Critically evaluating and synthesizing all the previous research on the phenomenology of Czech philosopher Jan Patocka, the book brings a new voice into contemporary philosophical discussions. It elucidates the development of Patocka's phenomenology and offers a critical appropriation of his work by connecting it with non-phenomenological approaches. The first half of the book offers a succinct, and systematizing, overview of Patocka's phenomenology throughout its development to help readers appreciate the motives behind and grounds for its transformations. The second half systematically explicates, critically examines and creatively develops Patocka's concept of the movement of existence as the most promising part of his asubjective phenomenology. The book appeals to new readers of Patocka as well as his scholars, and to students and researchers of contemporary philosophy concerned with topics such as embodiment, personal identity, intersubjectivity, sociality, or historicity. By re-assessing Patocka's philosophy of history and his civilizational analysis, it also helps to better articulate the question of the place of Europe in the post-European world.

Autorentext

Martin Ritter is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. He specializes in phenomenology, critical theory and media philosophy. Martin Ritter has published numerous journal articles on Patoka's thought and has taught several courses on Patoka's philosophy; he also took part in editing Patoka's Collected Works.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Seeking Evidence: With Husserl Beyond Husserl.- Chapter 3. The Hubris of Transcendental Idealism.- Chapter 4. The Life of Inwardness. Asubjectivity in Patoka's War Manuscripts.- Chapter 5. The Protester: The Basically Negative Being in the World.- Chapter 6. The Call of Transcendence.- Chapter 7. At the Heart of Space.- Chapter 8. Being Turned (to) Appearing.- Chapter 9. The Movement of Existence.- Chapter 10. (Dis)Appropriating (the) Body.- Chapter 11. Performing the Soul through Movement.- Chapter 12. Passing Through the World (as) Crisis.- Chapter 13. Supercivilization.- Chapter 14. From Asubjectivity to Mediality.- Chapter 15. Omnia Vincit Amor.