Metafory i aporie, czyli o konieczności i niemożliwości filozofii. Stanowisko Leszka Kołakowskiego
Metaphors and Aporias – about the Necessity and Impossibility of Philosophy. Leszek Kołakowski’s Position

Summary/Abstract: The subject matter of the article is not the evolution of Leszek Kołakowski’s views, but rather the metaphors (of a priest, a jester, a clown, and a charlatan) he employed to illustrate the role of a philosopher in culture. The priest believes that they are proclaiming divine truth which should be accepted by all people. Unable to be critical of their own views, a philosopher priest is a useful tool in the hands of power, propagating its ideology and justifying its actions, even the most sinister ones. The jester is a sceptic who doubts if it is even possible to discover the truth and questions the very existence of criteria which would allow one to distinguish between the rational and irrational. A philosopher-jester allows people to keep their distance from ideologies which are forced upon them, and thus protects our freedom, especially freedom of thought. The clown is a rebel who mocks sanctities which are in fact unfounded myths directing our behavior. Therefore, a philosopher-clown reminds us that philosophy is an undertaking that is destined to fail – after all, everything we consider as truth is exposed as an illusion. Finally, a charlatan is a philosopher who realized that philosophy is doomed and is facing a choice: either to admit helplessness (which would lead to them being socially useless) or to sell illusions as revelations (which would make them a liar). Thus, philosophy turns out to be an undertaking that is both necessary (searching for truth) and impossible (faced with the realization that truth is unobtainable a human mind becomes content with illusions).

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