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Leszek Kołakowski

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Leszek Kołakowski

in Radom, Poland

Distinguished Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analysis of Marxist thought, especially his acclaimed three-volume history, Main Currents of Marxism. In his later work, Kolakowski increasingly focused on religious questions. In his 1986 Jefferson Lecture, he asserted that "We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.”

In Poland, Kołakowski is not only revered as a philosopher and historian of ideas, but also as an icon for opponents of communism. Adam Michnik has called Kołakowski "one of the most prominent creators of contemporary Polish culture".

Kołakowski died on 17 July 2009, aged 81, in Oxford, England. In his obituary, philosopher Roger Scruton

Distinguished Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analysis of Marxist thought, especially his acclaimed three-volume history, Main Currents of Marxism. In his later work, Kolakowski increasingly focused on religious questions. In his 1986 Jefferson Lecture, he asserted that "We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.”

In Poland, Kołakowski is not only revered as a philosopher and historian of ideas, but also as an icon for opponents of communism. Adam Michnik has called Kołakowski "one of the most prominent creators of contemporary Polish culture".

Kołakowski died on 17 July 2009, aged 81, in Oxford, England. In his obituary, philosopher Roger Scruton said Kolakowski was a "thinker for our time" and that regarding Kolakowski's debates with intellectual opponents, "even if ... nothing remained of the subversive orthodoxies, nobody felt damaged in their ego or defeated in their life's project, by arguments which from any other source would have inspired the greatest indignation."

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Main Currents Of Marxism: T... Main Currents Of Marxism: The Founders, The Golden Age, The Breakdown by Leszek Kołakowski, P.S. Falla (Translator) 4.26 avg rating — 428 ratings — published 1976 —29 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Mini wykłady o maxi sprawac... Mini wykłady o maxi sprawach. Trzy serie 3.90 avg rating — 379 ratings — published 1981 —14 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Why Is There Something Rath... Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? 3.74 avg rating — 363 ratings — published 2006 —17 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Is God Happy? Selected Essays Is God Happy? Selected Essays 4.08 avg rating — 315 ratings — published 2009 —14 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Tales from the Kingdom of L... Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia and The Key to Heaven by Leszek Kołakowski, Agnieszka Kołakowska (Translator), Salvator Attanasio (Translation) 4.03 avg rating — 234 ratings — published 1963 —13 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Metaphysical Horror Metaphysical Horror by Leszek Kołakowski, Agnieszka Kołakowska (Translation) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 236 ratings — published 1988 —22 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Religion: If There Is No Go... Religion: If There Is No God God, The Devil & Sin 4.16 avg rating — 130 ratings — published 2009 —21 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Main Currents of Marxism: I... Main Currents of Marxism: Its Rise, Growth and DissolutionVolume 1: The Founders by Leszek Kołakowski, P.S. Falla (Translator) 4.26 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 1976 —15 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Modernity on Endless Trial Modernity on Endless Trial by Leszek Kołakowski, Stefan Czerniawski (Translation), Wolfgang Freis (Translation) 4.15 avg rating — 98 ratings — published 1991 —7 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
O co nas pytaja wielcy filo... O co nas pytaja wielcy filozofowie: seria I 3.92 avg rating — 88 ratings — published 2004 —6 editions Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

More books by Leszek Kołakowski…

“A modern philosopher who has never once suspected himself of being a charlatan must be such a shallow mind that his work is probably not worth reading.”
― Leszek Kolakowski, Metaphysical Horror

“Religion is man's way of accepting life as an inevitable defeat. That it is not an inevitable defeat is a claim that cannot be defended in good faith. One can, of course, disperse one's life over the contingencies of every day, but even then it is only a ceaseless and desperate desire to live, and finally a regret that one has not lived. One can accept life, and accept it, at the same time, as a defeat only if one accepts that there is a sense beyond that which is inherent in human history -- if, in other words, one accepts the order of the sacred. A hypothetical world from which the sacred had been swept away would admit of only two possibilities: vain fantasy that recognizes itself as such, or immediate satisfaction which exhausts itself. It would leave only the choice proposed by Baudelaire, between lovers of prostitutes and lovers of clouds: those who know only the satisfactions of the moment and are therefore contemptible, and those who lose themselves in otiose imaginings , and are therefore contemptible. Everything is contemptible, and there is no more to be said. The conscience liberated from the sacred knows this, even if it conceals it from itself.”
― Leszek Kolakowski

“We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.”
― Leszek Kolakowski

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