The Philosophy of Sustainable Development as a Subdiscipline of Philosophical Research

The article is the result of scientific research carried out by the author during the period 2004-2007. These studies touched on genesis, subject, aim, axiological system, the concept of education and the main problems of the philosophy of sustainable development and the sustainable development principle as an ontological base (in the sense of ontology of social being) for contemporary politics of protection of the environment. This research led the author to conclude that the standpoint generally accepted by Polish environmental philosophers (which views the philosophy of sustainable development as just another ecophilosophical concept) is unjustified. The philosophy of sustainable development is autonomous. This research concentrated on sustainable development as a contemporary political idea. This idea is concrete, with its own origin, and is known to be applied in international and national political relations. The philosophy of sustainable development is presented here for the first time in Polish literature as an independent philosophical subdiscipline.