The Paradigm of Duality as a Perspective of Viewing the World and Man

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to describe the paradigm of duality being „a new type of complexity, present in specific texts that are important both for theory and social practice” (Witkowski 2013:44) and having mainly social roots (Merton, Elias). Lech Witkowski argues that pedagogy, thanks to the said paradigm, „has become capable of being a mature discipline which will be able to handle discourse and research” (Witkowski 2013: 64) and illustrates its usefulness for pedagogy by analyzing the major achievements of the Polish inter-war pedagogues. The paradigm of duality is not identical with the postmodern moral relativism and does not depreciate the world of values. It may even constitute the core of ethics where „there is a space for oscillation between conflicting and yet obligating values” (Maliszewski, 2013:41). This approach may be particularly useful in pedeutology and academic teaching, since it can provide students with an ability to perceive and accept the ambivalence of their future professional roles as being a feature of educational circumstances and a component of their intellectual culture.