Patočka a Foucault: starosť o dušu a starosť o seba

• Authors: Vladislav Suvák

Title variants

EN

Patočka and Foucault: Care for the Soul and Care for the Self

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

The article deals with two influential interpretations of the Greek approach to care (epimeleia) in the work of Jan Patočka and Michel Foucault. At first sight, it seems that Foucault’s concept of care for the self (epimleia heautú) is in opposition to Patočka’s concept of care for the soul (epimeleia tés psychés). However, on a closer reading we find that both accounts arrive at the same conclusion. We can see this, for example, in the interpretation of Plato’s dialogue Laches which both authors put into the context of the way of life. In the following part of the article attention is paid to the development of Patočka’s understanding of care for the soul, and his approach to the philosophy of history. It is shown that Foucault’s approach to history is in many ways in opposition to Patočka’s. However, in spite of the different approaches to history, both authors problematize Greek care as an important theme of western culture and, against that background, they emphasise the therapeutic task of contemporary philosophy.

Keywords

EN

Jan Patočka; care for the soul; Michel Foucault; care for the self,; Plato’s dialogue „Laches“; philosophy as a way of life

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Filosofický časopis (Philosophical Journal)
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 887-910
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Vladislav  Suvák

• Filosofický časopis, redakce, Filosofický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Jilská 1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic