{"title":"Books by Jan Patocka","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780804738019","title":"Plato and Europe","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Czech philosopher Jan Patocka (1907-1977), who studied with Husserl and Heidegger, is widely recognized as the most influential thinker to come from postwar Eastern Europe. Refusing to join the Communist party after World War II, he was banned from academia and publication for the rest of his life, except for a brief time following the liberalizations of the Prague spring of 1968. Joining Vaclav Havel and Jiri Hajek as a spokesman for the Chart 77 human-rights declaration of 1977, Patocka was harassed by authorities, arrested, and finally died of a heart attack during prolonged interrogation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlato and Europe\u003c\/i\u003e, arguably Patocka's most important book, consists of a series of lectures delivered in the homes of friends after his last banishment from the academy just three years before his death. Here, he presents his most mature ideas about the history of Western philosophy, arguing that the idea of the care of the soul is fundamental to the philosophical tradition beginning with the Greeks. Explaining how the care of the soul is elaborated as the problem of how human beings may make their world one of truth and justice, Patocka develops this thesis through a treatment of Plato, Democritus, and Aristotle, showing how considerations about the soul are of central importance in their writings. He demonstrates in vivid fashion how this idea forms the spiritual heritage of Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294924353909,"sku":"9780804738019","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780804738019_1b629b96-8de7-4571-b2fd-da6ea07ed157.jpg?v=1786016353"},{"product_id":"9780812693379","title":"Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History","description":"\u003cp\u003eHeretical Essays is Patocka's final work, and one of his most exciting and iconoclastic. Patocka begins with prehistory, approached through the \"natural world\" as conceived by Husserl and Heidegger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAccording to Patocka, nature is as an alien construct, and history, which began as a quest for higher meaning, ends with life as self-sustaining consumption. Patocka explains how Europe declined from its Greek heritage to seek power rather than truth, splintering into ethnic subdivisions, and then how the Enlightenment moved Europe from an ethical to a material orientation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book includes a translation of the Preface to the French Edition by Paul Ricoeur.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56295063454069,"sku":"9780812693379","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780812693379_45c56c45-bb8d-423e-a2ba-22b78d8d1a6f.jpg?v=1786016308"},{"product_id":"9781350139091","title":"The Selected Writings of Jan Patocka","description":"Jan Patocka’s contribution to phenomenology and   the philosophy of history mean that he is considered one of the most important philosophers of the   20th century. Yet, his writing is not widely available in English and the   Anglophone world remains rather unfamiliar with his work. In this new book of   essential Patocka texts, of which the majority have been translated from the   original Czech for the first time, readers will experience a general   introduction to the key tenets of his philosophy. This includes his thoughts   on the relationship between philosophy and political engagement which strike at   the heart of contemporary debates about freedom, political participation and   responsibility and a truly pressing issue for modern Europe, what exactly   constitutes a European identity? In this important collection, Patocka provides   an original vision of the relationship between self, world, and history that   will benefit students, philosophers and those who are interested in the   ideals that underpin our democracies.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56297920725365,"sku":"9781350139091","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781350139091_c2ecd6a2-6b93-489b-afa5-713be4b15991.jpg?v=1786018399"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-jan-patocka.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}