The Greek polis is the birthplace of a culture whose influence persisted despite the fall of the very form of polis. This culture plays a significant part in the life of communities of today, especially in the domain of the so-called Western culture. Polis means both state and city, but most of all it is “a society, a community of people living together”. This form of governance enabled equal citizens to exercise direct supervision over their governments. Polis itself was not an invention of ancient Greeks, but the public nature thereof, especially in the form of the debate-based democracy and the rule of law – not of people – turned out to be their contribution to the idea of a city-state. Democracy as a common form of a political system can be found particularly in the Greek culture of polis. The general notions deriving from the Greek polis, i.e. citizenship, democracy, equality, independence, autonomy or justice, express a desire for a better life of an individual in a community. The democracy of classical times, characterised by equal citizenship and freedom of speech, is considered as the first one to moderate fierce social-economic disputes. It is this polis that made it possible for philosophy and science to develop. The modern-day discussion on the state in a globalised and increasingly urbanised world can surely benefit from a reflection on the civil and legal dimensions of polis.

The Greek polis is the birthplace of a culture whose influence persisted despite the fall of the very form of polis. This culture plays a significant part in the life of communities of today, especially in the domain of the so-called Western culture. Polis means both state and city, but most of all it is “a society, a community of people living together”. This form of governance enabled equal citizens to exercise direct supervision over their governments. Polis itself was not an invention of ancient Greeks, but the public nature thereof, especially in the form of the debate-based democracy and the rule of law – not of people – turned out to be their contribution to the idea of a city-state. Democracy as a common form of a political system can be found particularly in the Greek culture of polis.
The general notions deriving from the Greek polis, i.e. citizenship, democracy, equality, independence, autonomy or justice, express a desire for a better life of an individual in a community. The democracy of classical times, characterised by equal citizenship and freedom of speech, is considered as the first one to moderate fierce social-economic disputes. It is this polis that made it possible for philosophy and science to develop. The modern-day discussion on the state in a globalised and increasingly urbanised world can surely benefit from a reflection on the civil and legal dimensions of polis.

Reaching back to the sources and the meaning of essential European values is of great importance to creating the vision of democracy and freedom. This applies also to values such as fraternity. The root thereof is found in pre-ancient poetry, later in the reflection of early philosophers – especially of the Sophists and the Stoics. Fraternity stands for the common descent, background, and heritage of humans. Descriptions of social reality nowadays reveal various forms of discrimination, e.g. on account of passing over the imperative of fraternity. A guarantee of only majority decision-making without common kindness as defined by C. Znamierowski and without fraternity will not make a system democratic. In such circumstances, the righteousness of legal acts is also debatable.

Dla kreowania wizji demokracji i wolności duże znaczenie ma przypominanie źródeł i sensu ważnych europejskich wartości, także takiej wartości jak braterstwo. Korzenie odnajdywane są w poezji przedarchaicznej, a później w refleksji pierwszych filozofów, a jeszcze bardziej sofistów i stoików. Braterstwo wyraża wspólne pochodzenie i dziedzictwo ludzi. Opisy rzeczywistości społecznej ujawniają współcześnie różne formy dyskryminacji, m.in. właśnie ze względu na pomijanie nakazu braterstwa. Gwarancja wyłącznie większościowego decydowania bez utrzymywania życzliwości powszechnej w ujęciu C. Znamierowskiego czy braterstwa nie zapewni ustrojowi demokratyczności. W tej sytuacji także problematyczna jest prawość ustaw.

Important for the scientific and philosophical mode of thought is the issue of circumstances that lead to the emergence of such type of reflection, different from traditional ways of explaining the reality by mythological beliefs. The spiritual search of a philosophising man turned out to be a reflection upon rule, upon the all-governing principle, i.e. both the natural world (cosmos) and the relations between people. This mode of thought evolved when a need and possibility for writing down (setting out) abstract legal norms (nomos) for the sake of certainty and verifiability of judgments arose. It was vital also for the trade and in particular for ownership (civil law), whose value was abstractly expressed in monetary money. These were the crucial factors in the initiation and development of scientific and philosophical (abstract) thought. Other fundamental conditions for the development of science and philosophy included liberty, equality and respect for otherness, as well as the non-orthodox character of beliefs (myths). These were ensured by the civic, cosmopolitan and economically developed polis, particularly the democratic one. Such conditions for the development of science and philosophy have proved to be universal and timeless.