At the invitation of the Polish Culture NL Foundation, Alicja Geścinska will be the key speaker at the European Literature Night, on 28th June 2025 in De Balie. The event, which is held annually under the auspices of the EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture). The theme of this year’s edition is inspired by the contents of Geścińska’s latest Empathy against indifference: on art as a moral and political force essay, and the title is taken directly from its text – Against Indifference. Tickets already on sale at De Balie.
Who is she?
Polish-Belgian philosopher, writer, poet and publicist, author of books, essays and television programmes. What does she think about the modern world and why is her message important?
She was born in Poland but grew up in Belgium, where she moved with her parents at the age of seven. There, in 2007, she graduated with an honours degree in ethics from Ghent University and defended her doctoral thesis in philosophy in 2012 analysing the writings of Max Scheler and Karol Wojtyła.
Alicja Geścinska’s academic and literary output is highly valued worldwide, and she is one of the leading intellectuals in Belgium and the Netherlands who engage in public life and comment on current events.
What does he write about?
The author frequently recalls the writings of Karol Wojtyła and Leszek Kołakowski, popularising the achievements of the Polish philosophers and including them into the mainstream philosophical thought of the 20th and 21st centuries. Her texts are characterised by a deep dedication to the inalienable value of freedom of speech and freedom of thought, as well as a belief that the ideas of humanism should remain a universal moral guideline, regardless of the polarisation of contemporary societies.
Despite many years abroad the Polish language, remains, as she herself reveals, the language of her heart, which she reaches for in moments of deep emotion. As a multilingual person, she sees Europe’s linguistic diversity as a great beauty and cultural capital. Capital to which we have access thanks to the work of translators who convey the meanings of words across differences in customs, traditions, experiences and beliefs. The linguistic diversity of European literature clearly distinguishes it, according to Geścinska, from North and Ibero-American literature, which are based on a single language system.
In the media
She is actively present in the media. Alicja Geścińska has worked with the Dutch newspaper Trouw, where she ran the column Philosophical Eleven. In 2016, she started collaboration with the Belgian TV channel Canvas, for which she hosted an original programme Wanderlust. As a host she used to invite prominent intellectuals of the 21st century – writers, philosophers, journalists and artists.
In academia and in bookshops
As a scholar, she has worked with such prestigious centres as Princeton University and Amherst College in the United States. She currently leads the research programme in the Department of Philosophy at Buckingham University in the UK.
She is also the author of numerous publications, just to mention the highly acclaimed philosophical treatise ‘Gaining Freedom’ (2011), the debut novel ‘A Certain Kind of Love’ (2016), ‘Trojan Thoughts’ (2021), ‘Humanitas. A forgotten idea’ or “Women in dark times” (2025).
Latest essay
On 13th May 2025, Common Ground 2025 magazine published Alicja Geścinska’s moving essay Empathy against indifference: on art as a moral and political force. The author argues that artists and thinkers constitute the most sensitive tissue of any society and they are the first ones to recognise and expose the threat of totalitarianism. It is therefore they who often become the first victims of totalitarian power. This is exactly what happened under Stalin, Hitler and Mao. And art, music and literature themselves stimulate the formation of empathetic attitudes.
History is a book of warnings, writes Geścinska. Nowadays, when authoritarianism is once again gaining many sympathisers, it is worth looking into the past, to read the warnings in time and find solutions.
Monika Gimblett
