Horia-Roman Patapievici, physician, essayist, polyglot, and polyhistor, belongs to modern Romania’s intellectual elite. He studied physics, and is currently writing a PhD thesis in philosophy. Patapievici is head of the prestigious Romanian Cultural Institute, and he is editor-in-chief of the leading cultural journal Idei în dialog. As a member of the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives, he pleaded for more openness involving the former Romanian communist regime’s secret service. In the eyes of many, Patapievici is one of the leaders of the spiritual and intellectual renaissance which Eastern Europe has been experiencing since its historical revolutions.