Letter from Irena Krońska written in 26.05.1969

Author Irena Krońska

Category incoming correspondence, Polish researchers in Roman Ingarden's correspondence

Archive Archive of Science PAN in Cracow

Date of creation 26.05.1969

Reference code in archive K_III-26_D_67

Resource type letter

Subject matter scientific issues

Field philosophy

Tags #Aristotle, #Aristotle's influence, #authors, #Culture and Society, #European dramas, #fashionable theories, #influence of theories, #Ingarden's article, #interaction of a work of art and theory of art, #Irena Krońska, #lack of time, #philosophical polemics, #scientific journals, #scientific wrticles, #statistical methods, #theory of art, #work of art

Warsaw, May 26, 1969

Dear and Honorable Professor,

please forgive me that I confirm the receipt of photocopies from ‘Culture and Society’ you kindly sent to me with such a long delay. However, I wanted to read it before writing back, and this is exactly what intense work that consumed all day without any margin, without otium, did not allow me to do. For now nothing has changed in this respect, and it does not seem like it will in the near future, but it just so happened that I woke up incredibly early and, despite it only a few hours of sleep, well-rested. So, using these few extra hours, accepting them a gift, I sat down at a wide-open window and read the paper on the use of statistical methods. It was very interesting to me, all the more so, since lately I deal with aesthetics and literature a lot. It is very well written and valid to the core, at least for me, and I have not read a text by Professor that I would agree with to such a high degree for a long time.
And if I see any difficulty or prospective difficulty, it would be this: the interaction of a work of art and theory of art is mutual, although of course the dominant role is played by living, actually created art, as it should be. A new theory, or fashion for a new theory, in turn, affects the creators, maybe it would not be true for the biggest ones, who themselves are the material, but it would already be for the medium-larger ones. And fascination by a new fashionable theory births works, as if made to its order. And then the situation can change. I observe such phenomena in my literary readings. Sometimes it is just hot air, but sometimes it is more than that. This is also a problem. It can be said that Aristotle co-wrote all European dramas for a long time, he was a hidden but present co-author. Will today’s theorists also be co-authors of works in some artistic fields that will somehow fall onto their spinning wheel?

c What I wrote is just me thinking aloud, and nothing against you, and if it can be taken that way, it is against me too.

My deepest respect
c c c c c c c c c I Kronska