{"id":2,"date":"2015-05-30T13:33:06","date_gmt":"2015-05-30T11:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kwasniewski.org.pl\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-07-25T15:39:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T13:39:50","slug":"strona-startowa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/","title":{"rendered":"Start page"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Spis tre\u015bci \/ Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Western_Civilization_%E2%80%93_history_and_theory\" >Western Civilization &#8211; history and theory<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Christianity_in_the_Making_of_the_West\" >Christianity in the Making of the West<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Modernization_and_the_Changing_Limits_of_Human_Possibility\" >Modernization and the Changing Limits of Human Possibility<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#articles_books_reviews_synopses_translations\" >articles\u00a0 books\u00a0 reviews\u00a0 synopses\u00a0 translations\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Books_Articles\" >Books &amp; Articles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Reviews\" >Reviews<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Christianitas_The_Historical_European_Phenomenon\" >Christianitas \u00a0The Historical European Phenomenon<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Civilization_Western_Civilization_and_Time\" >Civilization \u00a0Western Civilization and Time<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#Sovietology_Unreal_Socialism\" >Sovietology \u00a0(Un)real Socialism \u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/#On_Photography_Amateur_Filming\" >On Photography &amp; Amateur Filming<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Western_Civilization_%E2%80%93_history_and_theory\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Western Civilization &#8211; history and theory<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Christianity_in_the_Making_of_the_West\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Christianity in the Making of the West<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Modernization_and_the_Changing_Limits_of_Human_Possibility\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Modernization and the Changing Limits of Human Possibility<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"articles_books_reviews_synopses_translations\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 12px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">articles\u00a0 books\u00a0 reviews\u00a0 synopses\u00a0 translations<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><div class=\"gca-utility vertical-spacer\"><\/div><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"gca-column one-sixth first\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3459 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/media\/strona-startowa\/jacek.kwasniewski3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"287\" \/><\/div><div class=\"gca-column five-sixths\"><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I am the author, editor, or translator of the texts published here, with the exception of a few works by other authors. The website also makes available six of my books. Two have separate pages; the other four are included in the Books &amp; Articles section. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The J. Siewierski page contains a book and texts by my late friend, an eminent sociologist with whom I worked closely from 2017 to 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"478\"><span style=\"color: #666699;\"><sup>________________________________<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">recent, recommended <\/span><\/span><\/strong>(texts are available in Polish, some in English)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(07.2026) article &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Jacob_Margaret_C_The_crisis_of_the_European_mind_Hazard_revisited\"><strong>Margaret C. Jacob, The crisis of the European mind: Hazard revisited<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(07.2026) book &#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Maddison_Angus_The_World_Economy_Vol_1_%E2%80%93_A_Millennial_Perspective_Vol_2_%E2%80%93_Historical_Statistics\">Angus Maddison, The World Economy. Vol. 1 &#8211; A Millennial Perspective; Vol. 2 &#8211; Historical Statistics<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(07.2026) book &#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Maddison_Angus_Growth_and_Interaction_in_the_World_Economy_The_Roots_of_Modernity\">Angus Maddison, Growth and Interaction in the World Economy. The Roots of Modernity<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(07.2026) extended summary of the article &#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Schilling_Heinz_Confessionalization_in_the_Reich_Religious_and_Social_Change_in_Germany_between_1555_and_1620\">Heinz Schilling, Confessionalization in the Reich, 1555 and 1620<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(07.2026) book &#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Heinz_Schilling_Jednosc_i_roznorodnosc_Europy_we_wczesnej_epoce_nowozytnej_religia_%E2%80%93_spoleczenstwo_%E2%80%93_panstwo\">Heinz Schilling, Unity and Diversity in Early Modern Europe: Religion \u2013 Society \u2013 State<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(07.2026) lecture &#8211;<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Joel_Mokyr_Nobel_Lecture_2025\">Joel Mokyr, Nobel lecture 2025. The Past and Future of Innovation<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(06.2026) Three