Leszek Kołakowski

Jacek Jastal (Krakow University of Technology)
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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…

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 19 March 2024.]

12592 Leszek Kołakowski 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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