Contemporary scholarship, and especially present-day philosophy, each in its own sphere, needs to rediscover that sapiential dimension which consists in the search for the definitive and overall meaning of human existence. The search for truth is carried on not only through the toil of individuals in libraries or laboratories, but it also has a community dimension. Human perfection consists not simply in acquiring an abstract knowledge of the truth, but in a dynamic relationship of faithful self-giving with others. It is in this faithful self- giving that a person finds a fullness of certainty and security. This, certainly, is an experience which each of you appreciates.
Truth is attained thanks also to others, in dialogue with others and on behalf of others.
Seeking the truth and sharing it with others is an important service to society, a service which scholars in particular are called to render. Scholarship today, including Polish scholarship, faces great challenges. The unprecedented development of the sciences and technological progress are raising fundamental questions about the limits of experimentation, the meaning and direction of technological development, the limits of man's tampering with nature and the natural environment. This progress gives rise to both wonderment and fear. Man is becoming ever more fearful of the products of his own intelligence and freedom.