Christopher Garbowski Bücher

Exploring the transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness through the lens of Christian humanism, this work delves into moral psychology and self-improvement. It engages with the philosophy of culture and religion, incorporating insights from rituals and both high and popular culture, offering a comprehensive examination of how these elements influence our understanding of morality and personal development.

Focusing on Poland during the war in Ukraine, the book delves into the political and philosophical reflections of public scholars on the nation's moral rearmament amidst a significant axiological challenge for the West. It examines Poland's sociopolitical response to the Russian invasion, contrasting the aggressive Russian empire with the European Union as a normative entity. Through cultural and political philosophy, along with political theology, it explores historical memory in Poland, highlighting how a tragic sensibility can counter historical amnesia and inform moral rearmament in perilous times.

The author analyzes appropriately selected historical films of Steven Spielberg and Andrzej Wajda with respect to historical memory in relation to film. Cultural and moral foundations of national identity are also taken into account. Spielberg films particularly valuable for this comparative analysis are: «Schindler’s List», «Amistad», «Saving Private Ryan» and «Lincoln»; crucial Wajda films include: «Korczak», «Holy Week», «Katyń and Wałęsa». These works are analyzed in relation to the problem of representing the Holocaust, self-scrutiny in historical memory, commemoration of sacrifices for the national community during war, and foundation myths evoked through national heroes. The larger thematic framework for the above concerns is the underlying sense of covenant present within the two national communities that Spielberg and Wajda draw upon, a sense that explores the possibility of moral renewal under contemporary circumstances.