S. Urbanowski
PLEN

Szymon
Urbanowski

Philosopher and supply chain analyst. My research is on the philosophy of religious language (Wittgenstein, apophatic theology, Madhyamaka, Advaita Vedānta); professionally I work on transport operations and supply chain data at IKEA.

Status
MA in Philosophy (University of Warsaw), doctoral project in preparation
Work
Inter IKEA Purchasing Services Poland
Based in
Warsaw
Contact
sz.urbanowski@gmail.com
1

About

I hold an MA in Philosophy from the University of Warsaw, with a thesis on the grammar of faith in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thought; my BA thesis dealt with non-duality in Buddhist philosophy.

I’m interested in what speakers are doing when they talk about what, on their own account, cannot be said: from apophatic negation to hinge propositions and the status of religious belief. I read Buddhist and Hindu sources in Sanskrit.

Since 2024 I’ve worked in the Control Tower team at Inter IKEA Purchasing Services Poland, where I handle outbound transport from the Dortmund distribution centre complex and build analytical tools in Power BI and Excel/VBA.

2

Research

2.1

Doctoral project

The Paradox of Ineffability: Apophatic Language in Religion and Wittgenstein’s Philosophy

The project examines apophatic strategies in the Christian via negativa (Pseudo-Dionysius, Eckhart), Buddhist Madhyamaka (Nāgārjuna) and Advaita Vedānta (neti neti) from the perspective of the later Wittgenstein. Its central thesis is that apophatic language does not describe an ineffable object but transforms the speaking subject. Sanskrit serves direct work with the primary sources.

2.2

Research interests

  • philosophy of religion
  • religious language
  • later Wittgenstein
  • secondary sense
  • hinge propositions
  • negative theology
  • comparative apophaticism
  • Madhyamaka
  • Advaita Vedānta
  • theories of negation
  • Katz–Forman debate
3

Publications and talks

3.1

Articles

3.11
“Apophasis in a Secondary Sense: Wittgenstein on Secondary Sense and the Grammar of Apophatic Negation” Forum Philosophicumforthcoming
3.2

In preparation

3.21
“The Grammar of Apophatic Negation as a Discriminating Datum: The Katz–Forman Dispute and the Bounds of Comparison”
3.22
“Incorporated Negation and the Limits of Metalinguistic Apophaticism”
3.3

Talks

3.31
“Nietzsche i Homer: krytyka języka pojęciowego jako powrót do przedfilozoficznej mądrości” [Nietzsche and Homer: the critique of conceptual language as a return to pre-philosophical wisdom], in Polish · Homeric Colloquia, Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Kraków, 28–29 May 2026
4

Education

4.1
MA in Philosophy2026
University of Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy

Thesis: Gramatyka wiary [The Grammar of Faith: A Philosophical Analysis of Religious Language in the Thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein], supervisor: Dr hab. Marek Nowak

4.2
BA in Philosophy2019
University of Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology

Thesis: Niedualność w filozofii buddyjskiej [Non-duality in Buddhist Philosophy: Selected Concepts], supervisor: Dr hab. Marek Nowak

5

Work

5.1
Logistics Operations Specialist01/2024 –
Inter IKEA Purchasing Services Poland, Warsaw · Control Tower team (Supply Chain Operations)
  • Outbound road transport from the Dortmund distribution centre complex, serving more than 50 stores across Europe.
  • Rule-based deviation handling, data quality in operational systems, documented escalation.
  • Analytical and reporting tools in Power BI and Excel/VBA.
  • Business requester for an automation project in the transport planning system (Oracle Transportation Management).
5.2
Junior Logistics Specialist08–12/2023
Eveline Cosmetics
6

Skills

6.1

Languages

Polish (native), English (C1), German (C1, used at work daily), Sanskrit (reading primary texts, incl. Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Vigrahavyāvartanī, Māṇḍūkya and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, Brahmasūtrabhāṣya)

6.2

Analytics

Power BI, Excel, VBA; developing: SQL, Python/pandas

6.3

Systems

Oracle Transportation Management, Transporeon, project44, ServiceNow

6.4

Certificates

Google Data Analytics, Google Business Intelligence, Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst (course); in progress: Supply Chain Analytics (Rutgers), Google Advanced Data Analytics

7
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen.

L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus logico-philosophicus, 7 · “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent”

Everything else can be written: