Episode Details

This biographical episode chronicles the life of Leszek Kołakowski, a renowned Polish philosopher and intellectual historian who lived from 1927 to 2009. Initially a proponent of Marxism, he eventually became one of its most formidable critics, arguing that the oppressive nature of Stalinism was a direct consequence of Marxist ideology. After being exiled from Poland in 1968 for his political defiance, he spent much of his distinguished career at the University of Oxford. His extensive writings on religion, freedom of will, and humanism served as a vital moral catalyst for the Solidarity movement, contributing to the eventual decline of communist rule in Europe. Recognized globally for his scholarship, Kołakowski received prestigious honors such as the Kluge Prize and the MacArthur Fellowship. Today, he is remembered as a pivotal figure in Western philosophy who championed the pursuit of truth and the preservation of human hope against totalitarianism.