“Culture of the Person” and “Culture of Works” According to Karol Wojtyła
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15633/lie.3940Keywords:
Wojtyła, culture, human act, moralityAbstract
This article presents basic features of the philosophical concept of culture in the thought of Karol Wojtyła. In particular, it aims to highlight the distinction between the “culture of the person” and “culture of works,” which seems to be fundamental for the whole anthropology and ethics of the philosopher from Wadowice.
On one hand, the designators of culture are the works and creations of man, on the other hand, the value of man himself as a person, his inner life, and who he is as a man. As Wojtyła emphasized, the latter is the most internal and profound dimension of culture because it is expressed in morality. The very ability to produce certain objects or produce certain effects, e.g. a work of art or a technical device, does not determine the “culture” of its creator. The decisive factor is acting according to the criterion of moral good and evil, which shapes the personality of the creator, who he is “as a person,” and not only “as an engineer or a composer.”
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