基本內(nèi)容
萊謝克·柯拉柯夫斯基(Leszek Kolakowski，1927-2009)，20世紀(jì)波蘭著名的哲學(xué)家、哲學(xué)史和宗教史學(xué)家，也是作家和翻譯家，享有國際聲譽(yù)。先后任教于華沙大學(xué)、美國耶魯大學(xué)、加州大學(xué)伯克利分校、芝加哥大學(xué)等，1970年起在英國牛津大學(xué)萬靈學(xué)院任高級研究員。 柯拉柯夫斯基一生發(fā)表了三十多部著作，最主要著作有：《馬克思主義主流》(1976—1978)、《宗教，如果沒有上帝……》(1982)、《形而上學(xué)的恐怖》(1988)等。文學(xué)方面，有三本短篇故事集最為著名，在世界上廣泛流傳：《關(guān)于來洛尼亞王國的十三個童話故事》(1963)、《天堂的鑰匙》(1964)和《與魔鬼的談話》(1965)。 Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers 紐約時報訃聞的結(jié)尾， In a noted lecture in 1982, Mr. Kolakowski said the cultural role of philosophy was “never to let the inquisitive energy of mind go to sleep, never to stop questioning what appears to be obvious and definitive, always to defy the seemingly intact resources of common sense” and “never to forget that there are questions that lie beyond the legitimate horizon of science and are nonetheless crucially important to the survival of humanity as we know it.” 每日電訊報訃聞的開頭： It was therefore not the philosopher’s role to deliver the truth, but to "build the spirit of truth" by questioning what appears to be obvious, always suspecting that there might be "another side" to any question. The true philosopher should approach any issue with scepticism and humility: "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", he said.