reviews of the book &#8211;<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/#Jones_Eric_Lionel_Growth_Recurring_Economic_Change_in_World_History\">Eric L. Jones, Growth Recurring: Economic Change in World History<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(06.2026) guide &#8211;<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/#How_to_Save_ChatGPT_Conversations_on_Your_Own_Computer_2026\">How to Save ChatGPT Conversations on Your Own Computer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(06.2026) article<\/span> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/#%E2%80%9CWestern_Civilization_and_Time%E2%80%9D_as_a_research_programme_in_terms_of_Imre_Lakatoss_methodology_of_science_2026_2012\"><strong>The book <em data-start=\"497\" data-end=\"528\">Western Civilization and Time<\/em>\u00a0 in terms of Imre Lakatos\u2019s methodology of science<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(05.2026) article &#8211;<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/#The_Historical_European_Phenomenon_in_Numbers_Economy_Technology_Expansion_Science_2026\">The Historical European Phenomenon in Numbers. Economy, Technology, Expansion, Science<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(03.2026) book \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/#Death_Anxiety_as_a_Culture-Forming_Force_%E2%80%93_A_Map_of_the_Phenomenon_and_Literature_Search_Queries_2026\"><strong>Death Anxiety as a Culture-Forming Force \u2013 A Map of the Phenomenon\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(10.2025) text written by AI \u2013 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/#Death_Anxiety_as_a_Driver_of_Cultural_Change_Impacts_on_Religion_Mind_Culture_and_Civilization_Twentieth-Century_Discussions_2025\">Death Anxiety as a Driver of Cultural Change. Twentieth-Century Discussions<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(04.2025) article, new version \u2013 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/#The_Amount_of_Information_Produced_in_European_History_as_a_Measure_of_Modernization_2025\">The Amount of Information Produced in European History as a Measure of Modernization<\/a> <\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"gca-utility vertical-spacer\"><\/div>\n<hr style=\"height: 1px; background: gray; border: 0px;\" \/>\n<div class=\"gca-column one-half first\"><h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Books_Articles\"><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/teksty\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Books &amp; Articles<\/span><\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My texts arranged by theme and chronology. Sections: \u25cf\u00a0 Books\u00a0 \u25cf\u00a0 Western civilization and the European phenomenon\u00a0 \u25cf Philosophy and theology\u00a0 \u25cf\u00a0 Other topics, incl. AI.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Within each section, the texts are listed from newest to oldest. They include, among others: <em>Death Anxiety as a Culture-Forming Force<\/em>; <em>The West\u2019s Journey Beyond Death: Eschatology, Ammortality, and Potential Exhangeable Identities<\/em>; <em>The Prospects for AI Self-Awareness; The Amount of Information Produced in European History as a Measure of Modernization<\/em> &#8211; text and mathematical model; <em>Science and Religion: the Historiography of the Problem<\/em>; <em>The Love of God: Information for Atheists<\/em>. Also included are works from the 1980s on Soviet studies. <\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Some texts are available in English<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div><div class=\"gca-column one-half\"><h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reviews\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/recenzje-ksiazek\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Reviews, essay reviews, summaries, translations, open access publications. History and theory of science (E.Grant, H.Butterfield, S.Jaki, S.Shapin, A.Whitehead) \u25cf History and theory of civilization (P.Chaunu, R.Duchesne, E.L.Jones, J.K\u0142oczowski, J.Delumeau, D.Landes, R.Wright, M.Simon, T.Woods, R. Wright) \u25cf AI (LaMDA) \u25cf History of technology (M.Taylor, A.Pacey) \u25cf History of IT (G.Dyson) \u25cf Philosophy of religion (A.Plantinga) \u25cf History of modern physics (B.Greene). The works discussed are, as a rule, major contributions to the relevant literature.<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Titles in the original languages.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"gca-utility vertical-spacer\"><\/div>\n<hr style=\"height: 1px; background: gray; border: 0px;\" \/>\n<div class=\"gca-column one-half first\"><h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Christianitas_The_Historical_European_Phenomenon\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/christianitas\/\">Christianitas <\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 14px; color: #808080;\">The Historical European Phenomenon<\/span><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2012-2021, I carried out a project on the role of Christianity in the emergence of the historical European phenomenon. This term refers to the sustained acceleration of Europe\u2019s development beginning in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Over several hundred years, Europe became faster and more powerful than the greatest world powers of the time. On the Christianitas page, I present the concept of the book and links to several dozen texts that form parts of it. Three areas have been selected for the study:\u00a0 science, technology and Western market economy.