Three Movements of Life: Jan Patočka's Philosophy of Personal Being

• Published in: The European legacy, toward new paradigms Vol. 12; no. 5; pp. 577 - 588
• Main Author: Varsamopoulou, Evy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.08.2007
• Subjects: Cultural heritage; Cultural history; Europe; European studies; Human environment; Patocka, Jan; Philosophers; Philosophical thought; Philosophy; Social history
• ISSN: 1084-8770; 1470-1316
• DOI: 10.1080/10848770701443494

This article offers a critical presentation of Jan Patočka's philosophy by focusing mainly on his lecture series published as Body, Community, Language, World , where he outlined his phenomenological project of re-instating the body in philosophy. Taking the body and its invariable situatedness as a starting point and identifying useful precursors in European philosophy, Patočka delineates three movements of human life: an affective movement consisting of creating roots, identified as primarily aesthetic and interested in the past; an ascetic movement consisting of work and self-expansion, identified with the world of production and related to the present; and, a transcendent, philosophical movement peculiar to the realization of human existence and linked to the future. I examine certain ellipses and complications in Patočka's description of these movements, and suggest elaborations that are consistent with his overall project. Finally, turning to Patočka's Plato and Europe, I argue that the third movement is accomplished via both philosophical reflection and artistic practice.