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A Conference in Częstochowa: Polish Studies on Plato
Ancient Φilosophy Reception research group couldn’t have been absent at the conference on Polish Studies on Plato, which was held in Jan Długosz University (UJD) in Częstochowa on May 18-19th, 2026.
The conference was organised by the Chair of Philosophy of UJD, and prof. Wiesława Sajdek was the head of the whole event. Tomasz Mróz delivered his paper in the opening panel, after the introductory talk by prof. Marian Wesoły. Reports from the first day of the conference (in Polish) were published on the websites of UJD and a local radio station. It should be emphasised that both professors, Sajdek and Wesoły, have already collaborated in various activities of AΦR.
The paper by Mróz had a long title: Why study the history of studies on Plato? (and a couple of interesting pieces that were not included in the books). He argued, certainly, for the positive answer to the question in the title, since – for example – discussions about Plato’s legacy and various interpretations of his philosophy reflect philosophical trends of their times and commenting on Plato’s dialogues provides a convenient opportunity to express one’s own views. Moreover, Mróz discussed peculiar history of the texts that had “Plato” and “Poland” in their titles, starting with an English report, published by Lewis Campbell (1830-1908), Plato in Poland (1893), on the then recent studies on Plato’s logic by Wincenty Lutosławski (1863-1954). Then, the history of Polish texts by Irena Pannenkowa (1879-1969), Izydora Dąmbska (1904-1983), Zbigniew Nerczuk (another collaborator of AΦR), and Mróz himself followed.
Mróz discussed briefly some issues related to his decades long studies on Polish traditions in researching and translating Plato that were unsuitable for publishing in scholarly works. They were e.g. his reminiscences from his meetings with Lutosławski’s daughter, Janina Lutosławska (1922-2006), and the archival discoveries he had made in the legacies of Lutosławski, Stefan Pawlicki (1839-1916), Stanisław Lisiecki (1872-1960), and Henryk Jakubanis (1879-1949), many of which he was able to edit and publish.
In the final parts of his talk, Mróz presented a small detail related to the location of the conference, the city of Częstochowa. Once in his research he came across a copy of the Phaedo in Władysław Witwicki’s (1878-1948) translation (Warsaw 1925) which had been owned by Jan Sołdrowski (1889-1970), a teacher of various subjects (including classics) and a Catholic activist from Częstochowa. His notes on the margins of the book revealed his thoughts and impressions from reading the dialogue.
The First Doctoral Degree by a Member of AΦR Team
On June 24th, 2025, a public defense of Mariam Sargsyan’s (Մարիամ Սարգսյան) doctoral thesis took place in the Institute of Philosophy, University of Zielona Góra (UZ). The title of her dissertation was Henryk Jakubanis (1879–1949) as a Researcher of Ancient Philosophy and Its Reception. The whole event was chaired by prof. Jacek Uglik and it proceeded in accordance with a regular schedule. At the start he curriculum of the candidate was presented by the supervisor, T. Mróz, who stressed the fact that M. Sargsyan was the first international student in the Doctoral School for Humanities and Social Sciences, and the only beneficiary of the research project NCN Preludium bis (with T. Mróz as a PI) and NAWA Preludium bis in the history of UZ.
Then M. Sargsyan took the floor and delineated the main points of her thesis which aimed at providing a synthetic study of H. Jakubanis as a researcher of ancient philosophy. Her study included a discussion of less-known aspects of H. Jakubanis’ life and work, in particular his academic positions in Kyiv; an analysis of his interpretations of selected Greek philosophers (Empedocles and Plato); and an examination of his methods etc.
A particular emphasis was put on the significance of his national sentiments and identity in motivating his decisions and shaping his career path; and on his contribution to the development of research in ancient philosophy and promotion of Polish culture in Kyiv in the early 20th century and subsequently in Lublin during the interwar period. The second part of the presentation was focused on H. Jakubanis scholarly achievements. His works were divided into three groups: 1) a monograph and translation of Empedocles (1906); 2) various studies on Plato and reception of Platonism, including an incomplete manuscript of his final university thesis (1900); 3) works promoting the value of ancient philosophy for general audiences, not only scholars, in the modern age.
One of the most significant results of Sargsyan’s dissertation was an identification three key influences in Jakubanis’ intellectual genealogy. They were: 1) his supervisor, Alexei Gilarov (1856-1938), whose role in forming Jakubanis’ biographical-genetic method and his interpretation of Plato was crucial; 2) Tadeusz Zieliński (1859-1944) and his conviction in the importance of the ancient legacy for modern culture; 3) the works by Eduard Zeller (1814-1908), which exerted impact on Jakubanis’ views on Empedocles and Plato.
On the whole, as Sargsyan’s dissertation demonstrates, Jakubanis was a historian of ancient thought, with a good background in classical languages, whose primary goal as a lecturer and scholar was to promote ancient thought. Contrary to his methods that can be considered today as outdated, his translation of Empedocles’ fragments still circulates in the Russian-speaking world and seems to be his lasting contribution to disseminating Greek philosophy.
The dissertation was assessed by three reviewers, they were prof. Zbigniew Nerczuk (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), prof. Steffen Huber (Jagiellonian University), and prof. Wiesława Sajdek (Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa). They all were present to read out loud their positive reviews and ask a couple of questions. They were particularly concerned with some ambiguities in Sargsyan’s account of Jakubanis’ career and academic titles he had obtained, since not all the documents have been preserved. Another key issue concerned some lacking points in broader historical and philosophical context of Jakubanis’ views, as Sargsyan preferred to focus on the direct impact exerted on him by the scholars he had referred to or collaborated with.
Finally, after hearing the reviews, questions and answers, the commission decided to award M. Sargsyan with a doctoral degree cum laude. Her dissertation has, no doubt, broadened and deepend the knowledge of the reception of ancient philosophy in Central and Eastern Europe in general, and of Henryk Jakubanis, a scholar writing on history of philosophy, who left his mark on the intellectual life in Poland, Ukraine and Russia, in particular.
After her successful doctoral defence M. Sargsyan returned to Armenia, her homeland, but we all hope here for further collaboration and for funding opportunities to publish her dissertation.
Dear Doctor Sargsyan!
Good luck with your research plans and see you back soon!
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