Letter from Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz written 31.03.1939

Author Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

Category incoming correspondence, Polish researchers

Archive Ingarden Family archives

Date of creation 31.03.1939

Related places Warsaw

Reference code in archive ARI

Resource type letter

Subject matter academic issues, personal issues

Field biology, logic, philosophy

Tags #academic work, #acknowledgements, #acronym, #additional jobs, #Biological Principles, #cigarettes, #comments request, #corrections, #criticism, #dynamism, #Joseph Henry Woodger, #manuscript, #Maria Ingarden, #monadism, #ontology, #opinion request, #pipe, #politics, #reading, #Roman Ingarden, #Rudolf Carnap, #Silesia, #smoking, #Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, #teaching, #typescript, #typescripts, #war, #Warsaw, #Witkacy, #work on Carnap

31.III 1939

Honoured and Dear Professor:

I have long wanted to write to thank you for the card signed by you both. I am still in Z[akopane] and your letter has been sent to me here. As I think about you, I am always sorry that you have to use so much energy for teaching and various additional jobs. I am still waiting for the ontology. I have ceased to deal with politics, i.e. “actively”. I.e. I do not prophesy, but I am listening, because currently the situation is too complex. Which trend will win? I have delayed writing the letter because I wanted to tell you something about this work, which I have to present to you. I’ve just finished correcting the manuscript today. I’ve expanded it and constructed it differently, according to a certain plan, including some pieces of the previous one. This is 44 pp [pages] of my writing in a smaller format (2 x this letter), and the letters like that [handwritten letters of this size]. About 15 pp [pages] of the previous manuscript will be added to this. I’m going to W[arsaw] in the middle of the week. There I will give it to a typist, I will correct the typescript and then send it to you. I haven’t smoked for more than a month, which I wish you could do too. A terrible thing. When the war comes, we will begin again, because then it’s going to be all the same. I am generally tired, like never before. I do not know if it’s life that has tired me or if there’s something wrong with me. I spent a week in Silesia, aber mit den Ślonsacken kann man nicht sich zu-recht-finden oder so etwos [ Ger. one cannot come to terms with the Silesians or something]. Woodger’s book = Biological Principles is great. I’ve finished the criticism of the first part of Carnap Scheinproblemen (153 pp [pages]). Now I’m writing some addition to monadism (on dynamism).

ERFB FG 3W (Do you recognize the acronym?)

The song “Knowest you the acronym”[1] Thank you for everything you have done for me. The acronym does not contain this.

[1] “Knowest you the land” – an old Polish patriotic song