Springer Jan Patočka and the Heritage of Phenomenology: Centenary Papers: 61 (Contributions to Phenomenology, 61)

This book offers selected papers by scholars from around the world, from a conference commemorating the groundbreaking work of the philosopher and human rights crusader Jan Patocka, on the occasion of his 100th year and the 30th anniversary of his death. Review From the reviews:“This book is a collection of twenty papers selected from the proceedings of an international conference held in Prague in April 2007 to commemorate the centenary of Jan Patočka’s birth. Its publication is particularly welcome. … this volume provides a very stimulating overview of Patočka’s work, and it will be of substantial value to anyone with a serious interest in phenomenology … . ” (Bryan Smyth, Philosophy in Review, Vol. XXXI (5), 2011) From the Back Cover Whereas for the wider public Jan Patočka is known mainly through the circumstances of his death in Prague, on March 13, 1977, after long interrogations by the Communist secret police, as a defender of human and civic rights in Czechoslovakia and one of the first spokespersons of the Charter 77 movement, the international philosophical community sees in him an important and inspiring thinker, who elaborated in an original way the great wellsprings and impulses of European thought – mainly Husserl’s phenomenology and Heidegger’s philosophy of existence. Patočka also reflected on the future of humanity in a globalized world and laid the foundations of an original philosophy of history. His work is a subject of lively philosophical discussion especially in French and German-speaking countries, but also, more recently, in the Hispanic world, North America and the Far East. In April 2007 scholars interested in Patočka’s philosophy gathered in Prague from around the world to commemorate his centenary and the thirtieth anniversary of his death. The conference explored the significance of his work and its growing influence on contemporary philosophy. This volume presents in English language selected papers from the centenary conference About the Author Ivan Chvatík finished his graduate study under the supervision of leading Czech philosopher Jan Patocka. After Patocka’s death in 1977, he became head of the clandestine Jan Patocka Archive, which now has become part of the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic. In 1993, he became the co-director of the Center for Theoretical Study, an interdisciplinary institute for advanced study at Charles University and the Academy of Science. He became the editor of the first complete Czech translation of Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time (1996), and is currently in charge of editing Patocka’s Complete Works (twelve volumes published to date out of a planned twenty-five).