Czas i przestrzeń w metafizyce Witkiewicza a pierwotność ontologiczna indywiduów. Ujęcie z perspektywy wybranych wątków współczesnej metafizyki analitycznej

This paper reconstructs two distinct interpretations of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz’s philosophy of time and space and his concept of space-time, absolutist and relational. According to the first one mentioned, both space and time exist independently of individuals, whereas the other assumes the ontological priority of the individuals. The interpretations are associated with variants of priority monism and priority pluralism drawn from the contemporary analytic metaphysics. I argue that the absolutist interpretation ends up in a contradiction, irrespective of which of the two positions is accepted. The conclusion is drawn that it is the relational interpretation of Witkiewicz’s philosophy of time and space that should be preferred.Artykuł rekonstruuje dwie odmienne interpretacje filozofii czasu i przestrzeni (czaso-przestrzeni) Stanisława Ignacego Witkiewicza – absolutystyczną i relacyjną. Według interpretacji absolutystycznej czas i przestrzeń uznaje się za niezależne od indywiduów. Interpretacja relacyjna natomiast przypisuje prymat bytowy indywiduum, a czas i przestrzeń traktuje jako bytowo zależne. Obie interpretacje zestawiam z wariantami monizmu podstaw ontologicznych i pluralizmu podstaw ontologicznych, zaczerpniętymi ze współczesnej metafizyki analitycznej. Argumentuję, że interpretacja absolutystyczna w zestawieniu z którymkolwiek z obu stanowisk prowadzi do sprzeczności. W rezultacie konkluduję, że preferowaną interpretacją Witkiewiczowskiej filozofii czasu i przestrzeni jest interpretacja relacjonistyczna

Czy monady mają części? Witkiewicz i jego krytyka mereologii jako ontologii

This paper reconstructs Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz’s understanding of logic, accentuating the differences in his evaluation of logic and systems of ‘logistics’. Leśniewski’s theory of collective sets (mereology) exemplifies logistics as understood by Witkiewicz. I present an outline of Leśniewski’s nominalism, which entails a belief in a non-abstract nature of sets. I focus on these features of mereology that could have led Witkiewicz to interpreting it as an ontological system. Witkacy (Witkiewicz’s penname) was skeptical of the usefulness of formal systems (or logistics), and of mereology in particular, for the purposes of designing a unified ontological system describing essential properties of objects (the world). According to Witkiewicz, such formal systems assumed the role of ontology but severely lacked in philosophical justification. I argue that regardless of his nominalism and corporeal conception of individuals, mereology cannot be considered a formal theory of Witkiewicz’s monads

Toward Controlled Photothermal Treatment of Single Cell: Optically Induced Heating and Remote Temperature Monitoring In Vitro through Double Wavelength Optical Tweezers

Cancer treatment based on hyperthermia (HT) relies on exposing the malignant cells to elevated local temperature. Although the procedure has been successfully applied in clinics, the fundamental aspects of HT are not yet fully understood. In order to verify the susceptibility of single cells in vitro to raised temperature, we have developed novel nano- and microtools. In particular, an optical double-trap system utilizing combined galvano-mirror scanning and spatial light phase modulator was devised to manipulate several micron-sized objects simultaneously. The manipulation comprised both optical trapping and translocating, on demand photoactivated heating, and simultaneous remote temperature readout of living cells, infrared activated heaters and optical thermometers, respectively. Mesoporous silicon microparticles were used as an infrared absorber to generate an increased temperature of about 100 °C with 0.4 W laser power. The optical micron-sized thermometer was based on up-converting Yb–Er codoped nanocrystalline particles encapsulated in amorphous silica shells produced with yeast cells as the templates. These hybrid particles displayed a relative sensitivity of 0.28%/K, an accuracy of 0.1 °C (at 32 °C), spatial resolution of <10 μm, and a temporal response of 50 ms/acquisition to record the temperature changes in specified areas in real time. The system was utilized in monitoring the stepwise cell death of individual diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cells due to locally induced excessive heating induced by the absorber localized in the vicinity of the cell