The existing publications on Janina Hosiasson never mentioned a specific date of death. The most common time frame mentioned was April 1942, or simply the spring of 1942. But I was unable to find the original source of this belief: as it often happens with such publications, authors repeat what they saw elsewhere, often without citation, or rely on their own memory of events from decades ago.
Continue readingWe are sleeping for the first time in a prison cell, where throughout the night our legs are hurting. Call this fact f1. Can we raise the degree of belief in the fact that the next night our legs will also hurt? Let us call this future fact f2. (…) Now our question comes down to whether there are any possible causes of f1 such that, if we assume them, f1 does not lower the level of confidence in f2. Suppose for instance that besides w the only possible cause of f1 is (next to some humidity in the cell) rainy weather on the day preceding the night when we were in pain, and the fact that on that day we stood outside for a long time, waiting for bread.
What should be in a diary? That’s a silly question. A diary is a personal thing. Whoever writes it can record whatever suits their fancy. Continue reading
What is knowledge and how does it grow as science progresses? Janina had been thinking about it for a while now. Continue reading
What was it like to be a woman in the philosophy department in the 1920s? Probably not very different from being a woman in any academic environment at that time. Continue reading
Alfred Tarski’s first address was Koszykowa 51, apartment 14 (in Warsaw, of course). He was born there and lived with his parents until his own wedding. And while apparently Mr. Teitelbaum senior struggled to meet his wife’s expectations regarding lifestyle and financial comfort, the location was definitely prime enough. Just off Marszałkowska, which was one of the best streets in the city: wide, well-lit, full of expensive shops and cafés. The building itself must have been one of those tall, ornate townhouses you see in old photographs, and down the street even today. Continue reading
The Hosiassons had four children: Henryk, Stefan, Janina, and Ludwik. At least, those are the children we know of, or ones that lived long enough to finish school. Continue reading
I had no idea that collecting old philosophy journals could be such a pleasure. But ever since I started spending more time in the archives, looking at letters and other pieces of paper from the past, having that tangible connection to the people who wrote them and on them became a little more special. This is why last year I started to buy any publications of Janina Hosiasson that I could get my hands on. Continue reading
It must have been February or March 2018. Procrastinating, I was entertaining myself with planning world domination, i.e., which grants I should apply for. Continue reading
Marta Sznajder 