Interfaculty Interdisciplinary PAU Commissions

PAU Commission on the History of Science
PAU Commission on Threats to Civilization
PAU Commission on the Evaluation of Textbooks
PAU Commission for European Matters
Interfaculty PAU Commission of Technical Sciences
PAU and PAN Commission for the Development of the City of Cracow
PAU Commission for Natural Sciences Philosophy
Fides et Ratio PAU Commission

 

 

PAU Commission on the History of Science

Chairman: vacat
Deputy Chairman: Stefan Witold Alexandrowicz
Secretary: Michał Kokowski

Commission Members

This Commission was founded in 1998 on the initiative of PAU Class III. Its task is to stimulate research on the history of particular scientific disciplines, conducted by representatives of those disciplines, rather than by historians, who lack the specialized education needed to fully comprehend the substance of highly specialized disciplines. This idea fell on fertile soil, since there had already been great interest within the PAU in the history of the organization of science and in the biographies of eminent scholars and scientists from the past.

The Commission has been very active. It organises monthly meetings with papers and discussions as well as scientific symposia. The results of the Commission’s work are printed in the series Works of the Commission on the History of Science (reports presented at the Commission meetings) and in Monographs.

The Commission initiated also a series devoted to the PAU and entitled Studies and Materials for the History of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

 

PAU Commission on Threats to Civilization

Chairman: Andrzej Hrynkiewicz
Vice Chairman: Zygmunt Kolenda
Secretary: Janusz Szmyd

Commission Members

This Commission is interdisciplinary in character, and is composed of members of different PAU classes, from the Class of History and Philosophy to the Class of Creative Arts. Threats to the harmonious development of humanity should be a subject of interest and research, not only for representatives of the exact sciences and engineering, biology, and medicine, but also for historians, philosophers, lawyers, and even literary scholars and creative artists from other areas of culture.
Threats are associated in the public mind with the improper use of the results of scientific research and the development of technology and industrial operations that are hostile to the natural environment. Yet there are also dangers for the future of the human race lurking in climatic changes, population growth, and the appearance of new diseases. Other threats emerge from ideologies that generate fundamentalism, mendacity, and hatred, the primary causes of terrorism and war. We should bear in mind in this context that during the century now drawing to its close humanity achieved the capability of annihilating itself.

Ethical evaluations are not applied to the results of scientific research. The criterion of scientific value as such is truth. Evil lurks in our very selves, and this is what causes the results of research to be exploited to the detriment of humanity. The multiplication of pseudo-sciences and the contradiction of rationalism are leading us into blind alleys, and for many people are replacing their lost faith in the value of scientific progress. The general public needs to be convinced that it is only through the further development of science and learning that the consequences of all these threats can be averted. Scientific truth and the love of one's neighbor are the basic principles that create the opportunity for humanity to survive and develop in harmony.

The Commission discusses the threats that have arisen, and provides society at large with accurate information about their causes and the ways to avert their consequences. The scientific meetings are used to present and discuss selected issues involved with the threats that have already emerged, are just becoming apparent, or are expected, and to indicate the directions for scientific research and actions to avert these threats. Extensive summaries of the papers are published in a PAU periodical, Zagrożenia cywilizacyjne [Threats to Civilization], which in the future will occur periodically in the form of a quarterly. In addition, the Commission intends to organize public lectures for a broad spectrum of society, and will also attempt to reach public opinion through the mass media: the press, radio, and television.

 

 

PAU Commission on the Evaluation of Textbooks

Chairman: Andrzej Kastory
Deputy Chairmen: Marek Zrałek, Maciej Kawka
Secretary: Grzegorz Chomicki

Commission Members

Out of a concern for the proper intellectual level of the textbooks used in public schools, the PAU Executive Board decided in late 2000 to found a Commission, comprised of specialists in the various subjects taught in the secondary school curriculum, to provide completely independent evaluations of the textbooks adopted for use in public schools.

