Andrzej Wiercinski (born March 10, 1961 in Białystok, Poland) is a Hermeneutician, Philosopher, and Theologian. As the transdisciplinary thinker, he is Professor of Liberal Arts, Faculty of Artes Liberales at the University of Warsaw, President-Founder (2001) of the International Institute for Hermeneutics (IIH), and President of Agora Hermeneutica (IIH).
Life
Wierciński completed his M.A. with distinction in Theology (Catholic University of Lublin, 1984), and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Lublin April 4, 1985. In 1990, he took his doctorate in philosophy with Stanisław Wielgus at the Catholic University of Lublin with a dissertation, Die scholastischen Vorbedingungen der Metaphysik Gustav Siewerths: Eine historisch-kritische Studie mit Bezug auf die Seinsvergessenheitstheorie von Martin Heidegger. His second doctorate was in Theology with Gerhard-Ludwig Müller at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich with a dissertation, Der Dichter in seinem Dichtersein: Versuch einer philosophisch-theologischen Deutung des Dichterseins am Beispiel von Czesław Miłosz. In 2007, Wierciński took his Habilitation in Philosophy of Religion at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg i.Br. with a monograph, Hermeneutics between Philosophy and Theology: The Imperative to Think the Incommensurable. After obtaining a venia legendi in Philosophy of Religion, he was Privatdozent before becoming in 2012 ausserplanmäßiger Professor (Professor extra numerum) of Philosophy of Religion at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. From 2015 to 2021 he was Professor of General Education and Philosophy of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Warsaw. In 2020, Wierciński received the title of Professor rerum socialium in Education (Decision of the President of the Republic of Poland of September 28, 2020). In 2021, he was awarded the honor of Professor honoris causa at the IIH and received the 2021 Blue Diamond Hermes Award: An Outstanding Contribution to Phenomenological Hermeneutics (IIH). Since 2022 he is Professor of Liberal Arts, Faculty of Artes Liberales, University of Warsaw.
Work
Wierciński has generated research accomplishments in his subject areas that demonstrate his scholarly expertise both in the range of his works and their broad, contentful composition. He understands hermeneutics as a specific mindset of openness that admits neither a priori nor apodictic demarcations between domains of knowledge but instead sits decidedly between them to overcome the compartmentalization of knowledge forms from each other. Despite the postmodern format of this hermeneutic in-between—which of course will not be raised to a trans-regional, conceptually achievable absolutism—Wierciński positions hermeneutics within the horizon of a human being’s specific ability to attain truth, which actualizes itself in the history of knowledge and its forms. He understands the philosophy of religion as the hermeneutic mediation between the incommensurable knowledge forms of religion/theology and philosophy, which are not separated from one another but rather allude to one another both genealogically and constitutively.
To bring theology and philosophy into conversation with each other, Wierciński has edited an entire row of anthologies, organized conferences, and taken part in many himself with talks. The hermeneutic in-between, which he takes up under numerous titles in lectures and publications, emblematically indicates a theoretical form and his marked talent for organizing and facilitating scholarly endeavors.
In teaching and research, Wierciński is primarily concerned with lingually oriented phenomenological hermeneutics, with the approaches of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, and the hermeneutic reappropriation of the metaphysics of the Middle Ages, in conversation with Martin Heidegger, Gustav Siewerth, German Idealism—especially Schelling—as well as with the hermeneutics of education, communication, medicine, psychoanalysis, law, and architecture. The main focus of his writing has been the hermeneutic retrieval of medieval metaphysics. His hermeneutics of education and hermeneutics of medicine contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between human social sciences and natural sciences and their impact on contemporary society. As a prolific author, an accomplished manager, and knowledge facilitator, he serves on the advisory boards of many international societies and on the editorial boards of international academic journals.