Leszek Kołakowski

Jacek Jastal (Krakow University of Technology)

Ed. by Ewa M. Thompson, Rice University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

Born 23 Oct 1927
Died 17 Jul 2009
Activity 1957-2009

Places

Born in Poland
Active in England; Poland; United States

Activities

Primary

Essayist
Historian / Chronicler
Philosopher

Resources

Kołakowski's Works

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Leszek Kołakowski was a leading philosopher of the second half of the twentieth century and an influential Polish intellectual of the time. He dealt above all with the history of philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy; he also produced political journalism and minor literary fiction. His work aimed at defending the classical perception of philosophy as a search for answers to questions about truth, the meaning of the universe, and human life. In his later work he leaned towards accepting the existence of an Absolute and defended traditional values of European culture, including the Christian tradition. In his youth he was attached to Marxist philosophy, but he grew estranged from Marxism in mid-1950s to become, in the end, its adamant critic. In the…

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3181 words

Citation: Jastal, Jacek. "Leszek Kołakowski". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 November 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12592, accessed 24 November 2024.]