Introduction: Reconsidering Ph.D. Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities in Poland: Between Tradition and Innovation

Abstract

Continuous discussions devoted to the problem of potentially optimal conditions for the development of researchers may be considered as one of the fundamental phenomena of the academic reality both in the past as well in the present. This kind of rejection remains therefore a vital part of the multidimensional considerations about the nature of science, its mission, ideals, aims of academia, and finally about scientific excellence. All these categories have been thoroughly reformulated over the centuries. Consequently, the ideas about the academic arrangements, including the role and duties of young scholars, need to be understood as results of long-lasting and complex processes. However, some general principles emerge as quite solid across centuries. One of them claims that with ongoing studies, a young scholar should prove ability to pose scienti%cally significant questions and search for valuable answers. In this context, both the institution of the magisterium and the doctorate were created and evolved.