Garść uwag polemicznych na kanwie recenzji Wprowadzenia do metodologii historii (red. Ewa Domańska, Jan Pomorski, Warszawa 2022) zawartych w „Przeglądzie Historycznym” (CXIV, 2023, 4)

A handful of polemical remarks about reviews of Wprowadzenie do metodologii historii [Introduction to the Methodology of History], ed. by E. Domańska, J. Pomorski (Warszawa 2022), published in „Przegląd Historyczny”, CXIV, 2023, 4 The purpose of this article is not only to engage in a polemic against the various allegations, but above all to express concern for the quality of scholarly debate and reviewing culture in the Polish humanities. Most of authors of the reviews point almost exclusively to the shortcomings of the publication, often resorting to simplifications or formulating evaluations in a deprecating manner. Particularly critical are the remarks concerning theoretical concepts such as constructivism or the applicability of the concept of paradigm in the humanities. Such a debate is desirable and can lead to a clash of diverse perspectives, but its aggressive nature (expressed in, for example, the reviewers denying the need for a theory of history other than the intuition of historians) makes it difficult to achieve a common goal, which, according to the author, should be the construction of a coherent approach to the education of future historians, an approach open to diversity. Therefore, author calls for a return to the original understanding of rhetoric as a collaborative pursuit of truth in a continuous process of exchange of ideas, a process that involves trying to understand diverse positions and arguments instead of belittling or dismissing them. Understood in this way, rhetoric is a key element of academic teaching, and the discussion about the goals of the didactic process and ways of achieving them should be reflected on by humanists much more often. The article ends with a metaphor of the Polish humanities’ voyage on Neurath’s ship, which requires constant repair and modernisation by all crew members in order to reach a safe harbour. The call for methodologists to be thrown overboard by medievalists enjoing monopoly on the theory of historical sources is viewed by the author as premature and damaging to the entire academic community.