USESEP029 Czech Political Thought

Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Summer 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Petr Slováček, Ph.D.
Institute of Central European Studies – Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to display and underline originality and peculiarity of Czech contribution to political thinking. This task is then possible only in presentation of Czech political thinking on the background of wider European political-philosophical tradition. This determines also a fundamental axe of the interpretation, i e. confrontation with dominant ideological directions and ideologies. Confrontation is then one of the feature of Czech political thinking which is permanently accompanied. Concrete realization of this confrontation is then political-philosophical alternative and wide concept of humanity as inseparable part of political area of human´s life which cannot be found in connection with politics not only in thinking f ours the most famous exponents V. Havel and T. G. Masaryk but also in hints in ante-Hussit thinkers and totally in J. Hus and P. Chelčicky. Besides presentation of main personalities of Czech political thinking the students will be introduced principal directions and doctrines of political thinking (both philosophical and ideological and religious) without whose knowledge the seizure of given issue will be at least complicated. The teaching will be accompanied by analysis of representative texts.
Syllabus
  • 1. Political philosophy - issues and questions, main philosophical-political trends determining European ante-Hussite tradition
    2. Ante-Hussite philosophy - Jan Milíč from Kroměříž, Tomáš from Štítné, maintenance of the order, first hints of reform ideas
    3. Jan Hus and Petr Chelčicky - confrontation with Church and interrelation with secular power, development of Viklef´s ideas, vigorous Biblism, the Four Articles of Prague
    4. Jan Amos Komensky - method of parallelism and their consequences for political philosophy, conservation and modification of medieval estates society, brotherhood love as a principle of society constituent, concept of all-correction, comparison to concept of state by Thomas Hebbes (origin of a country and relation to religion)
    5. Bernard Bolzano- treatise on the Best state
    6. Thinkers of national revival - philosophical presumptions of national revival (Herder, Rousseau, Bolzano), F. Palacky ( devoutness), K. H. Borovsky, the acceptance of liberalism in the spirit of Czech tradition of stressed humanity
    7. T. G. Masaryk - humanitarian democracy, concept of state, Czech question, confrontation with liberalism
    8. T. G. Masaryk - confrontation with Marxism, Marxism as philosophical way out of totalitarianism
    9. J. L. Fischer and E. Radl - democracy in crisis and totalitarianism
    10. J. Patočka - democracy confronted with totalitarianism, way outs of anti-totalitarian resistance, Charter 77, care of soul as a political principle
    11. Vaclav Havel, Vaclav Belohradsky and Erazim Kohak - concept of non-political politics, politics as a peculiar area of human activity, politics and ecology
    12. Idea of Europe and Czech political thinking
Literature
    required literature
  • TROJAN, J.S. Idea lidských práv v české filosofii. Praha, Oikoymenh, 2002. info
  • Bednář, M. Spravedlnost, demokracie a česká filosofie politiky. Votobia: Olomouc, 1998. info
  • Sousedík, S. Filosofie v českých zemích mezi středověkem a osvícenstvím. Vyšehrad: Praha, 1997. info
    recommended literature
  • GOODIN, E.R. - PETTIT, P. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy. Blackwell Publishing, 2007. info
  • Válka, J. Husitství na Moravě - Náboženská snášenlivost - Jan Ámos Komenský. Brno. Matice moravská: Brno, 2005. info
  • Röd, W. Novověká filosofie II. Oikoymenh: Praha, 2004. info
  • HAVELKA, M. (ed.). Spor o smysl českých dějin 1895-1938. Praha, Torst, 1997. info
  • Urban, O. Česká společnost 1848 - 1918. Praha: Svoboda, 1982. info
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Teacher's information
The primary requirements on student are active participation in seminars, composition of test on the basis of interpretation and studied texts.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2012, Winter 2013, Winter 2015, Winter 2016, Winter 2017, Winter 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2015, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fvp/summer2015/USESEP029