The National Endowment for the Humanities has selected Leszek Kolakowski, a noted international historian of philosophy and religion and author of a three-volume study on Marxism, as its Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities for 1986. neh officials announced their selection of Mr. Kolakowski on Dec. 1.
The annual Jefferson Lecture is the highest honor the federal government confers for outstanding achievement in the humanities and carries a stipend of $10,000. Previous scholars honored have included Cleanth Brooks, Sidney Hook, Saul Bellow, and Erik Erikson.
15th Humanist Cited
Mr. Kolakowski, the 15th humanist to be honored by the award, holds academic posts at Oxford University and the University of Chicago. He will speak here on May 7; the following week he will deliver his lecture in a second U.S. city yet to be determined.
Mr. Kolakowski has published some 30 books and a large number of articles on the history of modern philosophy, the history of religious ideas, the philosophy of culture, and political philosophy. His books have been translated into 14 languages.
His major works in English, or in translation from his native Polish, include Bergson, 1985; Religion, 1982; Main Currents of Marxism, three volumes, 1978; Husserl and the Search for Certitude, 1975; and Positivist Philosophy, 1971.
In addition to his scholarly works, Mr. Kolakowski has published three volumes of short stories, monologues, and fables, some of which have been translated into English.
