Dr. Catherine Audard and Prof. Leszek Kolakowski

Philosopher, intellectual historian, and cultural critic, Professor Kolakowski is the author of more than 30 books and 400 other writings published in varying formats and languages - primarily in Polish, but also in French, English and German.

Professor Kolakowski provoked the LSE audience with his philosophical, and often humorous, insights on religion, the necessity of freedom and the search for human dignity. His creative life has been punctuated by themes such as morality, honesty and freedom of thought - arguably making Kolakowski the voice of morality within a socialist Poland that was, in Kolakowski's words, intellectually and ideologically bankrupt. Many of Kolakowski's essays deal with dilemmas faced in everyday life and are often written in a very readable, provocative and self-mocking fashion. Prof. Kolakowski's set of essays entitled "Freedom, Fame, Lying and Betrayal", for example, looks at the morality behind lying, power, fame and virtue - issues that are pertinent to LSE students and graduates alike.

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