Julian Ochorowicz, sprawa lwowskiej fundacji Macierz Polska i "nasze osobnictwo"

Abstract

The article is dedicated to Julian Ochorowicz, a thinker-visionary, ahead of his times in many ways, who paid a high price for intellectual independence: that of cultural exclusion. The paper completes previous research findings, relating to the biography of this remarkable nineteenth-century personage, with facts obtained on the basis of a detailed analysis of correspondence (of Bełza with Ochorowicz, or Kraszewski with Bełza, among others). The aim was to highlight an active and creative presence of Ochorowicz in the scientific and literary community of Lviv in the latter half of the nineteenth century, with particular focus on his involvement in the creation of the Macierz Polska foundation. The article demonstrates that the achievements of Ochorowicz (and not just the prominent ones, revolutionary for their time, but the lesser-known or completely forgotten ones, such as those in the field of culture and education, of which Macierz can be an example), not only speak to his intellectual independence, but also document the ‘programme of reform and strengthening of our moral inventory’, which he always put first.