The work of such a Commission ought to be of considerable social benefit. The very existence of such an independent body should help make authors and publishers more sensitive to the intellectual level of the textbooks being introduced into the public school curriculum.

Satisfactorily, the forecast have proved correct. The current activities of the Commission as well as the five published volumes of its Works have aroused intense interest. Following the Commission’s motion, honorary diplomas were conferred on the authors and published of the best textbooks during June General Assembly of the PAU (five times so far).

 

 

PAU Commission for European Matters

Chairman: Michał Turała
Deputy Chairman: Bolesław Ginter
Secretary: Maria Nowakowska

Commission Members

This Commission, formed in 2003, is engaged - as its name indicates - into the issues related to European matters and especially the Poland’s (and Cracow's) place and role in Europe. Several ongoing works (and mainly open sessions) have been already organised and all of them focused on various aspects of Poland's participation in European Union. The exemplary subjects listed below (lectures or introductions to discussions during the Commission's meetings) are brief but accurate summary of the most important issues: Constitution Treaty of the European Union by prof. Edmund Wittbrodt, Europe Seeking for its Symbols. History and Meaning of the European flag by dr. Krzysztof Kowalski, Being an European - what does it mean? by prof. prof. Zdzisław Mach and Piotr Sztompka, Is it worth dying for Nice? by dr. hab. Wojciech Słomczyński and dr. hab. Karol Życzkowski.

The Commision have worked on - and still is planning to do so - education and science matters (i.e. Polish studies on European Matters faculties, role of universities in today's Europe, scientific and educational policies in Poland and Europe, financing of scientific research works, various organisational aspects of scientific activities in an European scale, European scientific associations' undertakings etc.)

Altogether with the Commission on the History of Science, the Commission for European Matters organised (on behalf of Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences) a conference of European Society for the History of Science that took place in Cracow in September 2006.

 

 

Interfaculty PAU Commission of Technical Sciences

Chairman: Zbigniew Moser
Deputy Chairmen: Henryk Górecki, Jakub Siemek
Secretary: Waldemar Wołczyński

Commission Members

This Commission was founded in 2003 and comprises seven sections: of Civil Engineering; of Construction, Technology and Operation of Machines; of Engineering and Technology of Ceramic Materials; of Informatics, Automatics and Robotics; of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering; of Mining and Power Engineering; of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering.

 

 

PAU and PAN Commission for the Development of the City of Cracow

Chairman: Witold Cęckiewicz (member of the PAU and the PAN)
Deputy Chairpersons: Zygmunt Kolenda (member of the PAU), Barbara Bartkowicz, Jerzy Mikułowski Pomorski
Secretary: Andrzej Lorek

Commission Members

The Commission is composed of 20 founder members (members of the PAU and the PAN), prominent representatives of the humanities, mathematic and natural sciences, artistic disciplines, as well as 21 incorporated members who support the interdisciplinary aims of the Commission and represent such fields as town and country planning, archaeology, history of art, sociology, law, landscape architecture, botany, geography, civil engineering, water management, transport and communication.

The Commission, depending on the undertaken tasks, intends to collaborate with appropriate specialists in related disciplines of science and to make them its members, if the need arises.

 

 


PAU Commission for Natural Sciences Philosophy

Chairman: Jerzy Janik
Secretary: Antonina Kowalska

Commission Members


PAU Commission for Natural Sciences Philosophy is a discussion panel for natural science scholars as 'philosophers' taking place with participation and under sui generis control of 'real' philosophers. The Commission is a group of representatives of Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology and Medicine. Its character is an interdisciplinary though, and focused on issues of an ontology aspect as well as issues concerning mutual influence Philosophy and other, more specialised, sciences.

 

 

Fides et Ratio PAU Commission

Chairman: ks. Michał Heller
Deputy Chairpersons: Władysław Stróżewski, ks. Janusz Mączka
Secretary: ks. Zbigniew Liana

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