Leon Chwistek
Encyclopedia
Leon Chwistek was a Polish
avant-garde
painter
, theoretician of modern art, literary critic, logician, philosopher and mathematician
.
had also applied. His interests in the 1930s were in a general system of philosophy of science, which was published in a book translated in in English 1948 as The Limits of Science.
In the 1920s-30s, many Europe
an philosophers attempted to reform traditional philosophy by means of mathematical logic
. Leon Chwistek did not believe that such reform could succeed. He thought that reality
could not be described in one homogeneous system, based on the principles of formal logic
, because there was not one reality but many.
s. He distinguished four basic types of realities, then matched them with four basic types of painting.
The four types of realities were:
The types of painting corresponding to the above were:
Chwistek never intended his views to constitute a new metaphysical
theory. He was a defender of "common sense" against metaphysics and irrational feeling. His theory of plural reality was merely an attempt to specify the various ways in which the term, “real,” is used.
Interestingly, Chwistek's fellow-artist and closest friend, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz
, harshly criticized his philosophical views. Witkiewicz’s own philosophy was based on a monad
ic character to the individual's existence, embracing a multiplicity of existences, with the world being made up of a multiplicity of Particular Existences.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, theoretician of modern art, literary critic, logician, philosopher and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
.
Logic and philosophy
Starting in 1929 Chwistek was a Professor of Logic at the University of Lwów in a position for which Alfred TarskiAlfred Tarski
Alfred Tarski was a Polish logician and mathematician. Educated at the University of Warsaw and a member of the Lwow-Warsaw School of Logic and the Warsaw School of Mathematics and philosophy, he emigrated to the USA in 1939, and taught and carried out research in mathematics at the University of...
had also applied. His interests in the 1930s were in a general system of philosophy of science, which was published in a book translated in in English 1948 as The Limits of Science.
In the 1920s-30s, many Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an philosophers attempted to reform traditional philosophy by means of mathematical logic
Mathematical logic
Mathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics with close connections to foundations of mathematics, theoretical computer science and philosophical logic. The field includes both the mathematical study of logic and the applications of formal logic to other areas of mathematics...
. Leon Chwistek did not believe that such reform could succeed. He thought that reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
could not be described in one homogeneous system, based on the principles of formal logic
Formal logic
Classical or traditional system of determining the validity or invalidity of a conclusion deduced from two or more statements...
, because there was not one reality but many.
Artist
Chwistek developed his theory of the multiplicity of realities first with regard to the artArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
s. He distinguished four basic types of realities, then matched them with four basic types of painting.
The four types of realities were:
- 1. popular reality (common-sense realism)
- 2. physical reality (constructed by physics)
- 3. phenomenal reality (sensory impressions)
- 4. visionary/intuitive reality (dreams, hallucinations, subconscious states).
The types of painting corresponding to the above were:
- 1. PrimitivismPrimitivismPrimitivism is a Western art movement that borrows visual forms from non-Western or prehistoric peoples, such as Paul Gauguin's inclusion of Tahitian motifs in paintings and ceramics...
- 2. RealismRealism (arts)Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
- 3. ImpressionismImpressionismImpressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
- 4. FuturismFuturism (art)Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city...
Chwistek never intended his views to constitute a new metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
theory. He was a defender of "common sense" against metaphysics and irrational feeling. His theory of plural reality was merely an attempt to specify the various ways in which the term, “real,” is used.
Interestingly, Chwistek's fellow-artist and closest friend, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz
Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, a.k.a. "Witkacy" was a Polish playwright, novelist, painter, photographer and philosopher.-Life:...
, harshly criticized his philosophical views. Witkiewicz’s own philosophy was based on a monad
Monad
-Philosophy:*Monad a term meaning "unit" used variously by ancient philosophers from the Pythagoreans to Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus to signify a variety of entities from a genus to God....
ic character to the individual's existence, embracing a multiplicity of existences, with the world being made up of a multiplicity of Particular Existences.
Works
- The limits of science. Outline of logic and of the methodology of the exact sciences. Translated from the Polish by Helen Charlotte Brodie and Arthur P. Coleman; introduction and appendix by Helen Charlotte Brodie. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1948
External links
- Polish Philosophy Page: Leon Chwistek, at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...