In this article, I am examining the role of categorization in understanding. The problem arises from well-known distinction between explanation and understanding, which has been for a century pursued in hermeneutic tradition. Categorization belongs to explanatory endeavor and its role in understanding is unclear. In order to delimit the scope of inquiry I am focusing on the weakest kind of categorization, so called categorization ad hoc. I am examining the hypothesis to the effect that categorization plays its role in hermeneutic circle as some sort of preunderstanding. Eventually, however, I reject this hypothesis. It is because it leads to hermeneutic paradox: The notion of pre-understanding has a meaning only in the context of full-fledged understanding, which is an unattainable ideal. Such ideal cannot be used as a personal criterion of the quality of one’s understanding. There is a tension between the feeling of understanding and the scarcity of personal means to justify this feeling. I am suggesting that similar, albeit weaker effect occurs also in more elaborate, scientific categorizations. What is really wrong in the passage from categorization to understanding is some form of self-understanding: We do not know whether we understand better, or at all when we put some categorical order onto our experience. We do not seem to have the required meta-understanding.

This paper proposes a new approach to the processing and analysis of medical images. We introduce the term and methodology of medical data understanding, as a new step in the way of starting from image processing, and followed by analysis and classification (recognition). The general view of the situation of the new technology of machine perception and image understanding in the context of the more well known and classic techniques of image processing, analysis, segmentation and classification is shown below

Major works by Leon Koj deal with the issues of semiotics, logics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and ethics. Many of them refer to aspects of communication, however, this is not the main subject of his considerations. These references relate to the problems of satisfying: 1. the logical criteria, 2. the methodological criteria, 3. the ethical criteria, 4. the semiotic criteria. This article is dedicated to defining the semiotic criteria. It briefly covers basic semiotic notions present in Koj’s works. On the basis of Koj’s assumptions the concept of semiotics conditions for the realisation and functions of the communication process is defined.

The paper aims to propose a method of historical investigation of emotions in the past. The author rethinks the phenomenon of empathy as a potential research tool for grasping the emotions of past events’ agents. He provides a psychology-based defi nition and an overview of historiographic traditions associated with empathy. He discusses limitations regarding validity (accuracy) and intersubjective control of empathy. Subsequently, the author proposes how to overcome these limitations.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is conceptualized as a personality trait or an ability. Most of conducted studies on EI-coping association referred to trait emotional intelligence. Therefore, the role of ability emotional intelligence is less clear and need to be further studied. The present study examined the relationship between two EI abilities (emotion recognizing and emotion understanding) and stress coping strategies in adolescent men and women. The data were collected from 1033 Polish high school students (520 men and 512 women) aged 18-20 years (Mage = 18.46 years). Coping strategies were assessed using the COPE inventory and emotional abilities were measured using the Emotional Intelligence Scale – Faces (SIE-T) and the Emotion Understanding Test (TRE). The results supported the existence of an association between EI abilities and coping strategies. The analyses of the interaction effects revealed the moderating role of gender on some of the relationships between EI abilities and coping strategies.

Communication with authorities belongs to a field of research with a long and intensive research tradition. The present paper focuses on the process of understanding in oral institutional communication. It will present some mechanisms by which common understanding is achieved by using different resources. In contrast to the numerous papers dealing with written institutional communication, little work has been carried out on conversations in the administration. Based on Becker-Mrotzek’s (1999, 2001) classification of oral institutional communication into three different types: discourse on con-sultation, objection and application, the present paper focuses on data collection interviews or application discourses (Ger. Datenerhebungsgespräche), which form “the major part of citizen-administration-discourses” (Becker-Mrotzek 1999: 1399). Despite the frequency of these types of discourse, they are the subject of remarkably few studies.

We aimed to investigate whether educational activities in the form of guided tours through an exhibition change the appreciation of art when young experts (i.e. first-years students of artistic faculties) view contemporary art in a gallery. Participants viewed and assessed the artworks presented at the gallery twice – before and after taking part in a guided tour led by a gallery educator. The guide-led tour increased both understanding and ratings (the hedonic value) of the artworks, which is consistent with the “effort after meaning” hypothesis and also with the model of aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic judgments. Our results suggest that the reception of works of art by young experts is changed when they are under the influence of extensive contextual information.