I am a philosopher working in the Department of Aesthetics at the Institute of Philosophy at Jagiellonian University (since 1990) and I head the Department of Media Art Theory at the Faculty of Intermedia of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (since 2012). I specialize in aesthetics, treating it as a theoretical framework for art (interpretation, art criticism, ontology of art, and various aspects of art: e.g., aesthetic and artistic values, processes of creation and reception). I am interested in the development of contemporary art (20th and 21st centuries), particularly New Media Art (electronic art). Over time, I have become increasingly engaged in the scientific study of virtual reality, which I have been interested in since the late 1990s. I have been conducting experimental research on VR since 2007, when I established Academia Electronica in the virtual world Second Life, which operated at the Institute of Philosophy of Jagiellonian University until 2023, when it became a part of the Faculty of Philosophy UJ, operating under the name “Academia Electronica – the virtual part of Jagiellonian University”.
As a metaphysical philosopher, I strive to understand and interpret the surrounding reality in terms of existence. I adhere to the view that concepts refer to reality. I am aware of the contentiousness of such a stance, considering the methodological problems of metaphysical philosophy, which involve doubts about the ability of humans to go beyond the states of their own minds and thus to make claims about the existence of anything other than the contents of the mind. I maintain that existence is engaging and obliging regardless of the above arguments, hence I lean towards grounding the existence of every kind of reality as much as possible, which in my case mainly involves the postulate of the existence of virtual (electronic) reality. This is expressed in ontological analysis and the metaphysical postulate concerning the existence of virtual reality, creating an alternative sphere of being and human existence to the reality of the physical world (Ontoelectronics). I am also the creator of the theory of the work of art (The Work of Art as a System) and the matrix theory of art (Virtual Realis. Aesthetics in the Age of Electronics). I proposed the concept of virtual reality art (VR ART), a criterion for art (Genetic Criterion of Art), and within ontoelectronics, a nonlinear concept of truth.
I am an advocate of philosophical analysis based on intuition, employing apriority and modalities. I use synthetic apriority, which has its origins in Kantian synthetic a priori judgments, combined with various aspects of chaos theory (systems theory, bifurcation theory, and catastrophe theory). I often use binary statements resulting from rational, intuitive analysis, and sometimes also theses that are futurological postulates, which at the current stage of knowledge cannot be fully justified.
I am also an interdisciplinary scholar, publishing in the fields of aesthetics, philosophy of technology, cognitive science, art criticism, and e-learning. For me, art is a sphere of experience, living, and analysis.
I am interested in technology, fascinated by a world changing under its influence (New Media Art, the Internet, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and robotics, cyborgization). This has influenced the evolution of my views, causing me to consider these developmental directions as processes that are already creating the future of humanity today. Recently, I have become a futurologist, believing that the future determined by technological development and inevitable is more interesting than the present.
Conducting research on virtual reality, I experiment with various forms of remote didactics (lectures, seminars, discussions), teaching classes in Academia Electronica in the virtual worlds of Second Life (since 2007), AltspaceVR (2020-22), and Spatial (since 2022). I conducted the first official academic course of its kind in Poland, The Electronic Environment as Human Reality, in the virtual world Second Life (2008-2009), and similarly using Oculus in AltspaceVR (2021-22). In March 2024, during a remote session of the Pedagogical Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Krakow branch, I used an avatar on Teams communicator.
Regarding additional activities, I am a co-founder and co-editor of Poland’s first videoperiodical Medialica. Multidisciplinary Studies in Humanities (since 2017). I was the scientific editor of the Journal of Culture and History (from 2017 to March 2024), a member of the Scientific Council of the Journal Culture and Values (since 2011). I am a member of the Senate of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (2020-24, 2024-28), the Research Commission of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (2020-24), the Degree Commission of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (2020-24), and the Pedagogical Sciences Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Krakow Branch (since 2015), where I serve as Deputy Chair (2023-26 term). I belong to Collegium Invisibile (since 2006), the Polish Philosophical Society (since 2006), the Academic E-Learning Association (since 2013), the Polish Aesthetic Society (since 2002), the Polish Cultural Society (since 2013), and the International Association of Aesthetics (since 2008). I am the advisor of the Philosophy of Technology Section of the Student of Science Club of the Institute of Philosophy at Jagiellonian University (since 2015). I have collaborated with the Technology Transfer and Development Center of Jagiellonian University as part of the Forum of New Science at Jagiellonian University (2011-2012). In 2017, I was awarded the Medal of the National Education Commission.
I do not shy away from existential madness (e.g., car travels, music concerts, trance music), which I live by and share with my wife.
In everyday life, I sometimes make oversights or mistakes, but after all, I am not a robot 🙂