First competition for the Leszek Kolakowski Honorary Fellowship

"The Foundation for Polish Science has a new proposal for scholars: the Leszek Kołakowski Honorary Fellowship. The aim of this scholarship is to give recognition to scholars with extensive achievements in the field of history of ideas and medieval and modern philosophy up to 1939. The annual scholarship may be awarded to scholars from Poland as well as other countries. The competition is based on nominations ? candidates are proposed by scholars from all over the world personally invited to do so. The recipient is chosen by a Jury composed of philosophers and historians of ideas who are international authorities in the field: Prof. Rémi Brague from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and L?Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris,  Prof. Wolf Lepenies from Freie Universität in Berlin, Prof. Mark Lilla from Columbia University in New York, Sir Noel Malcolm from All Souls College in Oxford, Prof. Steven Nadler from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, Prof. Bogdan Szlachta from Jagiellonian University and Prof. Karol Tarnowski from Jagiellonian University and the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków. A competition for the scholarship will be held every two years. The first competition has just been announced ? nominations will be accepted until 30 June 2015. "This scholarship is an expression of our desire to honour the achievements of Prof. Leszek Kołakowski, one of the greatest minds of the second half of the 20th century, and also to promote Polish philosophical thought around the world. This purpose will be served by the competition mechanism ? an international committee and an international procedure for nominating candidates, who will be suggested by leading scholars from around the world", says Prof. Włodzimierz Bolecki, deputy president of the Foundation for Polish Science. When selecting the scholarship's recipient, the Jury will analyse the academic achievements of the candidates and their research plans for the next 12 months. The scholarship amount in the first competition is 90,000 zlotys. The grant is financed from the Foundation for Polish Science's own funds, including the specially established Prof. Leszek Kołakowski Fund.   Picture: Prof. Leszek Kołakowski by Steve Pyke