Z dziejów ujmowania relacji rasy i kultury

Abstract

The history of approaching the relations between race and culture

The paper constitutes an introduction to reference texts published in the book raising the issue of race — in the context of the relation between nature and culture. A notable aspect of the translated parts of Allgemeine Culturgeschichte der Menschheit by Gustav Klemm, a very important researcher for the development of cultural studies, is the distinction between active and passive races, which, although referred to the achievements of the 19^th century natural sciences, did not bring down the cultural order to the level of nature. Half a century later, the same aspect was pointed out by Ludwik Gumplowicz, who gave the concept of race a strictly sociological meaning and made it one of the basic components of his system. The author of Rassenkampf strongly condemned any racist concepts both for their being cognitively groundless and socially dangerous. In the years preceding World War II, many other representatives of philosophical and scientific reflection on humanity and its environment took on the same attitude. This clearly shows that the issue of race is associated with the significant question of the role of scholars or scientists and their ethical and social responsibility.