly uses basic philosophical terminology, understands the connections between selected philosophical and pedagogical issues, and attempts to interpret them in relation to educational problems.
• Grade 4.0 – The student correctly analyzes basic philosophical problems, interprets them using appropriate terminology, and identifies their significance for pedagogy.
• Grade 4.5 – The student accurately analyzes and compares various interpretations of philosophical problems, correctly argues their position, and recognizes the implications of specific philosophical concepts for the theory and practice of education.
• Grade 5.0 – The student independently interprets philosophical problems, formulates in-depth arguments, and applies philosophical knowledge to critically analyze pedagogical and sociocultural issues.
The assessment criteria relate to the level of achievement of the learning outcomes.
Bibliography
M.M. Boużyk, Man—Myth—Education: In Search of a Model for a Humanistic Education, 2025.
M.M. Boużyk, Education Open to Religion, 2013.
A. Bronk, Ideology: An Analytical Study, 2026.
A. Bronk, Science and Religion, Lublin 1996; S. Kamiński, How to Philosophize?, 1989.
R. Darowski, The Philosophy of Man: An Outline of the Issues. An Anthology of Texts, 2002.
Ch. Delsol, The End of the Christian World, 2023.
Ch. Delsol, The Time of Renunciation, 2020.
Ch. Delsol, Hatred of the World: Totalitarianisms and Postmodernity, 2017.
P.J. Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed?, 2021.
J. Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Religion and Politics, 2014.
M. A. Krąpiec, S. Kamiński, Z. Zdybicka [et al.], Introduction to Philosophy, 1996.
M. A. Krąpiec, Human Freedom and Its Limits, 2008.
J.C. Lennox, Has Science Buried God? A Clash of Worldviews, 2019.
V. Possenti, “The Dispute Over Human Unity and the Challenges of New Naturalism: Soul—Mind—Body,” in: Tasks of Contemporary Metaphysics, no. 9, PTTA, Lublin 2007, pp. 97–138.
G. Reale, Karol Wojtyła: Pilgrim of the Absolute, 2008.
M.J. Sandel, The Tyranny of Meritocracy: What Happened to the Common Good?, 2020.
T. Stępień, An Introduction to the Philosophical Anthropology of St. Thomas Aquinas, 2013.
S. Swieżawski, Existence and Mystery, 1993.
Clinical Death and Other Studies…, ed. E. Sakowicz, 2026.
G. Weigel, *The Cathedral and the Cube: Europe, the United States, and Politics Without God*, 2005.
J. Zoń, Z. Kieroń, “Man as a Product of Evolution,” in *The Tasks of Contemporary Metaphysics*, No. 9, 2007, 163-175.
Supplementary reading: Catholic Church documents (selected papal encyclicals by John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV).
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: