Refleksje Józefa Andrzeja Gierowskiego o polskiej kulturze i nauce w XVIII wieku

Abstract

The issues of the history of culture and science of the eighteenth‑century Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth are rare in the works of Józef Andrzej Gierowski. This article analyses his views on these issues. He devoted most attention to the subject of the beginnings of the Enlightenment in Poland, joining a long scholarly discussion about it. He agreed that the precursors of the Enlightenment in Poland were already active in the 1740s, during the era of the Wettins’ rule. He pointed to educational reform, writing activity (Benedykt Chmielowski’s, the political and journalistic work of a number of writers) and publishing (especially of the Załuski brothers), and the development of periodicals as the three pillars on which reforms were carried out in the future – during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski. In addition, and just as importantly, he drew attention to methodological weaknesses concerning the study of intermediate periods, i.e. between the Baroque and the Enlightenment. He also pointed out the need for a comprehen-sive picture of the cultural history of the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18 th century – proponents of both Sarmatian culture and Enlightenment thought.