Milosz Jan Puczydlowski

I am a philosopher, educated in Krakow (Poland). In 2016 I received my PhD from the Jagiellonian University. I researched different theories of secularization (Charles Taylor, Jürgen Habermas, John Milbank, Hans Blumenberg, Grace Davie). From secularism I gradually moved to postsecularism. I became interested in how religion has survived modern secular criticism, and how this criticism has at the same time changed religion itself. A postsecular religion can be understood as less dogmatic, more apophatic, flexible and ambiguous. Therefore I entered a new research topic: irony. My interests are now related to irony in three different dimensions: A) Religious – I am interested in the similarities between irony and apophatic theology. Both express something that is not said directly. Both can be either stable or unstable. Both make religion more flexible and less dogmatic. B) Pedagogical (theoretical) – since Socrates, irony has been an important pedagogical strategy to uncover ignorance and stimulate reflection. Should irony be understood only rhetorically? What about existential irony? What role does risk play in ironic teaching? Is irony necessarily exclusionary, or can it be combined with inclusive education? C) Pedagogical (practical) – within the SRLE subject (Society, Religion, Worldview, Ethics), “philosophy in kindergarten” is included as an important theme. Philosophical conversations are usually understood as training in clear use of concepts, precise definitions and logical argumentation that leads to positive knowledge. I try to challenge this understanding. I visit kindergartens and primary schools in Vestfold and conduct philosophical workshops where we work with various forms of negation, inspired by Proclus. The goal is not to formulate positive answers, but to explore how negative conclusions, doubt and ignorance can open new spaces for thinking. (I thank AI for lending its electronic hand in translating this from Norwegian into English! Any remaining mistakes are mine rather than of my soulless work companion)