莱谢克·柯拉柯夫斯基(Leszek Kolakowski，1927-2009)，20世纪波兰著名的哲学家、哲学史和宗教史学家，也是作家和翻译家，享有国际声誉。先后任教于华沙大学、美国耶鲁大学、加州大学伯克利分校、芝加哥大学等，1970年起在英国牛津大学万灵学院任高级研究员。

柯拉柯夫斯基一生发表了三十多部著作，最主要著作有：《马克思主义主流》(1976—1978)、《宗教，如果没有上帝……》(1982)、《形而上学的恐怖》(1988)等。文学方面，有三本短篇故事集最为著名，在世界上广泛流传：《关于来洛尼亚王国的十三个童话故事》(1963)、《天堂的钥匙》(1964)和《与魔鬼的谈话》(1965)。

Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers

纽约时报讣闻的结尾，

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.”

每日电讯报讣闻的开头：

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.