Theoretical physics, fin de siècle

The XII Max Born Symposium has a special character. It was held in honour th of Jan Lopusza nski on the occasion of his 75 birthday. As a rule the Max Born Symposia organized by the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Wroc law were devoted to well-de ned subjects of contemporary interest. This time, however, the organizers decided to make an exception. Lopusza nski’s in? uence on and contribution to the development of th- retical physics at Wrocla w University is highly appreciable. His personality and scienti c achievements gave him authority which he used to the best - vantage of the Institute. In fact we still pro t from his knowledge, experience and judgment. Lopusza nski’s scienti c activity extended over about half a century. He successfully participated in research on the most important and fascinating issues of theoretical physics. During his scienti c career he met and made friends with many outstanding physicists who shaped theoretical physics to the present form. For this reason, as well as the coincidence of the approaching end of the century, we thought that it would be interesting and instructive to give the symposium a retrospective character. We decided to trust the speakers’ judgment and intuition for the choice of subjects for their talks. We just asked them to give the audience the important message based on their knowledge and experience.