Philosophy/Expert Profile

Expertise

I can answer questions concerning Eastern (Oriental) philosophies and philosophers (Indian, Tibetan, Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese: Hinduist, Buddhist, Confucianist, Taoist and other; alas not Islamic or Jewish) - both in terms of notions and facts (history of their development). I can write in English, French, Esperanto, Polish and Russian, German, Dutch and Norwegian. I can also understand questions in Spanish and Italian.

Experience in the area

I have been teaching Indian and Chinese philosophies since 1987 and in 1999-2009 I co-ordinated a project on Oriental philosophies within the scope of the Universal Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Powszechna Encyklopedia Filozofii) published in Polish by SITA-PL in Lublin (10 volumes, containing ca. 500 entries in Eastern philosophies, written by a team of a dozen of Polish scholars).

Organizations

The Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), Poland, History of Philosophy Department - assistant-professor. Polish Oriental Society; International Association of Buddhist Studies; Klingon Language Institute; Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin; Polish Philosophical Association; Universala Esperanto-Asocio

Publications

Books: "Origin of the World According to Rigveda" (Montreal 1996); "Our Bug. Creating Conditions for Development of the Border Areas of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus through Enhancement and Preservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage" (Lublin 2008); "Migration - a Challenge to the 21st century" (Lublin 2008); "Migracja zarobkowa do Włoch" (Job migration to Italy) (Lublin 2008); more than 100 articles in "Powszechna Encyklopedia Filozofii" (Universal Encyclopedia od Philosophy) vol. 1-10 (Lublin 2000-2009); Contributions to the history of the Buddhist classifications of dharmas: Pancavastuka of Vasumitra (Bulletin, Polish Institute and Library, Montreal 1997); many more in Polish

Education/Credentials

philosophy (KUL, Lublin, 1976-81); M.A. in history of Indian philosophy (KUL, 1981); Ph.D. in history of Indian philosophy (KUL, 1989); other studies: Indian and Chinese philosophies (Institut Catholique, Paris, 1985-6); Tibetan language (INALCO, Paris, 1985-6); Chinese language (McGill University, Montreal, 1995-7)

Past/Present Clients

AllExperts users (since 12/03/2003); Wikipedia readers (since 2004)

What do you like about this subject?

Philo-sophy (love of wisdom), in Chinese zhe-xue (learning of the wise),in Sanskrit darshana (wise vision) - what else can you expect better from life than to be wise? To understand life, world, oneself - is only human. To try to understand them the way they are understood by those who seem to be different from ourselves - is to widen your culture.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

I hope to widen my knowledge of those areas of Eastern philosophies that are almost unknown (as Thai or Burmese) or little explored so far (as Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian).

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

If you find fascinating following the ways other men interprete the world, here (in the "East") you'll find a mine of fresh, wonderful, interesting, inspiring views.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

1.Philosophy is teaching YOU think independently. That's why sometimes I do not answer your question directly but rather force you to find out the answer by and in yourself. 2.Contrary to Kipling's: "East is East - and West is West, and twain will never meet", the more you know them the more you find out that neither East is only East nor West is only West - there is a plurality everywhere.