Philosophical and aesthetic aspects of the face in the context of teaching selected humanities subjects at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences

Filozoficzne i estetyczne aspekty twarzy w kontekście dydaktyki wybranych przedmiotów humanistycznych na Uniwersytecie Medycznym im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu

Abstract

The paper starts off from the prehistoric role of the face and the dominant significance of the question of the face in the humanities. Author will address the above questions in the context of his own teaching of such subjects as Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Philosophy of Medicine. He draws attention to the role of works of art he uses in the teaching process, e.g. the tale Beautiful Face from the book 13 Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia by the eminent philosopher Leszek Kołakowski. As the person instrumental for the film adaptation of this book and the script writer, the author will share his experience of making use of films from the series 14 Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia by Leszek Kołakowski, begun in the late 1990s. Contributing to the making of individual films in the TV Studio of Animated Films in Poznań were distinguished directors, outstanding actors, e.g. Zbigniew Zapasiewicz and Andrzej Seweryn and expert stage designers. Of special importance for the teaching process in the context of these films is the intersemiotic translation, related to the questions of the face. Author will moreover reference in his teaching practice ideas put forth by philosophers such as Plato, Emanuel Levinas and Jan Payne and works by such eminent artists as Tadeusz Kantor and Zbigniew Libera. Individual issues discussed in the paper will be illustrated with ample iconography related to the face, including images unpublished earlier, such as those from the films from the above series, currently under production.