Professor Jerzy Bralczyk needs no introduction. Before his lecture, the Skłodowska Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw was filled to capacity. Many young people noted that they had come to the 6th Our Future Forum specifically to hear Professor Bralczyk speak. After a long period of anticipation and a ceremonious introduction, one of Poland’s most distinguished linguists took to the stage and began his speech.
He opened with an ironic remark, expressing regret that the conference was named Our Future Forum rather than Forum Naszej Przyszłości (“Forum of Our Future” in Polish). He explained that he understood the organizers’ decision, given that in Polish, the words przyszłość (future) and przeszłość (past), though opposite in meaning, sound almost identical. He joked that if the event were called Forum Naszej Przyszłości, someone might mistake it for Forum Naszej Przeszłości (“Forum of Our Past”), which the organizers likely wanted to avoid. He then humorously added that, as an older man, he has more past behind him than the young people in the audience, who have more future ahead.
Transitioning to the topic of values, he observed that everything we seriously consider is either a value in itself or possesses some value. He pointed out that value is synonymous with importance, as everything valuable to us is also important to us. However, he noted that the concept of values is not as straightforward as it seems, as we often face the challenge of choosing between competing values.
He then quoted the famous Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert, specifically from the poem The Message of Mr. Cogito: “Be brave when reason fails you, be brave. In the final account, that is what matters most.” To the audience’s surprise, he declared that when he first read this quote, he thought it was utter nonsense. He argued that relying solely on courage without reason is recklessness, bravado, or something entirely indefinable. In his view, courage is needed precisely when reason does not fail us, and we should attribute greater value to reason than to courage.
Addressing the fundamental question of what holds the greatest value for humans, he noted that philosophers, psychologists, and theologians have wrestled with this question since antiquity, to little avail. He explained that asking about values is akin to asking about meaning, significance, and purpose—essentially, why any of this matters. He answered that values exist to guide us, though he admitted we often struggle with them because we interpret them in diverse ways. He highlighted a subtle distinction between asking what has value for us and what is a value itself. For example, the perspective we adopt changes when we think that life has value versus when we think life is a value.
Professor Bralczyk then pondered whether there is a need to assign value to life, suggesting that perhaps life has inherent value. Sadly, he observed that for many young people, value is reduced to a price or cost—the amount they must pay for something. He lamented that reducing values to their economic dimensions diminishes the grandeur of the concept.
Through linguistic wordplay, he remarked that on one hand, value is important, and on the other, importance is valuable, as value and importance are near-synonyms in language. Ironically, he asked whether it is even worth discussing values, cleverly framing this as a rhetorical trick. He noted that values often feel more genuine to us when we don’t actively think about them—a paradox, as selecting the values that guide us in life requires conscious reflection.
Listing key values often deemed important in life, he mentioned health, beauty, talent, wealth, and attractiveness. He lamented that many people today place greater value on how others perceive them than on how they perceive themselves or who they truly are. He strongly rejected the notion that “we are as others see us,” urging young people to have more faith in themselves.
Moments later, Professor Bralczyk shared his fondness for the word sigma. He explained that he liked it because it describes someone independent, self-assured, and highly successful—qualities he considered especially valuable in a world where, unfortunately, many prioritize how others perceive them. He joked that sigma gives him hope that youth slang isn’t entirely bad.
Returning to the topic of values, he stressed that what truly matters is who we are, not how others see us. He observed, however, that others perceive us based on who we are, creating a vicious cycle. Paradoxically, he noted, we tend to assign greater value to qualities beyond our control, such as talent or beauty. He lamented that in today’s world, youth is often deemed more valuable than old age. Whereas age once symbolized wisdom and experience, he said, it is now frequently associated with routine, which carries negative connotations. Conversely, what was once valued in potential, such as freshness and innovation, has become a true value today.
Professor Bralczyk remarked that values are often subjective, and many are hedonistic. He cautioned that the pursuit of pleasure can lead to an inability to experience it fully and ultimately to losing oneself. He argued against living by hedonistic values and provocatively stated that a sense of fulfillment might not be desirable, as a fulfilled person has achieved everything and no longer has dreams. Dreams, he said, are paradoxical: once realized, they vanish. This means that in achieving them, we lose them. He encouraged the audience to delay fulfilling their dreams at times, suggesting that it’s worth savoring them while they last.
In discussing dreams, he referenced Agnieszka Osiecka, who wrote, “It’s not about catching the rabbit; it’s about chasing it.” He observed that when wishing people well-being, he sometimes says it would be better for us to have more ability than desire—because wanting but not being able to leads to frustration. He also emphasized the importance of wanting more than we are forced to, as our obligations often exceed our desires.
Unexpectedly, he turned to the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus teaches that if we do good deeds to receive praise from others, the goodness is lost because the praise is its reward. Similarly, doing good for personal pride is also problematic, as the knowledge of doing good becomes its own reward. The highest virtue, according to Jesus, is to do good without being aware of it—a value Bralczyk admitted is incredibly difficult to attain because it requires self-unawareness.
At one point, he analyzed the names of values themselves, noting that even positive-sounding terms like fidelity or honesty are not inherently positive. For example, one can be faithful to bad habits or dishonest people. He lamented how names are often instrumentalized for manipulation.
He recalled that in ancient Greece, the three highest values were goodness, beauty, and truth. While goodness and beauty are subjective, truth, he noted, is objective. Playing with the word truth, he asked the audience whether they agreed that what he was saying was true, concluding that we don’t always seek the truth. Discussing goodness and beauty, he observed that as children, we are taught that some things are “good” and others are “bad,” tying the concepts of goodness and beauty together from an early age.
He noted that humans have a fondness for triads, referencing not only the Greek triad of goodness, beauty, and truth but also the French revolutionary triad of liberty, equality, and fraternity. He also mentioned Polish triads like God, honor, homeland; peace, progress, work; and freedom, property, family. However, he warned young people that triads can be dangerous, as they often mask demagoguery and populism.
He pointed out that abstract ideals like goodness and beauty can be relativized and exploited for propaganda. Even words like patriotism, freedom, and independence, he joked, can be devalued through overuse. He emphasized that names are defenseless—they can be used to achieve goals that are not always noble. He added that politicians have mastered the art of persuasion and manipulation, making them today’s managers of our community’s core values.
Concluding his speech, Professor Bralczyk stated that irreplaceable and unquestionable values such as life, time, and space are particularly important because, while they impose limitations on us, they also motivate us to make the most of those limitations. Finally, he admitted that the greatest value for him is language, which he described not only as a universal means of communication but also as a national heritage passed down through generations.
