Epoché and institution: The fundamental tension in Jan Patočka’s phenomenology

Meacham, Darian; Tava, Francesco

Abstract

This article examines the relation between two key, but seemingly opposed concepts in Jan Patočka’s thought: epoché and the concrete institutional polis. In doing so it attempts to elucidate the inextricable relation between phenomenology and politics in the work of the Czech philosopher, and illustrate more broadly the possibilities for approaching the political from a phenomenological perspective. The article provides a phenomenological interpretation of “care for the soul” as closely linked to Patočka’s reformulation of the core phenomenological notion of epoché. It argues that in Patočka’s work, the epoché, traditionally conceived as a radical stepping back from the world must be rendered differently, not only as a negative freedom, but as the foundation of positive politics. Thus, the authors argue that there is a thematic and conceptual continuity between Patočka’s phenomenological studies and his political work.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 13, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Dec 7, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Deposit Date: Dec 8, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 12, 2021
• Journal: Studies in East European Thought
• Print ISSN: 0925-9392
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-0948
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 73
• Pages: 309–326
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-020-09398-8
• Keywords: Epoché, Jan Patočka, Edmund Husserl, Politics, Phenomenology, Institutions
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6926961
• Additional Information: Accepted: 12 November 2020; First Online: 7 December 2020; The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.