Received Sylff fellowship in 1994
Academic supervisor : Beata Szymańska-Aleksandrowicz
Current affiliation:Jagiellonian University
My interest in Indian philosophy developed during the Master's philosophy program at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Initially, I was inspired by Greek and early Christian thinkers, then by German idealists and numerous contemporary philosophers. However, what proved most stimulating and formative for me, more than any specific historical view, was critical thinking and the comparative study of diverse Western philosophical methods, especially phenomenology, hermeneutics, and the analytic approach. In the late 1980s, I started studying the history of Indian and Buddhist philosophy along with the regular Sanskrit classes. At that time I also extended my major philosophy program, taking extra courses in Indology, psychology and religious studies. Such an interdisciplinary individual program proved to be very helpful in completing my MA thesis devoted to the concept of mind (citta) in the classical Yoga system.
After 1992 I continued my education at Jagiellonian University as a PhD candidate, doing also some research at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. I gained my PhD degree in 1998 defending a dissertation that discussed the subject vs. object distinction in terms of Sāmkhya Yoga tradition.
In the following years, I continued my post-doc research in Indian philosophy, comparative philosophy & religion, and philosophy of mind. Due to my teaching assignments, I also extended my research interests by conducting the studies in cross-cultural aesthetics and ethics, gender studies, philosophy of culture, philosophy of mind and cognitive studies.
The major research projects I realized were supported by grants awarded by SYLFF (the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund), Oxford Colleges Hospitality Scheme, Foundation of Polish Science, Polish State Committee of Scientific Research, the Lanckorońskis’ Foundation, the Stefan Batory Foundation. Thanks to these scholarships and numerous travel grants I could participate in international conferences in Asia, Europe and USA, and spent longer study periods at University of London (SOAS) and University of Oxford (Oriental Institute).
Academic Achievements, Social Engagement Initiatives
I have published mainly in the areas of Samkhya and Yoga philosophy, Indian and Japanese aesthetics, the aesthetics of four elements (esp. earth), contemplative traditions of India, and ecofeminism. I've been a visiting researcher and visiting professor at several universities in Europe and Asia, including the University of Oxford, the University of London (SOAS), Visva-Bharati University, University of Calcutta, University of Crete, Dalarna University in Falun, Charles University in Prague. I'm the founder and the first editor-in-chief of ARGUMENT: Biannual Philosophical Journal. My research primarily focuses on classical Indian Philosophy and early Buddhist Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Comparative Studies in Philosophy and Religion, Philosophy of Culture, Cross-cultural Aesthetics and selected issues in Gender Studies.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marzenna-jakubczak-borge-4428bb45/
https://jagiellonian.academia.edu/MarzennaJakubczak
https://sites.google.com/view/marzenna-jakubczak-borge
