7 Quotes by Leszek Kolakowski

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.

In fact, you cannot condemn torture on political grounds, because in most cases it is perfectly efficient and the torturers get what they want. You can condemn it only on moral grounds and then, necessarily, everywhere in the same way, in Batista's Cuba or in Castro's Cuba, in North Vietnam and in South Vietnam.

Wąż dowodzi gryzieniem, że ma rację. A kto umrze od ukąszenia węża, nie ma racji, bo nieżywi z definicji racji nie mają!

Extremely unlikely events occur every moment and it is not a priori unthinkable that the evolution of life should be due to mere chance than that a particular order in a pack of cards should result from mechanical shuffling.

In politics, being deceived is no excuse.

No victory is irreversible, no defeat is definitive. That is what makes life worth living.

We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.