<\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"gca-column one-half\"><h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Civilization_Western_Civilization_and_Time\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14px; color: #808080;\"><strong>Civilization<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/ksiazka-cywilizacja-zachodnia-i-czas\/\">Western Civilization and Time<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My book, published on this website in 2012. It was downloaded 45,734 times in 2012-2014. Main thesis: Western civilization challenges death. It does so without fanfare, but consistently, step by step. The direction was set by the transformation of time into one of the most important values. This process has been underway for several hundred years. Time as a value is visible in the cult of speed, the cult of youth, and the demand to live ever longer. The pursuit of the priorities Faster and Longer consumes an increasing share of GDP. How did this come about? What will happen next? This is what the book is about.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While reading Canetti, I came across a thought of his that works well as a motto for my book: \u201cSo that there may be more time, everything speeds up. Yet despite this, there is less and less time.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"gca-utility vertical-spacer\"><\/div>\n<hr style=\"height: 1px; background: gray; border: 0px;\" \/>\n<div class=\"gca-column one-half first\"><h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sovietology_Unreal_Socialism\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #808080; font-size: 14px;\">Sovietology<\/span> <span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/socjalizm\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">(Un)real Socialism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A classic work of Sovietology. The book was written by me and my friend Jerzy Drygalski. Published in Poland, first by the underground publishing house Piechur in 1988 and by PWN in 1992, also in France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is one of the few comprehensive theories of the origins and functioning of the communist system. It deals with the system\u2019s ideological roots in Marxism, their transformation into a political instrument by the Second International, the creation of the political structures of the Soviet state, and an analysis of the system\u2019s operation using the Polish People\u2019s Republic as an example. Its main thesis is that the survival of the communist system depended on the constant blocking of the free articulation of interests. This blocking mechanism is shown through the example of local authorities, the press, and the communist party.\u00a0 It has been downloaded 11 993 times in 2013 (plus 34 281 times individual chapters<\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"gca-column one-half\"><h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"On_Photography_Amateur_Filming\"><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/o-fotografii\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">On Photography &amp; Amateur Filming<\/span><\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Between 2009 and 2015, I posted several texts on photography and amateur film. There was a time when photography and film were my passions; I also had several exhibitions, including one in Kyiv. In 2014-2015, I posted two texts on how to make an amateur family film that would not bore people outside the immediate family and would not take too much time to prepare. In 2015, I published two extensive reviews of home loudspeaker systems. The page also includes presentations of photographic techniques related to panoramic images, camera tests, advice for those preparing photography exhibitions, and a once very popular guide on how to photograph products sold online.<\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"gca-utility vertical-spacer\"><\/div>\n<hr style=\"height: 1px; background: gray; border: 0px;\" \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From 2017 to 2023, I collaborated with Jacenty Siewierski, the author of an outstanding work on the Christian roots of our civilization. He had his own subpage, <a href=\"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/czemu-europa\/\">Siewierski<\/a>, on my portal, where this book is also available. With great sorrow, I share the news that my friend Jacenty passed away on September 24, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>contact: <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1815\" src=\"http:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/media\/strona-startowa\/adres-mail-gmail-9520.jpg\" alt=\"adres-mail-gmail-9520\" width=\"208\" height=\"33\" \/><div class=\"gca-utility vertical-spacer\"><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Western Civilization &#8211; history and theory Christianity in the Making of the West Modernization and the Changing Limits of Human Possibility articles\u00a0 books\u00a0 reviews\u00a0 synopses\u00a0 translations\u00a0 From 2017 to 2023, I collaborated with Jacenty Siewierski, the author of an outstanding work on the Christian roots of our civilization. He had his own subpage, Siewierski, on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"category-strona-startowa","6":"czr-hentry"},"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["pl","en"],"languages":{"pl":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":874,"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13668,"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/13668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jacek.kwasniewski.org.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}