REFLEXE
REFLEXE
Reflexe a journal of philosophy, was founded in 1985 by Ladislav Hejdánek. The first three issues, originaly published in the underground (samizdat) form, were re-issued legally in 1990. The journal then continued as a quarterly and later, in its present form, as a bi-annual. The focus is on original studies in the areas of Philosophy and Theology. While translations of important philosophical essays are also published, preference is given to new publications. Each issue includes reviews of recent philosophical literature from the Czech Republic and abroad.

REFLEXE, Vol 2021 No 60 (2021), 29–63

Universální život a život lidský. K ontologii přírody u Jana Patočky a Maurice Merleau-Pontyho

[Universal Life and Human Life. On the Ontology of Nature in Jan Patočka and Maurice Merleau-Ponty]

Martin Rabas

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/25337637.2021.17
published online: 16. 09. 2021

abstract

The present article has two objectives. One is to elucidate the philosophical approach presented in the so-called Strahov Systematic Manuscripts of Jan Patočka in terms of consciousness and nature. The other is to compare this philosophical approach with Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s theses on nature, as elaborated in 1956–1961, and to point out some advantages and limitations of both approaches. In our opinion, Patočka’s philosophical approach consists, on the one hand, in a descriptive analysis of human experience, which he understands as a pre-reflective self-relationship pointing towards the consciousness of the world. On the other hand, on the basis of this descriptive analysis Patočka consequently explicates all non-human life, inorganic matter, and finally the whole of nature as life in its own right, the essence of which is also a certain self-relation with a tendency towards consciousness. The article then briefly presents Merleau-Ponty’s theses on nature, and finally compares them with Patočka’s overall theses on nature. The advantage of Patočka’s notion of nature as against Merleau-Ponty’s is that, in Patočka’s view, nature encompasses both the principle of unity and individuality. On the other hand, the advantage of Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of nature as against Patočka’s lies in the consistent interconnectedness of the infinite life of nature and the finite life of individual beings.

Creative Commons License
Universální život a život lidský. K ontologii přírody u Jana Patočky a Maurice Merleau-Pontyho is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

202 x 130 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 180 czk
ISSN: 0862-6901
E-ISSN: 2533-7637

Download