Dwa filary Cassirerowskiej koncepcji kultury

The subject of this essay is Ernst Cassirer’s concept of culture and the two pillars being its foundation: functional theory of construction of the concepts and the philosophy of symbolic forms. The theory of relation concepts is a result of a struggle between critical philosophy and dogmatism, in other words, it replaces the transcendental Aristotle`s substance with the immanent function of judgment, which is to be the only objective and available reality to a man. Synthesis of knowledge, however, requires that the critical method cover all form of human spirit, not only the understanding of natural science. Especially since, as shown in the Cassirer’s Philosophy of symbolic forms, the common element in all this forms is a symbol. Finally, the purpose of cognition becomes for Cassirer the man himself, as well as his inexhaustible capacity to create culture. Measure to this is the spiritual autonomy – the only source of self-restraint and self-consciousness.