Andrzej Flis, Christianity and Europe. Studies in the History of the Western Civilisation [Chrześcijaństwo i Europa. Studia z dziejów cywilizacji Zachodu], Zakład Wydawniczy Nomos, Kraków 2001.
The present book has taken much effort and time and in its present form resembles a tree with many jars. It is the result of ten years of theoretical research commenced at the end of 1991 during my stay at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and continued in other academic centres such as the European University Institute in Florence, Trinity College in Dublin, Universiteit van Amsterdam, University of Exeter, Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Niirnberg Universitat, John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Central European University in Prague, Universite de Geneve, American University in Cairo, People's University of China in Beijing, Sun Yat Sen University in Guangdong, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, University of Hong Kong, Kobe University, Kyoto University, Hokkaido University in Sapporo, National Chengchi Uniyersity in Taipei, National University in Seoul and Confucian Sung Kyun University in Korea.
Some of the ideas presented in this book are much earlier as is the case with the second and third chapter. These develop the theses that had initially been published together with Sławomir Kapralski in separate papers: Interests, Charisma and Culture-Dynamics [Interesy, charyzma i dynamika kultury], "Studia Socjologiczne", 1987, No. 3-4 and The Social Time: between Change and Immortality [Czas społeczny: między zmianą i nieśmiertelnością], "Studia Socjologiczne", 1988, No. 2.
Three other chapters of the present book have also been previously published: The Constitutive Features of European Culture [Cechy konstytutywne kultury europejskiej] in "Kwartalnik Filozoficzny", 1993, No 3; The Innovativeness of the Western Civilisation [Innowacyjność cywilizacji Zachodu] in Kapitalizm po polsku, ed. Aleksander Marcinkowski, Kraków 1996, as well as The Dynamics of Civilisations: Europe, China, Japan [Dynamika cywilizacji: Europa, Chiny, Japonia] in "Kultura i Społeczeństwo", 2000, No 1.
These papers reflect the subsequent stages of my research on the roots and development of European Culture. The present publication contains some new and extended versions of previous editions. These have been enriched by years of discussions I have had with students and scholars from a dozen European and Asiatic universities and as such approach the problems with which I have been struggling in a more mature and, hopefully, more adequate way.
(Foreword)