Practicing the virtue of sobriety in the humanities: On certain contemporary obstacles

Abstract

The article concerns the virtue of sobriety understood as the ability to maintain cognitive goals despite being faced with factors that disturb it. A specifi c obstacle standing in its way is the contemporary way of experiencing time, which draws our attention toward the present and the immediate. It is especially visible within culture wars. The paper includes a polemic with Michał P. Markowski, demonstrating that considering both the virtue of sobriety and the way of experiencing time would allow us to avoid the expulsion of values from public debate — which is Markowski’s postulate. Certain positions is the contemporary humanities, specifically those that emphasisze the complexity of reality, can also be seen as challenge for those intent on practicing the virtue of sobriety.