The development of philosophy in Poland after the Second World War can be divided into three distinct periods. The first was the period of reconstruction which ended some time in 1949. It was marked by the rise of Marxism-Leninism as one philosophical trend among others which existed at that time in academic philosophy. Marxism-Leninism as a philosophical doctrine had a handful of supporters mostly outside the universities. They were regarded as philosophical and sociological journalists rather than as professional philosophers. In their activities they tried to dispel what they called the "misinterpretations of Marxism- Leninism' and the widespread intellectual distrust of this doctrine, which was regarded as obsolete and wildly speculative, suspected of serving purely political aims under the guise of ostensible theoretical interests, and repudiated by many on moral grounds ¹ For their part, Marxist-Leninists showed moderation in their publications concerning more specifically philosophical problems, kept on the defensive and adopted a conciliatory attitude towards other schools of thought with the exception of Christian philosophy.