Aleksander Świętochowski

Aleksander Świętochowski (18 January 1849 – 25 April 1938) was a Polish writer, educator, and philosopher of the Positivist period that followed the January 1863 Uprising.

He was widely regarded as the prophet of Polish Positivism, spreading in the Warsaw press the gospel of scientific inquiry, education, economic development, and equality of rights for all, without regard to sex, class, ethnic origin or beliefs. His was a nuanced vision, however, that took account of the shortcomings of human nature; like H.G. Wells, he advocated that power in society be wielded by the most enlightened among its members.

Life

Świętochowski was a journalist, literary critic, historian and philosopher—a founder and the leading ideologue of Polish Positivism. In 1871 he published in Przegląd Tygodniowy (The Weekly Review) a famous programmatic article of the Polish Positivists, "My i wy" ("We and You").

Świętochowski worked with many periodicals, including (1870–78) Przegląd Tygodniowy (The Weekly Review), in 1876–78 as co-editor. In 1878–79 he edited the daily Nowiny (News); when in 1882 it was bought by financier Stanisław Kronenberg, its new owner, purportedly on Świętochowski's recommendation, entrusted the editorship to Bolesław Prus.

In 1881–1902 Świętochowski edited and published Prawda (The Truth), which he had founded.

In 1881 he lost his little son. Unable to regain his equilibrium, in mid-February 1882, on the advice of Dr. Tytus Chałubiński, he went on a journey to Italy. He would recall in his Pamiętnik (Memoirs):