Drzewo fiozofii. Przyczynki do metafiyki dendrycznej

Abstract

The Tree of Philosophy. A Contribution to the Dendrologic Metaphysics


The purpose of this article is to pose some philosophical questions about the mode of being of the tree. The topic of the tree appears in philosophy very often. The gamut of philosophical statements concerning the tree reaches from the notion of the vegetative soul; the theology of the cross; the logic and theory of the tree of sciences to the classical philosophical anthropology and modern literary theory (rhizome). There are very close ties between philosophy and the concept of the tree. However, there is the lack of what might be called the dendritic philosophy or metaphysics of tree. The first part of this article tries to respond to the ontological question of the existence and structure of the tree; its relation with time and space. In the second part the article shows the tree as an element of philosophical anthropogenesis and philosophy of history. Several hypotheses are put regarding how the proximity of the trees in the life of the first people influenced their path to the formation of the human world and the subsequent history of the European culture. In the end, article evokes the contemporary critical voices relevant to the thinking in the tree-category.

Keywords: philosophy of tree, tree of philosophy, metaphilosophy, philosophy of nature, philosophical dendrology, philosophical anthropogenesis.