Adam Potkay

Professor Adam Potkay is a distinguished academic from William & Mary University, Virginia, USA, invited as the 2024/2025 Karol Wojtyła Memorial Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. He is delivering a comprehensive lecture series titled Freedom and Determinism in Literature and Philosophy, hosted jointly by the Faculty of Philosophy and the Center for Research on the Thought of John Paul II. His work bridges philosophy, theology, and literary studies, with a particular focus on freedom, moral intuition, and the human person.

His research interests include:

• Phenomenology and ethical emotionalism
• Romantic literature and moral philosophy
• Freedom and determinism in classical and modern thought
• The intersection of theology and literature
• Philosophical anthropology
• The role of humor and creativity in expressing freedom

The lecture series analyzes the evolution of freedom and determinism from Homer and the Stoics through Augustine, Milton, Hobbes, and Zola, to Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Karol Wojtyła. It emphasizes how literary forms—from poetry to the novel—reveal deep philosophical tensions between necessity and agency. Potkay highlights Karol Wojtyła’s critique of Scheler’s emotional intuitionism, arguing for the necessity of will and judgment in ethical life. He also explores how humor, as seen in Shakespeare and Gombrowicz, serves as a phenomenological sign of freedom.

Potkay’s work demonstrates a sustained engagement with:

• The continuity between Aristotelian teleology and Christian ethics
• The limitations of causal determinism in behaviorism and evolutionary biology
• The enduring relevance of personal responsibility
• The poetic dimension of philosophical insight

As an active professor, he contributes significantly to interdisciplinary discourse, particularly in the dialogue between literature and philosophy. His lectures are delivered in hybrid format, reaching an international audience, and are part of a prestigious series honoring one of the most influential philosophical theologians of the 20th century.