Leszek Ko?akowski

Leszek Ko?akowski (born 23 October, 1927 in Radom, Poland) is a the most notable living Polish philosopher.

Work

Ko?akowski's books appeared in Poland for a long time in underground editions, playing a prominent role in shaping the Polish intellectual opposition. He continues to write both in Polish and English.

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Selected works

• Szkice o filozofii katolickiej, 1955
• ?wiatopogl?d i ?ycie codzienne, 1957
• Klucz niebieski, albo opowie?ci buduj?ce z historii ?wi?tej zebrane ku pouczeniu i przestrodze (The Key to Heaven), 1957
• Jednostka i niesko?czon??: Wolno?? i antynomie wolno?ci w filozofii Spinozy, 1958
• Der Mensch ohne Alternative, 1960
• Wygnanie z raju, 1961
• 13 bajek z królestwa Lailonii dla du?ych i ma?ych (Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia and the Key to Heaven), 1963
• Rozmowy z diablem (US title: Conversations with the Devil / UK title: Talk of the Devil), 1965
• Od Hume'a do Ko?a Wiede?skiego (The Alienation of Reason, translated by Norbert Guterman), 1966
• Kultura i fetysze (Toward a Marxist Humanism, translated by Jane Zielonko Peel, and Marxism and Beyond), 1967
• Traktat über die Sterblichkeit der Vernuft, 1967
• Chrétiens sans église, 1968 (originally published in Polish in 1958)
• A Leszek Ko?akowski Reader, 1971
• Positivist Philosophy, 1971
• TriQuartely 22, 1971
• Obecnosc mitu (The Presence of Myth), 1972
• ed. The Socialist Idea, 1974 (with Stuart Hampshire)
• Husserl and the Search for Certitude, 1975
• Glowne nurty marksizmu (Main Currents in Marxism), 1976 (3 vols.)
• Czy diabe? mo?e by? zbawiony i 27 innych kaza?, 1982
• Religion: If There Is No God, 1982
• Bergson, 1985
• Le Village introuvable, 1986
• Metaphysical Horror, 1988
• Pochwala niekonsekwencji, 1989 (ed. by Zbigniew Menzel)
• Cywilizacja na ?awie oskar?onych, 1990 (ed. by Pawe? K?oczowski)
• Modernity on Endless Trial, 1990
• God Owes Us Nothing: A Brief Remark on Pascal's Religion and on the Spirit of Jansenism, 1995
• Freedom, Fame, Lying, and Betrayal: Essays on Everyday Life, 1999
• Two Eyes of Spinoza and Other Essays on Philosophers, 2002

Awards

Kolakowski has been a fellow of scholarly societies in many countries and has received numerous academic honors and awards. Lately, in 2003, the Library of Congress awarded him the first one million dollar Kluge Prize.

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• Jurzykowski Prize (1969)
• Friedenpreis des Deutschen Buchhandels (1977)
• Prix Européen d?Essai (1981)
• Praemium Erasmianum (1982)
• MacArthur Fellowship(1983)
• Jefferson Award (1986)
• Award of the Polish Pen Club (1988)
• Prix Tocqueville (1993)
• Premio Nonino (1997)
• Kluge Prize of the Library of Congress