Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

This article (which was the original version of the second chapter of my book) concentrates on the genesis of the work by Koniński. The author also tries to categorise the work of Koniński in terms of its belonging to a certain genre of literature; he writes about the message, style and ideological questions. The majority of this article is focused on autopsy (experience) which is an important factor in Koniński’s diary.
The issues of ethics, faith and disbelief are also discussed in the text. Furthermore, the article refers to subjects such as God, Satan and prayer. The author makes references to Christian philosophy and academic thinkers of the Church, whose thoughts and ideas correspond with those of Koniński. The text is not only an interpretation of ‘Notes’, but also provides comments which is of particular importance as this book, written by a renowned writer and thinker, is still not appreciated enough in Polish humanities. The text by Ludwicki cannot be treated as a work on Koniński alone; it is also a work on complicated matters of worldview and theodicy which are also present in ‘Notes’. In addition, it discusses the factors that influenced and finally shaped Koniński (books, family, history…). The text is inspiring and very much needed, as it bridges the gap in current research situating Koniński and his ideologies in a broader context. Another advantage of this articleis that it enables the contemporary reader to get a taste of ‘Notes’ thanks to included quotations from Koniński’s work.