The Czech philosopher Jan Patočka not only witnessed some of the most turbulent politics of twentieth-century Central Europe, but shaped his philosophy in response to that tumult. One of the last ...students of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, he inspired Václav Havel and other dissidents who confronted the Communist regime before 1989, as well as being actively involved in authoring and enacting Charter 77.He died in 1977 from medical complications resulting from interrogations of the secret police. iConfronting Totalitarian Minds/i examines his legacy along with several contemporary applications of his ideas about dissidence, solidarity, and the human being’s existential confrontation with unjust politics. Expanding the current possibilities of comparative political theory, the author puts Patočka’s ideas about dissidence, citizen mobilization, and civic responsibility into conversation with notable world historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Vaclav Havel, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and other contemporary activists. In adding a fresh voice to contemporary conversations on transcending injustice, iConfronting Totalitarian Minds/i seeks to educate a wider audience about this philosopher’s continued relevance to political dissidents across the world.
Selfhood and Appearing explores how, as embodied subjects, we are in the very world that we consciously internalize. Employing the insights of Merleau-Ponty and Patočka, this volume examines how the ...intertwining of both senses of "being-in" (physical and conscious) constitutes our reality.
In 1977 the sixty-nine-year-old Czech philosopher Jan Patocûka died from a brain hemorrhage following a series of interrogations by the Czechoslovak secret police. A student of Husserl and Heidegger, ...he had been arrested, along with young playwright Václav Havel, for publicly opposing the hypocrisy of the Czechoslovak Communist regime. Patocûka had dedicated himself as a philosopher to laying the groundwork of what he termed a “life in truth.”
This book analyzes Patocûka’s philosophy and political thought and illuminates the synthesis in his work of Socratic philosophy and its injunction to “care for the soul.” In bridging the gap, not only between Husserl and Heidegger, but also between postmodern and ancient philosophy, Patocûka presents a model of democratic politics that is ethical without being metaphysical, and transcendental without being foundational.
It is extremely difficult to identify the centre of Jan Patočka’s philosophy. This can be either the concept of natural world, but also subjective phenomenology or philosophy of history. I believe ...that the diversity of perspectives, and the motives that intermingle and cross with each other do not distort the centre of his thoughts, it is the struggle for authentic being of a human. Patočka addresses a human who fights for his soul which manifests in that he rejects the obvious, the absolute, the otherworldly, the certain.Patočka was critical about the history of classical metaphysics (from Plato to Husserl), believing that it aimed at what is certain and objective, and finally – absolute and eternal. He contrasted it with the Socratic uncertainty and problematicity. The concept of Patočka was particularly visible in the interpretation of Plato’s theory of ideas. The Czech philosopher showed a specific form of knowledge about the absolute transcendence with special relationship of human life to the entirety, including the primary reference to the non‑existence. Patočka emphasized the negativity as an inherent characteristic of human freedom. The horizon of this freedom is formed by temporality and historicity.Patočka’s approach to the philosophy of history is special. One can say that the concept of the Prague philosopher went beyond the framework of the classical understanding of the philosophy of history. Patočka did not treat it as a philosophical reflection on the history especially that he did not think of any historiographical reflections: the philosophy of history is not an interpretation of what happened. According to Patočka, the history always represents the history of man. The history is an objective power that is beyond the understandingof a man. On the other hand, people may only give the meaning to theirlives in the history.The history of Europe was another important topic of Patočka. Europe is a philosophical concept. When asked what was Europe, he replied by describing and clarifying its history and forces that governed it. In his deliberations, Patočka was focusing on its formation (by asking: how has Europe become Europe?) and on what happened later and was described by him as the post‑European era (why did Europe fall?). Also all that have spread between thebirth and the death, what was the course of spiritual fate of Europe, was of importance. According to Patočka, it was the caring for soul that had made the foundation of the European heritage.In the discussion concerning the meaning and the continuity of Czech history Patočka had to take the floor. Firstly, he referred to the history of the dispute, arguing against the opinions of Jungmann, Bolzana and, above all, of Masaryk. Secondly, in this context it is possible to take a wider look at the very concept of the Patočka’s philosophy of history, looking at it from the angle of its national application, in other words: from the side of the philosophical and political responsibility of individuals in their social and political lives.Because the philosophy of Patočka is closely associated with his life, the last part of the book includes his intellectual biography. It consists of two parts: the first one describes the meetings with philosophers who influenced the development of his views, starting from the Greek philosophy, through Husserl to the Comenius. All this variety of inspirations shows that the unity of the history of philosophy and the philosophy of history come to the fore in the philosophical achievements of Patočka. The second part addresses the philosophical(and personal) participation of Patočka in the political events that took place in Czechoslovakia. This is how the tragic synthesis of Socratic life and thinking took place.According to Patočka, a man who wants to live in truth must not let the calm harmony of everyday life dull him, he must open to what is disturbing and mysterious – to what is left aside by life – to be able to pass from the order of the day to the mystery of the night.
The Risk of Freedom presents an in-depth analysis of the philosophy of Jan Patočka, one of the most influential Central European thinkers of the twentieth century, examining both the phenomenological ...and ethical-political aspects of his work. In particular, Francesco Tava takes an original approach to the problem of freedom, which represents a recurring theme in Patočka’s work, both in his early and later writings. Freedom is conceived of as a difficult and dangerous experience. In his deep analysis of this particular problem, Tava identifies the authentic ethical content of Patočka’s work and clarifies its connections with phenomenology, history of philosophy, politics and dissidence. The Risk of Freedom retraces Patočka’s philosophical journey and elucidates its more problematic and less evident traits, such as his original ethical conception, his political ideals and his direct commitment as a dissident.
Jan Patočka, perhaps more so than any other philosopher in the twentieth century, managed to combine intense philosophical insight with a farsighted analysis of the idea and challenges facing Europe ...as a historical, cultural and political signifier. As a political dissident in communist Czechoslovakia he also became a moral and political inspiration to a generation of Czechs, including Václav Havel. He accomplished this in a time of intense political repression when not even the hint of a unified Europe seemed visible by showing in exemplary fashion how concrete thought can be without renouncing in any way its depth. Europe as an idea and a political project is a central issue in contemporary political theory. Patočka’s political thought offers many original insights into questions surrounding the European project. Here, for the first time, a group of leading scholars from different disciplines gathers together to discuss the specific political impact of Patočka’s philosophy and its lasting significance.
