mgr Kamil Flaga

ORCID: 0000-0003-3435-853X

The topic of my dissertation is: „Ontological status of the narrative subject”

Theories regarding the narrative subject (Paul Ricoeur and Charles Taylor) abandon the traditional way of understanding the subject as a substance (Cartesian line), but also oppose theories that naturalize the subject (e.g. materialistic ones) and concepts postulating its death (the philosophy of postmodernism). In the present discourse on the philosophy of the entity conceived in a narrative manner, there is a serious risk that the narrative identity is characterized by an unclear and questionable ontological basis (e.g. this entity may be determined by a number of socio-cultural factors, which makes it not coherent and stable in terms of ontology).The currently available literature on the subject does not provide satisfactory answers to the question about the ontological status of the subject and the ontology of narrative identity. Therefore, it can be concluded that the theory of the narrative entity is incomplete (or inconsistent) because it lacks a clear ontology of the entity or has not been satisfactorily explained. The question about the ontological side of the theory of the narrative entity is a key issue in the author's dissertation.

The basic aim of the dissertation is to examine the coherence of the narrative theory of the subject, with particular focus on its assumptions and ontological implications (or rather its shortcomings in this respect). Undertaken research is intended to diagnose the correctness of the analyzed theory and determine which of its threads deserve acceptance, and which of its fragments are defective, requiring to be replaced by new solutions. Based on the studied literature and analysis of problematic issues, data will be obtained, which will make it possible to outline the most important directions in constructing a correct, conceivable theory of the subject. To extract this data, the following research methods will be used: the hermeneutic and deconstructivist methods, as well as elements of the phenomenological method and metaphysical analysis. A critical analysis of texts will also be undertaken with the use of the interpretation method, and the subject of the analysis will be source texts and studies. The logical correctness and validity of theses regarding the narrative subject contained in both the subject and source literature will also be examined.

Examining the correctness and validity of the theories of the narrative subject proposed by C. Taylor and P. Ricouer (even if it is negative) will serve to partially fill the research gap in accordance with Popper's concept of the development of knowledge by falsifying currently applicable theories in the aspect of subjectivity and identity. The final findings of the dissertation, as they will concern human subjectivity, may partially contribute to the growth or modification of contemporary human self-knowledge. The results of this research can also be used as a contribution to the teaching of philosophical anthropology and philosophy of the subject, which allows widening the cognitive spectrum in the discussed thematic scope.

Publication:

• Flaga K., Contemporary Helplessness in the Face of Ethics, [in:] „Culture and Values” 2021(32), s. 97-116. https://dx.doi.org/10.17951/kw.2021.32.97-116