A guest from the unknown : Antigone and Jan Patočka's cultural criticism

Vol.23,No.2(2020)

Jonathan Bolton

https://doi.org/10.5817/BL2020-2-2

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/143032

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Abstract
Jan Patočka is often seen as an apolitical philosopher who did not step onto the public stage until the end of his life, when he chose to support underground musicians who were put on trial by the Communist government in 1976. This view, seen for example in the obituary issued by Charter 77 shortly after Patočka's death, ignores his long career of cultural criticism and his many essays that use Czech literature and culture as a springboard to discuss social and political concerns. One such essay is Patočka's review of Milan Uhde's 1967 play "The Whore of Thebes," a modernization of Antigone that Patočka castigates for misunderstanding the mysteries of this classic play. A reading of Patočka's review points to a different genealogy for his support of the music underground, and his understanding of the relationship between philosophy and action more generally. Patočka's many writings on art and culture constitute an ongoing commentary on the social and political world around him, painting a much different picture than the conventional image of an abstruse philosopher who did not enter the world of politics until the very end of his life.

Keywords:
Jan Patočka; Charter 77; Sophocles; Antigone; Milan Uhde; Plastic People of the Universe; DG307; Dostoevsky

Pages:
13–30
References

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